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This is just hard for me to believe. It doesn't feel like I've lost anything and I didn't want to be jumping on the scale everyday. I read that it doesn't show up until about a week because they fill you full of gas (but I didn't have that problem!)

So I did my first official weigh in, jumped on the scale and it said 204.5. I couldn't believe it. That is 15 pounds down from where I weighed in 9 days ago! Huh. How about that?

I'm healing really fast and well, I'm back at work and fully engaged (because I have no other choice). I'm on liquids until next Tuesday, but it's OK, I don't seem really hungry although occasionally I do get hungry but a sip or two later I'm fine.

I can't believe I have been able to survive on liquids like this. I think of it as giving my poor overworked body a good vacation and I don't like my vacation being cut short so neither would it.

It's just weird, like tonight, we were having dinner, DH looked over at my soup bowl which was 3/4 full. "You didn't like your soup?" I did, I'm just full! How can that be?

And the big bonus? I took my blood sugar. Of course, the battery had run out and took me days to get to the store to get a new one, blah, blah, blah. Guess what? it was 90. I don't think I've EVER had 90 before. Well good for me!

The only issue I have had is that I think I developed some lactose intolerance which they say can happen and may last a few months. Yep. Three times I've had milk and three times I've had a reaction, so I have to figure out how people deal with that.... some kind of pill maybe?

All in All I'm pretty happy about this right now

I checked out of CPMC and am back at my hotel room 1 day post-op and I thought I would record my experience for those who want to know.
  

My original surgery was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on 12/9/08.  I was to check in at 11:30.  I get a call from surgery coordinator Lauren the day before, telling me my surgery time was pushed back to 4 p.m. with a 2:00 p.m. check in time.  Disappointing, because I had my whole day and routine planned – but I dealt with it.

 

It actually gave me a few extra hours which I used to walk to the Vitamin Shoppe to pick up some ready made protein shakes now that I had the frig in my room.

 

I arrived by shuttle, which was great - -on time, big sign in the hotel lobby directing CPMC patients.  The shuttle comes every 20 minutes.  It takes patients, families, and a lot of CPMC employees.

 

I had done a dry run to the hospital the day before by shuttle so I knew what to expect.  Walked around – the hospital is big.  Dr. C’s office is attached to the hospital but when I went they were closed (it was early am.)  There is also a Walgreens at the hospital where he can call in your prescriptions.

 

At 2 p.m I checked into the ACU (Ambulatory Care Unit) went back to an area with about 20 small private rooms (it’s also the chemo area) and got assigned to nurse Vicki.  She reviewed my medical history and then put in my IV.  They gave me these awesome socks with a non-skid strip on the bottom so you can walk around with warm feet and not slip.  I used them the entire time I was there! She used a bit of lidocane to numb the area so I didn’t feel a thing.  She took my blood sugar which was 104.  I was kind of surprised it was that high (although that is not bad) because I hadn’t eaten since Sunday night and was on clear liquids all day Monday up until midnight and then had nothing.

 

She weighed me and I started at 215.5 pounds, but really it’s 3 pounds higher than that because when I left I left at 219 and I always weigh more in my tropical Hawaii than on the mainland. 

 

They were very well organized.  Gave me a garment bag for my clothes and labeled both that and my LeSportsac (which has so very many pockets) with everything I needed.  I kept my packing to a minimum.  I took a robe, slippers, my phone and charger, ipod, a couple of small magazines, wallet with some cash, my debit/credit card,  ID  and a Ziploc with (my toothbrush/paste, hairbrush, and gasx strips, Theraflu strips, listermint strips (for dry mouth) and chap stick.)

 

So after all that I was ready to go and I just had to wait an hour until 4 p.m.  4 p.m. came and went and I was still waiting, they were delayed.  I waited and waited and waited for what seemed like hours.  Oh yeah, it was hours.  I used my chap stick, watched some ipod videos, talked and texted with Alan numerous times.  (He kept me sane and calm.)  In fact I waited until 6:30.  The surgery before me turned out to have complications…..

,

Finally at 6:30 they came and walked me to the OR waiting room.  WHAT??? Another waiting room???  I waited some more.  The surgery before mine was just finishing up, and you can guess what happened next.  The OR staff had a dinner break! They were all very nice, and who could fault them dinner, I didn’t want anyone operating on me that was cranky…. But really…. They could have explained that and left me in my nice private area with my phone in the ACU!

 

Finally around 7:45, my nurse came in, and the anesthesiologist and finally (enter angel music....Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah …. Dr. C).  He apologized for the wait and said we would be starting in 20 minutes.  Then they walked me into the OR, I got up on the table, they adjusted my head and that is the last memory I have.

 

I woke up in Recovery asking for my DH which  which confused everyone since they all knew I was alone.  Then I spotted Dr. C at the desk making notes and I yelled across the room – Is that Dr. Cirangle? He looked up and I said – did everything go ok, were there any complications and noted the time was 10 p.m.  (I’m just like that)….  He said everything went fine.  No complications. 

