Week 5 Post RNY Bypass Update

Hello blog land! I am so bad. I haven't been on in a minute now. I do apologize. So here's an update. I am five weeks and one day out from Gastric Bypass surgery, and I am feeling great!! I started Zumba a week ago after I joined a gym for the first time ever! Yes. I did!! I've been walking at home and on the treadmill. I tried the elliptical once, let's just say that's gonna take some getting used to. Last night I did water aerobics AND Zumba, and I was too pooped to finish the Zumba class. I was digging deep, but coming up empty because I really didn't eat enough to feed a bird yesterday. Result: my silent mantra, "Bad Kathy. Bad, bad Kathy!!" Today I've done better with eating, but I will not be visiting the gym tonight. I did get out and walk two miles today with my buddy. So it's not like I didn't do anything at all. What am I eating? I'm still on soft foods. As far as meats go I'm eating dark meat chicken, fish, and some pork cuts. My sinful delight is nacho chips! I've never liked them that much, now I want them all the time. It's been three days since my last tostito on my honor!! This week I'm feeling a lot more restriction, so the Greek yogurt that was my staple food is almost intolerable. I'm eating lots of fruits and avocado and pico still. I'm not having any difficulty drinking my fluids. I'm losing inches like carazy! I've already dropped a pants size. I need a new bra. My girls are melting. My skin is clearer. I'm so happy. There are days I feel like the scale isn't moving but at the end of the week, the loss is always there. I'm grateful for that. I am taking two multivitamin and two calcium chews daily, along with Biotin. Doc doesn't want me on B12 just yet. I know it's not much for a five week update!! That's what the comment box is for. If you have any questions ask away! Thanks for reading, and go see my YouTube channel. I've been posting more over there because it seems so much easier.

RNYGB Week 1 Update

Yesterday was one week since I had my Roux En-Y Gastric Bypass surgery at Roper St. Francis in Charleston, SC. I did a video post on my Youtube channel on the day of surgery and everyday after except for yesterday. Time just got away from me! You can see those in the right side bar of this blog, or head on over there and subscribe. The playlist is named just like this blog, "Goodbye, Fat Kat!." So I'll give you an update today of the entire week. Surgery day went by quickly, for me, that is. My husband tells it differently. We had to be at the hospital at 10:00 am. I waited in the waiting area for approximately half an hour and I was called back to be prepped. I weighed in that morning at 321. My husband, mother, grandmother, pastor's wife, and another sweet lady from my church came in and everyone- including my anesthesiologist's team and OR nurses had prayer. That was awesome. My AN gave me what she called "I don't care juice." That's all I remember until I woke up in recovery, coughing like I had fluid in my lungs. I remember blurry people all around me pulling on me and taking an X-ray of my chest, and when they decided everything was okay, I was taken to my room. My mother-in-law came to see me, I vaguely recall. They tried to get me to walk that night. I made it to the door, and got sick, and then came Zofran and Phenegrin every hour, and sleep. I woke up the next morning at 5 a.m. and made a video for Youtube. I stayed in the hospital until Thursday. Tuesday I started two ounces of blue Powerade every hour and ice chips here and there. I'm still drinking Powerade, twenty ounces a day, for the first two weeks. It'll help to detect a leak in my pouch by looking for blue in my Blake drain. Wednesday was great. I felt like super woman. I got five ounces of fluids every hour, one can of boost over the course of the day via my g-tube, and three pureed meals. I wasn't able to eat dinner. I was too full. Thursday I was ready to go home, but I got sick that morning and couldn't drink or eat like I was supposed to. By noon I was feeling better, and Dr. Mitchell decided I could go home, although he suggested I stay another day. I went home. I spent the second half of Thursday in the recliner sleeping. I did okay on Friday, and even better on Saturday. Sunday was the worse day ever. I got up and showered, took my Lovenox injection, and changed my wound dressings- same as every other day since I've been home. I had half of a scrambled egg. At noon, my dad had cooked a smoked picnic, mac and cheese, green beans, and rice and gravy. I opted for ham and beans. I pureed the ham and green beans. I ate slowly, and I felt fine at first. About an hour later, I realized the ham was a big mistake. It got stuck and stayed stuck until 10 that night, and I had hard violent painful vomiting. After a dose of pain meds, I felt much better. Yesterday, I went out of the house for the first time and spent some time at my mother in law's house. I did good! I stayed out a little longer than I would have liked, but I'm fine. Today I'm trying to get in all my fluids because I haven't managed that since Saturday. I'm feeling full all the time. I'm finding soft foods easier to eat. Just because it's pureed doesn't mean it'll agree with me. I assumed as long as it was pureed it was okay. I love imitation crab meat. It's the easiest to eat. Scrambled eggs are easy too. Tomorrow I have a nutrition class with my dietician, and I know she won't be please with what I've been taking in because it isn't enough. I have lost eight pounds this week. I'm going to make Friday my weigh in day. I think I'm doing good, I could be dong better. But, there you have it. If you have any suggestions regarding posts, or anything in particular you'd like me to go into more detail, just let me know, as well as any questions you might have. Head over to my Youtube channel and subscribe. I think you'll like it. Thanks for reading!

