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I'm starting my journey,  I am hoping to have it as well.  I just got Kaiser 2 days ago and make my appt with a doctor for Aug 9, 2005.  I wanted a woman doctor but ended up with a male.  Dr. Chang.
I am going to go in and tell him I want the surgery and explain the reasons why and all the diets I have failed at and explain to him my failing health.  So I am hoping everything goes well.

I will check back and update this occasionally so if anyone wants to follow my journey jump on.

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August 6, 2005

I have an appointment on Tuesday the 9th to see the doctor and i'm so nerveous about it.  I am going to take all of my medicines and write down my weight loss attempts and hopefully I will have good news to report here next week.
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August 9, 2005

I just got home from my appointment with my new doctor and I had a physical and let him know that I want a bypass to which he said it is a long road and could take up to 6 months.  He set up and appointment for me to see a dietician which I know I have to do I just don't like dieticians because they are always skinny and cute and think loosing weight is something fun! and Easy!.

I also found out today that i'm pre-diabetic which I think will help my case further.  Today I weighed 256 pounds and i'm 5' 3" tall which I know isn't right because i'm 5' 5" but it's ok too because that just makes my bmi higher.

They are going to call me with my appointment for the dietician and I am excited because i'm going to go in and let her know just what I want.

So if anyone is reading my journey, wish me luck.

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August 8, 2005

I am so annoyed,  I got a call saying that the closest dietician appointment I could get was October 21st, that is almost 2 months away.  Man i'm so so so annoyed; I told the lady that if there is any cancellations to please call me I will come at any time.

I really hope I can get a appointment sooner.

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October 4, 2005

I had a doctor appt today with my Primary Care doctor, and he made me an appoint to see the psycharcist to get the ball rolling,  I have 18 days before my meeting with the dietician.  It's a group meeting so I don't know what that means, I think they will probably try to discourage us.

Today I weighed 265 pounds, so my bmi is no 46.

The doctor keeps saying it will take 6 months, they want to track you loosing weight, and i'm thinking damit of course I can loose weight but I gain it all back in a freaking Weekend.

Geez this is annoying.

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Nov 17, 2005

I just got home from my appointment with the Psychiatrist and I sat there and answered his question.  I'm not depressed, I'm not un-happy, and he almost thought I wasn't fat enough for the surgery.  I'm freaking 267 pounds and i'm not fat enough, give me a break, thank goodness for my horrible health, Geez.  You have to have bad health to try to improve your health. 

But anyway he decided he would recommend me for the surgery to my Primary Care doctor, which i'm happy about and he recommended that I go thru the classes which I figured I would have to do anyway, So I guess I got out of it what I wanted.

Now the Psychiatrist sends the recommendation, to my Primary doctor and they sign me up for classes,  I don't know if those classes are in San Francisco, but I hope they are because all the doctors there know me and they can help me get through faster being that I went through the whole process with my wife.

Well i'm back on the waiting train.  I'll post updates when I get new information.

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Dec 2, 2005

I called up my Primary Care doctor and found out that they have sent the paperwork down to S. San Francisco.  I am suspose to hear from them soon, I really hope I hear from them in the next week and can start the classes in S. San Francisco because I know all the doctors there from Rebecca having the surgery.

The doctor told me she would put a rush on things once I started meetings.  So that will be great.  But at this point I don't even know if i'm approved.  So I have to be patient and see what happens.
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Jan 8, 2006

I haven't written in a month so I have to catch up,  let's see since the last time,  I received my approval letter in 2 weeks after the paperwork was sent, so I was overly excited about that.  I did however, find out that I will not be having classes or my surgery in S. San Francisco like I was hoping it will be in Freemont, CA, which is closer to where I live but I was hoping for San Francisco because I know all of the doctors there. 

So I have my first orientation meeting on Jan 21, which is comming up fast,  they sent me the packet to fill out about my weight loss attempts and medical history.  Bla Bla Bla

And from what I can gather from the packet they are running the program the same way they run it in S. San Francisco so that's good.

The lady that I talked to on the phone told me that at orientation I will meet with aa doctor and then 2 weeks after that I will meet my surgeon.  So as usual I will be on top of them asking "what's the next step?  Who do I talk to now?   Because this is like anything else you have to be your biggest advocate.

In the meantime my health has gone down the toilet,  I have such severe back pain that I can't stand for more than 2 minutes, not to mention walk anywhere.  I had my mother-in-law do my shopping for me because of the pain in my back.  Oh and I just recently found out that I have Diabetes as well.  The problems just keep pileing on.

