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Before & After
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* move mouse over the picture to see “after” photo
See these instructions if you wish to submit your own Before & After photos. Surgeon Testimonial Jefferson R. Vaughan, M.D., F.A.C.S. I first met Dr. Vaughn in Jan 2003 at his lecture. He was very professional, to the point and very, very funny. He made the atmosphere so great. I had interacted with his Patient Coordinator, Carol too and she also was very good. I was really impressed when I called her a year later and she remembered me. Even though we really didn't get very far in the process, she knew who I was. That really impressed me. I actually had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. V. on Jan 29, 2004. My first impression of him was right on point. He is really a great guy and genuinely seemed to care about me. He too remembered me from the lecture (I must be unforgettable) :-) I was really impressed! Dr. V, has a strict plan that needs to be followed once released from the hospital. He takes this plan very seriously and expects you to also. I look forward to him performing my surgery. Member Interests
Latest Surgery Support Comments
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My Story 1/4/03 - Hello everyone! I've been lurking on this site for some time now and have recently decided to start the process to have the gastric bypass surgery. I've found the educational process to be very interesting and insiteful. I'm a wife and mother of two children and I have a great career as a financial advisor. My weight problem officially began after the birth of my son 13 years ago. I slowly but surely started to gain and retain weight. While I never remember being "thin" or "small" I was not overweight. After my daughter was born in 1992 my weight grew out of control. Much of my problem (then and now) was eating the wrong foods, fast foods, junk foods. I don't consider myself an overeater but I do LOVE the fatty and sugary foods. Anyway, by 1997, I ballooned up to 242 lbs. I couldn't believe it! I started on my first weight loss program. It was great! I lost 92 lbs. over a 8 month period mainly with diet and very moderate exercise. I was so proud of myself! In fact, my husband and I went on the program together and lost over 150 lbs. combined! We were even featured in EBONY magazine (Feb. 1999). Life was good! But soon, life got in the way and in the year 2000 I slowly but surely started to put the weight back on. I feel like such a failure. When I was going through the weight loss program before, I felt sure that I would never, ever, put the weight back on and here I am again. I am weighing in at 232 lbs. just 10 lbs. from my previous "before" weight. I have one co-morbidity of high cholestrol, but I have hypertension and diabetes in my immediate family which I know is going to catch up to me sooner or later. You may be thinking, "why not go back on the plan where you lost the weight before"? I have tried so many times to restart my original plan but don't seem to have the same level of success that I had before (the fact that I'm 5 yrs. older doesn't help). I also don't want to restart a program with the chance that I will regain the weight again. I need a permanent solution! I personally know 5 people who have had different variations of the gastric bypass, all with great success (although not without complications). They are all very happy with their results and all would do it again in a heartbeat! They're my inspiration. Anyway, I'm still in the process of trying to select a doctor. All the doctor's seem so busy. I've contacted US Bariatrics, Dr. Marema in Ft. Lauderdale, FL but I have to do constant follow-up with them. After more than a month, I still haven't had a nurse to contact me for a medical profile. It is my understanding that they do have a contract with my insurance so that is why I'm trying to be patient with them. I'm also considering Dr. Jefferson Vaughn in Jupiter, FL. I attended one of his information sessions and I really liked him. He has a great sense of humor and seemed very warm and approachable. The problem with him is that he wants $6,000 surgeon's fee up front and he'll reimburse whatever the insurance will pay. It may be a little tough to come up with that kind of cash, but where there's a will there's always a way. I know that I need to get things moving kinda quickly because Dr. Vaughn says he's scheduling surgeries now for May and June. I guess I'm going to have to learn a little about patience in this process. I have my psych eval scheduled for Jan 14th. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. I'd like to give an obesityhelp.com shout out to my friends Barbara Solomon and Aimee B. Thanks for your encouragement! Toni :-) Stats: Height - 5'5 Weight - 232 lbs. BMI - 38.? Frame - Large Goal Weight - 135 lbs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1/31/04 - I haven't posted in over a year. Why? Because WLS was denied by my employer so I put it on the back burner. Here's a quick update on what's been going on with me for the past year. After I was denied coverage, I gave up with trying to lose weight. I consequently gained another 18 lbs. to 250 lbs. by Dec. 2003. Well, my journey with weight loss was not over, because I was miserable. Desperate, I went and joined a weight loss clinic in my town. I paid almost $1,000 and they put me on a low carb, low fat diet which included their protein supplements. I began to lose weight right away (11 lbs.), but it was very, very difficult. I couldn't imagine working so hard to take the weight off AGAIN to regain it again 3-4 years from now. I need a PERMANENT solution! One of my clients re-peaked my interest in WLS. She told me she was taking out a home equity loan to pay for the surgery. BINGO!!! That's it! I can do the same thing! So I scheduled an appointment for the two of us to attend Dr. Vaughn's lecture and get the ball in motion for me to pay for the surgery myself. Now to convice my husband... My husband attended Dr. V's session with me and was very impressed with him and how the surgery works. He gave me the thumbs up! Yea! On Thurs. 1/29 my husband and I visited with Dr. V. He is great! He answered every question and concern that we had. He even tested my husband's metobolic rate and calorie intake for weight loss. He needs to lose approximately 50 lbs. We found out that his metabolism is off the charts and that he could eat between 2100-2900 calories and lose weight. I hate him (with love of course)!!! :-) So he's ready to start his program. Dr. V said that I was a good candidate for the surgery and to begin getting pre-op testing. He has ordered an EKG (2/16), a chest X-ray (2/16) and an allergy workup (2/10) (I believe I'm allergic to latex). In the meantime, we're reapplying for insurance since my company changed carriers this year. I doubt very seriously if I will get approved since I'm covered under the company funded plan. They are probably still excluding the surgery. After the tests are done and we hear from the insurance company, we can schedule the surgery. I also got approved for the home equity loan so even if the insurance doesn't pay, I'm going forward anyway. Here are my updated stats: Stats: Height-5'5; Weight-241 lbs.; BMI-40; Frame-Large; Goal Weight-135 lbs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2/3/04 - I GOT APPROVED!!! I can't believe it! My husband's insurance company (BC/BS) approved me with a phone call from the surgeon's office. I'm really excited! Now I've got to get all my tests and then set a date. Wow, I'm blown away! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2/4/04 - The surgeon's office called and did a medical profile over the phone. I guess I'm really, really on my way. Wow! At this rate I will have the surgery around late Feb. I expect to get a date before this week ends. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2/10/04 - I went to see the allergist. He sent me for a blood test and taped a piece of latex to my skin. It appears that I'm not severely allergic to latex only when it touches mucous membranes (wet spots). So as long as the surgeon doesn't have to convert me to open, then he shouldn't have to touch my mucous membranes with latex gloves. Next is my pre-op visit with my primary care physician on 2/16. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2/18/04 - I had my pre-op with my PCP on Monday, 2/16. He was very happy for me. He thought I should definitely go forward with the surgery. He actually has 8-10 of his patients who used Dr. V and he said they are all doing fabulous! Most of them are off all meds and unrecognizable. He thought Dr. Vaughn was the best, which was very encouraging to me. All of my tests came back normal. Now, I'm just waiting for a surgery date from Dr. V's office. As a side note, I'm really, really, I mean, R-E-A-L-L-Y consumed with the whole idea of having the surgery. It's all I think about. I'm excited, nervous, scared, and any other emotion you can think of. I've turned every scenario over in my head. I've thought of the best case to the worst case. (In fact, I'm going to see an Estate Attorney tomorrow.) I wonder am I being selfish or vain. Except for obesity and high cholesterol, I'm relatively healthy (although hypertension and diabetes are in my family and my future if something doesn't change). I wonder am I going to stir up trouble and cause other health problems. Just so much to think about. I know I'm in good hands with Dr. V. Everybody raves about his care and from what I've experienced so far, I have no doubt it's true. I've come too far now to turn around, but it's nice to have a place to vent! Whew! