I survived pre-op prep...

without inflicting bodily harm on anyone. I have been a tad cranky for the last week.

The diet part wasn't as bad as I expected, even after the nausea and headaches went away after merely 10 days. I didn't ever feel really hungry and usually applesause was enough to fend of a munchie attack. I stayed away from the foods I won't be eating anymore and didn't seem to miss them, except for biscuits. I'm going to miss biscuits. According to my scale I'm down 13 pounds so I made the last hurdle!

Spent the last few days getting caught up at work, cleaning the house, and fighting off a cold. I must not be sick! I've been chowing down on vitamin c, throat lozenges, warm tea and Popsicles. Just have to get through the next 24 hours.

Tonight was part two of pre-op preparation: STERILIZATION!  I had to take a shower with "pink soap", use a freshly washed towel to dry off, put on freshly washed clothes, get into a bed with freshly washed sheets...you get the idea. The good news is that I get to do the whole thing over again tomorrow morning, again with freshly washed everything.

Today was "doubt day"; questioning myself about my decision to have this surgery, am I ready for this, am I doing the right thing for the right reasons? The answer is yes! No regrets, no looking back. What am I going to do with a closet full of designer clothes that won't fit anymore; YAY, they won't fit anymore! I already stopped using one type of insulin, YAY, I don't have to poke myself with a needle 5-6 times a day anymore!

So tomorrow is the big day! I check in to the surgery center at 10:15 am, procedure will take a couple hours then I get to stay overnight. Thanks for everyone's prayers and good wishes!

BE BACK AFTER SURGERY...

Today I hit a brick wall...

I've been feeling crappy for a week, am trying not to get caught up in kid drama, have been bombarded at work while trying to prepare for taking time off, my house is a disaster, there's cinnamon rolls at work calling my name (and getting harder to ignore), I hate protein shakes, my husband's been a toad the last couple days...and this morning it hit me like a ton of bricks.

I check work emails when I get up in the morning so I have an idea of what I need to brace myself for. I was totally caught off-guard by the idiocy of an email sent from my boss. After several ranting draft emails, I finally composed a politically correct response and sent it off. I figured it would be a good idea to calm down before driving in, so I rearranged my closet and got all my clothes hung up in the proper order. I was still furious. I emailed in late to work and called my office "partner in crime" to vent. I was a little surprised at how much came spilling out! That email apparently triggered a whole lot of pent up frustration over a whole lot of things!

After I got off the phone, I laid down on the bed with my baby kitty and started to cry. I could not get back out of bed. So I called my husband; luckily he was at his desk. And the tears really started to flow! He asked if I was okay and if he needed to come home. We talked for a bit and I told him I just needed to put my big girl panties on and go to work. Then I cried through my shower.

There was a wonderful surprise on my desk when I walked in to my office. A friend had left me a pumpkin bucket with baby food, sippy cups, and Cheetos! It was simply perfection. I got through the rest of the day without getting fired and actually managed to accomplish a few things. After I got home, my husband walked in with flowers...his status immediately upgraded from toad to prince.

I expect a few bumps in the road on this journey, but I usually navigate them on my own. Today I learned how blessed I am to have so many truly caring people in my life to love and support me. Thank you 💝

One Down, One to Go...

Interesting little fact...as I talk with people about my surgery they share tales of family or friends that have also had weight loss surgery. There is a common theme in everyone's story. The pre-surgery diet is the worst part. I certainly hope so, CUZ THIS STINKS! BTW, I do hate protein shakes.

As I explained before, the goal of the pre-surgery diet is to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks to prepare your body for the procedure. Being a chronic, unsuccessful dieter I really stressed about not making that goal. My prescribed diet plan consists of 3-4 high-protein "shakes"' and a low calorie dinner each day with raw, fresh veggies for snacking. I thought the hard part was going to be feeling hungry, NOT A PROBLEM THERE!  I constantly feel like throwing up. I have no appetite. My head hurts. I'm exhausted. I feel pretty all-over crummy most of the time. If I do actually get hungry a small container of applesauce, grape tomatoes or cucumber slices take off the edge. Anything to avoid the dreaded protein shake. The first day it took me 2 hours to finish one shake, I could barely get 2 in each day.

So, after 5 days of my  2 week day diet I had lost 11 pounds! 5 days? 11 pounds? 9 days to go? 

Guess I need to start loving the protein shakes. The fruit flavored ones make me gag, or shiver. Yes, that is blended with ice; no, it doesn't taste like an Orange Julius. The vanilla ones from Costco are tolerable, only takes me about an hour to choke one down. The plain chocolate ones are flat nasty. I have 2 cases of them (silly me thought chocolate was the way to go). I did discover that adding 1/2 of a small banana, 1/2 cup water and then whipping up in the blender makes the chocolate taste way better. This morning I mixed one with fresh raspberries...not so good, back to bananas tomorrow.  It doesn't help that I'm lactose intolerant and all the high protein shakes contain milk.

Dinner has been easier than I thought. Mainly just meat and fresh veggies. We've had pork chops & spinach salad, macaroni and cheese & cucumbers, spaghetti & green salad, and salmon & asparagus. I've cut out breads, potatoes and rice already...still working on the pasta. Also getting in the habit of cutting food into small pieces, chewing slowly, putting my fork down between bites, no beverage with meals and using a smaller plate.

