Surgery Update- the One Year Mark!

It’s been a year since I had my abdominoplasty/ abdominal panniculectomy.

A whole year.

Can you believe it? I most certainly cannot.

I remember so many details of my surgery day so vividly (and the following recovery days) that it is hard to believe it was a year ago.

I am still very thankful that I underwent the procedure. Even though I had completely accepted the very real possibility that the surgery could in fact alter my life and abilities I am beyond thrilled that my recovery went so well and I am living my life currently without any restrictions. The only thing that isn’t 100% (but it’s getting damn close) is my core strength. I am still a bit weak in the area where my scar line is, my lower abdomen. Other than that, it’s life as normal. Oh and I still have no real sensation on the area below my belly button but that is common and I was told it may never come back. That, however, is quite insignificant in the grand scheme of things though. So much so I almost forgot to mention it. But of course, I want to always make sure I give you full disclosure J

And on that note….guess it’s time for some pictures.

The last post-op pictures I could find were from week 6. 

This morning I took some pictures, you know since it was the year anniversary mark and whatnot I thought it would be a good idea.  *I didn't realize that I had shown my full scar in previous photos...probably would have been a good idea to have taken some photos today that showed the whole thing. Whoops! Next time!

I think I look the same. 

Well, same-ish. Close enough for me to be 100% happy with how I look. My scars have faded so much, especially the one around my belly button. My tummy does stick out a little more but it is pretty solid so I will chalk that up to muscle growth ;) Other than that, I think there is not much difference. Which is a good thing because I can literally feel pain along my scar when my weight goes up and it is not a pleasant feeling. Maybe one day that will go away. For now, I basically have a built in weight gain alarm. LOL!

So...I guess that is about it. Not much has changed, physically, since my surgery a year ago. The recovery took time but I am happy that I was able to progress somewhat easily and am here today, a year later, able to do all of the things I love to do and doing so comfortably. I no longer have to worry about sores or chafing or infections on my excess skin. I can live an active life easily. And that is a really great thing. 

This surgery has helped me both mentally and physically and for that I am grateful. Now that I am healed and am stronger and back to where I was, activity-wise, before the surgery I am so excited to see what the next year brings.

Love and hugs,

Dacia 

xoxoxoxx

Surgery Update: Weeks Three & Four...

Warning: this post contains graphic photos. If you don’t want to see surgery pics (before and after) then maybe you should skip this post. Thanks!

Well, I am four weeks post op…can you believe it? I certainly cannot! Where did the time go?

Happy Birthday to me! Banyan Brown to celebrate 36!

I meant to write up a post last week at the three week mark but I just never got around to it. I blame all the raucous birthday celebrations for distracting me. Since I missed last week I will try to catch everyone up to speed as to what has been happening in the recovery process.

Week three went well. I did not have a doctor’s appointment last week but when I saw him at my week 2 checkup (on 12/30) he told me that on January 8^th I could begin to transition from wearing the binder all day/night over to wearing a less rigid compression garment (i.e. spanx) instead. He said that at first I would probably want to wear the binder over the spanx because I may feel like I need additional support.

So, on Wednesday I wore the spanx to work and brought my binder with me just in case I needed it. It was really awkward at first. A bit uncomfortable. And I found myself walking hunched over again. On Wednesday all the ladies at work were commenting on how not good I looked so I had to explain about the transition. I made it through the entire workday wearing only the spanx but once I was home I took them off and put on the binder and that felt much better.

However, on Thursday (and every day subsequently) I wore the spanx only and felt great. On Thursday, the ladies at work all commented on how great I looked and how much better/easier I was moving around. It is crazy how quickly the body adapts to new situations. Since last Wednesday I have been following the routine of spanx at work, binder at night to sleep in and it is working out great for me. Oh, and in case I haven’t mentioned it before- the idea of wearing compression gear for months after the surgery is to help hold everything in place as the body heals so that way it heals up nice and tight not saggy and droopy because it is fighting against gravity. Doc says it will be a few months in the compression garments and I am 100% ok with that because I know it will help in the long run- even if it is weird wearing them all the time. Eh, small price to pay right?

Oh, and since I headed out to New Orleans last weekend (which is about a 3 hour car ride) I did wear the binder for the trip for some extra support. I am flying out to Nashville this Saturday and I plan on doing the same except I don’t plan on wearing it until after I get through security- kind of worried they would think I had some kind of explosives strapped to my stomach and search me.

Overall week three was great. I am feeling more like a ‘regular’ human being especially since I was able to go out and celebrate my birthday, travel, and do all of the fun things I would have done if I hadn’t had the surgery so that is a very good thing!

Week Three Pics

 

Left side is the night before surgery, right side is week 3!

