Jodie R.
Chicken Wing!
May 03, 2008
I have decided to completely go against the advice of the nutritionist at the surgeon's office. I am supposed to be on full liquids for 2 weeks following surgery.. but I did get permission to move to cream soups, cottage cheese, and yogurt. WELL.. dairy is not necessarily what I wanted.. but I did that for about a day.
Then, when I met the other West Michigan DS ladies.. I ate some chicken pot pie soup. It was great, and it went down fine. I decided to try some more chunky soups.. again, fine. Yesterday, I made egg salad. It tasted SO good, and it also sat very well with me. The family I was visiting was ordering pizza for dinner, so I decided I was going to try some wings. I figured if they were drenched in sauce and I chewed them to oblivion, it would be fine. Guess what? IT WAS!! It was the best chicken wing of my life.. that's right.. just one filled me up. I was stuffed to the brim from one wing and the bleu cheese dressing I had with it. It felt fine eating it.. no pain or discomfort at all. I couldn't believe I was full from 1 wing. Isn't that nuts?
I think I am already starting to
my DS!
Then, when I met the other West Michigan DS ladies.. I ate some chicken pot pie soup. It was great, and it went down fine. I decided to try some more chunky soups.. again, fine. Yesterday, I made egg salad. It tasted SO good, and it also sat very well with me. The family I was visiting was ordering pizza for dinner, so I decided I was going to try some wings. I figured if they were drenched in sauce and I chewed them to oblivion, it would be fine. Guess what? IT WAS!! It was the best chicken wing of my life.. that's right.. just one filled me up. I was stuffed to the brim from one wing and the bleu cheese dressing I had with it. It felt fine eating it.. no pain or discomfort at all. I couldn't believe I was full from 1 wing. Isn't that nuts?
I think I am already starting to
my DS!
ER visit at 8 days out from surgery.
May 02, 2008
I was in the ER last night.
I had a fabulous meeting with Julie, Jackie, and Kim that I had met here on OH.. ate some soup and felt fine last evening.. it was AWESOME to meet them all. They are all really interesting and really some of the nicest people.
I had broken out in a small rash on my abdominal area on Wednesday evening and took some Benadryl.. but it steadily got worse over the day yesterday. Once I was home from visiting last night with a friend.. I checked my abdomen out, and it was much worse. I went directly to the ER. They gave me a shot of Benadryl.. to go along with the 50mg I had taken an hour prior to the 50mg shot.. and a shot of Solu-Medrol steroid. They were so irritated with me in the ER because I would not let them do anything to me without calling my surgeon's office. They tried to talk me out of it at first and tell me it would be fine.. I was packing my stuff and ready to leave if they wouldn't call. They called. It WAS fine.. but they are not MY surgeon or from MY surgeon's office, so I wanted to be sure.
Turns out I am highly allergic to the surgical prep that they used. I thought it was weird that it took almost a week to show up with a reaction, but I have always had weird skin. Once the operative report is in my chart, I need to get a copy so that I can add that type of prep to my list of allergies so that nobody ever touches me with it again. The itching was so intense, I was about to go crazy.
I had an appointment to follow up on things this morning with the PA at my surgeon's office, and the rash is almost completely resolved. They had given me an rx for a 5-day course of prednisone in the ER, but I double checked with the PA.. they didn't want me to start it. I figured as much. She said it would irritate my 'pouch'. I was like.. I don't have a pouch. She still said she didn't think I needed it. Fine with me. Steroids freak me out.
So, I am back to my normal self today.. and I just had 4 bites of egg salad for dinner. It was glorious.
I had a fabulous meeting with Julie, Jackie, and Kim that I had met here on OH.. ate some soup and felt fine last evening.. it was AWESOME to meet them all. They are all really interesting and really some of the nicest people.
I had broken out in a small rash on my abdominal area on Wednesday evening and took some Benadryl.. but it steadily got worse over the day yesterday. Once I was home from visiting last night with a friend.. I checked my abdomen out, and it was much worse. I went directly to the ER. They gave me a shot of Benadryl.. to go along with the 50mg I had taken an hour prior to the 50mg shot.. and a shot of Solu-Medrol steroid. They were so irritated with me in the ER because I would not let them do anything to me without calling my surgeon's office. They tried to talk me out of it at first and tell me it would be fine.. I was packing my stuff and ready to leave if they wouldn't call. They called. It WAS fine.. but they are not MY surgeon or from MY surgeon's office, so I wanted to be sure.
