6 Days Post-Op

Thursday Feb 17th, 2011, I had the gastric sleeve procedure! I am on my 6th day of post-op and doing well!
Surgery Day- after the surgery i had a very hard time waking up and slept most of the day! i had some amazing people in my life come visit me but they left shortly after so i could rest! My wonderful husband stayed in the hospital with me that night! I felt a little nauseous  and they game me something for that. It was just a weird feeling being there and know that things are going on around you but not knowing exactly what it was! I did as i was told and i couldn't have any liquids until the next day, but i got up and started walking that night!....

day 1- I was woke up with breakfast, which consisted of broth, water and diet jello. I could only have 1oz every hour. The bought me down very early to do the swallow test and i had to drink this nasty medicine and they watch it go down into your new stomach. I SAW IT GO DOWN AND SAW MY NEW LITTLE STOMACH!!! it was weird and very cool! They said everything looked great and when i got up to the room the Dt. came in and said it looked like i was going home everything looked good! They unhooked me from everything and i was just waiting for them to tell me i was being released and we waited all day. I walked alot that day hoping it would better my chances of going home then i ended up getting nauseous  again so they decided for me to stay another night.. i slept like a rock and my dad stayed with me and helped me out with everything!

Day  2- I finally got to go home  that  afternoon! I was so excited but the ride home was a killer! lots of bumps and pot holes.i felt very blah when i got home and just sat down and relaxed and it wasn't too long before i fell asleep... that day i was drinking water and having sugar-free pudding and chicken broth. and was up and walking around when i could.

Day 3- I was just so happy to be home and doing things in my house! I was starting to have a hard time getting 4 oz. an hour.. broth has been my best friend! and crystal light. I was trying my hardest to get some protein in. It is very hard!!!!! I walked alot in my yard.. and have been feeling so bad because my puppy just wants to be around me and i cant let her.. she just looks at me with those puppy eyes and breaks my heart! luckily it been beautiful weather outside so i have been getting out!

Day 4- doing all of this above and the pain was getting a little better! so my husband ad i went for a walk down the street. it felt like forever but i did it and was so happy although i had to come back home and sit down.... just so happy i did it!

Day 5- I introduced some cream of soups and just strained the chunks out! it made me fuller alot faster i couldn't even eat 2 oz of it. Its just crazy to me now how much i can't eat or drink.. and im not hungry i just know i have to.

Day 6- I got out of the house today but it was to go to the Dr.'s office just to double check on one of my incisions because It was still pulling. He looked everything over and explained to me that the reason it hurt was because they had to put a whole in my muscle in order tog er the stomach out and  then had to stich it back up so it will be tender for a little while until its heals inside. makes since to me but he said everything was looking great and they weighed me in and i love 15lbs.!!! amazing or what?!?!?!?!? down to 271 now! that's a long what from 324!!!


pictures....


324lbs



324lbs

Surgery is TOMORROW!

WOW I CAN'T BELIEVE SURGERY IS TOMORROW!!! I am ready to do this! I am so anxious/nervous/excited! i hope that's normal! but anyways the last couple days I've been just doing a liquid diet to make sure everything is good! makes me feel better about it, although the protein drinks got me a little gassy!(sorry for those that grosses out) I'm just drinking alot of water to help with that! i think yesterday i had about 240 oz. of water!!! i drank it ALL day!  but i felt really good!!!!! and wasn't really hungry!

But anyways I go in tomorrow at 7:15 and they will get me all set witht he IV and the Doctor will come in and talk everything over with me. Then i guess they will take me back whenever they are ready!  They also said they would give me something for me being anxious if i wanted it! i am sure i will!

I will be back on tonight with some before pictures! Stay tuned!

HAPPY VALENTFINES DAY!!

First off... Happy Valentines Day everyone! I get to spend my whole day with my valentine and i hope you get to do the same!!!!

So today is the countdown is really on! the Surgery is only 3 days away!!!!!!!! I cant believe it! Today Matt and i are going to College station and I am going to pay everything up and do all of the hospital paperwork so i dont have to do it the day of! I thought it was a pretty good idea! I'm still tryign to get use to the protien drinks... its getting better! I might just have to get creative with them and please let me know if you have any tips on that! I'm ready to go I have my protien drinks and my chewable vitamins! My Dad will be arriving tonight and will be stay until the end of the month! Matt is taking off thursday and frienday and then he has the weekend off! i'm excited about that too!

 Well thats all i have for today! I'll post right before my surgery! :-)

results & prep!

Things are moving so fast now! I'm loving it!  Getting very excited!  I've found out some results in the past few days.
First off, they got my Vitamin D results back and it is very low so they have me taking it daily now. They said it is not uncommon!
Second result is the sleep studydit is not . I've been worried that they would want me to be on the breathing machine and i honestly don't want to spend the money on it. I explained to them that my sleep doesn't affect day to day activities and the only reason i did this was because the Dr. requested I do so. When the results came back it did show i do have Sleep Apnea. Normally they will have you come back and do another sleep study, but the Dr. said since we are so close to surgery and it being such a mild case of Sleep Apnea that he doesn't see the  for a second teast. He also bevlieves that once i drop the weight it will go away. YAY!

The Prep has begun! The hospital caled and pre-registred me and I have to go in monday to do the paper work and pay what needs to be paid. Its so close! I cant believe how fast the time is flying by!

Thats all i have for now! Stay tuned and i will keep you posted!

On another note i colored my hair RED! Pic Below;

Sleep Study Nightmares!!!

