Amy W.
I have been overweight since my teen years. I'm rather tall (5'9)so what the scale said didn't really bother me because I could carry it well ( I thought ). Slowly but surely I was gaining more and more weight. Sometimes I could maintain a certain weight but never loose any real weight. I met my husband in september 2001 and we were engaged soon and married in September 2002. At this point the way I looked was starting to bother me. Before I had a few moments of "Gosh I wish I was thin enough to wear that!" but never really dwelled on my weight much and how it might affect me. I'd always had friends , had a great boyfriend and a job I loved. When we went to go look at wedding dresses I brought pictures of what I liked but found that they didn't make dresses like that in my size. I did manage to find a wonderful dress, but it wasn't what I always imagined I would wear on My Big Day. Instead of feeling like a princess I felt fat and ugly and wanted to hide. Its hard to admit but I felt that I was embarressing my new husband. I can hardly look at our wedding pictures and none of them are hanging in our home. I weighed about 240 at the time.
In March of 2005 I was diagnosed as a Diabetic. I was just stunned. I knew it was a possiblity but it still just didn't seem real. I was so numb as I sat with the nurse and she explained to me how to work the monitor and test my blood sugar. I had to dig my nails into my hands to try not to cry. I could see my life stretching out into a series of medical issues and I felt so hopeless and really alone. I was 24 and it was like I was doomed. I knew of several people who had had WLS but they were all older so i thought maybe it wasn't done for someone my age who wasn't severely overweight. I had gained a lot of weight while we were at our first base in Georgia. I went as high as 270 but my the time of my Diabetes diagnosis I had managed to get back down to around 245-250.
WLS had always been in the back of my mind for several years. I had family members who had it with great success. About a year ago I met several people who were around my age who had the procedure and it totally opened my eyes. I was 24, a diabetic, had high blood pressure, gout and hypothyroidism. I was taking 7 medications a day. My husband would make excuses for me as to why we couldn't do things together and it would kill me to hear him say them because I knew the real reasons were that I was too tired to do things because I was fat, not because I was overworked.
In October of 2005 I finally asked my Dr about getting a refferal for a gastric bypass. I had a referral in less than a week. Before I could go to the appointment we found out my husband was going to be deployed. My husband wanted to be there every step of the way for me so we made the choice to postopne everything in the process until he returned. After he came back in May of 2006 I suprised him with a trip to vegas, the honeymoon we never had. We had a great time but it was overshadowed by the fact that my knees and feet constantly hurt. We had to stop a lot because I would be out of breath and exhausted. That trip made me realize even more that I was heading in the right direction toward WLS and a new life. In June 2006 I was given a new refferal to a new Dr and had an appointment 4 days later for a consult. I had to wait a few weeks until 02 Aug 06 to do my psych eval and nutrition course. They sent all my info to Tricare on 04 aug 06 and called me at 1230 07 Aug 06 to tell me I was approved and to pick out my surgery date! I could not believe it went that fast, I was expecting to have to wait at least a week or more.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
23 Aug 06
Today was all my preop testing for my surgery. I am having RNY with Dr Nye on 05 Sep 06 at West Florida Hospital on Pensacola, Fl. I am getting so excited. The only thing I am dreading is anesthesia but I've never met anyone who really enjoyed it. Secretly I'm really stoked about staying overnight in the hospital. I've never gotten to before. I can finally cross it off my things to do in life list. Only 11 more days!!! I've been going out to a lot of my favorite places to eat. Not gorging, just saying goodbye. I want to make total changes when I'm allowed to have real food again. Some things I will be able to have like the awesome seafood at Old Bay Steamer just not the basket of cheddar bay bisquits at Red Lobster. Everyone in my circle has been so great and supportive, I can't call a relative without them telling me what great book or article they just read on WLS or asking questions about what will happen. I hope having such positive encouragement will help with time right after the surgery.
26 Aug 06
I'm watching the weather channel and getting nervous. It'll be a few more days before we know what Ernesto is going to do but we live right in the path that they are projecting. If i have to evacuate and redo everything I'm gonna be pretty ticked. Thanks god I have a great Dr with a super team who I know would get me in as quick as possible if that has to happen but I'd like to stay on schedule and hurricane free!
