JessterNC

It is a blessing to have a supportive person in the home with me. My wife has been beyond wonderful. She keeps a journal of what I eat, my BP, my measurements and any other information for me. She told me if I kept it then no one would be able to read it. She has pre-made Soups, Protein shakes, and yogurt shakes for me and put them pre-measured in the fridge. I told her that I might like to eat some Protein Bars when I am able. So she got online and researched the store bought ones, she found she could make me some that were much more healthy, so she is going to make them once I can have them. I start my puree stage on Friday and she is helping me plan the meals and told me that on Thursday, she will pre-make some stuff for me so I can have it starting Friday. We have been married for 12 years and she has been beside me every step of the way since then. She is my rock, my leaning post, my sounding board. I know we cant do this for someone else, but I want to get better for her, I want us to be able to enjoy each other again and for her not to have to be my care-giver all of the time. Every time I think this is hard on me, I look at her and see it has not just impacted me, that I need to be strong for both of us, she has carried the load by herself for too long. I am truly blessed, not just to be able to have had this operation as a part of the healing process, but to have someone like her to go on this journey beside me.

Thank you. It feels good to be moving forward. I really appreciate the thoughts and prayers. Good luck toyou on your journey as well.

Day 4 Post-Op Update I decided I would only weigh myself once a week, and decided to do it on Monday. So as of this morning I am at 275, 6 pounds down from my weight on Wednesday before the surgery. I am pleased with that, I know it will fluctuate over the next few months, but it is nice to know that I am starting to lose already. My pain management is going okay. I am still having to take the pain meds every 4 hours, but I am sure the pain level will decrease over the next few days. I have been monitoring my BP and it has not been over 130/82 so I actually haven't taken my BP meds since before my surgery. If it gets above 130 I will take the meds again, but considering my BP was 150/100 last week without meds, that is a great improvement. I am still drinking 3 oz of full liquids every hour and seem to be doing okay. I mix Water, Protein powder w/skim milk, and strained cream of chicken Soup. I am getting my protein so am pleased with that as well. Finally, the biggest fear I had was my intestines waking up. I had not had a BM by this morning so I called the clinic and we increased my Mirliax to twice a day. I took a dose around noon and things finally started working!! So my biggest fear has been dealt with and my wife and I are so relieved. I am really pleased with how things are going and cant thank everyone enough for the thoughts and prayers, not only for me, but that we share with each other. That extra layer of support of understanding, knowing that there is a place we can turn to address fears and concerns and have them shared by people who are dealing with the same things, or who have went through them, that relief, it cant be explained. To have a place to discuss fears and concerns and share our successes, to me anyway, is vital to success of any life changing decision like this. You, and this place, has made things so much easier for me and my family. I know we will still have our ups and downs, but for the first time in a long time, I feel like I have some control and am not only reacting to things around me.

So I am home, was sleeved on the 23rd and enjoying my 3 ounces of liquid every hour while watching the Harry Potter films on ABC Family. I started to count the number of food commercials that are shown. By my calculations about 50% are about food and ironically 25% have to do with diets and weigh loss products. I don't feel hungry and don't really want any food at this point, but it is staggering to realize how intrusive food is in our lives.

No kidding!! I have to admit I REALLY liked the chocolate turnovers from Arby's and what did they show last night, a commercial with one in it. I swear they said my name in it, LOL I would only have 1 like every 2 months or so, but it kind of hit me, the best I will ever be able to do is maybe have a little bite of one in the future, but that is okay, the trade-off is worth it.

All things considered I am doing okay. I don't want to jinx anything but things seem to be going good. I haven't had a BM yet, but I figure that will fix itself soon, and I haven't felt sick at all. My left side hurts pretty badly, but because of the scar tissue in my abdomen they had to go in on that side and did most of the work there, the pain medicine is working really well though. I stopped drinking alcohol about 20 years ago, but I told my wife that when I am drinking stuff now I tell myself it is 20 year old scotch that must be savored, not chugged, it seems to make it easier to sip then, lol. My first follow-up appointment is next Monday, they have to take the stiches out, I had to have normal stiches put in one of the incisions. How are you doing?

Are you still taking pain meds? Sometimes when I take them I get sweats like that. I have also gotten them some for a few days after I stop taking the meds. Good luck with everything and hope they end soon!

