ObesityHelp

40 years ago this very evening, I made my appearance in this world.  I can't believe that I would look forward to this day, but I did. A year ago, I truly believed that I would probably not live beyond the next 5 years. The DS has truly changed my life and has made me look forward to my future. I HAVE A FUTURE!!!!!! There are so many things that I have wanted to do, but have felt so ashamed of my size and felt that I could never achieve anything that I wanted to do. BUT ALL OF THAT IS OVER NOW!!!!! I feel such pride in the fact that I have now lost 144 pounds since surgery and 185 pounds total. My self confidence is soaring and I am starting to have the courage to do things that I never thought I would do. I have started getting out in the dating field some and testing the water there so to speak.  I think that I have so many opportunities now that I am not SMO to get out and HAVE FUN. And I owe it all to God, the miracle of the Duodenal Switch, and the brilliant hands of my wonderful Surgeon, Dr. Joao Marchesini.

Well, it was an interesting Month 9, full of twists and turns with my emotions and other stuff. I am going through major financial issues along with my hormones going nuts. I went to my ob-gyn for my yearly fun visit and while I was there asked her if she would write me a prescription for Zoloft, which she of course agreed to (BLESS HER!!!) It seems to be starting to level my emotions off a bit, so I am a bit happier, even though I'm stressed about the finances. I talked to my church and they are going to help me pay for the Financial Peace University course so that I can go through it and learn how to get myself out of this hole I've dug for myself and learn how to stay out of debt forever.

But that's not really what you are wanting to know right now, is it?  For the real important stuff....I only lost 3 lbs for Month 9 (June 25-July 24). By the end of the month, I was down to 257.

BUT................

It seems I have picked up steam in my weightloss starting in Month 10. I have already lost 11 lbs and am down to 246 lbs as of this morning and I'm only just about a week into the 10th month. I am thrilled beyond words. I have not been under 250 lbs in about 20 years. And my 40th birthday is coming up on Friday. This was my dream for my 40th birthday to have lost alot of weight at this point, but I have exceeded my expectations.

Anyway, I took some pics tonight to count as my 9 month pics since I haven't really done a month by month since Month 6. So here they are. I will show Month 1 and Month 9 to show how dramatic the change.

 

 

I knew that after having this surgery that it would not always be smooth sailing. Well, right now, I have not having fun. It seems I've run into a road block with my eating. For a while, I was starting to pick up the amount of food I could eat during the day and was doing really well on getting my protein in. But after I completed month 8, I hit a hole, so to speak. I am now struggling with foods that want to hit my stomach and not stay down. Nothing sounds good right now, and nothing really tastes good. It's so frustrating because, right now, it feels like a chore just to eat. I don't look forward to it. I dread it. I get hungry. But nothing sounds or looks good. Or if it sounds good, the moment I take a bite, it's "Ewwww", or "uh.....I don't think so".   This has got to change soon!

The time sure does fly when you're losing mega amounts of weight.....lol. Eight months ago (10/24/06), I was in Brazil about to undergo my surgery. I can't believe it has been that long already. And I am just so overwhelmed at how much weight I have lost in that amount of time. As of this morning, I hit 260 lbs. That is a total loss since surgery of 126 lbs and a total loss so far of 167 lbs. I am just so completely in awe of how this weight is coming off pretty much effortlessly. Of course, I make sure to get in my protein, which btw, is still pretty difficult at times, even at 8 months out. I'm struggling somewhat with foods still not wanting to stay down. But for the most part things are really good. My 6 month bloodwork, which I actually had done at 7 1/2 months because of changing insurance and all that crap, came back pretty good. The only levels that were off were that my protein was a bit low, and my iron was a bit high. Although, I can't understand how either of these 2 were off like this, I will be working to try to regulate them for the next bloodwork in August.
Also, when my pcp mailed me the results to the bloodwork, she said to "up my protein and slow down my weight loss". Uh, I think it's gonna not be possible to slow down my weight loss if I up my protein. I mean, I have found that if I up my protein, it speeds up the weight loss and not the other way around. I know that I could probably add some more carbs to my day, but as it is now, I am still having a time just trying to fit the protein into the day. I guess I'm going to have to go back to using more protein shakes to help supp the protein.
Well, that's my update for now.
Highest Weight: 427 lbs
Surgery Weight (10/24/2006) 386 lbs (-41 lbs)
Current Weight (6/24/2007)   260 lbs (-126 lbs since surgery)
Total Weight loss: -167 lbs

 
 

Here are my comparison Pics from Months 1 & 5.  I can't believe that I have changed this much just since Month 1.

