After Surgery

On Thursday, January 26th, 2012 Scott and I got to Rose Medical Center at 7:30am on the nose.  We went to accounts payable to settle my copay.  Then we went to the elective surgical suite and checked in.   We waited a bit and then I was called back to surgical prep.  I practically ran thought the doors, I was SO READY!  They did the run down of the paperwork and got me all settled and then called Scott back.  Then I met Kim, Dr. Snyder’s head nurse at the surgical center – she is awesome! – and Tony, his surgical assistant – also awesome, and a couple of medical students that were there that day.  Everyone was incredibly kind and professional.

Then Dr. Snyder came in and we reviewed exactly what he was doing, we both signed the appropriate documents, and I loosely recall kissing my husband and then waving as they wheeled me down the hall.  I did not have a care in the world.

I apparently spent time in recovery after surgery, but I have zero recall of that.  I do remember being in my room, and I guess I was pretty loopy.  I know I walked up and down the halls, I wanted to set new land speed records and I think I did. I woke up during the night to see my wonderful husband asleep on a cot next to my bed.  I love my husband. I heard my mom and daughter were there but I don’t really remember that.

The next day was busy.  They took me to get x-rays of my surgical site, and I had to drink some nasty stuff to check and see if I had any leaks before they could give me more than ice chips.  I was not leaking so I moved to clear liquids including clear protein drinks and jello.  A quick side note – everyone told me that no one was hungry after this surgery.  I WAS STARVING.  For real.  All the nurses said I was the first person that had that issue.  Of course I was.

More walking, more breathing into this little contraption to make sure you are working your lungs hard enough, lots of sipping and then the Milk Of Magnesia starts showing up.  These people are serious about seeing some bowel action before you can go home.  I was determined to go home on day 2, so let’s just say that I worked that out.  They took out one of my drainage tubes, and I went home with another drain still in and a catheter that was pumping a numbing agent into the surgical area.  I removed that myself the next day, and the drain gets pulled tomorrow at my 1 week appointment.

I am on a very bland diet.  I can have protein drinks, jello, water, low-calorie drinks (not soda) and that is it.  I am not hungry anymore.  I am not sleeping well at all with the tube in, but that is a small price to pay.  Narcotics make me loopy so I am not taking those so I am in some pain but it is manageable.  And I am bored out of my mind.  I really want this phase to be done already.

Just a side note.  I started this journey at 240 in December, and I weighed 218 on my home scale this morning.  Pretty cool.

I am 5 days post-op today! I am still really sore, and have one drainage tube still in, and am having to manage a few other wounds from drains as well, but I would do this again tomorrow to get on the road to health.

The BEST thing that has happened so far besides getting me on the road to a healthy future is that I heard from a friend that I adore yesterday who told me she is seriously looking into this, partly because the universe is smacking her over the head…and my blog was a part of that.  I am so happy if any if this can help anyone else.  The next best thing is that I am hearing from a lot of you that you had no idea that losing weight as an obese person is fundamentally different that for a sub 35 BMI person.  Information is power.

Thank you to all of you that are supporting me on this journey, I am grateful.

Stay tuned! I promise pictures are coming!

Today is THE DAY! Surgery time!

I have spent the last few days doing the final prep for the surgery…and now the BIG DAY is here!

1. I bought the groceries and medical stuff I needed and filled my prescriptions for pain meds.

2. I bought my new cross-trainers to put my orthotic inserts in to walk around my neighborhood when I come home.

3. I made arrangements for friends to come help me walk since I can’t hold the leashes for several weeks.

4. I packed my hospital bag.

5. I spent the last 2 days on a clear liquid diet and bowel prep (yes, it is just as fun as it sounds) to clear everything out.  I have a raging headache from being so hungry.

6. I showered last night with a surgical grade soap and again this morning.

I.  AM. READY!

Stay tuned!

 

Let the games begin – almost!

