So, they had me undress from the waist up (can't see my chest or esophagus very well with an underwire bra on), and put on a hospital gown. Then they had me come into the imaging room, where the imaging table was literally standing on one end... Yup. I didn't know they could do that either. They had me toss back what I can best describe as lemon-lime pop rocks, and chase it with a few tblsps. water. They forewarned me that it would make me feel like I wanted to burp, but that I wasn't allowed to. They needed my stomach to be inflated to see if I have any ulcers. Then, they made me drink about 8 oz. barium. Now, people told me that barium tastes nasty. Honestly, to me, it didn't taste like anything. It was just a thick, chalky liquid. As I was swallowing, they were taking images, watching my esophagus, and making sure everything was working ok. This makes sense, since I'm going to have a tube shoved down my throat during surgery.
After they got enough pictures of my esophagus, they tilted the table back... while I was still on it! Weirdest thing. Once they had me in a reclining position, they had me do a whole bunch of rolling around, changing position, ect. to make sure they got my stomach from every angle possible. At one point they had me drink what they called "Thin." I assume it's to thin out the coating of barium so that they could get some different angles. A few more pictures/positions, and I was done. Easy peasy.
So... now what? Well, now we wait. I called the surgery scheduler as I was walking out of the hospital yesterday, and left her a voice mail telling her that I was done with my radiology testing. According to her voice mail message, it can take up to 10 days now for them to call me back with a surgery date. Honestly, I don't really care if it takes the full 10 days. They're scheduling right now for the middle of October. I'm looking the week of Thanksgiving (if my surgeon even does surgery that week), and if not then, the first week of December. So, I'll probably get my pick of dates. LOL. Good news is that within the next two weeks, I'll have my surgery date. When I get the call for my surgery date, I'll also get my date of my four hour class. Yes, there's a four hour class. This is the class where they'll go over everything with surgery, and what to expect when I get home, and they'll give me the "bariatric bible" which is a binder my program hands out with lots and lots of useful information about my new life. Apparently, they go over it page by page.
Then the planning really starts. What do I mean by that? Well, the husband and I have started talking about things a bit- who will drive me to the hospital, will he be there with me, will he stay the night with me, what's the plan for when I get home, ect. We know that he's taking the first week off with me, and I'm only planning on taking a week off work. But while we're at home, our daughter will still be going to the babysitter, just because if she's home, she'll want to have me pick her up, hold her, she'll want to crawl all over me like normal, and with me just having had abdominal surgery, that's not the best idea. :( Honestly, it's going to break my heart. She'll stand there, with her arms out stretched, scrunching her fingers in her sign for up, and I won't be able to pick her up. But, I'm doing this for the long run. So, two weeks of me not being able to pick her up is going to be nothing compared to what we'll gain. :)
So, as I said. Now I wait. I'll update you when I can.
On another topic, I get lots of people asking about the diet that I'm on. They see my progress, and want to know what I'm doing to get to where I am. 67# is no small feat. So, I tell them what I'm doing. But before I do that, I warn them to talk to their doctor. Major changes to one's body are a big no-no without medical help. This diet can royally screw with your body. So, I beg of anyone who is starting a major diet, or lifestyle change to please, please, please talk to your doctor. My weight loss has been dramatic, yes, but it's medically supervised, and I'm doing it in a healthy way. Please do the same for yourself. :)
~♥~
Lady D
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