November 20th I had all my pre-op testing. Lots of testing.
I had to be at the hospital bright and early at 6 am. First I had lots of bloodwork and a urinalysis done. Being a hard stick, I was nervous. But the phlebotemist drew 10 vials of blood like it was nothing. After that I had an EKG done and O2 sats checked. After that I had an abdominal ultrasound. Didn't expect it to be as painful as it was. I guess she really had to dig into my stomach to get a good pic, but geez it hurt! And lastly, a chest xray was taken. Everything went so smoothly and I was on my way home by 8 am.
A week later on November 28th I had my EGD performed.
It was another early (and VERY cold) 6 am morning. I was checked in and taken back to a room where I put on a gown and slippers. Vital signs were taken and lots of questions were asked. Then it was time for the nurse to place my INT. For some reason I was more nervous about this than the EGD itself. Although I've done lots of these myself, I've never had one. As I said before I am a hard stick, and luckily I only had to be stuck 3 times. Wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated. After a little while of waiting, I was finally rolled back to the procedure room. The anesthesiologist explained what was going to happen. Then my surgeon came in and talked for a few minutes. I was then told to turn to my left side and a bite block was placed in my mouth. The anesthesiologist then said "I'm about to give you the sleepy medicine. Next thing I know I was being woke up by the nurse and rolled to recovery. I was really sleepy while in recovery, but would have never known I just had a scope put down my throat. After getting back to my room I was given my date for my pre-op appointment with the surgeon and then discharged home.
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Feeling way too good after the EGD
December 12th was (finally) my pre-op appointment with the surgeon.
I was there along with 4 other women who are being sleeved as well. We met as a group with the office manager who talked to us about nutrition and what to expect after surgery. We were also given binders that had everything we could possibly need to know about what to expect before and after surgery. Then the surgeon came in and spoke with us about instilling habits now that will help us be successful after surgery. We were then taken back one at a time to talk with the surgeon about our progress and test results and anything else we wanted to discuss before surgery. After being weighed in, I was at a 16 lb weight loss since my last visit. After speaking to Dr. Woodman, he said he wanted me to lose another 13 lbs before surgery. He then asked to see my stomach (which threw me off guard) and then talked about my ultrasound results. He said that I had a "fatty liver" but assured me that eating a low fat diet and losing another 13 lbs would help shrink my liver significantly. After our discussion and some pre-op picture taking I then scheduled my surgery.
My surgery date is *drum roll please*...January 14th!
I am soooo glad to finally have a date, but at the same time (in spite of all the research and preparing I have done) feel so unprepared. I feel like I have so much to do in the next month. I'm preparing for a new beginning and a new life!
