First Post-Op Visit & Meeting Another Friend From OH Board

So this afternoon I went to see Dr. G and had that J-tube removed--that was the tube they used to give me my psych meds in the hospital the first few days when I wasn't allowed anything by mouth. Wow! I can't believe it's been a week since I left the hospital!

I am doing great, feeling fine and have graduated to "mushies"! Today TB made a delicious soup with ground turkey, bok choy, kale, celery, mushrooms and carrots and put them into the blender so that I could enjoy it too. It was soooo delicious! I'm looking forward to adding a whole lot more variety to my menu now and am taking it nice and slow!

I've lost 24 lbs since starting with Dr. G; 14 of that has been since the surgery!

All week, I've been texting with another member of Obesity Help who went in for surgery exactly a week after I did. I wanted to be able to visit her and today we did! We'd been texting and talking on the phone all week so it was a real pleasure to meet her in person. We had fun talking and she said that us southern NJers needed a social group of our own to get together as others do on the OH board and have fun. She suggested the name NJDS and I'm all for it!

There's no place like home, especially when I can't sleep!

Here is me, happily at home and wearing a shift my daughter Heidi bought for me. It's a very pretty pink!

Eventually, pain meds mess up my sleep cycle but it's okay. I don't have a set schedule to keep and so I can nap during the day if I need it.

Since I got home, I've been "finding my feet" as the saying goes. The first challenge was getting in and out of bed. With that conquered, I'm ready to move on. Heh. I've been strolling the house several times a day and sometimes I walk fast, other times I linger to touch the things about me and realize how much I love my family.

We have this "wall of shame" we like to call it but it's a --what? ironic name? it's the opposite of what you're saying! On one side of the wall is pictures of my family life while Rich was still alive. On the other side are pictures of Ted, his daughters, and family while Audrey was alive. Sometimes I like to linger and look at all the faces.

When I was discharged from the hospital, I went with a prescription of cleomycin (sp?) because Dr. G thought my incision looked a little red and wanted to play it safe. Boy! How it has torn me up on the inside! A day later, I called the office and asked for a new antibiotic and it was switched to flagyl. I'm still running to the bathroom but it's less frequently and less painful.

I think the antibiotic is keeping me lactose intolerant for nw which is sort of annoying. I'm all ready to move on to creamed soups and puddings but have been hesitant to go near them again after a couple of "aw shit" incidents where I did have some soup or pudding and then had cramps and the runs all the rest of the day and night.

Lomotil helps.

Except for that little annoyance I feel good.

I was thrilled to meet more of my OH (obesity help) sisters. They are called fluffybunnyslippers and ladysweetthang. I have their real names but don't want to use them without permission. Anyway, FBS came to visit me in the hospital and her visit meant soooooo much. And Lady went in for her switch a week to the day after me and so we've been texting back and forth. And I don't forget Chris, who was my sweet angel then and is still now.

I'm so looking forward to the next support group meeting at the hospital. I'd like to go back to the new surgery wing where I was transferred the last 24 hours or so I was in the hospital and meet the wonderful staff again and visit with the patients. I find I'm enjoying talking more to people "outside" now, not just on the internet.

And at the support meeting, I'd sing the praises of an overnight nurse named Danuta. Danuta treated me with kindness, dignity and the love of a mother for her child. She encouraged me to get up and walk, seemed to anticipate my every need (including the need to freshen up with a sponge bath and a nice dry shampoo head massage) and is just generally everything a nurse is hoped to be. You rock, Danuta!

Tomorrow I see Dr. G for my first follow-up. I've been remembering all my vitamins and have been following along with the clear/full liquid diet. BT has been very cooperative now that she's being fed regularly! I hope Dr. G will say I can try mushies. Yum. Still, it's all good.

I haven't weighed myself yet but will at Dr. G's office. The most important news: since coming home from the hospital, I haven't needed blood pressure or diabetes medications! Wooooohooooo! Will keep you all posted, my online friends!

I'm Back! My Surgery at Lourdes :)

I feel so blessed to have had such a good experience this week! I wanted to tell everyone but especially those who are seeing Dr. Greenbaum and will be having surgery with him.

First of all, he has the best bedside manner I've ever experienced from a surgeon! He really cares about his patients, listens patiently and answers every single question and concern. I have bipolar and depression and most of those meds don't come in IV form so I was really worried. He reassured me--I would have a feeding tube so that my medication could be given to me that way. Hooray!

When I went for my surgery, I was totally relaxed and not afraid. After all, he'd also done the switch on TB in November and had taken such good care of him! The last thing I remember was being wheeled to surgery. After that, I saw Dr. G smiling down at me and telling me everything went very well!

The nurses in recovery were great. I asked them to bring my husband and daughter back and they did. It really means a lot for family to be able to see each other!

