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Surgery 4/12/07

I felt a bit nervous having the surgery.. I mean, I was scared and worried because I had never had surgery before in my life.   I had to see the anaesthesiologitst ? And go over some things and get my last minute details. That went well and didn't take long. Thank goodness! Before I actually went in.. I had to fill out a form and specify if I want a private room and would have to pay extra money. Uhm.. NO! I forgot to mention in the previous post that I had to put down a processing fee of $500 and a $100 fee for the psych nurse. That is ALL I paid. I went out to buy all the products I would need for the liquid stage.. It was hard, but I got it done. Feb 12th..Day of my surgery - - -Of course aunt flo arrives JUST IN TIME for my surgery. I was embarassed because ewww.. Who wants to deal with that mess and have surgery! But they said it was okay. Shewww..Thank goodness I didn't have to reschedule. My surgery time was for 1:45pm in the afternoon.. I wanted sooner but it was booked! Around 7am someone called my house from the hospital to say that there was an emergency and the OR was take and we'd all be pushed back .. .So to wait at home and they'll call me when it's time. I was annoyed slightly because I had been waiting and waiting and now this? Plus I could not drink, not even a sip or eat anything and I'd have to wait all day since the night before?? blah. Finally, I ended up calling around 1pm or so? And they told me to come down and I got there .. Ended up waiting a bit in the waiting room and finally got into the prep area. The people were sooo nice. I had a warm blanket and changed.. I waited a long time with my mom and I noticed someone scheduled before me hadn't even gone in yet. Hours .. and i mean HOURS later. I was so dry mouth and impatient.. I was NOT scared, NOT nervous .. nothing! My mom kept saying she was so proud that I was so relaxed. The surgeron came out to check on me.. Asked a few questions most importantly "Did you gain any weight"? And I said NO. And he said Good, Cause I'd cancel the surgery right now".. Whoa!! He apologized for the hold up and said it wouldn't be too much longer. An hour later .. maybe? I think it was like alittle past 6:30pm.. The anaesthesiologist came out and did the vitals, etc.. And gave me the anti-anxiety meds. My doctor was so ready he was like getting mad at the dude ! Cause he was taking him time and my surgeron just wanted to go. I remember kissing my mom before I went in and being rolled down the hall. I slid onto the OR table and layed back.. I was watching them prep everything and next thing i knew.. I was passed out. I didn't even get to count back or anything ! I woke up in recovery feeling very sick.. I felt like I had to throw up and I knew it was just the side effects from anaesthesia.. And I get bad motion sickness. Plus I had a terrible pain in my chest so they ended up doing an EKG to make sure I was okay. And I was... I vaguely remember one of the doctors pushing on my damn chest before I passed out. Anyhow, I was wheeled into my room ..And was so HAPPY that it was a private room! I didn't request one. I just lucked out.. They put the TV on for me and I remember seeing CSI Miami on tv. So I knew it was after 10pm. I rang the nurse bell and requested my mom. They said they tried calling her cell phone and got no answer. So I grabbed my phone, tried calling her and I didn't get an answer either. I kept saying "She is looking for me, find her" .. And I said this because she had told me she would wait until she saw me AFTER surgery and then leave. I ended up calling my house phone and my mom answered! I started crying saying "WHY DID YOU LEAVE"? And of course she felt bad and wanted to come right back down. She explained that the Surgeron had came out when i was done, Said everything went perfect and I wouldn't remember any of this and she can't go into the recovery and would wait hours for what? Cause I wouldn't know if she was there or not. He suggested it'd be best to go home. But left the decision up to her naturally. After talking to my mom.. I was okay..Hung up and passed out. I remember feeling a lot of pain and being woken up even few hours.. UGH what a pain in the ass! I thought I could just sleep and relax. Uhm, NO! The next day, I had trouble just lifting myself out of the bed.. That sucked. They had said after doing the swallow test, I could go home as long as I could hold the liquids down. I did the swallow study and it was fine. Man, My mouth was SOOOOOOO dry - I felt sick. Finally I could drink water! I used that spongey thing to keep wetting my tongue and was sucking on it, lol. The nurse who came on duty was a nurse I worked with at my job! She had left and I didn't know she was now at this hospital. She was so nice ! And I tried to take tylenol and threw up.. : ( It was really late too.. After 5pm so they suggest since my surgery was pushed back and everything was done so late, that I stay and extra night.. I called my parents and told them. The next day, things were slightly better.. The anaesthesia had a BIG effect on me. I hated feeling dizzy, nauseous.. etc. I tried to swallow again and it actually worked ! It stayed down. It was finally time for me to go home. I called my dad to pick me up and what do you know.. It was a blizzard or something going on outside. He came and picked me up.. And I finally got home. My parents had brought me balloons, a teddy bear, slipper socks, a fleece blanket, card and a few other things. I was so happy : ) I spent the next few days relaxing and resting most important. I remember struggling with the fact that I could not sleep on my stomach and it sucked because i HAVE to sleep on my stomach. While sleeping. I was trying to turn over and lay on my stomach ..and I'd remember waking up in pain. It was tough.. I was just concentrating on getting my protein in each day.. I didn't feel like eating, I wasn't hungery so even the liquids.. I was like No.. But I did it ! I knew i HAD to. I was out of work for an entire month and I have a desk job. A long time, huh? Oh well.. ! I enjoyed the time off, lol. I ended up exercising at the very end. I tried in the beginning but couldn't do it.. Anyhow, That was my surgery odeal !  
Kelsy

