Sandra is up and about!

I am doing very well and looking forward to being past the six week initial healing phase. I don't see the surgeon until January 6 because of the holidays, but there are no staples to come out. It just means I will be wearing my binder much longer than normal, but I get a shower every day and that is wonderful. I am in the clear liquid phase right now and Monday I go to the full liquid phase whi*****ludes my protein drinks. Obviously, I drink in slow sips. It is kind of funny to hear the fluids gurgling down at times. My bowels are moving along great as I made sure to prepare before surgery (no bowel prep was required by the surgeon, but being cautious I made sure I was definitely not blocked - good ol' ex lax). I can actually reach important parts so have avoided the humiliation of having to have Steve or Leslie wipe my rear. I am proud of that. I get more limber each day. I am sleeping in the recliner at this point. We had to raise it 2 inches off the ground so these long old legs could get a decent footing (I am 5'9"). I use a cane to provide me with stability and that has been a real blessing. I also have a walker at the to help me when I first begin to use it. I have it on the lowest setting as the purpose is to have it just provide stability while I get up. This almost 55 year old body is still limber enough to accomplish some things rather nicely. I am impressed. Just think what it will do without 100+ pounds. My official weigh in on surgery day was 290.8 (all those last suppers) and my check out weight was 306.2 (all that fluid). I am having to watch my blood sugar right now to see if I am going to need insulin for a bit. I was 163 this a.m. and that was down from last night and that is good because I usually have a high morning reading. I will check my blood pressure after while, but am on medication for that. Oh, they were worried about me in the second day because I was running a temp of 100.3. Finally someone asked me if I was on estrogen - yep. End of temp. haha. I do have hot/cold flashes right now. I have to crush all my pills and put them in a spoon with water to take. Not exactly tasty, but tolerable. So, if you are pre-surgery I recommend going to Walgreen's and buying a pill splitter/crusher as you will need it. It is 10:30 a.m. and I have had 6 ounces of 1/2 juice/water, 6 ounces of hot decaf tea, and about that much water. The goal is 64 ounces a day. It just requires staying awake and sipping a lot to get it in. I had a special medic alert bracelet made that I wore home yesterday. It warns no N/B tube without endoscope because of the RNY Gastric Bypass. I will need to to have a new one made once the diabetes is not an issue and add that I am allergic to atrivene (I think that is the name, Leslie wrote it down) as I had a nasty side-effect from that little breathing treatment. I really enjoyed having Olevia and La Dessa visit me. They brought me lovely little angels that I put on the window ledge to watch over me during my stay. I have to admit that I am relieved that they saw me earlier in the day on Tuesday because by evening I was not so chipper. You see, Sandra was not using pain meds much at all on the second day and actually reached the point of not believing that she would ever be up to going home on Thursday. Finally at about 3 a.m. on Wednesday, my nurse suggested that maybe I might want to use my pain med so I did and got enough sleep to be able to manage the journey downstairs for my leak test. I passed with flying colors - the clinic has not had any failures in the leak test and that is good. I felt pretty confident going down stairs. I had to make the trek again about an hour later because the surgeon wanted a picture of my lungs given the depressed day prior. By then I was moving much better so the xray was fine. He told me I had to move and do my breathing and that inspired me. I think just being out of the pain fog and able to think was a big help. The other problem that I had was with the Cpap. When they ran the oxygen through it I felt like I was being suffocated so ended up declining the experience. That resulted in being sleep deprived. I took the oxygen off for the last night and slept like a baby (well better than a new baby for sure). My Cpap is set on 12 and I like the air flow so when the oxygen reduced that it was awful. I was just using the oxygen via the canula/canola (sp) tube. Not getting a good quality sleep doing that. Steve took lots of pictures and they will eventually be up on my website. Although he did not take pictures of my shower on Wednesday. Smart man. The shower was wonderful and I take one each day now at home. I have a shower stool that we purchased some time back after Steve was in a motorcycle accident so it has been very handy. I am so very impressed with the care at the Bariatric Treatment Center in Scottsdale. There was a 1:2 nurse/patient ratio and the other staff was very willing to help out if the nurse was busy so waiting for help was not an issue. They send you home with a notebook full of very important information to guide you through the days and months ahead. They also give you 800 numbers to call for immediate help whether it is nutrition or a health emergency. I walked outside again this a.m. and walked further down the block. I use my cane for added security and always take my BTC pillow at this point. I enjoy the fresh air. Another reason for an Arizona person doing this surgery this time of year. The binder is definitely a good reason for doing surgery this time of year I can imagine how awful it would be during the hot season. Since yesterday the only reason I might need pain medication is because of the muscles in the back of my neck. I pulled those with all the breathing exercises and boy does that hurt. So, if I am ready to get some rest I do take the pain med so that I can actually be comfortable. Sandra

Congrats Sandra! I'm so happy to hear you're doing so well after your surgery! Take care Tammy

Welcome to the other side! So glad to hear you are up and about. I am now just about six weeks out and I can tell you that some of those days were long ones. Particularly when I had problems with an incision. But you know, now it seems like no time. Best luck with the healing.

