Scott B.

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Ok  Second post today but I just needed to put this out.  I'm seeing a lot of people posting that they aren't seeing the results they thought they should be seeing but it's only been 5-10 days since their surgery.  This surgery is a tool, not a magic pill.  You still have to diet, you still have to watch what you eat and make good choices in your food.  You still have to exercise.  This surgery will get your weight down to a point where these things are possible for you to do.  You have to want it.  I'm sorry if you thought that if you had the surgery that all you had to do is live life and everything would pop into place, it ain't going to happen.  I like this venue to vent.  Thanks.

OH boy did I sleep today and I felt good doing it.  I think I've only been awake for 7 hours total today.  I get to see my primary doctor tomorrow and hopefully I'm able to ditch some of these medications I've been on.   I think that I might be wanting things too fast, too soon after surgery but I just feel too good to be sick you know.  Ok, ok, one day at a time.  Anyway, I'm sleeping better and feeling better and I'm more comfortable since going into the hospital so I'm happy and have a sunny outlook on the future.  If any are reading these are still wondering if you should have the surgery or not, please don't let friends, relatives, or yourself stop you for fear or uncertainty.  This is a life change but a life change for the better. 

Well, I've been home from the hospital now for 6 days and I'm a bit blue.  I'm having some stabbing pains in my stomach but I don't think it's something to worry about.  I'm blue in that for the last six days I've done the same thing at the same time and I know that things will get better but as a human, I tend to look at the here-and-now.  And to top it all off, my body is retaining water like nobody's business.  My legs and hips are so full of water.  I go to the Dr. Thursday so maybe I can get some answers and help.

Well I set myself up for a fall this morning.  I had my first appointment with Dr. Korn post-op today and I was hoping for 3 out of 4 things to happen.  I wanted my staples out, the drain tube out, a major weight loss, and to be able to drive again.  So when I get there, I was weighted and I've only lost 10 pounds.  :(  What a let down.  When Dr Korn came in, he did remove the drain tube which is a big plus but only removed every third staple.  I know he knows more than I do but I'm bummed none the less.  I guess this just gives me more to fight for.  On a positive note, he says I'm looking good and healing nicely.  I have another appointment this Thursday to remove the last of the staples.  And again my poor wife is taking my mood and trying to stay out of the way.  I love her so much but I can be a real butt sometimes.  Maybe this evening will be better.

Good Sunday to you all!  It's been a good day today as pain isn't a factor, hunger isn't a factor, and I get to see the surgeon tomorrow and I hope to get four things.  I hope to get my 60 staples out, I hope to get the drain tube out, I hope he'll release me to drive, and I hope he puts me on stage 3 early.  Well, 3 out of 4 would be a great day.  I have really bad arthritis in my hips and knees although my knees have been good to me for a while.  While in the hospital, my hips became a source of pain greater than the surgery.  Morphine didn't even dull this pain and I screamed and yelled because I had to shift position often.  In ICU they put me on a liquid vicodin.  This helped but the damage was already done and I just had to shift a lot to take the pressure off them by rolling.  They still hurt but it's getting better every day.  Being permanently disabled has been a godsend in that I don't have to force my body to heal faster than it wants.  Thank you Lord for what you've done in my life.

Thank God my family and friends have spared me this question but I've seen it out in the forums so I thought I'd put a little more effort into it here.  I think the very first thing I would ask them is if they needed to sit down and rest, would they cut off one leg to do it?  OK  I know that there are those of you among us that are looking for the magic pill.  You have made the industry rich and found that they didn't work, so the next best thing is surgery, right?  Wrong!  If you were to hand me a wrench, would it make me a mechanic or hand me a scalpel, would it make me a surgeon -- hang on ---   Hey Honey, we're going to be rich!  OK, where were we, oh yeah, it ain't going to happen.  The surgery is just a tool to lose weight.  So why then do they call it the easy way out?  It's because they don't have any idea what it's like to be obese.  They look at your 100 - 300 pounds like they would their 10 - 30 pounds.  Just a little diet and exercise and we're all good to go.  I don't know about the rest of you out there, but just getting out of bed is like a 5 mile hike, let alone standing.  Anyway, as far as this is the easy way out, I'd think not.  Diet and exercise would be easier if it worked.

I was just reading others posts on the forums and was reminded of what obese people want vs. what others want.  It's absolute bliss to see into another's life so clearly to see their joy in the simple things because their joy is your desire also.  Let me see if I can help to clear this up.  I was just reading a WoW moment from the general forum and it was about a woman who was arriving at her surgeon's office for a visit.  She had talked with a nurse and then went to sit down.  She describes how before, in a small (normal) chair, she was only able to partially put her bottom onto the chair to sit.  Obese people know this well.  Anyway, she had lost a lot of weight and so she tried the regular chair.  She said it was tight but she managed to fit into it all the way to the back.  OK, now if a thin person read that, I'd believe their reaction would have been, "So?  What's the point?".  Now an obese person reads this and they KNOW what the woman was talking about.  No misunderstanding, no wondering, no guessing, no role playing, and no empathy.  They KNOW what she meant and how she feels. 

OK, so the point of this post is that we want things that thin people have and maybe don't appreciate.  We want the simple things in life.  Like walking to the mailbox without having to rest.  Like not dreading going to a movie and praying that we can find or fit into a seat.  Like going to a restaurant and not having to worry if they have tables or not.  Like sitting in a regular chair.  You go girl.

It's been a bittersweet day today.  I felt good and was able to do more for myself.  I cleaned my "area" and showered and did some laundry.  What I didn't know is that for every good thing I did I had to pay back in pain later.  Note to self:  Do less, start slower.  Anyway...  Still having trouble with what and how much to eat.  My poor wife is so worried about me.  She can't seem to understand that if I have one extra ounce of creamed soup that my pouch won't stretch out of shape and that the surgery will not be a waste.  I know she's only worried about me but she won't even listen to the nutritionist.  Is fighting normal at this stage and should I seek help now?  I see counseling in our future and I really didn't think it would come to that.

My wife and I had our first food fight and I've only been out of the hospital for 30 hours now.  We argued over what is considered food and what was considered liquid.  Dumb and stupid to yell at the one you love and who cooks for you.  We calmed down and talked and worked it out but we both agree that the bariatric diet stages need more refining or more how-to sites to show you what you need to do and eat. 

I'm  starting this blog on the second day home from the hospital where I had a RNY procedure done.  My pain level is quite lower than I expected it would have been with a open procedure.  My incision is over 18 inches long and reminds me of a giant zipper.  I'm still gather meds and trying to understand the stage 2 diet that I'll be on for the next two weeks.  I am happy to have this part of the process over and I'm looking forward to starting my new life.