A big challenge is still all the junk food at work. We have an unending supply of cookies, donuts, pastries, and candy all strategicly placed where you can't avoid them. Used to love it, now not so much. And Halloween, the candy-fest, is next week...

Those Awkward Questions...

Apparently there are questions regarding bariactric surgery that people don't feel are polite to ask but yet they really want to know the "what, where, & why" of it all. I'm certainly not one to keep things to myself...

1.  What is Gastric Sleeve surgery? In a nutshell, about 2/3 of my stomach will be sectioned off and permanently removed. My new stomach will be about the size of a small banana, won't have the elasticity of "normal" stomach, and the glands that produce the hunger hormones will be gone. This is a life-changing procedure. I can NEVER have a carbonated beverage or eat bread, pasta, rice, or white potatoes again, EVER! (Think extreme pain & clogged pipes).

2.  What are the criteria for surgery? To qualify for this procedure you must have a BMI of 40 or higher and at least 2 obesity related health issues. I squeezed in with a BMI of 40.5, BUT I also have 6 health issues - diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, sleep apnea and arthritis. Not to mention a spine that's "a mess" to quote my neurosurgeon! In addition, I had to  have tried, and failed, at traditional weight loss programs, attend a required informational seminar, surgical consult, dietitian consult, sacrifice 9 vials of blood to the vampires for a complete screening for everything, plus undergo a psychiatric evaluation and aforementioned upper endoscopy.

3.  Is it covered by insurance? No, only my blood work and the upper endoscopy are covered. The rest is "self-pay". Yes, it's expensive. My personal cost is $18,600 plus the cost of nutritional supplements during the pre-op and immediate post-op periods. And the specially formulated vitamin supplements for the first year. I was able to take the funds, without penalty, from my deferred comp plan as a medically necessary financial hardship. When I talked to both the surgical center financial rep and my financial advisor they both said it would take 7-10 days for the decision makers to review my paperwork and determine eligibility. I faxed my 14 page packet o'documents over to Nationwide and the money was transferred to my checking account the next afternoon. Guess I made my case :)

4.  What is the pre-surgery diet? I haven't quite got a handle on this part. The goal is different for each individual as determined by their surgeon. Usually the objective is to lose 8-10 pounds in 7-10 days; I was assigned to lose 10 pounds in 14 days. I get the reasoning...following a low calorie, high protein diet and the resulting weight loss allows the liver to shrink and become pliable. This is important because the liver sits on top of the stomach and has to be moved out of the way during surgery. What I don't get is the 14 days, though it may have something to do with my psych eval and not liking to be told what to do. This is my personal commitment test. The doctor will cancel your surgery if you can't get through this part (apparently it happened to someone last week). 

Remember the nasty protein shakes and Healthy Choice frozen dinners?

That's a topic for next time...

Upper Endoscopy

This was my procedure today - mild TMI.

Started out okay, No traffic so we were early, got registered, taken in the back, etc. then the nurse takes me to get changed and she tells me to take everything off including my underwear. So I'm thinking "why, they're looking down my throat?" but I complied. I went back to the pre-op area and next up comes the anesthesiologist (who I swear is 100 years old). After a chat with him and the surgeon they walk me back to the OR. When I get on the table the nurse tells me not to have my gown under me, again, why? Old guy starts my IV, very gently, hardly felt it! Okay, kudos for experience.

Then he asks if I'm ready for a nap, I say sure, and the next thing I know I'm in recovery - coughing, a lot. Remember that part about no underwear and no gown under me? This is why. Every time I cough there is leakage. I tell Nurse it feels damp down south & Nurse tells me it happens all the time...great.

Then it was time to go home. I'm not ready. I tell the nurse I'm not ready. She has other opinions. It takes 2 nurses to walk me to the bathroom to change...the nurse goes to leave and I told her it wouldn't be a good idea to leave me alone. She stayed. Waving alcohol pads in my face to keep me from throwing up...great.

Then all 3 of us walk out to the car. Fresh air in my face felt great, for about 30 seconds. Sat down in the car, leaned out the door, and threw up water all over my shoes. Told her I wasn't ready! Nurse got me a nausea med and a puke bowl for the ride home...great.

Dan put down the car window, fresh air really did help. Spent the remainder of the day sleeping...GREAT!

A New Start

A friend suggested I start a blog so here goes....WARNING - ROOKIE ALERT!

About six weeks ago I made the decision to have weight loss surgery. Today is the official DAY ONE of my new start with a procedure to make sure all is normal with my stomach. Tomorrow I begin the two week pre-op diet to prepare my body for Gastric Sleeve surgery on October 29th.

So far on this journey I have been learning all I can about diet, nutrition, medical jargon, commitment, support, and myself. This decision is "all about me", not a road I go down very often! But I have health issues I can no longer ignore, a spine that needs some relief, a beautiful Granddaughter and new Grandbaby due in April that I want to be around to watch grow.

I am amazed at the amount of caring, positive support from my husband, family, friends, medical providers and co-workers! I appreciate all of you so much. I am fortunate to have a friend who went through the same procedure last year to answer all my stupid questions and be a cheerleader when I need one. 

Enough of the inner reflection...starting tomorrow I'll probably be posting how much I hate protein drinks and Healthy Choice 300 calorie meals!