My 5 month update, with pictures.

Hello everyone,
I know my 5 month update was spoused to be a couple days ago, but I got busy with school testing and such. Good news with that is we got my results and I got super high scores on the state wide testing  and all my school work papers have all been 99's, 98's and 85's. So my teacher told me that I just need to finish up my classes and I can for sure graduate and get my diploma. So that is really awesome.

I also just got done with physiology and health and to my surprise it was actually pretty easy for me, and I'm sure its because of all the research I did when I was learning about the DS! lol it was awesome. It had a lot of questions about the digestive system, health insurance, blood, bones, organs, and so on. It was pretty easy for me. I also just finished up my psychology class as well. Now I am working on business and consumer math, its teaching me how to budget and keep a check book, pay bills, and how to buy a car and so on. So I think that will be really useful for when I go out on my own.

My weight loss has been going pretty good, I don't ever really weigh myself because I don't have a scale and so I just get weighed whenever I go to see my PCP. I haven't seen him in a while and the last time I did see him I weighed in at 447, so I plan on going to see him tomorrow or the next day to get my blood work done. I also had to speak to a nutritionist which wasn't much fun, she got so confused about the DS and she even said that it sounded "insane" to her? so I just told her that if shes going to be my nutritionist she should research the DS for herself and try and understand. lol. I even told my PCP to give her a copy of the packet I had given him when I first ever brought up the idea of the DS to him.

I have been dealing with this "emotional roll coaster" which I am sure is related to weight loss and hormones and all that jazz but so far its ok. I understand and its good to know that I'm not going crazy lol! Thats also a way for me to tell that I am losing weight lol. When my emotions start going crazy I just remind myself that its just part of the deal so I don't really mind.

I take all my vitamins and I drink all my water, and some days I can eat a lot and then the next day I cant eat much, Ive gotten use to that. lol. I drink my protein shakes at least 2 a day and sometimes 3. I mix  mine with half and half, what is weird is before surgery I was lactose intolerant and I really couldn't handle milk. But for some reason now it doesn't even bother me.....I know that we usually become lactose intolerant after surgery but is it possible that it went away for me after surgery?

I use the Jay Robb egg white protein shakes, I really can't handle any other, mostly because of the tastes  but the Jay Robb ones taste good to me! No after taste! 

Some wow's:
-I fit a lot more cloths now and I am really enjoying how my body is starting to look, even though it is kinda deflated in some places I really don't mind. And clothes are fitting way better! I think its awesome to watch my body change over these months.

-I can walk for so much longer now! Its amazing. It just blows my mind.

-I can play with my sisters a lot more now! Lol my younger sister likes to play fight with me (we don't hurt one another but we laugh soooo much!) its really nice to be able to do things with them.

-My mom got a gym membership and were gonna start going swimming and walking and things like that For once ever I'm excited to exercise!

-My sister says "you have a neck now!!!!" Lol!! and its true I do! Its awesome, and my mom even bought me a really pretty little necklace and I didn't even have to buy a chain extender!!! How awesome is that??! AND she bought a beautiful little beaded bracelet that a lady was selling for $5! they are insanely beautiful and I think they are worth way more the $5!! but anyway my mom bought me one and IT FIT!!! it was a small little thing and I thought that I could just give it to my mom if it didn't fit but I tried it on and it fit! 

-My hair is growing! Its awesome, I don't know why its finally growing now, because even before surgery it seemed like my hair just stopped growing. I was use to it growing like crazy really really fast, but then it just stopped. And after surgery it started to fall out like crazy and so I started taking biotin and I up'd my protein and the hair-loss slowed. It's still falling out but not as much as before, but now its also growing so much longer!!! I'm loving it.



Some not so great things are:
I have some pain around my scar, for a while the whole area around my scar had gone numb and it was good! because then I could sleep anyway I wanted. But now the feeling has returned to the area around my scar and its kinda painful. It almost feels like I've pulled a bunch of muscles under and around my scar. And when I sleep I can't sleep on my stomach because its uncomfortable.

Another thing is I am getting some unusual rashes on random places, I got a rash on my stomach and a rash on my chest. These rashes are dark in color, not red and they are really itchy......I don't know what they are but I will be asking my PCP. I have no idea if they are wls related but I've never had them before. And when they go away they leave a ugly scar :/

Other, a little story. Like the 2nd part of my "lunch with aunt" post I made before surgery a while back.
Some of you will remember a while ago before I had surgery I had went to lunch with my aunt and my mother. My aunt was telling me about a diet she was on where she injected herself with some crap and ate SUPER tiny portions of food and so on, and she claimed that it "burned away the 3rd layer of fat for good" and she was REALLY trying to make me not get surgery and just pay $1,000 for that diet thing. I had came on here and asked if anyone knew about this "diet" and we found out that what she was injecting was a steroid and that it was dangerous. And that her calorie intake was dangerously low.

Any-who, so we told her and she ignored us and continued on that "diet" she lost like 20 pounds and now she swears by it. She randomly stopped by last night (she hasn't seen me since 2 weeks before surgery, when I was at my biggest) and when she came in to visit she looked me up and down and said "Have you even lost any weight??" I was a little taken back and said "Yes I've lost 88 pounds...." and she said "Hm *dramatic rude eyeroll*" 

  then she continued to tell me about the "Great" diet and that I "need to do it because it looks like your weight loss surgery isn't working". I wanted to tell her so bad that, that "diet" she was doing was dangerous and just a scam.....but I didn't, I kept to myself. Sometimes even my mom tells me that I look like I gained weight.....