As I have mentioned before, the exercise component of this journey cannot be overstated.  It is critical, and I would go so far as to say that if you are considering bariatric surgery of any kind and are not willing to change this aspect of your life  - meaning get off your sofa and start moving around daily for at least 30 minutes and do some strength training as well a few days a week…. then you will have LIMITED results.  That’s just the deal.  You HAVE to wrap your head around it and commit to it.  Period.  Bariatric surgery is A TOOL – it only works if you use it correctly.  It is not magic.

As you know from my previous post, I am committed to the Vegas Rock & Roll 1/2 Marathon in December with Dr. Snyder, Richard, and a host of others.  Pretty exciting.  And I had all kinds of homework I needed to do:

1.  Richard told me to call Neil Wolkodoff (PhD!) and get my body scan and gait assessment, so I did that earlier this week.  That was incredibly eye-opening.  The highlights are:

a. My gait is terrible (not from anything I did, it’s just one of those things) – so bad that I need orthotic inserts for my shoes to help correct it for my training…and if I was not hell-bent on running, Neil would have directed me to another form of cardio, like swimming.  And I need very specific running and cross-training shoes.  There are some things I can do to work on my gait, one of which is practicing a correct gait in a shallow pool with those weird 5-toe walking shoes.  And I will work with Richard – A LOT – on correct running form.

b. No big surprise here – I am very overweight.  I have a 51.7 percentage of body fat.  Normal is 19-26.  And my BMI is about 38 – down from 40 since I started getting ready for the surgery.  Normal is again around 23 give or take 3 on either side.  I weighed 241 when I started this and my personal goal is 140….so 101 pounds and a BMI of 24.  On the positive side, I am very well hydrated.  My segmental lean analysis shows I am actually pretty good in my arms and core, but that surprisingly my legs need more weight training.  I would have bet the farm that it would have been the other way around.

2. I met up with Richard and his running crew on Sunday to chat, learn their stretching regimen and talk a little about shoes.  I couldn’t run yet with them, but will start training as soon as possible for my relay leg in the Colfax Marathon on May 20th.  Richard is amazing – he knows how to run now and is a SERIOUS ATHLETE – yet he makes time to spend with the newbies like me that are committed to getting our lives back.  Talk about paying it forward.  I love him – and his amazing partner Carlos.  I have so much to learn from them.  That group is so much fun that the suggestion was made to get together earlier because we spent too much time laughing.  I am loving this peek into my new life!

3. Join the gym (I am joining the Jewish Community Center – JCC – to be with my other tribe, LOL!) and start weight training 2x/week and I also have to do the pool work to change my gait.  PITA, but I am committed to running so I need to do it.

All of this will start just a few weeks post-op.  First I will be walking daily immediately after the surgery, at least 30-60 minutes a day….the bummer here is that nothing can pull, so I cannot leash walk my dogs, so I have to rely on Scott or Chelsea to do that for me, and I love walking my dogs.  I think I need to wait 4-6 weeks before a 130lb dog can tug me around.  Bummer.  Then after several weeks I can start the pool and weight training work and the running.  I am SO. EXCITED.

Stay tuned!!!!

I May Be Insane – in a Good Way

Yesterday I had my pre-surgical testing done, and also had my pre-op visit with Dr Snyder.  That was something else.  First – the office was PACKED – and I mean packed.  Standing room only.  When I got there, I was handed a 4 page TEST!  I am not kidding.  Dr Snyder makes you take a test to make sure you know what you are committing to, and to make sure you actually understand it.  And then he reviews it with you personally and then you both initial and sign it.  I am more than a little competitive, and I got 100%.  I guess not many do, so I was proud of that.

We chatted about the surgery.  I am not even a tiny bit nervous, I could do this today.  We also chatted about my exercise plans, and I told him about my plans for the 5K and ultimately 1/2 marathon this year.  So of course because I am a world-class athlete in the making – he invited me to join him and Richard (see my earlier post) at the Vegas Rock & Roll Marathon in December and I said YES – without even thinking about it.  WOW!  Dr Snyder gave me Richard’s full name and number and I committed to calling him.

