Kelby F.
I've been obese since I can remember. I remember being in high school and just wanting to have surgery. I young and naive, and didn't know anything about it except I could lose weight with it. I looked at is a magic cure all for my obesity. My doctor at the time did not recommend it for me since I was so young (16 or 17). I was prescribed Fastin (phentermine) I did lose some weight, but the side effects were too much for me.
Fast forward a few years to 2007. I went to a seminar to learn more about WLS. I still didn't feel ready and I dieted and exercised on my own and lost about 20lbs. I ended up moving in 2008 to where I currently live and with the hassel of moving my deiting and exercise kinda went to hell. I tried different techniques in dieting, but nothing seemed to stick.
In July of 2010, I went back to another seminar. I also met with the bariatric cooridnator, nutritionist, surgeon and did my psych.eval. All went very well. The only thing was I was torn between two surgeries, Lap Band and Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. The Sleeve was completely new to me. The Lab Band became less appealing after find out the cons of it. I looked in to VSG more and found it was the best choice for me. Yes, it was a newer surgery for weightloss, but it had been performed for years for ulcers and stomach cancer and had been successful with few complications.
At the end of July my paperwork was submitted my insurance company, United Health Care. I heard back within one to two weeks. They had approved me, but they were going to require me to do 3 months of supervised weightloss. This was because I didn't have any documented weightloss attempts in the last 5 years. Also, because I didn't have a Primary Care Physician in that time either. In the end this was blessing. I was able to meet with the nutritionist I would be working with after surgery. I met with her in August, September (this was the visit we scheduled my surgery for 11/11), and then again in October.
The requirements from surgeon were to lose 10lbs from my starting weight and a 2 week pre-op diet. My pre-op diet consisted of protein shakes for 2 meals and 4-6oz of lean meat and 1/2-1 cup of veggies. I was also aloud two snacks a day which could be a peice of string cheese, 1oz beef jerkey, or some fresh veggies. This was easier than I thought. I lost 16 lbs on this 2 week diet.
November 10, 2010. My suregery was scheduled for 11:40 am. Needless to say I didn't get in until 3:00pm. Everything went smoothly. I will admit that I HATED having a catheter. I vomit up some blood. Which I was told is normal. I was brought back to my room around 7:00 pm. Around 10:00 pm I asked if I could get up and go for a walk. The nurses were very impressed as I didn't need any assistance from them, but they did make me hang on to my IV cart. The dyed ice chips are horrible. I almost vomitted. Sleep was tough in hospital, but I managed to get a little bit. The next day I was up and moving around by myself. I will admit when the removed JP drain I almost lost it. It was the most awkward feeling I have ever experienced! I was released that day.
My recovery was smooth. I only took the pain meds for 2 day after surgery because I could not stomach the horrid taste. I also only had minimal pain. I felt like I had done about a million sit ups. I was able to get Short Term Disablity through my employer so I was able to take time off from 11/10 to 11/28.
As of today I am 3 weeks post-op and I have lost a total of 44 lbs since August 2010. The OH community has been amazing in my journey and I will continue to reach out to you all for guidance!!
