Traveling, and my 25th Birthday

After my one month mark, the travel continued.  I was slated to fly for the first time with my job and post op; I was flying to Dallas Texas one week and then Tampa Florida for the next week.  I was very nervous as flying for me had always been a challenge and very uncomfortable.  I was worried I would not fit in the seat, or that the seat buckle would not fit, but we will get more in detail about that in a bit.

My puking has still continued over the past few weeks as I continue to work on breaking the habit of swallowing my food too fast, but it was getting more under control as I was learning how much my body could handle at each eat time, and how much I could swallow and what I could eat.  Now I have worked up to a point where I can almost eat anything that I want as long I really focus on chewing my food really good.  Another thing that I have started to learn to do is NOT drink while I am eating, it is another hard thing not to do, but I have learned that if I drink before I eat, I end up filling myself up on non nutritional liquid; if I drink while eating or right after eating, I puke up all the food I am either eating or just ate.

Well the second week in August I traveled to Dallas Texas.  I got to the plane and found that the seats were comfortable and I could fit into them very well.  The seat belt for the first time in my life was lose on me, and that felt great.  The flight there was very painless and the work there was painless as well.  On the flight back I had a fun experience.  I was sitting in my seat and the flight attendant came back and filled my glass with wine; unbeknownst to her I had just had surgery and could not have wine; but I decided to try it; and let me tell you after one glass I was pretty buzzed; so I can now say; I am a cheap date....lol....  another good thing for the people around me was during the meal that was served on the flight over and back, the lady sitting next to me got my food, ha, so she got double the food for no extra charge....  I also do have to say that the flight attendant on my flight from Charlotte to Dallas was very concerned for me.  She noticed that I was not eating my food and was barely drinking (normal for me now, but others don't find it normal for a fat guy not to eat, haha).  After I told her why I wasn't eating as much she became very helpful, she started checking on me every so often, getting me sugar free drinks, getting me small snacks to eat on and everything; She was awesome!

This current week I traveled to Tampa, and am actually sitting here now getting ready for my flight back to Charlotte; but work here has been great and my health is better now than it has ever been I believe.  On the 14th it was my 25th birthday so I decided to go weigh myself in the gym at the hotel to see what I had lost.  I was very amazed to find that I was down exactly 50 pounds.  What a birthday gift.....through all the struggles, pain, weakness, and everything else that I had experienced, seeing myself down 50 pounds was well worth it all!!!!! 

My First Month

After my first checkup with all my doctors and specialists, I started out on my own for the first time I would truly say.  The reason I say this is because it will be another three or so weeks before I go see the doctor again, and my out of town travel starts with my company again.

The week after my one week follow ups I went on business to the area of Birmingham, Alabama.  For the first couple of days I was still on a strict diet of pure pureed foods.  I and my doctors were worried about how I would accomplish this diet as I was on the road, but I found it to be just as easy as at home; the biggest thing was to get a hotel room that had a fridge, microwave and a breakfast that included yogurt.

I arrived in Birmingham on the following Sunday and started my two week business trip.  The first couple of days (Sunday, and Monday) I was still on the pureed diet, so I spent Sunday night going to the grocery store and buying me some low calorie low sugar drinks and yogurt to store in the room.  The next couple of days were ok in terms of eating....I was starting to fall behind on my protein intake mainly due to the fact that I was getting tired of drinking the sweet protein shakes.  Because of this my energy level started to diminish.  So during Tuesday at work I left during the day and went to the local vitamin Shoppe and talked to the young man in there about my issue, and what did he suggest.  I was very surprised to find that the Vitamin Shoppe had a whole area dedicated to Bariatric patients, including supplements, vitamins, mixes, drinks, etc.  In  this sections was a flavorless powder that could be added to anything and for each tablespoon of powder it equaled 22 grams of protein.  I was then very shocked to find that it was not expensive.  It was $16 for the container, and I imagine it will last me for months.  So over the next day or so I started adding this to my yogurt in the morning and soup in the afternoon; and to be honest you can't tell at all that you are adding anything to your food as it does not alter the taste at all.

