Updates: What am I up to?

I guess I need to update a bit as to what I have been up to the last few weeks. I posted a few weeks ago that I was heading toward Gastric Bypass Surgery (GBS) and well, I had it on March 8th. Everything went well and I am now in my second week post surgery.

I went in to the surgery and was shaved, poked and finally prayed over (thanks) by Chaplin Terry (who is a friend and fellow Vineyard attendee). Really, after the IV was put in, I was out, so do not remember anything until I woke up in my room… even that is a bit fuzzy other than realizing I had tubes coming out everywhere… even places you do not want to know about! I am told all went smoothly (though some issues with the catheter which I really do not want to talk about). Everyone was really nice at St. V’s. Dr. Hatch seemed to think it was a job well done… and I felt like I had lost a knife fight even with the nice narcotics they let me pump into myself. To say this was the easy way out would be really a misnomer. It hurt like hell… trying to sit was truly painful and they had me sitting up almost right away. Really, I became thankful for the catheter as I realized that getting up to go to the bathroom would be more painful than it was worth.

Dr. Hatch came in and asked me how I felt… and I laughed. She asked me were the pain was, and pointing to my incisions and said, “About right here where you did the surgery.”… she laughed.

I seemed to sleep about an hour or two and then would get up to walk. I am not sure if the meds were aiding in helping me rest or not… (Most likely they were, but I never slept more than a couple of hours at a time.)

Day two, they removed the catheter and stated that if I could not pee, they would have to take me back to the OR and do another one… which did not sound fun. TES and the kids were there as I was trying to pee… and the kids were getting more and more restless, and I realized I may be too stressed to pee, so let them all go home. Within minutes, I peed. (I know that does not sound that significant, but since my intestines had been rerouted, it was nice to know that peeing was still a valid option.)

Then the other good news was that I had diarrhea! Yeah! (Again, that may not sound like a thrilling thing, but with this type of surgery, having any movement this early is a great sign.)

Day three came and I was double checked if I was still fine. I was now on different meds, but still a bit out of it. Pastor Allen came by and we talked for a while… he stated the other day that I was quite lucid for the narcotics I was on… really I do not remember much of our conversation… but I am sure it was stimulating as usual. = )

I was getting ready to pack up and go, when Casey showed up (another Vineyard friend). Casey helped me get dressed and pack things up. I was then wheeled out to the car and came home.

The first few days were hard. I had to use a cane to aid myself in getting out of bed. Mostly, I slept and then rose to walk a bit and then slept some more. I thought I was going to get a ton of reading done, yet it seemed the narcotics were still doing a number on me so I was not able to concentrate long enough to read. I also accidently doubled my meds and had he worst itching sensation all over my body. I thought the itching was worse than the pain! Finally, I realized I had been taking too much of my meds and took the right dosage which helped stop the itching. I guess I will never be a good drug addict. And oh yeah… there was diarrhea… but you may not want to know much more about that.

At the end of week, one I was on Tylenol, and clear liquids. I now don’t need the Tylenol, and have moved on to liquids… and today, Saturday I just could not take it anymore and had my first solids… scrabbled eggs.

Some of you followed me on Facebook.com throughout this. If you go back a bit you will find some posts where I seemed to repeat words or may not have made much sense… (Almost like a normal day for me) and well, those are the days.

I am improving day by day. I started out around 7 months ago weighing in at 320lbs, last time I weighed I was 292… that was a few days ago so I expect I have lost even more. I was able to even get into size 40 pants… though 42 still fit better. I also seem to be having better blood sugars which was the goal of all of this.

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The countdown to… Gastric Bypass Surgery

I have struggled with my health for quite a while now. I was officially diagnosed with diabetes about 12 years ago and have never been able to get a real handle on it. I have tried different doctors who will try this or that… believe me I have heard them say, “This will probably give you good results.” and find it does for about three months and then whatever it is stops.

I have had neuropathy, major back pain (often accentuated by the medications), and other complications attributed to diabetes. In the end, nothing seems to help and the pain in my back seems not to allow me to exercise enough to make a real difference.

The bottom line is this. As I have studied out new possibilities to aid me in my fight against my diabetes (that seems to be winning), I kept reading about how gastric bypass has help many diabetics. Part of the issue with my diabetes is I am insulin resistant. In fact, I take dosages that would even kill most diabetics and still cannot get it under control. Therefore I get in these cycles of taking high insulin to get my blood sugar down, which then triggers my hunger (insulin triggers the hunger). Therefore, I eat, and get high blood sugar and, wash, rinse and repeat. The result is I have gone from a svelte 217 pounds to 320 and miserable to boot!

The thing is, in my reading I found that what happens is that when one has gastric bypass, the body goes into shock (it should it major surgery) and then recalibrates itself and often diabetics can get off insulin. Personally, I would be happy with a major reduction in my dosage, as I do not expect to get totally off insulin. I do hope that since I am restricted in the amount I can eat, that it will aid in keep me from falling into the cycle I keep getting in and help reduce the weight I have gained.

This Friday is the day I start my liquid fast before the surgery. I am a bit scared in doing this, yet I see this as the way to regain my health and just maybe, live longer. I just ask for prayer in all this. The consultation with the surgeon is on March 3rd and the surgery is on March 8th.

Believe me I know all the horror stories… so please don’t post them here unless they are about you and your personal surgery. I do not want second hand horror stories. I also know many successes. If you had the surgery, feel free to tell your story or link to your blog.

Again, this is about my health… not about vanity. I mean, I am already damn good looking. = )

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