GrammySyd Starts Her New Life! Surgery Is Complete

[grammysyd]

Greetings everyone, I am a middle aged female who has had a weight problem all my life. After thinking through the options and researching each procedure and thinking and thinking since October 2010, I decided the gastric sleeve procedure would be best for me. I just had to make up my mind I was going to do this. I attended a seminar given by the surgeons that explained all the surgical weight loss solutions available. I had a wonderful program to follow through Christiana Care in Newark, DE. I have been so impressed by this team's caring ways and professionalism. They crossed every 'T' and dotted every 'I' to get me to the OR.

I started the 3 mos process mid Feb 2011 required by my insurance co. I am glad they required me to do all these items before they would approve me for the procedure. I learned a lot. The requirements included being cleared by a cardiologist, pulmonologist, endocrinologist, dietician, & nurse practitioner. The dietician and nurse practitioner required several visits. I also had to attend a Life Skills class at the hospital for 2 hrs every Monday night for 3 weeks and there was an exam at the end, which I ACED! I also had to have some lab work along the way. They taught me everything I needed to know to have a successful outcome. From the time I saw the dr. in October, I lost 26 lbs leading up to surgery (7 mos). The surgeon was thrilled and said I was 'over the top' in my preparation for surgery. Therefore, I did NOT have to do a week of OptiFast shakes, which is no food for the week prior to surgery. I was happy I escaped that! (Surgeon wants your liver to shrink so he has more room to work. The only thing that shrinks it is not eating or losing weight.)

My surgery was Tuesday, June 7 at 7:45 a.m. I was so excited, but knew I was in for a painful road for a few weeks. I had clear liquids only the two days before surgery and I was hungry, no doubt, but I managed to get through it. I had to be at the hospital at 5 am. The worst part of getting to the OR was a shot in the abdomen of Louvenox in Prep & Holding (blood thinner) burned bad. I saw my dr. before we met in the OR and he had great bedside manner. He was cracking jokes and telling me how good I looked, etc. Made me feel at ease. I came through the surgery great and was in my room before noon.

I was in the hospital for 2 nights and I could not wait to get home. They do not let you rest in the hospital. The pain meds make you want to rest, but they keep coming in and checking you and doing this and that, so you never get to rest. I don't think I slept more than 2 hrs at a time. They also wanted me to walk every three hours, even during the night. I only did that the second night. I have to say, the surgery made me feel like I was hit by a mac truck. I ached everywhere. The pain meds helped a lot and I had no problem pushing the self medicated button they gave me. The day after surgery, I went to xray for a swallow test to make sure everything was working ok before they started giving me liquids. I started out with an ounce of vitamin water every hour. I tolerated it well, so they took me off the pain med drip in my IV and took liquid pain meds . I could not wait to get the heart monitor and IV out. They were so irritating. You should see the huge bruise on my arm from the IV. They did not take those out until right before I went home on Thurs. My care in the hospital was wonderful. Every single person I had contact with made you feel like you were #1 and they really cared about your well being. They were so cheerful and positive and always telling me to call on them any time. I also want you to know that I refused the shot of Louvenox on day 2 and day 3 following surgery.

I came home on Thurs and was home by 10 am. Thurs. & Fri., gas and stomach rumblings were annoying. I was told to walk to relieve that and it worked. I just walked around the house Thurs. They gave me a prescription for liquid pain med, which worked great. I was on liquids Thurs & Fri and did fine with that. I was not hungry. A nurse from the surgeon's office called me on Fri. to check on me, which I thought was really nice. By Sat. morning, I was SO READY for my first pureed food, scrambled eggs! OMG they were good! I do two protein shakes per day. I got my protein powder at Walmart, much cheaper and bigger quanity than you can buy at dr. office. I got 3 flavors. I love them. I bought milk called Skim Plus, which has 11 grams of protein per cup, plus the powder has 17 grams of protein. I put it in a blender with a little bit of crushed ice and it is great. I don't mind them. So I eat small quanity of food 3 times a day and have 2 shakes per day. I had oatmeal, chicken breast, broccoli, mashed potatoes, all very good - all pureed, put in blender.

Today is Sunday, 5 days post op and I am doing great. I have lost 8 lbs since surgery! I walk outside on the sidewalk at least twice a day, not far, but try to go one house farther each day. Food tastes good. I do get full fast and I have to eat slow, sometimes heating up my food in the middle of eating it because it gets cold.

My follow up dr. appt is this coming Fri. June 17 at 1:00 pm. Life is good! I'll let you know how that goes.

BTW, my surgeon has been rated as a "Center of Excellence" in the USA. They have a 99% + success rate and I highly recommend them.

I will be glad to answer any questions you may have about my experience, just let me know.

Take care and I wish you all much success in your weight loss journey! You CAN do it!

GrammySyd

[bjcarey2005]

Fantastic Post!! I also had a wonderful weight loss center to aid me through each and every step - it really helps when you are so well informed!! You are doing terrific - just don't overdue too early! Make sure you don't stretch just yet, or lift anything heavier than 6 pds! I also felt like a truck hit me after surgery, but the amazing thing is how fast it goes away, each day you feel better & better One thing that I really loved right after surgery was a cup of hot broth, I don't know why but it really just filled me well & helped me to relax. Congrats again on your surgery - I wish you the very best!

[lynnhuber]

Thanks for the great post. I have not had the surgery yet and still have a ways to go, but your post helps us to understand what to expect. Wishing you all the best!