Well as that Tuesday arrived, it was a day that I could start adding soft foods to my diet.  I utilized some paperwork that my doctors had given to me as to what kinds of foods I chose, but I found this part of the eating process to be very difficult for me.   Never before had I ever experienced the sensation that eating food was causing me during this time.  I started out eating things like mashed potatoes, thicker yogurt, juicy fruit and things like that.....  Well over the last 24 years of my life, it had been gained as a habit for me to put something into my mouth, chew a few times and then swallow; well this is a habit that had shown to be very hard to break; as every time I put something into my mouth I would almost immediately swallow.....and then my body started punishing me.  Starting that week I would say that I puked more than I ever have in my whole entire life.  I came very comfortable with pulling off on the side of the road and puking on the interstate, puking in public restroom, parking lots, pretty much anywhere I was at, I became comfortable with puking.  The feeling that you get when you eat too fast after the surgery is hard to explain, but it feels like someone is sitting on your chest, and you cant breathe, and it feels like the foot is stuck in your throat; so the only viable thing left to do is puke; and believe me after puking life is so much easier.  So over the next week or so I continued to work on breaking my habit of not chewing, and work on slowing down my intake of food.

Just as I started to somewhat get the hang of that, an issue arose with pain.  I had been out of town like I said working; my work mainly consisted of monitoring the air which was a very sedentary job; with the exception of a lot of walking to set up pumps and air monitoring stations.  So, on my second week into my 2 week job I woke up one Tuesday morning with a pain in my side near the larger of the surgical sites.  I didn't really think much about it because I figured it was my body healing still; but as the day went on the pain intensified to a pain that I had never felt before.  It got so bad that I literally could not move at all without tearing up.  I called my nurse back in North Carolina and she told me to stop working for the day, go rest and see if that helps.  I left the job site and went to the hotel and took some Tylenol and fell asleep around 4pm and didn't wake up until the next morning for work.  The next morning, the pain had subsided some from the intense measure it had reached the day before, but was still very uncomfortable.  The pain could be described as a pulling sensation on the inside of my abdomen.  So that morning I went on to work, and tried my best to get around.  I had to learn to walk very slow and take my time.  As the day went on the pain started getting worse again; almost to the point of the day before.  So I called the nurse again and told her I need to go to the ER as I am not sure what was going on.  She explained to me that there was stitching on the inside of the body that when it starts to heal, the stitching starts to release and this could be the cause of the pain, along with fluid build up.  She told me to continue taking the pain meds over the next few days and if it got worse to come in on Friday when I got back into town.  Over the next few days the pain subsided and went away; but let me tell you, that was THE WORST PAIN I have EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER felt in my life; this was the first instance post-op that I questioned if I should have even had the operation.

As the weeks went on, life started to get back to normal somewhat.  My energy level started to come up as I started mixing my supplement with my regular food.  As time went on, I started integrating more solid foods into my diet.  I found that processed meats were the best, and things that were low in carbs too.  Carbs will be your enemy after this operation as it will make you sick as all get out.  Another thing that I found hard to process was green vegetables; I am guessing because they are hard for the body to breakdown, but after trying to eat celery, lettuce, cucumbers, etc. I would immediately run for the bathroom to puke.  One of the crazy cravings that I have gained after surgery is the taste for olives.  I have always like olives, but now I LOVE THEM!!!!  I think it is because of the salty taste they have, but I can handle to eat about four at a time as long as I chew them up very well.

As I reached my one month mark I was feeling great, my clothes were starting to feel lose on me, people were commenting on how they could tell that I was losing weight, and I was feeling good.  On my one month mark I weighed myself and found that I was down a total of 37 pounds!!!  I felt so accomplished and happy.  For the first time in my life I was able to see the scale go to a lower number, rather than up!!!

