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Yesterday was suppose to be my first day back at work. My sister needed to go down to the American Embassy, but she's afraid to drive down town, so I took the day off, to take her. 

We did some shopping, went to Lonestar for lunch (full after 1 fajita ) , then to Costco. We walked around the WHOLE store. Wen we were done, I went home and picked up my dog. I took him to Bruce Pit, and walked for almost an hour and a half before going to the field so he could play with the other dogs. 

I'm amazed at how much energy I had. In the past, if I walked all around Costco, I would have needed to go home and take a nap. I never would have been able to walk so much. And my feet and legs didn't hurt until after I was we'll into my walk at the pit. 

By the time I got home with the dog, I was really tired. My legs were quite sore, especially my ankles and feet, but I still felt great. Also, I've been having trouble sleeping, but I slept like a rock last night  which is great, since I had to be up @ 5:30 this morning.

Today however, my legs are SO SORE. Especially my quadriceps and hips. I need to remember in the future, that just because I have the energy to do something, doesn't mean my body can handle doing it.

Today was my first day back at work. Despite being very sore from all the walking I did yesterday, it was a great day. I am however, totally exhausted. 

My friends and I often go to Rainbow Cinemas @ St. Laurent mall. I barely fit in the seats before, and it was actually painful for me to be squished into the seat for so long. The last time we went, was a couple of days after I started Optifast . I remember when I stood up after the movie, my hips were so sore and stiff, I had trouble walking.  

Yesterday, I was bored. So i decided to go to a movie... Or as it turned out... 2 movies. I didn't even notice the difference during the first movie.... dugh! I went to lunch, then decided to see a 2nd movie. Part way through the movie, it dawned on me that I wasn't jammed into the seat. I was the full of it and there was no room to spare. However, it wasn't putting any pressure on my hips. I was comfortable, not in pain   

I'm looking forward to the day, I sit in those same seats and have room to spare   

 

I hit a stall after week 2  I expected it, so I wasn't freaked out by the scale not moving... but it still sucked. There was no movement on the scale during weeks 3 or 4. Week 5 started last Thursday. As of yesterday, I'm down about 1.5 lbs  bringing my total to 28.2 since my RNY on March 14.... 35 lbs since my meet the surgeon appointment on February 15.  

Now for the NSVs...

~ I'm officially down a pant size (from 30 to 28)

~ my shirts have gone from a large fitting 5x to a small fitting 5x (you know the ones that say 5x, but fit like a 4X) and some of my old 4x fit me now too.

~ my dress boots fit again because my feet aren't as swollen. They're still not comfortable enough to wear all the time, but that will come. Besides, I need to get used to walking in 2" chunky heels again anyway.

~ I feel awesome  my legs and ankles hurt much less than they did 35 lbs ago.  

 

It's been an amazing 2 weeks!

My RNY was performed at the Ottawa Civic hospital on March 14, with Dr' Raiche.  

I'll start with my hospital experience .... I arrived at the Civic alone the morning of surgery.  This was by my choice, as I knew having my sister there would only make me nervous.  My surgery was scheduled for 8:00 am and I had to be at the hospital for 6:15 ... as always, I was early.  I was the 3rd person in the pre-op area (where they get you ready to  go to the OR).  I was surprised to find out that they have special stretchers for pre-op bariatric patients. They are bigger and more comfortable than the regular stretchers. My nurse was awesome.  She helped me get ready, took all my information and prepared my bags to be sent to my room.  It was really busy, and the patient next to me had dementia, and needed extra attention, but the nurse still popped her head in every few minutes to make sure I was ok, and hadn't run for the hills, since I was so nervous. Actually, listening to the woman beside me kept me from thinking about the surgery for a while.  She was a welcome distraction.

After about half an hour, I was wheeled to the OR staging area.  Holy crap, it was cold in that hall.  The porter that took me from the pre-op area to the staging area was very nice.  he chatted along the way, and did his best to reassure me that everything was going to be ok.  He parked me in the hall outside my OR and left.  he came back a couple of minutes later with 2 heated blankets for me ... THANK YOU!!! ... I was freezing.  It was very strange waiting in the hall.  You see all the other patients being brought for their surgeries.  All the staff said hi as they walked past.  All the people that would be a part of my surgery stopped by to introduce themselves, and explain what their role was.  Every one was really friendly ... but on a side note, laying in the hallway, and hearing the sound of a saw (cast removal) really doesn't ease one's nerves.  Finally Dr. Raiche arrived (first time I met her ..BTW).  

Dr Raiche and one other person walked me into the OR.  I have to say, I found it very strange that I had to walk from the hall into the OR.  It kind of freaked me out a bit. While they were trying to get my IV started, Dr. Raiche reintroduced everyone and started talking to me about the procedure.  They were having trouble with the IV, and it REALLY hurt.  They tried 2x on the back of my left hand, and once on my left wrist, with no luck.  finally the anesthesiologist took over, and got it in n the back of my right hand, first try.... YAY HIM :)  While they were doing all of this, Dr. Raiche kept talking to me.  I remember her saying that she was trying to distract me, and I told her she wasn't doing a very good job at it. Then they put the mask on my face, and the last thing I remember is thinking don't panic (I have a phobia about things around my mouth and nose.  I don't even like wearing scarves that cover my mouth).

