I forgot to post a before picture so I am going to do that now. So the first one is the night before surgery and the second one is about 3 years ago.
Hopefully you all have a great week and for those of you in the WLS category good luck!
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Liquid Diet
I have mainly been on a liquid diet. At my doctor's office the first week out of surgery is liquid only. The second week is liquid and soft food like yogurt and watery mashed potatoes. Can I say though I am ready for more food. They taught in my nutrition class to take it slow because you are still healing after surgery. So I will take it slow, but I am starved for real food. Okay not actually starving but I have been having cravings for real food. In the mean time I am looking at food websites to hold me over. One of the hardest things about liquids is getting the required 48 to 64 ounces every day. I have never been much for liquids. I mean really not much for liquid. Before surgery I would maybe drink a little in the morning and then with lunch and dinner. So now I find myself forcing the liquids. It's important though because after WLS you are more prone to dehydration so it is important to sip, sip, sip.
I forgot to post a before picture so I am going to do that now. So the first one is the night before surgery and the second one is about 3 years ago.
I forgot to post a before picture so I am going to do that now. So the first one is the night before surgery and the second one is about 3 years ago.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Intro To Me
I am starting this blog because I have searched for a lot of blogs that deal with weight loss surgery and I have not been so successful. I will share TMI so beware. I want to be upfront and honest about everything I am going through so be prepared.
I chose to officially have surgery in January 2014. Up to that point I had done some research on the process of surgery and attended a couple of seminars to become acquainted with Weight Loss Surgery (known now as WLS). I had my initial appointments in February 2014 and a surgery date was scheduled for May 12,2014! So fast. Most will not have this experience. A lot depends on your individual insurance. My insurance required a 5% weight loss and a years worth of doctor's notes. Also a lot of surgeons will have their own requirements in addition to insurance requirements so keep that in mind. I had a few additional doctor's appointments before surgery would be approved. Surgery was a last minute approval. I knew I was going to be having surgery the Friday before my Monday morning surgery.
Now this part might get scary. The day of my surgery I had to be at the hospital at 5am. They took me back, weighed me in at 247 lbs, hooked me up to an IV and then gave me about 8 different pills. One was described to me as marijuana in a pill! I was then taken to the pre-op room. There I met the Anesthesiologist, surgeon and surgical staff. I don't remember anything after that. I do remember waking up in my room after surgery.
After surgery was the worst for me. There were three people in my room trying to get me to wake up. I immediately felt nauseous. I began to throw up which is bad since they just did surgery on my stomach. In the process of puking my guts I had no control over my bladder. I was puking and peeing at the same time! It was horrible. I got cleaned up and it all started over again. I then spent Monday and Tuesday completely out of it. The anesthesia was really hard on me. You should know that some people do have a negative reaction to the anesthesia so keep that in mind.
Wednesday was my first day alert and awake after surgery that would allow me to do what my doctor requested. His request was that I drink 4 oz of fluids over a one hour period and walk. The goal was to get me up to 48 oz of fluid a day. I worked hard on this that whole day. I did not want to have to be there longer than needed so the goal was to get discharged on Thursday. Late Wednesday I started to have diarrhea.
Thursday morning the doctor came by to see if I was good to go. I mentioned to her that I started to have diarrhea and wanted to know if that was okay. It wasn't. I was tested and confirmed positive for C-diff (for more info see http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/c-difficile/basics/definition/con-20029664). This infection caused sever dehydration which is already a problem for someone who undergoes WLS. I stayed in the hospital until the following Monday morning.
Coming home is something I looked forward to. It is the start of a new life for me. It is the start of an adventure. I didn't choose WLS on a whim and as an easy way out. I struggled for a long time to lose weight on my own and I couldn't do it quickly enough to combat my growing health problems. My biggest advice is to not have this surgery if you are not sure. There is no going back. It is a huge life decision that changes the way you live the rest of your life. So do research and if you are a prayer pray.
I chose to officially have surgery in January 2014. Up to that point I had done some research on the process of surgery and attended a couple of seminars to become acquainted with Weight Loss Surgery (known now as WLS). I had my initial appointments in February 2014 and a surgery date was scheduled for May 12,2014! So fast. Most will not have this experience. A lot depends on your individual insurance. My insurance required a 5% weight loss and a years worth of doctor's notes. Also a lot of surgeons will have their own requirements in addition to insurance requirements so keep that in mind. I had a few additional doctor's appointments before surgery would be approved. Surgery was a last minute approval. I knew I was going to be having surgery the Friday before my Monday morning surgery.
Now this part might get scary. The day of my surgery I had to be at the hospital at 5am. They took me back, weighed me in at 247 lbs, hooked me up to an IV and then gave me about 8 different pills. One was described to me as marijuana in a pill! I was then taken to the pre-op room. There I met the Anesthesiologist, surgeon and surgical staff. I don't remember anything after that. I do remember waking up in my room after surgery.
After surgery was the worst for me. There were three people in my room trying to get me to wake up. I immediately felt nauseous. I began to throw up which is bad since they just did surgery on my stomach. In the process of puking my guts I had no control over my bladder. I was puking and peeing at the same time! It was horrible. I got cleaned up and it all started over again. I then spent Monday and Tuesday completely out of it. The anesthesia was really hard on me. You should know that some people do have a negative reaction to the anesthesia so keep that in mind.
Wednesday was my first day alert and awake after surgery that would allow me to do what my doctor requested. His request was that I drink 4 oz of fluids over a one hour period and walk. The goal was to get me up to 48 oz of fluid a day. I worked hard on this that whole day. I did not want to have to be there longer than needed so the goal was to get discharged on Thursday. Late Wednesday I started to have diarrhea.
Thursday morning the doctor came by to see if I was good to go. I mentioned to her that I started to have diarrhea and wanted to know if that was okay. It wasn't. I was tested and confirmed positive for C-diff (for more info see http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/c-difficile/basics/definition/con-20029664). This infection caused sever dehydration which is already a problem for someone who undergoes WLS. I stayed in the hospital until the following Monday morning.
Coming home is something I looked forward to. It is the start of a new life for me. It is the start of an adventure. I didn't choose WLS on a whim and as an easy way out. I struggled for a long time to lose weight on my own and I couldn't do it quickly enough to combat my growing health problems. My biggest advice is to not have this surgery if you are not sure. There is no going back. It is a huge life decision that changes the way you live the rest of your life. So do research and if you are a prayer pray.
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