LaRue's Venture

One Month Post-Op

sterno2246 — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 15:16:18 +0000

Well it has been an eventful month to say the least. The pounds are falling off at an astounding rate. Today I weighed in at 260 so that’s 40 pounds since surgery.A grand total of 84 since New Years.

10/10/10

March 10,'10

Ma took my picture yesterday so here it is. I don’t see much difference but everyone else does. I can really tell a change while I’m walking. I just think what it would be like to carry around a sack of concrete all day every day. It’s a lot easier to get around, I can tie my shoes, cross my legs and trim my toe nails now!

Doctors advanced me to Stage 3 in my diet routine which means soft moist proteins like tuna and chicken in a can, also includes eggs and food with a little more consistancy so I’m chewing more now. Plus I take a multi-vitamin twice a day and next month will have to start taking iron supplements and find out about when my B-12 shots start. My blood work was fine so I’m on track as far as protein and liquids go. pretty pleased with the way things are going. If I could just lost 60 more pounds by new years!!..more to come…

The First Week..

sterno2246 — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 22:09:31 +0000

So I got home on the 10th and the next day, Sunday, went by without a hitch. I drank some broth and had some protein shakes along with Special K2O protein drink and had no problems.

Monday I had a shake and decided it was time to go for a walk and down the road I went. 3/4 of a mile and when i got back home I rested and got a couple visitors. My pastor and his wife had stopped in to check on me and that was really nice of them. After they left I walked the same route again so 1½ miles that day.

Tuesday I walked 3/4 of a mile and then had a shake but I drank too much of it and on the bed I went for the rest of the day. Don’t ever eat after you feel full..remember dummy??

Wednesday had a shake and walked 1½ miles, had some broth and jello and everything is good in my world.

Thursday I walked 3 miles! Walking these hills is a challenge but I’ve gotten so much better at pace and stride and breathing that I got so I could go quite a ways before I stop for a break.

Friday I found out I could mix my chocolate protein powder with coffee and have like a hot cocoa for breakfast and still get in 26 grams of protein! And it tastes good too! I called Geisinger to see if there was anything different I needed to do and the nurse told me to try soft foods so I had some scrambled eggs and they came right back up. Now I’m throwing up again!

Saturday, another coffee mocha protein and another 3 miles and taking my shower that night my bandages finally came off. The scar looks clean so I’m pleased. Dr. Udekwu followed the same scar like I had asked and you can hardly tell there was already a scar there.

Sunday, went to church, came home to watch the race and decided to go for a walk instead. Another 3 miles. Ate a pear I picked from a hunting camps yard and swallowed the juice but spit out the solids. Not too bad!

The BIG Day!

sterno2246 — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 21:55:01 +0000

My Ma,my sister Tammy and I arrived at Geisinger around 8:00am and hopped on a shuttle bus to the main entrance. We took elevator C to the lower level (LL) and found ourselves in a large waiting room with a check in area. Lorna was there waiting for us and after introductions and hugs, yeah, got me some lovin from sweet cheeks, I went to check in. After the initial check in they gave me a flashing beeping thingy like you get when Red Lobster has a waiting time for a table and informed me to return to the check in area when it flashed and beeped. I no sooner got back to where everyone was sitting and beep beep beep, so I took Tammy with me and we went into the back where the nurse explained the entire procedure to us and informed Tammy about where to find my progress on a large computer screen. We went back to the waiting area and almost immediately I was called up front so I said my good-byes and away I went.

I was given my robe and told to strip down and put it on and lie down and cover up with a sheet. A nurse came in and got my IV going and another nurse came in and shaved my belly. Dr. Udekwu came in and asked if I was ready and I said everything is green across the board so he left and another nurse came and pushed me and my bed down a hallway into an operating room. I was transferred to the operating table and the anesthesiologist said that my vision would soon get blurry so I should close my eyes and when I opened them I was being rolled to my room. I was in the recovery room for about an hour but I don’t remember any of that. Lorna, Ma and Tammy were in my room waiting for me and I was flirtin with the nurses and realized it was only like 1:45 so the operation went by pretty fast and now I was on my way towards a new, thinner,healthier me!

Ma and Tammy left around 4:30 and Lorna was there when I told a nurse that I was ready to stand up. She looked at me like I was some kinda nut but I insisted and she got another nurse and they stood beside the bed while I struggled to get to my feet with a catheter inserted in my ding-a-ling. I finally got on my feet and stood for a minute and was satisfied that everything was working so I laid back down. Lorna left a little while later and I couldn’t thank her enough for being there for me!