Thank goodness for this surgery,  I know it will give me the quality of life I want and deserve.
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Jan 20, 2005

Tomorrow is my orientation,  I still have to fill out my sample menu of what I eat so that they can tell how badly I eat.  I am excited about it,  I know at this meeting I'm going to be told that I need to loose 10% of my body weight and i'm not to happy about that because I love junk food and I don't want to give it up.  But at this point it comes down to snickers or being able to walk and I choose walking.

I will come back and write about what happened at the meeting when I get home tomorrow.
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Jan 21, 2006  Saturday

OK, so today was my orientation,  it went well, I found out I weigh 275.5 which sucks because that means I have to loose close to 30 pounds.  The orientation was in Freemont CA, it was about 30 something people there all hoping to get surgery.  The Freemont program was no where as detailed as the one in S. San Francisco that Becca went through.  They pretty much leave you on your own in Freemont, they said ok, now go home loose 10% of your body weight and we will call you, then get your test done on your own.  I don't really like the program but I will do what I need to.
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Feb 2, 2006  Thursday

I am doing well with my eating,  I know I have lost some weight because my pants are feeling loose, and i'm actually able to stand and walk through a store; yeah it hurts like crazy but I do it. 

I have to go to Kaiser to get myself weighed so that I can report back to the Bariatric unit in Freemont,  I'm going to get weighed every 2 weeks and if it's a good loss i'll call them and tell them where i'm at in loosing my 27 pounds.

That's it for now.
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Feb 10, 2006  Friday

Went to the doctor today, I have lost 17 Pounds  Yeeee Haaaaa.
I now weight 257, so I have to loose another 10 pounds to meet my 20% loss.  I called the Bariatric unit and told them that I had lost the 17 pounds, they don't answer the phone it's all done on message.  So I left a message telling them how much I lose, what I eat, and how much I exercise,  everything they asked for.

So they said when I am within 5 pounds of my loss they will get in touch with me so i'm hoping to loos another 5 pounds by next week.

My back is feeling so much better just from loosing the 17 pounds, i'm really happy about that.

I'll keep you all posted on what happens next.

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Feb 13, 2006

Good News!!!!  I got a call today from the Bariatrics Dept in Freemont, and i'm scheduled for my consultation on M arch 3rd.  This meeting will last 3-4 hours and I will meet with the nutrionist, my surgeon and some other doctors,  so I am not 2 steps away from surgery date.   After the Consult, I have to go the the mental evalutaion, and then pre-op and then it's surgery time.

I am so excited, i'm not one bit nerveous, i'm just ready to start my new life. 

I'll keep  you posted.
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March 3, 2006

Just got home from my consultation and it went pretty well.  I lost 25 pounds so I now weight 250, my doctore wants me to loose 2 more pounds.  I met with the nutrionist, the surgeon, and the coordinator.  As of this moment I have to get a pap smear, get a ekg, and loose 2 pounds before the put me on the weight list.  I got an appointe for the Psychiatry appointment, it's on March 14th.

It's moving along, i'm going to get the tests I need and get them done so I can get put on the list.  She said after you get on the list it's about 1-2 months before surgery.

YEEE HAAA

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March 17, 2006

OK, time for an update.  I went to the Psych appt on the 14th and it went really well, I just got home from getting the required pap smear so that's done, and I lost the 2 pounds the doctor wanted me to loose.  There is ne problem with my EKG, it came out with an abnormality and I don't know exactly what that means but I hope it won't hold up my surgery and that it's not serious.

I am going to call right now and let the Bariatrics dept know that I have done all my required test. 
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April 1, 2006

OK, I have completed all the tests and lost the 2 pounds and I just got word from my doctor that I will be having my surgery this month, APRIL   oh my god!!!!!.  I am so excited but I am scared and nerveous as well but I guess I should be because it is major surgery after all.

I am ready for this, I am ready for a new life, I am ready to start living healthy and actually knowing what it feels like to be a thin person, it has been so long since I have been a normal weight I don't know what it looks like or feels like anymore. 

I have been eating a low carb diet for over 3 months now, so i'm ready to make the life long change, because I know that this will improve my health and make me look a ton better.  I have a box of jeans and shirts under my bed that I haven't been able to wear in years and to think that I will not only be able to wear them soon but that they will be falling off of me is so exciting.

