Back to work

I am still getting acclimated to the lifestyle changes this surgery has engendered. I am having some struggles with getting all the supplements and pills on a schedule so that I am taking enough, taking them at the right time, and still managing to get enough protein to eat.

The first week home was when it was so incredibly hot. I found it really hard to get enough liquid, since I could only drink a little bit at a time. I was always thirsty. Finally, I starting eating frozen fruit Popsicles, but even then, it was hard to get enough. I didn't eat much at all that week. I just couldn't seem to get a routine going that encompassed all the ins and outs of this process!

First thing in the morning, I have to take a powder version of Prilosec OTC (mixed with water). But I cannot take anything else within an hour of taking that. Then I have to take my daily medicines that I have been taking for years. I take an antidepressant daily, and previously I took an extended release version so I could take it once a day. Of course that won't work now because I have to cut or grind it to make it small enough to pass to my stomach. So I had to switch to a version that I take 3 times a day. Only when I crush that tablet, it is so bitter (even when hidden in other food), that I can't keep it down. The doctor is having me cut the pill now into quarters so that the bitterness is not so pronounced and I can keep it down. I am also going in to see my primary care doctor to explore other types of antidepressant that can be taken in liquid form.

Ah, then there are the supplements. I have to work very hard on getting enough calcium. I can no longer process calcium carbonate, so I have to take calcium citrate, and I need 1200 to 1400 mgs. per day. That translates to three very large tablets that I have to suck on until they are gone. And I cannot drink or eat anything within 15 to 30 minutes of finishing the tablet. I also have to take B12 sublingually (under the tongue) every day to make sure I get enough of that. This vitamin can no longer be processed in my digestive tract, so it has to melt in my mouth.

I must take a multivitamin, which I did before anyway. This also is bitter when it is crushed, but it is bearable mixed with a little yogurt.

And I have to get 60 to 90 grams of protein every day, but I can only eat 1/4 cup at a time. So far I have found this great yogurt - Greek Yogurt, which is sold, as far as I can tell, only at Trader Joe's. Regular yogurt has about 6-8 grams of protein in a cup (8 oz.). Greek yogurt has 24 grams per cup. It doesn't taste bad either, as far a plain yogurt goes, and even the nonfat version is very creamy, so that was a real find. I also drink these chocolate protein shakes which are pretty good. When it was so hot I would mix them up with ice in the blender and it was like having a chocolate milkshake. I also froze some and ate them that way. But again, only 4 oz., or half a cup at a time.

I went in for my 2-week checkup last week, and it all seems to be going well. I started eating solid food this week and that's all stayed down too, so now I am getting some protein from that as well. It's nice to be chewing again.

Last night though I had an episode where I didn't chew something well enough, and it hurt like crazy until it made it's way through. I don't want to do that again, so I will be chewing each bite 100 times, or until it turns to mush, whichever comes first!

Next week I hope to start doing water aerobics to add the exercise element. I have not had a lot of pain from the surgery, but my back is still hurting quite a bit (which it was doing before the surgery). I've been seeing a chiropractor, and it's helped a bit. But I really must get it back to normal soon to be able to stand up in front of a classroom for 90 minutes!

I have lost 30 pounds so far, though some of that is from the pre-operative high protein liquid diet I went on two weeks before surgery.

See you all soon.

Tia

It's over - or just beginning

Well, I've been home for two days now and one night. I had a few scary moments before surgery. One of the nurses was talking to me about what would be happening when I was under anesthesia and I felt myself start to panic. It manifested (as fear or anger does so often with me) in tears. He was very comforting, and I did feel better. But after that the anesthesiologist shot the first of the knock out drops in my IV, and the next thing I remember is waking up to see faces above me, one of them Kim telling me that she loved me and would be back the next day. Everyone else told me all was well, and I went back to sleep.

