MandyR
6 weeks out
Jan 16, 2008
I'm now 6 weeks out and I've lost 44 lbs total! I'm so excited. This is great. I've got on size 18 pants right now too. (I was in a 24 before surgery). Things are going really well. I like that I'm figuring out my meals and doing better with protein and fluids. I find myself wishing that the weight loss was even faster than it is...I wish I could wake up tomorrow and it all be gone. BUT I know that's not going to happen, so I'm excited about the progress that I've made. Its pretty cool to see the transition and see that I'm feeling better and better every day. AND my big accomplishment last week was.....I realized I can cross my legs when I sit down!!!!! That was too cool.
1 week out
Dec 10, 2007
So I meant to write more before my surgery...but obviously that didn't happen. Let me get you up to date on my surgery and how things are going now.
Surgery was last Monday and everything went very well. I had lap gastric bypass. I was sick and throwing up all day after the surgery but we all thought it was just a reaction to the pain meds. So by the next day I was still throwing up. Doc took me off pain meds and put me on a different one. I still didn't keep ice chips down. I was very sick at this point and all the nurses thought it might be sinus drainage. By Wednesday I was in so much pain in my chest and back I could barely sit up. In fact, I couldn't sit, stand, rock back in forth...didn't matter what I did I HURT. I had noticed the pain in my back and chest the day before but I thought it was gas pain from the lap surgery....and so did the nurses and my doc. By Wednesday morning though...it was unbareable. My doc ordered a barium swallow study that was very hard to do given the fact that I couldn't keep fluids down and I couldn't lay down. The test required that the doc have me stand and lay down. Needless to say I threw up many times.
From the test we were immediatly able to see that I didn't have a leak. Whew! But we saw the barium go into my pouch and then just stay there. I didn't empty out into the bowel like it should have. Which explained the fact that I was throwing up.
So the Radiologist told me that it could be a number of things and that he'd get with my doctor......so I waited for my doctor. Wednesday just happened to be a surgery day for him...my barium test was at 3pm.....so yes....I waited and waited....
For the rest of the afternoon I kept throwing up and the pain just got worse. I was also starting to have problems with my IV.
My doctor came in at 830pm and told me that he had reviewed my tests from that afternoon and that he thought that a blood clot was preventing anything from passing my new pouch.
Talk about FREAK OUT. I could tell he was worried and at that point my family became very scared. Doc said he would get me in surgery the first moment an OR room was available that evening.
So at this point I look down and realize that I've blown my IV. The nurse comes to try and put it in my other arm and couldn't get it. My veins were gone. For 4 hours I had no IV and I had 27 sticks from 5 different nurses attempting to get fluids in me. My family started calling and people started pouring in to see me....and I'm still in so much pain I can't breathe. AND I really need to keep throwing up but I was so scared it would throw the blood clot into my lungs or something so everytime I throw up I'm scared.
I get into surgery at 11 and luckily the anesthesia staff got an IV in me. I woke up in the recovery room at 1am and although the doctor was talking to me about the surgery I couldn't hear anything he said...all I knew was that the pain in my chest and back was GONE. That's all I cared about too. :0)
Turns out it wasn't a blood clot...it was scar tissue (adhesions) that had formed at the top of my bowel. The doctor said he had never known another patient to experience that...but it was the best possible situation for him to find.
I ended up staying in the hospital for 2 more days and got to go home Friday. I'm SOOOO soar. He had to go back into 5 of my lap sites for the second surgery so it took me longer to walk after the second surgery.
I'm home now and up and around. I feel good but wish I had more energy. Well this gets everyone up to speed. I'll update more in a day or so about what this whole eating thing is like.....oh my I'll be glad when I'm off of full liquids and can eat other things. :0)
---Just thankful to be alive and now I get to focus on my weightloss. WOOHOO Ann Taylor here I come.
-M
Surgery was last Monday and everything went very well. I had lap gastric bypass. I was sick and throwing up all day after the surgery but we all thought it was just a reaction to the pain meds. So by the next day I was still throwing up. Doc took me off pain meds and put me on a different one. I still didn't keep ice chips down. I was very sick at this point and all the nurses thought it might be sinus drainage. By Wednesday I was in so much pain in my chest and back I could barely sit up. In fact, I couldn't sit, stand, rock back in forth...didn't matter what I did I HURT. I had noticed the pain in my back and chest the day before but I thought it was gas pain from the lap surgery....and so did the nurses and my doc. By Wednesday morning though...it was unbareable. My doc ordered a barium swallow study that was very hard to do given the fact that I couldn't keep fluids down and I couldn't lay down. The test required that the doc have me stand and lay down. Needless to say I threw up many times.
From the test we were immediatly able to see that I didn't have a leak. Whew! But we saw the barium go into my pouch and then just stay there. I didn't empty out into the bowel like it should have. Which explained the fact that I was throwing up.
So the Radiologist told me that it could be a number of things and that he'd get with my doctor......so I waited for my doctor. Wednesday just happened to be a surgery day for him...my barium test was at 3pm.....so yes....I waited and waited....
For the rest of the afternoon I kept throwing up and the pain just got worse. I was also starting to have problems with my IV.
My doctor came in at 830pm and told me that he had reviewed my tests from that afternoon and that he thought that a blood clot was preventing anything from passing my new pouch.
Talk about FREAK OUT. I could tell he was worried and at that point my family became very scared. Doc said he would get me in surgery the first moment an OR room was available that evening.
So at this point I look down and realize that I've blown my IV. The nurse comes to try and put it in my other arm and couldn't get it. My veins were gone. For 4 hours I had no IV and I had 27 sticks from 5 different nurses attempting to get fluids in me. My family started calling and people started pouring in to see me....and I'm still in so much pain I can't breathe. AND I really need to keep throwing up but I was so scared it would throw the blood clot into my lungs or something so everytime I throw up I'm scared.
I get into surgery at 11 and luckily the anesthesia staff got an IV in me. I woke up in the recovery room at 1am and although the doctor was talking to me about the surgery I couldn't hear anything he said...all I knew was that the pain in my chest and back was GONE. That's all I cared about too. :0)
Turns out it wasn't a blood clot...it was scar tissue (adhesions) that had formed at the top of my bowel. The doctor said he had never known another patient to experience that...but it was the best possible situation for him to find.
I ended up staying in the hospital for 2 more days and got to go home Friday. I'm SOOOO soar. He had to go back into 5 of my lap sites for the second surgery so it took me longer to walk after the second surgery.
I'm home now and up and around. I feel good but wish I had more energy. Well this gets everyone up to speed. I'll update more in a day or so about what this whole eating thing is like.....oh my I'll be glad when I'm off of full liquids and can eat other things. :0)
---Just thankful to be alive and now I get to focus on my weightloss. WOOHOO Ann Taylor here I come.
-M
4 weeks til surgery
Nov 06, 2007
After 6 months of waiting, I'm a month away from surgery. I can't believe that it's about to happen. I'm so anxious and excited. It's hard not to be nervous though. I feel like my life is really about to begin. I guess most of us feel that way when we make this decision. My doc makes us do 2 weeks of protein shakes pre-surgery. I'm NOT looking forward to that. It starts Nov. 19th. So yes, I'm not going to get to eat a Thanksgiving meal. It'll be worth it though. I'm sure it'll be a hard two weeks as well.
