First day back at work

So I went back to work today, 9 days after my surgery.  Fortunately, it was a pretty quiet day and I didn't have too much going on.  Everyone was really glad to see me.  A couple of the girls in my department could already tell that I'd lost a good amount of weight.  It is very easy to tell in my face.  That's probably the first place my weight loss is really noticeable.  I told several people about the details of my surgery and recovery, and the rest of the day I just quietly got my work done.

Today is also day 2 of the full liquid stage.  It's harder than I thought it would be to get in all my protein and my vitamins.  I'm back to drinking the high protein meal replacement shakes that I was drinking pre-op.  Let me tell you, it took me 3 and a half hours to get one down this morning.  I'm just not hungry!  Now, this is not a complaint... merely a statement.  Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I could live on liquids (for now anyway) and be satisfied!  What I'm trying to do is drink two of the protein shakes and one of the high protein "shots" each day so I can get my 80ish grams of protein in that the doctor recommends.

In between all the protein, I'm attempting to consume other things as well; things like soup, pudding and milk.  I attempted to eat some cream of mushroom soup today and wasn't able to strain out the mushroom pieces.  Have you ever realized just how many little pieces of mushroom there are in a half cup of that stuff?  Geez!  Lesson learned - if I'm going to take something like that to work again, I'll prepare (strain) it at home first!

One other thing I'm trying to improve is my vitamin schedule.  Sometimes it's just hard to space everything just right.  But I'm still new at this and learning the ropes.

I think I might try a stage 2 approved fudgesicle tonight with my evening protein.  Not sure what the hubs and baby girl will eat, but I bet it doesn't come close to my dinner!

Thanks for reading!

One week out and feeling great!

Well, I was sleeved one week ago today.  I'm on day 7 of the stage 1 clear liquid diet.  I weighed myself this morning and my weight loss since surgery day is 13.4 lbs, and my total weight loss since the beginning of April (when I started the pre-op low carb, high protein diet) is 21.4 lbs!

I had a follow up appointment with the surgeon's office this morning.  Everyone kept telling me how great I looked and how I didn't look like I just had surgery a week ago.  I truly do feel amazing.  I've had little to no pain at all, and am just a little tender in my belly area.  The incisions are healing well.  I'm (mostly) getting my vitamins in.  I am cleared to start stage 2 of my post op diet tomorrow, which is the full liquid phase.  I'll be able to add skim milk, low carb yogurt, sugar-free/lowfat pudding, thicker soups like tomato and cream of chicken, high protein meal replacement shakes and a few other things.  While I've done well with just clear liquids, I'm excited about moving on to full liquids!

I'm going back to work on Wednesday.  Since I'm a graphic designer and have a desk job, I think I'll do fine.  Honestly, I feel good enough to go back now.  But it will be nice to have one more day to relax before getting back into the swing of things.

 So, one week out, I feel great.  This part still amazes me, but I HAVE NOT BEEN HUNGRY!  It's been a fairly easy recovery and I feel like I'm off to a nice start.  I love my sleeve!

What is Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy?

If you're new to the world of weight loss surgery, you probably don't know a lot about the different types of surgeries that are performed.  Most people, when I told them I was having surgery, assumed I was getting a band (also known as an adjustable gastric band, a Lap-Band or a Realize Band).  When I said no, they jumped to the next surgery type, the gastric bypass, aka Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.  Again, people would look at me, puzzled, when I told them I was not having gastric bypass surgery.  They were left to wonder what else there is besides these two better known procedures.  I would then explain to them that I was opting for the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, or sleeve, as it is often called.

VSG is a relative newcomer to the world of WLS.  For years, it was (and still is) the first step of another, more complicated type of weight loss surgery called the Duodenal Switch.  With the VSG, there is no re-routing of the digestive system/intestines.  All that is done (and it sounded really intimidating at first) is the removal of about 85% of the stomach.  There is no foreign object left inside of you.  It is permanent.  It is a restrictive-only procedure, i.e. there is no malabsorptive aspect to it like with a bypass or a DS.  After the VSG is performed, the stomach is about the size and shape of a banana.

