End of Day 3

It's the end of day 3 and I really feel great. I don't have any pain. Since the drain amd IV have been out, I've been great. Oxygen is in the 93-97% range. It's about 11:30pm and I just got my last (second for the day) dose of meds. I'm on all oral meds do no need for the IV. Tomorrow my new life officially starts. Scary, but really exciting. I'm most nervous about going upstairs and then back down. I practiced a few stairs today and did fine. I can sleep downstairs, but the showers are both upstairs. I'm really nervous for my puppy to come back home from my In-laws house. He is still a puppy so it's hard to keep him off of me. He sleeps on my feet then stands on our stomachs to wake us up in the morning. 

Well, going to bed, hope my hospital room neighbor goes to sleep soon. She's shouting. 

Good thoughts for tomorrow. Good thoughts.

Day 2/3 Post-Op

Day 3, I'm still in the hospital. Yesterday my oxygen level was in the 60-70s so they had me in an emergency cat scan. Thank goodness it came back negative for blood clots. They think I have pneumonia. They took the drain out, so now I feel great. But the surgeon might keep me ANOTHER night to monitor The antibiotics and the blood thinners. I had a blood thinner shot in my stomach, so I thought that'll do, guess not. I'm not attached to anything except the heart monitors, so I'd love to home. Yesterday I asked for lemonade and the nurse said I can't have lemonade so brought me Apple juice. Then later another nurse said I can't have apple juice and need to have lemonade. What the hell?

End of rant. I want to go home. 

 

Day 1 Post-Op

1 day post op started out pretty horribly - not gonna lie. I was in a lot of pain. They have my dilaudid but it just made me nautious. Being nautious hurt because my stomach is stapled. I was pretty okay when my mom was here about 11am-12:30pm. After that I was just going through sleep, drugs, pee, walk, repeat.

As the night does on I feel like I'm doing well,  until it's time to get up to use the bathroom. It hurts to twist out of bed. 

I think I'm supposed to leave tomorrow, not sure how that will work. I just want the drain out.  Sorry if this was scattered, I'm drugged and sleepy.

 

Morning of Surgery

It's really hard to grasp the idea of what today will bring. Last time I had surgery, I was a mess the morning of. Like an absolute mess. Right now I'm kind of calm. It feels like any other day. I'm sure that will change in an hour when I leave my house to go to the hospital....

Night Before Surgery

The clear liquid diet is horrible. Today I was limited to clear liquids only. So last night I went to have a nice big Italian dinner with the husband. Then I made some jello. This morning I had jello for breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. I went to the grocery store and got home chicken broth. So gross. I tried the lemonade isopure drink and it's not as good as it was when I tried a sip. I went to GNC the other day and got some quest protein powders. Then I went to get a nutri ninja mixer. I haven't tried any, but can't be too bad right?

How am I feeling? I'm so nervous. I can't even imagine that in less than 12 hours I'm going to be about to be in the OR. It such a surreal feeling that it's about to happen. My life is going to change forever. I also keep running through my head why I'm doing this. I want to be happy, healthy, and to be able to be there for my children. I want to be able to have children - then be there for them. And to live to see their children. 

I will write back as soon as I'm up! Thanks for sticking through :) I hope I can help anyone else going through this. 

What I Won’t Miss About Being Fat

• Seatbelt extenders (although I have never needed one, if I had one more sip of anything, it wouldn’t have fit)
• Not being able to cross my legs
• Being the fat friend
• Lane Bryant. Torrid. And the rest of them
• Sweating
• Weighing more than my husband
• Worrying about plastic chairs
• Holding my breath when bending over
• Being told I have a pretty face
• Rolls.
• Chins.
• Chub rub.
• Having a high heart rate whenever I need to step on the scale
• Having to go to the back of the store for plus size
• Spending way too much on clothes because of extra fabric
• People assuming I have diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol (which I don’t)
• Having to straddle the toilet when closing a bathroom stall door
• Having to adjust my shirt when I stand up
• Having to take angled pictures
• Having to find a 38H bra
• Stretchy jeans
• Purple stretch marks
• Some doctors using the wrist cuff instead of the arm cuff for blood pressure
• Back fat
• Awkward tan lines from rolls
• The feeling that no one wants to sit by you
• Buying longer shirts so they cover my belly and FUPA
• My boobs. I will not miss them being this size.