Left side is one week post op, right side is three weeks pot op!

Today is the four week mark and I am pretty pumped at all the progress I have made so far. On Monday, I had a follow up appointment with the surgeon and he basically cleared me to start all activity, at my discretion. He said to ease into it and be smart about it. Like with cycling to try the stationary bike first to see how it feels, then move to riding outside but ride in a really safe/isolated area, then take it out to the streets. With running he said to slow jog and build as I feel comfortable. This of course is what I would have done anyway. I am a wimp; I will stop the first sign of pain. I am absolutely not, nor have I ever been, the ‘push through the pain’ kind of person. So, slow and easy sounded perfect to me.

Last night, for my first foray back into activity, I hit the track and it was great. I would have been 100% happy if the only thing I was able to do was walk but amazingly enough I could jog. I mean it was a slow jog. People could have easily walked past me but it was a jog nonetheless and I’ll take it. My friend E and I started off walking. After about 2 laps I was ready to see if I could jog. We did one full lap jogging then walked another one. I was hoping to just alternate laps between walking and jogging if my stamina and body could handle it. We started off on jogging lap two and it felt really good so we just kept going. We jogged another 3 or 4 laps (we kind of lost track) and only stopped because I was worried it would be too much to do more. We walked 2 more laps and called it a night. It was great. It felt amazing to move again. I was beyond floored that I was able to do so much. Afterwards I stretched and even that felt great. I thought my range would have diminished from the lack of regular activity but there I was, hands on the ground in a forward fold. That was pretty awesome. Also, was pretty stoked that I hit over 18K on the fitbit yesterday. I felt like a champion when I saw that!

Tonight I am heading to the gym. Going to test out the stationary bike and maybe some light weights and maybe a teeny tiny bit of core work. We’ll see. I’m just going to test the waters and see what feels good. I also am going to begin seeing a personal trainer soon. Lita, the trainer who ran the boot camp class I took last semester, said she would love to help me get back on track after the surgery so I will be using her to help me get there. I don’t have any expectations of what I can/cannot do; the only thing I expect is that if I listen to my body and continue to take care of myself I will be just fine.

Moving forward, over the next month until my next visit with the surgeon, I just plan on doing what I’ve been doing; resting, eating good whole foods, drinking lots of water and slowly reintroducing activity back into my life. Looking back over the past month I am surprised at how easy it was and how much I am able to do after such a short amount of time. But I should probably clarify that last statement a bit here…

No, the recovery wasn’t easy per se. But it was a hell of a lot easier than I imagined it to be. Don’t get me wrong, there were times when it sucked, it hurt, I cursed, cried, whined, and cried some more. But those times, they only accounted for like 10-20% of the time. The pain hit quickly but also subsided quickly. Putting the binder on was really difficult at first but that was like 5 minutes of my day. I was walking around from day one and once I figured out how to get up/down from the couch/bed/chairs I was able to do so on my own if necessary. For the most part I slept through the night and usually if I woke up it was because I had to pee, not because I was in pain. Less than a week post op I had both drain lines removed and was able to shower and was even able to ride in a car for an hour to spend the holidays with my Florida ‘family’. I was out drinking on NYE and spent my birthday in New Orleans. I can shower and get dressed on my own and have been doing so the whole time (with the exception of the binder when I needed to have it super tight- that was a two man ordeal); I can drive and have been cleared to do so since 12/30. I was back at work full time since 2 weeks after the operation and now am fully adjusted back into my routine and adjusted to being upright all day. I am back in my apartment; cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry. Life is pretty much exactly the way it was pre-surgery except that I wear spanx now. Which is crazy….it’s only been FOUR WEEKS!!!! I absolutely did not expect to have made so much progress so quickly and so when I say it was easy- this is what I mean.

Week Four Pics

Left side is one week post op, right side is four weeks post op!

I always try to be open and honest on this blog and share with you as many details as possible about my life and the goings on of it but if you have any questions regarding the procedure or the weight loss or anything really please let me know.

Love, hugs and happiness,

Dacia

Post Op Recovery- Two Weeks Out

It has now been two weeks since my surgery and life is slowly getting back to normal.

I returned to work today- yay! It feels good to be at my desk, sitting upright. It’s tiring and walking up multiple flights of steps (first time having to walk up steps since surgery) was not easy but I know I need to be here (even for a half day) to help me transition back to the work mindset and help my body adapt to a position other than 45 degrees, propped up by pillows, on the couch.

Thankfully I was told at my last visit with the surgeon that I can start transitioning to sleeping in a more flat position. I did not go from upright to flat yet but I am slowly working my way there. I was also told that in a week I can start sleeping on my side. Yay! I am so not a back sleeper so that was definitely a big adjustment for me. I am not sure what will be a bigger milestone for me; side sleeping or not wearing the binder anymore.

