NicoleH930
Hi! My name is Nicole - I'm 35 years old and spent a year researching the gastric bypass rny surgery. I've been overweight since I graduated High School and then had two boys and numerous female surgeries. I packed on about 120 lbs and topped out at 240 lbs. I think the biggest slap in the face for me was last October, I was on a schoolfield trip with my son. It was alot of walking in smaller groups and he had to keep telling his friends to slow down and wait for his mom to catch up. I was mortified. I'm also an EMT, and it was to the point that by the time I reached a patient, I felt like I NEEDED to be treated right along with them.
I started the process in November 2005 - didn't really have any problems with insurance approval. By the time everything was completed, I was scheduled for surgery on 5/8/06. I was more then ready physically - although I feel that the surgery was harder for me then the 2 c-sections and 4 abdominal/female surgeries I had before. Those I was up and moving within a few hours. This one knocked me for a loop - I couldn't believe how much it hurt (i had the open rny). I went home 4 days later and began this wonderful and sometimes awful journey.
The first 2 weeks were ok for me. It was full liquid and I tolerated most of it ok. Physically, my body was healing. Emotionally, I fell apart. I wasn't really ready for the emotional attachment I had to food. The TV commercials, feeding kids/hubby, etc...that was so hard. My stomach didn't physically want the food, but boy did my MIND want it. At 3 weeks out, I was able to start the puree food stage and things went downhill fast. I started throwing up and dry heaving. My stomach was so irritated that even drinking water or liquids irritated it. I would have to wait 15-30 min in between sips because it was so upset. Of course, I ended up dehydrated. I spent memorial day weekend in the hosptial, 30 miles away from home (closest facility/dr for this type of surgery) while they pumped fluid back into me. They sent me home, and put me back on the puree diet. Same thing started right up again. I battled with it for 2 weeks, until I went to the dr for my follow up visit. I bawled in his office that day, asked him why it was so horrible, why did I have this surgery, and why did he let me have this surgery. At this point, my 11 year old asked me if I was going to die - talk about ripping my heart out. Dr scheduled me for a scope to make sure there wasn't something going on. He told hubby that he stretched the opening to the stomach, and that everything else looked good and that should help. I was great that night, but the following day, I started heaving every 30 min. Went back to the dr, mine was out of town, his partner put me back in the hospital for dehydration. I was left hanging for another 3 days till my Dr came back. He was ready to release me again, and I'm like, wait a minute...I want an answer as to WHY I'm dry heaving. He then told me that after most gastric bypass surgeries, the pouch holds approx 15-20 cc's. Mine only held 5 cc. So basically, it shrunk way more then it should have. A mistake?? I'll never know. So, now that I knew it didn't hold as much, I ate about an ounce at a time and just ate more often. He also put me on nexium for 12 weeks to help battle the nausea. I was a new woman after that! I was finally able to eat and keep it down. What a wonderful feeling.
In July, we went to Disney - I was 4 months out. Food was hard there, but I packed alot of my own food (we stayed in a camper), and ate alot of chicken strips. The biggest realization I had, was that it wasn't me struggling to keep up with my kids, it was my kids struggling to keep up with me!
This surgery has been so worth it.....even tho during those first 2 months after surgery, there was no way you could get me to say or feel that. But now, with only have 45 lbs to go...I'm so very fortuante to have this opportunity. I'm off all meds (BP, depression, asthma), and I'm shrinking every day. I never imagined in the past 15 years, that I would ever be this small again. I can now say - I'm SO GLAD I took this step and did this for me!
