Lock it in Eddy!! 20 September 2012

Woo Hoooooooooo! I finally have my surgery date - Thursday 20 September 2012 I go under the knife! 

I met with Dr Ken Wong this morning and have locked in my surgery date. Dr Wong is just lovely, a great communicator, and very friendly. He answered all of my questions and particularly the most important Q on my mind... Have any of your patients had any complications, particularly any leaks?? 

When considering this question in the lead up to my appointment, I also considered which answer I'd prefer and found myself torn... through much research I discovered that there is a 1% chance of complications with this surgery, mainly from a leak at the staple line. Such a leak can then lead to other significant complications which can quickly turn into a life threatening situation. So did I want Dr Wong to say 'No Complications' therefore speaking to his surgical prowess and giving me confidence in his sleeve skills... ?? YES! But then I found myself thinking, Russian Roulette - what if that means I could potentially be his first... do I want to chance being that unlucky No1. and risk being at the mercy of a Dr who has no experience in managing a surgical crisis... hmmm I was certainly in a quandary... I thought that perhaps it would be better for his answer to be 'YES' then I could take comfort in knowing that he's successfully managed/treated a potentially life threatening medical emergency... I ended up getting the BEST answer I could have hoped for. Dr Wong said he has not had any patient suffer complications from his surgery and no leaks! But here's the best bit - when he was doing his residency and training in the sleeve gastrectomy in New Zealand many years ago, he was involved in over 7 cases per wk (they did them in the public system over there all the time) and due to that large volume, the surgeons he worked with did experience a few leaks and complications which gave him the opportunity to learn the skills required to manage such situations, each time with a successful outcome. BRILLIANT!! that was the BEST answer ever! I now have every confidence that if something does go wrong, he'll be able to manage my recovery successfully ;-))

So it's all systems GO! I went and had all my blood tests done together with my ECG. I meet with the dietician, Megan, next Wednesday and commence 100% OptiFast diet from next Thursday 6th Sept continuing right to my surgery (2wks). I need to lose 4kgs from the start of the Opti to surgery day - so the challenge will be on... apparently it's so that the liver shinks to give more room for the surgeon to perform the operation.

Oh yeah, I should really update you on my OptiFast sitch from the start of the week... I decided that I had really bitten off more than I could chew stopping smoking and starting OptiFast on the same day, so after some wise advice from my wife, I decided that I would wait to see when Dr Wong said I needed to start it & just conquer the no smoking on its own for this week & that's what I've done... 

Day 1 - OMFG

I must've been stark raving mad to have planned to give up smoking and start OptiFast on the same day!!! OMFG it was EPIC! It's no easy feat to give up smoking that's for sure... 

The cigarettes that I miss the most are the ones that I have first thing in the morning after breakfast and the ones I have in the car on the way to and from work. I'm sure it'll get easier but day 1 was definitely a struggle but I made it!

Now, an update on my weight - the magic (actually NOT so magic) starting weight yesterday morning was a whopping 111.9kgs... which is actually less than I thought it might be considering I have been eating myself into oblivion in the lead up to this journey... That makes my BMI 39 - So people I have some serious work ahead of me to reach my goal but that's what this journey is all about.

I'm awake early today - stomach's grumbling like a b*tch, so I've had breakfast (I'm still eating my usual breakfast of porridge & bush foods breakfast mixed with skim milk - When I'm 2 weeks out from the surgery then I'll be OptiFast-ing all the way) and blogging to distract myself from the cravings... so far so good. 

One more day until I see Dr Wong - I can't wait to finally have a surgery date... so peeps stay tuned for that journey update ;-) 

Getting Started - Almost 'D' Day

Well here we are, Sunday 26 August 2012 and I'm busily preparing for my significant weight-loss journey ahead... So here's how I see the plan: 

Today I have taken photos and measurements to enable me to track my progress:

Neck: 42.5cm
Left Arm: 42.5cm
Right Arm: 43cm
Left Wrist: 16.5cm
Right Wrist: 16.5cm
Bust: 127cm
Waist: 124cm
Hips: 130cm
Left Thigh: 73cm
Right Thigh: 74cm
Left Calf: 46cm
Right Calf: 47.5cm

I'll weigh myself tomorrow morning and document my starting weight. 

Another part of my plan includes stopping smoking, tomorrow I'll start using nicotine patches to help me kick the habit.

I'm starting to replace meals from tomorrow with OptiFast x 3 daily and will supplement with steamed broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and beans. I'll also eat capsicum, carrots and cucumber throughout the day.

On Wednesday 29 August 2012 I have my initial appointment with surgeon Dr Ken WONG from Central Coast Weight-loss Clinic to discuss and book my Laparascopic Gastric Sleeve surgery which I am hoping to have done asap - really hoping for a date in September. 

I'm so excited to finally have a real weapon to fight my weight-loss battle and plan on winning this battle once and for all! 

I have suffered many years of struggling to lose weight, at times after some significant success, I'd then suffer a major depressive episode, only to see my weight loss efforts be destroyed creating a vicious cycle which I have to date, found difficult to escape. I see this surgery as giving me the tools to finally help me succeed in reaching my goal weight and give me a real chance at health and happiness.

Now what is my goal weight...? I think I'll start with 70kgs - 68kgs is the top of the healthy weight range for my height but I honestly can't even imagine what 68kgs (or 70kgs) would look like on me so I'm gunning for 70 to start then I can re-evaluate... and it's really exciting to let myself go there with my imagination, because now I believe that with this surgery I have the very real chance of achieving my goal... I imagine what it would feel like to feel good in clothes, to be able to shop in the normal sections of clothing outlets, to be able to do justice to the fashion that I love and to feel energised, confident and happy... IT'S REALLY EXCITING! 

I've done stacks of research on the procedure and have read loads on the forums... It's so exciting to read about other people's success after having the same surgery and I just know that I'm going to have one of those success stories too!

Wish me luck ;-)