Thursday, July 29, 2010

Being discharged today

It's a good thing no one reads this since I never got around to updating ;).

I'm leaving the hospital in a few hours. It's a good and bad thing. Nice because I am going crazy in here. I miss my family terribly & the bed is NOT comfortable. But on the other hand, the quiet, sleeping in, and 'relaxing' I'm going to miss.

The pros outweigh the cons, here I come home :D.

My belly is still pretty swollen but the only pain now if from the incision sites ( small amount) and the gas.

I hope to be back to normal in a week or two!!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

I'm here!

I'm here in my hospital bed waiting to talk to the anesthesiologist, will be on the table at 730 & will update as soon as I get into my resident room.

<3


Amanda
-- Post From My iPhone

Location:Hospital

Monday, July 26, 2010

15 1/2 hours until I'm on the table.

Well here I am, 15 1/2 hours before my surgery. I'm relaxing in a nice bubble bath before I get my hospital bag ready.

I'm really sad I didn't post more about my pre-op diet. I think it would have been a huge help, but I've been busy catching up on work.

I basically ate :

Turkey, tuna, chicken, steak, mushrooms, peanut butter, lots of the Atkins Advantage drinks. (vanilla=no good!), isopure, cheese, EGGS, lunch meat, jello, broccoli, nuts, etc.


The Atkins chocolate shakes were good.

Strawberry, decent.

Vanilla, terrible. I can't drink a whole thing, ack.

Isopure has 40g per drink! 0 carb.

Fruit punch one, ew. Grape, not so bad. Can defiantly taste the protein.

Today I've had water, crystal light(sugar-free), sugar-free jell-o, and chicken broth. I'm actually full, but I might drink a bit more water before bed tonight since I'll have to stop at 12.

My husband was able to get a week off for my surgery but will not be able to be there with me. I'm a little nervous in that aspect.

Well, here we go, tomorrow I will be on the losers bench! Ill be sure to update from the hospital :)



Amanda
-- Post From My iPhone

Location:Bath

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Surgery pushed back

So it looks like my surgery has been pushed back. My doctor will be on call that day so she would not be the one doing my surgery, but would like to be the one.

My new Surgery date is July 27th, 2010 @ 730 in the morning. It looks like I'm back to day one on the pre-op diet. One good thing is that I was supposed to be visited by the annoying Aunt Flo on the day of my surgery. Being pushed back 5 days really helps  in that aspect.

Also a friend from a few years back is coming to town and we've planned a get together/photo session :)

It sucks that it's further away, but kinda nice too.

Meet my Doctor.

Surgeons

Jinnie A. Bruce, M.D., FACS


Surgical Specialties
A board-certified general surgeon, Dr. Bruce practiced for several years before pursuing a Fellowship in Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery. She is experienced in addressing the full spectrum of surgical conditions, including breast and colon cancer, gallbladder disease, and endocrine conditions. In addition, her fellowship enhanced her skills in laparoscopic hernia repairs, partial gastrectomies, and other advanced laparoscopic procedures.

Dr. Bruce's fellowship had a focus on weight loss surgery and honed her skills in adjustable gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy, and gastric bypass procedures.


Education and Professional Associations
Dr. Bruce has both a medical degree and a Masters in Public Health. She earned her M.D. degree and completed her General Surgery Residency at the Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans. While in medical school, she also earned her M.P.H. degree in Maternal and Child Health from the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans. In addition, she holds a B.A. from Newcomb College in New Orleans.

After practicing as a general surgeon for several years in Louisiana, Dr. Bruce pursued a Fellowship in Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery through the University of Texas at Houston.

She is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery, and a member of the Association of Women Surgeons and the Travis County Medical Society.


Biography
Dr. Bruce spends her free time traveling with her husband or immersing herself in a good book.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

All systems go

My surgery was scheduled when I went to my pre-op appointment. July 22nd @ 12:00pm. Whoa! I'm on the pre-op diet, started it on Friday.

It's a low carb/high protein diet. >30g carbs a day, 70g+ protein a day.

I didn't thin it would be this hard. I think what's depressing about it is realizing how much my life revolved around food in the first place. It makes me happier to know that this is going to help me, but it's depressing at the same time.

It's hard to explain how you really feel just typing, so don't feel bad if you don't understand.

I started at 247 and weighed in at 241 today. I messed up a little bit today and I'm hoping to fall back into good habits tomorrow.

I need to go and pick up all of my vitamins before my surgery so I planned to make a trip to GNC or the Post Exchange later this week.

My husband has been very supportive, even doing the diet with me, with a little alteration. (he's lost 4 lbs already)

I'm a little sad that I'm not getting support from some people I thought I would. It doesn't matter though I know why I'm doing this, even if they can't understand it. I'm doing it to be a healthier me, not for them.


I'll try to update a few more times before my surgery and I'll probably update while I'm in the hospital since I'll be there for 2 days.
Amanda
-- Post From My iPhone

Location:Bed

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Dietitian appointment in 7 hours.

I have my dietitian appointment in Austin in 7 hours. (I'm supposed to be awake in 3 hours, oops?) I am up late cleaning since husband is on leave from work, (He needed to use some days up or he was going to lose them.) I always stay up cleaning late when he's on leave since I know he'll get up with the kids. I love that man.

Anyhow, so I have my appointment with the dietitian tomorrow morning at 8:15AM (need to arrive 30 minutes early) but it's in Downtown Austin which normally takes na hour to get to without traffic. Seeing as it's midweek I'm going to hit traffic so I'm leaving at 5-530AM. If I get there early I can hit up a coffee shop and work on some work since I'll be bringing my laptop.

