Dawn S.
December 8, 2007
I am now a little over 2 years out and I am doing GREAT! My labs are good and I feel awesome! I am a size 12 and slipping down into a 10. Yes, I'm still losing weight...1 to 2 lbs at a time but if I don't lose another pound, I would still be thrilled that I chose to have the DS.
October 12, 2005
Had my consult with Dr. Schweitzer on Sept 26th and paperwork was submitted to insurance company on October 11th. The only delay was waiting for my LOMN from my PCP and getting my medical records to them. Debbie (Dr. S's secretary) is very good about follow-up and she told me that if I didn't hear from her within 2 weeks, to give her a call. She told me that Alliance almost always approves this surgery so I'm saying lots of prayers.
Later that day: I just heard from my doc's office and I have been approved! Thank God! It only took 2 days for approval. Am waiting for written confirmation but Debbie (dr's secretary) has spoken to them twice and they verbally confirmed with her both times. Woo Hoo!
October 20, 2005
I have received my letters - from the ins. co and from the doc's office stating that I am approved for surgery. So now I wait....and wait....oh, and I quit smoking yesterday. That will put me at 6 weeks (the doc says at least a month) before surgery. I really don't want to end up on a ventilator, etc.
My husband is still not happy that I'm having surgery but he's supportive. He's just scared (Baltimore pronunciation is "ascerred")that something horrible is going to happen to me. However, this whole journey has been Father filtered (God has been in charge every step of the way) so I KNOW that I KNOW that everything is going to be just fine. Once I start losing weight, I think my mister will be as happy as I am.
November 11, 2005
Well, I'm having surgery in exactly 20 days. I'm nervous and excited and anxious. I have my pre-op testing with my PCP and my psych eval on 11/14. I have already had my meeting with the anesthesiologist (sp?) and the nutritionist. Now I have to start gathering a few hospital supplies (I always see chapstick at the top of every list) and the nutritionist gave me a grocery shopping list. Initially, from Dr. S's website, it looked as if my diet would be the same as his RNY'ers. 1 month pureed and then 1 month soft. The nutritionist said it would be 1 month pureed and then I could start introducing regular foods slowly. I feel much better about that - it's definitely more doable.
After my surgery, my mom will be staying with me for a week. She is an Operating Room nurse (well, she's retired from that line but the experience is invaluable) so I will be in very good hands - also, my hubby and son will be here to help me as well. Since I'm having this done Lap, I'm hoping for a very quick recovery time.
I also have an angel now - Starr D.
November 30, 2005
So I am officially freaking out now...not because I am having surgery tomorrow but because I may NOT have surgery!!! Yikes! On Monday night, I developed a sore throat and last night I started running a low grade temp of 100.5. After I took Advil, the temp broke but when I woke up this morning, it was 99.1
I spoke with Pat (Nurse Practitioner) and she said to just keep an eye on it and they would make a determination at the hospital tomorrow. OH GOD! I know it's stupid to be worried about postponing but I feel like I've waited sooo long and now that the time is close - I have to go and get sick. Well, we'll see. The next time I update my profile, I'll either be switched or I won't. Stay tuned....
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
I got switched!!! Turns out that the fever and sore throat weren't THAT big of a deal. The night before surgery, my sweet husband looked up at me and said, "it's not too late to change your mind ya know". Awwwww - he loves me so much!
The date of surgery was a little hazy – we got to the hospital at 6:45 a.m. (I had to be there at 7 for a 9:00 a.m. surgery). There was a lot of activity – changing into a gown, blood drawing, weight checking, etc. and then I met each member of the surgical team. I had faith and confidence in all of them (especially my surgeon) – they put in a bit of happy juice and wheeled me into the OR. I shifted over onto the OR table and I don’t remember ANYTHING after that.
I woke up looking at my surgeon. He told me that he found and removed a Meckel’s Diverticulum in my small intestine. I think I remember asking him if I could have it in a jar – he said, “no” and I fell back asleep.
When I awoke again, I was in a hospital room which was good because I was told that I would be in Surgical ICU when I woke up after surgery. I was to stay there for 24 hours and THEN be moved to a room. I guess they didn’t have a bed in ICU. So ANYWHOOOO, I was in horrible pain and the morphine drip wasn’t touching it. People who know me know that I have a very high pain threshold so when I said that I was in pain, my mom took it very seriously! My mother then did a “Shirley MacLaine” (from the movie Terms of Endearment) and my pain med was switched to Dilaudid which, I believe, is one step down from Heroin. It was very good. One thing that has surprised me is how much this hurts!!! I know that sounds stupid but I can’t imagine having this surgery done Open.
So the second day Post Op was better – each day gets better actually. I was up and walking the hallways – 8 laps on Friday, 8 on Saturday, 8 on Sunday and then I got to go home at 3:00 p.m.
Home has been good. It’s just more comfortable for me to recuperate here on MY couch in front of MY TV.
I’ve been walking laps around my house, sipping water constantly and eating bites of yogurt, mashed potatoes, sugar free applesauce and those things have stayed down. Eating doesn’t feel good at all! I’m not hungry and one bite is enough.
I will update more later….
January 4, 2006
Happy New Year!!! I know that 2006 will be a great year for me and hope it will be for those reading this as well.
I had a complication after surgery that I will share here....
