Mrs. Reid

YAY! I had my surgery yesterday. It occurred at Des Peres Hospital in Des Peres, ( St. Louis) MO. I know everyone will have different experiences based on where they have the surgery, but here's what I experienced:
10 AM REGISTRATION: Registered (even though I pre-registered the day before on the phone) and made a payment on my portion after insurance 10:45 PRE-SURGERY PREP: The nurse took my vitals, reviewed my medical history, took urine, and had me change into a gown. 11:30 HOLDING: I laid in a bed in an area called "pre-surgery". It was kinda awkward because there were 7 other people in the room waiting for various surgeries. Some were staring at each other. You could here all of their machines beeping. Some were moaning. I asked for magazines to avoid getting nervous. The anesthesiologist came and asked me a bunch of questions and explained the process to me. Then Dr. Minkin showed up and answered any final questions I had. 1:30 SURGERY: I was wheeled into the OR. I was given some medicine via IV and was out cold within seconds. 3:00 RECOVERY: This was the worst experience ever. I woke up and though I was having a heart attack. (I must state that I was not aware that they put gas in your stomach to make room for the surgery.) The gas was all up in my chest and I truly thought I was dying. My throat was so dry that I was begging for someone to help me. They finally gave me some wet gauze to suck on.: 4:30 ARRIVAL IN ROOM: I arrived in my room ( all rooms at Des Peres are private). My nurses got me all set up, took my vitals, and gave me pain meds, nausea meds, and pepcid. They also hooked my legs up in some cuffs that would help with circulation and prevent blood clots. NIGHT TIME: It's impossible to sleep. Nurses and techs are in your room all night checking on you. MORNING: I went for my swallow test where they give you shots of dye and take X-rays to make sure there are no leaks. 11:00 food: My lunch arrived. It consisted of a bombpop, broth, crystal light lemonade, Jello, and an Optifast shake. I took it very slow and ate the lunch over 2 hours. I took very small sips. 1:30 ROUNDS: Dr. Minkin made his rounds and told me everything went great with surgery. He answered any more questions I had and gave me verbal post-op instructions. He then released me. 3:00 DISCHARGE: The nurse came by with my discharge paperwork and instructions. TIPS:
Walk as much as you can. That's the only way to get rid of the gas. It's almost impossible to fart (odd, I know) so I mainly burped a lot. The gas is no joke! Don't forget to take something to wear under your gown the next day (sweats/undies) to make you more comfortable while cruising the halls. I gained a couple of pounds while in the hospital. I think it was from all the fluids being pumped into me. Overall, I had a GREAT EXPERIENCE! I am so proud of myself for taking this step to improve my health and life. I am also so proud of all of you for making this choice too!

I just saw the doc this week and we got the ball rolling for the gastric sleeve surgery.
I have to go through 6 weeks of classes with a LCSW and a RD before the surgery. Those classes start 11/11/14.
Then due to the holidays my surgery isn't going to be scheduled until mid January.
I'm so excited to get this process going !
But to be honest I'm glad I get to go through the holidays one last time. Sad I know, LOL. I'm not going to totally live it up and gain weight. But my understanding is once you have the surgery eating sweets is really difficult and can make you sick. I am a sugar addict for sure, so I'm actually looking forward to this! But one last Thanksgiving of pumpkin pie and a Christmas of good Cookies...well I can't say I'm totally disappointed.

@@MrsB2007 me too! It will be a nice Christmas present to submit those insurance papers!

You need to watch Zsalynn from "My 600 Pound Life" and possibly even contact her through Facebook. She went through and is still going through the same situation/relationship.

I know it's hard when you're having a hard time, but you are almost there! You have the opportunity to leave that person on the operating table and re-claim your life. That is a great gift. Most people live their entire life without ever changing their negative situation. Nothing good is easy, and nothing easy shows how good you are. Hang on in there....

