NikkiC
I'm Back :-)
Aug 30, 2007
On Tuesday, I felt a little better and this time I was def. more alert. I walked a lot and when I wasn't walking, I was sleeping! I remember them waking me up first thing in the morning to do the upper GI test..just to make sure that everything was re-connected well! Everything looked great so off to my room I went. Shortly afterwards, a try was delivered to me with Broth, high protein Jell-O, and cranberry juice. As soon as I took the cover off the broth, OMG.. I thought I was going to die right then and there. The smell was SO overwhelming. I got so nauseous and kept heaving which hurt so badly. Despite that, I managed to get a few spoonfuls down without it coming back up. The Jell-O ewww it was
No Turning Back
Aug 26, 2007
I can't believe that TOMORROW is my day! I have a plethora of emotions that all range from being super excited to nervous to a little scared. I guess that's normal with any major event that we experience, especially going into this surgery. Yesterday I had to do my bowl prep which was everything everybody told me it would be...a day spent mostly in the bathroom! 
We woke up and went to Church this morning as we do each Sunday and for some reason I was a bit sad at the though that this could be my last Sunday in the house of the Lord. Not to be negative or anything, but I was being realistic. I truly believe that all will go well with tomorrow and I know that it's all in God's hands. He will be the CHIEF surgeon in the operating room tomorrow and knowing that gives me a sense of comfort. Our pastor said a special prayer for us which just lifted my spirits even more than they were. I am so grateful to everyone who has supported me through this journey. You definitely realize who your TRUE friends are during times of trials and tribulations. God has blessed me with the BEST HUSBAND any woman would be luck to have. Derrick has attended every dr.'s appointment with me, every seminar I attended, every counseling session, and any other appointment that involved this surgery. Not only that, he's also done everything that I've been required to do like doing the Atkins Diet, losing weight, exercising, not eating and drinking, and anything else that Dr. Mo instructed me to do. Derrick has never once complained about anything. Not once. I appreciate him SO much and love him so much more. I don't think he'll ever fully understand how his full support, love, and encouragement has made this process so much easier for me because there really are no words that can truly express how much I appreciate all that he has done. After Church we went home, picked up our bags and Max (our dog) and took him to the boarding facility that he loves so much. It is definitely "The Ritz Carlton" hotel for pets. They spoil him sooo much, and he loves it. We love knowing that he's so well cared for and pampered while he's there. After that, we headed to the hotel where we are now since Derrick will be staying here while I'm at the hospital.
Right now I feel so relaxed and at peace. I know that tomorrow is the beginning of my new journey and I have full embraced that. I pray that God will continue to bless me and be with me throughout this process. I pray that all will go well and I will join the rest of my OH family who has traveled down this path on the Losers Bench! God Bless you all!
Almost There
Aug 21, 2007
Yesterday I had my pre-op appointment with
I didn't really have any questions, since I've read the book "Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies" and that pretty much covered everything, in addition to all of the information available on this website. Derrick was mostly concerned about the potential risk of leaks and bleeding after surgery and having to go back to the OR. Fortunately, Dr. Mo has never had a patient returned to the OR for bleeding so that was very comforting. I'm so excited!! I can't believe how quickly the time went by. I'm nervous about this bowl prep that I'll be doing on Saturday since I've heard from everyone how nasty it is. I'm definitely NOT looking forward to it. I did get a really great tip from one of the post-ops at last night's support group meeting. She said that she mixed it with the Ocean Spray white cranberry and peach juice which helped it to go down easier. She did say that it tasted a bit salty, but it wasn't as bad as drinking the phosphate by itself. Either way, I'm in for a long day especially if aunt flow isn't gone by then! I can't imagine having to deal with both at the same time so I'm praying that the Lord will work it out as he always does! I guess that's all for now...I'll be sure to update before the big day!
