Bariatric surgery: update

[thistlechaser]

(Edit: Is your LJ too quiet? Looking for more friends? There's an active friending meme going on here!)

Progress continues at its glacial pace, though the end is finally drawing near.

The sleep study is finally done. A one day test, followed by a repeat of that one day test, followed by a five day test. This afternoon I have to go pick up my machine.

Though I wasn't supposed to make the next appointment until I had my machine "in hand", I figured I was close enough, so I called in to schedule the meeting with the surgeon during which (I assume) we'll be setting the date for it. He's been on vacation all of June, but luckily he had a slot open next week (on his first day back), so I snagged that. Unfortunately if he has flight troubles or something, it might have to be rescheduled (to August...).

As far as I know, there's only one other thing left to do in addition to that appointment: Another class (nutrition, this time).

I'm sure my weight is creeping back up (above what he wanted me to lose beforehand), but luckily it's not a set-in-stone thing like gonzostar experienced. He said it would be good/nice if I could lose weight, but not that if I didn't I couldn't have the surgery.

Because of a window I can't take time off of work, I'm hoping to get it mid-August. Monday the 18th is my choice. (Since you have to go without food for at least two days, I figured that might be easier to do over the weekend.)

I'm getting kind of nervous now. I've never been excited or happy about getting it done, instead more along the lines of resigned. I'm still annoyed at how long it has taken -- I decided to get it done in early December 2013! So I had to jump through hoops for eight months to get it. It really bugs me that I could have been losing weight for almost a whole year, but instead had to deal with all this time-wasting stuff (especially six months of seeing the nutritionist -- I don't think I got any benefit at all from that).

I'll be glad when it's finally behind me and I can get used to a new way of eating. On one hand, I'm sad about the food I won't be able to eat anymore, but on the other, I'm happy I won't be eating much at all.

Comments

[tersa.livejournal.com]

*fingers crossed* And, as usual, let me know if you need anything, especially while you're recovering.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Thanks! And will do! My mother is coming to stay for 2-3 weeks after it as well, which will help lots. (Recovery takes 1-3 weeks, I'm planning to take off three just in case.)

[ghost-light.livejournal.com]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :)

[lady-bird.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the sleep study and your appointment...you're about due for a thing or two to go smoothly in this whole process! My fingers are crossed for you!!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I totally agree! And thanks. :)

[gconnor.livejournal.com]

If you are thinking about a different way of eating, would you be willing to try the Whole30 plan? That's the one from the It Starts With Food book.

I think I may have asked you before but I don't remember for sure. Bariatric surgery is a pretty extreme intervention. For some people it's probably the best choice, but if you have *any* other options left to try, you might want to try those before committing to the surgery.

Whole30 is strict, but it is only 30 days, after which you would review how you feel and decide what aspects to drop or keep. It is difficult for the first two weeks, but nowhere near as difficult as major surgery, and the effects are reversible.

Good luck to you, whatever path you choose.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Hope all goes well!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :)

[elo-sf.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Thanks! <3

[marzipan.livejournal.com]

I've got a lot to learn about you, it seems. Bariatric surgery, hey? I wish you all the best. I had bariatric surgery in 2009 and while I lost a ton of weight I also still have some complications from it. I had gastric banding done.

Once the surgery is done and over with it is quite a relief. Definitely look forward to that! :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I'll be getting the Roux En Y kind (where they cut half the stomach off and then reattach it to the intestines).

What kind of complications are you getting, if you don't mind me asking? I do worry about them, but at this point it really can't be worse than the risks of staying at this weight, so I decided to do it.

[marzipan.livejournal.com]

It's a long story but I'll try to make it to the point. Basically, I wouldn't recommend gastric banding to anyone after what I've been through and the even worse things I have read. I left my original surgeon's care after he really screwed me up (more on that in a bit) and the new gastroenterologist I saw told me that what you're getting done is actually the way to go. It works and if you do everything right you won't screw it up.

Basically my surgeon was a bit of an ass and he was really caught up in the "success rate" of his patients. He made my band so tight that I started to get killer reflux and put me on Somac to control it, which it did most of the time. But, I was throwing up everything I ate and I often couldn't even keep liquids down. I ended up switching to a different gastroenterologist because my surgeon would barely remove any fluid if I asked despite my concerns and he would make me feel awful for it, too.

It's pretty gross but I started throwing up dinner from the previous night the next day. I started throwing up in my sleep which is nightmarish if you accidentally inhale and wake up choking. My new doctor told me that because my band was so tight, my esophagus was producing acid to dislodge what it thought was trapped food (it doesn't normally produce acid) and my stomach wasn't actually overproducing acid but my acid was suppressed by the high dose on medication I was on and that's why I was throwing up the day after a meal.

My band had slipped and twisted so I had all of the fluid removed from it. It's still in there and I go through bouts of being unable to keep food down and I often experience pain when I eat. I still have a bit of reflux that the original medication keeps under control.

I have lost a lot of weight, surpassed my goals... but everything else was unfortunate. My new gastroenterologist and even my GP told me that many people switch doctors from that surgeon because of how awful his practice is.

I'm relieved to hear you're getting the Roux En Y. From everything I've heard and read it's the better procedure.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, that's so awful! Your surgeon sounds like a nightmare. Luckily the guy I'm seeing is recommended by many, and this is all he does.

I had heard bad things like that about bands (mine won't do those, he doesn't even like sleeves).

Thanks for sharing all that! And I'm very glad you found a better doctor.

[marzipan.livejournal.com]

No worries :) yep, the surgeon WAS a nightmare. I studied nursing after my surgery and actually did clinical placement at the hospital that he worked at. He approached me amongst the nurses I was working with and started asking me questions about my band and weight loss. He did it twice before I firmly told him where to go. So unprofessional.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

!! Sheesh! It's a wonder he still has a license at all. Unprofessional is right.

[bacchuslives.livejournal.com]

Scary stuff, but I know quite a few people who have very successfully undergone bariatric surgery, and I also know quite a number of surgeons and other providers involved on the process.... Seems to have become routine as having ones tonsils out.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Agreed that it has. The surgeon who will be doing mine does only them and nothing else. (I kind of wonder if he gets bored of doing the same thing day in and day out.)

[spike7451.livejournal.com]

Hope the last part of the sleep study goes well and good luck with getting the go ahead from the surgeon. *hugs*

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Thanks! *hugs back*