The next day I had told Ma and Lorna to not bother driving back to Danville just to sit around and watch me be miserable so I was pretty much on my own. I had a tube down my nose into my new pouch for drainage and it was really uncomfortable along with the catheter which was real unpleasant as well. A nurse came in and removed them both and oh what a relief it was! Now I was free to get up and stand on my own without any restraint. A nurse and I guess you could call her a candy-striper came in and asked if I was ready to go for a walk and boy was I! We walked about halfway down the hall and the nurse said that I was doing really well and left me with the young lady so we walked to the end of the hallway and turned around. On the way back I noticed a digital scales sitting in an alcove and stepped on it. My weight was 301. Kinda a bummer but the nurse informed me that I weighed 309 right before surgery. My scales at home are about 8 pounds lighter. So, I had lost 8 pounds over night and was doing well on recovery sipping water, breathing in the tube thing to prevent pneumonia and was generally an ideal patient.

The next day, Saturday the 10th, Dr. Udekwu came in and we chatted for a bit, that’s when he told me how well I was doing and that I could go home that day. Called Ma and she had to pick up a prescription for me at the Knapper House next to the hospital before 1:00 or I’d go without until maybe Monday so she made it on time and by 1:00 I was on my way home!

The Day Before..

sterno2246 — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:06:40 +0000

Today is September 8th 2010. Tomorrow I have my surgery for Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. I’ve been on a liquid diet since August 28th and have lost a total of 22 pounds on liquids and a grand total of 47 pounds since I started this Venture in December ’09. I’ve finally broken the 300 pound barrier and weigh in at 298. I’m not nervous about the surgery, just want it to get over with so i can get on with my new life. Took some pictures of me and can’t see any difference from the pictures taken in March..so you tell me, is there a difference?

March '10

Sept.'10

Met Dr. Udekwu

sterno2246 — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:43:35 +0000

August 27th I went to my appointment to meet my surgeon. I had been on the liquid diet for a week to insure I lost some weight before the meeting and was happy to find out that I had lost 12 pounds and it wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought the liquid diet would be. We talked some about what I was to expect, I told him of my hiatal hernia and he wanted the medical records for that surgery. OK..I don’t remember the hospital nor the doctor I had back in 2001 but told Dr. Udekwu that I would do my best to find out for him and see if those records were available. I did a search when I got home and found Dr. Merrell at the St. Vincents Hospital in Jacksonville..shoulda remembered that name, I was gonna kill the guy for cutting me from top to bottom..never forgive him for that. Signed a release and now it’s in their hands. Dr. Udekwu wanted me to stay on the liquid diet as he informed me that my surgery would be on September 9th..just 2 more weeks!! I told him that the last thing I ate was a cucumber sandwich and that was not going to be my final pre-op meal and he approved, So Ma and I went to Mom’s Dutch Kitchen in Danville and had roast beef and gravy sandwiches with mashed potatoes and harvard beets. Came home and made an extra pepperoni and extra cheese mushroom pizza, a more fitting “last meal” for me. Also met the RN for the surgery, Tonya Filer, and she told me what to expect and where I’d be before and after surgery. Ma went with me this time because I wanted her to hear all the instructions that were given. Since I had my welbutrin dosage increased I don’t have the patience issue any longer..YAY!!..So now..Sept. 1st.. I’ve been on liquids again for 4 days with 8 more to go..no problem dude. 47th Birthday Friday the 3rd.Big Deal. Been finding new ways to make protein shakes and trying different concoctions that some are not bad and some just get drank just to make them gone. I see why some people can’t stand the consistancy of their drinks..Just add some crystal light and it ain’t that bad. Or chocolate SF pudding..something for better flavor.

Protein Drink w/blueberries

Just made breakfast..Carnation Breakfast Essentials chocolate..2 scoops protein powder, frozen strawberries,1 ½ cups of cherry limeade Crystal Light,1 cup 1% milk and 5 ice cubes..pulse til smooth..delicious!! This stuff shouldn’t be a problem post-op but we’ll see. I’m not crossing anything off my list of favorites but I’m not adding to the list yet either. I’ve heard too many stories of how peoples tastes change after surgery. I’m sure I won’t have a problem. Growing up in a house where you had to eat everything on your plate before you left the table makes it easier to get stuff down now. I still do that, the mentality has been pounded into my head from years of supper time discipline. I will leave stuff on a plate at a buffet if I don’t like it, even though it makes me feel kinda weird doing it.

This may be my last post before surgery, so hopefully I’ll be back to continue my Venture throughout the next few months..or years..or not. Oh, almost forgot. I signed a statement saying that no matter what I didn’t want any blood transfusion if there was a complication during surgery. Ma didn’t understand this but that’s how I feel and that’s that. Also have a copy of my living will to take with me just in case. While we were at the hospital the other day, there was a man on a gurney with tubes all over and he was breathing pretty hard and it sounded like he was breathing water..gurgle..gurgle..I told Ma if I ever get like that KILL ME!! I don’t feel sorry for anyone but if I did it would be the people who can’t tell someone to finish them off because of life support. I never want to be on one of those gurney’s.KILL ME!! Just sayin’.

