Miss Vickie
Well-Known Member
Just wanted to give an update for those who might be interested. I had my gastric bypass surgery (R 'n Y, proximal) two years ago on April 17. It took several months of insurance niggling to make it happen, but it finally did. Morning of surgery I weighed 299, which was down somewhat from my highest at about 320. I had hypertension (two meds for that), hyperlipidemia (a med for that), hyperinsulinemia (a med for that), depression, joint pain and lung disease.
During the surgery I became hypoxic because of the pressure of my belly on my lungs, so they put me head up and I was fine, and continued with the surgery with no complications. I had my surgery open, since that's what my doctor prefers, even though it has left me with a very unattractive scar. I woke up to horrendous nausea, which they immediately gave me something for, which was good because I had one of those "What the hell have I DONE to myself?" moments. My doctor placed an epidural intra-operatively for post-op pain, and so I had very little pain until my wiggling loosened the catheter. Then they gave me Morphine, which I hate, until I could convince them that Demerol works much better (and it did) and to get me on oral pain meds, which they finally did. (Nurses are the worst patients...)
I was eating ice chips the next day, doing great, no problems at all. I quickly advanced to clears -- again, no problem. Then to full liquids -- no problem. I was eating soft foods by day 5 because I was doing so well and my doc said to give it a try. I was blessed with a cast iron stomach which has served me well.
I'm one of the lucky ones that can eat meat, bread, small amounts of pasta, just about anything except Top Ramen, which is probably a good thing. I only dump if I drink sweet liquids like Starbucks Frappuccinos or any kind of milkshake. I can have a small piece of cake, several small pieces of candy, or 2 cookies and be fine. It's nice. I don't feel deprived at all.
Given all that, I'm not the poster child for most weight lost with WLS. I'm currently about 180-185 pounds, and have lost many many inches. I went from a size 26/28, 3-4X to a size 14 and L/XL. Once I get my tummy tuck I'll probably be down to a size 12, but that won't happen until this fall when they repair my hernia.
My only real complication is that I have an incisional hernia (a weakness in the wall of the abdomen). It started out tiny and is getting bigger, and it can be uncomfortable sometimes if I push it. And working L&D and postpartum, I'm pretty much always pushing it. I have the go-ahead from my insurance to fix it but I also want a tummy tuck and I want them to do that in the same surgery; to get them to cover it requires six months of weigh ins to be sure my weight is stable. So it's worth waiting, as far as I'm concerned, until this fall.
Health-wise, my BP, cholesterol and sugar are normal without medications and all of my nutrient levels are normal, though it took awhile (and some extra Vitamin D supplementation) to get my calcium and PTH levels where they needed to be. I'm still anemic, which is a concern, and in fact I'm seeing a hematologist next week to find out why. My iron and B12 are normal, I'm not bleeding anywhere, and yet I'm severely anemic so everyone is scratching their head. They suspect it has to do with my underlying autoimmune disease, Sarcoidosis, since I was anemic because of that prior to surgery (my hematocrit hasn't been above 28% in some years). But they want to be sure, which I appreciate. I haven't used my inhaler in... oh gosh, probably almost two years. My joint pain is gone, though I do have some residual low back pain from the way my weight is distributed; they suspect that once I have the tummy tuck and my pannus removed I'll be much better.
I feel good, I look good, and I have no regrets. Sometimes I wish I lost more weight since I'm not "thin" but I never truly wanted to be thin so I think it's just our cultural paradigm rearing its ugly head saying, "You know, you're not a real success unless you're a size six." This is an excellent weight for me, and I'm not regaining and I can eat most foods in reasonable amounts where I don't feel deprived or like a freak. I can work crazy long hours at a crazy busy hospital unit and then go work out for an hour. I can clean my house! I can go for long walks, and walk as long as I need or want to without having to stop and rest. I can run up stairs, fit into small spaces at work (helpful when it's hitting the fan during a difficult delivery and I have to squeeze between several people to get a floppy baby) and move quickly (again, helpful for the same reasons).