As someone stated earlier, it is shocking to me how inconsistent this all is. I met with my doctor on July 18th and had my surgery on the 23rd. I asked him about a pre-surgery diet and he told me not to worry about it. I have been eating soft foods for a few months, but he said as long as I didn't fill up my colon with stuff he was fine with it. My surgery was out of town so my wife and I went out to eat the night before, I had fish, mashed potatoes and steamed veggies. I just wish there was an industry standard, would make this a lot easier.

I am home now! Things are going very well. I found out they had to make 2 more incisions in me than they normally make, but it was to remove scar tissue. I am now having 3 ounces of liquids every hour. So far so good. I am sore but it is bearable with the pain medicine. I checked my weight right before we left the house on Wednesday and it was 283. I think I am going to wait until Monday to check it again and just check it on Mondays after that. All things considered I am doing okay, thanks for the thoughts and prayers. They really mean a lot to me.

Hello, I am 4 days away from surgery and my wife and I are trying to get everything set up and ready for when I come home. I will say I really wish there was consistency in what we are all told, it seems like every doctor tells us something different. I read on here about people being on liquids for weeks after surgery and then I look at what I am supposed to do and by 8 days post-op I will be allowed to eat soft foods. It gets very confusing sometimes and can also get overwhelming with all of the different things we are directed to do. Enough of that and to my question... I have gotten chewable Vitamins (Advanced Multi EA) and Calcium Chewy Bites from Bariatric Advantage and, according to my NUT, they have everything I will need. But I see quite a few people on here talking about B-12 supplements and there is nothing in the paperwork I got about those. I know we should follow what our doctors say, but I also want to make sure I have everything covered. The vitamins I have will give me 2,000 mcgs or 33,000% of the daily recommended amount of B-12. How much do the vitamins you take give you? Is this something I need to look at getting as well? Thanks for your input, and the information on here

I had the surgery yesterday and the Dr said everything went well. I am sore, but not as bad as I get with the bowel obstructions. I am supposed to have the leak test this morning and if that is good then I start on Clear liquids. Crossing my fingers on that one. I wanted to walk some last night, but the operation took about 3 hours and it was after 6 when I got to my room so will do that soon. I can't wait to get out of this bed. Once again, thanks for the prayers and support. Jesse

@naturegirl I hope you are doing well. I cant believe by this time tomorrow this first step will be over. My wife and I made it to Chapel Hill okay, got checked into the hotel and went out to eat. I had some broiled fish, steamed veggies and mashed potatoes. I resisted the urge to have the monster dessert. I am kind of proud of that, Desserts are my big weakness. I have to be at the hospital at 830 and my surgery is scheduled for 1030. I feel nervous, just because I spent too much time thinking about what could go wrong. I only slept about 3 hours last night, partly from being nervous, partly from wanting this to be over. All of the other operations I have had over the last 2 years were emergency ones, so I never had a chance to consider all of the possibilities. This seems more difficult for me, but my wife said she prefers this way over my other operations. My normal hospital stay has been 10 days, so I think the 2 day stay with this will hopefully go very quickly. My pastor is coming to be with my wife during the operation, he plans to get here before my surgery so we can have prayer together. He is pretty awesome, driving 3 hours 1 way to sit with a member of his church. He told me that is what he is supposed to do, but it still means a lot to me. My family lives out of state and I am comforted to know someone is with her. As soon as I am able to I will post an update...thanks for all of the support. Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life, with the new me.... Jesse

Who is your Surgeon? I work at UNC Hospitals. I am going with Dr. Farrell. Dr Farrell is doing my surgery. I REALLY like him. He is one of the few surgeons I have ever seen that didn't treat me like some oddball because of my abdomen. Have you met with him yet? Do you have a surgery date yet?

Tomorrow I leave to go to Chapel Hill. I will call before I leave to see what time the operation is scheduled for. I have been working on stuff for school to try to keep my mind occupied. They say things happen when the time is right, and the time is right. Looking back at this process I cant believe I was able to get all of this taken care of in this short of a time frame. Hopefully I will be back home by Monday. We go back to school on August 12th so hopefully I am ready for that. Thanks for all of the support and good wishes. Jesse

Thanks for all of the feedback. I am going to ask them about this on Thursday when I go in for the operation. I want to make sure I am getting enough and now I have some options if I need to have my wife pick some up.

