Thursday, February 4, 2010

I've Lost, but Look What I've Gained! Part VI

...here I come slinking back with my tail between my legs after all this time.  Hold on for a minute while I strap on my celice and put on my hair shirt.

My apologies once again.  My absence was unavoidable.  Now, let's see where did I leave off...oh yes...

I attended the informational seminar held by my surgeon and her staff in October.  The very next day after the seminar, I called to schedule my first appointment.  The first available appointment they had was January 24, 2006--three months away!   I was surprised and disappointed at first, then I realized that my very busy surgeon was very busy because she was very very good at what she does.  So I settled in for my wait.  The holidays were approaching and I decided that I would not diet and fret over food, but instead, enjoy the last bit of freedom to eat foods I knew I would probably have to give up after surgery--possibly forever.  I did not gorge myself and overeat, but I did not deny myself anything.  I pushed guilty thoughts away and of course, my weight crept up even higher.

On the day of my appointment, I arrived at the surgeon's office feeling nervous and excited.  My surgeon went over my personal history and asked me which surgery I wanted.  She agreed that the Roux-En-Y procedure fit my personal needs better than the lap band.  She explained in great detail all aspects of the surgery and recovery.  One piece of information that she clarified was that my stomach would not be removed but instead would be sewn up and left attached to my intestinal tract after it was separated from the new pouch created to function in place of my stomach.  This was done because the stomach can still provide valuable enzymes that then move into the intestines and assist in the digestive processes.  My new small pouch would be attached to a lower portion of the small intestine, but my stomach would remain as a valuable organ.  This however, did not mean that my procedure was reversible.  Studies had shown that leaving the larger stomach portion in the patient was beneficial as long as it was healthy and still functioning.

She reiterated expectations, risks, prognosis and possible alternative outcomes.  She answered all of my questions and reviewed my course of treatment both pre and post surgery.  My weight that day was 259 and my BMI 41.  I had gained back the 25 lbs I had lost plus some and that was a consistent pattern that I had repeated once again in my long struggle with weight-loss.  I was given more paperwork, including hospital preregistration forms, advance directive forms, and diagnostic testing requests.  I was also told to start trying liquid protein supplements to find one or more that I would like well enough to use extensively after my surgery.  I was then scheduled for a pre-op visit on February 16 and given a surgery date of March 7. I left the office still feeling nervous and excited and that small bit of relief as I inched closer to the that date that would change my life--March 7, 2006.

to be continued...