 

Then I don’t remember anything else until I woke up again, in my room.  I was in a private room (yea) and was introduced to Nurse Debbie Li who was awesome.  I asked her when I was going to start walking.  She said, well its night now, do you still want to walk and I told her I thought I was supposed to walk a few hours after surgery, which she confirmed. 

 

So I hauled my big fat butt out of bed and got to it.  There were 4 requirements to get out of the hospital which I had memorized.   Walk, Pee, Pass Gas and take in enough liquids.)  I was pretty determined on all counts.  I didn’t sleep at all and I didn’t use the pain medication thingy with the morphine.  Since they chart EVERYTHING, everyone knew I didn’t sleep and was worried about that.  But I was definitely in my alert mode and yeah, as usual, couldn’t relax. 

 

At 4 a.m. I learned there was a schedule and made nurse Debbie tell me what it was.  4 a.m.  Vital signs.  5 a.m. pain shot (non-narcotic) 6 am wake patients and take morning labs, and prepare for shift change at 7 am.  New shift arrives, breakfast at 8 and so on. 

 

My breakfast was – health wise mango-pineapple shake, chicken broth, Jell-O, sugar free Popsicle, decaf tea.  It all totaled 107 calories and I couldn't finish it.   I started with the shake because that had 15 grams of protein.  I didn’t finish much else, and I was still feeling hunger but when I sip something it instantly makes me full, so I have stop and wait.  I never got to the Popsicle and it melted.

 

So I did what they asked of me.  Walked, peed, drank liquids, repeat.  The only problem I had was that my blood sugar tested at 183, which was due to stress and that I kept trying to drink too much as one time.  What they say is true.  Sip, sip, sip, walk, walk, and walk.

 

I was ready to go home.  At 8 a.m. I asked what my labs were, and they told me. The trick here is you have to ask... Everything except my blood sugar was normal.  They all seemed to think I would be on a shuttle bus out of there at checkout time 11 a.m.  But they had to wait for Dr. C to come and see me. 

 

So I waited.  Got visited by dietician, bariatric nurse coordinator and quality assurance coordinator.  I gave Nurse Debbie and Nurse Vicki extra kudos.  (The day shift was not very helpful.  They were ok; they passed the test, but no going above and beyond)

   

The nurse coordinator, who amazingly enough was from a military family and spent two years living in Hawaii in the exact same townhouse complex I live in told me the only other thing in surgery that they noted, was that my liver was fatty.  (That’s because I have been on a junk food binge the past two months since I set my surgery date.) Don’t do that boys and girls….. Be a better person than me….

 

Lunch came.  Vegetable broth, sugar fee gelatin, sugar free Popsicle, deaf tea and wild berry splash shake and lemonade crystal light.  103 calories and 5.6 grams of carbs.  I finished the shake. About ¼ of the Popsicle, a few spoonfuls of the broth and opened the crystal light.  The Jell-O I brought back to the hotel. 

 

I waited and waited some more.  I met another family from Hawaii whose son had an RNY.  They also had a private room with an awesome view of the ocean!  They were really nice and we talked for a while.  There was a big island family – in fact there were four people from Hawaii who were there that day.  It was like a reunion.  Of course when they found out I was there by myself, the families all adopted me and the Kauai family even rode back to the hotel on the shuttle with me to make sure I was ok.  Hawaii people are just like that.  Lots of hugs and kisses with people you just met!

 

Finally around 4.30 Dr. C “(enter angel music from heaven again – ah, ah, ah, ah ah….) came in.  My surgery was 1 hour and 12 minutes.  It was very easy, no problems.  I have a phone follow up in 2 weeks and will see him the second week in January when he is in HNL.

 

One mistake I made – I was feeling so good that I refused the pm non-narcotic pain medication before I left, well the shuttle ride and activity – I was in some pain (not a lot) but I went to the Walgreens to get my scrip’s filled, but they don’t take Kaiser.  So I only got the pain meds (at $64)n and will call Dr. C’s office and have him scrip’s into Kaiser for when I return home.  (Penny pincher that I am.)  My suggestion to other Hawaii people in this situation, is have him call in the scrip’s before you leave and bring them with you.

 

Back  from Walgreens(right around the corner – Post and O’Farrell) , I waited to talk to DH, and then took a shot of the liquid pain meds and feel asleep for about 8 hours straight. 

 

Well, I"m ready to go!  I can't believe the time is here and I'm leaving for SF shortly.  I know this is the right decision for my -- and this is the best shot I have at keeping this weight off.

I'm committed to doing the work -- I've done it before.  The difference this time is that this VSG tool will help me to keep it off.

I know I have an excellent surgeon and I'm glad I made the decision to fly 2,500 miles to get this done by him.  He seems very committed to serving Hawaii patients and comes here every month. 

See you soon!

My surgery date is set for 12/9.  I will leave on 12/7 to fly to San Francisco.  I've been doing all the pre-op work:  EKG, Stress Test, Nutrition, Psyc Consult (scheduled).  I'm excited and nervous especially about having to go alone.