So, yes, in case you were wondering, I am still wearing the binder around my midsection. The surgeon gave me the green light to start weaning myself from the binder to spanx starting next Wednesday, January 8^th. Now that will be a great birthday present (my birthday is the 9^th) because wearing this rigid, tight, medieval torture device is getting old. It will be nice (even though I am sure it will be really uncomfortable for a while) to not have this thing digging into my sides and restricting my breathing.  Not to complain too much, but this thing sucks.

Aside from the awkward sleeping/sitting positions and the binder everything else in the recovery process has gone pretty well, definitely better (most days) than expected. Once I was home from the hospital I switched from the pain meds to Tylenol during the day and took only a half a pill of the prescribed meds at night to help me sleep. Like I said, it was a big adjustment for me to sleep upright and on my back. That was only for a few days and then I transitioned to Tylenol at night too. Based off of recommendations, I took pain medicine on Christmas Eve because I was told having the drain lines removed would hurt but I haven’t taken any since and am now going whole days without anything at all for pain, not even Tylenol. That makes me happy. My big goal was to not over medicate myself after the surgery. I was afraid that I would be too numb to feel where my thresholds were; I wanted to know if I was moving too much, too quickly, or moving the wrong ways. I did not want to do anything to impede my recovery or worse, back track. And so far, it seems to be going pretty smoothly.

Don’t get me wrong. It hasn't all been easy. There were times when sneezing/coughing/laughing brought me so much pain I just had no choice but to cry. The second or third shower I took found me so dizzy that I had to get out before I could finish. Removing, repositioning and reapplying the binder sucks. It’s much better now. Now those activities do not make me cry but there were definitely days where just going through the fastening (which is taking a strap from one side and wrapping it super freaking tightly around my entire body) of the three Velcro straps of the binder left me in tears.  I can take the binder off myself but I am not yet to the point where I can put it back on. I am not sure how I would. It takes one person, using both hands, to pull the strap from one side to the other while I use my hands to hold down the protective layer that goes under the strap. Seems like a two man job if you ask me.  For the most part I can get up/down off the bed or couch on my own but sometimes (especially if I am laying completely flat to put the binder on) I need assistance getting up.So no, not always easy but it is definitely better than I expected. 

Oh, and since I am off pain meds and the stitches are out I am also allowed to start driving again. I have not tried this yet but I am hoping to drive myself to my haircut appointment on Saturday. Side note: that was the activity (get my hair cut) I pulled yesterday from the jar of my 52 activities for 2014 from this post.

I am still restricted to how much I can lift- my surgeon said quart of milk is ok, gallon is not- and am not close to being cleared for activity yet, which is no surprise since I am only 2 weeks out.  But he did say it won’t be too long before I can start back up and should be running again in no time. He also said everything looks great, healing is going as it should, and that he is very happy with the results. So that is definitely great news. My next appointment is January 13^th and by then I should be able to drive myself around, sleep on my side in a relatively flat position and no longer feel the need to wear the binder. I am pretty excited for that appointment to see how I am progressing and see what restrictions he’ll lift then.

I know this is already a really long post, and probably far more information than you wanted to know about the recovery, but I just have to add one last thing- a big thank you to all of my friends and family who have been by my side (literally and figuratively) through this whole ordeal. I consider myself to be the luckiest person alive having so many people in my life that truly care about me/my wellbeing. I cried countless times over the past 2 weeks just thinking about how fortunate (and grateful) I am for all the wonderful people in my life. It’s a bit overwhelming (in the best possible way) at times.

I also need to thank my friend EL who has been by my side since the day of the surgery. He took time off from work to be with me every day of this recovery and has never once complained, even while I was screaming obscenities at him while he put on the binder. He made this whole recovery thing a million times easier by being super kind, compassionate, understanding, attentive and accommodating.  He also made sure I had an amazing Christmas and New Year's and was never alone for a minute of it. I am beyond grateful to have had such an amazing person by my side through all of this. Thank you, E!

And thank you, for being here too! I love you all so much!

Love and hugs,

Dacia 

This is what it looks like after every time I put the binder on post shower... we go through ALOT of gauze. I mean TONS. I should have bought this in bulk beforehand. Lol! 

Before and 'After' Surgery Pics

I think it goes without saying that the pics I am posting are a bit graphic in nature. These are some pre and post surgery pictures and some may be a bit gruesome, especially since I still have stitches and bruising. So, please, if you are the least bit squeamish I will advise you to skip today's post and come back in a week or two when I post better pictures :)

But first, here is a happy photo to start things off…

Christmas Eve… I actually was up and dressed in 'normal' clothes! 