For me, it's been a good thing and I feel blessed that I've come through it as well as I have. I wish it hadn't required surgery but after years and years of gaining despite how little I ate, I decided it was time. I'm still the same person I was, just happier because I can do the things I want to do but physically couldn't.
Anyhow, that's the news with me. I'll try to get some pics taken and up soon.
During the surgery I became hypoxic because of the pressure of my belly on my lungs, so they put me head up and I was fine, and continued with the surgery with no complications. I had my surgery open, since that's what my doctor prefers, even though it has left me with a very unattractive scar. I woke up to horrendous nausea, which they immediately gave me something for, which was good because I had one of those "What the hell have I DONE to myself?" moments. My doctor placed an epidural intra-operatively for post-op pain, and so I had very little pain until my wiggling loosened the catheter. Then they gave me Morphine, which I hate, until I could convince them that Demerol works much better (and it did) and to get me on oral pain meds, which they finally did. (Nurses are the worst patients...)
I was eating ice chips the next day, doing great, no problems at all. I quickly advanced to clears -- again, no problem. Then to full liquids -- no problem. I was eating soft foods by day 5 because I was doing so well and my doc said to give it a try. I was blessed with a cast iron stomach which has served me well.
I'm one of the lucky ones that can eat meat, bread, small amounts of pasta, just about anything except Top Ramen, which is probably a good thing. I only dump if I drink sweet liquids like Starbucks Frappuccinos or any kind of milkshake. I can have a small piece of cake, several small pieces of candy, or 2 cookies and be fine. It's nice. I don't feel deprived at all.
Given all that, I'm not the poster child for most weight lost with WLS. I'm currently about 180-185 pounds, and have lost many many inches. I went from a size 26/28, 3-4X to a size 14 and L/XL. Once I get my tummy tuck I'll probably be down to a size 12, but that won't happen until this fall when they repair my hernia.
My only real complication is that I have an incisional hernia (a weakness in the wall of the abdomen). It started out tiny and is getting bigger, and it can be uncomfortable sometimes if I push it. And working L&D and postpartum, I'm pretty much always pushing it. I have the go-ahead from my insurance to fix it but I also want a tummy tuck and I want them to do that in the same surgery; to get them to cover it requires six months of weigh ins to be sure my weight is stable. So it's worth waiting, as far as I'm concerned, until this fall.
Health-wise, my BP, cholesterol and sugar are normal without medications and all of my nutrient levels are normal, though it took awhile (and some extra Vitamin D supplementation) to get my calcium and PTH levels where they needed to be. I'm still anemic, which is a concern, and in fact I'm seeing a hematologist next week to find out why. My iron and B12 are normal, I'm not bleeding anywhere, and yet I'm severely anemic so everyone is scratching their head. They suspect it has to do with my underlying autoimmune disease, Sarcoidosis, since I was anemic because of that prior to surgery (my hematocrit hasn't been above 28% in some years). But they want to be sure, which I appreciate. I haven't used my inhaler in... oh gosh, probably almost two years. My joint pain is gone, though I do have some residual low back pain from the way my weight is distributed; they suspect that once I have the tummy tuck and my pannus removed I'll be much better.
I feel good, I look good, and I have no regrets. Sometimes I wish I lost more weight since I'm not "thin" but I never truly wanted to be thin so I think it's just our cultural paradigm rearing its ugly head saying, "You know, you're not a real success unless you're a size six." This is an excellent weight for me, and I'm not regaining and I can eat most foods in reasonable amounts where I don't feel deprived or like a freak. I can work crazy long hours at a crazy busy hospital unit and then go work out for an hour. I can clean my house! I can go for long walks, and walk as long as I need or want to without having to stop and rest. I can run up stairs, fit into small spaces at work (helpful when it's hitting the fan during a difficult delivery and I have to squeeze between several people to get a floppy baby) and move quickly (again, helpful for the same reasons).
For me, it's been a good thing and I feel blessed that I've come through it as well as I have. I wish it hadn't required surgery but after years and years of gaining despite how little I ate, I decided it was time. I'm still the same person I was, just happier because I can do the things I want to do but physically couldn't.
Anyhow, that's the news with me. I'll try to get some pics taken and up soon.
