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Category: Health 124 People in progress, 17 People achieved this |
Category: Health 93 People in progress, 121 People achieved this |
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Latest Surgery Support Comments
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Jessica Good luck
with your surgery
and have a speedy
recovery let me know
how you doing and
I'll be there in 1
more day too.
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Here is to a
uneventful surgery
and a speedy
recovery!
Brenda & George.
Click here for the surgery support page
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Hello ... My name is Jessica. I am 26 years old and live in South Grafton, MA with my wonderful husband of 2 years. We currently have no children, but are looking foward to starting our family once I have reached a desirable weight. That has been my main drive/focus for considering WLS. I want to be at a healthy weight when the time comes to start our family. I am also so curious/anxious to see myself as a thin person, since I have been overweight for half of my life. I definitely look forward to the possibility of becoming a new person.
6 Months Post-Op on October 3, 2008 8:18 am
I just passed my 6 months mark since surgery. I had my 6 months F/U appointment at my surgeon's office on 9/30/08. I'm happy to say that I am down 58 LBS (177 from 235). While at the appointment, the nurse took some viles of blood from me, so that they can test my levels for iron, calcium, b12, etc. I'm hoping that the results come back okay ... nothing being too low or too high. The nurse practitioner informed me that I would receive the results in the mail and she will also let me know if there is anything that needs to be changed. On that same day, I also had a F/U appointment with the nutritionist. I came to realize that my portion size that I have been eating may be a bit too big per meal. I told her that I have been eating between 4-6 oz. I should be eating no more than 4 oz per meal and have my snacks be less than that. I'm thinking that once I get on track with portion sizes being accurate at each meal/snack and I keep up with my exercise routine 3-4 days/week, then I should hopefully continue losing at a gradual pace. I feel like the weight loss has been SO SLOW at times, but I was reassured by the NP that I am doing great. I just have to remind myself that I have less weight to lose compared to others, so it is definitely going to come off slower. I'm keeping my head high!
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It's been awhile... on August 15, 2008 11:00 am
Hello! I realized that it's been awhile since I last added a post. I am currently 5 months post-op and doing great! I have lost a total of 53LBS since the day of surgery. It definitely makes a difference, especially when it comes to exercise. I have more energy, do not get tired as easily, and can push myself for longer. Although the #'s on the scale are going down relatively slow, I must be losing inches like crazy because I can now wear a size 14 in pants. I had set a mini goal for the month of August. At the beginning of the month, I was weighing in at 187. I'd love to make it down to 175 by Labor Day. I have 7 more pounds to go! I've found that setting mini goals helps to keep me motivated. It has definitely been a struggle with finding the right foods to eat at times. When it comes to food, I have never had to make "Protein" my main focus. Also, I finally started with having hair loss. I had wondered when it would begin. It was only a small amount at first, but it has definitely increased over time. It's especially noticable when I get out of the shower and put mousse in my hair. I end up having tons of hair in my hands afterwards and I have been noticing it like crazy in the bathtub drain and on my floors. It's disgusting. Thankfully, I have a thick head of hair. I can definitely tell a difference in the thickness. Hopefully it will slow down soon. I have a
6 month F/U appointment scheduled for the end of September. I should be having bloodwork done at that visit to find out where my levels are at. I hope all is well. I have been faithful with taking all of my vitamins/supplements. Other than that, that is the extent of my process for now. I will update more later!
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Could it be??? ... Onederland??? on June 17, 2008 10:19 am
I think I have finally made it to "Onederland." I stepped on the scale today at work and saw "199.5" flash onto the screen. I was excited. I am keeping my fingers crossed that my weight loss keeps up at a steady pace. I've done some shopping recently. It has been exciting to finally be able to shop in the "regular" sizes, instead of plus sizes. Right now, I am fitting into a large or X-Large top and size 16 bottoms. I can't even remember when it was that I fit into those sizes. I'm thinking it was in middle school. That was a long time ago. It definitely feels good to be shrinking.
I have been having an issue lately. A few weeks ago, I started to have some menstrual spotting/light bleeding. I wasn't due for my period until another 2 weeks. It has continued up to now. Now is when I have my normal cycle. I did call my surgeon's office and my OB/GYN office. My surgeon's office mentioned that this is something that could happen due to the rapid weight loss. My OB/GYN office just informed me to monitor it for the next few cycles and if it continues to call them back. I guess my interpretation of the problem is that my body is all out of whack since the surgery and weight loss, and this is it's way of getting back to normal. I sure hope that's the case. It makes me nervous when I start having problems that I never experienced before the surgery.
I am a little anxious about this coming weekend. I am going to my aunt and uncle's house for my cousin's high school graduation party on Saturday. This will be the first time that they have seen me since my surgery. The last time I saw my aunts and uncles was at Easter (the day before my surgery) and I did not mention to them that I was having surgery. I didn't want it to be the topic of discussion at the dinner table. I knew that I would be seeing them at this graduation party, so I figured that I would talk about it then. I'm sure I will definitely feel a bit awkward at first, but standing tall and proud. | Click here to leave a comment.