Pre-surgery; Monday December 16th

Pre-surgery; December 17th- after the markings 

The top section has arrows pointing down, this is the skin that will be stretched down and stitched to the bottom incision line (pictured below) from hip to hip 

The thick black line represents the portion that will be removed completely. I think he called it my 'skin paddle'  

 Thick black line along the bottom is the incision line; where my external stitches are now

This is the after of losing 130 pounds…lots and lots of excess skin

Christmas Eve; six days post op

 The thing around my mid-section is my binder. I have to wear it for a couple more weeks. It sucks. It's super tight, rigid, and makes it hard for me to breath and move around. Fun, fun...

Don't ask me why I'm covering my breasts while I am wearing a bra…who knows... 

You can see the white tape over the stitches and faintly see the stitches around my belly button. This is MY belly button, not a new one. I am super happy I got to keep it :) 

I will be swollen for another 3 weeks or so but the doc says I won't really look 'normal' for another 6 months to a year…it takes a long time for this all to heal internally and externally. You can also tell that I cannot stand up straight yet. One day, hopefully soon. 

I know I am super swollen because my waist is 4 inches bigger than it was pre-surgery. I am 100% ok with that, it's to be expected. I am not even stepping on a scale for another month or so. Why bother?  

Even though I look and feel like a sausage ready to burst I cannot believe the difference!  

Side by side… doc says he removed about 3-5 pounds of skin which is a lot of skin. Skin isn't dense like fat or muscle. It takes a whole lot of skin to make up 3 pounds! I think that picture says it all!

So far the recovery has gone pretty well. I have had some rough patches but that, of course, is to be expected. There are times when I feel like it has been easier than I thought it would be and times it felt like pure hell. I know in the end, it will be worth it. Next Monday, the stitches come out and I will be sure to post more pictures. Thank you all so much for your love and support. It's been a bit overwhelming at times. Not really sure what I did to deserve such an amazing life filled with the most amazing people but I am so happy to have you all be a part of it. Hopefully I didn't gross you out too much. 

Happy Holidays my lovely friends!

Love and hugs,

Dacia 

Hello There...

Hello there! I made it through surgery and am now two days post op.

It was a little dicey there at first. After the surgery I was really out of it, which of course was to be expected, and was really nauseated, too to be expected, and of course I wasn't allowed to move so I was really antsy, anxious and uncomfortable. That first night, or at least the first 5 hours or so I was awake after the surgery were unbearable. I was in a lot of pain. Even the slightest twitch or shift sent me reeling. I was bracing myself for what would be pure hell for the next few weeks.

Then I slept. For about four hours. Until I had to get up so the nurse could remove my catheter. That was at midnight. Why midnight? Why not let me sleep peacefully through that first night? No clue.

But I was up and the catheter came out and so I tried to get up and walk to the bathroom.

But I couldn't. I was hit with nausea, then a wave of dizziness, then tunnel vision. Back to the bed I went. Again, feeling like complete shit, writhing in agony. It was brutal.

I was pretty sure the nausea and dizziness were from both the anesthesia and from not eating anything but a cookie and a popsicle over the las 26 hours. So, I laid in bed and ate an apple and drank some OJ. And by 1am I was up and making my first trip to the bathroom on my own. Big victory for team Dacia.

Then I was up again at 330a. This time I made it up to the bathroom completely unassisted because I couldn't find the call button for the nurse.

Then around 530a I ate another apple (thanks to my vegan nurse who was kind enough to share her lunch with me) and some more OJ. A trip to the bathroom plus a walk to the end of the hall and back and I was starting to feel a bit more optimistic.

My nurses and doctors told me the best thing to do was to keep moving. Not tons but to take short walks every time I get up to go to the bathroom. That sitting for extended periods of time would be hard on my body, I would get stiff and it would make it harder to move around when I did try to. Trust me, I'm not up running any marathons, I am just taking short walks, hunched over like a little old lady. I move but I move very, very slowly.

Throughout the morning I took a couple more walks while waiting to see the surgeon and was almost able to successfully navigate getting in and out of the hospital bed with a little less pain. By early afternoon I was discharged and my friend E took me home.

Yesterday was definitely better than surgery day but it was still very difficult moving around. Not just walking but trying to figure out how to get on/off the couch, on/off the bed, and trying to figure out how/where I could eat. Once I ate dinner I pretty much slept off and on for the remainder of the night. I moved from the couch to the bed (which was really not a fun transition at first) and spent the night sleeping in pretty decent chunks. I think I woke up twice to use the bathroom and on the second trip up I also took some tylenol before heading back to sleep. I woke up around 715a this morning and have been up ever since.