After that it was much like other hospital stays I've had, except this time I got to press the button for pain meds. I was pretty comfortable. They were able to do a laproscopic surgery, so now I have six small holes instead of one bit one. They told me that my torso was longer than normal and so my stomach wasn't quite where they thought it would be, so they took a little longer than normal to get through it all. But the total time was still in the range they gave me to expect, so it couldn't have been that far off. I came home on Thursday, finally. I had to pee first, so once I had done that, they were all set to ship me off home, and I have been sleeping a lot, and walking around some and eating yogurt. Today I finally had a BM, so I am not at all worried about the internal workings. Sorry if it's too much information, but it all is part of this process.

The nurses and techs at Virginia Mason were really great. There were a couple who kept asking me the same question I had just answered, but I think they were just working with a lot of people. I was glad I had told everyone how in past surgeries I had thrown up after waking up. They were ready with drugs every time I stood up. I didn't always need them, but knowing I cold have them made me bolder about walking around, since I was always nauseated when I stood. So, for all following this blog, I am well and on the way to being better.

Thanks for listening!

Tia

Day before the day before

Tomorrow I have to call the surgeon's office and find out when I need to be there for surgery. I have been thinking about it all day, ready but not really. Several people have made sure that I have Kim call after it's all done. People keep asking me if I'm nervous, or excited. I'm not either - just ready to have it all over with. I feel like I'm not able to move ahead until I see whether this is a success or not.

Study connected to gastric bypass

I checked into the hospital today to be a part of a diabetic study of people who go through a gastric bypass. I'm not diabetic (luckily), so I get to be a control.

I checked in at 7:30 a.m. after a 1-1/2 hour drive from home with no coffee, and fasting. They took blood every minute for about 10 minutes, then every 2, then every 5, finally every 20 minutes until about 12:30 p.m. In the first half hour they also injected me with a concentrated dose of glucose, and then took blood. That was quite an experience. First there was a funny taste in my mouth, and then my whole body flushed and got hot.

Finally, I was able to order lunch and breakfast and eat and drink something besides water. After that I had to walk up and down the hallway while they measured my heart rate. Now I am here until tomorrow morning, when they will repeat the blood draws.

I have my own room, TV, my computer with wireless access and some books and some work to do, but I could do with a little company. It's a good rest though, I have to say that. And I get to eat off a menu like a restaurant. I have to keep to the basic diet, but the food is good, nonetheless.

I've been on a 1,000 calorie diet for the last week in preparation for this. I've lost about 8 lbs. this week. Next week I start the mainly liquid diet I'll be on until the surgery. It's to shrink my liver to make sure they can do the procedure laproscopically. I ate some things I knew I wouldn't be able to have after surgery before I started this, but for now, I am already changing my diet and I eat a lot less than I used to. And I am ordering the supplements I will need to take two or three times a day.

I am having a hard time figuring out how many of each supplement I need. I visited the Web sites recommended by the dietician and I ordered what I thought I needed. And then I went to Costco and saw a lot of things I thought I could only get off the Internet. And of course it was cheaper, and of course it was after I had already ordered it off the Internet.

I feel like I need to hook up with some people who have done this before. I think I know what's coming, and what I need to do, then I get confused about how to take care of the details.

Ah well, on we go!

Getting ready

I am in the final stages of preparing for gastric bypass surgery. It's been over a year now of jumping through insurance hoops and finally the date is set - July 21, 2009, at Virginia Mason in Seattle. I've started this blog to post thoughts and ideas as I go on through the surgery and beyond. I'm hoping to hear from others who have had this done, especially those in Western Washington, and even more especially those who have had Dr. Hunter from Virginia Mason as their surgeon.

People keep asking me if I am excited, or if I am scared. I am neither. I have weighed (no pun intended) all the pros and cons, and I think this will be worth it. I have not had a lot of the more severe illnesses that drove other people to take this step, but I am afraid that without it my walking days will soon be over.

I worry most about the anesthesia. I always have had to throw up after the three or four surgeries I have had in the past. I don't tolerate it very well. And throwing up with this surgery is something you really don't want to do. But it's been at least a decade since my last experience, and this is certainly something I am going to go over with the anesthesiologist in depth.