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Surgeon: Dr. Robert Rabkin, San Francisco, CA
Surgery date: April 19, 1999
Pre-op weight/BMI: 275
Personal web page: http://www.geocities.com/dwagner369/journal.html

by Debbie W.:

My Story - Pre-op
I am 36 years old. I am married to my high school sweetheart. We have known each other since we were 11 years old. He was reluctant at first when I told him I wanted to have WLS. He said to me, "Let's just go on that Think Lite program again." I told him I am through with all those diets. At least diets without the help of WLS. He is now very supportive of my decision because he knows how important his support is to me. I need him as my rock! He tells me he loves me the way I am right now. That is very important. I wouldn't want to be with someone who didn't love me for me! I love him very much and I can't wait until I am physically able to do all the activities we dream of.

I have three beautiful children. Nicole, 16; Kyle, 15; and Mason, 12. They have a natural curiosity towards this procedure. They are one of my reasons for wanting this surgery. I want to be able to go on hikes with them, go on bike rides with them, go to amusement parks and be able to ride the rides.

I have been over weight all my adult life. However, I have always thought I was fat. I can remember when I was 7 years old and telling my dad that I didn't want to wear a two piece bathing suit because I thought my stomach was fat. He told me I had to wear a two piece because girls are suppose to wear two pieces! This was in 1969!

So, the feeling of being fat goes back to at least the age of seven. Looking back, I wasn't fat, but you couldn't convince tell me otherwise. The diets started when I was about 14. The first one was Weight Watchers, with many others to follow. My mom was always helpful in this area. She supported whatever diet I was on. She meant well and was always there for me, but I think this lead to convincing me further that I really was fat. I need to be clear here, I do not blame her or anyone for my obesity. I think I always looked for reassurance, i.e., "no, honey, you aren't fat. You don't need to go on a diet". She took me to a doctor in 1978, when I was 16 and he prescribed diet pills. Then there was the hypnotist, the sheep urine shots, NutraSystems, Dr. Pritikin, Dr. Atkins, Diet bars, Diet drinks, more diet pills, more Weight Watchers, Diet Center, Think Lite, Weight Watchers again, and Phen-Fen.

After so many failures, I can't handle any more. This surgery seems like the only answer for me. It's just not an issue of getting thin. I am afraid of dying young. My family tends to die young. There is diabetes, heart failure, high blood pressure, hypo-thyroid disease in my family. I need to get healthy!

Part 2 - Post-op
The Hospital Stay
First I want to talk a bit about the prep for the surgery. There is medication to take to help prevent infection. There is also really gross stuff to drink to clean out the colon. I could hardly tolerate this stuff. It was so salty. It made me gag. I was supposed to drink 4 liters of this junk!! I only managed to down half of it. I was worried that my colon wouldn't be empty enough and they would postpone the surgery and I would have to start all over again. Luckily that didn't happen.

Monday, April 19, 1999, at 4:00 am.... My husband, three kids, and I load up and leave for the hospital. We met my mother 10 miles down the road and she followed us the rest of the 50 more miles to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital at 5:50 am. The nurse came and got me and took me to a prep area. She took my blood pressure and temperature. She also said a fleet's enema had been ordered for me. She said this was the first time that Dr. Rabkin had ordered this for one of his patients. I told her about having trouble getting that gross concoction down and the doctor was aware of this so he probably ordered the Fleet's enema just to be safe. I got my IV started and then she did the enema... then it was on to the next room to meet the anesthesiologist.

We talked a bit and he ordered something to take care of the acid in my stomach. He warned me to chug it down in one gulp, do not sip it! And no wonder, one sip of this stuff and you would not go back for more.

I met my nurse in this room also, and then she took me down to the operating room. They put on the leggings and something that fills with air and then deflates and reinflates to help keep the circulation going in your legs. This helps to prevent blood clots. Dr. Rabkin arrived.... then I was out for the count.

The Recovery Room
I remember the nurse in the recovery room saying to me.... "Be quite Mrs. Wagner, you are disturbing the other patients." I thought to myself... "Bull, this is the recovery, they are just as out of it as I am!" Besides that, when I was a bit more awake and in my regular room, I could barely talk. So just how loud could I have been?!

I don't really remember being brought from the recovery room to my regular room. I remember once I was in my room, I was trying to feel if the NG tube was still there. It was. I remember being in incredible pain and pressing my button for more pain meds. I was told later that my kids had curled up on the floor and went to sleep. The nurses gave them sheets and blankets. There was a couch and chair in the room that Tom and my mom were sleeping on. I don't know how long they stayed; I kind of remember them leaving. My mom stayed at the hospital almost every night.