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2/23/04 - I GOT A DATE! My surgery date is set for Tuesday, March 16, 2004. I don't have a time yet but I believe it will be first thing in the morning. That's exactly 3 weeks away. I'm so ready! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thursday, 3/4/04 - PRE-OP VISIT Today I went to see Dr. Vaughan, registered at the hospital and took a 1 hour pre-op class. It was all very interesting! I really, really, like Dr. V. He has such a great personality and sense of humor. He's so down to earth. I also learned today that he trained under the doctor who performed Carnie Wilson's (singer from Wilson Phillips) surgery. Dr. Wittgrove was so impressed with Dr. Vaughan that they asked him to join their teaching staff. So Dr. V travels the WORLD teaching others how to perform the gastric bypass laporascopically (sp?). He recently did the surgery on the largest person to have it LAP, 516 lbs! Usually they have to cut a person that size open. I know now more than I did before, that I'm in the right hands. Between Jehovah God and Dr. V, I will be just fine! I discussed with Dr. V my concerns about regaining the weight. He assured me that if I followed the rules and stopped eating when I feel full, my pouch (the new stomach) would not stretch very much. It should end up being about 5-6 oz. in size. I have to stay away from the deadly "P's" as he calls them...popcorn, pretzels, potatoes, potato chips, peanuts, pasta, etc. and I'll be just fine. I also found out that dumping syndrome (what happens to you when you eat anything with sugar) feels alot like seasickness. I hate that feeling! I really hope that I do DUMP (only 60% of the patients DUMP) that way I won't have to worry about eating sugar because it'll make me sick. I'll assume that I will dump so I don't intend on testing it. The hospital registration was uneventful but everyone was very, very nice. The pre-op class was ok. It gave us a very realistic picture of what to expect after surgery. The first 2 days you're kinda out of it but she said by the third and fourth day most people are walking the halls begging to go home. I'm sure that will be me. Friday, 3/13/04 - My surgery date was moved. It's now Monday 3/15 at 12 noon rather than Tues. 3/16. The doctors office didn't offer an explanation and I didn't really care. One day earlier is just fine with me. Being that this past week was my last week to eat "normal" I really set out to try to eat everything I thought I wanted. I must already be in the new program mode because just about everything has been from mediocre to bad. I just couldn't get a good meal this week. It's ok though, it just means that my last memory of these foods isn't so great so I won't desire them as much. I want all of my family and friends to know that I appreciate their support and I love you all very much. The next time you see me I'll be a BIG FAT LOSER!! Take care. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Friday, 3/19/04 – I’M HOME! I came home on Thursday, March 18th and I feel pretty good. I had a slight fever last night but that quickly past with some liquid Tylenol with codeine. My temperature has been normal ever since. This morning I went for a walk on my street which felt very good. My pain today feels like I did too many sit-ups, not too bad. Let me start from the beginning. My surgery was Monday, 3/15 at 12 noon. My cat had vaccinations on the day before and was very sick from a reaction. So we had to rush him to the pet hospital at 9:00 a.m. to have him checked out before I could go to the hospital for 10 a.m. Needless to say, we were 45 minutes late! Ugh! I was too calm prior to the surgery and something just had to happen to get me stressed. By the time I got to the hospital, I was totally stressed. It turned out ok though because I got in and got prepped with time to spare. Around 12:30 p.m., the anesthesiologist put something in my IV to relax me and the next thing I knew I was in the recovery room. It was approximately 3:30. I don’t know what time the surgery actually