29 Aug 06
Dodged the hurricane bullet! Ernesto is not coming our way it seems so it looks like in 1 week I'll be having my surgery. I went to my last appointment and preop education classes yesterday. It was pretty boring, but then again I've done a ton of reading and fact finding but it seems like some others in the class were totally unprepared. I had a small bout of OMG WTF am I DOING?!?! Last night but I worked through it, hugged it out and packed some of my bag I needed to take and did about 6 loads of laundry. I also made up a ton of jello and measured it all out into 2 oz portions. I'll do the same with some juice and broth later in the week, do a little each day so that Stephen and I won't have to do it at all those first few days. I'm really trying to get the house super clean so that its just one more thing I won't have to do for a while after coming home. I'm getting a bit more nervous than I have been in the past few weeks but its more over the surgery, not so much what comes after. This weekend I'm just going to work relax, have some seafood on Saturday and then start my liquid diet on Sunday even though they said I only had to do it on Monday. Then Monday I'm gonna watch the Dane Cook special on HBO, sleep, get up drive to Pensacola, have a gastric bypass and start a whole new life. You know, just the usual.
30 Aug 06
I have the cutest seven day pill dispenser. It is a little white shell shaped thing with a pink top with a little tribal sun inlay and the inside is hot pink dividers. I really like this thing. Its portable, I just fill it up once a week and it really helps me remember to take my meds because its just a one stop shop and I am, above all things, lazy. I've had it for almost 2 years. In that time each day has held one or two pills on up to sever pills in each day. Some were taken just once and some were taken twice a day. My pill pack defines me because it defines my medical history. Its an external symbol of how crappy my health is and how it affects my life. At times I've even carried the pill pack with me in case something happend and my medic alert bracelet wasn't enough ( ok not that i really wore the bracelet. it on my key chain)
When i saw my doctor on monday we were reviewing how things would go next week and I asked about what pills I should take the day of surgery. He said none, if i needed anything like blood pressure or blood sugar wise they would take care of it there. Then he looked at me and said you know you won't go home on any of these pills right? It was something I knew ahead of time but even then it didn't click. This morning I was putting my pills in my sweet little pill pack and I didn't fill up Tuesdays slot. There are no pills to be had after Monday's dose. Yes there will vitamins and supplements but no medications. That period of my life will be over on Tuesday.
01 Sep 06
Today we went and dropped a ton of money at walmart, which in and of itself is not unusual. I got most everything I"ll need for the immediate time after I come home. I found these great baby food storage conatiners at the dollar tree, they are 2 oz and I can fill them up and it looks like I'm getting a lot of food but its really not. And I know for me somtimes if I can eat all of something or it seemed like I had a lot I was happy. So I think thses little cups will be a great tool. 4 more days!
08 Sep 06
Today is my birthday, I'm 26! I'm not in much pain but I do feel like I was taken out and beaten then thrown off a cliff after drinking a gallon of rum. The hospital and nursing staff were great! I was pretty out of it most of the time from the drugs so there really isn't much to tell. I tried to walk 3 times a day basically evertime I got up to pee I walked. The worst part of it all has been the JP drain. Its just freakin gross and it makes me feel nasty. Its coming out monday though, hooray!!
25 Sep 06
My husband left today for a deployment. We only had about 4 days notice, this will be the 3rd christmas in a row he's been in the desert. The last few weeks have been hard. I have gout and before surgery my team of doctors had taken me off all meds. Well since the 10th I've been pretty much bedbound. I can't walk I'm in constant pain and now my husband is leaving. I can't even get to the bathroom on my own, I have to use the computer chair. This is the worst attack I have ever had I'm in such horrible pain. AND I can't have indocin since it could tear up my new tummy. Surgery wise though things are great! I can tell everyday that I'm loosing more and more. Theres been no dumping, vomiting or nausea. So far I've had no doubts in my mind that I've done the right thing.
13 Dec 06
A lot has happend in the last few months. I'm 3 1/2 months out and I've lost 60 pounds!!! I have never been happier or felt so good about myself. My husband is still gone and I haven't sent him any pictures so he has no clue what I look like. I'm at 180 something ( I don't weigh myself at home, only at appointments becuase I refuse to get caught up in a numbers game. I go by my clothes fit.) If I never lost another pound I'd be happy with where I am. ( it doens't hurt that I'm 5'10 and built like a guy. 180 looks darn hot on me.)
08 Mar 07
My 6 month marker was earlier this week and I couldn't feel any better! I'm down to 163 and wearing a size 10. I finally got to have steak and it was the most awesome thing ever, I wanted to take it out to the movies and have a long walk on the beach with it, it was so good. And it was good to my tummy which counts more than anything. In the 6 months that have passed since surgery I have never thrown up, dumped or felt the slightest bit out of sorts. I think a lot of it is due to the awesomeness of my surgeon and his incredible talent. I would reccommend him in a heatbeat to anyone. His office is skilled in handling Tricare patients and his staff is so upbeat and great. They returned all my calls promptly and were great about calling in refills of pain meds when I had my gout attacks. I really cannot say enough about how great Dr Nye and his staff are, I'm totally in thier debt.