2+ Months Update on May 29, 2008 10:45 am
Hello ... I haven't updated in awhile, so I thought I'd make a few notes. I am a little more than 2 months post-op. I had a follow-up appointment with my nutritionist on 5/19/08 (6 weeks) and I weighed in at about 208. I seem to be doing well so far. The only thing that the nut noted was that it sounds like my food portions may be too much. Portion control was my biggest problem before the surgery. I guess I have found it a little difficult to comprehend that 3 oz of food is all I can have. It was very easy to measure foods during the pureed stage ... like refried beans, baked beans, ricotta, pudding. It has proven to be a bit more difficult now that I am eating solid food again. It's especially hard when my husband and I decide to dine out. I just hope that I haven't stretched my little pouch. Since seeing the nut, I have been more strict with my food measurements/weights. So far, I have come to find out that pancakes do not agree with me at all. After taking a few bites, it felt like it may have gotten stuck. I started having pain in my chest. It was horrible. I am not one to make myself vomit, so I just let the feeling pass. It went away after about 5 minutes (Thank GOD!). I was getting a little nervous though because other than the pancakes, everything else that I have tried for food has gone down great! I hear so many people talk about how so many different foods don't agree with them. I was starting to wonder if I even had surgery done because it seems like everything agrees with me. My clothes are definitely getting loose on me. Pretty soon, I will have to go out shopping for new work pants. All of my pants at home are a size 20 or 22 and a few 18's. The 20 and 22's are baggy and just about falling off. I did go out shopping last weekend at DOTS and bought a new pair of Capri style pants and a shirt. The pants are a cotton material and I was able to fit into a 16. I couldn't believe it. I am still not able to get into a 16 in jeans though. It's so weird. I bought my shirt in a size large. It's a little snug on me still, but that will change. It's crazy how we lose weight up top quicker than the bottom. I can shop in the "skinny" section for shirts, but still have to shop in "plus size" for bottoms. I know this will change in due time. I'm trying to hold off as long as I can to buy summer clothes. I probably won't buy a lot of stuff since I know my size will most likely change again before the fall/winter. It's wonderful to be losing the weight and dropping sizes, but it sure can burn a whole in my pocket. Right now, my weight is lingering at around 205. The weight loss has definitely been slow. I'm so eager/anxious to be under 200LBS. Only 5 more to go!!
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6 Weeks on May 6, 2008 1:29 pm
Today, I had my 6 weeks post-op appointment at the Weight Center. I am down 5 more pounds. I am now 213LBS. I have been a little concerned because my weight loss has been very slow. I suppose that this is normal, since I have less weight to lose than most people (I'm a lightweight). It's a little nerve racking at times because I get so anxious to see the weight melt off, but it doesn't. I know that it's still early, so I'm keeping my head high. My appointment went well, other than the fact that they took me in late and I was late getting back to work. My blood pressure is good. I can now start taking a calcium plus Vit D (instead of Tums), Vit B12, and Vitron-C ... in addition to my Flinstones chewable and Pepcid. I have a follow-up appointment with the nutritionist on 5/19/08. My next doctor's visit will not be until 9/30/08 (6+ Mos). At that appointment, they will be doing some bloodwork to make sure my levels are where they should be. I pray that I will not have any vitamin deficiencies.
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Archive
My Story 
I have gone down many bumpy roads and crossed many obstacles with my attempts at weight loss. I've decided to continue my journey and consider WLS. My weight has increased drastically over the years. I started gaining weight as a young child, but mainly during my pre-teen/teenage years. I've never felt completely comfortable with myself ... inside and out. I think back to my pre-teen/teenage years and remember how I was constantly tormented and picked on by school mates. To this day, I still remember some of the names that I was called ... "Butter Ball" is the one that sticks out in my memory the most. I can remember how it hurt my feelings and my dignity so much, but I would always try my hardest to never give in to such hateful words and allow that to show on the outside. I never understood why people had to be so cruel, just because of how I looked on the outside. It must have just ate me up inside to the point where I felt like my only comfort zone was anywhere that I could find food. I had ballooned with my weight once I reached highschool ... and even then, some of the same school mates that tormented me as a child, still insisted on making fun of me then too.
I can honestly say that I didn't make every attempt to lose weight on my own until 2 years ago. It was in the fall of 2005, when I decided to try and change my life (emphasis on try). I tried every diet out there ... numerous appetite suppressant/diet pills ... exercise ... eating healthy ... watching the amount I ate. It seemed to be going great at first ... I managed to lose 30 LBS in 4 months time. I was so proud of myself and couldn't be happier! I was starting to gain more self confidence in myself ... Had the feeling that I could really do it. After the 4 months had passed ... It seemed as if I had been stuck in a rut. Everyone kept telling me, "You need to switch things up a bit" ... meaning that I needed to change exactly what I was doing and try something else different, but that didn't really seem to work well for me either. I remember back then, I was so stuck on the fact that I didn't even want to consider WLS because I knew that I had it in me to do it on my own and I looked at WLS as taking the easy way out ... I'm sure that I could do it on my own ... If only I had that kind of time on my hands. I have tried to be so patient with myself and my attempts to lose weight, but I feel like I'm coming to my wits end. One of the biggest inspirational T.V. shows that I loved watching was The Biggest Loser ... Those people could do it on their own ... But of course, that was with the help of a personal trainer that worked their asses off for several hours a day/several times a week, a personal chef that cooked everything healthy for them ... nothing bad that would throw them off track. I guess that's why they call it reality T.V. because it really is reality.
Well, needless to say ... I've decided to turn the page. I truely believe that I am ready to take that next step and seek WLS, since it really does seem that all else has failed. I want nothing more than to be able to look at myself and really like what I see. I know in my heart, that if I do have WLS ... I will never give up. I will try my hardest to be consistent with living a healthy lifestyle because afterall ... it is a life changing decision. 
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