But its ok, I'll be ok their just trying to bring me down lol. I love my DS and I know that it will take some time, and I am ok with that . 


Here is a before picture of me and a current one:

This is me a couple weeks before leaving to Brazil.


This was me a couple hours before surgery. I was 535. Surgery was 7/11/09



This was me about a week ago. New outfit and a high waist belt =D 
 

I know one is closer and the other is further away :/ I hope you guys can still see a difference lol.

Thanks for reading! 


-Jessy

ETA: Another "before" pic.

You're Mom and Aunt are crazy if they can't see the weight loss!  Look at how tiny your waist is in he second picture!  You are doing awesome!  Ignore the crazy Aunt!

Lol thank you .

Woot!  Look at you Baby Girl!  You've got a waist!    I get all teary-eyed when I read your posts.   I am the mom of three, and my youngest is 16, close in age to you.   I teach teens too, so I hear a lot of what teens have to say.   Your maturity, insight and self-awareness just impress the heck out of me.   You are what many call an "old soul."  You have a wisdom beyond your years.    I'm sure you've lost more since your last PCP visit, and I'd hazard a guess that you're going to be getting your century club card real soon.    There are big things in store for you, sweet one.  I can just tell it.   Good luck with your continued success in school!

 thank you! 

Jessy,

WOW, what an update!!!  You are doing so wonderful!  I have to tell you how proud I am that you are taking your vitamins so faithfully, and equally proud that you are drinking protein shakes the way you are!!! I'm a protein freak, I still drink 3-6 a day at nearly 3 years out!   I am lactose intolerant and drink a gallon of heavy cream a week in my shakes and coffee.  I don't know why it doesn't bother me, something about there being less lactose in cream...can't remember...just know it's delish!!  Milk on the other hand, is the worst!!  I'd choose heavy cream over milk ANY day!!

Please, PLeAse, PLEASE ignore your crazy aunt who's injecting herself with steroids!!!  I think you already know, but good grief!!!  It sounds like your Mom and aunt are unfortunately sabotaging your weight loss.  I don't know why people who love us do this, but it DOES happen.  People around you have to adjust and it's not always healthy adjusting, unfortunately.  I have been pretty lucky w/ my loved ones, but it has affected everything and everyone around me in ways that I'm just beginning to see.  My husband just admitted a couple of days ago that my weight loss sent him into a depression.  As I lost and lost and lost, he still remained the same.  He even has gained about 30 pounds since i had my surgery.  He says it's been hard for him, even though I didn't DO anything to him...even though I didn't change on the inside, it was the outside that he struggled with. He went through a phase where he wasn't even attracted to me after I had lost all of my weight....OUCH! Talk about pain!  But now that he is adjusting to the "new" me, he has started exercising and eating better to try to lose some of his weight.  I'm proud of him and have been supporting him through it.  My Mom also struggled as she had been smaller than me for 12 years before my surgery.  As I lost, and got smaller and then much smaller than her, she struggled too.  She never really came out and said anything mean or hurtful to me, but she did start putting herself down for her size.  Now she is also watching what she eats and exercising, I'm so proud of her!  

Anyway, point is, try to surround yourself with those who lift you up instead of bringing you down.  You are doing wonderful and YES!!!  I can see the difference girl!!!  You'd have to be blind not to see the changes!!!!  Congrats!

Lori 

Thank you Lori  Yes, my aunt, my grandma, my uncle and so on have not been very helpful. Every time I see them they ask me "what? you can't lose weight??" or "you gained weight!!" and so on. Sometimes it makes me want to giggle because I know that in time I will be a lot smaller and I plan on saying "I told you so! " lol! Childish? maybe, but they way they act is no better. lol.

With my mom, I'm not to sure why she acts like this sometimes, and she still tries to get me the size 5X and 4X clothes when I am a 3x and 2x now......So I guess since I see her everyday, that she just isn't seeing it yet.......But hopefully she will soon. haha.

Thanks again Lori

Your mom and aunt are crazy. Cray-zee. Ignore them. Your mom is just used to seeing you every day and the chnage is gradual. Your aunt is bat****crazy with jealousy and cannot see through the green-eyed monster taking over her eyes.

You are doing beautifully and you look wonderful. Stay the course.

The emotional thing will even out. Hang in there!

Nicolle

 Nicolle. Thank you. A lot of people in my family are a bit loopy lol! Luckily that "gene" skipped me!!! lol. With my mom, I don't really know what her deal is but I'm sure she will get over it. Sometimes she gives me crap about "spending all that money" on me for this surgery. And she makes me feel guilty from time to time, but then other times she will tell me that she is really happy that I had surgery and that I am getting healthy. Sometimes I wonder if she acts like this because her own health isn't doing so great and it cant be taken care of like mine could......so I try and not take it to personal and just remember that shes in a lot of pain all the time and things like that. But still it can be hurtful. When it comes to my other family, they can be supportive but for some reason I always  get a urge to question their "nice-ness" toward me, they sure as heck didn't treat me so nice 88 pounds ago and thats been kinda hard as well, they always loved my MUCH skinner sister who is very beautiful herself. They would refer to me as the "fat one" and her as the "beautiful one" and now things are changing and I'm glad that people aren't calling me "the fat" one behind my back anymore but I also wish they wouldn't judge me on my weight, but thats just how things are and I know.

Thanks again Nicolle.

Yay, Jessy! 

Congrats on doing so well in school! You are a smart chicka and I think you can go anywhere or do anything you want in life.

Your progress and loss is amazing, and you are rocking that high-waisted belt. I can tell a *huge* difference. However, when people see us every day, I think they don't notice because the change is so incremental.

Great update!

Jenna