Dreams/Nightmares

With the pending surgery, i have felt almost all emotions that I could possibly feel.
Dreams/nightmares are the biggest things that repeat themselves lately. I have been having dreams like crazy, some very positive and some just downright strange and scary. I won't go into depth because it tough to even think about them during the day since they take up most of my sleep.

When i dream or think of the bad parts about the surgery, as weird as it sounds, i think it is sort of therapy. Its kind of like flying. When i worry about it, nothing happens. I think i would be cautious if i wasn't worrying about it.

This is major surgery, of course i am going to be scared. I am greatly appreciative to be able to get this surgery. It is a lot to think about. If i can just get thru the first 24 hours without flipping out from pain i will ok....LOL!!!

Thiamine is low

Got a letter in the mail yesterday from my doctor stating that he missed the Thiamine level on my blood tests. My Thiamine level was low at 70, normal is 87. He gave me a prescription for a supplement to take until surgery. He will have the surgeon make the decision on if i should continue after surgery.

nlb

Date is set

May 19th is the date!! I don't have a time yet, i probably won't until the week of the surgery. I do know however that it will be in the morning.
So just over 4 weeks until my surgery. I am nervous now but excited. I would like to get this over with. I guess the worst thing about surgery isn't the pain but the anticipation leading up to it.
I will be taking 4 weeks off from work. If I need more then that will be the doctors call. I will keep you posted as more info should be coming in soon.

On hold until Monday

I wasn't able to get a hold of the surgeons office last friday, so i will start calling Monday morning. I will keep you posted.

CT Scan revisited

Got word today from the doctors office that the CT scan was clear. It did not show any blood clots in the lungs. I was told that i am clear for surgery.

I have placed a call into the surgeon's office to schedule surgery and will update once i hear back from them.

Vitamin D low

I forgot to mention this in the last post. My blood tests show that my vitamin D is low. Normal range is 20-100, i was on the low end at 22. The Dr says that i should stand out in the sun so that my skin can absorbe Vitamin D. I only need to be in the sun for 3-4 minutes. Nothing drastic like 30 mins. Just enough so that it pushes my vitamin D level back up to 70-80 points.

My cholestrol was not the best (222) and that of course comes with the territory of being obese. After surgery i should see that number fall to about 140-150.

I tested negitive for Diabetes, which is the one i was most worried about, until the DR mentioned blood clots in the lung. Even though i tested negitive for Diabetes, my blood sugar count was on the high side of the normal range. Normail range now is 80-120, i was at 111.

All my other Vitamins were in the healthy range and will continue to be even after surgery as long as i take my vitamins.

CT scan

Well all is ok, not the best news to tell. I had my meeting with Dr Kolle. He said that he feels that i need to CT scan of my lungs to rule out any blood clots. He came to this conclusion after they didn't take my blood pressure correctly. I was kind of upset but i guess in all fairness, if there are blood clots in my lungs its better to find out after surgery.

Today at 2:30 i am going to the hospital to get the CT scan. I hope it doesn't take long. I probably will not, i remember having one done on my kidney's a few years ago and it was really quick. They call it the donut test.

The hospital should have the results back to Dr Kolle within 2 days. Of course with the Easter weekend it may take a little bit longer. Shoudl i should know for sure this time next week.

I didn't mean to rush this test, its just that i have waited for this surgery for so long and i just want to get it over with and start down the path of losing weight.

I have a wedding to attend to at the end of June and i am starting to think if i should just wait until after that wedding to have it done. We shall see.

Follow up tomorrow

Tomorrow i meet with Dr Kolle. He will be the doctor to go over my pre-tests and get me medically cleared for surgery.

I will keep my fingers crossed and hope that all is a go with my tests and that additional testing will not be needed. *Fingers Crossed*

If all goes well i will call the doctors office and get confirmation on my surgery date.

I will keep you all posted.

pre tests

1. Blood Work

• Labs are always fun. They take enough blood to create another person. It is always nice to be able to eat breakfast in the morning......HA!
• I had to breath into a bag, then drink this sour, lemony stuff and then blow into another bag 15 mins later
• 6 Vials of blood were taken
• I also had to urinate into a cup first

2. EKG

• I had to lay flat on a table and she put these sticker things all over my body. Then hooked up these wires all over my body.
• The test take less than a minute. Just has to take a reading of your heart rhythm.

3. Initial Consult with Surgeon

• Met with the nurse first, she took my height, weight, blood pressure etc...
• Got my Pre-photos taken. Will compare one year from now.
• Met with Dr Shapiro. Had to draw what my stomach would look like after surgery.
• Dr Shapiro went thru some questions with me. He wanted to know eating patterns, etc.
• He did a physical exam and then stated that he felt i was a good candidate for this surgery.

4. Upper GI

• Yes, the barium test!!!
• The test wasn't as bad as i thought it was going to be.
• They had me stand first and i drank some barium
• then i was given carbonation to help the barium show up on camera
• I drank the rest of the barium.
• Then i was placed on a table and had me roll on my back, etc....

5. Respiratory tests

• I was was given a breathing aparatus thing. After surgery it will help bring my lungs back to health.
• Then came the wrist test. OUCH!!! The insert a needle into my wrist straight down to the artery. This is done to get the "true" blood and they are able to get more acurate readings. The readings they are looking for is the Oxygen levels etc....
• All i can say is that i wasn't prepared for it. I thought she was just going to take blood from my wrist the normal way. I wasn't prepared for her to go so deep.

This coming wednesday i will be meeting with another doctor to go over my test results and he will give the final approval to Dr Shapiro. Then i will call and get my confirmation on my surgery date.

NLB