1st round of testing...

First round of testing went smoothly so far. I’ve had some blood drawn, an EKG, and blood pressure and gases. Labs came back all good. Also had to pee in a cup. I’ve been parking in the wrong garage every damn time I’ve been over here! It took 20 minutes to get to the place I needed to go for admission just walking over pedway after pedway.

They had a Q & A for several of the gastric bypass patients. Nurse, dietician, and shrink. I got answers to several question. After one week, I can drive a car. Even Judy. The surgery will last 2 - 21/2 hrs, but I will be back longer for pre-op, and recovery. I will be assigned a private room, because that's all they have. Insurance will not pay, so I will have to call Norton's when I get the bill, and dispute it to have it removed. I can take steps one at a time but no more than twice per day. I need to be up moving and walking every hour to prevent clots. I will be able to take meds and vitamins one at a time without crushing them. Ten to 14 days after I go home,

I will get my stitches out(on my first day home, I should call the doctor's office to schedule this). I can shower, but cannot submerge the wound until it is all healed. It is ok to sleep upright if I want. Full liquid/clear liquid diet for the first two weeks. 64 oz. of water per day minimum. 60 grams of protein per day minimum. Protein supplement daily if needed while on full/clear diet. Two more weeks of soft foods after that. Avoid sugar which will cause the dumping syndrome and only eat 3 times per day. One multi-vitamin w/zinc per day, or 2 kids chewables. B-12 daily sublingual(under the tongue) or monthly shots. 4 tums per day for calcium, but never with vitamins. The majority of my weight loss will occur within the first year.

There was also this woman there who was as big or bigger than me...she had the bypass just 18 days before!!! She looked to be getting around and surviving fine! That was very inspiring!

Also, my friend with the back problem is feeling much better today and that is a major relief. I was worried quite a bit about her because she's such a good friend, and because I’ve had enough back pain to know how it feels.

The kids and I checked out 3 daycares today. We agreed on which one was the best. I’m going to switch them over soon. The last one was definitely out...they tried to give me someone else's kid when I came in!