1 Week Post-op

Well I made it. 1 week post-op. I have to say it hasn't been that bad. I had my 1st post-op checkup yesterday and they were impressed with how I was doing. I'm down a total of 17 lbs. ! At the appointment I was cleared for the next phase of my diet, stage 2 which is liquids. This means things like yogurt, milk, soups with some color (still has to be smooth). I can honestly say I don't ever want to see or hear of chicken broth again. By Monday I was over it completely and was just drinking G2 the whole time. I was also cleared to try stage 3 foods (pureed or baby food stage) to see if I was ready to tolerate it.

After my appointment I went to the grocery store to buy some better foods. I picked up yogurt, sugar free pudding, cream of broccoli soup and cream of potato soup. The soups I will most likely have to run through the blender before eating but it will be better than broth! I also picked up some cottage cheese which is on the stage 3 list. I tried the cottage cheese as soon as I got home and it was wonderful as for the taste. 2 bites in and my stomach said nope, you're not ready. I switched to yogurt and pudding for lunch. It is still weird at the amount of food that I get. It seems very small but I get full! For dinner I decided to try a hard boiled egg mashed up into egg salad. My stomach was OK with it and I was full after eating a little more than half!  I'm getting all of my water in (64 oz. minimum). I've decided to cut sugars even more and limit my intake of G2. I'm only having that in the morning, the rest of the day is water.

My next followup is on May 5th and I'm hoping that I have a substantial loss by then.

3 Days post-op

Well I made it. It is Saturday April 18, 2015 as I type this. Surgery was on Wednesday the 15th!

I still can't believe it is finally done.I'm elated that the procedure went very well and I am doing great.

To recap what I went through several days:

Monday (13th):  This was my last day at work. I got things semi-cleaned up there so I could be away for a couple of weeks. We went out to dinner at Tahoe Joe's for my "last meal". I had a rib eye, and it was great.

Tuesday (14th): My liquid diet started. This was not fun. I also had my pre-op appointments with the surgeon as well as my blood work. Once that was done I came home for a little bit and then headed back out. On the agenda was my blessing with Father Adrian. That was interesting as I had not had an anointing of the sick before.  I was happy and at peace knowing I had god watching me through this process. Next came picking up the kids and heading home until soccer practice started.

Wednesday(15th): Since I could not have anything to eat starting at midnight and my surgery was not until the late afternoon, I decided to try and sleep for most of the day. I figured this would be less stressful and it turned out it was. Heather and I left for the hospital at about 2. We had to be at the hospital by 3pm and had a few errands to run.

Once at the hospital I checked in and waited. After a bit I was taken back to a room to get prepped. The nurses were very nice and joked with me. After they got me prepped they brought Heather back to see me until it was time for surgery. We waited for about another hour before it was my turn in the OR.  Again all of the staff and nurses were very nice and introduced themselves as they were reading the OR for my surgery. The last thing I remember is that the anesthesiologist telling me he gave me something to relax, then asked me what I did for a living. Next thing I knew I woke up in recovery. I don't remember much about being in recovery or how long I was there for. The next thing I knew I was being wheeled into my room and saw my beautiful wife and our friends Jacqui and Luis.

By this time, it was around 7:30 and the nurses were coming in  getting vitals, giving me ice chips and getting me settled.  My nurse Leizle was great. Very nice and explained everything. The night was rather uneventful and not restful. I was up at 11:45 for my first walk, then roughly every hour had someone coming in checking my vitals. The nice thing is that I felt great! I had one bout of nausea when I was given my BP meds, but was immediately given something for the nausea and was fine after that.

Thursday (16th): The next morning I had a very brief visit from the Dr. and then a short time later was told that I was ready to be discharged. We just had to wait and talk with the dietician. We ended up leaving the hospital around 12. Came home and slept.  Later in the evening Heather and I went to open house at the school. It was nice to get out and walk as well as see friends. However, I was exhausted after coming home and crashed pretty much after walking in the door.


Friday (17th):  Friday was pretty uneventful as well. I slept, drank my gatorade, water, broth.We also went to the VIP day at the boys' school. Again it was nice to get some fresh air and see friends. Once we got home from there took another nap and just relaxed the rest of the afternoon.


All in all I am so happy I had this procedure done. I'm glad for the support of my wife, my boys and my friends. So far this process has not been hard. Yes it is difficult to have nothing but clear fluids right now, but I know that farther down the road I will be able to have more foods. Right now the important thing is for my stomach to heal.

I guess I should give some stats. I will update these periodically as well as post some before and after pics.

Stats:

Heaviest Weight; 396
Pre-Op weight (Dr's office):393
Pre-op weight (Hosital):382


I have my 1 week post-op appointment on Tuesday the 21st so we'll see how I am at that point.

7 days out

Well today marks 7 days until my surgery. I have to report to the hospital by 2pm for surgery at 4. I'm excited. I can't wait for this next chapter of my life to begin. It has come fast but I am mentally and spiritually prepared. I have two more days of work until I will be off.  I received my pre-op instructions to go on a liquid diet starting next Tuesday, nothing but liquids. This will include protein drinks, water, milk, liquid yogurt, and soups without any chunks (tomato soup etc). As of midnight Wednesday morning I can have nothing, no water, nothing until after the surgery. It's going to be tough but not as tough as it was when I had my kidney surgery. When I did that I had to be on liquid for two days AND be on a liquid laxative. NOT FUN!

Yesterday I received another tool to help me in my weight loss and fitness. I had been wanting to get a smart watch. I have been looking at the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 Neo watch and was about to purchase one. After contemplating it I decided to go with a FitBit Surge. It gives most of the same functionality that the Gear would but it also has the health and fitness portion included as well. I will be able to track my exercise and heart rate as well as my food and water intake. I'm looking forward to using this tool along with the tool of my VSG (Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy).

I'll update again after surgery!