I know it's hard when you're having a hard time, but you are almost there! You have the opportunity to leave that person on the operating table and re-claim your life. That is a great gift. Most people live their entire life without ever changing their negative situation. Nothing good is easy, and nothing easy shows how good you are. Hang on in there....

I know it's hard when you're having a hard time, but you are almost there! You have the opportunity to leave that person on the operating table and re-claim your life. That is a great gift. Most people live their entire life without ever changing their negative situation. Nothing good is easy, and nothing easy shows how good you are. Hang on in there....

I know what you're talking about. My BMI is 39.7 and I have hypertension, high cholesterol, pre-diabetes and arthritis. I believe that will be enough for me to get approved...but you never know. Just trying to stay positive. I have my first visit with the nutritionist this Friday....and the journey begins.....

Hey there! I have just started on this journey. I have my first nutrition appointment next Friday. I am hoping to get approved so I can have surgery in January. It is so important to me to get approved and I can relate to the "Dear God" thing. I am trying to stay positive and only let myself visualize success. This is so important to me as I am sure it is for you. We can all obsess over this together

It sounds to me as if your partner is feeling insecure. Does she think you will leave her once you are thin and more attractive to others?
Maybe you should ask yourself why you are with this person. Do you hang on because you don't think you can do any better? Do you think you don't deserve better?
I know what this is like. I had to let go of my best friend of 20 years because she became so toxic when I decided to change my life. My determination to change my life upset the balance in our relationship and threw her off kilter. It has been a while since our relationship ended and now I see that she had an emotional investment in me staying sick, dependent and unstable. My unhappiness kept her in control. I have let go of many people since I began this journey. But I have found new people who support me and even though it hurt to let the others go, the only thing I would change is I would have let them go sooner.

Has anyone here used the Law of Attraction to bring on their surgery?
I did. Here is the video I saw when I started this journey...hope it helps!

Well, it is true. My life is on hold until after the surgery. Just today, I was thinking about spending some money on some art supplies to start a new project. Then I changed my mind.
Everything I want right now, every goal I have set for myself, everything I expect of myself, all of these things I have created in this paradigm. Once I have my surgery, my paradigm will change. I will think of myself differently. I will see the world differently. People will react to/treat me differently. The way I think will change and therefore my world will change. I don't know what I am going to want/need/like/expect. I will be in a new paradigm. I don't want to make any decisions until I know who I'm going to be after the surgery. New doors that I can't see right now will open and I may want to walk through them. So I do the best I can at the job I have (thankful for the insurance to pay for this), I spend the time visualizing myself at my ideal weight, I force myself to read novels that I like so I don't become to obsessed. I read about the surgery, I stay positive and try to take it one day at a time.

Ok, I've just got to put my two cents in this discussion. I WISH I could be on my two week liquid diet right now! I have no surgery date, I'm still jumping through the hoops needed to get insurance to pay for this. I'm stuck at a job I don't like because I have to keep the insurance going till after my surgery - which there is no guarantee that I will get. You people are LUCKY!!!! Two weeks out of an entire lifetime ain't JACK! Give me a chance to suck down all the Meal Replacement drinks! Give me a chance to be two weeks from my surgery! I will do everything I can to shrink my liver down to the size of a postage stamp if that is what I need to do to have my surgery! Count your blessings!!!! You're almost there!!!

Well, it is true. My life is on hold until after the surgery. Just today, I was thinking about spending some money on some art supplies to start a new project. Then I changed my mind.
Everything I want right now, every goal I have set for myself, everything I expect of myself, all of these things I have created in this paradigm. Once I have my surgery, my paradigm will change. I will think of myself differently. I will see the world differently. People will react to/treat me differently. The way I think will change and therefore my world will change. I don't know what I am going to want/need/like/expect. I will be in a new paradigm. I don't want to make any decisions until I know who I'm going to be after the surgery. New doors that I can't see right now will open and I may want to walk through them. So I do the best I can at the job I have (thankful for the insurance to pay for this), I spend the time visualizing myself at my ideal weight, I force myself to read novels that I like so I don't become to obsessed. I read about the surgery, I stay positive and try to take it one day at a time.

