TOLEDO...DR. WHITE...looking for a few local contacts

i've been researching and studying all kinds of info about WLS for quite some time now, and i decided to work with Dr. White in Toledo.  i went to my first support group meeting this past wednesday, and due to many contributing factors, i wasn't able to ask any questions or talk really at all.  i'm scheduled for RNY on March 30th, and although i'm confident after all my research and study and despite the fact that i have the support and encouragement of my wife, my family and the awesome staff that works with dr. white, i'm feeling very strongly about having some contact with people who are patients of dr. white and who have some time under their belt with RNY.  not trying to be a big whimp here, but there are things that i'd like to just bounce off someone who's been there.

don't know if this is possible, but i thought it was worth posting just in case it is.  i can be reached through OH.  my screenname is "oneyeshort".

thanks...

i did not have my RNY with dr white( i don't think he was here in '04?) -sorry! but i am here-over by fremont , if you want to ask questions- pm me--i'm almost 5 years out--not a perfect wls patient but not a failure either!
margo

hey margo--

thanks for responding to my post.  i'd like to hear more about your journey one of these days...especially since i'd hazard to guess that i will be in the 'not perfect but not pathetic' club, too.  LOL!!  although i've learned a ton and continue to get more good information all the time, this is pretty foreign to me at times.  some of the concepts, although i do BELIEVE them, are hard to get my head around.  for instance, that a meal the size of a walnut will make me feel like i've just spent the afternoon at buffet.  i know it's true, and i believe that it is.  it is just so hard to fathom.

oh yeah...i forgot to tell you where i am.  i'm on the opposite side of toledo, about an hour+ west of toledo and just minutes from the western indiana border.  i live closest to a town called defiance.  i've been through freemont many times.  my brother and i would beg, borrow or steal any opportunity to get to go to cedar point when we were growing up, and we always drove through your area to get there.

i'm sorry i don't have any specific questions for you right this second.  sadly, it is after 11pm, and my brain is now well into 'must go to bed' mode.  LOL!!  but i will pm soon.  and you can pm me as well, although i realize you're not in the market for answers to questions as i am.  however, the offer still stands.

thanks--
nick

I just RNY last wed with Dr. Lane at MCO.  I have a Friend using DR. White in April and she really seems to like him.  Good Luck on your journey feel free to ask me any questions. 

thanks for responding to my post.  i hope you're doing well following your surgery.  although i'm not really scared, it's sort of hard to know what to expect when the time comes.  i'm not really a whimp by nature, and i've had surgery before.  just not one like this.

it's late now, but i will pm you again when time is a bit more abundant and i have some questions ready.  right now, i'm pretty well in the 'go to bed' mode.  LOL!!

take care--
nick

Hello

I am also a pt of Dr. White's.  I did not make it to this past support group meeting due to some family situations, but I usually do go.  They can be very informative and fun to share with everyone. 

I am almost 11 months post-op from RNY.  I am truly glad that I had the surgery!!!  I have lost about 146# so far, still have more to go.  My energy has increased as well as my self confidence.  It is a great feeling knowing I am not the largest person in the room!!!  Feel free to ask any questions you might have!!

Caroline

hi caroline--

it was so great to get your message!  i wasn't sure if i'd get any responses to my post.  i've had a couple, but most of them have been from people who aren't with dr. white.  i guess that's not paramount, but it's sort of nice since you will know the basic process with dr. white, etc.

i won't be able to be at the next support meeting, which really stinks since it would be nice to go there and have someone i 'know' when i get there.  however, seeing as my surgery is the day before the next one, i think i'll be sitting that one out.  LOL!!  i went on march 4th, and i thought it was really chaotic.  there was one girl there...college age i'd suspect...*****ally monopolized so much of the time that some of the newer people like me didn't get to say much.