Pre-Op Appointment

Today I went to my pre-op appointment with my surgeon and nutritionist. They gave me a lot of paperwork about what my food life will be like after surgery.

The first appointment with was with the nutritionist. We went over the 5-10-15 rule which means when reading a nutrition label, look for foods with less than 5g fat, 10g carbs, and 15g or more protein. She also showed me a few samples of the protein shakes and which ones are good and which don't meet the 5-10-15 rule. I learned that in the hospital (2 days ish) I will be on clear liquids, then for up to 10 days at home I will be on all liquid (Sugar free jello, popsicles, water, shakes, broths, etc.). Then after that, I will be on purees/mushys. I was also given a sample of a premier shake and it came with a coupon! ... except the coupon expired a month ago...

Then I went to see my surgeon. He went over my labs and said everything looked good! He was very fast to leave though. Here are a few questions I had and his answers:

Nail polish?
I can wear it on all but 1 finger..

Catheter?
They'll probably use one during surgery but they'll put it in after I'm out and take it out before I wake up

Leak Test?
They will do a leak test during surgery

Can I take my regular meds the morning of surgery and after?
Yes. I can take all my regular meds.

My YouTube Channel...

I have debated making this channel but I gave in. Here is my first video....

Who is Jen VSG

I am 24 years old living with my new husband (Married on April 23, 2016) in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. I am an insurance agent and recently graduated with my Bachelor's in Psychology, Sociology, Criminology. I am still in school finishing classes, but I was able to walk at graduation with a couple classes left. We also have an adorable little puppy, Charley. We rescued him on June 27 2015. That is the same day as my scheduled surgery. My husband proposed on Valentine's day 2015.

2015/2016 was absolutely crazy and it's abut to get crazier.

I have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and Prothrombin Genetic Mutation (very prone to blood clots). This surgery is going to help me lose weight so I can be a mom. I believe that people are all on this earth with a purpose - some to be a doctor, some to be a lawyer, some to be plumbers. I am on this earth to be a mommy.

VSG Pillow, Erin Condren stickers

How cute is this pillow? I ordered this on Etsy from Plusheez. I don't think it will come in time for surgery, but it's still cute.

I also ordered a LOT of planner stickers for my new 2016/17 Erin Condren Life Planner that should be coming soon. If you want to see all of them, I will probably make a YouTube video with them soon. This is one of my favorites from PaperPusherShop.

I will be measuring myself and weighing myself every week for the first few months so this will be super helpful. I also ordered a water bottle with my monogram on it and a time tracker to make sure I am drinking all 64oz. every day post op.

Now What?

I was approved, I got my labs... now what? Wait more? I was going to drive myself crazy reading blogs and forums about the surgery and what to expect. Everyone has different experiences so I really have to take it with a grain of salt. I ordered some weight loss tracking stickers from Etsy for my Erin Condren planner as well as a water bottle with time trackers on it so I know how much I have been drinking. I also got a blender bottle for my protein shakes, which I know I will have to learn to love because that's all I can have for the first few weeks.

I have my appointment with the surgeon and nutritionist on June 21 so I will update again then.

The thing I am most worried about is having to go to work the first. I will be in the hospital Monday June 27- Wed 29th. Then work Friday July 1. Then to the lake house for the 4th of July weekend. I don't know how this will all work, but I hope it work out alright.

