It feels like I haven't updated in quite a while, but I guess that's because it feels like nothing much has changed to come here and write about. However, a lot has happened recently including my 6 month follow up.

First of all, I was very disappointed that I didn't get to see Dr. Blackstone herself, AGAIN. Instead I got to see the nurse practitioner. Nothing against NP's but I really needed to talk to Dr. B. This chick just didn't do it for me. She didn't answer half my questions and I left their office very upset.

Let me explain. My lab work was pretty good, except for vitamin D. It was only 24, but it was up from my pre-op labs, which was only 11. Still deficient none-the-less so she prescribed me D-3.  Great, another pill. Then she goes on to discuss my weight loss and says I'm doing great and we talked about water and protein intake. She asks how much protein I am getting each day, and I proudly replied anywhere from 60-90 grams. She looks at me surprised and says, Wow 90?  Yes, I said.  I have 3 good healthy meals with lean high protein food and 1 or 2 protein supplements each day. She tells me that I should be careful with that amount of protein because I could go over on my calories and I need to keep my calories under 1000. LOL....seriously? I don't go over 700. On average, according to MFP I'm consuming about 600 calories per day. 

Moving on.... I asked Miss NP when can we schedule the second part of my DS?  She was completely unaware that I was a DS patient and thought I was a VSG. She paused for a minute to read my surgical report. Then said, 'Well, Dr. Blackstone likes to wait at least 9-12 months before doing the second part, to give your intestines a chance to decrease the inflammation that's there, so that the staples will hold up much nicer and you'll have fewer chance of complications.'  Hmmm that's odd because Dr. Blackstone told my husband when I was in recovery that she would prefer to wait 6 months or so then do my part 2. 

Anyway, I'm starting to get upset at this point, my eyes are watering up and I just want to cry. I do not want to wait 6 more months. I am ready for it now. I have lost a LOT of weight and we just need to do this now. Then Miss NP says that I need do my 1 year labs in October then see Dr. B in November. She said I need to book my appointment with her NOW because she is very busy and books months ahead of time. I'm thinking, Great Let's do this... and get me out of here.  Then we go out to the front office area to talk to the scheduler. This chick says oh no, you have to do your labs first then call for your appointment.  (I'm boiling now)

So I grab my lab slip and prescriptions and leave the office. I have made up my mind that I want a new surgeon. This is complete BS. I have not been happy with them since the day of my surgery and it's only getting worse. So who else does the DS that's not 500 miles away? I don't even know, but I'm going to start looking.

Then there's the second big thing to happen to me this past week... After my trip to Scottsdale, we get home and return the rental car, my husband and youngest daughter are with me. We stop to eat at a restaraunt before going to my oldest daughters drama performance at her high school.  We leave the restaraunt, drove about a mile then BAM! We get into a pretty bad car accident. No one was seriously hurt, except for my beautiful Ruby (my 08 Dodge Avenger). The dumb a*s that hit us was trying to change lanes and apparently we were in his blind spot, therefore he hit us...at about 35 mph. Both of our front airbags were deployed. Not fun at all. I got punched so hard in the face and the chemicals from the airbag made my face and neck feel like it was on Fire.  Now we are in the midst of dealing with insurance companies, repair shops and rental cars and its just way more than I can handle right now, especially with my mom being so ill. Thankfully my awesome husband is here for me and taking the reins on this one.

That's about all for now...I will try to update as soon as I know what's going to happen with my part 2 DS.

Toodles

..since I've updated my progress and whats going on in my life. So here I am. 5 1/2 months post op and about 80 pounds lost since my VSG on 11/7/12 and a total loss of 128 pounds since my consultation with the surgeon in 3/2012.  I think it's been going very well and I haven't had any major problems at all.  I'm consistently averaging about 80 grams of protein per day and 800 kcal or less. My nutritionist and doc seem pleased with that.  Recently my family and I joined the Y.  I absolutely love it. I had a membership to the gym a few years ago and I couldnt work out for more than 10 minutes without stopping to breath and sit down. Now I'm in there for 30-45 minutes and kicking butt.  I'm hoping to see better losses now that I am exercising more.

Favorite Protein Supplements right now are:

• Quest bars (160-200 cal and 20 grams protein) Tons of great flavors. My favorite is the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
• Jay Robb Whey Protein Isolate (vanilla and chocolate 110 cal and 25 grams protein + your milk stats)
• Unjury Protein Powder (Chocolate Splendor 100 cal and 220 grams protein + milk)

Ok..on to other news. My mom has been seriously ill for quite some time now.  She has end-stage COPD. She was being evaluated by UCLA medical center for a lung transplant.  However, that isn't likely to happen at this point due to the fact that she is declining so rapidly and has had multiple hospitilazations and is on numerous medications that have caused her to gain massive amounts of weight. My mom however, is a fighter and very optimistic. She "thinks" that she will get a lap band or other weight loss surgery and then get on the transplant list once she loses 75 pounds. I guess if that keeps her going then that's one thing. But relistically I know she won't ever have WLS because she is too high risk. If she were to go under sedation, she would never wake up. She is oxygen dependent and uses 10 Liters of oxygen continuous 24/7. She also has severe pulmonary hypertension.  I am still taking it all in but I know she isn't going to be around much longer. I pray for and strongly believe in miracles though, so if she wants to hang in there and fight the fight then I'm going to let her. At her most recent appointment at UCLA, the doctor told her to go home and get her affairs in order.  Soo..that's where we are.

