My name is LaTina Quinn a...

My name is LaTina Quinn and I have recently been approved for the gastric bypass surgery. My scheduled date is February 18, 2004 at 7:30 a.m. I am quite nervous and excited all at the same time. I have so many questions about what I need to do in these upcoming weeks. I look forward to living and eating healthier after the surgery. If anyone would like to answer some of my questions, please feel free to contact me. Some questions of concern are: 1. Do I need to start eating different now? 2. What can I eat that won't effect the surgery? 3. Do I need to begin a 2 week liquid diet? 4. What types of liquid can I have? 5. What types of Protein drinks are good? 6. What other options do I have besides pureed food? Any answers would be helpful. I look forward to posting additional information as I move forward through the process. 2/2/04 Today I met with the dietician to discuss my plans for the next month and a half. She wasn't to pleased with me because I came unprepared. I was supposed to bring my protein drink so that she could calculate how many I would need a day to get in 120 grams of carbohydrates and 80 grams of protein. After we got passed the disappointment, we determined that for the next 2 weeks, I would need to drink 4 8 oz. glasses of Myoplex Protein drink (my choice), 48 oz. of water, 12 oz of juice a day. The Myoplex Protein drink is very high in Protein in fact 1 pack contains 42 grams of Protein and 23 grams of Carbohydrates. So I only need to use 2 packs of these a day combined with 15 ounces of skim milk or water, which contains 8 grams of Protein per 8 ounces of milk and 12 grams of carbohydrates per 8 ounces of milk. The 12 ounces of juice contains 45 grams of carbohydrates. All in all, I take in a total of 139 grams of carbohydrates and 116 grams of protein. I am allowed more Low Calorie Liquids throuhout the day - water, herbal tea, broth, bouillon, Diet V-8 Splashh, Diet Snapple, Cyrstal Light, Fruit 2O, sugar free koolaid, sugar free jello and my favorite sugar free popsicles. We discussed the fact that after the surgery I will be on a 2 week Protein Liquid diet also. After that I will start my pureed diet for the next 2 weeks. After I complete this, I will meet with the dietician once again to discuss my moving forward to soft foods. This all sounds so strict, but that is because it is. One important thing to remember is that either you are going to do this or you are not. I have decided that I am going to do this and so I will honestly put forth the effort to follow the instructions given by the dietician. 02/06/04 Today is day 3 of my liquid protein diet and I am still maintaining. Day one was awful. I didn't cheat, but I'll tell you that it was very difficult to keep my mind off of the thought of food. Smelling food bothered me, seeing food commercials on television bothered me, looking in my refrigerator bothered me, watching my son and my husband eat bothered me and just my desire to want something to eat bothered me. Luckily, I had my sugar free popsickles to get me through the night. I ate 3 of them, back to back. Today, I feel refreshed. The cravings have minimized, I'm not feeling very hungry. I am excited about my next appointment on 2/13/04. I will meet with the doctor and I will also have an EKG, Chest X-Ray, and Labs done. 2 days later I will no longer be on the liquid protein diet. On 2/16/04 and 2/17/04, I will be strictly on a clear liquid diet whi*****ludes 6 cups of juice and a minimum of 6 cups of No calorie/low calorie liquids. Then finally, on the morning of 2/18/04 at 7:30 a.m. I will have my surgery. I'm nervous, but I am so ready for this! I will keep you posted periodically. 02/08/04 Yeap, you guessed it, I caved in today. It has been 4 days without eating and today at 1:30 p.m. I surrendered to a bag of microwave popcorn. Seemed like minimal damage at first, that is until I decided to have a sausage sandwich. Then later on, to top things off I went to TGI Fridays and had some ribs, onion rings, coleslaw, 6 fried shrimp and a taste of brownie obsessions. I gave half of my slab of ribs away to my mother. I'm not quiet sure why I gave in. One thing that I do know is that it wasn't because I was hungry. It was just an emotional escapade, I guess...anyway, I hope to do better, I have decided that on Tuesday 2/10/04, I will try this again, but this time without cheating... I still have 8 days until surgery so I will still have fasted for 12 days total. Wish me luck... 02/13/04 Today, I visited the hospital to have my EKG, Chest Xrays, and Labs. Then I visited the doctor, who informed me that all was well. He asked me if I had any questions prior to the surgery. Of course, I couldn't think of any thing. Accept I did ask whether or not the surgery could be reversed if necessary. He told me that it could, but in most cases it isn't necessary. Just so that I remain honest through this whole ordeal, I have some additional news to report. I still have not returned to my liquid diet since Last Sunday. I did tell the doctor and he informed me that most people don't follow the rules, but I will need to cut back on the carbs so that my liver will shrink by the time I have the surgery. Therefore, I have decided to resume the liquid diet this Sunday 02/15/04 throught the 17th of February. I was also informed that I will need to report to the hospital at approximately 5:15 a.m. to prep for surgery, which will begin at 7:30 a.m. and will end at approximately 10:30 a.m. The closer I get to the date the more nervous I become, although I must say that I have decided to trust in God to lead me through this successfully. Well, that's all for now, the next time you hear from me will be after the surgery. Chat with ya later... 