Turns out I am highly allergic to the surgical prep that they used. I thought it was weird that it took almost a week to show up with a reaction, but I have always had weird skin. Once the operative report is in my chart, I need to get a copy so that I can add that type of prep to my list of allergies so that nobody ever touches me with it again. The itching was so intense, I was about to go crazy.
I had an appointment to follow up on things this morning with the PA at my surgeon's office, and the rash is almost completely resolved. They had given me an rx for a 5-day course of prednisone in the ER, but I double checked with the PA.. they didn't want me to start it. I figured as much. She said it would irritate my 'pouch'. I was like.. I don't have a pouch. She still said she didn't think I needed it. Fine with me. Steroids freak me out.
So, I am back to my normal self today.. and I just had 4 bites of egg salad for dinner. It was glorious.
Some nice things happened today.
Apr 30, 2008
A couple great things happened today. I dug out my jewelry box.. and all of my old rings already fit me! I am close to not being able to wear my wedding set anymore.. I was just able to START wearing it again a few months ago. I have some nice aquamarine birthstone jewelry from over the years that my mom has given me, and she also gave me a ruby heart-shaped ring that has never fit me until today. I am going to start wearing the ruby in place of my wedding set so I don't lose those rings.. they are getting close to being so loose they fall off. I called my mom to tell her immediately. I was almost crying. A nice milestone. I texted my husband, of course.. his response was "smile". A thousand things said with just one word. He is the best.
Also, today.. I was allowed to advance my diet! Normally, it is not until 2 weeks out that they allow it. I have been feeling really great.. and when I was talking about things on the DS board, Julie informed me she was started on more normal foods at 5 days out. I was HAPPY and called MMPC first thing this morning. Of course, they didn't RESPOND first thing this morning. It wasn't until 1 more call and 1:30 in the afternoon that they gave me a RELUCTANT okay.. and I was off and running to the kitchen for some cream of mushroom soup. Sweet soup, I love you. It was the best soup of my life, I am not kidding you. It took me an hour to eat 5 ounces. It's now 2 hours after finishing, and I feel great. No bad things happened. So far, so good.
Overall, a very good day. Onward and upward!
Also, today.. I was allowed to advance my diet! Normally, it is not until 2 weeks out that they allow it. I have been feeling really great.. and when I was talking about things on the DS board, Julie informed me she was started on more normal foods at 5 days out. I was HAPPY and called MMPC first thing this morning. Of course, they didn't RESPOND first thing this morning. It wasn't until 1 more call and 1:30 in the afternoon that they gave me a RELUCTANT okay.. and I was off and running to the kitchen for some cream of mushroom soup. Sweet soup, I love you. It was the best soup of my life, I am not kidding you. It took me an hour to eat 5 ounces. It's now 2 hours after finishing, and I feel great. No bad things happened. So far, so good.
Overall, a very good day. Onward and upward!
Comparison.
Apr 30, 2008
So.. I have very few pictures of myself over the years. More recently, there are more.. due to a hard lesson I learned.
I wanted to do a comparison here and see if people can tell a difference. It's hard seeing myself every day to know if there is a difference.
The picture in the blue shirt is from the day of my MIL's bday on 12/04/2007. The B&W is me 7 days following surgery just out of the shower, no makeup, and a fuzzy ponytail today 4/30/2008. Haha. Let me know what you think.. brutal honesty is expected.
I wanted to do a comparison here and see if people can tell a difference. It's hard seeing myself every day to know if there is a difference.
The picture in the blue shirt is from the day of my MIL's bday on 12/04/2007. The B&W is me 7 days following surgery just out of the shower, no makeup, and a fuzzy ponytail today 4/30/2008. Haha. Let me know what you think.. brutal honesty is expected.
Unbelievable, really.
Apr 29, 2008
Wow, I just have to say.. wow. Since surgery... just 6 days ago.. I have lost 11 pounds. Tomorrow, it will be 3 weeks since my preoperative class and weigh in.. and I will have lost a total of 35 pounds. I mean, I have been on strictly liquid the entire time, and exercising almost nearly daily.. but these are pounds that are not going to come back this time. They are gone forever.
I have had some feelings of guilt about how easy my recovery has been so far, and some feelings of almost dread about things around the corner. I posted about it on the duodenal switch forum, and I will include a link here. I got some really amazing responses and learned some new things as well. I just love this site for all of the support I have gotten. I continue to feel it has made my time of surgery and recovery so much easier and better. The DS community here on OH is truly something great to be a part of. Thanks everyone!
http://tinyurl.com/3nhqcv
My surgery, part II.
