Troy A.

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Well it is creeping up on my sixth month surgeversary. My gall bladder surgery was a cake walk. I believe I could have come back to work after two days but luckly my company gave me two weeks. I plan to post new pics at the six month mark for comparison. So far I have lost 112 pounds and I am very happy with my progress. 

I feel great, I am more confident and I am much more active than I have been in years and years.

I titled this entry a way of life because this surgery was the greatest tool in the world to help me loose wieght, but I have come to that point now where I am just living my life. I don't feel like I am dieting, I dont check the boards here every waking hour of the day. I feel like I am the expert on me now. Like I have learned lessons that are going to help me continue to be successful keeping the wieght off for the rest of my life.

I have wondered about whether this is a good thing or not. I believe it has to be, but I also know that the reason I have been successful and feel like I will continue to be is because I educated myself on this journey from the day I decided WLS was the way to save my life. One thing that stuck out to me was the importance of supporting each other. Many of those that are successful seem to make it a point of staying here and helping to answer questions when they can. I hope I never walk away from OH completely. I want to be here helping to give back.

It is an amazing thing to get a second chance in life. I feel like I have been born again twice now. Spiritually at 18 and now Physically at 41.

I wish everyone could have the success I have had.

Troy

Oh and here is a P.S., my signature seems to be getting a bit lengthy so here at the stats for all those like myself that one day want to see what someone else's results are.

334/222/185
All time recorded high 4/15/07 334lbs at the start of my 6 month approval journey.
Liquid Diet 10/15 329lbs - 10/29 309lbs = 20lbs gone forever.
DoS 10/29 309lbs - 11/29 282lbs = 27lbs gone forever. 
11/29 282lbs - 12/29 269lbs = 13lbs gone forever.
12/29 269lbs - 1/29 249lbs = 20lbs gone forever.
1/29 249lbs - 2/29 239lbs = 10lbs gone forever.
2/29 239ibs - 3/29 230lbs = 9lbs gone forever.

Well, I am getting close to being four months post op. I am down to 242lbs. February has been a killer, only about 7lbs down so far.

I got the news that my Gallbladder has to come out on March 3rd. I had a pretty good episode with it that lasted about 6 hours and I thought something was wrong with my bypass, well at first I thought I was dumping on sorbital, but that wasnt it.

It seems like people with WLS seem to have a Gallbladder removed more than those without it. Dr Kim says that GB Removal is the most common sugery performed in the US and that obesity is a big contributing factor and since people that have Gastric Bypass are usually obese then of course they will have more problems with the Gallbladder.

Maybe that is all there is to it, but it sure seems like it rears its head a lot with people that have had WLS and dropped some serious weight.

Luckily Dr Kim, is doing my Gallbladder, he says I may be one of the last ones, if not the last one that he does. He has done about 10,000 of them, but time is becoming an issue for him with everything else he has going on. So I feel fortunate to have him doing mine.

I wish I didnt have to have this surgery. Part of me is afraid of going back under the knife, another part of me doesnt want to part with my Gallbladder. I will probably miss two weeks of work on top of it all.

I also read up on another guys post about kidney stones. I sure hope I dont get another one. I took the time to write up what I remember about mine. I may as well add it to my blog here.

My Kidney Stone Story

I had my kidney stone somewhere about 13 - 15 years ago, it was pretty big about the size of a pinto bean I believe they said. I wound up having Lithotrypsy on it to break it up, but before they did that they felt like I needed a stint run between my kidney and my bladder, because a stone that size simply wouldnt pass, and they were afraid after it was broken up it could clog.

Soooo......

Off to surgery I go, and I still remember a couple of things that make me chuckle. The first was being wheeled into this preop room. I was laying in my bed between two women who were also waiting for surgery. Well, let me tell you this room was about 5 degrees warmer than a refrigerator and soon I had to pee in the worst possible way. So I called for the nurse and I told her I really had to go. She said not to worry, that the doctors would take care of it for me, then she left. Well, that would have been fine if they were wheeling me in there right then, but about ten minutes went by and there was no sign of me being wisked away, so I called her again and told her I had to go right then or I was going to wet the bed. I must have been getting yellow in the eyes because she ran and got me this plastic bottle that you pee in at the hospital. She hands it to me and draws the little semi circle curtain shut around me.

