Tuesday, July 3, 2012

New Blog

Please visit my new blog

http://halfjenthelast20pounds.blog.com

hope to see you there!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

i got a diagnosis!

i got a diagnosis!

I saw my surgeon this morning and was told he thought I had one of 5 things he could think of...these were either an ulcer, stricture, inflammation, anxiety or nothing at all. 

He did a scope this afternoon and diagnosed me with the following.


I have mild esophagitis (inflammation) in my mid esophagus and I have a marginal ulcer at my anastamosis.

i have been prescribed pantorprazole 2x/day for 3 months sucralfate 30 minutes before each meal for 2 months.
 
At least i have answers and something to treat my new complication.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

yet another complication.....AAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRG!

so i have yet another complications, but they don't know what is causing it.
i spent last night in the er, i was severely dehydrated (they fixed this with 2 liters of iv fluids) and have pressure in my chest, about 2-3 inches below my collar bone.  this is a constant pressure that amlost feels like i have something stuck in my esophagus, but doesn't move.  this pressure started suddenly on friday morning and the "pain" on average is about a 7/10, but when i eat or drink it goes up to a 10/10 and hence the dehydration.  after a chest xray and ecg the hospital ruled out a cardiac problem and after giving me an iv med for acid refux, they ruled that out as a cause as well.  they did some blood work and were concerned when my blood clot test came back positive.  they couldn't do an immediate ct scan so they gave me a blood thinner and told me to go home (crazy i know eh!) and they would call me in the morning for an emergency priority 1 ct scan.  i left the hospital at 1245am and got a call at 915am to return to the hospital for my ct scan.  i had a ct scan and they ruled out a blood clot.  they said it had something to do with my surgery, but they had no idea what the issue could be and that i would need to speak with my surgeon.  good thing i have an appointment on tuesday morning.  they sent me home with percocet and told me that if the pain became unbarable to return to the er.  i took the precocet when i got home and it barely touched the pressure pain.  it did however allow me to eat without extreme pain.   i couldn't eat very much, but i was able to get something in.  the first dose of percocet has worn off and it has only been 5 hrs, which bothers me because now the pressure feels very high and it hurts to drink, and i still have to attempt to eat dinner.  if things get worse in the morning i will be calling the weight wise clinic.  if i can stand the pressure out i will be waiting for the appointment i have with my surgeon on tuesday morning.
i just hope things don't get worse.
wish me luck...

Friday, March 19, 2010

the trend keeps gonig

so according to my granny's scale i'm down to 238!
this would be a total of 17 lbs in 16 days since surgery! and a total loss of 49 lbs!
i've started on my pureed stage of the game where basically if i can puree and my stomach is alright with it, i'm good to go.
i have been having pureed beef and fish, cottage cheese, and i even was told i could try some crackers so i tried 2 saltine crackers.  I also tried pureeing fruit salad but that didn't go over very well, because it seemed to have a gritty consistancy.
I am happy with my progress so far!

Monday, March 15, 2010

AMAZING RESULTS SO FAR!

OMG! I'm down 5.6kg/12.3lbs since surgery, which was only 12 days ago!  They tell me I'm doing AWESOME!
I honestly didn't expect that!  I am down a total of 43.6lbs
I can't believe the scale....I just don't notice the difference, except in my face.
I am hoping to take some pictures tomorrow to show a comparison.

Friday, March 12, 2010

18 pounds in 1 month!!!!

All I can say is WOW!  I last saw my GP on Feb 12, 2010 and as of today I am down 18 pounds!  Of that 18 pounds I have no idea what is pre and post op because 18 days pre op was a liquid diet and it has been 10 pounds since my inital surgery.  Monday I go to have my JP drain removed and at that appointment I will be weighed by the scale at the Weight Wise Clinic and that weight will be compaired to the weight that recorded the day before my surgery.
Due to my post op complications I will be off work for at least 8 weeks. My Dr isn't sure how this g-tube drain is going to effect the length of my recovery.  I will be re-assessed on April 12th.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

some post surgery pics

these pics are from march 9, 2010

Pictures Post Surgery


WARNING MEDICAL IMAGES



On March 3, 2010 I underwent Laprascopic Gastric Bypass surgery.

