Because of my upcoming surgery I thought it would be good to have some support. The website Obesityhelp.com has message boards and loads of people going through the same thing I am. I've started blogging there so I will no longer be posting here. Here is the new blog address, visit if you get a chance!
LOve, Shell
Yesterday I received my second letter from the doctors office. It lists the appointments before my surgery.
1. June 13: Informational, Dietary, and Behavior Mod. class 4pm-8pm
2. June 25: Physical, Pre-reg and lab work 11:30am-?
3. July 5: Appointment with Dr. Hutcher. Spouse must attend. 10am
4: July 9: Surgery 10:30 am ( No eating or drinking after midnight) Thats going to be a long 10 and a half hours!
The paper also says that it is mandatory for Joe and I to watch that Emmi presentation online. We've watched it a few times.
I'm nervous. I flip-flop back and forth. Yesterday I wanted to cancel it. I fear I'm too informed, too smart for my own good. I wish I didnt know so much. I also know that the chances of anything bad happening are so slim that I shouldnt worry. I search the web everyday, looking for rare complications, peoples stories, and medical data. I've found alot and will be asking my doctor to address some of these questions before the surgery. Here are a few of those questions.
Will there be hormonal inbalances after? When do they generally even out?
How do I deal with frothing? ( Mucus buildup in the tiny stomache which can come up the esophogus)
How long should I see blood in my stool? What color is a bad sign?
Can I continue to wear pressure stockings once home?
How many cases of Wernicke's Encephalopathy(lack of B vitamin absorbtion causes brain damage) have you had? And is it possible to get a B vitamin injection post-op?
Can I blood bank my own blood pre-op?
What can I do to avoid pernicious anemia?
What are the symptoms of strictures and how do you treat them?
How often do you see beriberi?
Those a few, I have many more. I'm afraid my doctor is in for a real grilling.
The 5 phases of foods we've been eating have been wreaking havoc on our systems. All of us are very gassy from the excess of fruit and veggies and I think it will take quite abit of time to get used to it. (the food, not the gas) After surgery I will not be allowed any tough meats and the meat I do eat in phase 5 will have to be cut into pieces no bigger than my damn fingernail. Smmmmaaaalllll. Hehe. No more fresh bread, any bread I eat has to be heavily toasted. It seems the yeast in the bread tends to make it sticky and hard to pass. No more stringy veggies, although I dont really eat stringy veggies now. Nothing with a membrane. That sounds very gross. Oranges and the like. No skin on any of my fruits or veggies. No coconut. Very limited dairy, sometimes people develope a dairy intolerance and have to switch to soy. And of course, sugar. As little refined sugar as possible. Too much will make the new stomach DUMP and we want to avoid that at all costs. I'm avoiding that by buying as much stuff as I can SUGAR-FREE. Just about everything has a sugar-free double these days.
Sometimes I think that if I just stayed on this phase 5 food and did some exra walking that I could lose alittle bit of weight and forgo the surgery. And then I realize that I've had this same conversation with myself 1000 times before. I would lose 20 pounds and then gain back 40. Before I knew it I would be 50 years old and weigh 350 lbs. By that time I would have diabetes or high blood pressure and not be a good candidate for the surgery. I dont want to end up that way.
Anyway, thats it for now! Tata!
Well, yesterday I got my gastric acceptance letter and set a date for surgery, July 9th. I was hoping for June so that I would have the whole summer to recover. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to be happy to have July and August. School starts for me at the end of August.
There are 4 mandatory appointments that I have to go to before surgery.
1. Psych eval. : I've already done this.
2. Pre-reg and lab work: 2 weeks before surgery. 3 hours
3. History and Physical: 2 weeks before surgery. 45 min.
4. Informational class, dietary class, and behavior modification class: Anytime before surgery, 4 hours for all classes.
I'll use this site to document every step of the way.
Joe is home for 7 days......I always love when he's home, all day, for 7 days. (That was sarcasm, just in case you didnt know)
We managed to flatten out the gravel and get the pool set up. We dont dare fill it all at once because we're on a well. Dont want to dry up the well! It will take a week to fill which is fine anyway because the weather is crappy.
I went to Books a Million and bought a Physics and French teach-yourself books. I figure I might as well get up-to-speed, and I'm totally bored. I started reading Orwell's Animal Farm again, I actually read it in high school the first time. I may read War and Peace too.
Anyway, time to cook. Tata!
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