 

Labs, ABG

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

I had my appointment to get my labs done. I needed blood work (17 damn vials) and an EKG. Apparently I also needed an ABG which I quickly learned to be an arterial blood gas test. I was freaked out because it didn't sound painless. The tech doing my blood work and EKG said it was no biggie. Turns out. BIGGIE. I waited and waited and waited and they finally called me in to get the ABG. While I was waiting I made the mistake of googling what it was, the only results said it was extremely painful. 

I sat down in the chair and this little tiny Asian lady said to take off my Fitbit and relax. She played around with my wrist a little bit and then poked me a little. Then pushed. She was DIGGING and I mean DIGGING in my wrist for my artery. After a few minutes of the most pain I have ever felt, she said, "I've almost got it". I"m sorry, what? She hasn't even started yet. She had to try twice and was not able to find my artery to draw blood. So all that digging for nothing. She pulled the needle around one more time and this time I completely blacked out. I woke up and she said she has never not gotten it before. Fantastic. She said that if they really need it, I'll have to come back. HELL NO.

Waiting - Tentative Date - Approval

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

I called the surgery coordinator at Barrington Surgeries and the receptionist said that she isn't in. This went on for a few days. I called to make sure that she sent in the paperwork to insurance to make sure I was approved but the coordinator was the only one who can answer. She finally called me back on Friday to tell me she is still waiting for the paperwork from the psych. I asked if I could schedule a tentative surgery date because I wanted to schedule it asap because I start work July 1. She said that Dr. Wool was out of town June 13-17 and his assistant was out of town June 20-24 so the first day I can have it is Monday June 27. I preferred to have it earlier but there was no way.

I called insurance Monday the 6th to see if they received the paperwork. They haven't. I called Tuesday and Wednesday as well - they still haven't. I decided to call the coordinator. Receptionist said she wasn't in... as usual. It seems like she's never in. Receptionist said she would call me back the next day but she didn't, so I called again. Receptionist said that the coordinator was only in Tuesdays and Thursdays. FINALLY the coordinator called me back and said that she sent in all the paperwork to insurance a week prior. I told her that I've been calling every day and they haven't received it. She called them and it turns out that they never got the fax. RAGE. She sent it all again and everything was good. I was a week behind, but whatever. I gave insurance a few days then I called to check in again.

I was finally approved on Monday June 13. I know most people have to wait a very long time, but I'm very impatient.

Psychological Evaluation

May 31, 2016

The Psych evaluation was no big deal at all. He asked me a few normal questions and then I had to answer about 200 questions on paper marking Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree. These questions were very repetitive. The questions ranged from self esteem, to friendships, to work, to totally random questions like, "I have never seen a car in 20 years".... like what?

After I finished, the psychologist went over my answers and asked if I had any questions. The only question I had was if I was approved.

He read it and told me that I am very organized and have some self-body image issues. DUH. He said ultimately, I am a good fit for the surgery, and he is 98% sure I am approved... He will send the paperwork to the coordinator at Barrington Surgeries.

First Consultation

May 26, 2016

After a lot of thinking and contemplating, I decided I was 100% ready to take the plunge. I made an appointment with Dr. Wool at Barrington Surgeries. When I got there, I stepped on the scale and the number I saw made me 110% sure I was ready. After talking with Dr. Wool, we decided that the Vertical Sleeve Gastroctemy was the route I was going to take.

Earlier that day, I called my insurance (BCBS IL) to make sure that they were going to cover most of the procedure and if I had to go to a Blue Distinction hospital (they are, and I don't). Most imsurance companies require a 3/6 month supervised diet prior to approving surgery, or a certain number of psychological consultations, but mine doesn't. All they required was that I have a psychological evaluation once.

After the appointment with Dr. Wool, I immediately called the recommended psychologist to schedule the evaluation. Since I called on Thursday before Memorial Day weekend, I was assuming I would have to wait until Tuesday to get a call back. He called me back that day and I was scheduled for the Psych Eval Tuesday at 6pm.