Surgerical Update - do not read while eating.

It's been one week since my gastric bypass surgery. It's been a week that has given me a close up look at hell. I was told on Monday they needed to bump back my surgery to a later time so I didn't need to be at the hospital until 10am. That morning it rained, there was construction and we were late. No biggie, they were running late anyway. I was now scheduled for 4pm. Mind you, I had been on a liquid diet for a week (minus the 3 french fries I almost killed my mother over) and had been on clear liquids since noon and NPO (nothing by mouth) since midnight. It was getting very painful. Surgery went fine and the first thing I remember is being in my room feeling very foggy and thirsty. Still NPO until the next afternoon. It's amazing I didn't kill anyone for a drink of water. It was possible. My hospital stay was miserable-ish. Some really good nurses, some not so great. Here's a huge shocker of my stay... wait for it... I couldn't pee. Yes, it's true. I was unable to pee. Had to have help. I'll leave it at that. Don't worry I'm back to my every 30 minute schedule.

I came home Saturday afternoon, feeling pretty miserable. Saturday night the real pain started. You see, for the surgery they fill up the belly with CO2 so they can see better, all that CO2 gets reabsorbed and comes out in burps and toots. I was vomiting air. Absolutely, horrifically painful and scary. No sleep.

Sunday brought diarrhea and cramping. No sleep. Monday, more diarrhea and cramping. Tuesday, more diarrhea and cramping and a doppler looking for blood clots. No sleep. Wednesday, more diarrhea, cramping and an abdominal CT, and a Priesthood blessing (should that have happened sooner?). Thursday, answers. I have c. Diff. If you work in medicine you will now say, disgusting. C. diff is a difficult bacteria to fight, tends to thrive in compromised immune systems when they receive antibiotics. Usually happens to hospitalized/nursing home patients. Causes horrible, foul-smelling, diarrhea. Yes, that's been me. Yes, I am ready to kill myself. I start antibiotics today.

Other good news, I will hopefully progress to mushy foods today. Wish me luck.

As for weight loss, I've gained 2 pounds while drinking water, jello, Popsicles and milk. They say not to worry about it.

I do feel somewhat better today. I was only up 3 times (that I can remember, thank you ambien) last night. Best sleep so far.

1 week and counting

I started Optifast today in preparation for surgery next Thursday. I have to admit, it's nice to not worry about food, food preparation, dishes... I had my final appointment with the surgeon and nutritionist today, all is in place. One week and counting.

I haven't updated since my big post about my up-coming gastric bypass surgery. I decided to have my surgery here in VA and will have the traditional bypass surgery. There was a lot that went into making the decision but I won't bore you with the details. Essentially, I wanted to be close to my doctor and they offer/require meetings with a nutritionist. The nutritionist was significant in swaying my decision. I meet with her 3 times prior to surgery to plan my meals and then have unlimited access to her after surgery for the first 18 months. There is also a support group that meets monthly.

So my feelings... I feel really peaceful about this decision. It's been a long time coming and I have, at times, been very stressed and anxious about it. It was probably one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make. I've never understood people who couldn't just make decisions, it's always come so easy to me. I look at my options, look at the consequences and decide. This time just wasn't that simple. I felt that the Lord was asking me to make the decision and wasn't giving me any direction. My theory held true though and once I made the choice and moved forward with my plans I felt peaceful.

I know this is going to be a tough journey at times and I know there will be loads required of me to be successful but I am optimistic this will allow me to get to a healthier place. I'm excited and at peace. And very excited to have my mom come stay with me for a week!

Amazon

I am now a seller on Amazon - I'm selling my nursing books and a few other random ones I don't plan on reading again. So far I've sold 5 books (sadly only one nursing book) and made $68.59. Not bad.

Dad, do you agree?

"If you've ever tried to get wet toilet paper out of a tall oak tree you start believing in capital punishment". "Halloween" on the History Channel. Love it.

"500 Days of Summer"

"500 Days of Summer" was lame and slightly depressing. Who wants to go to the movies and not have a happy ending? Lame. I like fairy tales. If I wanted reality I would read my journal. There was, however, one exceptional scene where they split screen him going to a party at her house, one side: "expectations" the other side "reality". That was an excellent portrayal of reality. Loved it. The rest of the movie, not so much. If I didn't have to work in the morning I'd probably cry.

Weird

To qualify for the mini-gastric bypass (MGB) surgery I have to be a certain weight. When I started this process back in April I was over the qualifying weight by about 10 pounds. I have since lost that 10 pounds. Herein lies the problem, if I lose anymore weight I may not qualify, per insurance, for the surgery. Do you have any idea how hard it is to stay the same weight - especially when you're neurotic about it? Believe, I thought I was crazy before... My biggest fear about this surgery is that my insurance won't approve it. I want it to by my choice.

Just a glimpse into my life... I don't have a chair for my desk so I sit on my exercise ball. I just tried to adjust my position on it and fell off, taking down a lamp and a clock. They were small... Now I'm sitting in the dark. Embracing my inner klutz.

I'm off to go see "500 Days of Summer" with my friend.