On March 4, 2010 I underwent Emergency Laprascopic Exploritory Surgery where they discovered I had a twisted bowel.



I have 6 port hole incisions, and 1 jp drain from the inial surgery, and they were able to use the same incisions for the emergency surgery but I came out with a g-tube drain to add to my collection of drains and tubes.


this is my g-tube


this is my jp drain


a frontal view....very very sore


close up of my jp drain


a close up of my dent and g-tube


my g-tube and dent again

Sunday, March 7, 2010

things didn't go quite as scheduled

Well, I had my gastric bypass on wednesday morning and everything seemed to go as planned. Wednesday was quite painful and I don't really remember too much except for a few visitors. Thursday started out well until about 9:00 pm when my pain meds weren't working and laying still was about a 10/10 pain rating. They checked my vitals and that's when the ball started rolling.
They finally started believing my student nurse about my pain when they discovered I was tachacardic (high resting heart rate) mine was 138! My blood pressure was on the lower side of 90's/60's. They immediately started running a battery of tests. I had an ekg or ecg, and a heart attack was ruled out. They brought in a portable xray machine, which was quite painful. I then was consulted by 4 surgeons.
They decided I needed emergency exploratory surgery. I signed my life away.
They told my wife where to wait and they wheeled me into the OR at exactly midnight on thursday night/fri morning. They told my wife to wait in the atrium and they would know within 15 minutes what was wrong, if anything.
Ang waited patiently for over 2 hrs before the surgeon reported back to her. He informed her that I would be fine but that they were lucky that they caught the error when they did.
They said they were lucky to have caught the issue when they did as it was a potentially fatal complication. I had a twisted bowel, and both my old stomach and intestines were distended and full of crap, literally!
They fixed the twisted bowel and they inserted a g-tube into my old stomach to drain the fluid out.
In the first 2 days they drained approx 2 liters of fluid from my old stomach and have since clamped the tube off and will drain the tube when the pain gets too severe, which they have done 3 times today. The dr's are also telling me that this tube will remain in my stomach for at least a month.
I am doing better, off my antibiotics and iv for the most part. I am on a full fluid bariatrics diet.

I will post pictures when I get home.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

7:45AM

So I'm scheduled for surgery at 7:45am!
They need me there before 6am....
OMG this is really happening!!!!

TOMORROW!!!!!

Tomorrow is my surgery!
I don't have a time yet...but will within the next 40 minutes.
If they don't call me by 6pm, I need to call them for the time.
I am hoping that my surgery will be first thing in the morning, nothing like waiting with no food or water or gum.....
I am so stoked! EEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!
I am spending a week with my grandma and will post updates and photos from there.
I have lost 11lbs/5kg on my liquid diet, which they said was great!
Wish me luck!!!!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

bad breath

So apparently I'm in ketosis. How did I find out? My breath! Its horrible and it doesn't matter how much I brush, floss, scrape my tongue, use mouth wash/strips or chew gum its there. Its probably the worst breath I have ever smelt and I've been told that there is nothing I can do about it.
I guess that's the price I will pay for losing weight, and I'm hoping that it is just temporary.
I've constantly got gum in my mouth, which I guess is ok because it is helping with the feeling of needing to chew.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Body Scan (Jan 2009)

Body Scan Jan 2009
Here you can see my skeleton, lean muscle, and all that glorious FAT!
When I reach my goal weight I will be allowed to have another Body Scan Completed where I then will do a before/after post.

 

Body Dimensions 

 

Body Mass by Region - Bone (g),  Fat (g), Lean Muscle (g), Muscle and Bone Mass (g), Fat (%)

Saturday, February 20, 2010

half way there

I've almost completed day 11 of my 3 week pre op liquid diet....that means i have 10 days left to go....well it might only be 9, i'm not sure if i can eat the day before surgery or if it is only clear fluids....i need to look into that i guess
I am down to 263.5lbs, and my weight loss is slowing down to about 1 pound every 2-3 days.  I am however down 7.5 lbs since the start of my liquid diet and a total of 23.5 lbs.
I now have everything I need for after surgery and I only need to buy some slippers for the hospital.
Other than that, I'm ready to go!
My energy is still quite low and I get the occasional weird food craving.
I still can't believe how much food advertising there is, ITS CRAZY!
I'm stoked!!!!! I've made it these 11 days, and in 11 days I will be healing from my surgery.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Before Pics Feb 10, 2010

Feb 10, 2010 
The day I started my pre op liquid diet     
271 Pounds.....Not proud at all :(    
                                             


 

















  

















               
                                             
                                                                                                           

Made it through week 1!!!