Pre-op Testing
Aug 15, 2007
Yay!! My testing is all done! I completed all of my pre-op testing on Monday after having my Upper GI. Got the results back and they definitely confirmed what I already knew.. I have a really bad case of acid reflux disease! I kinda figured I did when I would get heartburn from drinking plain water sometimes! That's how bad my heartburn is. I just got use to taking rolaids and TUMS over the years that it was like taking another one of my medications. Rolaids and TUMS were like my American Express Card - never leave home without it! Because my esophagus is SO enflamed the Dr. told me to start taking Prilosec immediately until the day of my surgery. He said this would hopefully reduce some of the inflammation and make
My final pre-op appointment is on Monday 8/20 with
Well Monday came and after having my upper GI and I checked my messages to be sure that I didn’t miss the call from Lincare. No messages. I checked our home voicemail and still no message. After I got to my parents house, I called them AGAIN and spoke with the same lady who I had been dealing with from the beginning. Told her that Martin (the processor/trainer) still did NOT call me and it was IMPERATIVE that I speak with him immediately. She placed me on hold and told me that she called him but he didn’t answer the phone. She told me that she would page him and call me back as soon as she spoke with him. That was at 12:23pm. 3:30pm came and I still hadn’t heard back from anybody at Lincare. By this time I was so livid. I called them back and spoke with the same woman I spoke with earlier. She told me that Martin still hadn’t called her back and she would try to call him again while I was on the phone. I was on hold for about 10 minutes then she finally came back to the phone and told me that he would be calling me directly from his cell phone. Martin FINALLY called me and I asked him if he had any idea when I would be receiving my CPAP. He told me that the office didn’t have my paperwork and that they would need to receive my RX from my doctor first. This only made me even more livid but I managed to keep my cool. I explained to him that I had been going through this with Valerie since 07/27/07 and that I personally drove to the sleep center one hour and twenty minutes away, watched them fax ALL of my paperwork and my RX directly to Valerie and she was on the phone with me and confirmed that she received everything. I also told him that I knew Valerie placed all of my paperwork in his chair on that same day, Wednesday August 8th with a note asking him to call me ASAP to discuss how long it would take to process my paperwork and that I needed to have the machine by Monday August 13th or else my surgery could be canceled. After I told him all of this he apologized and told me he would process my paperwork when he got back to the office and would call me on Tuesday or Wednesday. I told him that was absolutely NOT acceptable especially since I have been dealing with the same issue since Friday July 27th and that I would need to speak with the regional director of Lincare to alert them of all the issues that I have experienced. After that, he sated that he would go back to the office and get my paperwork once he was finished with the last patient, and that he would be willing to bring the CPAP machine to me later in the evening around 7pm. I told him that would be very much appreciated, however if I didn’t hear back from him, I would be speaking with his director. He assured me that that wouldn’t be necessary. Well sure enough he called me back at 7pm to tell me that he was leaving the office and on his way to my house with my CPAP machine. When he got to my house, I was so relieved that this whole ordeal was finally over. It was two full weeks of me going through hoops for something that should’ve only taken a maximum of three days according to United HealthCare. So.. I’ve been using my CPAP machine for two nights now and I’m still trying to get used to it.. I’ve been putting it on for one hour before bedtime hoping that I’ll be more comfortable but that hasn’t happened yet. I’m still gonna try no matter what because I know how important it is especially being 12 days away from my surgery so I’ll do whatever it takes not to jeopardize it!
The other tests were all done on Friday 08/10 and were pretty easy...all except for the ABG. Good LORD.. that needle H U R T! And it was HUGE. I am not a big fan of needles so when she took the cap off and saw my face she said, "Yes.. it's gonna hurt. and NO there's no other way to get the results of the oxygen in your blood" LOL she knew exactly what I was about to ask her! Then she said.. "just think about how skinny you'll be after you have your surgery but I still need you let me put this needle in your wrist first." lol.. she was funny so that did help me to relax a bit. Afterwards.. my wrist was still hurting.... A LOT and it was hurting until Sunday too. Despite the pain, it was well worth the future results that I know this surgery will bring.
My 1:1 went well too. We went over all of my vitamins and talked about the habits that I thought would be difficult to maintain after surgery ..like eating 3 meals a day. Since I've already adapted to all of the changes like the 30/30 rule, eating slowly, and drinking at least 64oz. of water everyday..it shouldn't be too difficult afterwards.
I can't believe that my surgery is only 12 days away! Here I was in December seriously thinking that 2007 would be MY year to put me and my health first. I'm truly blessed that the Lord has provided a means and a way for me to have this surgery, and has blessed with the most supportive and encouraging people I could ever ask for. I give him all the honor, praise and glory for all that he has done and continues to do in my life.
