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Category: Health 1 Person in progress, 0 People achieved this |
Member Interests
- Crafts - When I can find a spare minute I love to paint things and make pretty things.
- Walking - I live right next door to the Chehalis Western Trail.
- Computer Games - I play board and card games on the computer with my kids.
- Interior Decoration - My hobby is redecorating my house every few years.
- Volunteerism - I have worked with Habitat for Humanity since the 1980s,
- Football - My son plays college football, so I love to travel to his games on weekends.
- Navy - My husband retired after 20 years as a Submariner.
- Stained Glass - This is my husband's hobby, really. But I get to design the pieces he makes.
- Cancer Survivor - I had Papillary Thyroid Cancer in the late 1980s.
- WLS Grads
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Surgery date: Feb. 8, 2000
preop 333, low post op 165, 268 regain, 240 now, 180 goal
Hi there. I'm a mom of two kids in college, married to a retired military man. We live in Washington state, and I work near the state's capital in Olympia. It's been over 8 years since my WLS, and I'm looking forward to losing some of the 75 pounds I gained over the last 4 or 5 years. I welcome you to contact me, as you read through my blog and surveys. . .as it's only by asking each other about our experiences that we learn. This is a great site. I'm glad to be back on OH.
I am starting all over tomorrow on February 13, 2008 11:29 pm
Tommorrow I'm going to start the "5 day pouch test,' which means I'm going back to eat like I did when I first got my new pouch. It will allow me to detox myself of all the high fat and high carb foods I've been eating. I never really learned to follow the rules of the pouch. Oh I heard of them, but I never felt hungry (during my first year or two post-op), so I never really felt the need to practice the rules. I drank water all day long, but never stopped drinking with my meals. And eventually I started snacking, as I was hungry. Then the snacking became my habit and emotional comfort.
I'm going to take the next 5 days to clean myself of those bad habits and relearn the rules. My goal is to be in the habit of eating meals without drinking and enjoy the feeling of being full. . .and recognize that I do not need to snack on unhealthy foods. Who knows, I might even get some excercise in while I'm feeling so optimistic.
Over years 3 through 5 post-op I managed to re-gain 92 of the 168 pounds I lost. I tried to lose some of it in year 7, and I lost 50 (by excercising and less snacking, but a year later I had regained 40 of those pounds. . .so now I am starting all over. . .using the pouch this time. My goal is go get down to 200 again. . . so I need to lose 50 pounds. Then I'll see if I can continue to use my pouch tool to get back down to my "happy weight" of 180. . . and then we'll see if I can reach my doctor's goal weight of 165.
Tomorrow is the first day of my life. It's Valentine's Day. How fitting. I'm going to show myself how much I love myself and want to take care of myself. I love me.
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I am 8 years old today! on February 10, 2008 8:29 am
Yesterday marked the 8-year anniversary of my WLS. I got an email from the founder of OH, asking me to update my profile, as many people want to hear from those of us who are more than 5-years out. So I took the Weight Loss Survey that asks questions like what it was like before, during, and after surgery. I had a pretty postive experience overall, but answering the questions reminded me of some things I've forgotten. I'd invite anyone who is considering WLS or who is still in their first year or two post-op to read through my survey responses. (Look for the link on my profile page on the bottom left side). It's always enlightening to realize someone else has experienced exactly what you might be. And it's also good to anticipate things to come, and enjoy it when your experience turns out to be better than you expected. Just remember, every one is different. We all experience each part of this journey differently. What is true for me might be totally different for you. God made us all so uniquely different, as you know, and we'll each respond differently to WLS just like everything else in life.
I have a renewed interest in WLS, given my daughter is considering it. And like any good mom, I'm into supporting her and helping her connect with resources and information . . . so I've come home to OH after being off-line for many years.
Reading others' posts has reminded me of the "rules of the pouch" that I only partially followed post-op. I am reminded that I have a tool that I can still use, 8 years out, to help me lose weight. And since over the last 6 years I have managed to re-gain 75 of the 168 pounds I lost, I am starting to follow the rules again. And I am amazed at how much it works. I haven't weighed myself, but I can tell by how full I am that it's working. I never really did water-loading before a meal, and I've always drank water with meals and all day long. So it's weird to realize I can have that same post-op feeling of always being full by just changing the way I handle my water. Now if I can just give up all the chocolate candy. It's hard with all the Valentine goodies everywhere right now, so I'll just cut back for now, and take it a day at a time. I find that I'm so full now, that I'm eating less candy, and I fully expect it will soon be a long-lost habit of mine. I'm looking forward to getting some of this re-gained weight off me again.
Even though I've gained half my weight back, I 'm constanty reminded how much healthier I am now than I was 8 years ago. This has been the best 8 years of my life, and I am so grateful for the day I was reborn!
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Archive
My Story
I had open RNY on 2/9/00. I was 333 pounds with a BMI of 55.17. At 12-months post-op I had lost more than half of myself. I weighed 165 pounds, and had lost 168 pounds. I had a tummy tuck to remove the excess skin when I was 13-months post-op. I went from a size 30/32 to a size 14/16.
Before surgery I suffered from diabetes, GRD, sleep apnea, and arthritis pain. After surgery all that disappearred. . . even the diabestes, and I was insulin-dependent pre-op.
My primary insurer was Regence BC/BS of Oregon and my secondary insurer was CHAMPUS. My surgeon wrote letters to both insurers, knowing Regence would deny (as they didn't cover WLS back then at all). CHAMPUS approved me for surgery the same day they received the doctor's letter.
I had the best surgeon of the time. Dr. Latham Flanagan was President of the American Bariatric Surgeons organization, and was the expert who taught everyone else. I hear he has since retired, but the Oregon Center for Bariatric Surgery is still in Eugene and is a Center of Excellence, beyond none.
The best thing I did, besides the surgery itself, was get involved with a suport group. I went to meetings before and after my surgery, and I made many great friends. I'd encourage everyone to find a good support group, and attend regularly. Not only do you GET a lot out of it, but your experiences are bound to help someone else. Knowledge is power.
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