Lapband Surgery Detail Q and A

I have had lots of questions so I thought I would answer them here where those who want to hear about it can and those that don't...well...don't!

Q: Why did you decide to do lapband?
A: I am turning 50 on March 1st.  I have been grossly overweight for a long long time and nothing seems to work to get it off for me.  Call it a midlife crisis if you want to, but as I turn 50 it seems more important to me than ever to not spend my life like this.

Q: Why not just diet?
A: I have tried every diet there is.  It does work for a while, but there are metobolic things that happen with being overweight for a long time that make it more and more difficult to lose weight.  I can lose 15-20-30 pounds but the second...and I mean the SECOND I ate more than1000 calories a day, or a gram of sugar or carbs of any sort it came back.  It is nearly impossible to maintain that level of low calorie, or low carb forever.  Also it really isn't even about calories.  If it were then a fat person could eat the same calories and exercise as much as a thin person and lose weight but we all know that is not true.  And yet I also know it is essential to eat small enough amounts to lose.  Period.  It is just impossible for me to do that at this point because of how small it has to be.

There is another reason that I have tried to articulate but not very well yet.  I believe that gluttony is a sin.  Admittedly it is not the same as knocking off the liquor store or manslaughter, but it is still a sin.  I have tried to get rid of sin in my life the best I know how with God's help.  It would be and is hypocritical to choose which sin I choose to accept for myself.  This is one of the ones that God has been dealing with me in.  The Bible says in Matthew 18 that if you have something that causes you to stumble to get rid of it.  I feel like I was not in control of my stomach and my mouth, so the surgery helps me to take control of it.  I do not think that I will go to hell if I am fat, but I do think that along with other sin such as gossip and anger and bitterness etc, that I will do better and have a better integrity before God if I do what He asks me to do and gluttony is one of those things.

Q: Why lapband and not some other types of gastric surgery.
A: It is the one that is proven safest.  I have 7 kids still at home, and a lot of responsibilities.  It is also the one that requires the most self control.  I can do that.  I look at it much like I would look at using a nicotine patch to quit smoking.  You still gotta do it.  I never thought this would be easy, just possible.

Q: Why did you decide to do it in Mexico instead of locally?
A: I have done a ton of research on this and found out several years ago that for a self pay here in Utah it is around $16,000.  In Mexico it is $5000 and that includes hospital, anesthesia, Dr, labs, everything.  Once I found that out, I started looking at the Drs and reputations.  I didn't want to go to some dark alley for major surgery!  The Dr. that I chose is one of the best in the world.  He has a wonderful reputation and a great success rate for his patients.  They also offer financing for the costs which is a nice thing too.

Q: What was it like to do it in Mexico?
A: Well...Pete and I flew to San Diego on Monday the 30th.  We stayed in a nice hotel and ordered pizza which I didn't really eat much of since I had been fighting a migraine all day.

Tuesday morning at 8:30 the shuttle came from the hospital and drove us to Tijuana to the hospital.  The driver was very nice and helpful.  We arrived at the hospital at about 9:30 and was literally met at the door by Esmerelda who was my liaison throughout my stay...part interpreter and part facilitator.  Pete sat in the lobby and I was taken directly back for lab work.  I had blood taken and a chest x ray and the two of them took a total of about 20 minutes.  I never waited more than about 2 minutes for anything and Esmerelda would be there waiting for me when I was done with each step.

I signed all the paperwork, and we did the financial stuff, and then we went upstairs to my room which was nice.  It was just like any other hospital room except the bathroom which was beautiful!  There were nice little touches around.

About 5 minutes later Dr Corvala came in for an exam and consultation.  After he left about 5 more minutes and anesthesiologist came in and did his thing and another exam.  Then about 5 more minutes and I had a third exam from the floor doctors.  I changed into a hospital gown and they put compression stockings on me and then started an IV.  I was wheeled out for surgery at about 12:30 and hardly had to wait at all until they took me back to the OR.

The OR itself was much better than the one I was in here for my shoulder surgery four years ago.  I was treated like a piece of meat there.  Really.  It was actually a bit traumatic for me and very frightening.  Here they were very considerate of me and comforting.  Then I went to sleep of course.

When I woke up I was being extubated and that was no fun.  I was extremely thirsty and my belly hurt a lot.  The first 6 hours after surgery I was 100% sure I had made a gigantic mistake.  The second 6 hours I was pretty sure still but they found a pain med that worked better for me.  The third 6 hours I was starting to think it would be okay.  By 24 hours I was doing better and sure I had made the right decision.  Pete helped me up to the bathroom right away though.

I  had had open gall bladder surgery back in 1982 with an incision that went from my sternum to my navel and it had some adhesions that made the surgery a little more difficult than normal laproscopic is and so a little harder to recover from.

The next day I was tired and my belly hurt.  They wanted me to walk so I tried to do that.  I sat up and walked some and rested some and mostly felt like I got hit by a truck.  They took me down for a barium swallow test to make sure everything was working right (which took a total of about 15 minutes!) and then allowed me to start on clear liquids.  Nothing but ice chips prior to that.  I gotta say that going from nothing to that *nasty* barium is a shock!  That stuff is wicked bitter and I was afraid it wouldn't stay down.  The broth and sugar free jello they brought for dinner was lovely.

One little problem we had was that Pete had a really hard time on Tuesday getting any food.  There was a language problem and no real cafeteria like we have here. He was supposed to get companion meals, but I was so out of it after surgery I didn't think to help him with that, so he fasted all day Tuesday except water and a cup of coffee he managed to get.  Wednesday he talked to Esmerelda for help getting food.  Whew.  There was a couch that he was able to sleep on to be near me, which made things so nice for me to have him there.  It was comforting.

By Wednesday night I was getting nervous about the travel.  I felt awful and could not see how we were going to manage the process of getting home.  Two flights, security, baggage, etc seemed so overwhelming.  I was hurting a lot still.  I had thought I would have felt better and didn't take the previous surgery into consideration.

Thursday morning the Drs started expressing concerns about me leaving too.  I did feel some better that morning, but still...not great.  Dr. Corvala kind of strongly recommended that I stay an extra night.  But we had flights already paid for, and arrangements made for everything.  We talked about it and decided that as long as it was just how I felt and not a complication waiting to happen, that we would go. All my tests were perfect and it was not a matter of my health if I left so we did.  I really appreciated that I didn't really have to consider money as a possible reason for them to want me to stay.  There would have been no additional charge for an extra day.  It helped make the decision less muddy for us.  I didn't leave AMA but rather with their consultation and blessing.

The trip home was hard, but we had wheelchairs at the airports and except for SLC there was someone to help push me so Pete didn't have to.  It was still very hard on both of us.  My friend Susan picked us up and took me home to my own comfortable bed.

I am on a clear liquid diet for the next week and then I can add thicker liquids like cream soups for another week and then some soft foods such as puddings or mashed potatoes.  My stomach holds a little less than 1/4 cup of food and I will not be able to eat much fiber or meat for long time if ever because it won't digest.  I do wonder about the lack of fiber and the rest of my digestive system to be honest.  Maybe I can take a supplement?

I am very sore, and last night when I went to sleep I got stuck on my left side and couldn't turn over or get up out of bed.  LOL

I have lost 6 pounds so far.  :D