02/18/04 Today, I had my surgery. All went well. I was in my room by 1:00 p.m. In a lot of pain, my blood pressure was sky high. The doctors weren't expecting for this to happen. Anyway that whole day was awful. Like I mentioned, my blood pressure was pretty high about 187 over 103 and sometimes higher. I was unable to tolerate the pain very much, so due to the medication (demirol) I was able to finally get some sleep. 02/19/04 Today, my blood pressure is still rather high, we also encountered another problem, my red blood count was very low, (an 8, I believe a 12 or 14 is preferred). I was unable to keep any liquids down, not even water. My lungs were full of flem, which I believe prevented me from keeping anything else down. The doctor gave me the okay not to drink anything for today, I just moistened my mouth with water. 02/20/04 A brand new day, Wow! I can drink water and keep it down. I also have to drink protein drinks beginning at 9:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m, and a double dose at 7:00 p.m. In between this time, I received 3 meals, which consist of Chicken Noodle soup pureed, Tomato soup pureed, or sugar free popsickles. Yeah, I must say, it feels good to keep the food down. Today, I didn't manage to drink all of my protein drinks, but I did have breakfast, lunch, supper and about 5 of my protein drinks. The problem is that you must drink 30 ccs, which is equivalent to 1 oz of protein drink every 15 minutes or per hour. So each hour you should try to finish your protein drink before the next serving of 4 oz.s or 120 ccs arrives. 02/21/04 Today, I am up and walking. I was asked to walk at least 6 times a day. So I aimed at 12 minutes each time. Not a problem, except for some slight discomfort. The whole hospital was cheering me on. They say that most patients aren't able to walk at the speed that I was going and for the length of time that I would walk. Anyway, I appreciated the support. I'm suppose to see the doctor tomorrow to consider being released from the hospital. We'll see... 02/22/04 Guess, what? I get to go home today. The trip home was awful, I experienced extreme motion sickness. I couldn't stand to open my eyes, I was nauseated and my head felt very light and dizzy. I couldn't wait until we finally made it home and I could take some medicine to feel better. The first thing I did was to strip off the clothes that were hugging my body and before I knew anything, I was fast asleep. When I awakened, I shouted out in tears. I'm not quite sure what this was all about, but I was rather confused. I didn't realize that I was at home, must be the medication. I tried to pick up where I left off at the hospital by drinking 16 ounces of protein drink and my final two meals for the day. I did manage to drink 16 ounces of protein drink and 1 meal. I was stuffed. 02/23/04 Today, I have decided to keep my journal of everything that I eat to keep me on track and focused. I was able to drink 4 16 ounce servings of water,one 16 ounce protein drink, 3 meals - 1/2 cup of grits for breakfast, 1/2 cup of vegetable soup pureed, and 1/2 cup of chicken noodle soup pureed. I had my first bowel movement today. Man! I've never in my life seen anything like this before. Prior to the surgery, I rarely had a bowel movement, but now it seems to come pretty regular. I am a little concerned, because the color is dark purple. I called the doctor's office to let them know that and they asked that I monitor it and call them again tomorrow afternoon. 02/24/04 Today, I feel okay, accept I am getting pretty tired of eating the same stuff. Throughout the day, I have done as I did yesterday. Except towards the end of the night, as I walked into my kitchen, I noticed a bag of sour cream and onion potato chips. I was curious as to whether or not the horror stories were true. So, I tried 1 potato chip and chewed it thouroughly and then another with no problem. Before, I knew anything, I had eaten a handful of them with no real problem. When, I went to bed, however, I did experience some discomfort, but nothing major. For my own protection, I threw the remaining potato chips in the garabage. I was some what disappointed, because I didn't get sick. 02/25/04 Today, I went to the hospital to have my blood drawn. I was notified that my blood count is still rather low and that I will need to take 2 vitamins a day and 1 iron pill as well. Today, I had decided that I was sick of protein drinks (Myoplex) and that I was only going to drink water and eat my 3 meals for the day. Well, I got back home from the hospital around 11:00 a.m. at that point, I had only had 1 vitamin, 1 ounce of previcid, so I thought, I will have a handful of honey of oats cheerios. Umm! these were great, I know that I am not suppose to have them, but they went down well, this was not enough, I then ate a 1/2 a bag of microwave popcorn and then to top it off, I toasted 1 slice of white bread and sprayed it with I can't believe it's not butter and then added to it 1 slice of bologna and 1 slice of cheese. It all went down so well. I feel awful because once again, I have allowed my old habits to creep into my life. This must end! What is wrong with me? I am so depressed! Can someone please tell me what I can do? Why doesn't eating make me sick? Do I stand a chance at my new life as promised? I know that I have to be accountable for my actions, this is why I am crying out for help, now! Please save me from myself... 02/26/04 Today, I have started my day off to a good start. I'm back to my senses after speaking with a really good friend of mine Terri Warner in Tennessee. She gave me some shock therapy and reminded me of all the dangers that could occur if I don't follow the program. Thanks Terri! What would I do without you? Hopefully, I'll never have to find out. Today, I plan to go out and walk for about 15 minutes, in fact I will do this in the next few minutes. Just thought I would let everyone know that I'm okay and ready to do this again. Thanks for all the support that I received from everyone while I was in the hospital. I really appreciated all the prayers and words of encouragement, they really go a long way... I forgot to mention that on my date of surgery, I weighed in at a surprising 319.5 lbs. I have not weighed again, but I look forward to my first doctor's visit scheduled for 3/5/04 with Dr. Burhop, I will weigh in at this time and keep you updated with new information. Again thanks for all the support! 