After Surgery

Ok sorry for anyone that has gotten the updates from facebook, so here is a recap. Surgery went very well on Monday. I was supposed to be second in line for the schedule but the first person had some issues waiting for lab work so I got bumped to #1. which actually was great because it got me through the whole process a little sooner. Surgery was done by noon. Spend 2 hours in recovery then up to my room. I was walking the halls at 3pm. and walked again at 5, 7 and 11. Trying to sleep was not easy or comfortable. There was the compression stockings on my legs to prevent blood clots that kept inflating and deflating every few minutes, the drain tube with a collection bulb on my right side and an "On-Q" tube going into the middle of abdomen, the IV that was stuck in arm, which kept making noise every 15 seconds and also the oxygen plug in my nose or the O2 sensor on my finger, then there was the nursing staff- who don't get me wrong were great, friendly caring people- but they were in checking vitals, blood sugar, giving pain med and giving blood clot medicine all on different hourly schedules. To top it all off i don't normally sleep on my back which was the only position that I could really be in.

Tuesday-Day 2 was better. They checked me for leaks and cleared me for clear liquids by noon. What a big relief I could finally get a drink and soothe my dry throat. More walking. Got off the oxygen plug and sensor. I was able to turn to my left side slightly so I was able to get several hours sleep in a row. Dr. Billy came by at midnight and checked me out. He said everything went perfect during the operation and said I would be going home on Wed.

Wed- Being very anxious to go home i was up walking the halls at 8, hoping to find out when i could get out of there. Dr Binder and Dr Billy came by around 10 and checked me out and said they would be writing the go home orders and I would be released. So after some waiting and gentle nudging I was released at 1pm. Went home and was able to start was is called full liquids which includes cream soups, milk, juice, jello, broth- Basically anything you would be able to drink through a straw, although that does not mean throw a burger in a blender and there you go.

Thursday - Sat were all basically the same,drink water, have some soup, rest, walk a little and watch some TV. I did walk from my house to my brother's house and back about 2.5 miles i think. I would pay for this saturday night with abdominal muscle pain.

Sunday- spent resting my stomach from Saturday's walk

Now at this point I get 2 questions : 1. How am I doing and 2. Are you hungry.

1. I am doing great- I will be back at work on Monday just one week after the surgery. I will have to take it easy- no lifting more than 30 pounds and I won't be running around .
2. This is a yes and no question. No i am not bodily hungry at all, I am however mind hungry. What I mean by that is I saw a commercial for burger king and thought "Man a burger would be great." Now don't forget I am not hungry at all, but all those bad eating habits combined with eating as I pleased before has got me into this to begin with. This will be the biggest area of challenge and change in the next few weeks

Enough for now, more tomorrow.

Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes.

Surgery Eve

So I started liquids only on Saturday. Day 1 was no real problem. Day 2 was not bad either until Chalena made pancakes and bacon for everyone else for dinner. Now don't get me wrong I could go the rest of my life without pancakes and I don't think I would miss it, but BACON oh no. I believe bacon should be it's own food group.When Adam and Eve left the Garden they only took one thing- Bacon! I thought I could just add the bacon fat to my soup- but i didn't. No one said this was going to be easy but hey it's bacon.

Anyway so it really has been that bad. I started get a little nervous about the surgery this weekend. You know like what if I die on the operating table kind of thing. I then remembered that God has guided me to this point for a reason. I think of Jeremiah 29:11 -"For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

The surgery is scheduled for 10am. I have to be at the hospital at 8am. Surgery is supposed to be between 2-3 hours, then 2 hours in recovery before getting put in a room. Within 2 hours after getting to my room I am supposed to get up and start walking the halls to help work out the air they use to inflate my belly, also to help prevent blood clots. They will also put compression stockings on my legs that will inflate and deflate every 15 minutes. I will also have to use a breathing machine (incentive spirometer) to help exercise my lungs. Then between the IV and the hospital bed (which is not a sleep number bed-yes I am picky) I won't be getting any sleep- that's for sure. Chalena will be bringing my laptop to the room so I can watch some DVD's- I am sure there won't be any internet access- that by the way stinks! I wish I knew someone with a USB wireless card I could borrow for 2 days. At least I will have my iphone. If only teathering was available.

Well I will update my facebook to let every one know how it goes and will post something here when I can.

Bye bye

New Years Eve

Tonight will be my last New Years Eve as a fat guy! That may sound harsh to some but I am very excited to be able to say it. When you have struggled for so long it feels great to know that very soon the outcome will be totally different. No it will not be easy, anyone who thinks the surgery is a magic fix has not been through it or has not investigated it. I look forward to this next year to some what may be strange things to some but here is a list of what I hope/plan to do in 2010. In no particular order and some are just milestones along the way.