Well I've made it through week 1 of my pre op liquid diet.  I have lost approximatly 6 pounds in the last week.  My mood seems to be ok, but my energy level is down the pits. 
I went for my pre admission clinic this afternoon, and it was not what I expected at all.
First I watched a video of what to expect while in the hospital and then was taken to a room where they did a bunch of tests.  I first had an ECG, followed by some blood work, next the anesthesiologist came to talk to me, then my nurse came back to ask me a bunch of questions, after that I spoke with an internal medicine Dr, and finally I had a chest x-ray done.  The whole process took about 2 1/2 hrs.  It wasn't so bad really.  Quite fast and organized compared to other medical things I have gone to in the past.
I will find out the afternoon (4-6pm) before my surgery what time I will need be at the hospital.  I hope that I am having the first surgery of the day.  I was going to ask for a copy of the surgery, but I forgot to ask. 
Oh well.

2 WEEKS TILL SURGERY!!!!!!!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Jell-O for Jen

As I mentioned in my last post, I was texting my friend in Toronto while eating Jell-O.  He felt bad for me and decided that he would make a facebook event called Jell-O for Jen.

"Jell-O for Jen is taking place on Feb 21, 2010.   What does this mean?  Its quite simple, you just eat Jell-O for the entire day and show support to Jen that we're all behind her as she journeys forward.  Make Jell-O. Post your Jell-O Pics online, and post a pic of you eating your bowl of Jell-O".

I am interested to see who will eat Jell-O to show their support for me.

a new found will power

Today was rough, I must admit.  I spent the day with my brother and his family.  I love spending time with them, they are fun and I really love my 20 month old nephew. 
My wife and I arrived at their house about 12:30 pm today and they were just about to grab lunch.   What does my brother want, MCDONALDS.  Through the corner of my eye I glared at him when he brought home McDonalds for everyone as I said to myself, you can do it, you can sit through McDonalds. 
No problem, that when off without too much of an issue.  Then we hung out and I babysat my nephew while they went to grab a few groceries.  What did they bring home for dinner????? Delissio PIZZA!  My brother asked me to get a plate ready for my nephew, as he giggled under his breath (and I don't blame him, we are twins and our job is to make life harder for eachother).  In cutting up some pizza I got a dab of pizza sauce on my finger.  Without thinking I licked it off and instantly felt guilty.  I felt like I had cheated, even though I know that I did not.  The smell from the pizza drove me crazy, but I sat quietly and drank my Ensure.  After my nephew went to bed, we decided to watch a movie.  What do they decide to have as a snack...extra buttery microwave popcorn.  I thought I was going to go crazy!  I asked to smell the bowl of popcorn, and after doing that I got the bowl of Jell-O I brought with me and quietly ate it while texting my friend in Toronto.  The craving for the popcorn went away about as fast as it came on.  I believe I have found a new will power to help me get through these next two and a half weeks.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

on day 4

Well I've made it through 3 1/2 days of the 21 day pre op liquid diet.  Yesterday was rough.  I never realized how much food is around and how much it is advertised.  It seems that every other billboard, tv commercial or radio commercial is an advertisment for some fast food place. 
I heard a commercial for Joey's Only and started to crave fish...knowing I couldn't have the fish I was then thinking of putting vinegar and salt on my had to lick it off, just to get the flavor, thankfully I didn't do it.
Yesterday for breakfast my wife was standing next to me eating Triscut crackers.  I have never noticed the smell of Triscuts before, and I couldn't believe that they smelt so good.  And later when she ate some pickles, I was ready to drink the pickle juice. 
My diet is consisting of 5 High Protein Ensure (Vanilla and Chocolate), 1-2 cups of Jell-O,  and about 1.5 liters of water and crystal light.
I have 16 1/2 more days of this pre op diet and I am really hoping it starts to get easier.
I do see the light at the end of the tunnel and know that I can do it!