Apr 28, 2008
So, I made it through surgery with flying colors! Apparently, everyone was making smart remarks about how if I wanted attention, I could have done something a little easier.. and I guess I was pretty free with the rude hand gestures, if you know what I mean. Haha. I VAGUELY remember some of that.. but I was really groggy and out of it for the whole day on Wednesday. I don't remember seeing anyone there really. The first real memories I have are of LATE at night on Wednesday/early morning Thursday when I finally came out of the anesthesia fog. My mom was asleep on a cot in my room, and everyone else had gone home. My mom rang for the nurse because they had wanted to know when I was awake so they could get me up and walking. WHAT? I was barely conscious. I did it though. That first night and through most of the day on Thursday, the automatic pain pump was my friend. They gave me Dilaudid instead of morphine which is apparently exponentially stronger than morphine. I love Dr. Kemmeter. That was his idea. I don't feel like I was pushing it all the time, but when I did.. I was out like a light for a good amount of time. I was always apologizing to people for falling asleep while they were visiting.
So.. Thursday afternoon... the fun starts. They had hooked up a bag of potassium chloride because my potassium had come back as borderline low. Let me just add a tidbit of information here.. I am a nightmare for IV access. Usually, it cannot be found. When they do get it, it usually goes bad within minutes or the vein blows up. In the past year, I have been hospitalized twice for MRSA infections... and the only way to treat those is with IV antibiotics. In a 2-day hospital stay, I had 6 different IV sites with 17 attempts. Yes, that's right. SEVENTEEN. Everyone tries twice.. and sometimes 3 times. Ugh. So, back to Thursday. My IV machine thing starts beeping. I look at it.. distal occlusion. Here we go. This is something I know well, keep in mind. I start furiously looking at my hand for the telltale bump where the fluid is going in but not into the vein.. just under the skin. It seemed fine. Momentary panic over. The nurse comes in.. messes with it.. gets it started again.. then.. more beeping. She changed ALL the lines and was just sure that was the reason. Okay, it starts again.. and I start to drift off to sleep again. About 3 minutes after she left the room, my hand was puffing up like a balloon and hurting SO bad. I pushed the call button and stopped the IV. It was bad. Very bad. She begins then pushing on my hand all over the place, evidently in an effort to 'confirm' this. WOW STOP TOUCHING ME. During most of this, I am usually a good patient. I don't freak out.. on the outside. On the inside, I am wanting to SCREAM. Ok, so.. she attempts twice for an IV. Nothing. She is going to get her 'boss' who is a 'pro' at this. Fabulous. He comes in and tries 3 times.. all pompous about it and crap. Nothing. He is then going to get a 'good friend' of his who will be sure to help me. His friend finally shows.. and surprise surprise.. it's one of the bright red uniforms. I am familiar with these also. Everyone at this hospital wears a color according to the job they do.. nursing assistants are burgundy, RNs are navy..and the bright red ones are critical care. In my various IV escapades in the past, these people usually show up. They are the people who can get an IV into someone who is just this side of death and has no blood in their veins. If access can be gotten, they can get it. She looked and looked at my veins.. and didn't see anything she wanted to mess with. My mom.. bless her bossy and domineering heart.. then steps in and says that there MUST be another way. She was done seeing me go through this again. Yup, there was another way.. everything by mouth.. and that is what I did. At 1 day out from surgery, I was drinking all my fluids, pain medications, and taking protein. TAKE THAT YOU USELESS IV. Haha. So, the last entire day I was in the hospital, I was completely off an IV and taking everything orally. The rest of the day was uneventful. I slept for most of it, sipped fluids, and walked at least every 4 hours. They have Minute Maid Light there.. which I had not had before. If you haven't had this, you should try it. There are lemonade, orangeade, and cherry lime flavors. Liked em all and bought some for home too!