Day 1 Post Op RNY Bypass

Hey everyone! I'm more than twenty four hours post op. I'm feeling good. The nurses here are the best! I've never encountered this many nice people in one place before. I had morphine from a PCA pain pump until around 10 am this morning. Now I'm getting liquid Lortab through my G-tube. My pain is minimal. It's kinda dull, like I got kicked in the ribs a couple of days ago. I'm using an incentive spirometer to prevent fluid from settling down in the bottom of my lungs. I'm TRYING to drink 2 ounces of blue Powerade every hour. Not easy! I haven't eaten any food since Saturday night, and I'm NOT hungry!! It's insane! Dr. Mitchell was able to do the surgery lapriscopically. He said my liver looked good, and that surgery went well. I had a hard battle with nausea last night. I've got one of those anti nausea pads behind me ear, and my nurse was giving me zofran and phenegrin. Needless to say I was pretty messed up last night. Those two drugs with morphine make quite the cocktail! If you have any questions, feel free to ask. You can email me or leave a comment below. When you're done with that, go ahead and subscribe to my Youtube channel. You can view my posts from right here on the blog page. I want to offer as much support as I can, and I'll be more able when my brain isn't so doped up. So here goes the first day of my new life! I'm so excited to have you watching my progress! May God bless and keep you!

48 Hours Until My RNY Bypass Surgery... What I'm Doing Now

It's almost time! I cannot believe how quickly the days have passed since I got my date and insurance approval. On Thursday of this week, 3/14/13, I had my EGD. I made a video before I went back and after I went home, you can find it on my Youtube channel, under the Goodbye, Fat Kat! playlist. There is a link to the videos in that playlist in the right margin of this page. I recommend you subscribing to my channel! You can watch my progress and see the difference in me as well as reading along. I really appreciate you following my blog, and all of your support! I only wish I had more comments so I'd know you all are reading!
Back to the EGD:
It went well. I love anesthesia, what can I say? I slept good all day Thursday, I got up for a few hours, and was out again by around 9:30 that night, and slept like a baby! I had some minor pain in my lower throat and in the top part of my tummy, but that's only because he did a biopsy. Everything looked great, according to my surgeon. The only effects I'm still feeling two days later, are a weird hungry gassy feeling in the upper part of my tummy. The nurse told me they put a little air in there for the procedure, and that I'd probably experience something like that. I've tried burping, but to no avail. This too shall pass. Pun intended.
So what have I been doing to get ready?
My husband helped me yesterday, and we did a really good house cleaning! I put him on ceiling fans and air conditioner filters. He said, "don't you have a duster for the fans?" I said, "I'm looking at it!! Chop chop, Baby!" I thought it was funny. Him, not so much! So I scrubbed the bathroom, like a sailor, de-cluttered, dusted, swept and mopped, changed bed sheets, and all that other good stuff. I'll be at my mom's house for a week when I get out of the hospital on Thursday, and he's going back to work! Praise God!! He's been out for awhile, trying to get his meds adjusted so we can be seizure free for what we hope will be at least another three years! I've been pretty good on my pre-op diet. Yesterday I did have a payday candy bar. So. Good. Last night we got together with some friends an there were boxes on top of boxes of Papa  John's pizza. It smelled so good. I resisted! That's a big deal for me! It's hard when you know you'll probably not have it again for a very very long time! I had a huge salad, and my best friend's husband had a salad as well because he has a gluten allergy. I did, however, have two peanut butter cookies. Heaven on Earth. I had a good day yesterday, because that's really all I had was salad the two no no's, and protein shakes of course.
Today we are going to clean out the car, and hang out with my best friend and her hubs. We love these peeps to death. God sent them into our lives. I have no doubt about it. Tonight, I am going to cheat a little. I'm making smothered chicken- it's not as bad as it sounds. It's baked boneless skinless chicken breast topped with bacon and mushrooms, and queso cheese. I should be fine as long as I don't overdo the bacon or the queso. My homegirl is baking a cake for me, and I'll have a small piece. Hey! Sunday is nothing but clear liquids and bowel prep. I think it'll be okay.
I think worrying about my liver not shrinking has been what's kept me on the pre op diet the most. My surgeon won't postpone, he'll switch to open surgery if he can't stay with laproscopic because of not being able to move my liver around if it's too big and hard. Yeah. I don't want a big scar down my tummy.
I did a pedicure last week, I'll touch it up today, and I'm going to throw a few foils in my hair to ward off my roots from showing so badly. I don't feel like doing an entire color process, but I know it'll be awhile before I can stand in the bathroom and highlight my hair. I don't want to be looking AND feeling like crap!
Tomorrow I'll pack, and clean my CPAP, charge the iPod and ASUS, and poop poop poop!
And then hungry and starving, I shall arrive at the hospital at 10 am on Monday morning.

