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The Journey "really" Starts Tomorrow (Finally)

So, I've been thinking about WLS for about a year, working toward it, researching it, talking to Doctors, and friends, etc. Then I made the decision to have it done, got established with a doctor, went through all the testing, waiting for insurance approval, getting on the surgery schedule, getting RE-scheduled. But tomorrow, I REALLY start my new life. Tomorrow I start my liquid diet.   I have all those little worries running thru my mind. First, I'm a little worried about surgery. Not really the surgery itself, I'm a healthy woman and I'm not worried about complications. I feel very confident in doctor and his staff. I am nervous about the recovery. My real concern is I don't want to hurt, and I'm sure that I will hurt after I wake up. I consider myself pretty tough, but I don't enjoy being in pain. I also don't want to be a burden on my husband. He really works hard and I don't want him to have to worry about taking care of me.   Next I'm worried about being hungry. Not that I have ever really been hungry because I don't that very many people in the US can say they have ever TRUELY been hungry. I've missed a few meals, but I've not been hungry. I think I am more worried about losing my realtionship with food. I have gone on fasts before for 3 days for religious reasons, but I still missed my "friend" food. I have decided that I will be doing alot of praying and working to replace my desire for food with my desire for knowing Jesus. I know that I eat sometimes, just because I am lonely or just board. THose are the times I need to seek HIM to fill my void instead of food.   Besides my need to fill the void in my heart with food, I am a little worried about knowing what to eat and when to eat, I know I will learn by living through it. I know will learn what I can eat and what I can't eat as I go. I will stick with the diet I am given.   I am worried about my kids and what they are going to do during the week that I am gone. So many arrangements to make with them before I leave.   I am worried about my patients and their healthcare while I am gone as well.   That brings me to my next worry... I'm worried about having fatigue after the surgery. I do so much for so many people and I hope that I will have the endurance to keep up my schedule. I push so hard all the time. I have to be able to keep up the same pace!!   I am worried mostly about being a failure. I have done so many diets and failed. I have counted every calorie in and out for months and lost only a few pounds. I know that my thyroid issues contribute to the slow weight loss and I wonder how that will affect my weight loss with this. Will I still be successful? Will I fail at this after going thru all of this trouble? The doctors assure me that it will not be a problem, but I still worry!!   Despite all my worries, I am going forward. I have faith that God will see me through this journey. I have been praying so much about this surgery and there are a few scriptures that continue to come to my mind. The first is :   "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body," 1 Cor 6:19-20   I think of how I have not been honoring my body and taking care of the Holy Spirit's Temple. I pray I am going to have a new, remodled, healthy, beautiful temple to honor my Father in heaven.   The second scripture that has become so precious to me is :   Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalms 37:4   I have found that when I do delight in the Lord, my desires come into line with His desires. When my desires are in line with His desires, I find that my desires are granted. My desire at this time is to lose weight so that I can serve Him in a more energetic way. I pray that the surgery will help me to live a longer life so that I can grow old with my children, and my grandchildren and pass on HIs teachings to them and to raise them up in HIS way.   Tonight, I have ended a part of my life and tomorrow I begin a new. As for the little worries I will follow this advise:   "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Phillipians 4:6-7   SO, Heres to PEACE!!
Berlyann

Berlyann

0
 

Post Op Day 5

So now I'm 5 days post op. Yesterday started out great!! I was feeling pretty good, but then it kind of went down hill. I have a HUGE bruise right on the center of my abdomen from one of the instruments that they used during surgery. The bruised portion is about the size of a baseball, but I can feel a knot under the skin that is more like the size of a Softball or a little bigger. The bruised area is heavy feeling and it pulls on my back. It feels like I did when I was about 8 months pregnant. I am also having a bad case of very liquid diarrhea. The diarrhea is made worse because of the gas that I am getting rid of so it is like TURBO CHARGED DIARRHEA!! It is at times uncontrollable. Last night I was laying in bed with my cPap machine on, my leg compressors and suddenly... OOPSS I got to go NOW!! I was quiet a site trying to get unhooked from all my paraphernalia so I could make it to the potty on time... Unfortunately I didn't quiet make it . SO I had to clean up, change my gown and then I put a towel on the bed just in case. My other big issue is that everytime I take too big of a swallow of something or drink too fast, I get a pain in my stomach. I can feel a pain down my left side and feel the fluid or gas move down the left side of my gut. Sometimes it is very painful- a take your breath away kind of cramp, but it doesnt last long. I only took one dose of extra strength tylenol today and I felt fine all day. I did walk about 3//4 of a mile this morning, and it felt good except for the pulling. AND I was afraid I would have a diarrhea attack and not be able to make it back to the house.   Today is Monday and I called for a follow up tomorrow. The diarrhea has slowed down, but has not stopped. I am not taking anything for it and I am drinking plenty of fluids so I don't think I am dehydrated. I am having a big problem choking down my protein. I just cant stand the smell of the stuff. I have found that I have to "take" it, like a dose of medicine, two or three times a day. Unfortunately, every time I "take" it, I have to go to the bathroom quickly. I got out an ran some errands today with the kids because school starts next week and I am trying to get caught up with them after being out all week last week. I am having some stamina problems because I give out too soon. I know I am probably expecting too much from myself. I took my kiddos to the pediatrician this morning and got their before school checkups, but then it was back home and a nap. I went out again for a couple of hours and got school supplies and that is about all I am going to be able to do today. I'm sitting here working on my computer, then I'm going to bed and finish my book Ive been reading.   I've heard that the first week after surgery is called "Hell Week" and I can't say it has been hell, but I think I can see it from here! It has been more strenuous than I expected it to be. I think the blood loss I had in the hospital probably sapped me of more energy than most people experience. I am looking forward to seeing the Nurse Practicioner tomorrow for a quick check up and have my blood count checked. I think I will feel better too when I start on my vitamins on Wednesday. I have never been so excited about eating cream of ANYTHING soup!!
Berlyann

