ObesityHelp

January 5, 2006
Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am very excited about this upcoming
year... its a beginning of my new life. My new "birthday" is tomorrow,
Jan 6..... I can't Wait! But let me tell you a bit about this week and
see what happened.

Tuesday, January 3, 2006- Had my pre-admit with Memorial Hospital this
morning... Met with Lynda who explained what would happen and how to do
my bowel prep and where to purchase it. After the meeting, I had
another EKG done and blood was drawn. The nurse that took my blood was
awesome! She was so quick, I didn't even know it and three vials were
filled up before I even looked down, lol. Usually people have to dig for
my veins and I end up having a lot of bruising. She took her time
tapping and puching on the skin and then found one, I only have a little
bruise LOL. After the admit tests, I went to the Pre-Op Education class.
It wasn't 3 hours as expected, but Four! LOL I didn't mind, it was
chock full of excellent information. Adina, bariatric nurse, was
awesome. She truly has a love and respect for the surgeons, hospital, and
life, she rocks lol. Arun came in around 2pm and discussed the post-op
diet and excersize. He was off on a bumpy start, but then everyone
warmed up and he began to relax and had fun :) Thanks Arun and Adina, I
learned alot!!!!! After the class, I went and got my hair cut. Boy did
it need to be pampered! I love my new cut... I'll try and get a
picture of it tonight and show you... Thanks Ingrid of Cocomos!!!!!!!

Wednesday, January 4, 2006- I was busy tying loose ends on Wedesday.
School starts on the 17th and I decided to change my classes to internet
courses so I didn't have to squeeze into little desks and not worry
about not attending in case I didn't have engery, etc. I got all but 2
through the internet! YEAH! So now, I'll be going into the class at
5:30 M-Th and probably staying until 8 or so.... exciting. I decided to
take a nutrition class this semester to help with the diets I'll be
preparing... hopefully its what I expect lol. After I changed the
classes, I then got to get a pedicure. I know, I know..... but my feet needed
to be looked at too! They were horrible. Now, I shouldn't be laughed
at too much while being operated on or cut the bed sheets lol.
Finally I had my pre-op appointment with Dr. Coirin. Unfortunately, he was
busy and I wasn't able to meet him, but I did meet with Dianne. She was
nice in a motherly way.... you know, kinda stern but still likable.
She said I had a nice healthy heart beat lol.

Today, January 5, 2006- I had eggs and chicken wrapped in a tortilla
for breakfast and then am stuck on liquids all day long. Around 1pm, I
get to take my magnesium citrate and drink more water lol. I'm very
excited.... and nervous.... but I think more excited, lol. I think
that's enough reading for now, lol... ciao!

***January 10, 2006***
Well, I came home on Sunday, two days after my surgery. Surprisingly,
I didn't have alot of pain, maybe the highest was a 2 on a scale of one
to ten. On Sunday the staples came out and the nurse put something
with betadine on my incisions and now I am itching like a maniac! Argh,
so I gotta run to the store and get some benedril to stop the itching.
I put powder on this morning and its a little better, but not much!
I'm on clear liquids until Dr. Coirin says go to the next stage
(probably until Friday). I'm in love with the Orange Crystal Light LOL. Just
thought I'd update a little bit. OH! I lost another 3 pounds before
the surgery, so a total of 14 pounds were lost in preperation for the
big day, I'm so excited!

***January 14, 2006***
I went in for my week Post-Op yesterday and guess what! I lost twenty
more pounds! TWENTY Pounds in only one week, outrageous! LOL Don,
one of Dr. Coirin's PAs is calculating 22 pounds since I was 2 pounds
heavier at the office visit, but lost weigh for the day of surgery lol.
Oh well, 20 vs 22 not too big a difference! :) I also got to start my
pureed/super soft diet yesterday. For lunch I tried a scrambled egg-
yum! I ate about half, didn't want to push myself too much. For Dinner
mom made chicken and rice. I took 1.5 ounces of the chicken and put it
in my blender and did two pulses, which chopped my chicken into teeny
tiny pieces and ate almost all of it! I could eat the remaining two
forkfuls, so I gave that to my dog, Midnight. She's eating well these
days! :)

Today is the first day for me to have food all day long (6 MEALS!)...
Breakfast: 1 Scrambled Egg, all of it 7g protein
Midmorning Snack: a Protein shake: 8oz 1% milk, 1oz banana, 1 sc
unflavored powder, 3 ice cubes- 20g protein
*** the shake was a bit bland, but it was my first one lol, so we'll
see how I advance in my shake making skills in the future***
Lunch: Nothing :(
Afternoon Snack: Nothing :(
Dinner: 1 Egg with tuna- didn't taste too bad! But it was too much,
now I know what it feels like to over eat with my new silastic band :)
Evening Snack: Protein Shake- 8 oz Water, orange Crystal Light, 1 oz
Banana, 1 sc unflavored Powder, 2 ice cubes

***January 19, 2006***
I went to my first Support Meeting tonight. A group of probably 10
women and a few men were in attendance. Everyone introduced themselves
and discussed general WLS topics. Hopefully more people will attend next
month :)

***January 25, 2006***
I went to the post op class yesterday, very informative. Arun
discussed the diet and the importance of taking our vitamins every single day
for the rest of our lives. I have to have 80-90 grams of protein a day,
whew, that's going to be a toughie lol. I'll just push it. I did get
on the tameter scale that displays the percent body fat and everything
and I lost another 8 pounds! Whoo hoo!!!!!