I'm not telling anyone at work. I work in a health food store and the people there are into natural treatments for everything. When I told a couple of people I was taking prescription drugs for my hypertension, I got a lot of negativity. I just don't want to have to defend myself. I know that after the surgery I am going to have to say something about the weight loss, I'll figure that out when I come to it. I just don't want to hear a lot of negative comments pre-op. I am planning to leave the job after my follow-up visits post-op.
I have told my best friend - she had the surgery herself and is positive. I told a couple of other friends who are both overweight and they were positive.

I think on some level you have to forgive her for not being the person you need her to be. Then, you may need to start thinking about your life without her. I don't know you, but I think it is safe to say this isn't the first time she has let you down...and she is going to let you down again. Because that is who she is, and you may not have the right to tell her she has to change to fit your needs. Why don't you believe you deserve better? On some level do you think you deserve the pain?

I think on some level you have to forgive her for not being the person you need her to be. Then, you may need to start thinking about your life without her. I don't know you, but I think it is safe to say this isn't the first time she has let you down...and she is going to let you down again. Because that is who she is, and you may not have the right to tell her she has to change to fit your needs. Why don't you believe you deserve better? On some level do you think you deserve the pain?

It sounds to me as if your partner is feeling insecure. Does she think you will leave her once you are thin and more attractive to others?
Maybe you should ask yourself why you are with this person. Do you hang on because you don't think you can do any better? Do you think you don't deserve better?
I know what this is like. I had to let go of my best friend of 20 years because she became so toxic when I decided to change my life. My determination to change my life upset the balance in our relationship and threw her off kilter. It has been a while since our relationship ended and now I see that she had an emotional investment in me staying sick, dependent and unstable. My unhappiness kept her in control. I have let go of many people since I began this journey. But I have found new people who support me and even though it hurt to let the others go, the only thing I would change is I would have let them go sooner.

I think it's time for a calm, honest discussion if you have not had one on this. You need to express that these comments are hurtful and not healthy for your relationship. If she refuses to support you, you may need to take stock and see if this relationship is in your best interest. Hard to do, I know. But this is a brave step you are taking, worthy of support, not criticism. If she does not believe what the professionals say, she could attend a support group with you and ask questions herself. I wish you the best. This is not an easy choice. We need positive support, not people who will cause us to be filled with doubt and fear. That's not love.

It sounds to me as if your partner is feeling insecure. Does she think you will leave her once you are thin and more attractive to others?
Maybe you should ask yourself why you are with this person. Do you hang on because you don't think you can do any better? Do you think you don't deserve better?
I know what this is like. I had to let go of my best friend of 20 years because she became so toxic when I decided to change my life. My determination to change my life upset the balance in our relationship and threw her off kilter. It has been a while since our relationship ended and now I see that she had an emotional investment in me staying sick, dependent and unstable. My unhappiness kept her in control. I have let go of many people since I began this journey. But I have found new people who support me and even though it hurt to let the others go, the only thing I would change is I would have let them go sooner.

It sounds to me as if your partner is feeling insecure. Does she think you will leave her once you are thin and more attractive to others?
Maybe you should ask yourself why you are with this person. Do you hang on because you don't think you can do any better? Do you think you don't deserve better?
I know what this is like. I had to let go of my best friend of 20 years because she became so toxic when I decided to change my life. My determination to change my life upset the balance in our relationship and threw her off kilter. It has been a while since our relationship ended and now I see that she had an emotional investment in me staying sick, dependent and unstable. My unhappiness kept her in control. I have let go of many people since I began this journey. But I have found new people who support me and even though it hurt to let the others go, the only thing I would change is I would have let them go sooner.