On Friday, I showered.. which was the most awesome shower of my life.. and I was ready to go home. Dr. Kemmeter was out of town that day, so one of the surgeons from his office, Dr. Baker, was the one to see me. He was nice. The PA came first, and then Dr. Baker. Well, here's the bad news. My white count was elevated in the morning labs.. usually a sign of an infection. Nooooooo. They were going to re-do the labs at noon and let me know about going home from there. I had showered, and the nurse had let me dress in my own normal clothes. That always makes you feel better. It was just a waiting game then. Although Dr. Kemmeter was out of town, he called to speak to the nurse about me and got a full report of everything that was going on. Have I mentioned that I love him? Seriously. He is my hero. My mom ended up going home in the afternoon.. she had been there with me for 2 full days, and she does have a business to run. My niece Heather came to visit, and she was ready to take me home if they were ready to discharge me. It was 4pm by this time, and the whole going home thing was not looking good. I had just taken a few sips of Lortab and was asleep.. when the nurse came running in and was screaming she had good news. She stopped mid sentence I guess and asked Heather if she should wake me up. YESSSSS. My white count had gone down, and I was good for discharge. AWESOME. I was outta there, buddy. She gave me my instructions, I got my walking papers, and my drain was taken out. The whole taking the drain out was SO weird.. I could feel it coming out from way down deep, but it didn't hurt at all. I got an rx for Lortab elixir and Prevacid Solutabs (which had a $50 copay.. wow). I have to get a CBC on 4/29/08 to make sure my white count isn't still wonky.
End of hospital stay.. and on to recovery at home!
My surgery day.
Apr 27, 2008
Well, I have been contemplating about how much to write about my day of surgery. Things really happened very quickly.. then wham.. I was awake in a hospital room in the middle of the night with my mom asleep on a cot beside me. My mom was a lifesaver.. she stayed with me the entire time I was in the hospital. Although I am 30 years old, I was really so very grateful to have her there.
The morning of surgery, my sister-in-law came to my house to stay for the day so my husband and niece (who is 24) could stay at the hospital with me. We were on our way to Blodgett. Finding the place and checking in was very uneventful. In no time, I was in a gown in a holding room after giving a preop urine sample. We were just joking and waiting to head to the curtained off presurgical area.. no nervousness really yet. I have pictures from here of me in my gown that I will post. They were the most near to being preop as it gets!
I was moved to the preop surgical area, and an IV was started. I saw Dr. Kemmeter, his PA, and the anesthesiologist. I got some medicine to calm my nerves (which didn't work haha), and then I was off. I told my niece and my husband that I loved them.. all with huge tears in my eyes.
After that, I was brought to the OR and placed on the table. They put some oxygen over my face, and a nurse was holding my hand. They were reassuring me.. and that was the last thing I remember.
More later...
The morning of surgery, my sister-in-law came to my house to stay for the day so my husband and niece (who is 24) could stay at the hospital with me. We were on our way to Blodgett. Finding the place and checking in was very uneventful. In no time, I was in a gown in a holding room after giving a preop urine sample. We were just joking and waiting to head to the curtained off presurgical area.. no nervousness really yet. I have pictures from here of me in my gown that I will post. They were the most near to being preop as it gets!
I was moved to the preop surgical area, and an IV was started. I saw Dr. Kemmeter, his PA, and the anesthesiologist. I got some medicine to calm my nerves (which didn't work haha), and then I was off. I told my niece and my husband that I loved them.. all with huge tears in my eyes.
After that, I was brought to the OR and placed on the table. They put some oxygen over my face, and a nurse was holding my hand. They were reassuring me.. and that was the last thing I remember.
More later...
I am officially switched!
Apr 25, 2008
Here I am, three days on the other side of surgery. I am not feeling too bad. I am needing the pain medication to get some sleep, and I can't seem to get comfortable otherwise. That helps with the walking.. I am up and moving around from place to place to try to get into a comfortable spot. Haha.
I will post more about the actual surgery time and all that soon.. for now, I am going to sip some water and rest!
Preoperative diet, day 9.
Apr 19, 2008
I had a major freakout last night. I was inches away from canceling my surgery. All the little nagging fears I have just came running to the surface and started chewing at my brain. I was near tears and just.. stressed. I ended up posting on the DS board to find out if this type of thing was normal. Seems it is. Haha. I am much calmer now and back to just really wanting and working toward my goals.
The preop diet has been really fine. I don't mind it too much. I was a little bit scared. I had heard that some people just really hate it and cannot eat it. It's not gourmet, that's for sure.. but it gets the job done. I am just getting a little bored with all of the same stuff all the time. I am going to save liquids and just have complete liquids on the day prior to surgery. I want to make sure I am all cleaned out, if ya know what I mean.
The hospital called to register me on Thursday morning, and then the surgical nurse called Friday morning to get an extensive health history and ask me every question under the sun. I am glad they do that though, makes for a safer surgery I would think. When I had my appointment at MMPC a week ago Wednesday, the PA had told me I was the first surgery of the day. When the nurse called yesterday, it is now scheduled for 12:05 in the afternoon. Here I was gearing up for an early morning, and it's not until the afternoon. That's fine with me though, as long as I get the surgery sometime that day.