***January 30, 2006***
Wow, I was tired this weekend! Last week I delivered phone books for
SBC and it was so tiring! It took me 3 days plus I had help from my
father on the last two. Ugh. Hopefully all that walking helped my
increase some weight loss. I go in on February 6th for my 1 month check
up.... hopefully I'll be down 50 pounds! Because everything happened so
fast, I'm counting my weightloss from the time I started my diet-
December 20th. That's the day that I was told to lose some weight to get my
BMI down to 55 (from 56) and I'd get a date. Between December 20 and
January 6, I lost 13 pounds. Since January 6 I've lost 28 pounds... for
a grand total of 42 Pounds! Yippee!!!!!

***February 3, 2006***
My first update of February and I feel great! thanks to the ladies on
the main board I was able to make my own Virtual Model. She doesn't
look exactly like me in the face area, but oh well :)
***February 5, 2006***

Tomorrow is my one month anniversary! I am so excited, I cannot wait
for 10:15 am to roll around so I can weigh and see how much weight has
melted off since January 6th. I can definately see a difference in my
clothes- I'm wearing my JEANS and JEAN JACKET again! I am also wearing
clingy shirts since my tunics look weird now. I still can't get over
the fact that I'm wearing my Jeans lol.

I finally had my first bad moment on Friday. My family got Chinese
from the local grocery store where we always get chinese. I asked them to
bring me some broccoli beef since I had tolerated broccoli and beef
before seperately. Well, I didn't weigh my food and ate too fast, thus
stuffing my face full of food. I ate too much too fast and became sick.
It took me like 2 hours to throw the stuff up and feel a little
better. I was up until 3:00 am with an upset stomach. Luckily, I took some
tums around 2:30 am and finally felt well enough to sleep.

Ciao!
Jaci

***February 6, 2006***
I am so happy right now! I just got back from my 1 month appointment
and I have lost a total of 49 POUNDS since December 20th, 36 from the
surgery alone! I am so excited. My PA was Dianne and she said my
weightloss was amazing. I guess I'm doing well and lossing faster than
anticipated lol.

***February 7, 2006***
I did my measurements last night... here are the comparisons:
December 20, 2005 .......... February 6, 2006
Height: 5'10"....................5'10"
Neck: 20"........................18"
Chest, under Bust: 58".......50"
Waist: 61"........................53.5"
Right Arm: 20"...................18"
Left Arm: 19"....................17"
Right Wrist: 8"...................7.5"
Left Wrist: 8"....................7.5"
Right Thigh: 30".................27"
Left Thigh: 30"..................27.5"
Right Calf: 21 3/4"
Left Calf: 21 1/2"
Right Ankle:......................11"
Left Ankle:.......................11"
Weight: 393 Pounds...........344 Pounds

***February 18, 2006***
I haven't posted for quite some time! Lately, I have been feeling so
good! I actually feel pretty! *Gasp!* This surgery was the best thing
I ever did, I feel alive again! Yeah, I had a bit of the down in the
dumps blues a few days ago, but it was Valentine's Day lol. But now,
its all good! Tons of people saw the difference in my weight today when
we were at the rabbit show, it was incredible

*~*February 25, 2006*~*
Today I took my 4-H members to the local rabbit show to pick up their
new bunnies. I guess my weight loss is really apparent since
practically everyone I hang out with at shows said I looked great, etc etc....
(Revision 2/28) I don't feel open enough to tell them I had surgery, so I
tell them I'm eating better. I think I'm afraid of jinxing myself
lol. But one person, a great judge and I'm happy to call him a buddy,
knew I had the surgery! He wouldn't give up his source. Ray, you better
tell me! We had a nice chat though. I don't know if I'm losing weight
right now, but I am definately losing the inches. Pants that fit
comfortably last week are now so baggy I gotta find my belts! But its an
amazing journey and I'm so thankful!!!!!!

***February 27, 2006***
My scale hasn't been very nice lately. It refuses to give me a weight,
instead it errors out. Well, today, it didn't error out! I tried it
multiple times too, just to be safe. I have lost 65 pounds since
December 20th! How exciting! Thirty five to go until I will be a member of
the Century Club!!!