a lot of this is really foreign to me.  i mean, i understand the whole concept and stuff.  i was born at night but not LAST night.  LOL!!  my brain just has a hard time wrapping around things sometimes.  for instance, the idea that a meal the size of a walnut will make me feel as though i've spent the afternoon at the buffet.  the idea that things that i loved the taste of may be things that i just don't like anymore.  the idea that, if i do what i need to and am supposed to, i could be rid of almost a whole person in a year or a little more ASTOUNDS me and at the same time sort of scares me.

i don't know much about what you go through the first few days to a week after you've had the surgery.  i mean, i know what the doctor's office has told me, but i know as well as the next person that they never tell you ALL of it.  i've had surgery before, and not necessarily 'easy' ones.  but i don't know much about what to expect here, how long i'll be 'miserable' if at all, how long it takes...realistically...to get back in the swing of being a human, etc.  

i think my biggest worry is that it won't work or that i'll somehow screw it up.  i mean, every other thing i've tried i've managed to make fail or something has gone amiss.  i always felt it was my fault.  i don't feel that i have any other options left, and that, essentially, this has to work.  i know i won't be able to function physically for a whole lot longer if it doesn't.  and truthfully, i won't be able to function emotionally either.  so, as irrational as it may be, there is a great deal of fear there.

okay, i've blathered on more than enough here.  and besides, i need to head to bed.  seven am comes awfully quickly.    thanks again for getting back to me.  i do appreciate it.

nick

I am sorry you didn't get a chance to talk at the meeting, some are better than others. 

Believe me... you really will be full after a very small amount.  I was using the small medicine cups during the first week to measure my foods.  I am about 11 months out now, and can obviously eat more, but really only about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup depending on what it is.  I am down almost 150# since surgery, and fell like a different person!!!  I do have to work at it a little more now, but it is so worth it!!!

My surgery was really uneventful.  My worst pain, was when I woke up in recovery... my back hurt like hell... I think probably from being on the hard OR table... the pain meds helped that.  Once I got to my room I felt groggy, but not too bad.  The first time I tried to get up I got the dry heaves, lasted only a few moments.  Then I walked and that felt great!!!  My pain came mostly from my drain site, and that was really only tenderness.  I have super sensitive skin, and the tape and drainage around the drain had really irritated my skin.  Once the drain was out I felt great!!!  That first week at home wasn't too bad, I just couldn't bend over, again that darn drains' fault!!!  I had to use a picker upper tool for anything I dropped on the floor, and let me tell you, when you can't bend down, you tend to drop everything!!! lol   

My friend just had surgery by Dr. White, and she didn't have a drain..  I hear that is something new he is doing, but not sure how he decides if need one or not.  Hopefully you can be one who doesn't need a drain, and that will help you feel better I am sure.  You can bet that you will have a catheter though, again nothing to worry about, they put it in in surgery, and taking it out is easy.

The only way you will be able to "screw up" the surgery, is if you don't follow the rules.  The rules are there to help you, not to make you mad or upset or whatever.  You have to be diligent about measuring your food in the first few weeks, if you don't you may over eat.  You don't want to stretch out your pouch or rip a suture line!!!! 

The emotional rollercoaster was a big shock to me.  Not sure if it is worse for women or not?  I would be watching TV during the first few days from surgery, and just cry when I saw something sorta sad/bad happening.  That got easier as the weeks went by, but let your spouse be aware of potential mood swings, and assure her they are not long lasting.  There were some moments that I wanted to hug my hubby, and others that I wanted to just kill him...literally, for no apparent reason. 

If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask!!!  I am willing to share the good, the bad, and the ugly!!! 

I look forward to meeting you at a future support group meeting!!!

Caroline

Caroline--

thanks for the fantastic information in your message.  i want to respond and comment, but i'm on my way out the door to work at the moment.  however, i will do that soon.  also, thanks for adding me as your friend.  that's cool.

quckie question:  is it carol-LYNN or carol-LINE?  ...just curious (and i don't want to embarrass myself when i see you at a meeting.  LOL!!!)

nick

It's caroLINE, like the kennedy :)