My MGB story

[Guest guest]

This is a long one so be prepared:

We (my husband and I) left home (Blue Ridge, VA) for Durham on Monday

5/15 at 10:30am. I didn't need to be at clinic until 9:00 the next

day but I was so anxious about it that I wanted to get there a day

ahead. I was afraid of unforseeable things like accidents and traffic

tie-ups and if I didn't attend this clinic I would not be able to

have the MGB. Since I was an out-of-state patient this would be my

only clinic.

After wandering around Durham and geting lost and ending up in Chapel

Hill we finally made it to our motel (Extended Stay America)at about

3:30pm. After unpacking I insisted upon a 'dry run' to the clinic and

hospital so we would know where we were going the next day. After

finding Regional Surgical Associates and Durham Regional Hospital, we

headed back to the motel and bought groceries on the way for my

husband.Relaxing and lounging at the motel was impossible. I was so

anxious about the clinic that I could barely sit still. I kept

thinking " What if I have come all this way just to find that all my

paperwork isn't done, or I forgot to do something and they are just

going to turn me around and send me right back home " . I tried to calm

myself down with thinking only positive thoughts but the " what ifs "

kept coming. I consoled myself that at least this time, I would be

walking into a room full of strangers that had the same problem I did

and at least I wont be the only fat person in the room. I finally

decided to try and relax and get my mind off things by watching TV.

Just about the time I was getting interested in a movie- the lights

went out! A call to the front desk informed us that they (the motel-

not the city) were having some electrical problems (duh) and hoped to

have the problem resolved soon. That was around 9:00pm- too early to

go to bed but the alternative was to sit around in the dark and worry

some more so I turned in. I didn't sleep much- mostly

worried that I was going to get up on time since we had no alarm (no

electricity) to wake us. The lights came back on at about 4:00am (BTW

Extended Stay America offered nothing to it's quests-not even an

apology for this inconvenience)and I finally was able to set the

alarm for 7:00am. Didn't really need to though- since I was wide

awake within an hour. We left for the clinic around 8:30--plenty of

time since we were only 10 minutes away. We arrived at Regional

Surgical Associates to find that the clinics were no longer held

there- they were moved to a building near the Hospital.When we

finally got there it had already began. We weren't the only ones late

tough- three others were not told of the change and were late too.

Dr. Rutledge was talking about the surgery and introducing everyone

one by one and asking for their questions. Dr. Rutledge must be an

extremely patient man because I know he must hear the same questions

over and over but he never seemed to tire of answering our questions.

He is a very smart and articulate man with a great sense of humor.

When it finally became my turn to talk with him in private, I really

didn't have any questions that he hadn't already answered. We left

the clinic and returned to our home-away-from-home around 1:30. I was

much calmer by then. Just meeting and talking with Dr. Rutledge had

calmed a lot of my fears and had reassured me that I was going to be

OK. We just sort of 'hung out' at the motel for the afternoon and

evening. I didn't want to go out for a 'final meal' since I felt that

that was the wrong attitude to have. I didn't want to feel that this

was a " death sentence " and I had to have a final BIG meal of all my

favorite foods.I didn't want to mourn the loss of favorite foods. I

wanted to have nothing but a positive attitude going in- This was the

beginning of my new life!!

I called Durham Regional after 3:00 that afternoon and was given my

surgery time- 1:00 (groan). I wanted it to be earlier but, oh well! I

was told to be at the hospital by 10:00am. OK-that's a little better-

at least I won't have THAT much time to sit around and worry. We

watched some TV and after I showered with the Hibicklens(found at Wal-

Mart) I turned in.

I again woke 2 hours ahead of the alarm. I got up and began to pack-

TIP #1- Really pack lite! The only thing I took that I ended up

needing was my hairbrush. The hospital provided EVERYTHING else that

I needed. We arrrived at the hospital at 9:45 to check in. After a

short wait we were taken to an admissions clerk (nice guy-can't

remember his name though).He registered me and then personally walked

me up to the surgical floor. We got on the floor at about 10:20 and

the nurse said " We've been waiting for you " . What! I thought my

surgery wasn't until 1:00. She said Rutledge was running ahead of

schedule (yippee) and that the patient before me (Dani) had just been

taken down to anesthesia. They took me to a room, put me in a

designer original hospital gown and some lovely white stockings. The

nurse anesthetist came to see me and asked about my allergies and

previous experience with general anesthesia. I also had more

paperwork to fill out- TIP #2- Take you time with these and fill them

out completely- you'll find out why later. Things were moving fast!