03/05/04 Hello, I realize that some time has past since my last post. I do apologize for not checking in more often. It's just that since the surgery, it is enough just to keep up with following the daily instructions of the day. Today, I was seen by the doctor and everything is okay. I lost a total of 17.2 lbs in two weeks and 2 days. I have been given the okay to return to work on 03/18/04 with minimal lifting. I'm looking forward to getting my life back. I will probably post each time I am seen by the doctor, my next appointment is on 04/02/04. I haven't experienced any real illness since the surgery. I have tried introducing tuna and fish to my diet. I am able to hold it down, but I can't hold that much. My husband is really happy with the results. He says that it's time to bring out the ball and chains, because I look way to good. Of course, I can't see it yet, but many people have said that I'm coming along well. I will chat with you all on 4/2/04. Thanks for your patience. Oh yeah, I now weigh 302.3, only 2.4 lbs. to go before I am under 300lbs. 03/15/04 It's been a while since I last posted, for this I apologize. I guess surgery isn't as easy as I thought it would be. Although many of you have experienced the same type of surgery that I have, I'm convinced that recovery, food tolerance, and weight loss is different for each of us. The last couple of weeks have been a major adjustment for me. I met with the dietician today to graduate to the next stage of eating - soft food. I was informed that I was not following instructions and this has resulted in only a 2-lb. weight-loss since my prior weigh-in with the doctor 2 weeks earlier. Consequently, she wants me to come back in to meet with her in 1 month. She wants me to eat 3 well-balanced meals a day. This is very difficult to do; usually I can eat maybe 2 well-balanced meals. At the time that she and I met, I was only eating 1 meal a day plus 16 ounces of protein drink along with lots of water. I'm still struggling with having enough energy to get through the day. I've begun to exercise from time to time. I usually try to walk for 30 minutes for perhaps 3 days a week. I find myself depressed and highly disappointed, because I have not seen much of a weight loss. The only reason my expectations are so high is because when I joined Weigh****chers prior to the surgery, I lost close to 30 lbs. in 1 month and in 5 months, I lost a total of 79.2 lbs. The kicker is this, I was able to eat more and eat the things that I enjoyed eating. With this surgery, I'm not able to hold much, nor am I able to eat the things that I enjoy. The sad part is that eating less doesn't mean that you lose weight. In fact, my body just holds on to it. I'm still wearing my fat clothes and hoping to see a dramatic change soon. I tell myself that it is probably healthier to loose only 1 lb. to 2 lbs. a week, than to see a tremendous weight loss in a short period of time. This way my skin has time to adjust to my new weight. It appears that I have lost a lot in inches, at least that is what my husband tells me. I have this terrible habit of comparing myself to others in as far as determining my success. I have read posting and talked to individuals who have lost like 30 lbs. to 40 lbs. in the first month. Why isn't this happening for me? I'm afraid that if I listened to the dietician and force myself to eat when I am not hungry, I will convert back to my old eating habits of overeating. I don't want this to happen, but by the same token, if I don't adhere to her advice, I may jeopardize my success for loosing the weight. I only have an 18-month window in which I must take advantage of and loose as much as possible. So there, you have it. I now weigh 299 lbs. a difference of 20 lbs. since the surgery. I will post again after Friday, April 2, 2004 when I meet with the doctor. Until next time... LaTina 04/02/04 Today, I had my 6 weeks post-op with Dr. Burhop. Everything is going well. I don't need to see him again until 08/27/04. I lost a total of 28 lbs. That means that I now weigh 290.6 lbs. I wasn't to thrilled with my weight loss, but the Dr. says that I am on schedule and that I should just to continue to follow the program. In May, I have to have some labs done to see how my levels are. Hopefully, all will be well. 04/13/04 Lately, I've been pretty dehydrated. It's been difficult to get much water in which has caused me to have a bladder infection. My primary physician has prescribed antibotics to help clear up the infection and has suggested that I increase my water intake. His nurse weighed me and I now weigh 286 lbs. This was nice to know. My strength is finally returning somewhat. I've agreed to participate in a program at work called "Exercise Across America," in this program you choose a state in which you agree to walk that number of miles. I have chosen Conneticut, which is only 80 miles. I have 8 weeks in which to walk the miles. This is only the incentive to encourage that individuals incorporate exercise into their new lifestlye. The reward is that at the end of the 8 weeks, the person that has lost the most amount of weight will inherit the pot of gold. The pot of gold is a $10.00 fee that each member initially paid to participate. I'm not sure whether or not I will win, but it sure sounds good! Most of all, I enjoy the challenge that it presents and it keeps me on schedule. Well that's it for now, I'll keep you posted...