Wow! Has it been that long already?!?!?!?!? It seems like just yesterday that I went into the operating room in Brazil to have this life changing surgery. 5 Months.....simply amazing. Well, I feel fantastic other than some emotional things going on right now. I'm eating better everyday. Of course I still have days when I have to force myself to eat, because I am just not that hungry anymore. And I can't believe how the weight has just been falling off other than a few plateaus over the months, which included one that lasted about a week and a half during this last month. I almost started getting worried, but had to remind myself that this too would pass (pun intended).

Anyway, here are the totals for the month. I have lost 13 pounds this month. My total amount lost since surgery is 84 pounds and from my highest weight.... 125 pounds.  I have lost a complete person.  It's just amazing to me.  I look at that picture of me at my highest weight and I am just so blown over by how different I look and feel now.

This surgery has truly changed my life for the better so far and I know it's only going to get better as I continue to lose the remainder of my excess weight.

STILL LOVING MY DS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I decided from now on to post comparisons with Month1 Post-op. I will show Month 1 and Month 4 in this post instead of showing all 4 months.
 

It's hard to believe that four months ago today, I was in Brazil having surgery. I just cannot believe how much better I feel physically. My energy has gone up tremendously. I am able to do so much more now than I was able to 4 months ago. My eating is getting better. I still have times where I cannot eat certain foods, but I know that is normal at this stage of the game. I am just so thankful to God and Dr. M who I know was an instrument to bring me better health. I am losing pretty steady I guess for what I have lost so far. I haven't started exercising yet, other than walking as much as I can when I go places. Yes I know I need to walk every day, but I don't except around the house. I guess it helps, but I know I need to do more. 
Well anyway, just wanted to let  you all know that I am down 71 lbs since surgery as of this morning (13 lbs in Month 4). That makes it 112 lbs from my highest weight. I am so happy with this. Hopefully I will start the exerciise part this next month and be able to pick up the weight loss although I know 13 lbs in a month is not bad.

STILL LOVING MY DS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, it's been 3 months already.  I just can't believe that time has gone by so fast.  Sorry I didn't post sooner, but I wanted to wait until had taken the pics for 3 months post-op.  I am including the 3 months front views on this post to compare. They are place in order from Month 1 to Month 3 Post-op. I am hoping they will show up side by side. But anyway, here they are.

I saw this picture when I went to my Aunt and Uncle's Anniversary party and just had to have it. I finally got it this morning and scanned it onto my computer so that I could post it here.  This was taken 5 1/2 years ago when I was at my highest weight and my lowest point in life.

Well....I weighed again this morning and am down to 330 lbs. That is 56 lbs lost since surgery and 97 lbs from my highest weight. Not only that, but I checked the BMI chart, and get this. My BMI is now at 48.7, down from 57 at surgery and 63 from my highest weight. I have dropped from the super obese category to the extremely obese category. I never thought I would be happy to be labeled extremely obese. But it sure beats being super obese. I just can't explain how much better I feel so far. My back hardly hurts anymore. My knees hardly hurt anymore. I can play with the dogs more without getting over tired. I am pretty sure my sleep apnea is gone. If it isn't then it is awful close, because I am not exhausted all of the time like I used to be. I look forward to going out more to do things with people and am not ashamed to be seen in public like I used to. I don't feel the stares of people on me and therefore am not as self conscious as I was in public. I can't wait till I get more off. It's starting to be a game for me now. Just the anticipation of "how much am I going to lose this month". It's sooo fun and exciting to know that the weight is falling off and will NEVER come back.

Wow, what a year 2006 was. A mixture of Highs and Lows. In March, my dad died. In July, my Aunt, who was my dad's Sister in law died. At the end of July, I found out that my half-siblings had rallied together to accuse me of stealing their inheritance, which there was nothing for me to steal LOL. But I'm not bitter. The second half of the year was much better. In October, I went to Brazil to have the DS. Thank you Dr. Marchesini. And Two Months later, I have lost 50 lbs. How fabulous is that?!?!?!?!

