Happy Birthday to Me
Well, today is my one year anniversary of WLS and yesterday was my 42 birthday, that is why I chose Oct 9 as my WLS day. Last year my WLS was my birthday present!!
I remember getting up really really early because I had to be at the hospital by 5:30am and it was a 30 minute drive. I remember feeling a little anxious but excited all at the same time. It didn't help matters much that I have a slight problem with medications that are suppose to make you sleepy for me most have the opposite effect. For example Codine knocks most people out for hours, not me I get hyper and can't sleep all I do is toss and turn. When I had my sleep study test the medicine they gave me had the same effect, after taking it only got about 2 hours sleep out of 6 hours of laying there in bed trying to sleep. So you get the picture. Due to the effect those medications have on me they decided it was probably in my best interest not to give me any pills just in case before they took me to the operating room. To make things worse when they rolled me down to the operating room I was wide awake. Once we were in the operating room they told me they would keep me awake until the heard the doctor was in the building....of course that wait seemed to last forever. Once I was finally a sleep I don't remember much else except once I was put in a room, luckily since I was the only WLS patient in the hospital I had a room all to myself, I remember the feeling of cotton in my mouth and just wanting to have a damp cloth to take out the nasty cottony feeling in my mouth. The rest of the day was just a blurr of sleeping off and on.
The next day was nice to finally be able to have those ice chips.... what a relief. I remember the first time I tried to get up and the feeling that even though there was nothing in my pouch something wanted to come up, but didn't. Once I started moving around things were a lot better.
What a comotion there was that night the old man next door lock himself in the bathroom and would only come out for his girlfriend (his favorite nurse). Sadly to say he passed away the next morning.
During my stay the hospital was being evaluated to become a Center of Excellence so I was blessed with royal treatment my whole stay. I had surgery on Monday, went home on Wednesday, stopped taking pain medication on Friday (liquid dimeral - worse tasting stuff I have ever had smelled like burnt sugar) - reason I stopped taking was due to inability to sleep once again a sleep medication that knocks most people out keeps me wide a wake. Then on Saturday I attended my son's Pee Wee football game and on Sunday attend the evening church service and by then I was down 15lbs already. Then Tuesday 8 days after surgery I returned to work.
When I had this surgery 1 year ago today I would was hoping by my one year anniversary to be a size 10 with a final goal of a size 6. Today one year to the day from surgery I have gone from 232lbs to 133.5lbs and I am wearing a size 6, but even that is a little loose!!!! In my wildest dreams I never could imagine me being this small again. It had been my dream for so so very long and I have made it and I couldn't be happier or prouder of myself. I stuck with the plan my surgeon recommended and I know that is why this journey has been such a success for me. I have seen friends here who have followed their surgeons orders and friends who have not and I knew that if I were to ever reach my goal I would have to follow his orders very very closely and I did and I give all my credit to the fact that I did what my doctor said to do.
Would I recommend WLS to someone else? Yes with this question and advice.....Are you mentally ready to make the changes in your life that are necessary to be successful? My advice is to know the facts, talk to others who have had the surgery both who have been successful and who haven't found it successful for them. Then make sure you are mentally ready to make the changes necessary. If you aren't prepared to change your lifestyle to the lifestyle your surgeon and nutritionist tells you to then my advice is to wait. Wait until you are prepared mentally for the changes you will need to make. If you can honestly look in the mirror and tell yourself "I'm ready. I'm truly ready to take the necessary steps to make this WLS work for me. I'm ready to follow directions no matter what." Then I say take the plunge GO FOR IT because if your surgery is even half a successful as mine has been then you wil never ever regret making that decision.
Sorry so long.
Teresa
P.S. For my 42 birthday my hubby bought me a brand new 2008 Toyota Camry!! When I drove it off the lot it had only 9 miles on it!!
. Most Active
Recent Topics