Last night i had to do a sleep study at the hospital..... it was very interesting and uncomfortable! for those of you who have done one you know exactly what I'm talking about! for those of you who haven't, let me fill you in on how this works!

The sleep unit consists of several private bedrooms. you go in and get registered. they bring you to your room and they try to make it look like a hotel room, but its not the same...



all the rooms are outfitted with simple non-invasive(or so they say) monitoring equipment used to monitor brain, muscle, heart and breathing activity during sleep.



Prior to sleep, the staff will attach several monitoring leads to you,which are glued and taped all over you head, legs and face. there are 2 straps that go around your stomach and chest with wires on them as well. There is also an oxygen tubing that goes into you nostrils and mouth to monitor your airflow. Then the tech will work through the night in an adjacent room to observe the recordings.



 Some of the activities of the body monitored during a sleep study usually include the following:

Brain activity (electroencephalogram, EEG)

Muscle activity (electromyogram, EMG)
Heart activity (electrocardiogram, ECG)
Eye activity (electrooculogram, EOG)
Chest and stomach movements
Airflow at nose and/or mouth
Body oxygen level (light transmission through finger/ear-lobe)
Sleeping position


It is really hard a first to get comfortable.... I didn't get to sleep until about 11:15pm or so. Then they came in and woke me up because one of the main wires fell off. It then took me almost and hour to fall back asleep... I was then woken up at 5:30 to get everything taken off and sent on my way. All the money you pay for the sleep study they could at least let you sleep in a little! just saying! I have showered and washed my hair 3 times and there is still glue in it. I guess i will just have to shower again later!

Today I am doing some hair at home and probably going to take a nap and not be involved in Superbowl! :-)
Stay tuned in y'all! ONLY 11 DAYS TIL SURGERY!!!

Sleep Study...

Hello everyone..... Today has been a good day but for some reason i am so tired. It didn't hit me until after i was done with work.. which i suppose is good. lol. I guess its ok though because i have to go do a sleep study at the hospital tonight i hope i can stay awake til then!Oh fun fun. just another thing they want me to go before surgery. I honestly think they want me to do it to see if i have sleep aphnea( however you spell it) so they can add it to the list of things that i have going on. That way after surgery and i am loosing weight they can see if it helped it. My plan is to do whatever they want me to do to get the best results and get healthy. I cant believe it is so close! I am trying to find a protein powder that i like and they is fairly priced for after surgery! if anyone has any suggestions please tell me! well i am off for now and will let y'all know about the sleep study!!! have a great Saturday night!!!

The Count Down Is on!!

The Surgery is 14 days away! So very excited but so much to do... trying to get anyone who needs their hair done before I'm out for a couple weeks! its going to be a busy 2 weeks! but that's fine by me! i will need the money for when I'm out of work. People are still questioning why i am doing this,but all i can say is that i have put alot of thought and research into this. I know they are doing it because they love me and i know how truly blessed i am to have such amazing people in my life.

This is not an easy way out..... this is a tool to get me healthy! It is life changing! it is to help the way i feel and how i see food!  In doing this i will create better eating habits and a healthier lifestyle! It will also help eliminate my PCOS.... which will get my cholesterol down, normalize my insulin levels , help me to not become diabetic and the obviously loose weight! I'm not doing this to get skinny.. although it is a bonus i still have to exercise alot!! I dint feel that i have to explain my reasons for doing this i just want the ones who care about me to know the real reason behind this. I hope i continue to get the same and hopefully more support as i face this head on! I will appreciate any and all comment towards this!

Thank y'all!!! looking forward to your remarks and sharing my journey with you!
I'll check in tomorrow!

The Skinny on Katie begins!!!!!

Sorry i haven't been updating as i should! I've just been super busy!

So this past Monday I received a call from the Dr.'s office telling me that my insurance had APPROVED the surgery! For those of you who don't know i am getting the Gastric Sleeve.

The sleeve gastrectomy is a restrictive form of weight loss surgery in which approximately 85% of the stomach is removed leaving a cylindrical or sleeve shaped stomach with a capacity ranging from about 60 to 150cc, depending upon the surgeon preforming the procedure.  Unlike many other forms of bariatric surgery, the outlet value and the nerves to the stomach remain intact and, while the stomach is drastically reduced in size, its function is preserved. Here is a pic of what it looks like.

For the longest time I've been trying to find a way to lose weight. Even as a child i was over weight.. it was so hard in school and just to fit in in the day to day activities. I've been dieting since i was 11 years old! nothing ever worked! There are so many things that i have wanted to do but never felt self-assured to do them because of my size...... I have considered gastric bypass before but not to the extent of seeing the Dr. about it. First i was trying to figure out what was going on with my body..... got a bunch of tests done and found out i have PCOS (Polycystic ovary syndrome). its a hormonal disorder that involves multiple organ systems within the body, and is believed to be fundamentally caused by insensitivity to the hormone insulin and is one of the leading causes of infertility, the reproductive aspects of the disorder are secondary. My insulin is more then double of  what if should be and makes it very hard to lose weight and keep it off. My mom mentioned that maybe i should look into the gastric bypass after my sisters friend had it done.

The insurance company made me jump through a few hoops but i did everything they ask! and lost 38lbs. in the process, which is great! So i was approved on Monday and i got in today for the class for the surgery and for my pre-op appointment and my blood work! already!! so great! and the surgery is February 17th!!! its just around the corner!

I will be posting pics month by month! I will post a before pic right before i go into surgery! I'll keep y'all posted!!! thanks for checking in and following me!