What does 2007 have in store? Well, let's see. I turn 40 in August, so by then I plan to have ALOT of my excess weight gone.  I am planning on being able to go into a store to shop instead of going online to Lane Bryant's website (SO LONG LB!!!!!). I WILL become a teacher this year if it's the LAST thing I do.

I wish Everyone a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR. May your 2007 be a prosperous, healthy and happy one. And may all of you still looking to have surgery be fortunate this year to have the opportunity.

God Bless You All!

I went to my Aunt and Uncle's 50th Anniversary Party yesterday up in Temple Tx. I ate a sausage cheese ball, some blackeyed pea dip a few crackers, about 5 to 6 chocolate covered pretzels and a chocolate covered strawberry. I weighed this morning and the scale revealed that I weighed a whopping 335.8 lbs.  THAT'S 50.2 LBS LOST PEOPLE!!!!!!!! Oh I am so excited. It was my goal to hit the -50 lbs mark by this weekend and I did it. BTW, the above picture was taken last night at the party.

Well I am going to try to post the 2 sets of pictures side by side and see if this will work to show if any the change from Month 1 to Month 2.





Yeah, I guess there is a bit of difference.

Merry Christmas Everyone. Wow, how fast time has gone this year! As I look back upon this year, I reflect on the good and not so good events that have shaped my year and, therefore, my life. My dad passed away on March 13th. March 19th marked 4 years since my mom passed away. In May, I flew to Washington DC for the first time in my life to see the capital of our country. In June I flew to Detroit, Michigan to meet some very wonderful people with whom I had worked and talked to over the phone for 4 years but had never personally met before. And in October, I started a journey to health and wellness by travelling to Curitiba, Brazil for the Duodenal Switch, which in 2 short months has already made my life so much better with more to come.

Today I am celebrating a day that has been set aside to honor the birth of a Man who came into this world to bring Love, Peace, and Joy. I wish this for each and every one of you this day and every day of your lives, that you know this same Peace, Joy, and Love in your life, and that you pass it on to those you love forever.

May God Richly Bless You All!

Merry Christmas Eve Everyone! Today is my 2 month anniversary since surgery in Brazil.  I am feeling pretty good. Going through some holiday blues but all in all I feel better than I have in a long time.  I am starting to get the hang of eating again and can eat quite a few things, but then there are times when what I eat one day doesn't go down that well on a different day. But I know it will get better and I will be able to eat more normally in a few months. Well, now on to what you are all waiting for.

Pre Surgery Weight:  386 lbs
Month 1:  359 lbs (-27 lbs)
Month 2:  340 lbs (-19 lbs)
Total Weight Loss Since Surgery:  - 46 lbs

Now if you want to count the total weight loss from my highest weight:

Highest Weight:  427 lbs
Current Weight: 340 lbs

I have lost a total of 87 lbs.  It's hard to believe that I have lost that much weight and am going to keep it off.  Truly amazing.

I am so happy with my DS right now, even though I am just shy of 2 months post-op and still learning my new baby stomach. But I just had to take this picture to show how happy I really am and how GOOD I feel.

I just can't believe this.  The scale never lies as they say and who am I to refute that fact, especially at a time like this.  I weighed this morning and what number should show up, but 348.8 lbs.  I am ecstatic. I am in awe.  I LOVE MY DS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And I am starting to be able to eat more everyday.  It's fabulous.

Well, I now weigh less than I have in I don't know how long.  This morning the scale read 350 lbs.  I am so ecstatic that I can't find the words to say how much I love my DS. So I will just say it. I LOVE MY DS!!!!!!!! I know it will only get better. And everyday that I continue to lose, which hopefully will be until I reach my goal, I will be at a new low. I am so blessed that I was afforded the opportunity to get this surgery and to be able to share it with all of my friends on OH.

I forgot to post my 1 month Weight loss yesterday.  The official Weight Loss for Month 1 is.......

Surgery Weight (10/24/06):  386
1 Month Out (11/24/06):  359
Total Loss:  -27 lbs

Well then I decided to weigh this morning.  I am now down to 356 lbs.  THAT'S 30 LBS LOST, PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!  I am so happy although I would've liked to have hit this YESTERDAY.  Oh well.  I can't wait to see how Month 2 goes for me. Will keep you posted.

