mystmanpdx

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So, on day five of my ketosis run, we ordered sandwiches because it was my birthday and another coworkers that month.  Rather than look like an odd-ball, I participated... which ripped me out of ketosis.  So I'm going to start over on July 7th.  Still losing weight regardless though. 

Well after good through my third stall at the end of May, I decided to kick start my weight loss with a ketosis run.  I started on Monday June 9th and in 4 days, I have lost 7lbs already.  I've been checking my ketone levels and been hitting an average 80-160mg every test.

Well, I hit a stall about 7 days ago, I had been sitting at 353 until today, I'm down 1lb to 352.  It's so frustrating but I'm glad the scale is moving again.

Ok I haven't written anything about my hospital stay yet and I have to go to work tomorrow so I thought I'd get it done now.

Presently, I'm at 360... that's 41lbs lost from high weight and 18lbs since surgery.  18lbs in 2 weeks is pretty good.

So my surgery was at 12:30pm on the 20th of march.  I got there earlier in the morning, checked in and waited in the surgery lobby until the nurse called me in.  The hospital I went to was very nice, they recently built a new extension, so everything was ultra modern.  I just brougt basic stuff with me, toothbrush, toothpaste, change of clothes, extra underwear and socks in case I needed them.  I didn't know what to expect...  

I bit before 11am, the nurse called me in... I got weighed and was put into the pre-surgical staging area.  I got undressed, went to the bathroom, the nurse came in and did some vital checks, then she put in an IV, and those massage things on my feet.  I was very nervous at this point.  A little after noon, Dr. Jan my surgeon came in with a fellow... I didn't get her name unfortunately.  She was going to be assisting during the surgery.  They made sure I was ok with what I was doing and double checked everything.  Then they left and a few minutes later the anesthesilogist (sp?) came in and introduced himself.  Then a little after 12:30, the nurse came in and said its time.  I got crazy nervous and my hands were shaking and sweating.  They wheeled me into the operating room and I had to move myself to the operating table.  I could see into the room, but mostly looking at the ceiling.  There was lots of equipment around and I remember it being cold in there.  They put an oxygen mask on me and asked me to start taking deep breaths.  Then all of a sudden I felt this warm and king of burning sensation travel up my left arm where my IV was and flow into my chest and head... then I just passed out.  

Then next thing I knew, I was being shaken and someone was saying my name telling me to wake up.  I was obviously in the recovery room.  I had this intense pain just below my left ribs, this was where the lapriscope went and there is about a 3 inch cut there.  I was in major pain and I was crying out for help.  Then the nurse finally came over and pumped me full of 6ml of morphine... I felt better after that.  I was only in recovery for what seemed like 20 minutes before they moved me to my room.  I got moved over and my pain returned pretty quick.  They regularly came to pump me full of morphine until the fellow came in and prescribed me a self-controlled morphine pump.  I went through one and a half of those during my stay.  They put a foley in my bladder when I was under, and I woke up with a tube coming out of my penis... not exactly the most pleasant feeling.  I couldn't believe how many times I filled the bag up with urine. 

Day one (the 21st) was pretty much a blur since I was sleeping most of the time.  I tried to get up a couple of times but the pain on my left side was too great.  They got me up about 9am and took me down to x-ray.  I had to do the barium swallow test to check for leaks.  I did that and everything checked out ok.  Then they rolled me back up to my room.  They took my foley later that afternoon.  Horrible feeling.

Day two I had alot more energy.  I was getting up more to go to the bathroom.  The nurses brought me water, juice and a protein drink.  But it was hard to drink any of it.  I was being pressured to walk as well, which was hard.  However, once they gave me some liquid vicodin that actually cures my pain for the long term, I had enough energy to start walking around the floor.  I did a couple laps, then laid back down.  I was able to start drinking as well.  Basically I did this off and on until later in the afternoon when they said I could be released.  I got changed and the nurse walked me downstairs and I headed home.

Well I just got home from the hospital.  I got there on thursday morning and left saturday afternoon.  It went very well, had no immediate complications and leak check went well.  I'll write about my hospital events later when i'm not so tired and high from pain medication.

I'm very nervous right now and depressed too... which is odd since I'm taking prozac every day... maybe its not working anymore.  I had my pre-surgery class with a group of other GB patients on Monday up in Vanc.  Just went through the same stuff that I've learned from surfing online and OH.  I also had my surgical pre-assessment on Tuesday morning.  They had a RN interview me for about an hour and went through all my medical history.  I also had an EKG and some lab work done to get updated.  They told me what to expect from start to finish as far as my hospital experience entails.  Anyway... hope everything goes well... should be back by Saturday if everything goes smooth.

Woohoo!!!  March 20th is the big day!  I'm nervous/excited.  Yeah so I'm a big slacker and havent posted anywhere.  I've been crazy busy with work and haven't had much motivation to socialize because I didn't know if I was going to have the surgery or not.  But, I finally worked on an alternative payment method besides insurance and had another consult with Dr. Jan today.  Got my surgery date scheduled for the 20th.  It's not 100% confirmed, they want to make sure they have an opening for an operating room, etc.  But, the scheduler said there usually isn't a problem.

Well I had my consult with Dr. Jan this morning.  Since, I don't have anything to compare against on his professionalism, I'll say that he met my expectations for a surgeon.  He reviewed my medical history gathered from my visits with legacy and made sure there werent any changes or new issues.  He then reviewed the procedure with me and the risks.  I asked him about the anantamosis (sp?) from the pouch to the intestine... he said they use a circular stapler rather than a linear or sewing it closed.  And then they use the linear stapler for the connection to the rouxlimb.  He seemed very knowledgable and to the point.  He didn't beat around the bush and give me a sales pitch.  He just told me what to expect and whats involved... and that's all I needed to hear.  Appointment lasted about 2 hours, watched a short procedural video for about 30 minutes, then met with a research assistant who wanted to talked to me the LABS2 study that was voluntary.  I went ahead and enrolled in it.  Then Dr. Jan came in and talk to me about 45 minutes.  After, I talked to the scheduler and they said they'll submit my info for insurance approval and call me to schedule a date after.

I got called today for my consult date.  I was offered to see Dr.Patterson on Nov 15th or Jay Jan on the 5th.  I had to think about it.  After I did some more research and read some testimonials on Jay Jan, I decided that my risk of problems really is the same regardless of which surgeon I choose... so I voted for the quicker turn-around.  So I have my appointment with him on Nov 5th and he'll be performing the RNY.... 25 days and counting...

ok except the surgical consult... I'm officially done with all of the steps needed to get my surgery done.  Addemdum from my psych consult is being written and my chart should be moved over to OWLS by next week and I'll get my call for the surgery consult.  I'm hoping to have done before the end of the year.

Down 28 lbs since August 8th....