Liquid Diet

Before they are able to do surgery - they need me to loose some weight so that Dr. Weiss is able to have as much room as possible in order to do the procedure laproscopically vs. open. Science Daily news said

Weight Loss Before Bariatric Surgery Linked To Shorter Hospital Stay, Faster Weight Loss
ScienceDaily (2007-10-16) -- High-risk morbidly obese patients who lose 5 to 10 percent of their excess body weight before undergoing gastric bypass surgery appear to have shorter hospital stays and more rapid postoperative weight loss, according to a new report. ...

So far I've lost 4.5 lbs after being on a liquid diet for 2 weeks. It's not all liquid as the "title" implies but I'm supposed to eat 4 High-Protein Slim Fast shakes then a 500-calorie meal. I'm so frustrated at the amount of weight loss so far - 4.5 lbs after 2 weeks of what feels like me starving myself... For this week, I'm cutting back on 1 shake a day and I'm eating 400 calorie meals... I know I only need to lose 5-10 lbs but I'm really hoping for my surgery to be scheduled the first week in February!

Oh and on the paperwork junk stuff - Dr. Weiss' office is STILL waiting on my letter of recommendation from my Primary Care Doctor - Don't get me wrong - I truly love my PCP he's an awesome doc and person BUT - HOLY CRAP we are talking over a month here that he hasn't written my letter! I saw him on NOVEMBER 29th!!! The Weight Loss Clinic is also waiting on my Psych Evaluation which should be to them today or Monday I would think at the latest.

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My first bariatric support meeting

Well, I know I've been incredibly slack updating but I'm feeling renewed now and hopefully it will continue!

I've finished all my pre-requirements - yesterday I did my psych evaluation which determined that I'm SANE! and the doc is going to write a letter of support and I did my EKG and the ticker is in good working order - YAY!

But the big news is from last night... I went to my first Bariatric Patient Support Meeting - let me start by saying that I've never been so inspired in my life than from talking to these remarkable people.

I'm going to preface by saying that I'm changing the names of the peeps involved to protect their identity somewhat...

Let's start with "Kerri" - she's the groups newly appointed "leader". She's soft spoken and 4 months out of surgery she's lost 65 lbs so far. She had the surgery with her BFF and works at the hospital. She, along with everyone there said it was the best thing she had ever done for herself. She complained about the "bat wings" but remarked that they were worth it. She also complained that she is still waiting for her extra energy that everyone talks about. She unfortunately seemed to me to be the most "un-influential" of the group.

Then there was "Tanya" - WHOA! What a spitfire - this little red-head was 6 months post-op and had already lost 120 lbs! While a bit over-zealous she was a wealth of information. She mentioned her dislike for the extra skin (she's 44), she said that she's seen 30-somethings go through this and tighten right up. Hey, I'm a 30-something!!! YIPPEE! She said that for the first week after surgery - I will wish that I was dead - great - but after that it gets easier and easier. She talked about NEVER microwaving anything because it seems to dry out the food beyond what any bariatric patient can withstand. she also said that her biggest problem is knowing when she's full - but she said now, after 6 months she KNOWS her body and can tell - DON'T take another bite or it's up and out! She can't eat broccoli - it comes right back up and she misses it but is willing to wait to try it again until after a year passes.

The lady next to me was "Tina" - a beautiful, well put together 50-something that was 8 months post op and 140 lbs thinner! I talked to her the most and she even let me feel her saggy skin on her thighs that she says are the most troublesome part about post-surgery life. She never had any food that wasn't tolerable and she said she drove 2 days after she got home from surgery! She let me know about the first couple days after getting home - she said that while in the hospital I'd be only on clear liquids and maybe for one additional day at home but then I would be switching to broths and similar "high-protein" foods - she suggested the Isopure fruit drinks vs the whey protein drinks - she said the whey drinks made her gag.

The next man to have surgery was "Chris" - he had complications with his surgery. Dr. Weiss nicked his liver although Chris had lost weight before the surgery it still happened and nothing was said in the meeting about blame or anything like that but he had a MONSTER incision - breast bone down to belly button!!! His recover was incredibly slow - 12 weeks out of work - nurses coming to his house 2 times a day to dress the "open" wound that wouldn't close properly. but the one thing he did say is that given all that has happened - I'd do it all again, even if I couldn't change the liver nick - he said he used to have a cholesterol lever of over 250 and it's down to 165 now (off cholesterol meds) - he said his blood pressure is under control (off HBP meds) and even his diabetes is in check (no more insulin shots!!!). He's lost 100 lbs and he's 5 months post-op.

The last post-op guy there was "Jason" he's only 5 weeks post-op and has lost an incredible 43 lbs! He had the surgery for severe sleep apnea. He was wearing a cannula every night. From 2 weeks post op he hasn't had to wear it! He showed us his laproscopic scars and they were nothing!

The the pre-op patients: me, my sis, a guy "Harvey" who had a pg belly type of weight problem with diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure and lastly "Bruce" he's a 5xL and is looking to have the surgery the same week I'm hoping to have mine.

My sister suggested this great idea for bariatric support groups in general - have a closet swap since we will be dropping sizes so quickly it would be nice to be able to "borrow" clothes at the different sizes (they said you only wear a certain size for about a month)... What a great idea!!

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Holidays make me slack!

OK - so I realize that holidays make me slack - not only for dieting but for everything - including blogging OOPS! Not too much going on with the bariatric surgery - I went to see the nutritionist on Friday and was so embarrassed because I had gained 6 freakin pounds!!! She calls it "Last Super" syndrome - so we talked about why I eat when I do - I'm a closet eater - I eat in the middle of the night, in my car, when nobody can see me and look at me and think - "WOW- look at the fat girl eat!" I don't really know why I do it, I'm sure it goes back to some kind of childhood burden but - I'm 35, grown up and can really no longer blame "lazy parenting" on my weight... so heh.. I'm a closet eater and I'm going to have to stop - soon, I'll have no choice...GOOD!

I have to go take the 600 question T/F test test - doing that tomorrow... then I have a psych consult on the 2nd of January - I also need to get an EKG but that won't take too long and my PCP told me I didn't need an appointment and could just stop by and they would hook me up to the machine and send Dr. Weiss my results. And besides that I have the support meetings and I'm done!!!! The nutritionist thinks I should be able to have my surgery at the end of January - first part of February!!! HOLY CRAP! I can't believe it really is going to happen!

I go to Renewed Reflections (.com) and have read through a bunch of posts about how I will feel... some people have lots of pain, others not so much - I know my food choices will change - there will be some foods that my "pouch" just won't tolerate (please don't let it be mac n cheese... LOL - just kidding - I know that will have to change). I just hope I'm not throwing up a lot - I have read that a lot of Gastric bypass peeps throw up a lot! sometimes it's from eating too much - other times from your pouch rejecting the food - I'm scared but I'm sure this is the right thing...
Current weight 230 lbs :(

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