I am glad to see I am not the only one with this 2nd thought running through my mind every now and then. It really makes me feel better to not only see there are others who questioned it just a bit, but also that there is success on the other side. I am 51, weigh 281 and am 5'9". I am having surgery on July 23rd. As soon as I lose 50 pounds they are going to try to rebuild my abdomen and try to stop my hernias. But if I can get off of the 2 pills I take for HBP and can sleep through the night, as well as walk up a flight of stairs, it will be worth it

I met my surgeon today, Dr Farrell, the head of the center at UNC. I really like him, he answered all of my questions and really put me at ease. They did move my date until the 23rd though. He wants to have the hernia specialist in there as well in case the runs into any problems. He is going to try to put a temporary fix in place for the biggest hernia I have to try and give me some relief. I don't have to go on a pre-op diet per se, but I am going to stick to my soft foods so I don't run the risk of going back in the hospital before then. Thanks for all of the support and well wishes

Scheduled for July 23rd, they want the hernia surgeon in there as well. I really liked the surgeon so that helps me. Good luck to everyone!

Unfortunately I have had other operations around the holidays and am actually planning on having my abdominal reconstruction right before Christmas. I know it will be tough, but my family completely understands why I need to do it then and it gets me one step closer to getting on with my life. I think as long as people know what is going on, as much as you feel like sharing with them, they will understand. Good luck with it.

I wanted to give everyone a short update. The insurance company approved me and the doctors office called me on Tuesday to set up my appt with the surgeon and they said July 27. I freaked out. I told them I am supposed to go back to school on Aug 12 and I needed it done as soon as possible to allow me to heal. The next morning I got another phone call and my meeting with the surgeon is tomorrow, Mon at 1015. When I talked to his nurse she assured me the doctor will rearrange things and I will get this taken care of in the next 10 days. I cant wait to get it finished. Even though I have not been told I had to go on a pre-op diet I have, for all intents and purposes, been on one. I have had a couple of scares with my hernias so I am very cautious about eating anything that might cause a blockage. I am dealing with a lot of belly discomfort but I am so ready to move forward. I have 3 goals I have set for myself, well, milestones maybe: 1. I want to wear "normal" pants again. I haven't been able to do this for over a year because of the other operations I have had. I have had to wear elastic waist band athletic pants. I hate wearing those to school. I cant wait to dress like other people. 2. I want to walk down the stairs for a fire drill at school. I am on the 3rd Floor. Between my knee, my foot and the weight I cant go down 3 flights of stairs. I want to be able to make sure my students are safe, no matter what. 3. I want to be able to get certified in CPR again. I was an EMT for over 10 years and even taught CPR during that time. But because of my weight I haven't been able to do it for over 15 years. I want to be able to do that again. I cant wait to do those things again. I cant wait to be able to move forward. Hopefully I can update people with a very quick surgery date. Jesse

I am near Hickory, but having surgery at UNC Chapel Hill. I am going tomorrow to meet with the surgeon and set my date. I hope it is within the next week.

Unfortunately I have WAY too much experience with these, I had had 7 operations to repair hernias and have 3 large ones right now. It doesn't sound like a full blown hernia to me, but I am not a doctor, lol. A hernia is a hole in the fascia (tissue and muscle lining) across the abdomen that allows movement of internal organs, normally intestines, in and out of it. If it is reduceable, can be pushed back in, it is not a major issue, as I said, I have 3 right now. The problem is when it becomes strangulated or twisted. The other problem is if it causes an intestinal blockage, and unfortunately I have experience with those as well. I have had 3 full and 2 partial blockages in the past 18 months. If the pain gets worse or you become nauseous or start vomiting I would recommend getting it checked immediately, if those don't happen it should be okay to wait until Monday. Good Luck!

I think they just tell us what pops into their heads at the time. To heck with the clinic, I called the insurance company today and they did confirm they had everything and I should hear back by Monday, Tuesday at the latest since it is a long weekend. The planned date for the surgery is July 15, so maybe we will all go in at the same time!

Just a quick update, I called the insurance company today and they have all of my paperwork. They should make a decision within 3 business days. They also told me the requested surgery date is July 15th. I feel a lot better about things today.

Good Luck! I hope you hear back soon. I am in the same situation, but my clinic messed up and didn't submit it on the 18th like they were supposed to, so now they are trying to push it through. Good Luck!!