When I woke up in recovery, I went into panic mode, because of the mask on my face.  It took 3 people to hold me still until I calmed down.  I was in so much pain, but I think i it was from struggling.  They quickly gave em some pain killers and replaced the oxygen mask with the nose thingy.  I remember my nose was super itchy, Sue from the Ottawa WLS Facebook page stopped by to check on me.  I was to out of it to talk.  I ell asleep, and woke up a little while later.  I wasn't't in recovery very long before being moved to my room.  The stretcher was parked in the hall, and I had to walk to my bed .... WTF??? I was so out of it, and dizzy, but I did it.  

The nurses were awesome.  They took great care of me.  I was up and walking the hall by 4:00.  They were prompt with my pain meds, and all in all, although very sore, I felt good.  I walked the hall a couple more times that evening.  My roommate arrived some time after 6 (I think). She had also had surgery with Dr. Raiche that day, but was kept in recovery for 4 hours. Sleep was intermittent that night.  They kept wanting me to try to pee.  They increased my iv fluid, and kept track of how much water I drank.  I must have made a dozen trips to the bathroom without any luck.  They finally did an in and out catheter... not plesant, but not horrible, and I felt much better after.  I started burping the first night, and passing real gas the next afternoon... I swear, with each burp and fart, I felt a little better.  I got to take a shower on Friday :)  it felt good, but I was still covered in pink stuff... from iodine or something they used in the OR.  My skin tends to really absorb stuff, and it took a few showers for it to all be gone. Friday night, sleep was pretty much non existent.  not because of pain or anything like that, but because my roommate snored like a freight train.  I fell asleep listening to my mp3 player, and when the battery died, that was it... no more sleep for me. Fluctuations in my blood pressure kept setting off the machines Thursday night.  When I fall asleep, my blood pressure drops really low.  The nurse asked me if I was athletic... I laughed... If I was athletic, I wouldn't have needed the surgery to start with.  But apparently, my pulse slows to the same as an athletes when I'm sleeping.  They called the doctor, and were told to lower the rate on the monitor.  During the night, I had a nightmare, and my pulse sky rocketed.  I didn't think my nurse could move so fast.  Once I was awake, it went back down, but for the rest of the night, it would spike for a few seconds when I was asleep, then go right back down.  I think I kept going back to the same bad dream I'd had earlier.

I went home around noon on Saturday.  Made my first protein shake, curled up on the sofa with the cat and watched a movie.  I was sore, but felt good.  My sister went home on Sunday, leaving me alone.  I had no trouble with my protein shakes. I walked the hall of my apartment building every couple of hours.  My first week, I averaged 80-85 grams of protein and 64-80 ounces of water on top of the fluid from the shakes, etc.  I included cream soups (mushroom, tomato & roasted red pepper, and roasted red pepper & black bean), beef and vegetable broth.  I added unflavored protein powder to the soups and broths. By my 1 week follow-up, I had lost all the weight I gained from fluids, etc in hospital and an additional 4.5 lbs :)

At the 1 week, I got the ok to start pureed foods.  I've had home made chili & cottage cheese, scrambled eggs & cottage cheese, ground beef & cottage cheese, home made applesauce & cottage cheese, greek yogurt, pork loin (slow cooked with mushroom soup), chicken and avocado, ground beef & avocado.  Even though pureed food looks nasty, it all tasted great.  Things I learned... I don't have the will power not to eat all the applesauce.  every time I went into the kitchen, I had another spoon of it.  I♥ applesauce, and won't be making it again for a while.  There was a lot of natural sugar in the applesauce, and I didn't dump, but I did get the trots... same as I would have if I'd eaten that much in a day pre-op. By the end of the week, I wasn't pureeing  my food, just chewing really well.  I measure out all my portions, and stick to them, however I must break the habit of mindlessly picking at stuff.  On Sunday, I had already eaten supper (chicken & avocado). when I was packing away the left overs, I ate a couple bites of chicken.  I either didn't chew well enough, or was too full, but I ended up in horrible pain all night.  

I've had no trouble with any of the foods I've eaten.  I had the foamies once.  It was in the hospital, the day after surgery.  I took the liquid Tylenol, too much too fast... It was a really yucky feeling.

I can now sleep partially on my tummy (right side).  I can sleep on my back longer than I could before without my back getting too sore, and as of last night, I can lay on my left side for short periods of time before it starts to hurt.

I have virtually no pain, just a little stiffness in the abdominal muscle if I move the wrong way.