Just when I thought that things were really moving along and that I

wouldn't have time to get nervous- everything stopped. I ended up

staying upstairs for 2 1/2 more hours before they finally took me to

pre-op anesthesia. It turned out that they were having trouble with

getting an earlier patient's BP to stablize so Dr. Rutledge's 'ahead

of schedule' soon became 'behind'. Poor Dani- at least I was in a

room upstairs with a TV- she was stuck in anesthesia laying flat on

her back and freezing while she waited. Finally at 12:45 a nice lady

came and put me on a gurney and took me to anesthesia. There, another

nurse started my IV and informed me that my paperwork was not

completely filled out. She handed me the clipboard and I had to sit

up (half exposed and freezing) on this gurney and finish my paperwork

(see TIP #2). About this time Dr. R came through. When I complained

about completing what I thought was redundant paperwork he said " no

problem, you don't have to fill it out. We just wont do the surgery " .

He was not being sarcastic- just serious and it sombered me enough so

that I finished the paperwork with no further complaints and was

rewarded with a nice, fresh from the microwave, warm blanket. At

about 1:10 they came and wheeled me into the OR. They transfered me

to the OR table (about 6 " wide- it felt) and started draping and

preping me. The anesthesiologist came and put a mask on me and told

me to take 4 deep breaths. He said I would be asleep by the 4th

breath- I remember taking 2. From here on out things are a little

hazy. I vaugley remember waking up in recovery and then the next

thing I knew I was in my room with my husband and several nurses

hovering over me. They put inflated 'boots' on my legs that were

constantly inflating and deflating ( I assume to keep the circulation

going) and they kind of lulled me back to sleep. The first sensation

I remember when I woke again was PAIN. It felt like it was up under

my ribs and it was hard to get a deep breath. There was also pain in

my shoulder. They told me the pain was from the gas and it would get

better. The nurses (all very very nice) came and went all afternoon

and evening giving me meds and checking my vital signs. All I had to

do was mention pain and they were there with something for it! The

pain was never intolerable. My husband stayed and kept me up to date

on my littermates- but mostly I slept the afternoon and night away.

Dr. R. came in about 7:30. I had been up several times to the

bathroom, was drinking fluids and had my IV out by then and I was

ready to get OUT! He agreed to discharge me. I was still heavily

drugged and still had the gas pain but I put on a brave front because

I wanted OUT! TIP #3- Don't rush yourself. Take your time and make

sure you are ready to go. Like Dr. R. said- this is life and death.

Make sure you are steady enough to walk out on your own before

insisting on leaving. I didn't even wait on breakfast! Although I

didn't have any problems, I kind-of wish I had slowed down and took

things a little slower.

My husband took me back to our motel and went out to get my

perscriptions filled. TIP #4- Find out in advance if and where your

prescription drug card will work. We ended up paying full price for

my perscriptions (we only filled the ones I had to have right away).

The first day after surgery I still had the gas pain, but it was

gradually getting better. Walking really helped. In the motel we

stayed out there was really no place to walk to so I ended up doing

laps around the room (I think about 1000). I had a fairly restful

night ( I mostly slept sitting up in a recliner chair)and woke up the

next morning feeling MUCH better. I called Dr. R. to 'check in'. He

was in surgery at the time that they paged him so I had to talk to

him through a nurse. I INSISTED that I was doing GREAT! and I wanted

to go home. I don't think he really liked it but he finally said that

I could go home.

The 3 1/2 hour trip home was uneventful. It actually feels better

sitting up than laying down so the ride was not uncomfortable.

The only really negative experience I had during the whole trip was

during the clinic. After Dr. R finished speaking and began taking

patients back to speak with him alone, I thought pre-op patients (for

surgery the next day) were taken first. And it seemed to be going

that way because by 12:30 all of my littermates had been in to see

Dr. R. except me. When Debbie came to get the next one- it was not

me. I was confused as to what order we were taken in so I asked one

of Dr. R's other employees (not Debbie) that was there when I would

be seeing Dr. R. I expressed my concern that neither my husband or

myself had had breakfast or lunch and it was getting close to 1:00.