I was up and walking that night. I had the real privilege of being cared for by Danuta for the first couple of nights. Danuta treats you like a beloved child. She anticipates your needs, encourages you and just goes the extra mile with her. I think Danuta has angel wings hidden under her uniform! :)

I was up and lapping around every chance I got. I passed my leak test. I was started on ice chips and sips of water, oh, they tasted so good!

On Thursday I was moved from ICU to the newly opened and dedicated bariatric wing. Hey, it was like being moved to the Ritz!!! I'm definitely bragging on it at our next support group meeting! The director on the floor really is dedicated to serving the needs of the patients and the nurses are all hand picked. They were all wonderful! Our suites came with plenty of chairs for visitors, a lot of room to move around and a big comfortable bariatric lounger. I was doing six, seven and eight laps around the nurse's station and they all said I was their poster child! :)

I'm having little or no pain and am able to take in all my protein plus lots of fluids. My baby tummy is acting like a tantruming 2 year old. "I want, I want, I want!" But Mommy has to say NO very firmly. Baby Tummy pouts. More about that later.

When bariatric patients are moved to this new wing, they will have the strong advocacy of the new manager there, Frank, and Tina Marie, both of whom are super strong advocates for your needs. All you have to do is open your mouth to ask for something. You can have your privacy if that's what you want--the rooms are humongous--or you can go out and meet other patients as they stroll around the nurse's station.

The patients coming in after me are in for one terrific experience I do believe! Believe me, I will be singing the praises for Lourdes Medical Center and Dr. David Greenbaum at our next support meeting!

Here is me, first post-op picture. A dear dear friend of mine crocheted the shoulder wrap.

Pre-Surgical tests are out of the way!

TB and I were up early to get Kristin off to school and then it was off to Lourdes Medical Center for my pre-op testing. We got there on time but Mondays are busy so we had to wait. Meanwhile, I was hungry. I've been on the shake/liquid diet 8 days now and had had nothing this morning so I was really hungry!

First I was called back to have my blood drawn. After that, I helped myself to apple juice I'd brought along. I also had brought a shake packet but wanted to hold off, hoping to meet other members of OH at a diner later. Then I went for an X-ray. After that, I went back to pre-op and that's when we got stalled again.

There were so many patients there today for surgery and for pre-op testing! I had to wait for my EKG. When that was over, I had to wait again to see the nurse. By then plans of meeting at the diner went out the window. We went to the caf afterwards. TB and I downed a large coffee each. I had my shake and he had a couple protein bars. Then we beat it out of there and came home to get some rest!

Tonight is the support meeting.

I am feeling better now that I've had some shakes, water and jello. We're going to leave soon but first I'll have my dinner shake and some broth.

I'm looking forward to that meeting!

Post hibernation update/Little T is 5

I feel like a big old bear that crawled out of its cave. Honestly, I can't believe I've slept so much over the last few days! I think it's part sinus infection, part driving around fatigue, part fibromyalgia and part fat fatigue!

Some updates: After I saw Dr. Greenbaum, I've swung back to the duodenal switch. He agrees with Dr. Wasser that the lapband is not for me with all my co-morbidities (diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc). I talked to him about my concerns about malabsorption and being able to afford the supplements and vitamins on our fixed incomes. One thing he pointed out is the money we save on prescriptions can go toward the vitamins/supplements.

He said I shouldn't let that guide my decision toward the more convenient surgery. Lots of people have the surgery that is the safest, the quickest or the least expensive and they end up regretting it. It's true. I've read the Obesity Help Revisions and Regrets boards enough to know that. He said the practice would do the lap band for me if that's what I want but he doesn't recommend it.

He didn't push me to make a decision. He said to check out obesity help some more and also duodenal switch.com and another website (can't remember it offhand but I can easily find it) again. I'm going to go to more of the support group meetings that the practice has and hopefully will meet Joanne, a person I "met" online who was a patient of Dr. Greenbaum's and has been supportive and helpful all through my confusion and waffling. This is not to say that TB hasn't been--he has, it's just that he doesn't want to push me toward one procedure or another.

Want to see what all the procedures entail? My dh TB wrote a pretty good summary here.

All my friends have been supportive too, praying for me to make the best decision for me and for a positive outcome.

I also decided not to delay or postpone my surgery because of Bill's car problems (thanks, James!). Bill is a college student and he is going to see if he can't get some loan money to get himself a car. Meanwhile we'll do whatever we can to help him without driving ourselves into the ground or sacrificing our health needs.

So with that in mind, I went for part one of my stress test on Friday. It was no big deal, just getting injected with stuff, waiting around for two hours and then having pictures of my heart taken (with me trying very hard not to cough!). Part II, the walking on a treadmill, takes place tomorrow.

I can hardly believe our Little T is five years old today! It seems only yesterday we went to the hospital to see him for the first time. I picked him up and just totally fell in love with him from that very first moment. We got him an erasable marker board with markers and an eraser. He seems to enjoy those things, especially now that he's copying letters and numbers! Happy birthday, sweet Little T! We'll be seeing you later.