Friday the 13th ’10

sterno2246 — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 15:23:05 +0000

Went to Geisinger today feeling pretty confident about myself having lost 6 pounds after gaining 5 from my last trip,also had to give another urine sample and more blood work because they somehow misplaced a gallon of piss and 14 vials of blood..luckily they still had the stool sample. So I get there and go to the lab but it’s packed so upstairs I go to meet my doctor/nutritionist and have my vitals checked. On the scales and lo and behold I weighed in at 321..not the 309 I weighed Wednesday. Something very wrong here. Only reason I can come up with is that I gotta pee so bad I can taste it and I’ve been retaining quite a bit of fluids lately in my feet and legs.Havin a rotten heart SUCKS!!

Dilated Cardiomyopathy sucks

Doc’s not happy with the weight gain, shocker, I wasn’t very pleased myself. We talked a bit about why this happened and came to the conclusion that I have way too much sodium in my diet. I still keep my food journal online so I logged on to show her my last 30 days worth of food intake. This CalorieCount.About.com site is awesome when it comes to breaking down each days intake of calories,carbs,fats,saturated fats,sodium and other stuff so seeing that my sodium was 3 times more than I should be taking explains the water retention.

She says I should try the liquid diet for the week prior to meeting with Dr. Udekwu to insure of a significant weightloss. So starting next Saturday,the 21st, I’m on liquids. Appointment with him the 27th along with the RN Tonya Filer then a pre-surgical vist which could take up to 90 minutes.

When I get home the first thing I do is get on my scales and I weighed 312. Granted I did pee a bunch down at the hospital, I sure didn’t pee 9 pounds worth cuz a gallon weighs 8 pounds. I can’t believe my scales are that far off. Frustrating as hell..

Ma went yard saling while I was gone and came home with an elipticle trainer

Ma's new "Toy"

so I got on and pedaled for 15 minutes and I’ll tell ya, that was more of a workout than any of my walks have been. Now I don’t have an excuse to not exercise so that’s kinda a motivator in itself.

addition.. Saturday the 14th..I weighed my self this morning and weighed 314. I only had 1500 calories yesterday and pedaled that bike for 15 minutes and GAINED weight?..WTF!!

Almost forgot the most important part of my past few weeks!.

While walking my 3 miles the other day a kitten came out of the weeds to greet me and I called her and she came right to me. I picked her up and she climbed right up on my shoulder and sat there like she’d been doing it all along. She stunk and was nothing but skin and bones so I took her to the next house figuring it was one of their cats because this one was very affectionate. No one was home so I left the kitten on the porch and resumed walking only to see the cat following me. I picked her back up and put her on the porch again, this time she passed me as I was walking away and was walking in front of me, looking back to see if I was still coming. I thought that was kinda cute so I picked her back up, set her on my shoulder and continued my walk with my new found rider. I stopped at another neighbors house and told them that this kitten had adopted me and they were amused at how much the cat clung to me and never stopped purring while I handed her to them.

I asked about the people that lived where I found her and was informed that the folks were gone on vacation for 3 weeks and had just left. I couldn’t believe they would have left a starving kitten out while they were gone so guessing the cat was a drop off I decided to take her home. Ma wasn’t real pleased but after I gave the kitten a flea bath and then a regular bath, followed but what I’m sure she considered a gourmet meal of deli ham, milk and some cat treats, Ma took her and fell in love right away. kittens have some kinda hypnotic power I guess. She was litter trained right out of the gate and sleeps with me or Ma every night. She is the most loving feline I’ve ever seen so I named her after the Greek Goddess of Love, Venus. I’m really happy she came into my life as I was winding down a dark path with no sense of ever coming back up.

Venus

She’s not a dog, but she’ll do! Since I’ve had her a few days now, my aunt has asked around the neighborhood and was told by the mother of the folks on vacation that she has been feeding the cats over there and there are so many..just keep her. I wasn’t gonna give her up anyway. She makes me smile!

July 23 ’10

sterno2246 — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:35:01 +0000

I was really getting worried here. I could not for the life of me, figure out how to continue to post on this blog. so I switched browsers from Firefox to Google Chrome and downloaded a blog extension and I’m back in business. So here it is the 29th already and I’m a week or so behind. My appointment on the 23rd was a learning experience to say the least. I did the 24 hour pee inna jug and got my stool sample and finally got to take some Prilosec, I took a double dose, and felt better almost immediately. During the 24 urine collection my mother was constantly asking if I need another jug. I kept telling her it would be fine but thanks anyways. Same with the stool sample. I realize now she was just doing what mothers do but at the time it irritated me to no end. While waiting for the shuttle bus to pick us up I exploded in front of several people about not needing a pee police or a poop patrol and shoulda just let it ride. Well, now she’s upset, rightfully so, and I have to ride the bus to my appointments from now on.