I can't wait.  As soon as I get my date. I will post it.
YYEEEE HAAAAAAAAAA. 
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March 30, 2006

I just got my surgery date, It is April 19th.  Now it feels really real, and i'm a little anxious about it of course but mostly excited.  I decided that since I have two and a half weeks before surgery that I am going to have to eat my favorite foods one last time now so that I will still have time to get it off before I go to my preop meeting on the 14, so today I will have a snickers and something else I haven't had since Jan 21st.  And maybe tommorrow I will have my favorite fish dish and then i'm back on track.  And before you know it I will be logging onto this blog saying how nerveous I am because it's the night before and I am scared then i'll be doing my soon after surgery blog.  I'm really excited.

Yeeeh  HAAAAAA!!!!!  I'm on my way.

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April 5, 2006

I am still pretty excited about the surgery but as the date gets closer I am dealing with people knowing and trying to convience me not to have it.  I get a lot of why are you getting the surgery you look great, lik 275 pounds look great on anyone. I know that I lost 30 pounds but i'm far from looking great.  I even had a counselor at school question me as to why I would get the surgery as if it's any of his business, but people think that they have the right to say to you what they want.

I really didn't want anyone to know because of this situation happening, but now everyone know because family members let everyone know because they are excited and that is fine but no I have to deal with the flash back of hearing why why why.  Man it's annoying, so if anyone reads this take some advice from me and don't let everyone know because they will definately try to discourage you from getting it.

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April 14, 2006  (Friday)

I just got home from my Pre-Op meeting with my surgeon and I lost another 10 pounds, I weighed in at 238.5  that is a total loss of 37 pounds, I only needed to loose 27 so I lost 10 over that. 

Tonight I had 2 pieces of cake, I know that this will probably be the last cake I will have for years so I had it and i'm happy I did.  Tommorrow i'll probably have a snickers and after that im going to be good because surgery is on Wednesday, The 19 so that is only 4 days away.

I am so excited to start my new life.  I CAN NOT WAIT.

I pray that everything goes well because I don't want to leave Becca and I know that with any surgery death could occur, so i'm praying that the lord take care of me so I can come home and be happy my new life.

I love you Rebecca very very much.
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April 18, 2006  (Tuesday)

WoW!!!  I finally made it,  tomorrow morning is my surgery at 8:30 am.  This journey started with me in poor health not able to walk or stand for longer than 2 minutes, and it will end tommorrow morning.   Already I have lost 37 pounds on my own, the doctor required that I loose 27 before surgery to show my commitment and I took it 10 pounds further to make it clear to myself that I can live this way.

I still have a ton of health problems and this surgery will help me with them and i'm really excited about that,  I'm excited to be able to wear clothes I can purchase in a regular store and not just the fat lady store. 

I'm not nerveous yet but I suspose I will be soon,  I'm happy actually, last nite I was a little sad that i'm going to be leaving my best friend BAD FOOD but I will find a new best friend in people in smaller clothes sizes, in better health, in better sex ;) 

If anyone has been reading my journey, wish me luck as I take the last step and I will keep you posted when I am able.
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May 30th, 2006  (Tuesday)

I am doing well,  I went through a phase where I was sick a lot, I cried every single day and felt like poop.  My surgery went well but my doctor said that my insides were very small so they had had to do a lot of stretching and jerking to get things where they needed to be,  and then the pouch started to leak so they had to fix it and after they fixed it he said he filled it up with fluid until it looked like it would pop to be sure the leak was fixed, so all that made my body really really sore.

I was in the hospital for 3 days because of the pain but when I came home that first week was hell,  I had a lot of pain and took a lot of liquid tylenol with codine to help with the pain.   

It has now been about 6 weeks and I have lost about 25 pounds and i'm feeling better although I still get sick quite a bit after I eat because i'm still seeing what I can and can't eat but by no means am I pushing it. 

I left the hospital off of my medication and i'm very happy about that, no more high  blood pressure, no more high chlestrol, no more diabetes, my blood sugar was normal the entire time I was in the hospital and has been since surgery.  The fluid in my legs are gone but a little came back during my flow this month but i'm sure it will go away.

Righ now i'm getting better every single day,  I couldn't go back and finish my semester in school becasue I was neauseous all the time but it's ok because I needed that time to heal and i'm glad I took it.

I wanted to update my profile many times before but the new format confused me and I couldn't figure it out.  LOL.
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June 26, 2006

It has been 2 months and 7 days since my surgery and i'm doing ok,  I am in a phase where I can't drink water so i'm getting my water in by using a ice shaver and just eating measured out ice.

