- Name: Lady Chi
- Username: nettiye
- Location: Southern, CA, USA
- Member Since: 4/26/2006
- BMI: 42.3
- Post Op
- Surgery Type: RNY (07/05/07)
- Surgeon: Wes J. Powell, M.D.
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Before & AfterThere are currently no before and after photos for this member. See these instructions if you wish to submit your own Before & After photos. Surgeon TestimonialWes J. Powell, M.D.I met with Dr. Lourie 15FEB07. He is quite nice and welcomed questions. I did not feel like I was rushed. His demeanor was very pleasant and he explained to me how they run their program. Some tests that were not required of me when I was going to have Dr. Quilici as my surgeon were required by Dr. Lourie to be absolutely sure that I am in top form for the surgery. So, that increased my impression because he did not just accept my word or lack of historical co-morbidities to justify not testing me further.rnrn11JUN07 - since I need to have my surgery by the end of June, and with Dr. Lourie not being available until 06AUG07, I am switching to Dr. Powell who was my original choice. |
As of 05JUL07 I have started my journey into LOSERVILLE! I want to get back to a size 8, maybe even a 6 again. I have the pic of Tahiti overwater bungalows to remind me of my reward for getting this weight off. I refuse to go to Tahiti "fat"! ahahahahaha ...
Seeing the world is my aim, and although I have done a lot of globetrotting (USA, Europe, Africa) compared to people of normal weight, my weight has held me back in so many ways. I did not have good self-esteem before the weight gain, so of course it got worse with the weight gain.
Well, I have been working on myself emotionally and mentally these past few months, and I am in such a better place. Now I need my body to go with the rest of my life. I have 3 overseas trips planned for the 3rd and 4th quarter of this year (Ethiopia, Thailand, Switzerland/Germany), and then next year I am going on a mediterranean cruise, a desert safari in Dubai for pleasure and Japan for business!
Well, good luck to me and to you!!!! As Diana Ross sings, "IT'S MY TURN" AND "I'M COMING OUT!!!"
long time, eh? on February 13, 2010 5:06 pm
wow! well, i never thought i would be away from this page for so long. although i always come online to see the success of others, i have not logged into my profile. what's been happening? LIFE! i've been busy with work ... changed jobs, my father passed away last year and that was difficult, especially with the back-and-forth to chicago until he passed.
i am almost 3 years post-op and i have lost ~120 lbs. i met my goal, but would like to lose about 10 lbs more, max. my mother tells me that i am too old to be trying to be as thin as i used to be. ahahahahahaha ... you're never too old to be thin. yes, bone-thin is not attractive, but thin is cool!
i will be having a body lift in 2 weeks as my thighs and butt are a scary thought and only i am allowed to behold them unclothed. in fact, i always tell people that i have 2 sharpeis - Buffy and Pinky - i am referring to my thighs! LOL
about 1 month post surgery, i had emergency surgery unrelated to GBP. the weight loss i had achieved at that time had allowed for a football-sized uterine fibroid to fall through and was just hanging by a stalk. i waited 3 days in discomfort (unfortunately, i have a very high pain tolerance which precedes me from acting on pain quickly) before i went to the hospital -- self-medicating and thinking the pain would go away. i even drove myself to the hospital 50 miles away (at the time i was thinking it was GBP related so i was going to see my surgeon) with all the windows open, heart palpitating wildly. by the time i arrived at the hospital, it took about 15 mins to get out of the car and by that time, i could no longer stand straight as now i WAS in pain (level 10 pain for me, is like level 20+ for many people). even the attending physician on call that night chastised me about allowing myself to endure all that pain. i was given a CT scan to find out the problem.