Now let me explain a little bit about me. I dont perform well under pressure. I dont like public bathrooms, I dont like to pee standing next to some other guy. It is a quirk, and oddity, a crazy thing I know but it is just me. So here I am with this plastic bottle, and women I dont know are about 4 feet away on my left, right, and at my feet were the nurse was standing right outside of that thin curtain. I had to go so bad, it didnt matter. I tucked that jug up to my personal business and let it go.

Have you ever sprayed a water hose into a milk jug? Do you have any idea how much racket that makes? Well that was me. There was no way to hide it, I just let it go and go and go and go. For some strang reason I thought that singing our national anthem quietly would help, but it didnt. Instead it just made the women on all around me start laughing. But hey, what can you do?

So I finally finished, and the room was suddenly deathly quiet accept for some giggling. The nurse asked "All done?" It was funny to me because it was so obvious. I just said "Yes, I am done." So she opens the curtain and holds out her hand for the bottle. "I said you cant have it until it cools off, it is the only thing keeping me from freezing to death." That got a good laugh out of all of them. I wasnt nearly as shy as I would have thought I would be.

The second thing I remember was waking up with a piece of string coming out of my personal business and it was taped to the base. I dont know if I am a freak or what but I do know that they didnt leave near enough slack in there and the first time I got aroused I wound up with a bow. Seriously I could have shot tiny arrows with it. I didnt feel good at all so I had to undo it and retape.

The third and final thing I remember was going to see the urologist to have the stint removed. He came in wearing this big rubber apron that covered him from the ching down. I didnt think much abut it until he pulled that stint out and I peed all over the front of him. Man talk about embarrasment, but obviously that was the reason for the rubber apron.

The lithotripsy went well, and I had very little pain until the stone was ready to pass after the stint was out. That morning I was at work and I felt like I had to go really bad. So I ran to the restroom and like three drops were all that came out. Let me tell you that feeling right there blows. I wound up going home and drinking a ton of water and finally it came tumbling out. It felt like it was end over end and it was as jagged as the day is long. It came out with such force that it actually did not land in the water it was like a rising fast ball that wound up hitting the rim and bouncing onto the floor. But ahhh the relief. I havent had any problems since then thank goodness but my gallbladder has to go in a week. I hope it goes better than the stone did.

So last monday I lay in a recovery room feeling like a bus had run over me. I was thirsty, I was in pain, I was constantly looking at the clock on the wall thinking I just have to get through this day and tomorrow will be better.

This monday. Slept the best I have since surgery, no pain meds. Still some crazy dreams though. Up at 7am, help my wife get our oldest ready for school. Sip on my protien drink for an hour, get in 20g of protien. Drinking no longer bothers me. I can get up and sit down in a chair with out the groan today. I walked for 1.3 miles for the second day in a row. My JP tube is now almost clear and it comes out Wed morning. The only soreness I have is under my rib, and I feel it when I lay down or get up from laying down, and when I sneeze. Oh lord please dont let me sneeze unexpectedly again!  Felt like someone poked a shotgun in my wound and pulled the trigger!

The thing I cant get over is how normal I feel and how happy as well. One week, just one little week and I feel this great and it will only be better after Wed. It almost seems wrong. I shouldn't be recovering this fast. I shouldn't be falling into the routine that I should have been doing for years this easily.

My wife has been so great taking care of me. I really hope I can make it up to her some day.

I just feel blessed I guess.

Troy

Ok five days now, and boy am I struggling. I mean I really am struggling.

First my water intake. I was told 32-64 oz a day. I made sip sip my mantra. However drinking is so uncomfortable that I am falling well short of my fluid intake. Probably only around 20oz. I know this pain from drinking will go away but still I am well aware that I dont want to get dehydrated. I am able to eat SF Pops much easier but I am only doing like two single pops a day. I guess I could just up them to help with the fluid count and that is probably what I will do.

Second though is much bigger issue. I knew going into my surgery that I was going to need 63g of protien a day and I prepared for it. My drinking issue is killing me in this area though because even though I could drink somethings just fine prior to surgery the taste is killing me now. I have Isopure 40g per 20oz bottles that tasted fine presurgery that now I can barely choke down at all. The protien seems to sit heavy in my stomach as well. I also bought the 3oz bullets thinking even if they are not great I could break them up into 3 1oz servings a day. But lordy are they bad. I mean I gag on them bad, and gaging right now my friends is tops on my list of things I dont want to do. I am going to hope that this protien situation will get a bit better when my liquids stop hurting me so much.