Not sure how or why (maybe it's because I pee so frequently which has caused me to have to be up moving around every hour or two) but today has been pretty awesome. No pain meds, just tylenol. I don't have any real pain, just discomfort from the tight ass binder wrapped around my body and of course the stitches and incisions. And I have managed to get off/on the couch, multiple times, on my own. I can sit upright (albeit hunched over) for short periods of time. I even ate lunch at the dining room table. With the exception of my compression socks, I can pretty much dress/undress myself. I know I still have residual anesthesia and pain meds in my system from Wednesday but I am pretty amazed at the progress I have made. All the nurses told me it would get easier and they were definitely right, even if it didn't feel like that was even possible when they were telling me that.

Speaking of nurses, I had the best nurses and techs in the history of all hospital care. They made my time there really pleasant. They were super caring and understanding and didn't seem to mind when I would break out into a rant of curse words when I was in pain. Between my surgeon, the surgical team and the anesthesia team, as well as all my nurses and techs in recovery and observation I never felt for a moment that I didn't make the right decision. I felt safe and comfortable and because of there positivity and optimism I felt the same. Not only did everyone repeatedly tell me how great I was going to look and how happy I would be with the results, I was constantly praised for my ability to have lost and kept off 130 pounds. That was pretty cool.

Do you know what else was pretty cool? Never feeling for a moment that I was alone in all this. My phone, which was so graciously manned by E during the procedure, never stopped buzzing. From the moment I was able to respond on my own, I was flooded with phone calls, text messages, Facebook posts, messages, tweets, you name it. Friends, family, co-workers. People checking in on me all day (and night) long. Presents and flowers. Well wishes and happy thoughts. It was a bit overwhelming. I cried, a lot. Which wasn't fun because crying (and laughing) hurts. But it was totally worth it. Nothing could ever compare with the outpouring of love I have received and you know what, it's pretty freaking amazing. And humbling. I don't really know what I ever did to deserve so much love and kindness in my life…and I hope you all know that I don't take it for granted for a moment. I know I am the luckiest girl and I am so thankful to have such wonderful people in my life. You guys are truly the best!

And I do have to say a big thank you to E for taking care of me these past few days. I know it hasn't been easy and it was probably way more than he expected. It is amazing having someone in my life to take on all of this and not complain once. And trust me, I can be quite whiney when I am in pain. I know I am not an easy person to put up with so I think he deserves a round of applause and probably some kind of medal of honor or something. That man is a saint.

I have a bunch of pictures of me pre-op but I think I will hold off on sharing until I have some post-op to share which won't be until 12/24. I will remain in these bandages and binder with these two drains until the 24th. Then my surgeon will remove the binder, the bandages, and one (if not both) of the drains. Then I will be able to shower! Yay! The binder will stay for a month though. And then after that it will be spanx for a year. I am guessing I will adjust to both although right now it seems kind of like a year of medieval torture. But in the end, it will be worth it.

So tonight I will leave you with two things:

This amazing song my friend Kelly wrote for me (actually she wrote two, maybe I will share the other one in the next post)

Today's song -- Sing to "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" 

Oh, my surgery was so frightful
But the results are so delightful
And I’ll be rockin’ an awesome bod
Head to toe! Head to toe! Head to toe!

Though it doesn’t show, I’m all stapled
But I’m far from being disabled
It’s time to get outta here
Lemme go! Lemme go! Lemme go!

I may have been slightly bitchy
‘Cuz the food was oh so icky
But I’ll be feelin’ good soon enough…
Gimme drugs! Gimme drugs! Gimme drugs!

Bridge:

When I finally leave Sacred Heart
How I’ll love to eat vegan again
So doctor please set me free
So I can get food in these veins!

Oh, the morphine has long worn off
But the itching is really tough
I could really use a change of clothes
And a bath! And a bath! And a bath!

The day is slowly breaking
And my tummy’s really aching
I'm craving quinoa and beer...
Lemme go! Lemme go! Lemme go!

And some ridiculous pictures of me before and after surgery…

It's a tiara!!!

Pretty delirious but I was still able to eat a popsicle…priorities….

I'm awake??? Who took this picture anyway??? Seems kind of mean… ;)

Sitting at the table…almost back to normal, just two days post-op

Thanks again for being here with me…every step of the way. 

So for tonight I say…

thank you

i love you

you rock!

Love and hugs,

    Always,

          Dacia 

Surgery Update

Warning: my brain is so scattered right now so I am guessing this post will be, too.

I am just under 48 hours out from my surgery and I am getting pretty anxious, to say the least. I feel like I still have a lot to do beforehand (cooking, cleaning, laundry, packing, Christmas things) and very little time to do it all in. I know it will all get done because I am neurotic like that and will sacrifice sleep (and a bit of my sanity) in order to focus on my to-do list.

