49 Year Old Mother of 1 and Engaged to Be Married in 2017 Having RYGB - Akron, OH

I have been wanting this surgery for as long as I can remember and have started the process 8 years ago, quit smoking in preparation for it and started the process and then lost my insurance and had to stop. Started again this past February, 2015 after finding out my current employers insurance will cover it. I'm looking forward to being able to buy a wedding dress off the rack and do things with my fiance like camping, walking, hiking, etc.

I had my RYGB conversion last Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015 and it went great Dr. Z said. Because I was a revision of a previous stomach stapling for weight loss, there is a higher chance of leaks but he told my family that he put some extra staples inside and took some extra steps, hopefully to ensure no leaks and I'm almost 1 week post op and no leak so far. He also placed a feeding tube in my as a precaution because of the high risk of leaks. (I'll have it until Jan 19th when he will scope me again and make sure everything looks good at which time he will remove the feeding tube. I also have a drain until my first post op visit which is the morning of Christmas Eve. and he'll remove that drain then after they do another swallow test xray thing where they make me swallow this nasty stuff and they take pics to make sure everything is going down ok without any leaks. Provided that is ok, I get to move on to phase 2 of my diet which will include sugar free puddings, yogurts without fruit and cottage cheese (which I'm pumped about lol) That will be my Christmas eve dinner, Cottage cheese and yogurt. But considering I have not eaten any real solid foods other than optifast bars in over 3 weeks, I'll be a happy camper with cottage cheese, pudding and yogurt, all of which I love. I feel good and my energy is coming back, I'm weaning myself off my pain meds, going about 6 hours between now and was every 4. Really only having pain in the lower left incision which from what I'm told is where he did most of his work, put the instruments in, etc. I couldn't bend over to put my pants/underwear on until today lol my fiance and mom have been helping me do that since I came home so I'm glad to be able to finally do that on my own. I gained some weight in the hospital which they said don't weigh yourself this first week because you are pumped full of fluids in the hospital and only doing fluids at home. I have weighed in today (can't help myself lol) and I was 339 on discharge date and I'm 324 today but will get a good reading at the docs on thurs. I go by his scales for the record. I'm extremely excited and can't wait to be thru this first 6 weeks or so which I'm told is the toughest because of the diet. I bought an eliptical bike to use when I'm released for exercise and I also got a planet fitness membership so will begin those when I'm released for it which they said 6-8 weeks. I'm planning to return to work on January 20th after I get my feeding tube out. Was going to go back on the 13th after my mom's back surgery on the 12th but then they scheduled me for this scope so I figured, I might as well just asks Dr. Z to put me back on the 20th. The feeding tube is in a crappy spot because it sits right between the breasts in the center like right where a woman's bra sits so it's kind of a pain in that respect. lol Everyone at Akron City Hospital and from the Summa Bariatric Center was awesome to me and my family who went with me for surgery. The surgeons and their staff even sent me flowers doesn't happen a lot with doctors. Anyhow, sorry to ramble, just wanted to post an update on the surgery.

I saw my surgeon on Christmas Eve and he said I'm doing awesome and he's so proud of me. I was down about 69 lbs since I started this process in February 2015 and almost 30 lbs just since Dec. 3rd. They removed my drain tube which felt really weird but didn't hurt and the nurse practitioner took off all the steri strips from my incisions and said everything looks good. I also saw Tess, one of the dietitians who gave me the great news that I could progress to stage 2 of the diet which is what they call full liquid but in reality, it's things like cottage cheese, sugar free puddings, greek yogurts, cream soups, and protein shakes. I have to make sure and get in like 70-80 grams of protein which can be challenging only eating 1/4 to 1/2 c of anything at a time but I find that the premier protein shakes I buy at our local Sam's club are 30 G of protein so if I drink a couple of those between meals, then with the cottage cheese, yogurt, etc. I get the needed amount. I will get the feeding tube I have removed on Jan 19th when he does my scope to make sure everything looks good inside. I am going to share some current photos I took which is very hard for me because I rarely took pictures of myself, let alone on more form fitting clothing but it's the only way to show my shape as I go. The last time I weighed myself, I was 309 and I began at 381 so I'm happily on my way.