Berlyann

2
 

My Stay In The Hospital-Written At 3 Days Post Op

Ok, I'm home and loving it so far. I remember wondering what all would happen when i was in the hospital. So, I thought I would write down all I remember about being in the hospital   I arrived at the hospital about 9:15. I had my surgery at Doctor's Hospital at White Rocks Lake in Dallas. As soon as I got in, I was registered and went almost immediately back to the first surgery waiting area. The nurses were great. They started my IV with just 2 sticks which I thought was amazing since I was so dehydrated after being on liquids for a week, and then having some diarrhea the day before surgery. While I was in holding, my hubbie got to come back and kill time with me. The anesthesiologist came and talked to me and he told me they were running behind. My surgery was scheduled for 12:30, but he thought I wouldn't be back until about 1-1:30. About 1:30, they came and got me took me to another holding area up by the OR. (Good thing I brought a book). While I was in the second surgery waiting, I didn't have my book or my hubbie, and I waited until 3 before they took my back. During that time, the anesthesiologist came back and the pain management doc came in and talked to me some more about what I would need for pain afterward. FINALLY about 3, they came and rolled me int the or Suite. I remember getting on the bed... then nothing!!   The next thing I knew, I was rolling into my room. My husband had been sent to my room when I went to the second holding area so he was waiting there for me. I don't have too much memory about what happened that night. I do remember seeing the hosiptalist I got there about 6PM and I don't remember much. I got up to the bathroom about 10 and I has bled thru my dressings so they had to be changed. I was not expecting so much blood. I went for a short walk that night late with my husband. Later that night, I went to the bathroom again and had bled thru my dressings again. The nurse replaced my dressings and then we went for another walk about 1AM. Then I crashed. The nurse's aid came and checked my blood pressure and the respiratory medicine folks were in and out. I had to stay on oxygen because my oxygen saturation kept staying low. Then the lab came in about 5am and drew my blood. I slept very well considering I was in the hospital.   The next morning started off with me soaking my dressings again. I got up and went to the bathroom, and when I got thru it looked like Freddie Kruger had been in the bathroom. The poor nurses' aid had just changed my sheets and then I got back in bed and got blood all over my fresh sheets and my gown. The day nurse came in and put a very tight pressure bandage on my abdomen. I was getting up to go to the bathroom, but I just couldn't go. I would pee about 50-75cc at a time. My bladder was feeling like I needed to pee a river, I just couldn't go! The nurse came in and did a bladder scan and found I had almost 800cc in my bladder (1000cc=1liter). Shortly after that the Hopitalist came back in and told me that my blood count had dropped significantly and that they were going to give me some blood, and that I was going to get a catheter. So, I got 2 units of blood. They put a catheter in and boy that felt better. Some people have urinary retention after anesthesia and I am one of those people. Just cant let your pee out. Catheters are really not that big of a deal. While all this was going on, the nurse started me on drinking water. She brought me 5 small medicine cups and filled each one up with water. She said each cup was 1oz of water and that I had to drink all five in 1 hour. I was pretty thirsty so that was wonderful to get to drink something. She also gave me a sheet to track how many oz I drank each hour. I got up and walked with my catheter and my blood going and I made 2 laps down the hall and back. I was walking around with all the other patients that had their surgery on the same day... comparing notes I guess! The respiratory therapy lady came in and worked with me for a long time on my incentive spirometer. (that is the thing to make you breath deeply) I had my gallbladder out at the same time as my surgery because it wasn't functioning well. The area where my gallbladder was removed was so tender it was hard to do this. I was taking my liquid Lortab every four hours and as the day progressed, I started having gas pains and started asking for gasX pretty regularly. I also had a OnQ pump put into my incisions while I was in surgery. My husband called it my "Christmas Ornament" because it is about the same size and shape of an ornament. This delivers local anesthetic to the incisions for up to 72 hours to help with the pain. I don't know how much good it is doing, but I don't want to know what it would be like without it. As far as pain, the pain was pretty bad any time I moved. On the 1-10 scale it would get up to an 8-9 when I was moving, but when I was sitting still it was usually about a 2-3. Not horrible, but not so great either.   Again, I slept pretty well the second night. I had my catheter in so I didn't have to get up and go to the bathroom. The next morning about 5, they came in and drew my blood again checked my vital signs. I was doing very well with the liquids and could pretty much drink as much as I wanted, but I tried to keep it under 10oz an hour. Usually about 8 oz an hour. The hospitalist came in about 10am and we talked about getting a third unit of blood. My blood count had come up, but not very much. So, I got another unit of blood. I was able to pee afterward with out any problem. The list of allowable foods included diluted juice, broth, sugar free Popsicle, De-caffinated tea water and protein drinks. The only thing I didn't like was the popsicle- for some reason that just didn't taste right. Also, I am a coffee addict!! So, I snuck 1/2 a cup of coffee from my husband just to avoid having a caffeine headache. My use of pain medication started to drop off. I took a dose at 1AM this morning, then didn't ask for more until about 9am, and then I only took 1/2 a dose. After I had my last unit of blood, I had to wait for the lab to draw my count before I could leave. Once they drew my blood, I took another 1/2 dose of medication before I walked out the door.   I know several people are worried about what to bring to the hospital. I packed really well, and used practically nothing!! I stayed in the hospital gown the whole time- mainly because I didn't want to bleed on my pj's. I did wear my robe over the backside as I walked the halls. I didn't put on any makeup, but I did brush my hair and my teeth. The hospital provided me with some slipper socks to wear , but after the first day, I just put my flip flops on. Also, I wore the same clothes home that I wore into the hospital.   So, after I left the hospital, we ran by the pharmacy to pick up my prescriptions, then hubbie and I drove home. We live in Lubbock which is about a 6 hour drive. I had my last dose of pain meds before we left the hospital and I was really glad. Every bump was a bit uncomfortable! My doctor had delivered leg compression devices to our room in the hospital so I wore those all the way home. We stopped and walked around 3 times on the way home. I slept most of the way home and I did end up taking my second dose of pain meds somewhere along the way.   Today has been good. I haven't taken any lortab, but I did take some Extra Strength Tylenol liquid. I really hate taking narcotics because they make me have weird dreams. I hope that I won't have to take any more, but I will if I need them. I went outside and walked to the end of the block and back with my dogs this morning before it got too hot and when I got back I took my first most wonderful shower!! I've been taking it pretty easy ever since. I have noticed that I am having to go slow on my liquids because when I drink too much I get this really bad pain in my chest. I also have been passing alot of gas.. which is GOOD! I still have my onQ pump in and I am supposed to pull it later today so I hope it doesn't hurt too bad. I also got a prescription for phenergan for nausea, omepresol to keep the acid down, and Lovenox injections that I have to start daily for the next week. I haven't started any of those yet, but I guess that is next on my list.
Berlyann