Well, since tomorrow is my one month anniversary since surgery, I decided to get my measurements today when I was at my friend Sue's house for Thanksgiving dinner.  During my original measurements, I forgot a few places to measure (e.g. my neck, forearm, and calf), but there is quite a difference everywhere else already.  So without further ado, here are my measurements.........

Neck       Original - n/a       Month 1 - 17.5"
Biceps    Original - 17.25  Month 1 - 16"
Forearm Original - n/a       Month 1 - 13.75"
Chest      Original - 56.5    Month 1 - 55.75"
Waist       Original - 57"      Month 1 - 54"
Hips         Original - 70"      Month 1 - 69"
Thighs     Original - 31.5"   Month 1 - 30.75"
Calf          Original - n/a       Month 1 - 21"

Pretty good for Month 1

Here is somewhat of a journal of my trip to Brazil.  I hope that it will be informative to those looking to have surgery and to give you an idea of how things went for me. 

October 21, 2006

9:10pm (Houston Time):  My friend Sue and I boarded a plane with an ultimate destination of Curitiba, .  Our first stop would be in Sao Paulo, the next morning.

 

October 22, 2006

 

9:30am (Brazil Time):  We arrived in Sao Paulo, with very little sleep. Made our way through Customs with no problem.  Got to the luggage area. I was standing waiting for my bags when this guy comes up to me. Real nice guy.  I started to pull my bag off the belt, but he moved to my left and pulled the bags off for me. Then he placed my bags onto my cart that I had and proceeded, with me in tow to where we exit the baggage area. I thought he was going to set me up in line with everyone else, but he proceeds to cut me into the middle of the line, so I got ahead of a lot of people.  I don’t know if they appreciated that but I sure did.  I never really got to thank this man for helping me out. He was gone before I knew it.  Anyway, this got me separated from Sue, because the last time I saw her, she was just finishing rounding her bags up.  So I trudged my way to find out where to check in for my flight to Curitiba .  I made it. And as I was almost to the front of the line, here comes Sue just in time. We were able to get checked in with plenty of time to spare.  We had a seven hour layover to look forward to. I wasn’t feeling very good.  I attributed it to the fact that I had gotten about 8 hours of sleep in maybe 3 days and the fatigue was starting to rear its ugly head.  But I found out that it was a combo of that and something else.  Aunt Flo had arrived.  I thought “Great. Two days before surgery and my friendly visitor has come to see me.”  Ugh. Oh well. I figured that it was better to get it out of the way and maybe it would be over before surgery since they don’t last that long for me.

4:30pm:  We had been sitting at the gate for at least 3 hours waiting for our plane.  The guy at the counter gets on the intercom to let us know that the plane would be an hour late. Great.  Nothing like a longer layover to add to the trip. But we are in and this will be the last leg of the journey to get to my destination of Curitiba and the beginning of my new life in a couple of days.

5:30pm:  We are finally boarding the plane on our way to Curitiba .  I am so happy and so exhausted at the same time.  I still can’t believe I am doing this.  I am really going to have a surgery that will literally transform my life and the way I live it.  It’s exhilarating to think about.

6:30pm:  We arrive in Curitiba, .  The only thing to do now is get our bags from the baggage claim area and go look for Durval.  However, when we had gotten our bags, a different guy came up to us.  I think he said his name was Daniel.  He was picking us up for Dr. Marchesini.  After Daniel put our bags into the back of the van, he proceeded to call Dr. M. to let him know that we were here and on our way to the hotel.  Then I got to talk to Dr. Marchesini.  He asked about my flight and said that he would wait for us at the hotel.  I was so awestruck.  A doctor waiting personally for me to get to the hotel so that he could meet me.  It’s unheard of in the states.  I was floored and honored at the same time.  We got to the hotel and, true to his word, Dr. Marchesini was waiting for me with a hug and a smile.  This man is so caring and genuine.  He told me that he was going to go and let me get settled and get some rest and he would see me at 8:30 the next morning.

 

October 23, 2006

8:30am:  I went to see Dr. Marchesini in his office for the first time.  He was very kind and made me very at ease with my decision to have the surgery.  I didn’t have any questions because of all the research that I had done.  My surgery weight was figured to be at 386 lbs.  The next step was to have my Endoscopy followed by my psychological evaluation that afternoon.  I was ushered into the waiting room where I waited maybe about 10 minutes before they called me into the room for the Endoscopy.  They must have given me some good drugs because I don’t remember a thing until Durval and Sue were walking me back to the hotel.  Sue told me that when I came out of the room that I looked at her and said something like “I sure do feel good.” LOL I wish I could remember that.