Jessie - hopefully I won't have an incision problem. I am feeling quite well for being just a few days post-surgery. I did protein load with protein shakes prior to surger to hopefully help my healing process. Time will tell. My blood sugar seems to be coming down so I may not end up needing to go on insulin this next week. I am tracking it 3-4 times a day right now to have a good picture of what I am doing and will contact my internist on Monday with the numbers. Sandra

Sandra! I am so glad to hear you are at home and doing well. I have been thinking about you as I also am hoping to have surgery with Dr. S at BTC. You sound very positive about them and that has calmed my nerves somewhat. I just got submitted to my insurance today with my packet so I am praying fiercely that they approve me. I will be pretty devasted if I'm declined. Would you mind sharing more info with me? I keep reading about pre-op tests and some of them sound pretty frightening. Does BTC do any? Any info you can give me would be great. Maybe this is premature since I haven't been approved yet, but I would like to have a comfort level if I am lucky enough to have this surgery. Best of luck to you and I hope you keep us updated with your progress. I am so thrilled for you to be on the "losing" side! Kim Richards (Kim Richie)

Kim - BTC does pre-op tests. I had blood work, urinalysis, a sonogram (no biggie), a session with their pulmonologist, dietician, internist, my nurse, etc. When you see the surgeon for your initial seminar he orders the extra tests that he thinks you will need to have and you arrange it via whatever your insurance coverage allows. An example is I had to have a cardiologist clearance and did that at the Arizona Heart Institute because I had had other heart check ups with them so they had my records. My insurance required a psych exam so I had to do that before I was scheduled. I was suspicious of sleep apnea and requested a sleep study so had that done. The reason why I was 2 1/12 months from seminar to surgery was because I was on top of the things that needed to be done and kept them moving along, plus I have a good insurance company. BTC is very professional. Their staff is compassionate, caring, patient and willing to step in if your nurse is busy at the moment so waiting for help was not a problem. I can't sing their praises enough. I will be putting up photos on my website that will give you a better feel of the place in the next few days. I can't spend much time at the pc yet as I am retaining some fluids which is natural as I spoke to Dr. Schlesinger at 12:30 a.m. today because I was concerend about the tight skin. He was most helpful and reassuring. It took me a whole four minutes to get hold of him at a max. The facility is set up to handle 24 patients at 2 to a room. I was lucky to be in a bunch of 4 so had a private room. The nurse/patient ratio was 1:2, but you might ask if that changes as they ramp up. The facility is new, clean, and very comforting. The chairs are large and gowns are large. Just what we need now. Do feel free to email me directly and I will answer your questions. I am most happy that I made the BTC choice. Sandra

Sandra, I was glad to hear that you are doing and feeling so well. It'll keep getting better. I'm 3 weeks as of yesterday, and I feel great. Left side is still sore internally from time to time, but I pretty much feel like my ol' self. I went back to work 2 weeks after. I still am SO drained by the time I get home tho. I'm blessed to not have any food issues at all, and I think I've tried things that would typically make most people sick. (Not an everyday thing, mind you, but...I have tried things) Good luck in your healing process! HUGS! Michelle

Glad to hear how good you are doing. Remember to sip, sip and sip so more, and keep walking. Everyday gets better.

Sandra, Hello from New Mexico, I have been following you and Michelle P's road to success, may you have a speedy recovery.

I always like to read the differences between surgery centers. I was on clear liquids for a week, soft foods for a month. Dear GOD, if it would have been longer than THAT!! UGH!!! I'll have my one month post op check this Wed. And from there, it's pretty much back to "normal" foods, with of course, protein first. (there are some exceptions..fruits, red meat, veggies for some time yet, but I can't wait!!) I know bread and I are NOT a good companion. (DUMB TO TRY, I KNOW, but nevertheless, I did! **BLECH** I was SO full!) LOL, lesson learned. ~Michelle