This process has been pretty smooth except for all the hassles I had with Lincare and trying to get my CPAP. My sleep Dr. faxed them my RX, 2 copies of my sleep study and my demographics on 07/27/07. Since then, I have been calling Lincare everyday and they claimed that they "never got my paperwork". Everytime I called my Dr.'s office and asked them to re-fax the information, Lincare kept saying that they didn't receive anything. Finally after calling them the last time, and they still saying that they didn't have it, I was so frustrated I drove back to the sleep center on 08/08 which is 1hr. & 20 minutes from my house, watched them fax it to the person I was working with at Lincare to be sure that they had received it. I was on the phone with her when she finally said that she received it. I asked her how long it would take to process because my surgery date was getting closer and I needed to use the machine at least two weeks prior to my surgery. She told me that she wasn't sure. I asked her if she could ask the person in charge of processing if my order could be processed quickly and if I could please have my CPAP machine by August 13th. She told me that the man who handled that was out of the office but that she would put my file on his chair with a note explaining my situation and that he would call me the following day with an answer. That was on Wednesday August 8th. Thursday came and no phone call….Friday came and no phone call... so I called them at 3pm on Friday, and asked to speak with the gentleman that was supposed to be calling me. Unfortunately, he wasn't available so I had to leave a message and explain my situation once again. I was assured by the office manager that he would be calling me back on Monday. I told her that it was urgent that I speak with him before Monday but if that was not possible, then he would need to call me on my cell phone since I would be at the hospital Monday morning for testing, then at my parents home. She told me that they had my cell phone number on file and he would definitely call me.
People Have A Way Of Surprising You
Jul 30, 2007
I finally decided to have this surgery in December of 2006. Since then, I've been trying to decide if/when/how I would tell my parents. Everyone that knows about it, says that I should definitely tell them just incase anything should happen. I still wasn't sure if I would tell them before or afterwards. It was just something that I wasn't sure I wanted to deal with yet.
So, I had my Psych consult on Friday July 13, 2007 and one of the questions that my psychologist asked was "Is your family supportive about your decision to have this surgery or are you having any challenges with them?” Well, my husband Derrick is TOTALLY supportive, and my friends, especially my bf Darby have all been great too." was my answer. "What about your parents, are they supportive as well?" ....If you could've seen the look on my face when he asked that question... LOL... "Ooh..I seem to have touched on a sore subject"? "Well, I haven't told my parents about it." .."Are you planning on doing that soon or what?" "Um.. I haven't decided if I'm going to tell them before or afterwards"... "What exactly are you afraid of?".. Whoa.. That’s a loaded question!... Being a psych major I knew why he was asking me these questions and why it was important to answer him as honestly as possible, and I did...."The truth is, I just don't want to hear what my mom is going to say.. I don't feel like I need the added stress or tension with everything else that I have going on in my life right now.".... "When is your surgery date again?" August 27th ..."How old are you again?" - 27, ..."And you're married right?" - Yes, ...."And, you and your husband have your own house, right?" - Yes, ...."And.. you two pay your own bills right?" - Yes! .. "Then why are you so concerned about what you parents have to say?" ...."Well, I just know my mom, and I know that it'll just turn into an "well.. if you wouldn't eat this or that then you wouldn't keep gaining weight or if you would just exercise more, you'd lose weight" conversation. "So, you haven't decided that you'll tell them at all ?" ....Well, I'm thinking about telling them afterwards, it'll be over with and there wouldn't be anything that they could say at that point."....." Well, I know it's your decision and I'm just the Dr. but I really do think that you should tell them before." ....."Besides, how do you think they would feel if you did tell them afterwards"? - "They would be SO pissed." That was the honest truth! I really didn't want that.... and that's part of the reason I think I was afraid to tell them. I thought this conversation was over and we were moving on to the next subject... Next think I know he was sitting at the edge of his seat and looking at me right in the eyes. "Honestly, you're an adult, and your parents need to realize that and respect the decisions that you make. It's not about what they think you should or shouldn't do. They need to realize that it's your life and you are the only person who can decide what is right for you. If they're supportive of you and your decision then GREAT, if not, then that's their issue. Either way, you need to do what is best for you. Ultimately the decision is yours and you're going to do whatever you want to do, but I really, really think that you should tell them before. That's all I have to say about it." Damn! I never expected him to be so blunt - especially on our first appointment. He was right. I didn't know what to say or how to respond. I just sat there and cried. Talking about my weight issues has always been a touchy subject between me and mom. Always.
After my appointment I had so many thoughts and emotions about what my Dr. said. That afternoon all I could do was cry. Derrick finally asked me why I was so worked up after my appointment. I told him what we talked about and the questions he asked me and my responses. He told me that whatever I decided he supported my decision, whether it was telling them before or afterwards. He urged me to tell them before because he thought that it would take a lot of the stress and pressure I was feeling off of me. "You know your parents love you and there's nothing that they wouldn't do for you, regardless of what they thought. They've always supported your decisions." *SIGH* I know he was right.. I still felt that I needed to pray about it and ask God to give me the right words to say to them. I thought about it and I finally decided that is past weekend was the weekend to do it. I called Mom and told her that I would come up (they live about 1hr. away from us) on Saturday for a visit. The whole way up there, I was sooo quiet. Derrick kept asking me what was wrong. I kept telling him nothing was wrong, I just had a lot of my mind. After all, we've known about my decision for seven months now, and we've had time to research it and have our questions answered. My parents were about to find out that I'm having WLS in four weeks. That's a lot to swallow.