SO I got home and friended him on Facebook and left him the following message:

“Hi Richard! Dr Snyder gave me your cell today and I decided to look you up on FB, too. He invited me to join you guys in December for the Vegas Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon. My surgery in Jan 26th and I am doing the couch to 5K training as soon as I can, my first 5K is in May, then I want to do a 10K later in the summer and then the 1/2 Mar.

I was at the December seminar, and you inspired me to get off the couch after my surgery, so thank you. I am going to find my inner athlete and bring her back to life.

Looking forward to chatting with you soon!

Marie”

And I planned to call him the next day. But then Richard hopped on the bandwagon, accepted my friend request and started messaging me, and the conversation culminated in me agreeing to be a relay leg in the Colfax Marathon on May 20th.  Yes, that’s correct, less than 4 months after my surgery.

Richard also told me to go get my body mass and gait evaluation done, so I am doing that today.  Then I am meeting up with Richard and his running group on Sunday to learn about their training and shoes and stuff.  WOW!

To recap, I am now committed to run with my awesome surgeon this year, and to train with Richard and run soon with his team – and he is now a known athlete.  HOLY. COW.  But I KNOW I can and will do this.

So after all of that, I just sat at my computer with tears of pure joy dripping down my face.  The realization that I am REALLY.  GETTING. MY. LIFE.  BACK….is starting to be very clear.  And I am ecstatic.  It upset Asher my Great Dane, though.  He was a little stressed out that I was crying.

Speaking of Asher – here is what a freak I am – I took him to a world-renowned vet in the area of athlete and working dogs in Colorado Springs to have him assessed to make sure he can train with me, and he was cleared to train with me for up to a 10K, so that is WAY COOL!  Talk about my life lining up!

Stay tuned!!!!

It’s Official!

I am crying so hard right now that my hands are shaking.  I just got off the phone with my bariatric case worker from my insurance company, and everything is in place, I AM APPROVED!  And my date is Thursday, January 26th!

I am almost sick with excitement and anticipation.  I am so looking forward to the rest of my life, and using this tool – my gastric bypass – to help achieve my health goals so that I can have the life I have imagined for the past 25 years.  I am excited, committed, focused and READY!

Stay tuned!

Connections

I had lunch with a friend that I love dearly this past week.  I don’t get to see her very often, but I have felt incredibly connected to her for a long time, and am so blessed to have her in my life.  She is so supportive of me always, and is very excited for me as I embark on this journey.

My friend has a sister who is also obese.  She has also struggled with this for a long time.  And it sounds like she is at the “giving up” point that I hit this past year.  Breaks my heart.  I can feel her pain.  I have been there.  Recently.

One of the biggest reasons I started this blog was the hope that I could help – even a little – by sharing my journey with others.  For two reasons.  For those that are not obese, to help them understand what all of this means and why this is a really great option for some people.  And for those that are obese – for them to follow the journey of someone they have a connection with, in the hopes that it helps them to clarify their options.

I did not even realize this was an option for me until a few months ago, and I will bet that is true of A LOT of obese people.

Circling back to my friend and her sister…..I hope that those of you that are reading this blog know that it is completely OK with me if you share this.  I have chosen to make this public…….  So if it can help someone else, please do not hesitate.

I wish each of you health and wellness this New Year.

Stay tuned!

Checking all the Boxes

So this week I met with the nutritionist at Dr. Snyder’s office and also attended the mandatory pre-op group glass, which basically walks us through what to expect and what we need to do between now and 1 week post-op.  And you get a big binder that they tell you to keep with you all the time (or in my case I loaded it onto my iPad) to reference.  Dr Snyder told me I would become an expert and I am indeed becoming an expert on this topic.

Apparently Dr. Snyder actually tests people – with a written test! – at their one week pre-op meeting with him to see if they are clear on everything, and I intend to pass that with flying colors.  There is a lot to know – diet stuff, exercise stuff, wound care, what is and is not a big deal, when the follow-up appointments are….you get the idea.  It is all my new normal, and I can do it.

Today is a big day!  I should get my final insurance approval and with that my surgery date!!!

