Vanishing Velez

On March 26, 2024 I had my endoscopy. This was one of the last things that I needed in order to get approval for my weight lost surgery.

An endoscopy is technically a procedure that uses an endoscope to look inside of the body. An endoscope is a tool that uses a light and camera, and sometimes another tool for viewing and occasionally biopsy. I had what they call an “Upper Endoscopy”. This is an endoscopy of my esophagus, stomach, and the beginning of my intestine. A lower endoscopy is more regularly known as a colonoscopy.

Before the Endoscopy

The process to schedule my endoscopy was quite easy. After my last nutrition appointment, Kaitlyn put in the referral for the endoscopy. The next Monday, I received a call from the scheduling team. They informed me that Dr. Shetty only does endoscopies on Tuesdays, and then they gave me a date. Since I wanted to get this done as soon as possible, I agreed. They told me that they did not have an arrival time yet, and that I would get a call the day before to let me know what time.

On the Friday before my surgery, I received a call from the hospital. During this phone call they asked me if I had somebody to drop me off and pick me up. They confirmed that I did not drink, smoke, or do drugs of any kind. They then confirmed all of my medications that I was taking, and informed me that my Metformin could not be in my system for 24 hours before surgery. They also informed me that I would not be allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight. Lastly, they told me that the location of my endoscopy had been moved from Naugatuck to the hospital in Waterbury. When I asked if they had a time yet, they told me no, and that I would get a call the day before.

On Monday, I was a bit on edge since I had not received a call and it was already past noon. I did eventually receive a call stating that I needed to be at the hospital by 11:15am and reminding me that I needed someone to drive me and no food or water after midnight. I confirmed that my surgery was indeed at St. Mary’s hospital, and not in Naugatuck, and that was it.

The Endoscopy

Since I know that I get extremely dehydrated, I made sure to drink water right up until midnight. It didn’t help that I was still dealing with my cough, and water would have been very helpful.

The next morning, I woke up and did my normal routine, minus eating breakfast. Albert and I dropped the baby off at school, and then we went home and I continued to rest for a little bit. Around 10:30 we left for the hospital with the expectation that it would take us a half hour. It took longer than that due to the traffic lights, but no big deal. I arrived at the hospital and signed in. From there, the receptionist asked to see my drivers license and insurance card, and had me fill out a form that mostly just confirmed my information and gave them the name of my husband who was bringing me home.

I waited in the lobby for approximately 10 minutes before they called me back into the prep area. I had to completely strip and put on a hospital gown. I was asked to remove my jewelry and put it in a plastic bag. I also had to take a urine pregnancy test (standard with anesthesia). The nurse asked me a whole bunch of questions-what are you here for?, have you had one before?, have you had anything to eat or drink?, what medications do you take and when is the last time you took them? They also placed an IV which gave me saline, but would also give me the Propofol. Then I had to sign a bunch of documents-mostly consent forms.

Then the anesthesiologist came in to talk to me. His name was Dr. Bueno, which made me really happy. I made the joke that his name better not let me down. He told me that he had to ask me a bunch of questions that he already knew the answer to, but had to hear me answer. These were mostly what are you here for? Have you had anesthesia before? Have you ever had a bad reaction to anesthesia? Do you know how this procedure works?

I did tell him that this procedure was scarier to me than the surgery would be, simply because I had heard that you’re not 100% asleep when they start the procedure. He assured me that that was not the case, and that I would be 100% asleep. That made me feel much better.

Then, Dr. Shetty came in and went over everything really quickly with me. From there, they brought me into the operating room. I made some jokes with the nurses while they put leads on me. They put a plastic piece in my mouth with a hole in the middle that is designed to make sure that my mouth stays open, and helps guide the endoscope. I was asked to roll over onto my left side, and they stabilized me with pillows. Then they started pushing the Propofol. I felt it in my hand first and then quickly felt it in my head. It is absolutely not worth fighting it, and went to sleep. I woke up what seemed like 10 seconds later being wheeled into recovery.

Post Endoscopy

When I got into the recovery room, the first thing I did was ask for Albert to be brought back. Then, I asked if I could eat anything because I was starving. They say that when you wake up it feels like you woke up from a fantastic sleep. I did not feel that at all. I felt tired and groggy. I had a headache and was generally irritable. They brought me toast with butter and water. I had options for toast and asked for cinnamon raisin since I hadn’t had that in forever. I also had the option for soda or juice, but I chose water. I did have a sore on my lip when I woke up. I do not know exactly what caused it, but I’m assuming it was from that plastic piece. I slowly ate my toast, and then they took my IV out and let me get dressed. Once I was dressed, they gave me my discharge instructions. Basically don’t drive, don’t operate heavy machinery, don’t make important decisions. I signed some paperwork and was sent home.

All in all, I was in the hospital for something like 1.5 hours and that’s it. It was really not that bad. The rest of the day Tuesday and then most of the day Wednesday I had a very sore throat (which makes sense because they stick a tube down there), and my lip was swollen (which also makes sense). In 2 days I received my biopsy results, which came back normal. A few days after, I got a call saying that I need my medical clearance before I can get insurance approval, so that’s my last step before scheduling surgery!

Assuming all goes well, 85 days and counting.