Image taken from http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/vsg/cmsID,8874/mode,content/a,cms/

Now, you may ask why did I go for the sleeve over the band or the bypass?  Well, for me it came down to several reasons.  First of all, I've read too many horror stories about the band.  Sure, some people have lots of success with their band, but it sounds like many more have trouble with them.  Secondly, the thought of having my intestines re-routed and not being able to absorb all the vitamins and nutrients my body needs scared me a bit.  Third, I had to pay for this myself since my insurance does not cover any type of weight loss surgery, even if medically necessary.  I didn't want to choose a surgery type that was more likely to need another surgery somewhere down the road.  Finally, to me, VSG sounded like something I could actually live with for the rest of my life AND be successful with!

I am not saying that VSG is the best choice for everyone.  I am just saying that for me and my lifestyle, and accounting for the amount of weight I want to lose, VSG was the only option.  I may be only 3 days out from surgery, but already I feel very good about the decision I made.  You can read much more about VSG on ObesityHelp.com, a great website dedicated to educating pre- and post-op patients on the different types of surgery available to them.

Thanks for reading!

I've been sleeved!

Hello!  I'm home from the hospital!  I was released around 10:30 this morning.  I'm feeling pretty good and am getting around, slowly, but without much trouble.  Now, without further ado, here are the details!

I arrived bright and early at 5:30 am on Monday.  I was surprised how busy the hospital was at that hour with people going to surgery!  About 15 minutes after we got there, they called me back to the pre-op area to start prepping me.  They asked a bunch of questions, took a urine specimen and told me to go ahead and put on the lovely hospital gown.  Dr. Oldham came by and checked on me before the surgery to ask how I was doing and to go over things with me one more time.  They started my IV and gave me the Versed to relax me.   After a bit, my husband and 15 month old daughter were allowed to come back and see me before I was taken to the OR.  I don't remember much after that.

I woke up in recovery feeling like someone had punched me in the stomach and feeling very groggy.  I was told that I'd be taken to a room as soon as one was available.  They normally don't let family come to recovery, but since it was taking so long to get me in a room, they made an exception.  I was very happy to see my hubby again (he had since dropped our daughter off at daycare).  My mom had arrived at some point and got to sit with me for a bit too.  After what felt like an eternity to my family (me, not so much, because I was so out of it), I was finally moved to my (private) room.  I had some pain, but nothing intolerable.  They started giving me breathing treatments, because it is very important that you take deep breaths as much as possible.  I felt nauseous a few times, once in recovery and another time after I was in my room.  They gave me a dose of fenergan and it knocked me out!  Most of the rest of Monday is just a blur.

Tuesday I woke up feeling better.  Breathing treatments continued, and they drew some blood to see how my levels were.  Dr. Oldham visited early to check my incisions and again later to stress the importance of walking and using the incentive spirometer (which you should receive when you go for your next appointment).  He checked my incisions again and was pleased.  Oh, and I almost forgot.  I had a hiatal hernia that got fixed!  They removed my catheter yesterday morning and let me tell you, it felt good to go to the bathroom on my own!  I got up and walked around the nurse's station several times, and while I was weak, it was nice to be up out of the bed.  I got food, albeit liquid, yesterday for the first time.  I was not hungry at all, but I drank two of the protein shots (dilute them with water!) and some water and broth.  Only had a few bites of Jell-o.  They kept pumping fluids in me via the IV, so I had to get up to use the bathroom quite a few times.  You most likely will need help to get to the bathroom since you'll be connected to the IV stand, etc.

Today I woke up feeling even better than yesterday.  A lot of the soreness had gone away.  When the nurse came in this morning, she said that Dr. Oldham would most likely say I could go home today.  Sure enough, he came in, checked my incisions again and said to be as active as possible (within reason) and stay hydrated.  He also wanted me to continue to use my spirometer to increase my lung capacity.  I was free to get dressed, take the heart monitor off and just wait until my hubby got there.

Now I'm just sitting here typing this, sipping some broth and some water.  I'm getting up and walking around periodically while my mom sits here with me.  All in all, I'd say the first day and a half were the roughest.  And the removal of the drain is probably the worst experience of all of it.  But I don't regret anything (yet!) and am happy I went through with this.  Don't let any of my experiences scare you.  I just wanted to be completely honest and up front about how things proceeded.

Thanks for reading!