Last visit with the surgeon, and some other musings

    So today I had the last appointment with my surgeon before my surgery. Up until this point it hadn't really hit me that I was having surgery in about a month. Then I walked in to the doctor's office and was given a consent form to sign.... That's when it happened. That's when the reality set in. All of a sudden my heart started to race and all of these thoughts came rushing into my head. Along with the thoughts came more questions that I wrote down to ask the doctor.

     The nurse takes me back and does my vitals, then we sit there and wait for the doctor to come see me. My husband was in the room with me. We came up with more questions to ask the doctor. He put my mind at ease with some things. He had me sign more consents and told me I should only be in the hospital over night and that I should do great. 

    My husband and I went out to dinner after the doctor's visit. We were talking about our goals and such. I mentioned that one of my goals is to fit into a size 16 again. Currently I  am at a size 26. He said "Hey why don't we go buy you a pair of size 16 pants and a size 16 shirt for you to wear once you get to that size?" I was like yea right, I don't think I will ever get to that size but hey  what could it hurt. So we found a cute pair of jeans and my husband picked out a top and they were both on clearance. Here is what they look like:

 I really like the top. It's super cute. The jeans look so tiny. I have been big since about 2002 so it's weird to see something so tiny and to think I will be in that size someday. The last time I was in a size 16 I was in high school. Here is one of my current favorite outfits at a size 26 pants and 3x top:

So there ya have it. I hope to lose at least 10 sizes in clothes. I'm not going to put a time limit on myself. I am just going to say that at some point I want to be the size 16 again.

On another note here are the questions we asked the surgeon today and his responses. Our questions are in yellow and his responses are in blue:

Do you take the gallbladder out when you do surgery or do you wait until there is a problem to take it out? We generally only take them out at the time of surgery if there is a problem, otherwise we wait until there is a problem. Your gallbladder looks fine so we won't be taking it out. 

How soon after waking up from surgery do they have you up and walking? Are you allowed to rest a little before walking? Well they get you up to your room and get you settled in then they have you start to get up and walk. They want you to walk at least 7 times a day.

What's the difference or preference between laparascopic and robot assisted? I tend to use the robot on people who have a higher bmi because using the laparoscope tends to be hard on the hands if you have to constantly hold up the tools against the fat from the belly. I like to use the laparoscopic way the most though because I can feel the body against the tools but with the robot you can't.

How long will the drain be in?  I don't use a drain unless something goes wrong or unless this is a second procedure to another procedure and you need to drain something out of the abdominal area.

How common are strictures?  About 4 to 8% of people get strictures.

Is the pain after surgery like a pulled muscle pain or is it like something else?  Most certainly it will feel like a pulled muscle because we have cut in to the muscle and fat to get to the stomach.   

How soon after can we take a shower?  You can take a shower the same day after surgery. No restrictions with that.

Do you have to wash with a certain soap or antibacterial wipes before surgery?  Yes there are some antibacterial wipes that the nurse will give you before you leave today. Follow the instructions on them.

Do they give you anything to relax you before the surgery?  The anesthesiologist will come in and talk to you once you are in the pre-op area. He will give you something to help calm your nerves. You can talk to him at that time about it.

Do we get to have our own room up on the floor in the hospital?  Generally speaking yes you do get your own room, but we can't guarantee that. 

How does your stomach react to the flu after you have had the surgery?  Obviously vomiting is a lot harder and hurts more because you have such a small stomach. 

So there ya have it folks. Some of the questions we asked the surgeon. Sorry this is a long post, I just have a lot to say today! I have 13 days until I have to start my liquid diet and then 14 days after that is my surgery!!!!! I am excited, nervous and emotional all rolled in to one.  

 

Cauliflower

I have been craving cauliflower and cheese sauce lately. So I started researching different recipes you can do with cauliflower. Here are some that look YUMMY!

Cheesy Cauliflower Patties
1 head cauliflower
2 large eggs
1/2 c cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 c panko
1/2 t cayenne pepper (more of less to taste)
salt
olive oil

Cut cauliflower into florets & cook in boiling water until tender about 10 minutes. Drain. Mash the cauliflower while still warm. Stir cheese, eggs, panko, cayenne & salt to taste.

Coat the bottom of a griddle or skillet with olive oil over medium-high heat. Form the cauliflower mixture into patties about 3 inches across. Cook until golden brown & set, about 3 minutes per side. Keep each batch warm in the oven while you cook the rest.

Crunchy Cauliflower Bites


1/2 Head of Cauliflower Florets
2 Cups Gluten Free Bread Crumbs
1 tsp Taco Seasoning ( or your favorite blend )
2 Eggs – Beaten
1 Tsp Mustard
oil spray
1 Tbs Creamed Horseradish
Freshly Ground Sea Salt and Black Pepper

 Cauliflower and Carrot Puree
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 tbsp butter or ghee
1/2 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
1-2 carrots (depending on how sweet you want it), peeled & roughly chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Additional butter or ghee for serving

Directions
1. In a large stock pot, melt the butter or ghee over medium high heat. Add all remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
2. Bring the broth to a boil and reduce heat to medium low to simmer. Cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until veggies are soft. Remove from heat.
3. Using an immersion blender, blend veggies and broth until all is combined and pureed. If you don't have an immersion blender, pour cooked ingredients into a blender in batches until all is pureed.
4. Serve hot with a little more butter or ghee on top. Enjoy!

Mashed Caulfilower

Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower or 1 bag of chopped and washed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper
• chives

Instructions

1. If using a head of cauliflower chop and wash.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add cauliflower and cook about 10 minutes, until tender.
3. Save about ¼ cup of cooking liquid and drain remaining water.
4. Return cauliflower to pot and mash with potato masher. Add oil. Add cooking liquid 1 tablespoon at a time.
5. Season with salt, pepper, and chives.

49 Days and Counting...

So today I talked with my RN with my insurance company. She had to do a health assessment. Not sure why, other than to waste my time, but hey whatever gets them to clear me for surgery, although I am already cleared and have a surgery date.

She did talk about something interesting though. She talked about advance directives. I had never thought of it because I had never had major surgery and I had the thought of I am young why would I need one. But this is major surgery and there is a slight chance I could die. Does my family know what I want when I die? I mean, we always talk about what my mom and dad want in their last days and when they die, but we never talk about what I want in my last days or when I die.

So I set out to make my advance directives. I had to have two people who are not related to me, and who would not benefit from my death, be witnesses to my filling out of the advance directives. I decided that I don't want to be on life support if it is deemed that I won't have a return of a good quality of life. I also decided that if I am a match I want my liver donated to my mom. She is on a liver transplant list at the University of Washington.

Last but not least, I have 49 days until my surgery. I found out today that I will be the first case of the day. I have to report in at 5:15 am. That's really early, but I am glad I am the first one.

And the date is.........

Well as it turns out we didn't get the dates we wanted. The surgery scheduler didn't tell us what we needed to do all up front so we were a little behind in what we needed to do. Now the insurance has approved it and we have our dates set. I am actually going first because it works out better that way with our schedules.

My date is June 27th and Charlie's is July 10. I have requested 2 weeks off work. I am hoping it will be enough.