1 Week Checkup

One week out from my operation I meet with my nutritionist and doctor.

At the nutritionist I found out that I had lost 22lbs from my highest weight (in only 1 week); she said this was very normal for a man, but I should not expect these results to last as the weight loss will slow down, but maintain.  At the meeting we went over the different kinds of foods that I could intake (still only liquids) and how I was going to transition to soft pureed foods in the next week and then soft foods before coming back to her in the following month.

After that appointment, my next meeting was with the doctor; at this appointment they took out the 10 staples I had in my side from my larger incision and then we talked about my weight loss and what to expect from here on out.

This appointment was very informational as me and the PA for Dr Pirrello talked about my expectations and his expectations, etc.  He told me this date that he could see me in about a year being down 150lbs (AWESOME!!!!)

At 1 week out I still had pain in my side from the incision, but was assured from the doctors and nurses that this is completely normal.  I also noticed that over the week bruising has developed and seemed to get a lot worse, but was also assured that this is completely normal and would eventually go away.

After the two meeting I was a little bummed by the fact that I did not get cleared for purred foods yet, but I knew that I needed to wait.

The next post I will go over my first month, and this is where the struggles really start to set in!

Leaving and Coming Home!

So, after two days in the hospital it was time for me to head out.  I left the afternoon of July 4th and went home.  I was feeling very good this day, still sore from the larger incision spot on my side (where the stomach was taken out).  I found it somewhat difficult to bend over and walk fast as this would cause the pain to intensify.

I made it home and my mom left as I felt I could handle things on my own from this point on.  For the next couple of days I had to take my prescription strength pain meds to help with the pain of laying down at night and doing extensive walking. 

Over the next couple of days I kept up with my protein and water intake pretty well.  During the first week of being home I really didn't have any nausea.  I was very careful as to what I in took during eating times; which only consisted of liquids such as water, diet V8 Splash, Diet Snapple, Gatorade G2 and popsicles.

During this first week, I did not have the sensation of hunger any more, it was somewhat difficult to make myself drink the protein shakes, as I always felt as though I was full; but I did it.

I started work back 6 days after my operation.  Most doctors want you to wait anywhere from 2-6 weeks after surgery for work, but I am a very ancy person, and could not stand sitting at home any more.  I talked to my doctor and he told me he was ok with me working as long as I took it easy and did not lift any thing heavier than 20lbs.

With work, everything was good; I was very slow at work as I still could not move around very fast.  I have to say my boss at work was awesome to work with as he was very supportive and knew what kind of jobs I could handle and could not handle.

My first week after surgery, and alone was pretty easy and eventless, work was good, life was good and all seemed like it was going very easy.....boy was that about to change....

Look out for the next post for my 1 week follow up with the doctor.

Video of The Gastric Sleeve

 

This is a video of the operation I had done.

 

This is not Dr. Pirrello, but the same tactics were used

Goals While In the Hospital

Some goals that the doctors set for you in the hospital are listed below.  When you first come out of the surgery you will not want to do this because you will still be drowsy, but as soon as you can you want to start doing this, as the sooner you get it done the sooner you will get to go home.  I am sure these goals are different for each doctor, but to me they seemed like very achievable goals and goals that helped me prove to myself I could take care of myself; they are as follows:

·         Walk as much as you can.  As soon as you wake up enough to walk around, the doctors want you to walk as much as you can; this is for your own good.  The main thing it does it keeps your body from producing clots, therefore preventing you from having a pulmonary embolism. This also helps with blood flow and recovery.

·         Intake fluids.  My doctor set a goal for me to intake 60cc of fluid each hour I was awake.  This consisted of 30cc of protein and 30cc of water; each 15cc should take you about 15 mins to take in.  15cc is equal to about one medicine cup of fluid.  To an everyday person this seems so miniscule, but after the surgery you will have to concentrate hard to work on this as your body is still swollen on the inside and this will take some time to work up to.