Trust me, I know there are a lot of things I could not do beforehand in order to make these last couple of days a bit more relaxing but that’s just not me. I would rather be a bit crazy for two or three days in order to be able to focus solely on my recovery for the following two weeks.

I know I could buy a lot of packaged/processed convenience foods and live off of those for the week or two I am not able to cook for myself but I really don’t want to. I am undergoing something that will be a pretty big impact on my body. My body will be working hard to fight off infections, to repair itself, to heal, and I need to be giving it the best and most nutrient dense foods I can in order to help it along in the process. I honestly believe that what I choose to eat (coupled with following doctor’s orders regarding movement and rest) will help make my recovery easier and faster. This means cooking/freezing a couple weeks’ worth of lunches and dinners ahead of time. That was my focus last night and will be today and tomorrow after work.

Another thing I wanted to do prior to the surgery was to finish Christmas shopping, wrap all my Christmas gifts and write out (and mail, if needed) all my Christmas cards. I know this is not a necessity. I am pretty sure that anyone in my life whom to which I would give a present or a card to would be 100% ok with not getting either given the circumstances. I know gifts/cards are not expected from me. However, I love Christmas. I love being able to express my feelings of love and gratitude to those around me and I didn’t want this surgery to stand in the way of that. Sadly, last night I ran out of Christmas cards and was a bit bummed because I didn’t get through everyone on my list. Thankfully my friend, the one who is taking care of me over the next two weeks, volunteered to write Christmas cards for me if I were to buy more. So…if you receive a card from me but it is in someone else’s handwriting you’ll know why.

Today will be a pretty busy day. Work, quick stop (is there such a thing?) at Target during my lunch break, work, pick up prescriptions, cook, package up prepared food, clean, laundry and packing. Oh and Christmas cards (I plan on buying more at Target) if I have the time.

Tomorrow is almost as busy; work, lunchtime appointment at the surgeon’s office for my markings, work, visit with the pups (since it will be awhile before I am able to see them again), then home to finish packing, packaging up all the rest of the meals I made ahead of time, and final bit of cleaning. I won’t be staying in my apartment for a few weeks so I want to make sure all the trash is taken out, the apartment is clean, and everything I will need to have with me is packed.

Wednesday will be; up at 430a, 6am arrival at the hospital, 9am surgery, then recovery with a 23 hour watch which means I may or may not spend the night in the hospital. That’s for the doctors/nurses to determine after. The surgery should take approximately four hours. So sometime early to mid-afternoon (don’t forget, I am on central time) I should be out and in the recovery room resting. My friend will have my cellphone. I put him in charge of three things; social media (Facebook updates plus responses to any tweets, messages, etc.), text messages and phone calls. So, if you want to check in on me at any time Wednesday or throughout the week please use one of those three methods. At some point I will try to blog and let you all know I am ok and how things are going but I make no promises as to when that will be. It will be as soon as I can string together some words in a coherent manner.

I guess that is about it for now. I don’t plan on writing anything tomorrow so until the next time…

Love and hugs and many holiday wishes-

Dacia

Just Some News...

I am less than a month out from my surgery date and I am both excited and nervous. Wow!  Actually, it’s 4 weeks out as of today. Crazy!

I was talking to my friend Jess the other day and she made me realize that I don’t think I posted anything on the blog once I had a surgery date set.

Actually, what had happened was I got a surgery date (probably about month or so ago) but I was not 100% sure whether or not I would have the surgery because of the divorce. You know, the whole ‘I-may-not-have-insurance’ thing was kind of the big deciding factor. I should mention that I added health insurance coverage through my work but it won’t go into effect until January 1^st so if Paul and I were to be divorced prior to my surgery date I would be uninsured.

But then last week we got our court date.

January 16^th.

One week after my 36^th birthday.

6 days after what will be our ninth and final wedding anniversary.

Kind of surreal, and it’s less than two months away.

I just need to take a minute to think about that…because it is a big deal. I know it is the right thing for me (and Paul) but a huge, epic chapter of my life is about to come to a close. I have to acknowledge that.

And I have.

And I will continue to recognize this.

But I am ready to start the next chapter of my life.

And as thankful as I am for all of the chapters that have come before, and all of the characters they involved, I am equally thankful, and excited, for those that have yet to be written…

Right now the future seems filled with possibilities (that’s my optimistic way of saying filled with unknown circumstances- lol) and that makes me happy. Excited and happy.

And of course a bit scared…but just a little bit. A manageable amount… J

Anywho….back to the surgery topic…

Since our divorce finalization is a month after my surgery date I will still able to go through with the procedure.