21 Jun 07
I'm totally not doing well with the timely posting. I'm a couple days shy of being 10 months out. I'm down to 156 and seem to be holding steady there. I'm not sure if I'm done or if its just a really long plateau. However oddly enough, I have dropped a whole pants size while not loosing much on the scale. I know right after surgery I experienced this but didn't think it would happen this far out. But in truth it could aslo just be that I am done loosing weight. I have lost 85 of the 100 excess pounds I had. Its not that I think the surgery has stopped working and that its over for me I just think my body is where its supposed to be. I think I look damn fine and i think its just a matter of eating well, staying on track and keeping well. I do think I'll loose the 15 pounds by september but I don't think it'll be at the rate I had experienced in the first early months.
I still have had no dumping, vomiting or nausea. I can eat pretty much anything, this is obviously good and bad. I haven't had a problem with milk for which I'm very thankful. I still wait 1 hour after eating to have liquids, I am very militant about that. I have not had a soda or carbonated beverage since August 2006 and I intend to keep it that way. I do go to Starbucks way too much. Sure I get 8 grams of protein for only 140 calories but I should cut back. I'm trying to go only once a week, its more a money issue than a diet thing. Overall things have been great! I almost feel a bit guilty over how well things have gone for me. But I think its about time some cosmic force cut me some slack too. With the exception of my gout attack I had ( which I don't actually consider a part of the surgery since it was caused by not not taking my meds for the surgery.) I have had no other problems with the surgery and its side effects. I had totally set myself up for all the horrors you hear about and the boring truth is none of them happened to me. For once I'm relaxed and focused and my world doesn't revolve around food. I know I'm a rarity with having a totally trouble free post op experience and I can't even describe how grateful I am for that, I do not take it for granted in the least.
26 Oct 10
So its been a while, huh?
Things had been going great! I seemed to top out and stay at 160. I maintained at that weight until Jan 09. I went for my yearly checkup with my kidney dr and it seemed my numbers were a wee bit high. So the decision was made I would go on high doses of prednisone for about 8 months to see if that would help my creatine levels. Well it didn't work but I did gain 80 pounds in 7 months. I was put on another medicine, cyclosporine, and it also made me gain a bit of weight maybe 10 pounds. So I pretty much gained back everything I had lost. I had never felt worse about myself. everything I had worked so hard for was just gone. None of my clothes fit, I just felt like a huge fat failure. Coming off the meds I did loose about 40 pounds but that still left me so far away from my goal it all just seemed so unreal. In all this I began having terrible chest/upper stomach pain. My kidney guy gave me nexium and my pcm told me to basically stop being a whiner and take some rolaids because this was all just really bad reflux. Finally about 3 weeks I went to my pcm and found I had a new one. he listened to everything and ordered a barium swallow. He also gave me a referral to see me surgeon for a possible tummy tuck. Thankfully I got an appointment for the next week. During the barium swallow the dr said he didn't see reflux but that things did look odd and he would really like my surgeon to see the disk of the test. So I take it in the next week at my appt and hey! it turns out its not reflux at all! All the steriods had ruined my stomach. I had several ulcers around the opening from my stomach to intestines that had healed and reformed leaving scar tissue that waas making food hard to pass through and basically back up in my stomach. When this would happen it stretched my pouch and caused tears leading me to develope a gastrogastric fistula, which needs surgical correction. I hate having to have surgery again but I'm excited about possibly losing the rest of the weight gained from the steroids and I feel vindicated that there really was something wrong, I knew it wasn't reflux. I go see the surgeon next week, I got my clearance from the kidney dr to have surgery (damn right he approved this was pretty much his fault) so now it pretty much up to the surgeon as to when he can fit me in! Updates to follow!
25 Nov 10
Surgery is a go! I'm scheduled for 01 Dec 10! I'm excited and dreading it at the same time. I've taken 30 days off work and done as much prepping as I can, making sure laundry and house cleaning is done and appropriate foods and drinks on hand. The only super huge downside is my husband is definately deploying before I go in. My parents and his are local but its still hard for him not to be here. I'm ready, the waiting is hard. I just want to get in and get the hard parts over!
30 Jul 11
Sooo.. I had my revision 30 Nov 10. My husband left the day before so yay, I got to do it all by myself! The hospital stay was longer and I had the NG tube in for 3 days almost, that was the worst part. Otherwise it was pretty much exactly like it was the first time around- minus a horrible gout attack. The day of surgery I was 220 and yesterday I was 176. Its been slow going but this time around the surgery wasn't so much about weight loss as repairing the hole in my stomach. I'd like to get down to 165 again but its all up to me- he did make my pouch a bit smaller but not like it was the first time around. I'm incredibly grateful for the reboot and for Dr Nye! I feel better than I have in a really long time (not looking to shabby either!).
