- Username: Linda_S
- Location: Eugene, OR, USA
- Member Since: 11/11/2006
- BMI: 27.9
- Post Op
- Surgery Type: RNY (07/24/07)
- Surgeon: Robert O'Rourke
Photos
I'm Not In Any Photos Yet.
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Goals
No Public Goals Yet.
Latest Surgery Support Comments
 Comment by Amy B. on 7/27/07 12:51 pm
 Comment by fhgt48 on 7/23/07 12:45 am
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Linda, Tuesday is
your big day! I'm so
excited for you
sweetie! You are
going to be a
LOSER~woo hoo!!!! I
will be praying for
a successful
surgery, a smooth
and speedy recovery,
and the ability to
use your tool for
optimal success for
a healthier and
thinner new you! May
God bless your
journey! big hugs,
Becky
Click here for the surgery support page
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I'm Linda from Eugene, OR.
The unfaithful blogger on April 5, 2008 1:38 am
Hmm - it seems it's been a really long time since I've written anything here. Not much to report. I've been in the stall from hell for a long time (about two and a half months total) but the scale has finally started to budge again. I'm down nearly 80 pounds. I have had faith that this is going to work out and I haven't been freaking out about the stall, but I have to admit that some times it is depressing, I have been doing my best to follow my doctor's orders. I'm very good about my supplements and my water. I occasionally allow a few too many carbs to creep into my diet, but by and large they are unrefined carbs. I try to get all my protein from food, but occasionally have a protein drink. I exercise a lot. I walk about 5 miles a day. I work out with light weights, and exercise ball (physical therapy for my bad back), and of course, I push that quilting machine around a lot.
I've been very busy quilting, I got a raise at work, I bought a new car, life is good. I'd still like to lose another 30-40 pounds, but I'd have to say if I never lost another pound, life would still be great.
I'm off to a major quilt show in a week. I have the house and cat sitter all lined up, now if the yard service would only call me back, I'd get the lawn taken care of too.
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I can post again on December 2, 2007 2:24 am
Well, I pasted my weight tracker in here and it covered up my add post button, so I haven't been able to add a post for a while. Life is good, the weight is coming off (although I am in a bit of a stall recently), and I feel healthier and happier than I have in years. All I need is to get my back fixed (I have a seriously squished disc which needs trimming) and then I should be feeling great. I'm looking forward to the holidays with my family and will be going on the OH Celebration Cruise in January. I can hardly wait for that. It will be so fun, and it will be nice to get out of the cold and damp for a romp in the Bahamas for a few days.
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Linda the Hobbit on October 17, 2007 1:32 pm
I always used to laugh about the Hobbits' meal schedule -- first breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, supper, dinner, etc. Now I seem to have become a hobbit, but cakes and ale are not on my diet. I still can only eat about a 1/2 cup at a time, although if it's soup, I can eat about a cup. So I have to eat often. Sometimes I worry a bit that I might be grazing, but I do have periods between meals where I'm doing nothing but sipping water! LOL Ah, the life of a weight loss surgery patient.
I am having trouble with my back again. I did make good on that promise to try running and the results were not good. I guess I injured my spine badly enough when I fell in May to have things be a bit precarious in my back. The day after I ran, I could not pick up my left leg to put my pants on, or to drive my car (I have a standard transmission), so I went to see the neurosurgeon. I had been told by a neurologist that, if the spinal injections I received didn't work, I could go in and have a piece of disc shaved off and the pressure on my nerve path would go away. Well, when I talked to the neurosurgeon, she wanted to put rods and pins in my back. She said I have scoliosis, degenerative disc disease, arthritis, and the sciatica.  Now, at 53 years old, I know I'm no spring chicken, but I'm not exactly a geezer either. So yesterday I went to physical therapy. Oh my! I have a very HOT physical therapist, but I do believe he's married. Not that it would matter, because he's working on a fat old lady, but it does put a spring in a girl's step. Actually, it is a bit embarrassing to have a good looking man working on your body. I just kind of stare at the wall and try to pretend he isn't there while he's torturing me. I'll continue on with this as long as I can stand it and pray that I avoid the pins and rods in my back. I'm too young for that stuff. The pain is manageable now. Last week it threatened to send me into the upper stratosphere, but I think I'm gonna live now! 