And hopefully between my current insurance and my new insurance all of my nine million follow-up appointments will be covered too.

And thankfully my boss is super awesome and has been very understanding in regards to the ridiculous number of doctors’ appointments I have had these past few months and will have before and after the surgery.

The only downside of this whole thing, and it is really not that big of a deal, is that I will be spending Christmas completely alone. Some days, the idea of being alone (again) through the holiday makes me sad. On the upside, it will only be a week post-surgery- I will probably be too out of it to care. That’s what I am hoping will happen, at least. No one wants to be sad and alone and somewhat immobile on Christmas....

In other news…

On Monday I went to the county tax collector’s office (or what I continually refer to as the DMV) and got my Florida driver’s license, registered my car and re-titled it in Florida. I feel quite official. Can I call myself a Floridian now? And I am pretty excited to finally have a driver’s license photo that actually looks like me. I mean, the picture sucks (of course), but at least you know it’s me when looking at it.

My fitbit officially died last week. Thankfully the company is sending me a whole new replacement unit. I can’t wait until it gets here, I feel so strange not wearing it, but honestly I have had so many issues with it lately that even though I would wear it daily my actual log hasn’t been accurate in quite some time. Hopefully this new unit does the trick and hopefully it will last longer than the not even 3 months I had the first one for.

Oh, do you remember me talking about that project I had due on the 10^th? I feel like I mentioned that I had the dates wrong and thought it was due in December. Well that paper/project ended up being 35 pages long and it got me an A! BOOM! Yeah, not really sure how I pulled that one off but I was pretty excited when I found out my grade this past Monday. Totally set the tone for the whole week J

Also, speaking of classes- I cannot believe this semester is almost over. I really just cannot believe it. I just registered for the spring semester this week and am really looking forward to having a few weeks off in between. Don’t get me wrong; I love being a full time grad student and I love being a full time employee but there are definitely times when doing both simultaneously gets to be a bit much. Luckily, I have been able to manage so far. I think this is the easy part though…it’s really my dissertation I am concerned about. But I will cross that bridge when I get to it. For now, I will happily continue on doing both.

I am happy to report my first weekend living downtown was pretty freaking awesome. I have some pictures I took at all of the events I attended and I am hoping to get them up in this week’s Wordless Wednesday post later today…yes, people, I am trying to get two posts up today. Shocking, I know. I just wanted to mention here how awesome it was being able to walk everywhere I went all weekend long. It was fantastic. It was nice walking to all my favorite spots and taking some time to explore and find some new places. It was great. This weekend will be a mix of downtown activities (Christmas fair, beers/dinners/brunch out, farmers market, a 5K walk) mixed with time being in town- I plan on going to see Catching Fire this weekend. I am pretty excited- it should be a nice, low-key weekend.

Hmmm…other than all that stuff I am not really sure there is much new to report. Just life, as normal; eat all the vegan food, drink all the craft beer, work, work, work, school, school, school, boot camp, run, bike, laugh, sing,  and as always be  a tad bit (ok, a whole lot of) ridiculous.

Hope all is well with you!

Love and hugs!

Dacia (and Ruby)

 

Such a serious face for such a goofy puppy...

Surgery Part 3: Well Now I Know...

Today has been a pretty great day. 

You know, just one of those days where everything just seems to fall into place. The stars align and whatnot.

It certainly doesn’t hurt that right now I am enjoying perfect Florida fall weather- high of 70, super sunny, cloudless sky…it’s amazing.

This gorgeous weather made for the perfect backdrop when I had to run outside of my office to take a call from the plastic surgeon’s office…

Yes, folks. Today I found out that insurance is covering my surgery. Huzzah!!!

And we were even able to set the surgery date. December 18^th! Less than two months away.

Holy crap!

Yep, it’s happening. In two months from now I will be a week post-op and hopefully recovering nicely.

I am so lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life who are willing (even volunteered without being asked!) to help me out during the recovery time. I am truly blessed.

And I promise to never take that for granted.

Thank you all so much for your continued support and for being here with me through this part of my journey. It’s not going to be easy but I know it will be worth it.

Surgery Part 2: I Still Don't Have an Answer

I still don’t have an update as to whether or not my insurance company will approve the request from the surgeon to cover the panniculectomy. I actually called today and the surgeon’s office is waiting on a letter to send off and so their request probably won’t even make it to my insurance until Monday or Tuesday. Eh, it’s ok. I was planning on it taking closer to 6 weeks to hear back so I am not too concerned…yet.

In the meantime, as I patiently sit here and twiddle my thumbs, I thought I should start documenting some before photos. My own before photos- the surgeon has plenty of me already- so I have record for comparison purposes, you know?

