Bariatrics, Part 3

I haven't lost any weight since the last post. I don't lose every day. Today, I did wear a pantsuit I haven't been able to wear much since we came back from China in 2003, and it was loose and comfortable! I can't wait to get back to Curves and lose more inches.

I would be losing every day if I'd had a Roux-en-Y or Duodenal Switch, but both of these procedures scared me. They both restrict the stomach size and cause a certain amount of malabsorption by removing part of the small intestine. In my research, I came to believe that causing malabsorpotion is like playing Russian Roulette. There's a small chance of getting the bullet in your brain, but if you do, you're 100% dead. If malabsorption causes problems for you, you're in big trouble. The Lap Band has an advantage over other restrictive procedures because there's no resection of organs, very little chance of bleeding during surgery and zero chance of leaks, which are a dangerous complication of the other surgeries. One OR nurse told me, "RNY patients don't look good when they come out of the OR. Lap Band patients just look healthier." I can understand the desperation of someone who weighs 400 or 500 pounds in wanting a fast rate of loss, but that's not me. I'll take the slower, safer route.

I'm feeling more and more normal every day. I have less indigestion and tightness in my stomach. For the first five or six days, I wondered what on Earth I'd done to myself. I have less soreness in the abdominal muscles. I was convered with bruises coming out of the hospital. Every time I turned around, someone else came into my room bearing needles for lab work, blood sugar tests, insulin and heparin shots, an extra IV line. I was so tired of getting "stuck." The bruises are now fading. The incisions are healing. My energy is coming back.

I found another really great post in my Obesity Help blog. This one discusses how I felt going into the surgery. I posted it October 8, the night before surgery.

Here, we are at 10:30 p.m. the night before. Since my surgeon does not do a pre-op liquid diet, I just ate a couple of slices of semolina bread and drank a big glass of water. That was on top of a lovely, healthy dinner of chicken breast, rice and green beans with pineapple sherbert for dessert. I have a huge stomach capacity, unfortunately, from years of major pig-outs in my late teens (when I actually burned 4000 calories a day) and my early 20's (when I didn't), which of course is why I'm having this surgery. I am concerned about being hungry in the morning and not even being able to drink water. My surgery isn't until almost noon. Going that long without food or water is rough on me. I'm a breakfast person!

Madeline's school was off today for a teachers' in-service day, and as a Federal employee, I was off, too, so we spent the day doing errands. Then, I came home and did as much cleaning as I could until it was time for dinner. Had a little time with Kevin after the kid was in bed. He is off to bed now. I'm staying up until midnight and drinking lots of water. I want to be well-hydrated. I'm also ironing, as the child will need school clothes later in the week.

I'm not nervous yet, or at least I'm not admitting it to myself. Kevin is more nervous, as is my mom. On an intellectual level, I know I'm being operated on by one of the very best bariatric surgeons in the world. This guy pioneered some of these procedures, and Johns Hopkins is still the #1 rated hospital in the country. I'm in good hands tomorrow and I know it. And that feels great.

But there's more than that. I'm riding along on this wave of love. I have so many friends ... on OH, on the various China forums I participate in, at my daughter's school, at our church, in my extended family. I'm hearing from these people today and have been for the past week. It's amazing, heartening. I feel so lifted by the love and the prayers and the messages of support. It's humbling to think about it.