The second day Dr. Rabkin took out the catheter and NG tube. So now I had to get up and go to the bathroom. I had a bariatric bed. I would push the buttons and the back of the bed (where your head is) would lift up and the foot of the bed would lower.... I would then be sitting up with my feet on the ground at the foot of the bed. Now the easy part... (NOT) stand up and walk to the bathroom. This became easier over time, but would have been a lot harder in a regular bed.

Sometime during the second or third day, we discovered that the pain medication dispenser hadn't been functioning for about 12 hours. No wonder I was in such pain!!

The food they tried to get me to eat was totally disgusting. Pureed green beans, pureed pasta with meat sauce. Even the soups tasted bad. I couldn't eat anything except a little bit of Jell-O. I did manage to drink some cranberry juice cocktail juice. I did much better with the ice chips. I loved those ice chips!!

By the fourth day... depression was starting to hit. It was then that Dr. Rabkin and I realized I hadn't started taking my Paxil again. So, I got back on that.

Time to Go Home
I left for home on the 5th day. My mom drove me home. It was a very long 2-hour drive. The traffic was horrible. The stop and go was much worse than the bumps in the road. We finally made it home. I tried to lie down in my bed but it hurt too much. So, plan B was to sleep in my son's bed. He has a hospital style bed. It worked well for me. I used his bed for about 2 weeks. He has a little couch in his room, so either he or his brother would sleep in the room with me in case I needed any help.

I was having trouble sleeping when I first got home. So I took some Benadryl. I was also taking Darvcet for pain and Pecid for heartburn. That night I had horrible nightmares, yelling out in my sleep through out the night. The next day I felt so doped up I thought I had over dosed on something. Turns out I shouldn't have mixed the Benadryl and Darvocet. I didn't do that again!!

For the first week, sleep was difficult. I would wake up hourly. Eating was also difficult. I threw up a lot. Most mornings I had cream of wheat for breakfast. I also had popcicles to help with the liquid intake. I tried different soups for lunch and dinners. I also tried an egg. But I was a bit too brave and sprinkled some cheese on it. Well, it didn't stay down. Most of what I tried that first week home didn't stay down.

On Saturday, May 1, I went back to the emergency room for IV Fluids and blood tests. I was dehydrated and my white blood cell count was up. So, I went back to all liquids. Except breakfast. I would eat either oatmeal or cream of wheat with a little bit of brown sugar. Lunch was broth and so was dinner. Gradually I added different soups, split pea and bean. And more popcicles.

I couldn't wait for week three so I could eat other foods. I am still nauseous all the time. But I am getting better about keeping the food and liquid down. I do have dry heaves daily though. My energy level is still low. I get tired very easily. The depression is still here, but I am trying to fight it. Today my goal was to answer the phone if it rings. I slept off and on until 12:30 PM. Once I got out of bed, I did answer the phone. I have so many phone calls to return, not to mention emails to respond to.

Tomorrow, a friend is going to drive me around to run some errands. I want to sign up for a decorative wood painting class to help me out of the depression. I also need to try and find some tofu cheese. Some of us who have this particular surgery are lactose intolerant. I don't know if I am or not, but I am avoiding dairy products for now. I don't need any help in the throwing up department. I do that enough on my own.

Today is the 4th week since surgery. I have lost 37 lbs. For breakfast I ate 3/4 of a slice of toast with peanut butter and jelly. Lunch was 1/2 a frozen burrito (microwaved). I had frozen yogurt and 1/2 a Popsicle in the afternoon. For dinner I had 1 ounce of chicken breast, and two fish sticks with catsup. AND... no throwing up today. The nausea was there and I really thought I was going to a couple of times... but I didn't!!

So, now I am caught up with the tale! From here on out I am going to keep a food log so you can see what I am eating. Also, I will try and write more often so you all can see what recovery is like. Not everyone goes through this the same. Some people breeze through recovery great. Other's have difficulties. You won't know which it will be for you until you're there. But, one day I will be feeling good. And not only that, but I will be feeling good with a smaller body!!

Debbie's Before, During, and After Picture Page:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Woods/4485/preop.html

Debbie's Weight Loss Surgery Journal:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Woods/4485/journal.html

My appeal letter:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Woods/4485/appeal.html

My diet history:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Woods/4485/diet.html

This is the webring I created for those of us who have WLS stories on the web.
The Faces of Weight Loss Surgery Webring Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Woods/4485/faces.html

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