3:30pm:  I went back over to the clinic for my psych evaluation.  I met Dr. M’s daughter Simone, who is the psychologist doing the evaluation.  She is just as nice and personable as her father.  We talked I guess for a good 45 minutes and then it was over.  I was all set for my date with Dr. M the next afternoon.

 

October 24, 2006

 

8:30am:  Durval dropped by the hotel to escort me back over to the clinic for my ultrassongram, which was the final test before heading to the hospital. My surgery is scheduled for 4pm and I was over there by 10:30am.  What a wait I was in for. Ugh.  Oh well.  I had Sue there with me so that I wouldn’t have to sit there by myself thinking too much and getting really nervous.  I did get quite nervous and anxious while waiting that long.  But I would soon be on my way to being switched.

1:30pm:  They come in to take me to surgery.  Yippee!!!! I am so ready to go. They wheel me into the operating room and prep me.  Before they put me under, I heard Dr. Marchesini talking. So I called for him and he came over to me.  I thanked him for what he was doing and I was out.

6:00pm??:  I’m not really sure what time I got to my room.  I was really out of it.  It really hurt when they moved me from the stretcher to the bed.  I kept telling them it hurt in my lame attempt at Portuguese.  I think they knew though.  I finally got into the bed and they gave me some drugs for pain and I could finally relax a little.  Sue called all of the people on my list to call after surgery to let them know that I was okay and had made it through the surgery.  I could now go back to sleep.  I woke up again sometime later and asked Sue to stay with me for the night.  She gladly did and I was able to relax again and go back to sleep.  I slept off and on all night.  It’s kind of hard to sleep through when the nurses come in every 2 hours to take your blood pressure, but they also came in to give me more pain and nausea meds which was why I didn’t mind so much. Thank you may I have another???? LOL

 

October 25, 2006

 

Day 1 Post-op

I’m not sure what time I woke up.  I think it was about 5:30am and the sun was up.  Spent the day getting up, taking a shower (this was tough, but I had the help of Sue and the nurses, so I got through it okay), walking the hall, and doing my breathing exercises.  Then I was able to sleep a lot in the chair too.

Dr. Marchesini came in around 6pm to check on me.  He said I looked good and was doing really well.  I was happy to hear it.

About 10pm, this Gorgeous doctor comes strolling in.  His name was Giorgio Barretta.  He is evidently the doctor who does the night rounds. Anyway, I think he came in last night, but I don’t really remember because I was so out of it. I wish I had a camera with me in the hospital.  I would have liked to get a picture of him to take with me *sigh*. What a cutie.

 

October 26, 2006

 

Day 2 Post-op

 

 

Nothing much happened today.  I had a visit from the Physical Therapist who had me walk 2 laps down the hall and back.  After that, we did my breathing exercises.  When she left, I sat in the chair all day and alternated watching TV and sleeping after they came in with my pain meds. Still on ice chips. 

Finally passed gas this afternoon.  They brought in some tea that didn’t taste much like tea, but it was something other than ice chips, so I was grateful.  Dr. M came in around 8:30pm to check on me. When I told him I had passed gas, he said I might get to go back to the hotel tomorrow.  That made me really perk up.  I want to get out of here. Not that the nurses have been bad. They have been wonderful. But I am ready to go NOW.  LOL

Doctor Gorgeous came in again about 10pm to see me and followed up with the possibility of me getting out tomorrow.  We talked for a bit and he gave me his email address so that I could send him progress pictures of me.  Oh I wish I had my camera.

 

October 27, 2006

 

Day 3 Post-op

 

 

I was released from the hospital today.  It seemed that everything was in working order and my intestines were again functioning normally.  I had a BM about 3am (Thank God!). So that set things in motion for my release back to the hotel.  I got back to the hotel around 12pm and got settled in.  Oh it’s so good to be “home”.

 

October 28, 2006

 

Day 4 Post-op

 

I am not hungry.  This is something totally new to me.  I haven’t eaten since Monday night, but I am not STARVING like normal.  I am working on getting some fluids down me, but even the water doesn’t really taste that good.  I’m trying though.