started. I didn’t even get to see the machines and the doctor in his “space” suit. I was really disappointed. They took me to my private room, which was very nice. I felt like someone very, very angry at me had hauled off and Billy Blanks’ Tae Bo kicked me in the stomach! LOL! Ouch! They had put a couple of drains in my side. One that looks like a plastic hand granade, the other was a small tube about 1 inch. I was uncomfortable. I also was nauseated and had the dry heaves on a very painful stomach. Not fun! My husband stayed with me and I rested well the first night. I would like to thank my angel LaFonda for sending me flowers on behalf of the Black American Forum here on obesityhelp.com. It was nice to see those flowers when I first entered the room. Day 2 was good. I felt a little less uncomfortable but I continued to use my pain pump throughout the day. This really helped. I had to swallow some icky concoction to see if I had any leaks in my new stomach and I didn’t. Yea! By the evening, I was beginning to develop gas and having what I thought were serious hunger pains. It was that sinking, empty feeling you have when you are really, really hungry. I started getting phone calls, visitors and flowers from many of my friends. Thanks you guys for showing so much love. Day 3 was gas day. I had gas so bad it hurt in my shoulder. I got my first food tray (broth, water and jello) and was happy to just put something in my stomach. Everything went down and stayed down fine and so far, I’ve had no more trouble with nausea. I had a shower and I really started to walk the halls to walk off the gas pains. It helped but it didn’t pass until day 4. Day 4 was a very good day. I did have to have a CAT Scan to make sure I didn’t have gas pockets. I didn’t. I started to pass the gas (too much information LOL) and was discharged from the hospital around 4 p.m. All in all, I’m doing very well. I’ll keep you posted. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Monday, 3/22/04 – Yesterday, I started having a sharp pain under my left rib. So I contacted the doctor’s office and they told me to come in. It turns out that it was nothing. I may have pulled an internal stitch laughing or coughing. By the way, I weighed in at 227, down 12 lbs. in 7 days. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wednesday, 3/24/04 – I went to the doctor today for my scheduled appointment. I am 9 days post op and it’s time to remove the tubes in my side. The hole where the tube that has the hand grenade on it is inflamed and very sore. I know it’s going to hurt to take it out. Yep! I was right. OMG, it hurt so bad when she pulled out the tube. I let out a loud yelp! It turns out, that that site was starting to get infected so she gave me a prescription to clear it up. Unfortunately, I thought I would feel much better without the tube but that sight hurts so badly it feels like the tube is still in. I hope this clears up soon. BTW, I’m down another 3 lbs. to 224, 15 lbs in 9 days! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Monday, March 29 – Two weeks post-op and I feel great! I’m at 100% and just trying to get last minute things done before I return to work. I went to Curves and had a good workout. I really enjoy their program. I even helped put out a brush fire (that’s another story). I also ate pretty well. Here’s an example of what I ate today: Breakfast – Protein oatmeal, approx. 2 tablespoons Lunch – 1 slice of turkey rolled up in a slice of baby swiss cheese Dinner – Tuna/egg salad w/2 crackers, approx. ¼ cup I ate slowly and everything stayed down. I also felt full, not stuffed, but definitely full. Oh yea, I tried some chicken on Sunday and it stayed down too. I’m really happy about that because so many people have trouble with chicken. I weighed today and I’m at 221 lbs. Down 18 lbs. in two weeks. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thursday, April 15, 2004 – I haven’t updated in a couple of weeks and I know everyone wants to know how I’m doing. Sorry to keep you in suspense. The reason I haven’t written is because I’ve been soooooo busy. I returned to work on April 5th (3 weeks after surgery) and have been running ever since. In fact, I’m writing this update from Houston, Texas. I’m here for business but since this is my hometown I extended my stay to see my friends and family. I am happy to say I’m doing very, very well. So well, that even I can’t believe it. I’m 4 weeks out and my scars are almost non-existent. Within 3 months I won’t be able to see them at all. I have no pain. The only concern that I have is that I’m not urinating enough (approx. 