 I still get dizzy if I bend down, and sick every now and then.  I am not loosing weight very fast though as of this morning I weigh 200 pounds so i'm almost in the one-undersers and I hope to be there soon.  So since surgery I have lost 38 pounds, already my face looks so much smaller.  I have always hated the way I looked in pictures but lately I have been looking pretty cute in pictures.
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August 6, 2006

Wow it's been a little over 3 months now and i'm a whole lot better, that whole not being able to drink water lasted about 3 weeks and passed.  I am still loosing weight really slow but the inches are commig off well.  I am now wearing a size 18 jeans and looking really good.  

My face is so much smaller but because I have lost so much weight in my face I have developed big bags under my eyes which I hate because they make me look older and tired.

I can eat so many things now, I can go out and eat and I can eat sweet things as well.  I am still drinking my Isopure protein drinks in the morning just grape because I hate the other flavors and i'm eating a lot of nectarines and banannas right now but only in small amounts.  

I wanted to be 180 pounds for my birthday on Aug 22 but I don't think i'm going to make it but I am a heavy person,  I can't wait to get into a size 16 pants.

I am not really exercising like I should be,  I was walking every day until I got a pain in my back and found out that I have gall stones, but Dr. Hahn says that the pain was just my usual back pain and not the stones so he will leave them alone until they give me trouble.

Over all I get sick a little mostly every day but it's managable just kind of like a little bit of a stomach ache. 

I am happy with where I am right now and can not wait to see more.
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August 29, 2006

I am feeling really good now a days,  I didn't make my goal but I am 185 pounds,  just returned from Puerto Rico and Washington D.C.  which was great. 

My weight loss is going really slow and I haven't been exercising which I know I need to,  I have been snacking like a crazy lady.

I wear a size 18 jeans and i'm very happy about that, I would love to be in a size 14 or smaller before January.  I signed up for a weight lifting class at school so that will help firm up my legs.

I of course I want to loose weight faster but loosing slow like I am is allowing me not to have all the loose skin.  So i'm happy about that.
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November 14, 2006

As of this day I weight 167 pounds,  I still am trying to make it to 150 and it is still comming off pretty slow but I am really very happy with my health and the way i'm looking.  I now wear a loose size 16 and a tight 14.    It feels so good loosing weight and being able to breath and walk without all the pain.

I am planning to go to visit my family in NY in April and I would really like to be at 150 if not lower by then.  I really need to start drinking my water.  I have been really slacking in the water but I do get my vitamins and calcium in, along with my protein. 

I willpost again when I it my goal,  although now i'm thinking my new goal is a size 10 jeans, we will see. 
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December 1, 2006

I weight 163 pounds so while i'm getting closer to my goal of 150 I haven't quite made it there and that is only because I have been eating candy.  Yes See's candy has been in my belly and I have been loving it but it's not helping me with my goal.

I have planned a trip to New York in Aprl and I will have to get more focused so that I can be at 150 by then.  I still go to my workout class at school on Mondays and Wednesdays.  I recently started doing my bun and thigh roller along with sit ups.  I realize the sit ups will help with my belly fitting nicer in my jeans.  Oh speaking of jeans i'm in a size 14 and they are on the verge of getting loose. 

It is so much harder now to eat right, all I want is junk food in the form of sugar and candy.  I have to try to work on that.

Well that's it for now.  
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1 Year Anniversary 4/19/2007 [Edit Post]
4 days ago
Published
One year has passed and I am 145 pounds, just one year ago I was 275.  As of today I wear a size 12 jeans and can squeeze into a 10 which is beyond awesome.

I went to Buffalo this year which was really good.  They all thought I looked great and young which felt really nice to hear.  I can't believe it has been 24 years since I last seen my family but I know for sure it won't be long at all before I see them again.

I feel really happy right now today at the weight i'm at I just want to get to a size 8 jeans so that when I have my bounce back gain I will be a true size 10.  

Thank the lord for my surgery I couldn't be happier.
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April 27, 2007

A lot has happened since I last left a post.  I went to Buffalo to visit my family on April 6, 2007 stayed until April 14, 2007.  I had a good time, was nerveous but had a great time non the less.  

I can not get into my size 10 jeans you know the ones I have been trying to get into forever and I can button and zip them but I can't breath, bend, or walk normally.  LOL.

I think my final goal is going to be a size 8 it was a size 10 but I think i'm going to make it a 8 so that when I get the bounce back weight I won't be chubby.  

I am really glad I got the surgery and feel good about my ew body.