I went and got my blood work done Friday along with my Mental evaluation being re-faxed. I need to call the doctor's office and see if they got all of the faxes they need for me pre-op appointment at 3:15 PM tomorrow. The Military hospital here is famous for being slow & incomplete. if they don't fax it, they'll cancel my appointment, oh noes!

So anyhow, after my morning appointment with the dietitian  I'll be all cleared at my pre-op appointment that day. Let's hope she sticks me on the pre-op diet  Thursday.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Gastric Bypass

Gastric Bypass Surgery via the Roux-en-Y  is generally considered to be the best surgical procedure for the treatment of morbid obesity. Weight loss is achieved by reducing the functional portion of the stomach to a pouch one ounce or less in size, and by creating a stoma, a small opening between the stomach and the intestine.


The small size of the stomach pouch causes the patient to have a sensation of fullness after eating only a small portion of food. The small stoma delays stomach emptying, making the sensation of fullness last longer. These are called the Restrictive components of the procedure.

The limb of intestine coming down from the small pouch is called the Roux limb. The limb of intestine coming down from the bypassed portion of the stomach can be called the Biliary or Bypassed limb. The remaining portion of the intestine is called the Common Channel.

Food does not pass down the Bypassed limb, only the Roux limb and the Common Channel. The longer the Bypassed limb, the less the length of intestine actively working to absorb nutrients from the food that is eaten. Digestive juices that normally help absorb nutrients from the food enter the Bypassed limb from the larger portion of the stomach, the liver, and the pancreas, and pass down the Bypassed limb to the Common Channel. These juices do not mix with the food while it is passing down the Roux limb. The longer the Roux limb, the longer the portion of intestine trying to absorb nutrients without the benefit of these digestive juices. Both of these changes result in less absorption of nutrients and contribute to weight loss, and are called the Malabsorptive components of the procedure.

Exactly how the operation is done for an individual patient depends on their individual anatomy, their general health status, whatever changes they may have from prior surgeries, and what they hope to be achieve from the operation. The stomach compartments can be completely divided from each other or simply partitioned, the small stomach pouch and the intestinal limbs may be connected to each other with either staples or sutures, a small band may be placed around the stomach pouch, and the two intestinal limbs may be made longer or shorter.

Patients will be on a clear liquid diet for the first few days immediately following gastric bypass surgery, and then advance to a pureed diet. These foods will be very soft, so as to pass through the small, newly formed pouch and stoma. One of the main issues during this period will be adequate fluid intake, and dehydration can be a problem for patients recovering from this surgery. We will ask patients to take in at least 32 ounces of liquid a day before leaving the Gastric Bypass Surgery Center.

Approximately one month after the gastric bypass surgery the patients can expect to advance to a transitional diet. They begin to take more regular table foods, but will often still go back to eating the pureed foods that they have tolerated well. They will still be learning how to eat right, including chewing food carefully, learning to drink most of their liquids between rather than with meals, and learning that eating the wrong foods, such as sweets or fatty foods, can make them ill.

Patients experience the most rapid weight loss during this period. They are often thrilled to see the weight coming off, sometimes at the rate of 20 pounds a month, but it is not an easy time. Patients feel the loss of calories taken in, and are sometimes low in energy. Their small pouch will make them uncomfortable when they eat too much or too fast. They may have diarrhea, which can usually be controlled by avoiding certain foods or by taking medication. They may experience hair loss, though the hair usually begins to grow back within a few months.

At 6 months after the gastric bypass surgery the patients will probably be on their long-term maintenance diet, which is more or less what and how they will eat for the rest of their lives. The maintenance diet for the most part consists of regular table foods, but in small portions. Most patients describe their meals as child sized, and they often do not finish what they are served. The patients generally become comfortable eating these small meals, and almost always say the loss of the ability to enjoy large meals or certain foods is more than compensated for by being able to successfully control their weight.

Patients may expect to lose approximately 70% of their excess body weight during the first 2 years following surgery. Sometimes a weight regain of  about 10% is seen between years 2 and 5, perhaps because the small pouch increases several ounces in size, and perhaps because the patients learn how to take in extra calories without making themselves sick.

The surgical community involved in gastric bypass surgery is very concerned about this late 10% or any other weight regain. There is a national effort underway to keep patients involved in support groups and in follow-up with their doctors to reinforce what they had been taught after surgery, and what had worked for them the first 2 years. Long term success with this operation requires a team effort of both the patients and their doctors.

Gastric Bypass Surgery patients take in less food and absorb less of what they take in, making them at risk for developing nutritional deficiencies. They must also make a life long commitment to taking vitamin, mineral, and possibly protein supplements, and may become very ill if they don't. These supplements will cost about $30.00 a month and can be purchased almost anywhere

Friday, July 2, 2010

All systems go

I was in such disbelief when the clinic called me yesterday and told me Tricare had approved me.

Today I:

-had to go get my mental evaluation refaxed to them.

-had to go print off the form to get my blood work redone and faxed to them.

-scheduled my nutrition appointment for July 7th at 830 am in Austin.

-scheduled my pre-op appointment for July 7th @ 315pm.

Busy busy! If everything goes according to plan I could be looking at a surgery date before July is over. :)

Will update more when my phone is not about to die! Lol.




Amanda
- From My iPhone

Location:Living room