My pain meds, I take them, then I nap for two hours, even on a half dosage. I know part of this is just being rundown from the surgery. I am anxious to get off them altogether but not sure how long that is going to take. Not that I am in great pain without, but my over all feeling of discomfort is significantly more without them. Question do chewables go in your no liquid time and liquids meds go in your no food time? That is the way I have been handling it, but I sure want a drink after some of those chewables.

Walking has actually been the easiest part so far. 4/10 of a mile the first day home 6/10 day two and 8/10 today. I feel like I could walk and walk for the most part but my wife doesnt want me to over do it.

No hunger or thirst is killing me, nothign and I mean absolutely nothing sounds good to me. I am forcing down food that I have no desire for and the same with liquids really. I actully like the no hunger but the practical side of me knows I have to eat and drink. I hope this too will get better.

Sleep has been the most bizarre thing of all. I cannot sleep more than two hours. My arms and hands are falling asleep like crazy. I wake with a start,  and right away I think I almost just died or that my BP has fallen critically low or that maybe I feel a blood clot, that last just a second or so then I drift back off. However it is the dreams that are on the super side of bizarre. Trying to eat chicken fried steak only to have it keep falling on the floor of walmat and then getting kicked by people like a soccer ball. Dreams of cookies and ice creams and lemon bars that I am dying to have but even in my dream I wont. A trip to china where I was going to sale blackmarket  clothes I had out grown and getting mixed up with a jamacan DJ who helped me get in a bejing olympics promo hitting a golf shot. See what I mean? Some crazy head games going on here. 

Anyway, just rambling, thanks for listening,

Troy

Well thanks for all the well wishes and prayers. I have to say I probably came through this with flying colors. Going to post exactly what went on with me for anyone that may be curioius.

Monday morning we got to the Hospital at about 7am. They started doing all the pre op stuff and the first thing I got was a Hepron shot. Could be off on spelling but it keeps your blood from clotting and I got one of thos every morning and evening during my time in the hospital. They do them in the stomach but they are cake, seriously no pain at all. 

Well the fun started right after my first shot when they tried to plug an IV into the back of my hand and it hit some sort of valve we all have in our veins. It was just the nurse and I in there at the time and she says...."Oh my" and starts applying pressure to my hand. I said "Whats wrong?" obviously not looking at it cause I am a bit squimish about needles and such. She explained what happened and then started calling for another nurse. She called for her a couple of times and was getting no answers so I began calling for her myself with a bit more urgency to my voice. Well someone finally came and they got it all straightend out, of course by this time I was buried in cold rags and turned upside down in my bed. Apparently they thought I was going to pass out.  They ran the IV into my arm instead and it worked fine there. The back of my hand was swollen as a son of a gun and stayed that way for a couple of days.

So after that adventure they got me settled in and told me I would probably be going back to surgery in 30 min or so. I had my mom and father in law come in and I told them I loved them and gave out hugs. I was very calm I have to say. Then my wife came back and she held my hand and while she did I prayed that everything would go well. Then we talked a little and......

The next thing you know I hear a radio on the wrong station, just static and it is right in my face so I try and slap it away, twice I think, before I realized I was in recovery and that was just oxygen. Bizzare!!!!! I mean one minute I am talking to the wife the next it was over! I almost think I can remember them asking me to move over to another table but I am not positive, but enough about that lets talk about waking up.

The catheter, OH MY!!! I was on fire down there I mean I knew I was going to have that in for a day and the first thing on my mind was no way in the world can I make it a day feeling like this. However it was kind of hard do concentrate on burning wee wee with pain that was in my chest. I seriously thought they must have bailed on laproscopic and opened me up, turns out that was just gas. The nurse in recovery said it may help if I moved my hips so I was churning like crazy in the bed.

They finally took me to my room and things started to settle down a bit, the catheter stopped burning and I just accepted it, it really didnt bother me again until they pulled it out. Mama mia! But even that pain was very short lived. You see we are on pain meds the whole time so I think that helps a bunch.

That first day was by far the toughest. Nothing to drink and severe gas (btw everyone is different in regaurds to gas so some people may not have near as much pain from it) I was a walking fool though. I had more than a few nurses commenting on my walking because I got up to do it a lot. It wasnt until about 7pm that first day that I had a scare. You see I think I had a bit of drainage and my mouth was so dry, and rags and sponges just were not helping much, that I started feeling sick when I tried to spit up the crud in the back of my throat. Well that lead to full on dry heaves. Three rounds of them. Three rounds of terror, and a 10 on the pain scale. My wife was there she had the pillow for me to clutch to my chest and I was crushing her hand for strength to get through it.