Kelsy

1
 

May

Well, It's almost june and how am I doing since having had surgery alittle over 3 months ago? I think i'm doing pretty damn good. I was a size 24 pants and am down to an 18/20. .. And I was in a 30/32 shirt and am down to a 22/24. Woohoo! I have a lot of energy.. And I exercise all the time. I am slowly getting to where I want to be. I know I have lost atleast 40lbs since my last visit on April 12th. I only weigh myself at my appointments which has helped me A LOT. Some of my clothes are way too big and it feels great. I did have my first fill on my last appoinment which did not last ! I am seriously hoping for a fill on my next appointment which is in the end of june. We'll see !  
Kelsy

Kelsy

1
 

The Process.

I finally decided to blog about the process / ordeal of my journey in weight loss. I've suffered with my weight since childhood. It's been up, it's been down.. You know, the usual. Finally after all the diets and trying to lose weight on my own with little to no success .. I found out about the Lap Band from a co-worker. She had just went in for surgery for the Lap Band and I had never even heard of it ! When she came back to work, she filled me in on all the details and gave me lots of information. I made an appointment around the end of September 07' with my PCP for my physical (I was long over due) and told her then that I was interested in getting the lap band. She agreeded and said it would be excellent for me. I asked her to please call in the referral and she said she would after my blood work came back, yadda yadda. I got home and went on the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's website and read about the surgery. I called and asked them to please mail out a processing application to me. I received the app in a couple of days, filled it all out and faxed it over via my job. I asked them to call to make sure they received the fax and they told me they did and I would get a phone call in the next couple of weeks (WHAT??) I didn't want to wait that long! Luckily my co-worker told me they just say that, but i'll be sooner and she was right. In the next couple of days, I believe.. I received a phone call to book an appointment. I was thrilled and ready. Before I went to my appointment. I had attended a seminar held by Dr. Schneider on Thursday @ The hospital. My mom accompanied me and we soaked up a lot of good info! The place was PACKED. There were people standing and sitting on the floor.. I was amazed at how many people were there for the surgery (both gastric bypass and lapband). On to my appointment... I had to fast before I went in and was to meet with the RN (who would do an EKG and go over my paperwork) And I was to meet with the Director MD of the program. A girl who was due for a fill arrived late and my appointment got shuffled around and I ended up meeting the RN and the Nutritionist (both whom were very nice!). Then I had another appointment a couple of week later with the Director / MD and the Psych Nurse. Both went well.. The Psych nurse was abit loopy ... She was friendly, but odd. I filled out a questionare and she completed it with me there and circled "NORMAL" ... wohoo! They weighed me on my first visit and i was like OH GOD.. I hated it. Then by the time of my next appointment.. Thanksgiving and Xmas had just rolled through so i knew the outcome would be bad. They weighed me and I had gained an additional 14lbs. : ( They were not happy, but stressed that I need to get back to the weight i had first came in with. And I met with the nutritionist a second time, I believe.. And She gave me some pointers which helped because I went back to my original weight! Between the times of my appoinments I had made it to a mandatory second seminar where the same things were said.. So we didnt' stay the entire time. And during my last appt. the psych nurse (last person i saw) asked If i wanted a specific surgeon and I asked for Dr. Schneider because he spoke at both seminars and he did my co-workers lapband and It just seemed fitting. After those were done, The entire group (nurse, director, psych nurse, nutritionist) get together to decide if i am good for the program and if so, they'd submit it to the insurance company and wait for approval. I waited and then received a phone call from BIDMC to set up my date with the SURGEON! YAY. That means I'm approved b/c the surgeon won't meet canidates unless they're approved, why waste his time, you know? I met him with a group at first.. And then we met one-on-one to ask any questions, etc. Finally.. I booked my date with the scheduler... And it was for Feb 12th 2007. I'll write about the surgery later on !    
Kelsy

Kelsy

1
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