 

 

October 29, 2006

 

Day 5 Post-op

 

I went downstairs and decided to try the scrambled eggs.  All I can say is EWWWW!!!! I guess I was expecting them to have cheese in them or something, but they were plain.  I only took one small nibble and I guess they were too bland or something. Don’t really know. Oh well, I will try them again another day.  Didn’t eat much for the rest of the day.  Sue made some strawberry jello for me. Might try it tomorrow. Still trying to sip the fluids.

 

 

October 30, 2006

 

Day 6 Post-op

 

 

I woke up this morning with my first realization.  I am not exhausted anymore.  For the longest time, I have been tired from the time I wake up until the time I go to bed. Then I would go to sleep and wake up like I had never slept.  The exhaustion had gotten worse this past year with all of the stress going on in my life.  But it is GONE!!!! Don’t get me wrong. I still get tired.  I am just not extremely so tired that I don’t want to get up in the morning.

 

October 31, 2006

 

Day 7 Post-op

 

 

I didn’t eat very much today. Had some jello and made sure to get my fluids in.

I did 6 minutes on the treadmill up in the workout room on the roof of the hotel.

 

November 1, 2006

 

Day 8 Post-op

 

 

I’m having a time finding food to eat that tastes good to me.  For breakfast, I tried some watermelon, but it wasn’t that sweet.  I did eat a small piece of it and drank a couple small glasses of orange juice. For lunch, I was able to eat a small chicken thigh. That was an accomplishment.

I did 10 minutes on the treadmill tonight.

 

November 2, 2006

 

Day 9 Post-op

 

 

Today was a holiday in .  All businesses were closed to celebrate, I think, All Saints Day, or The Day of the Dead.  From what I heard, everyone goes to church and then out to the cemetery to pay respect to their loved ones who had passed.  I didn’t do very much today.  I ate some scrambled egg and a piece of melon from the breakfast buffet, and at lunch, ate a little beef, but had to take the rest of it back to the room.  I was unable to eat it later.  I think they put some kind of spice on their meat that just doesn’t agree with me too well.

 

November 3, 2006

 

Day 10 Post-op

 

Today Sue and I went on the train ride through the rain forest with the mother of another American who had just recently gotten out of the hospital and was not able to join us.  Ana drove us to the train station and told us she would meet us at the end of the ride in Morette and would drive us back.  The train ride was pretty uneventful and there were some pretty views of the mountains.  The fog on the mountain tops, I thought were really pretty.  Some of the views were obstructed by the fog, but all in all the sights were beautiful.  When we arrived at the end of the ride, Ana was there as promised to pick us up.  We took a scenic route to the coast and got a beautiful view of the bay. On the way back to Curitiba , we saw two different waterfalls and stopped to take pictures.  All in all the day was a great day.  I felt better today than I have felt in a long long time and I am only 10 days out from surgery.  I LOVE MY DS!!!!

 

November 4, 2006

 

Day 11 Post-op

 

I woke up this morning pretty worn out after a long day of taking the train and touring the coast via a taxi ride with Ana.  I didn’t do anything today except sleep a lot.  I did go down to the restaurant and eat a bit. I had some scrambled egg and a piece of melon.  Then I went back upstairs and napped most of the day.  I did go down for lunch but didn’t eat much, maybe a couple bites of chicken.  The rest of the day I spent relaxing.  I know I should have done some walking, but just didn’t feel like doing anything.

 

November 5, 2006

 

Day 12 Post-op

 

I felt kind of funky this morning.  I went down to eat breakfast and ate pretty good. I had some scrambled eggs and about 3 pieces of watermelon.  Then while I was sitting talking to Sue and another lady who had come down to have plastics, I started feeling really tired. So I went back up to my room and laid down.  I think I slept for 4 hours.  I felt a bit better after that and the rest of the day was okay. But this morning was really weird.

 

November 6, 2006

 

Day 13 Post-op

 

I met some more American patients this morning who came for surgery.  They usually frequent Dr. M’s message board and not ours.  I invited them to come on over when they get back online.  Anyway, I had my last appointment with Dr. Marchesini this afternoon.  I have now lost 14 pounds.  I feel really good.  But I am ready to go home.  We are trying to get our tickets from Curitiba to Sao Paulo changed for us to leave at 4pm instead of 8:30pm.  Durval told me tonight that he would take our tickets and try to get them changed for us.  Isn’t he just the best???  Anyway, hopefully tomorrow everything will run smoothly and we will be on our way home.