When we got there, the house was too quiet.. this was just so weird.. there's always something going on whether it's my parents grilling, playing with the dogs outside, or my sisters and their friends hanging out at the house..especially since one of them is home from college. My dad was upstairs doing paperwork and my mom was asleep. Why is she sleeping?! It's 7:00PM! She had a headache earlier and thought that Derrick and I weren't coming up anymore so she rested for a bit. My dad woke her up and told her that we were there, she thought it was already Sunday morning. LOL That's some good sleeping! We all hung out for a while and were talking about our trips. We've all been traveling a lot lately so we haven't seen each other although we talk on the phone almost daily. "Did you already start Nutri system?" ...LOL here we go again.. I thought. "No, why?" "Because I'm thinking about doing it, and I know that you said you got all the information about it so I wanted to know if you think it was worth it?" ..."Ooh..no, I haven't ordered it, but I still think that it's a good deal.".. "Have you lost weight, you look like you have, you look good."... W T H ?! did I just hear her correctly? "Umm yea.. I've lost some weight.. we've been doing Atkins diet.. and we've both lost" "Well, whatever you're doing, keep doing it.. you look really good".... Whoa.. she said it TWICE. I know that I've lost exactly 35.2lbs. since she last saw me in May, but I really wasn't expecting her to tell me that. Don't get me wrong, my mom isn't mean or anything..it's just that whenever it comes to my weight we always end up arguing. I swore every time I saw her, she would say "You've gained weight since I last saw you" or "did you gain more weight again". I know I'm fat, but dag.. I just hated hearing her say it every time I saw her. I know she didn't mean it in a mean way.. it was just her way of saying she thought I needed to lose weight, and she was concerned for my health - which I already knew - I just didn't want to hear it the way she said it. After we sat around for a while and got caught up on everything, it got silent for a bit...Ok.. it's either now or never. I looked at Derrick and he winked at me.. LOL.. yep.. he's thinking what I'm thinking... So... you know how you always say that I snore loudly when I'm sleeping.. YES... damn.... ya'll didn't all have to say it so eagerly at the same time LOL... Well, I had a sleep study test done, and it confirmed what I already knew.. I have a severe case of sleep apena..Do you know what sleep apnea is.. "It means you need to lose weight cause you're too big" - That was my mom's response "Yes, it's a pretty dangerous condition right - was my dad's. Dag mom, we all know that I'm fat but could you please let me finish what I'm trying to say?! Geez.. "I'm sorry." (ok, first she said I looked good, then she apologized, whatever headache medicine she's on, she needs to keep taking it cause I'm loving these side effects..lol) Anyways, like Dad said sleep apnea is a serious medical condition and I'll have to wear a CPAP machine to help facilitate my breathing at night. But, the reason why I had the sleep study done is because it's a requirement for the surgery that I'm having. Huh?! I've decided to have WLS. I've already been approved by my insurance company, I've already met with my surgeon, and I've already started the testing that's required before the surgery. The reason that I'm on Atkins is because my surgeon required me to lose some weight before surgery. And you know how I've been really sick this year and having a lot of complications? Well, a lot of it is weight related and I really, really want to be healthy. "Okay, well, when did you decide that you wanted to do this..?" I've been thinking about it for a while now, and I know it's the right thing for me. I'm totally ready for all the changes that I'll have to experience but I know it's the best thing for me.
"Well, you know we're here for you, and we support you. I'm happy for you and you know that we'll be praying for you. God will work it out. He always does. When is your surgery date?" August 27th. "The day before my b'day." - "Yes."
" Okay, well, Dad and I will be there. And I'll take off a week or two from work and if you want, you and Derrick can come here after your released from the hospital and I can cook for you and take care of you both until your ready to go home - If that's okay with you. Don't worry about anything, you'll be okay. You know we love you right? And we'll do whatever you need us to do."
Wow. What was I supposed to say? I was at a lost for words! That's so NOT like me. I'm not one who has any problem expressing herself - ask anyone who knows me. All I could do was cry tears of joy. I really thought that I would've received some type of hesitation from either one of them, but nothing. They were both TOTALLY supportive. This is exactly what I prayed for. I've know my parents all my life and every time I think I have them totally figured out, they do something completely opposite of what I was expecting. They have totally lived up to the definition of 'unconditional love" Lord knows I tested them while I was growing up! It's just good to know that all the FEAR (False Evidence Appearing Real) that would've stopped me from telling them about my surgery before hand, would've made me miss out on all the support that they have to offer. People or in my case Parents really do have a way of surprising you!