EMTA

I had gained 5 pounds since my last visit and the doc frowned on that but I have not been walking because of the heat these past few weeks has been horrendous and my PCP told me to not walk for fear of dehydration and heat stroke/stroke. The doc didn’t want to hear that so I felt like a kid that just got hollered at. Oh well..I kinda feel like that’s just proof that I can’t lose weight on my own and really do need this surgery..makes sense to me. Got an appointment to meet a psychiatrist Monday to see if we can figure out my mental situation..memory failure and emotions running amuck as of late..Hopefully we get it figured out.. I damn sure don’t want to take any more pills. I’m taking 16 a day now with a nitro thrown in for shits and giggles along with the C-Pap machine and inhaler as needed..oh the life.

Just a few...

Called my lawyer and ranted on her a bit because I feel that she is just sitting over there waiting to see if I get my disability, she gets like $5,500.oo since I have about 50 grand coming to me so far. Can’t wait to get approved and out on my own..I need a dog.

My day’s coming…patience is a friggin virtue..remember that.

Hang in there...

More to come…….

July 15 ’10

sterno2246 — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:22:42 +0000

It’s a Thursday, not much going on here lately, well, my aunt had her mailbox smashed and someone stole a chair from her. I also found out about a neighbor having gasoline stolen from his landscape equipment, so we weren’t seeing thing. I wish I could catch them, I don’t think my pills could stop me from really hurting some punk for stealing stuff. I’d probably get in one good lick and fall over dead from a heart attack..I’d die doin what i do best..The chickens have doubled and now there’s turkeys running with them. We had a total of 17 chickens and turkeys here this mornin. Only problem is that turkey shit is like 4-5 inches long and it’ll be everywhere before long..that’s the price you gotta pay for a plate full of white meat if you catch my drift..They are still pretty young but they’ll be just right come November..Still another week before my appointment in Danville, I’ve been off my omeprazole for a week now and my gastritis is having a field day in my belly. A Tums or two and I’m good for a little while, gotta eat bland foods for another week.

Hopefully I won’t have this gastritis after bypass surgery. Looking forward to not having to take 16 pills a day and wear a mask at night. I’m sure I’ll still have the heart meds but that’s all part of having cardiomyopathy, it’s worse than most people think..I hide it pretty good plus the depression pills help a bunch. If they only knew….time goes on….

July 13 ’10

sterno2246 — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:48:39 +0000

The 4th came and went with nothing to mention..I did go downtown to get a locking gas cap for the Blazer. My aunt’s house was vandalized last night, her mailbox was smashed and a chair was missing from her deck. Also found out that another neighbor has had gas stolen out of his equipment..so..I hope I catch em..years of frustration and anger built up and I don’t think my pills would stop me from killing whoever it is. Neighbors chickens have doubled since a brood hatched out..and now there’s turkey chicks with them. I know what I’m having for thanksgiving..nom nom..hopefully surgery will be a memory by then..ya never know..I’m on my 2 weeks without omeprazole(prilosec) and my stomach is not in a good mood. I’ll have to start eating bland stuff and get some Tums until after the 23rd..no meds in the stool sample..that sucks..waiting..waiting..waiting…

July 2,’10

sterno2246 — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 02:37:56 +0000

Happy Canada Day, Hope everyone had a good day. I’ve been thinking that some kids have been stealing gas outa Ma’s Blazer cuz we filled up Monday (today’s Friday) and its on low fuel..one trip down town (10miles) and back and one trip to my aunts and it’s empty?..Went downtown and bought a locking gas cap, let the little shits get their gas somewhere else. Today is 12 years since my father passed away, him and I were never close but I’ve come to terms and made my peace with him, makes Ma and my sisters happy. They all say he was a different person after he got cancer but I wouldn’t know, I wasn’t around. So, anyway, got the 4th comin up, dunno if we’re going to a cookout or what. Ma got us invites to a neighbors Monday for chicken BBQ and fireworks later so we’ll see..

Some cool posts going on in DiscussWLS lately..2 other fella’s..McTiki and TheFour and I cut a fool with each other, makes things fun. It’s good to have people that can take my sense of humor and give it back as well. Some really good ribbing going on, lots of positive comments from others, glad we can make folks smile a little during their day. Makes me happy to make them happy..that’s weird considering 8 or 10 years ago I wouldn’t piss up somebody’s ass if their soul was on fire, but that part of me is buried along with the drinker,smoker,doper of a fool and i don’t miss him. Guess I’ll end there for today..sleep well my prince…