For Hanukkah, Scott gave me today as a gift.  We are walking the dogs together this morning (we can’t usually do that during the week since he works outside the house), then brunch – which I love, then a massage, then get ready for dinner – sushi – then the Michael Jackson Cirque De Soleil show tonight.  Awesome.

One thing that will be changing big time in the short-term is working on spending time together without it revolving so much around food.  I really will be able to eat out with people in the future after I get the hand of my new “tool” – the gastric bypass – but until then things like taking walks together or meeting for coffee (herbal tea for me) will be my new normal.

I am super excited, I feel very prepared, and now I just want to hear that I have a date.

Did I mention that I found my first 5K (that is about 3 miles) that I will run in?  It is Mother’s Day at City Park in Denver.  I can beat the stroller and walking crowd!  Be there or be square!  I am starting the “Couch to 5K”  plan as soon as I can post-op.  Chelsea has offered to train with me and I am really excited about spending the time with her!

I hope all of you are reaching for your goals and dreams as I am reaching for mine.  Thank you for your support, love and encouragement.  I can feel it.

Stay tuned!

 

Are You Kidding Me?!!!

So I had my meeting with the nutritionist today, and saw my bloodwork results.  I am in shock.  Between my physical last summer and the lab work last week, I have become hypertensive AND pre-diabetic.  That is scary stuff.  Now we know the answer to my earlier question “how long before my obesity takes a giant bite out of my life expectancy?”

The good news is that both of those will basically be cured while I am on the table this month during my surgery.  What a blessing!

We talked about my nutritional requirements post-op and my plans for exercise.  Based on my plans and my commitment to changing my life, it is apparently possible that I will pretty much be at my goal weight this summer!

I literally burst into tears.  I can see, taste and touch the life of my dreams!!!!

Now I am just waiting to get my surgery date!

Stay tuned!

The Hard Stuff is Not the Hard Stuff

Today is my meeting with the nutritionist at Dr. Snyder’s office.  It is a prerequisite to the surgery, and a good one, I think.  I am looking forward to it, and am also nervous – a little.

This is also the day (or week) that I should get my firm surgery date.  Getting that date is huge.  I need to know it so I can start getting ready for it.

The stuff that I thought would be the hard past – at least initially – is all the freaking prep work that I have to do:

Insurance

Proof of meeting clinical requirements

Physician monitored diet (which I got waived, but that was an effort in and of itself)

All of the consults and evaluations

Lab work

Medical studies

Coordination of benefits – did I mention my health insurance changed on January 1st?

But that is not the hard part….the hard part is making the conscious choice to focus on me and my health, and to step away from taking care of everything else.  All the other people in my life are full-grown and can take care of themselves, and my desire to immerse myself in controlling every little aspect of their lives is part of what got me here.  I am a HUGE (there is not a cap lock large enough to make this point large enough) control freak.  I have basically been handing people fish, rather than teaching them to fish in pretty much every area of my life.  And I HAVE to let that go.

This is practically giving me the DTs (delirium tremors).  While I know intellectually that the world will not spin-off its axis if I stop being in control of everything, it is not that simple emotionally.  So my personal and ongoing homework – for the rest of my life – is to try to keep my mouth shut and let the people around me either step up their game or not.  I just re-read that and it sounds arrogant of me, and that is not what I mean, it is just how I feel.  I have enabled some bad behavior both in myself and in those around me by doing all of the stuff that I do, thinking that is simpler to do it myself than to have someone else do it more slowly or less efficiently – or heaven forbid – not up to my standards.  Wow, I sound like a total bitch.  And I am not, I assure you.

So, right now I am trying to just not bite off my tongue.  And I am not doing every little thing that needs doing.  I am taking care of me (and my dogs, they still get all of my attention), and I am praying for strength so that my head does not explode from my efforts to step back.

So, lots of things are starting to change.  And I apologize in advance if it affects you, but I need to focus on me.  If I had taken that stand 30 years ago, I would probably not be going down this path today.  Wow.

Stay tuned.

What to do, what to do?!