so, this then led to another complication, again, unrelated to GBP. due to the pain i subjected myself to, and the fibroid hanging and cutting off circulation, i developed 3 DVTs between my left and right leg and a PE in my lung. i could have died. they suspected i had a clot, but because i was not able to lay flat for the CT scan, it was not as clear as it could have been and even the ultrasound of my legs came back negative. miraculously, i lived 3 weeks in this condition and it was only diagnosed when i went in for my check-up for the fibroid surgery. i had another CT scan when i complained of discomfort on the left side of my chest (again, see, i call it discomfort as opposed to pain). i was not predisposed to clots, but due to the number that i had developed, the doctors thought i would be on meds more than 1 year. to everyone's amazement, including my own, i was only on meds 4 months. the clots had dissolved!!! the body and mind are truly amazing!!! don't ever forget that! we can heal ourselves if we believe!
so, i am doing well. the GBP did not change my life. yes, there were the wonderful little things like crossing my legs without losing circulation, walking short - medium-length distances without being out of breath, and i was very happy on the plane, sitting in coach with room to spare in my seat! i love traveling and will do more and more. i am treating myself to Greece at the end of summer, if the Greek economy does not fall. otherwise, i will go someplace else nice.
otherwise, my life was pretty much where it was before GBP in terms of i still did not have good self-esteem, etc. i did not have men falling all over me after i lost weight because i still had a wall stronghold up all around me. i did not have belief in myself. i did not feel i was deserving. yes, i make good money (no worries about money) and have a solid career, but i have a 'safe' career and not truly doing what i want with my life. please remember whatever issue(s) you had that you allowed in your life that enabled your weight gain will still be there (and more) when you lose the weight. many people who are honest will mention this is their posts.
i used to have the perfect body before i gained weight. but because i did not think highly of myself back then and did not truly have love for myself, it manifested itself in my weight gain, bad relationships, one-sided friendships, and financial upheaval. now i am dealing with all the loose skin as your body does not like yo-yo weight fluctuations and eventually the skin will not snap back to the way it was before the weight gain.
it is really important to know who we are and to give ourselves accolades every day. we must appreciate who we are and develop the life we intend and deserve. don't let people, whether it is your family, religion, friends, government tell you who you are. when we do this, we live a life not our own. if you have children, try your best to be encouraging and use positive words with them even in the bad times as those words will build children who are strong and sure of themselves. we need to tell ourselves and our children that we love us/them. even if you don't say bad things to yourself or your children, the absence of encouraging and loving words can still have the effect of saying bad things.
well, i am off my soap box! :~) i love me and each day i am getting better. my life is now changing for the better. i am creating the life i deserve. i don't know when i will post again, but i am proud of all of your achievements! keep up the wonderful work with your tool and other areas of your life!
best,
nette
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16JUL07 on July 16, 2007 11:11 pm
woo hoo! had my post-op appt. today and i am 14 lbs lighter (and almost out of my size 20s)!  it is really crazy to reflect that i had surgery just 11 days ago! i did not have any pain related to the surgery. of course, the first 22 hours post surgery, i was really doped up, which i totally did not like. i could not stay awake. someone would come in or call me and i would have to excuse myself and go back to sleep.  yes, i love sleep, but that was not of my own accord!
anyhoooo ... back to my post-op appt. ... i think i drove Dr. Powell batty today because i was talking a mile-a-minute and bouncing around in my seat! i think that since i have been working from home, i have been understimulated and i took that out on Dr. Powell.  ahahahahahahah!
up to now i have been on clear liquids in addition to the protein supplements, and Dr. Powell said that i can progress to the next phase incorporating soft foods (yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, cream of wheat/rice), but i will hang out with the clear liquids until the evening before i return to work.
Dr. Powell also stated that i could work out, just not to overdo it to the point of feeling faint. so i will start working out on the elliptical trainer next week when i return to the office campus. i have already incorporated wall sits/squats and triceps kick-backs and extensions to give me a boost beyond moderate walking. walking up and down the stairs in my place is also a help, i'm sure.
i still don't feel like i have had surgery and i asked Dr. Powell if he was sure he performed the RNY on me. ahahhahaha ... well, i know he did because i feel it when i drink my water too fast!
well, i guess that is all i have for now.
