Hi Patty,

 

I will not sugar coat my experience with Gastric Bypass Surgery. It was the hardest thing I have been through. I had been wanting it done for two years but in 2005 I was in an auto accident and needed surgery on my shoulder and in 2006 I got pregnant with my son. This year when I went back to work I said a prayer about the surgery because at this point I felt I wasn't meant to get the surgery or God was trying to tell something. So, I asked him to let me know what he wanted me to do. On October 4th I went to ER with chest pain and coughing up blood and they found that I was anemic and needed a blood transfusion but also needed to find out where I was bleeding. They found a tumor in my stomach and it was cancer. The surgeon asked if I had ever considered loosing weight and I told him I always wanted this surgery and he said that he would have to do this surgery to take it out.  I was horrified I needed 9 pints of blood and 3 pints of platlettes and the day after surgery he had to go back in because my pulse was 140. He went back in and found nothing and as soon as I came out of surgery I was back to 140 pulse the next day and he told me that I was showing him every sign of a dying woman. I pulled through, I was in the hospital a month and a half and didn't eat anything until Thanksgiving day and my surgery was on Oct 9th. I went in the hospital weighing 230 and was a size 22/24 and now I weigh 180 and am size 14/16. It was not easy I threw up alot and had a feeding tube for three weeks to ensure that I got enough protein. I lost alot of hair in the hospital primarily at the top but I have some new growth now. This surgery was meant to be for me but it has been the hardest thing to go through in my life! At first I could only eat one bite of something and sometimes that wouldn't stay down, now I can eat a little more and each day gets a little better and some days are just bad ones. I miss my Coke and Starbucks!  I just suffered last week of a kidney stone passing that came flushing out with all the water I have to drink now. Heads up it hurts like hell! I felt like I was in labor and didn't know what was happening. For all the people that say that fat people take the easy way out by having this surgery they are so wrong there is nothing easy about it. Good Luck on the surgery and if you have any questions please feel free to ask me. I was so lost after surgery I didn't have my internet connected and I never new if what I was feeling was normal. My doc got alot of calls .

 

Cynthia

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