My Two Month Surgiversary is tomorrow! YEAH! I have lost 68.5 Pounds
since December 20, 2005! I'm averaging about 1.5 pounds a day which I
think is fantastic.
Here are the new measurements:
*~*~*~*~*12/20/05*~*~*2/6/06*~*~*~*3/5/06*~*~*Diff*~*~*~*
Height:...........5'10"..............5'10"................5�E0�E...........*
Weight:...........393...............344..................324.............68
Neck:.............20"..................18".................17�E............3"
Under
Bust:.....58"..................50".................48�E............10"
Waist:............61".................53.5"..............51
¾�E.........9 1/4"
Right
Arm:.......20"..................18".................17�E............3"
Left
Arm:........19"...................17"...............16.5�E...........2.5"
Right
Wrist:.....8"....................7.5"................7.5�E...........1/2"
Left
Wrist:......8".....................7.5"...............7.5".............1/2"
Right
Thigh:....30"....................27".................25�E............5"
Left
Thigh:......30"...................27.5"...............25�E............5"
Right Calf:.......21
3/4"..................................19.5�E..........2 1/4"
Left Calf:........21
1/2"...................................19.5�E..........2"
Right
Ankle:............................11"...................11�E...........*
Left
Ankle:..............................11"...................11�E..........*
*~*~*~*Total Inches Lost: 43*~*~*~*

***March 5, 2006***
Happy Two Month Surgiversary to me! Whoo hoo! I feel great!
According to my unreliable scale, I've lost 58 pounds since 1/6 and a total of
71 since December 2o, 2005. I absolutely ecstatic! I had my mom take
a pic of me wearing a black blouse I bought two Christmases ago. The
shirt was awesome... everyone commented on how nice I looked. I felt so
great today at church!

***March 6, 2006***
I have to post a correction to my posting last night. I went to my PCP
today t weigh myself on their scale just to double check my home
one... it's not completely reliable. Well, it definately isn't! Our scale
is like 5 pounds heavy! LOL I actually weigh 316, not 322! Whoo
hooo!!! I've lost 64 pounds since January 6 and 77 since I started this
journey with Dr. Corin on December 20, 2005. This completely rocks!


***March 13, 2006***
March is the month of Birthdays for my family and family friends. My
mother's birthday is Friday (St. Patty's Day), she shares this with a
local Dairyman. Mine is the 21st and I'll be 22, whoo hoo! There are 2
other members of the Dairyman's family that share dates of birth in
March as well. Instead of having multiple get togethers, we usually go
out in the middle of the month and celebrate. I haven't heard any plans
yet, but it should be interesting since that family isn't too keen on
surgical assistance for weight loss. Oh well, they'll definately know
when I don't get pie! LOL

I was able to show my sheep at the Great Western Livestock Show and
Exposistion this weekend. I took a yearling ewe and a market lamb.
Usually in the past I would be hot and sweaty while showing and couldn't
wait to get out of the ring. This weekend I was freezing and able to show
my sheep without mentally begging to get out of the ring! I think
that's why I did so well! I places in the Top Five both days for
Showmanship (when your skills are being judged) and my Ewe took Reserve Grand
Champion and the market lamb was 6th! I had a great weekend and can't
wait for the next show!
***March 17, 2006***
Happy Saint Patty's Day! Today is my mom's birthday, also! We're
going out to celebrate her day with family tonight and I wanted to have a
total weight lost in case the subject came up... so I went to my pcp to
use their scale (since ine is wacko). I jumped up and almost cried!
My weight was 311.5!!!!!! I've lost 81.5 pounds!!! I might be able to
make under 300 for my three month appointment in April, I am so
excited- maybe I'll be down 100 pounds, only 18.5 to go!

***March 19, 2006***
It finally happened... a skinny person asks me about the surgery so
they can have it themselves. I told her for Dr. Coirin, she had to have a
BMI of at 35 and 2 Co-Morbidities or at least a BMI of 40. So we'll
see what happens.

Anywho, my 22nd birthday is on Tuesday. I am so excited! My buddy
Michelle and I are going out to party non-alcoholic of course! I can wear
my jean jacket again! I can almost button it! I wasn't able to
button it when I bought it....

*~*March 22, 2006*~*
I have been going to my college's fitness lab this week as part of my
PE requirement to graduate. I am planning to attend three times a week-
MWTH or something like that, I work on Friday so won't be able to make
it. My sister and I go together! She's actually happy when we're
done, so I feel happy for her! In our routine, we start off doing
weights- I haven't a clue what the names of machines we're using are, but
they're pretty intense! After about 30 minutes with the weights, we head
over to the aerobic parts- she does the treadmill and stair climber
while I do the treadmill. Today I averaged 2.5 mph, walked 1.1 mile and
did it in 23 minutes! Whoo hoooooo!!!!!!! To top it all off, I've lost
another 2 pounds since Monday bringing me 308 pounds- total loss: 85
Wonderful Pounds!! Yeahhhhh!!!!!!