God Bless,
nette
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08JUL07 on July 8, 2007 8:55 am
hello my friends/visitors!
i am 3 days post-op and i must say i feel pretty good having had a major surgery just a few days ago. i have not had any nausea and my pain has not been too much, mostly discomfort due to gas.
right now i am still carrying water weight and remaining gas that i am still trying to move out of my body. i walk often (and even stand up wiggling), but i guess the gas will move on it's on accord. i was 279 pre-op, and i want to lose ~130 lbs. i am 5'7 and wear size 20 bottoms, some 16 or 18 tops/dresses.
i will let you all know of my progress, posting as often as i can, but i will not promise that i will post every week, biweekly, etc., as many do and don't keep their promises! 
best wishes for those with upcoming surgeries, uncomplicated recovery for those who have had surgery, and big weight loss for those who are post-op!!!
God Bless,
Nette
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03JUL07 on July 3, 2007 10:10 pm
whew! yesterday was some day! i went to have my pre-op testing and just made it when the brakes and the accelerator on my car crapped out. unbelievable!! my car is only 6 years old with less than 57K miles and i have been having much trouble recently.
i parked my car in the garage and went forth for my pre-op testing. all went well (except for a mishap with the cup for urine which i will not get into ). i had blood/urine draw, EKG, and chest x-ray.
thereafter, i walked down the street to meet with Dr. Powell. he is a wonderful doctor! his manner is very nice, relaxed, with a tinge of humor. he answered all my questions, especially in RE: to what i could and not do within x-amount of time after the surgery. he joked with me that i was healthier than he, being that i have never had a surgery/hospitilization up to now. he laughed when i joked that i was relatively healthy, only fat with bilateral OA of the knees. that was too funny to him because he is not used to patients coming in using med terms. i am glad that he is performing my surgery. BTW, the OH website asks what kind of RNY people are having -- distal or proximal -- and Dr. Powell stated that distal RNY are no longer performed.
sooooooo back to my car. i called AAA to have my car towed to a VW dealership in T.O., but they called me back and told me that because of the distance, they could not pick me up until 7.20 pm ... 3 hours after my call to them. hello! that was not going to work because the service center closed at 7.30. so, i regrouped and called a VW dealership there in Pasadena and had my car towed. of course, they were very busy that night, with most people choosing to wait for their vehicles. alas, they were able to get my car repaired and the worry i had about a big plug out of my pocketbook did not occur. i needed a 'suction jet pump' and that corrected the problem with the brakes and accelerator. Sally (my car ... Black Sally to be exact ... ride Sally ride!!) purred up and was good to go. so, in Cali style, i sped home so that i could call it a night!
=============
so, now i am sitting here at my computer, feeling a bit melancholy. the time for my return to the other side is fast approaching. i don't feel anxious or scared, just waiting. 
alrightey then ...
God Bless,
Nette
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My Story I am a 42 y/o divorced mother of 1 son. I have been overweight now for 14 years. My battle started when I became PCOS symptomatic. It is crazy how back then not much was known about the syndrome, and women would be given horror stories to scare them into having hysterectomies. I did not fall for the bait!
However, my weight steadily increased, but back then I did not know that the syndrome had a weight increase component for more than 50% of the sufferers. On one hand, the condition makes you gain weight, but in order to reverse the condition you need to lose weight! Back then I was a bit complacent in addition to getting depressed about the weight when it 1st started coming on. Subsequently, I would limit my appearances.
It was when my weight was up about 50 lbs did I realize that, whoa, I have to do something. So, these last 10 years have been filled with various attempts at getting the weight off. Just like others here on this website, my weight would come off, then I would gain back plus some extra just in case the original amount was not enough. ahahahah ... up, down, up, up, down, up, down, down, up, up, up, down, down, up ... you see where I am going with this ...
I am now suffering from OA of the knees and I had a meniscus tear from this past summer when I started a running program. It really is not a good idea for very overweight people to attempt running no matter what you see trainers getting their trainees to do!
So at this point, I am 120 lbs above where I want to be, although I am hoping to lose 135 lbs so as to have a cushion after the 2 year period when many of us gain about 15-20% of weight back when stabilizing over the long-term.
I just want to feel free and comfortable, be healthier.
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