Berlyann

0
 

Day 4 Liquid Diet

Ok, So today is Day 4 of my liquid diet. I have started tracking my intake and I'm eating drinking about 750-100cal/day. I'm really feeling like I am doing good. I haven't really been hungry, but just thirsty. I have had 2 protien drinks a day mixed with V8 fruit blended drinks. They are only about 130 calories each and then the calories from the Protien Shakes. I've been drinking Tomatoe Juice in the evening and then having some warm broth or Tomatoe soup for "Dinner" I have been so busy that I really haven't had any time to think too much about it. The 2 times that I have almost slipped is when I was making tacos for the kids for dinner. I almost had a bite of taco meat in my mouth before I even thought about it. I guess I always taste my food that I'm cooking. The second time it was when I was walking thru the kitchen and the kids had left some chips out. I reached my hand in and grabbed one and had it in my mouth before I realized it. I spit it out. The time that it was the HARDEST was when I picked up a case of fresh peaches from Colorado yesterday. I friend of mine goes an picks them up every year and I had ordered a case. They smelled so good, and everyone was eating them and I really had to work at not wanting one when I saw the juice dripping off their chins!! YUM   I've been working my butt off trying to get everything done at work and at home before I leave for Dallas on Monday. I have much to do.. Sometimes it doesn't pay to take some time off even for surgery. I have already booked up my schedule for the week following surgery. It seems I can't slow down at my job. Things still have to be done!! I have been trying to keep it slow, but things just keep getting added on. The NEXT week(the 27th), school starts so I should be a little relieved from the kid's schedules. I wonder sometimes If I will have time to manage my new life. Will I have time to eat the right foods because it takes time to cook right. It is so much quicker and easier to run by Taco Villa!! I guess that is why I'm in the condition I am in right now.   Heres to the next few days of liquids, and then SURGERY!!
Berlyann

Berlyann

0
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