As of this morning,... I am down 26.3 lbs from when I started Opti on February 21 (31 lbs since meeting Dr. Yell on Feb 15).  I've lost a total of 24.25 inches (biggest loss is 5" from my stomach and 3 from my under bust, 1.6 bust and 2 from my thighs and 2 from my hips ).  My size 30 jeans that used to be super tight when I put them on are now very loose.  I'm not quite ready to move to my 28s but I will likely need to by the end of next week.

Most importantly, I feel AMAZING!!!  I already feel a difference in my joints.  I can walk further without my ankles hurting.  I have more energy and stamina already.  I have absolutely 0 regrets about having the surgery.  I just wish I had done it a few years ago.

Earlier this week I met with Dr. Dent.  He gave me the requesition for my bloodwork and referred me to the Nutritionist and Behaviorist.  Those appointments will be December 11

I've never been one for wishing away time, but COME ON DECEMBER!!! I am so ready to do this.

I aske Dr. Dent about how long the wait for surgery would be from now.  He said I can expect to have surgey in 6-8 months.  That means my surgey may be between April & June   I'm really hoping it will be earlier.  

I'm such a total obsessive geek.  After seeing Dr. Dent, I came on OH and located as many Ottawa people as I could find that has their timeline listed (That had surgery in 2012) .  I added up all days between the first NUT appointment and surgery date for them, then divided by the # of people.  I came up with an average of 144 days netween the NUT & surgery.  It puts me in the exact time frame Dr. Dent said ... 6-8 months from this week. :)

 So... It's been quite a while since my last post ...LOL

I've had a few appointments with Doctor Eliosoff.  He's awesome  He's helped me to better understand the surgeries and prepare for this process.  He submitted me to the registry in March.  

In March, I met with Doctor Dent at the Ottawa Weight Management Clinic (OWMC).  I was referred there by my family doctor (PCP).  My PCP didn't feel I needed surgery and sent me to OWMC for their OptiFast program.  After about 20 minutes, Dr. Dent agreed that surgery was my best option, and he submitted my name to the registry.

I attended the orientation session at OWMC on April 20th.  I had already done a lot of research, and didn't really learn anything new at the session.  At the session, they told us that the next step would be in a year    Holey Crap!...  Nothing will happen for a YEAR!!  that's a long time.

So... When you think you have a year to wait, what do you do?
* You dream about what life will be like when you're 'normal' sized... how much easire doing things will be.  How much more fun life will be ... and way cooler clothes (Thank God for PINTEREST ... I have the coolest board of clothes I would want if I were smaller)
* You sort the clothes you already have and try to picture yourself in the ones you've 'outgrown' 
* You find it very hard to pack to move, because every item of clothing that doesn't fit now, must be kept for the day when it does
 * You swear make the switch from high octaine coffee  and tea to decaf, once the colossal size can of Folgers that was opened a week before the orientation session is done (should be empty in another week)
* * You imagine how hyped you will be from drinking a Starbucks tripple vente white mocha after going cafine free, then get depressed, because you realise that after surgery you can't  have them anymore.
* You start to say goodbye to the naughty foods you love ... but it becomes one of those on agan, off again relationships.  Each time you atemp to make the break-up lasts a little longer
* You watch every Utube video you can find, relating to weight loss surgery... some more than once. 
* You hang out on OH  , reading people's experiences and getting even more information.   
* You start to worry about when your surgery will be.... because you know it won't happen at a time that is convenient for you.

You do a lot of other stuff, too... but i'll tell ya that later.

So, while hanging out on OH, I recently saw people who attended orientation after me,  posting a different timeline between orientation and the next step.   I called OWMC lat week and was told that it was 6-9 months to the next step .... It will be 6 months on September 20th, so I could hear from them any time between now and Christmas.  I really hope my apointments start soon.

 Today was my first meeting with the weight management specialist (Dr. Eliosoff) to talk about surgery.  I was referred by my cardiologist.  They both feel surgery is the best option for me.  I agree.  

It's something that I have wanted to look into for a long time, but didn't have a regular doctor until last year.  I have a really great GP now.  He referred me to the cardiologist for my heart murmur.  The cardiologist immediately started harping about my weight.  Which pissed me off, but at the same time, my weight puts a lot of added stress on my heart, so I can understand his concern.

My GP had sent a referral to the Ottawa Weight Management Clinic at the beginning of November.  I didn't even hear back from them until the week before Christmas, and my appointment there isn't until March 15.  

My cardiologist referred me to a weight management specialist on December 2, and the appointment was today.  He's going over all the information with me, and getting the testing and application underway.  

We talked about the results a fair bit, as well as some changes to expect.  He didn't go into detail of any type of surgery, but did suggest some reading and researching of the 3 most common types of Bariatric surgery.  He wants me to research, and prepare questions/ concerns about each type for our next appointment.  That's when we will talk about which surgery is best for me, and why.  Dr. Eliosoff says there's about a 2 year wait list for surgery, and we should start the process right away.