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.