 

November 7, 2006

 

Day 14 Post-op

 

Durval was able to get our tickets changed for us to leave Curitiba at 1pm today.  So we left the hotel at 11am heading for the airport.  Daniel, who picked us up from the airport when we arrived, took us back to the airport.  We made it through check-in and to the gate.  As we guessed, the plane was late getting in, so we didn’t actually leave until 2pm.  We arrived in Sao Paulo around 3pm and had an 8 hour layover, as our next flight didn’t leave until 11:20pm.  Sue and I decided to get a hotel room so that we could relax and not have to sit at the airport for 8 hours.  We went with the airport Marriott which is about 5 minutes from the airport.  The price was pretty reasonable as they have day rates just for people coming in during layovers.  They charged us about $R 160, which is about $80US. So we had a chance to rest and stretch our legs which did me some good, because I was able to lie down for a while.  We got back to the airport at around 8:30pm and had to stand in line to go through security and re-check our luggage.  That took a while and I ended up getting a wheelchair to finish this process. I then rode to the gate in style.  As was recommended to me, I highly recommend that everyone get a wheelchair beforehand, so as to avoid the tiredness that I felt before I finally relented.  It sure made the rest of the wait bearable.  We left Sao Paulo around 11:30pm.  The flight was a loooooong one.  It lasted about 9 hours 45 minutes.

 

November 8, 2006

 

Day 15 Post-op

 

 

We arrived in Houston at 5:15am.  It went pretty uneventful from there.  We got through customs without any problems and were back to my car by 6:15am.  I had parked in one of the satellite lots so we had to wait for the van to come pick us up. But they helped us load our bags back into my car.  We decided to go to Denny’s for breakfast, because we were getting hungry.  Yes, you read it right. I was actually hungry.  I decided to try an omelette.  I ordered a ham and cheese omelette and was actually able to eat half of it.  This was the biggest meal I had eaten so far since surgery, because I couldn’t find anything in that tasted very good.

 

 

 

Anyway, this is what happened with me during my trip to and back home again.  I hope it helps anyone maybe looking into having the surgery themselves.  I know that your results will not be exactly the same as mine, but I wish you all of the success that I have had thus far, and hope this gives you some answers that maybe you didn’t have before.  Please make sure you have done your research, because this is the only way that I was able to be this successful

Well, this is it.  I have my surgery this afternoon.  I'm anxious and nervous, but I am ready.  I am very comfortable with my decision and know that Dr. Marchesini is the best choice that I could have made to help me achieve the new me.  I have looked forward to this day for a very long time.
Yesterday, my friend Sue helped me to get my measurements and so I will include them here, just so that I can see the change that will take place.

Arms 17 1/4"
Bust 56 1/2"
Waist 57"
Hips 70"
Thighs 31 1/2"

Also, my surgery weight is 386 lbs

As this will be my final post b4 my surgery, I want to thank everyone that I have talked to on the boards for your help and encouragement during my time of decision and preparation for this big day.  You have been an inspiration to me and I look forward to joining the fellowship of the switched and sitting on the "losers" bench.
God Bless and I'll talk to you in a few days.

 1. Being able to clean my house without having to sit down every 2 to 3 minutes after I start

 2.  Taking my dogs to the dog park and not just watch them from the side, but play with them and all of the other dogs at the park

 3.  Getting on my bicycle and not blowing the tires out because I am so heavy

 4.  Walking around inside or outside for any amount of time without immediately starting to sweat like I have been on a marathon

 5.  Taking the spinning class at my gym and being able to ride throughout the whole class

 6.  Waking up in the morning and not being so totally exhausted that I wonder if I even slept

 7.  My knees not hurting all of the time

 8.  No more Sleep Apnea

 9.  Using exercise equipment that have weight limitations of 250 lbs or less

 10. Wanting to get out and do things on a whim just because I can

 11. Having guys come up to me because they think I’m attractive (this is going to be awkward for a while)

 12. Having the courage to walk up to other people and not being self-conscious because of my weight

*Update/Clarification* - Ok. I know I have cleaning house listed first, not because I relish it and wait with baited breath to be able to do this, but because since it has to be done, I want to at least have the energy to do it.  Thanks BT.  LOL