To be under 300 pounds
Then be under 250 and then ...
To buy & be able to wear a size 38 pants ( I really hoping 36)
To start running for exercise again & take Eddie
To start biking again & go with my kids
To fit in a booth in a resturant comfortably
I can't wait to go sailing- thanks To Chalena & Dad
I want to go sky diving
To stand next to my brother and hold up a pair of my old pants and see how we both fit in them.
Above all else not to feel embrassed about how I look.

Happy New Year!

Countdown - 1 Week To Go.

Ok, so I made it through Christmas. Did ok- not as good as I should have done. I made sure to eat breakfast everyday but 1. That one was unavoidable. I actually had breakfast all made and was just sitting down to eat it when I got a call from work and the guy who was opening forgot his keys, so I had to run out the door immediately. Christmas was good. I had my last red meat- Tri tip from wood Ranch on Christmas eve to celebrate and Turkey on Christmas. I should do ok this week. I am planning on going out for New Years Eve however- the really last hurray. I start liquids only on Saturday the 2nd. I have not heard from the hospital yet for the pre-patient registration. I will call them on Tuesday if I don't hear from them on Monday. I am a little concerned because my approval says I am only approved for 1 day in the hospital, yet my dr. says I'll be in for two. Another call I have to make this week to get it straight. I also have to make sure i am covered at work for the week I am gone. Hopefully it won't be more than that. well i give you some more updates this week.

2 Weeks

With only 2 weeks before my surgery I am struggling between being good in what I eat and wanting to have the foods I will not have again in a very long time after the surgery or some ever. Obviously there are many things I will be able to have in small amounts later, but things like red meat I can't have for 1 year after surgery, ice cream- i don't think ever, an onion bagel, a soda or a beer. There is nothing i can't do without mind you, but the thought just makes me think. I have chosen to do this surgery for many reasons as I have explained but when I think about would i choose an in and out hamburger or seeing my kids graduate from college or get married or the birth of my grandchildren. The choice is obvious. We start Christmas Camp this week, this will be a test of my ability to stick to the new life style. So much running around, I need to make sure I actually take time to eat and not go all day without eating. That is part of the bad habits that got me where I am. I will let you know how I do. If anyone has any questions about the surgery, my decision or anything related to this topic let me know and I will do Q & A post. Merry Christmas.

I Got A Date!!!

Ok Hayden this ones for you, thanks for the encouragement. January 4th I will be having my surgery!! I am so excited and also nervous. So much to do before hand. I have lost 35 pounds so far, that is before Thanksgiving and the last week. Stress at work, holiday treats and lack of discipline have not been a good combination. I am determined to continue to lose weight before my surgery. There is so much I have to do in preparation. Get vitamins, protein drinks, food journal and other stuff. I am thinking of also going and getting a pair of pants and a shirt in a size I haven't seen in years to keep in my closet as a goal. I think the thing that worries me the most is that they go in and find something wrong and won't be able to do the surgery. A friend of mine asked me since i had lost some weight already had I thought about not having the surgery and just keep trying on my own. I told him if this had been the first time I had been able to lose some weight I might but this isn't the first time I have lost 35 pounds in the short term. Heck I have even lost over 70 pounds one time. It's the long term thats always been an issue. I know i need something that will help me in process. The surgery will be that tool that I need to change my life forever. I am so looking forward to the new year and the continuation of this Adventure To Normal.

Whirlwind

Ok so here we go. So I had the consult. It went really well. I met with Dr. Billy's nurse. we started off by getting my weight. I am proud to say I had lost 17 pounds in the previous 6 weeks. We talked about me and my history, answered a lot of questions and then she set me up with everything i needed to get started on the process. She gave me some breath test that found that i have a certain bacteria that causes ulcers- and gave me a prescription for a antibiotics for it. She told me to get some blood tests, an upper GI swallow test & a letter of clearance from my primary. She set me up with a meeting with the nutritionist, psychologist, EKG test & medical clearance exam all on Nov 10th. She also got me a consent review class(Nov 11), a pre-op instruction class(Nov 18), and the final visit with Dr. Billy(Nov 19). She told me that once I did my test and did the appointments on the 11th that they could then put the request in to Health Net to get the by pass done. So it appears I could have this done by the end of the year. I set up a blood test for the following Saturday and the upper GI test done for the next Tuesday. Both went fine. Although the stuff I had to drink for the GI test was like drinking liquid chalk with a little flavoring throw in.

The office called me back after they got the results from the GI and said I had a bad case of reflux and wanted me to get an endoscopy done. I informed them I had one in April and they asked me what the results were. I told them that everything was fine except that they found I had H-pylori bacteria and they put me on antibiotics for it. They said great they could just get the results from the dr.

I am getting both excited and nervous about the process that is occurring. Excited that I could be losing serious amounts of weight by New Years and nervous about the lifestyle change that will be coming -even more than I have already instituted. I can't wait to have to buy new clothes. I am trying to lose more weight by the Nov 10th to help show that I am serious about the changes and hopefully not have any problems getting the insurance to approve.