That's about it for now.. just eating my bland food, drinking a LOT, and waiting for Wednesday. Wish me luck!
Also, we have unlimited texting.. and my husband will be sending updates via text messages. If you would like to be added to the list of numbers, let me know! My angel is Frozen_Peach.. we will be texting her updates to post too.
The preop diet has been really fine. I don't mind it too much. I was a little bit scared. I had heard that some people just really hate it and cannot eat it. It's not gourmet, that's for sure.. but it gets the job done. I am just getting a little bored with all of the same stuff all the time. I am going to save liquids and just have complete liquids on the day prior to surgery. I want to make sure I am all cleaned out, if ya know what I mean.
The hospital called to register me on Thursday morning, and then the surgical nurse called Friday morning to get an extensive health history and ask me every question under the sun. I am glad they do that though, makes for a safer surgery I would think. When I had my appointment at MMPC a week ago Wednesday, the PA had told me I was the first surgery of the day. When the nurse called yesterday, it is now scheduled for 12:05 in the afternoon. Here I was gearing up for an early morning, and it's not until the afternoon. That's fine with me though, as long as I get the surgery sometime that day.
That's about it for now.. just eating my bland food, drinking a LOT, and waiting for Wednesday. Wish me luck!
Also, we have unlimited texting.. and my husband will be sending updates via text messages. If you would like to be added to the list of numbers, let me know! My angel is Frozen_Peach.. we will be texting her updates to post too.
Preoperative diet, day 6.
Apr 15, 2008
Well, things are going pretty good.
I have hardly been hungry at all on the diet. They said that because you are getting the protein you need, your hunger would be reduced. I didn't believe that until I experienced it myself. Haha.
I went to my PCP yesterday for my yearly "exam".. though it has been much longer than a year since my last one. I didn't have insurance, and those things are not cheap yanno. Pretty uneventful. My doctor did ask about the DS surgery. She had never heard of it. She is pretty open minded about things, so I am confident she will still be able to take care of me after surgery. She has been with me through a lot in the past few months and stuck with me, so I am sticking with her too.
I was so excited yesterday at the appointment because I was down 13 pounds from the day I had my preop class just last Wednesday. I mean.. 13 pounds in 5 days.. that's awesome, right? haha. WELL.. I went to see the PA at the surgeon's office today to make sure I was progressing on the diet.. and guess what? On their scale, I am down 20 POUNDS. AWESOME. I was a little worried going into it because I have been losing weight for 6 months, so I didn't have the "easy" beginning weight to lose. It has been fine though, really.
We went to a local park today and walked on a trail that is 1 mile and 163 feet long.. they have the distance posted. My niece (who is 22) was telling me how great it was to be doing something like that with me. I have been basically limited to SHORT walks in the past before any weight loss.. so this is new to me and to everyone around me.
I have been getting in 150 grams of protein and at LEAST 64 ounces of water per day. Only 8 days until surgery now.
I have hardly been hungry at all on the diet. They said that because you are getting the protein you need, your hunger would be reduced. I didn't believe that until I experienced it myself. Haha.
I went to my PCP yesterday for my yearly "exam".. though it has been much longer than a year since my last one. I didn't have insurance, and those things are not cheap yanno. Pretty uneventful. My doctor did ask about the DS surgery. She had never heard of it. She is pretty open minded about things, so I am confident she will still be able to take care of me after surgery. She has been with me through a lot in the past few months and stuck with me, so I am sticking with her too.
I was so excited yesterday at the appointment because I was down 13 pounds from the day I had my preop class just last Wednesday. I mean.. 13 pounds in 5 days.. that's awesome, right? haha. WELL.. I went to see the PA at the surgeon's office today to make sure I was progressing on the diet.. and guess what? On their scale, I am down 20 POUNDS. AWESOME. I was a little worried going into it because I have been losing weight for 6 months, so I didn't have the "easy" beginning weight to lose. It has been fine though, really.
We went to a local park today and walked on a trail that is 1 mile and 163 feet long.. they have the distance posted. My niece (who is 22) was telling me how great it was to be doing something like that with me. I have been basically limited to SHORT walks in the past before any weight loss.. so this is new to me and to everyone around me.
I have been getting in 150 grams of protein and at LEAST 64 ounces of water per day. Only 8 days until surgery now.
About Me
Grand Rapids, MI
Location
39.0
BMI
Surgery
04/23/2008
Surgery Date
Feb 04, 2008
Member Since