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Life is so good! on September 14, 2007 11:40 am
I am so thankful for a skilled surgeon and for this wonderful surgery. I am now down a total of 46 pounds, just 7.5 weeks after surgery. From a size 20 to a size 14. I can walk distances again. Actually, I'm starting to think about running!  I really do feel that well. I have a lot more energy than I've had in years. Every now and then I get really tired, but my surgeon says it's because I don't eat enough. HAH! Did any of us ever think we would hear a doctor say that? I can tell you, I never thought I'd see the day. Buying new clothes, flirting, dating, having fun -- life is wonderful. I am such a happy woman!
Linda
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I'm a LOSER!!! on July 30, 2007 12:56 pm
I made it to the loser's bench! I cannot believe how wonderful I feel. A bit tired, but just wonderful. Have you ever noticed, after surgery, that you feel so much more alive? I've had a few big surgeries before (hysterectomy being the biggest), and I'm not sure if it's just that you have time to stop and smell the roses, or if it's that you're so glad you made it through alive that brings on this feeling. I've been going out for walks and it seems the world is so alive. I notice all the different flowers in my neighbors' yards, I notice the flight of a bird as it passes me and I am so awed by it, I love the feel of the wind on my face, and the moon -- my God, the MOON! The moon has been full the past few days and I purposefully go out for a bit of a walk when it gets dark, just so I can look at that lovely moon.
I guess I should feel lucky to be alive. While I had a terrific surgeon, and I do believe OHSU is a great place, I had such a comedy of errors occur during my hospital stay that I could not wait to get out of there! At times, I did think they were trying to kill me. Below is an account of all my mishaps:
One of the things they make very clear to you before surgery is that you must wear these leggings that pump air around your legs to prevent blood clots. I had them on going into surgery, and they were on when I woke up, except that the machine that powered the air was no longer there. I got to my room at about 1:30, and it took until after 5:00 for them to finally bring me a machine. In the meanwhile, in my drug-induced haze, I was certain I was going to die from a blood clot. :-o Then, I told the nurse that there was something wrong with my bed. It seemed to be breathing and it was really making my back hurt. All I got was, "well, yes, hospital beds can be uncomfortable." Some of you know that I blew a couple of discs out in my back shortly before Memorial Day and am only just recovering from an injection into my spine to relieve the pain. Surgery was Tuesday morning and, by Wednesday morning, I was in the chair in my room and absolutely refused to get back into the bed. Thank goodness, my CNA (Lupita, bless her!) checked the bed out and found that it was indeed breathing -- it was an ICU bed for comatose patients to keep them from getting bed sores. They are known to be extremely uncomfortable for people who are conscious! So, Wednesday morning, they start me on liquids. I had chicken broth, grape juice, and sugar free jello. A short time later I began to get one of the worst
headaches of my life. My eyes just burned. I thought maybe it was just too much pain medication or maybe the fact that my back was killing me. Lunch came - same stuff. I ate a little more. Someone on my roommate's side of the curtain backed into my table and I was soon wearing my lunch. They brought me a washcloth, towels, and a clean gown, and of course, the gown had no ties!! Are you all expecting the keystone cops to come running in? I certainly did. Anyway, that cut lunch short and my headache continued to get worse. My neighbor's visitors included her daughter-in-law who brought her screaming toddler with her. Folks - please do not bring screaming children to a hospital!! I was so tired, had such a headache, and a backache, and I thought I would go right round the bend! Dinner arrived and this time we had beef broth, apple juice, and jello. After a bit of that, my head began to explode, my throat got sore, and when I went into the bathroom I noticed that I was breaking out in hives. I called the nurse and asked her to check if the broth contained soy protein. She brought the box back. Yep, there it was. The same stuff that was listed next to Morphine, Demerol, and Versed on that bright band around my wrist!! I needed two huge syringes of IV benadryl to calm all that down. I crawled into my new bed and managed to sleep a little. In the morning, I got skim milk (thank goodness I could read the carton), tea, and some custard. I had to have them confirm with the kitchen that there was no soy in the custard. Once it was determined I could keep that stuff down, I was
released to go home. Thank God! I really think the nurses were trying to kill me!
So, surgery went great and I survived a couple of attempts on my life. Since I've been home, everything is great. I'm just very sleepy and full!
As I said above -- I really do believe that OHSU is a great place. My surgeon visited me three times and I was only there for two and a half days. His assistant, a doctor who helped with the surgery, also came by at least three times. Then there were the medical students. They visited often and they were very attentive to everything I had to say. They weren't in much of a position to help me, but did get the nurse for me a few times. I had absolutely no complications from the surgery. I would recommend the place to anyone.
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