On Sunday, December 11th I started vomiting and had diarrhea. I thought I had "overdone it" with too much soup so I just started drinking water. Even water wasn't staying down and then I started to run a fever. By 5 pm, my fever was 101.4 and I was on my way to the ER. I went ALL the way back to Bayview because I didn't think that the ER nearest me would know what to do with a DS patient. They did a CAT scan to check for a leak and started me on IV fluids. I was admitted to the hospital about 5 a.m. I felt like absolute crap. There was a "dark patch" on the CAT scan which made the dr think that I had an infection in my small intestine so they put in a drain....lemme tell you - this drain was invented by the devil himself. They claimed that they gave me some meds to "take the edge off" but they put the drain in while I was fully awake and I felt everything (except the initial cut - they stuck me with some lidocaine). That thing HURT!
After taking a stool sample, they discovered that I had C-Diff. This is a really nasty bacteria that lives in our guts - usually, our good bacteria can fight it off however, when they gave me antibiotics after my surgery - enough good guys were wiped out to let the C-Diff flourish. There are 2 really depressing things as a result of this. Number 1 - the drain was totally unnecessary and Number 2 - my wedding anniversary was on Tuesday, Dec 13th and I was in the hospital!!!! They treated the C-Diff and removed the drain on Wednesday (which sucked more than anything has ever sucked before) and I was able to GO HOME!!! Woohooo!!!
Since that time, I have been doing great. I went back to work on Dec 27th (1/2 days until Jan 6th) and I'm exploring food options. Shrimp and chicken work fine and I'm sick of yogurt BUT - the acidopholous is good for fighting C-Diff so I will continue to eat it. I've lost 31 lbs in one month and that is sooo amazing to me!!!!
Would I do it again? Absolutely - even with the little bump in the road - I would do it again.
February 1, 2006
Well today is exactly 2 months since surgery and I'm down 41 lbs. Of course, I WANT to be a size 8 right now but I'll take the 41 lbs for now. I'm averaging about 4.5 lbs per week which is great - despite my impatience.
I am very grateful for this surgery because there are things I can do now that I couldn't have done before like:
* put my shoes on standing up
* walk up and down stairs with no pain in my knees or ankle
* work all day and go home and do stuff - put away laundry etc.
* wear 1 size smaller in shirts (the pants are loose but not ready for the next size down just yet
My energy level was back to normal at around 8 weeks and now my energy level is higher than it was pre-op. I'm working full-time (since 5 weeks out) and focusing on getting in protein first. Some days, I feel like I'm eating too much but Fitday.com has my avg caloric intake between 700-900 calories per day. It's so nice that we only absorb 12% of the fat we eat (love my DS!). Not really having any bathroom issues - I go twice in the morning and maybe once in the evening. All in all, everything is wonderful and I'm looking forward to being healthy!
March 7, 2006
I am officially down 50 lbs - here's a photo my hubby took of me tonight. I just got home from work so I am a bit of a wreck! I can't see the difference yet but I can definitely feel the difference. My clothes are getting too big and I feel a huge burst of energy! I have had no trouble with eating or any bathroom issues to speak of (though my husband would disagree - teehee).
March 28, 2006
This has been a wonderful and horrible month.
The Horrible: On March 11th, had to put down my beautiful Shiloh Shepherd Spirit. She had bloat and tumors in her spleen. The doctor gave her a 30% chance of surviving the sugery. She was the sweetest dog I've ever known. Everyone who met her fell in love with her. I waiver between never getting another dog (I still have my sweet pug, Petey) and wanting a puppy RIGHT NOW. It will all work itself out the way it's supposed to....I'm sure of it.
The Wonderful: My husband had a computer geek conference for work in.....ORLANDO!!! He decided to take the old ball and chain with him....I guess his girlfriend was busy that week (teehee). We had a wonderful time. We walked about 20 miles that week! Downtown Disney, Animal Kingdom and Universal Studios - those were the 3 places we went to - actually, Downtown Disney was within walking distance of the hotel and we walked there almost every day! I was SURE that I lost weight that week but when we got back home, I stepped on the scale and lost a total of.....(((drumrolll))) NOTHING! Nada - zip - zero - zilch. But then Sunday I stepped on the scale and was down a pound. Then again on Monday another ugly pound was gone and then this morning - yet another pound! This only makes 6 or 7 lbs for the month (I've still got a few days....I'm holding out hope) but it's all going in the right direction.
April 21, 2006
So for March, my total weight loss was 11 lbs but this month, only 3. However, my body IS changing. I bought pants last night in a size 20 and they fit fabulously but I still can only barely pull up my size 24 jeans...what up with THAT? 3 different pairs and 3 different manufacturers and I can't wear any of them. Today was the first time I am able to SEE the weight loss. Life is good. Energy levels are good. Am taking my supplements - 3 ADEK's, 1 Centrum multi, 5 Calcium Citrate and Devrom. Some people say that they don't notice a difference with the Devrom but I do. I have my 3 month follow up with my surgeon. Originally couldn't get in to see him until April 3rd (which is 4 months, not 3) but they called because his schedule is so hectic and they were trying to reschedule some appts so I agreed - can't get in to see him until May 8th. It's not a big deal though - I'm not having any issues except slow weight loss and I know the answer to that. I'm upping my exercise - I think my body is getting used to the amount of walking that I do so I'm going to start on the recumbent bike and free weights that my hubby just bought.
I'll post a photo (of me in my 20's) later.
June 1, 2006
Oh Goodness, it's been awhile since I've updated here, huh? I am officially down 71 lbs at 6 months. Not too shabby but not as much as I'd like. I know I didn't post that photo of myself like I promised but I've been so busy lately! I have been keeping my blog at livejournal updated pretty regularly. I am now comfortably in a size 18 (in skirts - pants are still around 20 but they're definitely getting baggier). For the month of May I only lost 5 lbs so I'm varying my exercise routine and have added dumbbells to TRY to take care of the batwings on my arms. I WILL try to post some recent photos soon - I PROMISE!