I said on my video blog the other day that now is the time to start following my progress. Up until now it's been jumping through hoops for insurance and all the fun pre operative stuff. Now is where the fun begins! If you have a blog and you'd like me to follow it, leave me a comment or send me an email! I will support you all the way!
I'll be back with another post after surgery, as soon as I'm comfy and clear headed enough to think!
While you are waiting here are some pages from my patient handbook, courtesy of my wonderful surgeon's team... read through them and see if there's anything that will benefit you! Consult a doctor before making any serious changes to diet or exercise!

Thanks for reading and go subscribe to the Youtube channel! Leave a comment!

Insurance Approval & Pre Op Appointment

I got the call Thursday morning! Insurance has approved my RNY bypass surgery that is scheduled for March 18th, at 12pm! I had my pre op appointment, on yesterday, 3/9/13. Everything went well!

Dr. Mitchell did an exam, and showed me where my incisions would be, answered questions, and told me I'd have to be on Lovenox injections, one a day for thirty days after surgery. Bummer. Expensive bummer. It's worth it though. We've really been blessed to come up with our portion of all this, and I know we'll find a way to get the Lovenox as well.

So with insurance approval, and surgery in T minus eight days, I am in rare form! It's all I can do not to  think about it all the time.  I have to keep myself focused on the things I need to take care of now. I've been doing extra deep cleaning each time I do chores, I try to do extra. I've been keeping laundry up. I've made arrangements for my husbands meals for the first week after surgery. I did my pedicure, much to my displeasure, as I wanted to HAVE it done. I really wanted neon pink and green french tips. But oh well. I've got all spring and summer to get it done.

Right now I'm working hard to stick to the pre op diet. I'm not gonna lie, I've been a hungry hippo. I have to try to stay ahead of my hunger and keep my mind occupied when the cravings hit. I have managed to completely cut out late night snacking. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I'm really happy about that.

My weight is holding at 324. I have lost fat and gained muscle, and a little water, according to my TANITA scale reading. I really thought it would have been more. I have an EGD on Thursday, I'll try to do a post then and another video post (just did one today), and I'll probably be blogging here while I'm in the hospital as well. I'm going with my iPod and my tablet, I'm sure hubs will take his laptop. I don't see any need to take mine. I hope you'll be praying for me!!

If you have any questions leave me a comment or email me. It's late. Time jumps ahead tonight, and I really want to make Sunday school in the morning, since this is the last week that I'll be able to be in church for awhile. I'll attend both services tomorrow, and I'll go Wednesday night, and next Sunday morning, but that will be it for awhile, and this girl loves her church family!!

As always, thanks for reading! It means the world to me... I thought I'd leave you with a before pic.. took this last Sunday, 3/3/13.

... and there it is! Thanks again for reading!

Sixteen Days Until Surgery!

I got my official surgery date of March 18th! My pre op appointment is on Friday, 3/8, and my EGD is 3/14!  I was a little concerned about the EGD because I didn't know how I would swallow that thing, but I asked when I was there on Thursday, and they told me they'd be giving me anesthesia. Wheew.

I know I haven't been blogging regularly lately, and I'm so sorry. I could give you a ton of excuses, but it all just boils down to things being so hectic with Chuck being home from work and surgery getting so close.

We found out we have to pay $940 for our portion of the surgery fee. I'm sure there'll be other bills coming in after surgery for the 20% of everything else we owe. We are trying to get the money together, it's got to be turned in by 4 pm on March 14th. Our family and friends are helping, and with Chuck having been out of work for almost a month now, and no income for the last three weeks, we are definitely relying on God to provide. He's brought us this far, and through many hard times, I know He'll make a way this time as well.

I decided to jump start my pre op diet with a liquid only phase for as long as I can handle it. Today is day two, and I've already got a major headache! No caffeine! No sugar. Lord help me! I know He will.

My weight is hanging in right at 325. I hope to lose at least ten more pounds before surgery. We shall see. It's all coming home now.

Thanks for your support and for taking the time to visit the site. I'll try to put a video post on Youtube before the end of the weekend. I'll keep you posted.

Update For My Blog Peeps

Hey ya'll!
I know it has been a while since I posted, but I took some time away from the internet to really focus on some important things in my life. I'll be back on Monday with my Monday weigh in and I hope to resume business as usual from there. My husband is home on STD and it's hard to maintain my normal routine, I'm sure some of you can relate!
I will let you know that I have a visit with my NUT on Monday as well, and if all goes as planned my surgeon's office should be submitting to insurance on March 1st!! Keep your fingers crossed, and me in your prayers. I can hardly wait for that approval. I hope it will bring everything home and make all this worth while. My nerves have been a train wreck for the last few months. I'm ready to be on the post op side getting adjusted to my new way of eating instead of twirling my thumbs hoping it will all work out. I'm trusting God to work it all out!
I'll keep you all posted. Thanks so much for reading!