Panic attack......

This isn't the usual situation I would freak out in but I actually felt my heartrate climb and the sweat start to bead up on my forehead.Please read on as this could get a little lengthy. Last night I was scrubbed in for an emergency C-section on a first time mom who has a tumor in her uterus that was pressing on the baby.The baby was 6 weeks early with a low biophysical profile {test done per OB nurses}. The Dr. had decided to go ahead with surgery instead of waiting until her previous date of May 11th. Now for the part that bothered me..........this mom weighed over 400 lbs. My heart broke for her as I watched her TRY to get from the cart over to the OR table without much help from the surgery staff. She was unable to lie flat because she would be sooooooo short of breath. Anesthesia was concerned about putting her to sleep before putting the tube in her trachea for fear they wouldn't be able to pass it because of her short stocky neck and have to give her a trach instead....way too risky for a baby under general anesthesia.So instead they had do it with her AWAKE. They would try to numb her throat ,but she would cough and gag and finally after 45 minutes her airway was secure.THEN......... her abdomen was so large that they had to take tape that was 4 inches wide, lift her abdomen up and run the tape up and over her head so the Dr. could make the incision in the right place. I kept thinking about my surgery on Thurs. and the emotions were too overwhelming, I was freaked...what if I don't wake up, too much pain, can't keep anything down etc. I almost had to leave the room. Thank you God for giving this woman and her husband a healthy baby boy and his mother to take care of him. This was very difficult for me to watch at this delicate time,I'm better today, but I was close to backing out last night. Thanks for listening.

Take a deep breath and relax.. Just know that the Lord will be with you and keep you safe.. Congrats on your upcoming day.. my prayers and thoughts will be with you.. *huggs* Tracie

This must have been so difficult for you so soon before your own surgery but consider of the benefits of the surgery on your own body. Look what obesity can do & how it affects you body. In my case all my fat hid a tumor that neither my PCP or the gynecologist had detected during exams. It was probably growing for years. Even when they knew it was there & where to feel, they had a difficult time finding it. It was detected just 12 days before my WLS surgery was scheduled by an ultrasound that had been ordered to show the health of my gall bladder & of course had to be taken care of first. Later my gynecologist admitted to me he had already made plans to send me to Rochester for followup treatment because he was conviced it was ovarian cancer. It was the size of a quart jar. Heck, if it had been ovarian cancer I probably wouldn 't be alive today. Everytime I think of it I just can't believe that the fat hid what was going on so well. Fortunately for me it was benign & 11 weeks later I had my WLS. I feel so bad for the woman you referred to. How difficult her life must be at that size and imagine how difficult it will be for her to recover from this delivery, not to mention the psychological scars from her experience yesterday. I hope someday she is able to live a normal life. I rememebr what it was like to be 340#. So many things that "normal" people do were impossible for me. The littlest things caused so much pain and even walking from my car into a store was almost impossible some days. No one understood what it was like. Good luck with your surgery. You'll do just fine, I'm sure. Besides, you have an excellent surgeon! He got me through all this, he'll do the same for you too! Dixie

Morning Becki, It's easier for me to sit back & tell you to take a deep breath & this to shall pass. WLS shouldn't be taken lightly by any means, but you already know that. Remember everyone is different! I look at the before/after pics & some of the gals that were the same weight wore smaller clothes than me! Now how can that be?! It had to be scarey for you looking at that new mom & seeing yourself on the table. It would scare me also. Put your faith in your surgeon & you'll do just fine Hugs Carolyn Congrats to mom & baby

Hi Becky My name is Tim Sytsma, I live in Delmar Iowa. I was 601 when I had the surgery, my surgeon is Dr. Glass**** at the Covenant Clinic in Cedar Falls/Waterloo. Yes, if you are larger, a larger than normal WLS surgery patient, they will likely put your tube in when your awake... BUT it was not as bad as you might think? I concentrated on the days leading up to surgery on relaxing, and staying calm. And it happened like....(counting) They had me count out loud... One.. two.. insert tube.....four...fiv.... and I was out. OUT cold. They administered the sedation at the same time they put the tube in and I remember about literally two seconds... it was a firm pressure but it surprisingly didnt hurt... they did it when I was awake... (*intubation) and it went very smooth... VERY fast. Becky, I am now 495, I have lost just over a hundred pounds. My goal weight is 189 (so I still have 300 to go :P) I dont know what kind of surgery that you are going to have... mine was done Laproscopically... and was the RNY type. After surgery... they will have you up walking and it feels GOOD to walk.. the more you walk actually the better you feel. My surgery was December 22nd, just before last christmas, and it went smoothly without a hitch. I am sure yours will too I am just now 4 months out, and I am excited for you... the surgery will help open new horizons in your life )) Be as relaxed as you can, they do these surgeries all the time now, and I bet you have a skilled and accomplished surgeon.... Im sure everything will go real well. : ) If I can be of any help, or encouragement... holler? I was very scared, before surgery, but I found that the surgery and immediate recovery itself went *very* smooth, and I am confident yours will go good too : ) Good luck and Godspeed Hugs Timmy Ray