Hope everyone out there is doing awesome and rocking their tool! If you're the praying kind, then please do so for my mom, Melinda.  Good vibes are also welcome. 

God Bless & Good Night to ya'll

...give or take a couple of days of course. Since having the VSG on November 7th, I have lost 39 pounds (plus I lost 48 pounds before surgery) with a combined weight loss of 87 pounds. So I want to just reflect on the past two months for anyone who may be deciding to have this surgery. This is only my personal experience.  I thought I was prepared for life after, but soon realized I was not. I can't just go into my fridge or pantry and pull something out and just eat a couple of tablespoons of it. I have learned to become so conscious of everything that goes into my mouth. I thought I was already doing this before surgery...haha not even close. Now I am reading labels on everything, if I try a new recipe I'm reading the nutritional information. If it doesn't benefit my body in some way, ie. high in protein, good source of calcium, low in fat, low in carbs... then I am not putting it in my mouth. Sure I had a bite of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. It doesn't mean I'm going to do that everyday.  And journal your food. Oh my god this is so important. If it isn't written down somewhere you tend to forget that you ate it. I use the oh-so-wonderful MyFitnessPal. Amazing site it has every type of food you can imagine, and if they don't you can add it yourself. So there is no reason not to journal your food. ok, now I'm going to be a big hippocrite when I say, Water is so important. You have to drink, drink, and drink some more. They tell you that 64 oz is the minimum amount of water to drink everyday. I SUCK at drinking water. If I'm lucky, I'll get in 32 or 40, but I've never been able to hit 64.  The other thing I'm horrible at is my PROTEIN. You have to take in a minimum of 60 grams of protein everyday (this is what my surgeon recommended for me, others may be different) When it comes to protein, I'm trying my hardest, but I'm coming up short and only getting an average of 40 gr. per day. I know this could change if I could only find a protein shake that I like. Not even like...heck if I could just tolerate one, I'd buy them by the case.  Oh yes and Exercise is another very important component of my weight loss journey. When I first came home from the hospital I was surprisingly energetic. About a week out, I was moving my butt. Walking and cleaning house and walking again. It was great! Then out of no where I starting having really bad pain in my right hip and knees. Now its my left and right hips. I can not walk for more than 5 minutes, then I need to sit and relieve the pain on my hips. I would love to be in the pool, unfortunately its January and 35 degrees outside.

So needless to say, there is a lot more work involved than I had imagined. But it is all very doable. After all...we decided to have this surgery to change our life. Our surgery is a tool and we must learn to use our tool properly. It isn't going to work itself. I wish I would have lost more weight by now, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it. I'm losing, (albeit slowly) but it's better than gaining. People are telling me how great I look, even though I don't see it. My clothes are falling off, so it must be true.

I meet with my nut and exercise people next week, so I'm looking forward to that. I want to get a list of exercises I can do without putting strain on my hip joints. It should be an interesting appointment.

HAPPY NEW YEAR OH FRIENDS!

I'm approaching 7 weeks post-op and just wanted to give a quick update on my progress. Honestly I was slightly disappointed in myself this past week, because I haven't been losing much. The weight is coming off  v-e-r-y  s-l-o-w-l-y and it's a bit frustrating. I thought I would have lost more weight by now. My family is very supportive and they tell me that I have accomplished a lot so far by losing 80 pounds this year. That it is not an easy thing to do. So, I'm happy about that and I definitely don't want those pounds back. 

Christmas is tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to spending time with my family. My darling neice will be enjoying her very first Christmas and I can't wait to see her open her gifts. Also my other sister just had her first baby on the 22nd, so we have been blessed with a Christmas baby. Seeing the two babies together on Christmas day will bring back memories for me I'm sure.  I was a young single mom with two little ones not so long ago. With my oldest being 15 months old and the other only 3 months old it was a Christmas I'll always remember.  I also remember those Christmas dinners and the food piled high on my plate. This year will be quite the opposite and the first of many to come as I enjoy a 2 oz portion of ham or turkey and a tablespoon of green bean casserole will satisfy my tiny stomach just fine. This year will be the first without my husband there, due to his work schedule. He'll be around later in the day, but will miss seeing our girls open gifts and he will have to re-heat his dinner plate.

I guess that's it for now.  To all who celebrate: Merry Christmas! Wishing all of you and your families a wonderful holiday!

Okay, I'm trying not to worry too much about this, but I have not lost any weight in the last 9-10 days. I just don't get it. I'm doing everything I was taught to do, as best as I can. I don't eat more than 600 calories a day (ha..I couldn't if I wanted to) and I do my best to get in as much protein as possible. It's not where I'm supposed to be (@ 60 grams) but I'm getting close. I also average about 40 oz of water but have yet to reach the goal of 64 oz. I am finally getting in all of my vitamins and I'm walking almost everyday. Yesterday I spent 12 hours shopping with my mom and sister and I walked the entire 12 hours! This morning my legs (calves and thighs) are killing me.  I just wish I knew what was causing this stall.  *SIGH*