Her comment to me, I think, was cruel and unnecessary. She snippily

replied " I'll check and see where you are on the list- we CERTAINLY

would not want you to miss a meal!

Maybe my nerves were more exposed then usual and maybe she didn't

realize (she did not have a weigh problem) her comment was so hurtful

but I think people working with Dr. R should be more aware of the

things they say and I would think they would be more sympathetic to

the problems of the obese.

I am now 6 days post-op and doing OK. I am hungry though. I didn't

think I would be but I am. It's not a bad hunger though and I can

usually satisfy it with more juice or a lttle yogurt. The meds are

going down and staying down fine, TIP #5- If your pharmacy doesn't

carry the Carafate in pill form- go to one that does-- IT IS NASTY

TASTING STUFF IN LIQUID FORM. The gas pain is completely gone and I

haven't been nauseous at all! And the best news of all is that the

day I left for Durham I weighed on my Health-ometer " the doctor's

scale " scales and weighed 254.5-- I weighed this morning- 246.

That's 8 1/2 pounds GONE FOREVER!!!!!

If any of you pre-ops have any other questions, please feel free to

email tham to me. I will try to answer as best I can.

With Love in Christ and a BIG Thank You to Dr. R.!,

Dona Farmer

MGB 5/17

[Guest guest]

Dear Dona,

I was at the same clinic as you and wanted to make a comment

regarding the person who " barked " at you. You were not the only one

with whom she was inconsiderate. She nearly bit off some poor soul's

hand when they reached in the box for the restaurant card for post-

ops. People skills is not her strong suit.

I'm glad to hear that you have made it home safe and sound. Thank you

for sharing your experience and your " tips " . Please continue to keep

us posted.

Warmest Regards,

Beth

Raleigh, NC

[Guest guest]

Restaurant cards... where were they?? I didn't see them. Can I get

some?

a

Beth in Raleigh wrote:

>

> Dear Dona,

>

> I was at the same clinic as you and wanted to make a comment

> regarding the person who " barked " at you. You were not the only one

> with whom she was inconsiderate. She nearly bit off some poor soul's

> hand when they reached in the box for the restaurant card for post-

> ops. People skills is not her strong suit.

>

> I'm glad to hear that you have made it home safe and sound. Thank you

> for sharing your experience and your " tips " . Please continue to keep

> us posted.

>

> Warmest Regards,

>

> Beth

> Raleigh, NC

>

> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Failed tests, classes skipped, forgotten locker combinations.

> Remember the good 'ol days

> http://click.egroups.com/1/4053/2/_/453517/_/959105339/

> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

>

> This message is from the Mini-Gastric Bypass Mailing List at Onelist.com

> Please visit our web site at http://clos.net

> Get the Patient Manual at http://clos.net/get_patient_manual.htm

[Guest guest]

Restaurant cards... where were they?? I didn't see them. Can I get

some?

a

Beth in Raleigh wrote:

>

> Dear Dona,

>

> I was at the same clinic as you and wanted to make a comment

> regarding the person who " barked " at you. You were not the only one

> with whom she was inconsiderate. She nearly bit off some poor soul's

> hand when they reached in the box for the restaurant card for post-

> ops. People skills is not her strong suit.

>

> I'm glad to hear that you have made it home safe and sound. Thank you

> for sharing your experience and your " tips " . Please continue to keep

> us posted.

>

> Warmest Regards,

>

> Beth

> Raleigh, NC

>

> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Failed tests, classes skipped, forgotten locker combinations.

> Remember the good 'ol days

> http://click.egroups.com/1/4053/2/_/453517/_/959105339/

> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

>

> This message is from the Mini-Gastric Bypass Mailing List at Onelist.com

> Please visit our web site at http://clos.net

> Get the Patient Manual at http://clos.net/get_patient_manual.htm

[Guest guest]

> Restaurant cards... where were they?? I didn't see them. Can I get

> some?

>

> a

>

Dear a,

The restaurant cards are for post-ops. They're purpose is to explain

to the proprietor that you have had wls surgery and would like to be

able to order from the child's menu or order smaller portions etc.

You could email Debbie and have her send a couple to you.

Beth in Raleigh

06/08/00