Side note: one of my biggest regrets is not having really documented the beginning of my weight loss very well. I don’t have any pics from 02/2011 (the furthest one back I have is from a few months later) nor did I take any measurements. Lesson learned. In the grand scheme of things this is quite inconsequential.

After the last post about the surgery (you can read it here) I received so much wonderful feedback. What can I say, you guys are awesome. And that made me incredibly happy.

And I have been told many times from friends and loved ones that I don’t need the surgery- and that is true…to an extent.

There is a clear medical need for this procedure which is why my current and previous primary care docs have been pushing for it.

I tell you that it is bad, the chaffing, the sores, but you don’t see that (you know, since I tend to wear clothes while out in public) so it’s hard to understand.

So today I decided I would share with you some of what will probably become ‘before’ pics so you can get a better idea what I am dealing with.

Full disclosure- if you don’t want to see what someone who has lost nearly 130 pounds looks like practically nude I would close your browser now.

And please understand that it is hard for me to post something like this. It makes me vulnerable. Most people (99.9%) have never seen this part of my weight loss. But I wanted to share. Because it is a part of me. Just like all the other random shit I write about. I hope you understand.

 

 

Happy Friday wonderful people! <3

Surgery: Part 1

Hi everyone! I just wanted to give you a quick update from today’s consultation with the plastic surgeon. So here is goes…

After a two hour appointment consisting of a million questions (I was armed and ready with a pretty long list), an evaluation (with me in my skivvies), and a photograph session (still in my skivvies...) my plastic surgeon is compiling a request for approval from my insurance company for my surgery. Even though the insurance company may cover the procedure (yes, there is still a possibility my insurance might not cover this) they need evidence in order to make a decision. The surgeon will submit a letter from his office and one from my primary care doctor explaining the medical need for the procedure along with the photos taken today. The downside of this is that the approval for the procedure is at the discretion of the insurance agent reviewing it and even though I meet all the criteria (most important one being that my skin hangs into my pubic region- yes, one day I will share pictures in case you are curious as to what that looks like) my insurance can still deny the claim. Even though I am healthy, have maintained this weight loss for almost 2 years, I am active, and take care of myself AND I have a legitimate need for this procedure- they can still say no. So that kind of sucks BUT I am staying optimistic. It will all work out as it should. Oh, and in case you are wondering it will take anywhere from two to six weeks to hear back from the insurance company. Ugh! More waiting.

Now as far as the procedure itself goes, I learned today that most insurance companies cover only what is called an abdominal panniculectomy which is for the area below the belly button.  This is covered because there are medical issues (chafing, open sores, trouble urinating, even yeast infections) associated with having skin that hangs over the pubic region. The area above the belly button is considered cosmetic only and therefore not covered by most insurance companies. An abdominoplasty covers both regions.  Both the panniculectomy and the abdominoplasty are made from the same incision and I can, in fact, have the panniculectomy (if approved) and the top half/abdominoplasty done at the same time. I would just have to pay out of pocket for the top part- which we got a quote for. Not cheap but doable. Pretty much what I thought it would cost.

My surgeon really emphasized the fact that if I have the lower half done but not the top half I will be really unhappy with how I look. And I agree. Especially after he showed me basically how much will be removed from my lower area, you know by pinching and pulling and poking. I also asked about lipo, a question a friend who underwent these types of procedures told me to ask, to which I was told that I don’t have anything to lipo out. That pretty much everything I see is just excess skin and when it is all removed and the underlying fascia is tightened I will see how very little fat I have in the area. That was crazy to hear but  he told me to think about the fact that I lost a whole person’s worth of weight and how I shouldn’t  be surprised that it left me with a whole person’s worth of extra skin.

I also asked about the timing of this all. As I mentioned previously about wanting to do this around Christmas since it would coincide with the university being closed. The surgeons there work through the holiday season, for the most part, and I was assured that even if it takes 6 weeks to hear back from the insurance company I would still be able to schedule it around the holiday. So that is really great news for me. Once we hear back from the insurance company I will be able to schedule the surgery that same day and the surgeon’s assistant told me she would do everything possible to get me in on or as close to the date I wanted. Yay!

I will definitely do another post where I write up all the questions, answers and discussion points from today’s appointment but for now I just wanted to get something out there so you all know what is going on. I will tell you this that the doctor told me (and Paul, who surprised me at the appointment) that I was a perfect candidate for the procedure and when asked what I needed to be doing to prepare for it, so I can have a successful outcome, he told me to just keep doing what I’m doing.

Please feel free to ask me any questions you want about this. I know that this surgery is pretty off topic for this blog but it is kind of a big deal and will be a big part of my life for a while- especially when I am immobile and there will be no running or riding. Lol!