So now that I have started down this journey, I need to figure out how I am going to get into shape as the weight comes off, so that not only can I be healthy – that remains the #1 goal, but to actually get into an exercise regimen that will be my signature for the rest of my life for goal #2 – a body that I am proud of.

When I attended the original seminar that got me into Dr. Snyder, one of the components was a panel of actual patients that were at various points in their post-op journey.  Most still had a way to go, some were at their goal (and still looked a little heavy to me, but definitely happy and much, much healthier) and one guy _ Richard – was training for his 3rd or 4th Iron Man.  He looked amazing.  I was inspired.  And of course that is the point of seeing real people with real results.  To show you what is possible if you put the work in.  And I am willing to put the work in.

I used to run in grad school – through a local cemetery (that’s a story for another day – I love the peacefulness of cemeteries)…..frankly, because I loved (OK – lived) to eat, and I was already about a size 10-12 and I wanted to hold it there if I could.  And I was solid as a rock.  I am – at my fighting weight – an athletically built, curvy gal.  And my muscles remember that.  It’s probably why the weight hasn’t actually done more damage yet.  Bless muscle memory!

Did I mention that Dr. Snyder’s team includes weight/exercise specialists – seriously, people with PhD’s in this stuff – free of charge post-op to work with you on a plan that works for you?  Their bare minimums are cardio 30+ minutes almost daily – think 5+ days a week.  Most obese people have never done that.  I did it in a far off land many, many decades ago.  I digress…

I have never been a team sports kind of gal.  I like to work out my own baggage in my own head.  Hmmmmmm, now that I wrote that last line and then re-read it, it occurs to me that at least in the area of working on my weight that has not worked. Something to ponder.

Back to the running idea.  I have watched the Biggest Loser for a long time.  Quick sidebar – I recently found out that 95% of those people gain all of their weight back!  I am quoting my surgeon for those of you that are curious.  Why do they gain the weight back?  I’m glad you asked – because in the real world where we all must live, you need a plan that you can actually MAINTAIN. FOREVER.  Or – you go right back to being obese.  Not too many people can live forever with a restricted calorie plan every day and work out 6+ hours a day.  It gets in the way of the rest of your life.  Remember, these are obese people who have already blown up their metabolism.  Dieting does not work for obese people.  We already blew up our metabolisms.  Again, I digress.

At the end of the last several seasons, those people have run marathons.  It occurs to me that they have nothing on me in terms of my desire to commit to training for something like that.  It is inspiring.

So my plan – and my commitment to me – is to train for an official 5K race to start.  That is a mere 3 miles.  I see people pushing strollers and toddlers finishing those things!  I literally walk that a few times a week with my Great Dane Asher.  I just have to start jogging it after I lose some of my weight.  Hard to jog with an extra 100lbs.

Then I want to do a 10K – doesn’t that actually sound impressive?  A mere 6 miles.  No toddlers or strollers here, people! I can do that in 2012.  And my ultimate goal for 2012 is a half marathon.  You heard me.  13+ miles.  Official races give you a maximum of 4 hrs to finish.  I could walk it in that amount of time today if I had to, so I am pretty sure I can pull this off – although the goal is to jog it.  The HUGE goal is a marathon in 2013.  Mostly because if I need to have surgery to get rid of excess skin (and I suspect I will), I don’t want to run a marathon while I am still dealing with that.

My plan is to start working with Dr Snyder’s team and then to graduate to a local running club.  Where I can be with other beginners who are also training.  Kind of cool and mind-blowing to think about.  But I really need and want to set some goals here, otherwise what is the freaking point of all of this?

Of course, I will research running clubs, running shoes, running gear and local races to death.  But as a time-waster, it’s a pretty good one.

And when I sign up for that first 5K, you are all invited to come cheer me on.  It will be a good show because I am very likely to be running with tears dripping down my face just from the pride and joy of it.  It’s been a looooooooong time since I had any pride in my physical self.  And I am competitive enough to think I can beat the toddler and the stroller crowd.  I like my odds.