All that passed. I made sure I got my pain meds everytime they were due. Note for anyone going through this. Dont be shy about telling a nurse your ready for your pain meds or your water. You have nothing but time to keep track of all that, they may forget or not be as prompt if you dont remind them.

Second day arrives and I get wisked away for my leak test. I knew this was big. Pass this and you get 1 oz of water or crystal lite every hour for the day. It is like winning the lotto! Well the barrium in the leak test almost made me start yakking again. It tasted what I imagine lemon flavored furniture polish must taste like. Horrible. I drank as much as I could and told them I was going to be sick if I drank another bit. They said it was fine, and not to get sick. It took about 30 to 40 min for them to get all the various Xrays and when they were done I went back to my room and about an hour after that my nurse came in with a 1oz cup of crystal light. Passed!!! Then a bit later the catheter came out and life was good, well until 6 hours after the removal when she asked if I had urinated yet. I said no. She said I had 30 min to do so or it was going back in and she wasnt kidding. I got up that second and filled the bottle with about 100cc's. Another FYI your urine is gong to be pretty bloody, that is normal and it goes away after a few days.

Slept well that night, though I was reminded yet again not to miss pain meds. Third day they progressed me to 2 oz cups of water and crystal light then some sort of boost drink then the final meal and the worst food ever served to anyone that I had to eat some of before I could leave. This was when I got my first feeling of fullness. When it really hit home that I am a new man. I ate maybe 1/2 of pureed steak and I was done. I felt full. I didnt want another bit of anything.

Home last night tried to sleep in bed, that didnt work, slept in the recliner. Woke up a ton, but I think things are getting better. I have been out walking today and also I am able to type out this to yall.

Glad to be back, and glad to have a place on the bench finally.

Troy

Well, I forgot some of the most important things. I was sitting up for a while typing that out and wore out. 

I told my wife to ask the Dr Kim about my liver when he came to see her after the surgery. What he said took away any doubts I may have had about doing this.

My liver was at least two times the size it should have been and very fatty. He said that without this surgery he could almost promise I would have been looking at diabetes and hyper tension with in the next year, two at the tops.

You see for me, I always had the tiniest bit of "should I be doing this" because of my lack of comorbidities. I mean I had none, no high BP, no high cholesteral, no sleep apenea, no diabetes. So i was really wondering how much of the "WTH have I done to myself?" I would have after the surgery. The result of finding out about my liver has made it zero. The only thing I had close to that was wondering how I was going to get through the first day in the recovery room. Other than that I have been rock solid in my decision.

I also have drain JP drain tube until wednesday that I am not wild about. I have been told it is very painful to have removed on some people. However I am not really dreading it because it is just one more hoop to jump through on the road to recovery.

My spirits have been very high, only missing a  pain med can put a dent in them at all. I look forward to the time that I wont need those.

I am trying to stay on my feet and walking around the house as well as outside. I walked a little over a fourth of a mile today outside.

Well I have been on the liquid diet for six days now and I have lost 15 pounds. I am accutely aware of all the food commercials now, and the smells of foods are just killing me.

I met with Dr Kim on Friday. He was great, I feel really lucky to have him doing the surgery.

I have had a lot of people ask me if I am having second thoughts, and I tell them, truthfully I had more a month ago than I do today. I am confident this surgery is going to be the best thing I have done for myself.

One funny thing, I met a guy in the waiting room, he asked me how long it had been since I had my surgery. He was a good deal bigger than myself. I felt bad when I told him I was just about to have the surgery. I guess compared to some I am on the lite side, but I need to lose 145pounds to get to my surgeons goal, so I'm not that lite.

My wife has been great, I think she is nervous but I think she is excited for me as well. I could not do any of this without her. I love her with all my heart.

Well, I am approved for Surgery on October 29th. I start liquids on October 15th.

I must admit, I wanted to be rock solid before the surgery but I have been doing a few farewells. 

Goodbye last of the BlueBell Tin Roof icecream.
Goodbye Mexican food.
Goodbye Dr Pepper. (with a tribute to any carbonation)
Goodbye Super Fatty Ribeye.
Goodbye Baked Potatoe with tons of butter and sour cream.

You have all been very tasty friends, and I will miss you, but I will be better off without you.