Friday, February 12, 2010

my scale is wrong

So apparently my scale is wrong, it weighs me in 2.5 pounds heavier than my Dr's scale. So I guess for clarification, I will be using my home scale to do my weigh ins, even though I know that I am actually 2.5 lbs lighter.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

5 down...100 to go

So I made it through day 1 of the pre op diet.....5 ensures down, 100 left to go...
until yesterday i knew that this would be difficult but i didn't realize how difficult it would be.
Its the beginning of day 2 and I'm feeling the effects of food withdrawal. I can't say that I am hungry, because really I am not, but i'm having cravings...my current craving is for a post op recipe for "sauce". "sauce" is like a pasta sauce made with ground turkey and all the veggies are pureed into a tomato sauce, I got the recipe from a friend of mine. I've currently have what I assume is a sugar headache and I realized yesterday that this is really happening. I am really going to be having surgery in 20 days. Unfortunately with reality comes the fact that I can never give into old cravings and that I can't eat any real food for the next 6-7 weeks. But in the long run I know this is what needs to happen.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Liquids Start Tomorrow

So my 3 week pre op liquid diet starts tomorrow. I'm all stocked up. My fridge and freezer contain my 3 weeks of HP Ensure, thats 105 bottles! I am a little nervous, I must admit. I am going to try to get through it one day at a time.

Friday, February 5, 2010

"last supper"

So I'm having some issues with "last supper" syndrome.
I know that as of this coming Wednesday Feb 10th I will be starting a 3 week liquid diet. This diet will consist of 5 high protein ENSURE and one glass of skim milk, as well as 2 liters of calorie free liquid.
I seem to be wanting everything I know I will no longer be able to have starting Wednesday, but on the bright side I am not actually indulging in everything.
I have decided that on Sunday I will be going out for All You Can Eat Crab. This will be my final eating out meal for a long time.
I have also done all of my shopping for my post surgery full fluid meals.
Things seem to be coming together as my countdown continues.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

less than a month away

OMG!
I have less than one month until my gastric bypass surgery!

I have decided to blog about my gastric bypass surgery starting now. My surgery is schedule for March 3, 2010 with Dr Shahzeer Karmali. I was approved for this surgery back on September 1st 2009, and was initally told that my bypass would be scheduled before Christmas. The average turn around from the inital surgery approval was 6-8 weeks, but due to recent cutbacks from the Alberta Government I have/will be waiting 6 months and 2 days.

I guess I should tell you all a little about myself. My name is Jen and I am from Edmonton, AB. I am 26 years old and am a transit operator. I have been married now for 4 1/2 years. I have no children, however I do have 3 dogs and 4 cats.

Weight has always been an issue with me. Growing up I was always one of the heaviest children in my grade and age group. I remember starting the seventh grade at the weight of 167 pounds. Over the next 6 years I kept gaining weight. However, in grade 12 I thoIght I had conquered my weight issues. I started out my senior year at 237 pounds, but by the time I graduated I managed to lose about 55 pounds, and by the following September I was down to 169 pounds. I'm not sure how I was able to shed the pounds, but I was happy about my weight and seemed to be quite healthy. I was able to keep this weight off for about 3 years. At the age of 20 in 2003, I feel into a deep depression and was prescribed a medication called Seroquel. I was warned that weight gane was a possible side effect but I never expected to gain 70 pounds in 6 months. I couldn't seem to shake this new weight, and in fact I kept putting weight on.

My heaviest weight was in the fall of 2008 at 287 pounds. I attribute some of the additional (almost 40 pounds) weight gain, since being on the seroquel, to being comfortable in my marriage and going through two miscarriages in 2008. Triplets in Feb 2008 and an ectopic pregnancy in July 2008.

I have been involved with the Weight Wise Clinic since November 2008. The Weight Wise Clinic is a Bariatric Clinic in Edmonton, that helps patients learn stratagies and lifestyle changes to lose weight. Along with these stratagies, surgery is also an option. My inital weigh in was 287 pounds. Since starting with the clinic I have lost 22 pounds. I am a little disappointed with the low number of the weight loss, but it was pointed out to me that at least I have not gained any weight.