·         Work on passing fluids through your body.  During your stay the hospital will load you up on fluids, the main goal I think is to keep you hydrated, but also to make sure your body is still able to pass fluids through its system.

These are the main goals the doctors set for me, and sure enough once I meet them I was able to go home!!!!

 

Look out for pictures of my operation and before pictures to come soon.  I will also be posting a video of the operation I had!

Hospital Stay

The first night in the hospital was a little rough as you could tell from the last post.  It was the plan of the doctors and myself for me to only be in the hospital one night; so the next morning at 0630 my little friend known as the pain pump was to be removed, and I was to intake as much fluids as I could before leaving the hospital.

Well, 0630 came and the nurse was right on time to remove the pain pump.  Right before she removed it she allowed me to hit the button a few more times to load myself up with some pain meds (nice lady)….the next few hours was ok; but after that the pain really sat in.

With the pain pump removed the only meds they could give me were hydrocodone; and as strong as that med is; it was not enough to offset the pain.  The pain wasn’t a bad pain, but very annoying pain, I could never find a comfortable position, it was hurting to inhale deeply, drink, swallow, cough, sneeze, anything like that.  And on top of all of the pain issues, my bladder still had not woken up fully.  I could go to the bathroom and stand there and strain and strain and stain and only get about 100cc of fluid out, which is not normal.  The nurse throughout the day would come in and do a sonar of my bladder, and each time it was coming back full; but I was determined to not allow myself to get cathed again ( it wasn’t that bad the night before, but I had the good meds, now I didn’t!).  So every hour I would get up and try my best to use the bathroom, each time I was able to push a little more out than the time before.  While in the room I researched the issues I was having with my bladder and found out that it was an a-typical problem to have but was associated with anesthesia and pain meds; and the best way to work it out of your system was movement, so I started walking as much as I could, and eventually throughout the day I was able to produce about 300-400cc of fluid, which is not perfect but was good enough not to get cathed again.

Well, the time came for the doctor to make his rounds.  He came to my room and explained to me that due to my pain level and issues I was having with my bladder he suggested that I stay in the hospital another night for monitoring and to make sure that everything was ok.  I agreed!  So that day started coming to an end, that night I had some friends stop by and visit from the fire department and that helped pass a couple of hours, and then I hit the sac around 2230.  That night sleep was pretty good, the nurses continued to do their job and come check on me every few hours but I was so exhausted I mostly slept through all the checkups; even the blood draws, which is very unusual for me being that I have a huge fear of needles. 

The next morning I woke up around 0630 and felt much better.  I got up, done my laps, took my meds, came back to the room and packed my bags because I was going home that day (in my head I was, no matter what the doctor said, I was tired of the hospital).  During this time I was able to clean myself off and wait for the doctor.  The wait for the doctor seemed like it was forever, but it was July 4^th at this point; but he did show up around 2pm.  We discussed how I felt throughout the night and my progress, and we both agreed to allow me to go home.  Before doing so he went over some pictures of the procedure that I had requested him take. (I will post these as soon as I can).  This was very interesting seeing what all was done on my insides and how they looked now.  After the talk with the doctor, the next thing was in store which I was not looking forward too.  This was the removal of the drain tube I had in my body.  Unbeknownst to me this thing is like 5 ft long and pretty much surrounds my insides to drain fluid.  The nurse helped me prepare for the removal by doing some deep breathing and things like that, but when she pulled it; it was a feeling that I will never forget.  It was not a painful feeling it all, but a very awkward feeling.  It felt as though someone was tickling you from the inside, but the nurse was awesome and had it out in no time.

After that I was free to go with a few signatures on a piece of paper…I could not get to my apartment fast enough…I just wanted to sit in my recliner and relax on my own.

Look out for the next post as I go over my first week of being alone!