3 times a day and only small amounts) although I’m drinking about 60 oz. of liquid a day and my monthly cycle is late (don’t worry I’m not pregnant). I’ve only thrown up once and that was because it was pork chunks and I didn’t chew it well. It was like a lump in my chest so I just threw it up. In fact, learning to chew, chew, chew is my only problem. I’m still working on that. My portions are still tiny and usually consist of meat only. I actually miss having a complete meal. I’ve had a couple lapses where I ate some crackers and fried chicken (1 wing or ½ a leg) but other than that I’m basically eating all protein. I’ve had no sugar, which is a big deal for me. Here are some of the items I’m eating: tuna, eggs, crab, shrimp, gyro meat, chicken, deli turkey, yogurt, cottage cheese, egg drop soup, Wendy’s chili, protein bars, protein shakes, protein fruit drinks So how much weight have I lost? Well, before I tell you let me just say that I’m no longer wearing size 22Ws. I’m now wearing my 18W comfortably. I’m starting to retire some of my old clothes. In fact, I recently wore one of my favorite suits that I hadn’t been able to wear since last summer. Oh how sweet it is!!! As of today, I weigh 216. I would like to see more progress from my weight, but I’m definitely losing inches because my clothes fit much better. I’ll take what I can get! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Monday, May 3, 2004 – 7 Week Post-Op Update I’m 7 weeks post op right now and I’m doing well. I went to see Dr. Vaughan on last Wednesday and he was happy with my progress. I’ve lost 31% of my excess body weight already. He looked at my food choices and said I was doing well except for the crackers, of course. He told me that my stomach is approximately 15 cc or 1 tbsp. Frankly, I don’t believe that. I know I eat more than 1 tbsp. He did explain that as you’re eating, the food is draining through the pouch, so if something is soupy or liquid it will drain faster than a solid meat. That makes sense, but 1 tbsp. P-L-E-A-S-E! The problems with urinating and my late cycle were both resolved on their own. I’m in Texas again today. My grandfather passed away Friday so I had to get a flight first thing Saturday morning to Houston. He was 97 years old and lived a full life. He and my grandmother had been married 74 years. She’ll be 96 years old in June. Jehovah God, blessed us with a wonderful patriarch in J.C. Osborne. I will miss him very much. I’ll update again soon. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Monday, May 17, 2004 – 9 week post-op As of today, I weigh 199! No more 200 lbs. EVER! I’m so excited! I eat mainly meat, fish and cheeses. My portions are still small. I eat about 3-4 oz. at a sitting depending on what it is. I’ve gotten sick once. I ate an Atkins Endulge ice cream bar, which is supposed to be no sugar. Well it made me sick! It felt like I had a stomach virus. It was late, so I just went to bed. By morning, I was fine. I’m saving so much money on food. I can eat a frozen low-carb dinner that cost $2.50 and eat it for 2 meals. I’ve gotten rid of ½ the clothes in my closet and I’m looking to start buying clothes soon. My rings are spinning around my fingers and I’m wearing shorts again. I typically exercise for 4-5 days a week for 30 minutes either at Curves or on the treadmill and when I’m really ambitious both. Everyone, including me, is amazed at my progress. Time is really flying. I really believe that I may reach my goal of 140 lbs. before my 6 month anniversary. That would be awesome. Until next time… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tuesday, June 9, 2004 – Week 13 It’s time for another update. So much is going on I don’t know where to begin. I just returned from vacation in Whistler, B.C. Canada and it was simply breathtaking. The best part about the trip was that my company paid for it. We had the best accommodations, the landscape was beautiful and of course, the food was plentiful. I did pretty well though. I only cheated by pinching off bread. Trust me, I walked it off by hiking through the mountains. I walked so much my hips hurt, BAD! I’m ok now, the 1 hour massage the company sponsored helped a lot. :-) As of today, I weigh 189. That’s 50 lbs. gone since the surgery, 61 lbs. down from my highest weight in December. Yea! I’m currently wearing sizes 16 and 14 pants/skirts, 14 dresses and large shirts. Today, I wore a dress I haven’t worn in 4 years. I can’t believe it! I’m eating approximately 400-700 calories a day. The surgeon’s office called me and said my recent blood tests were excellent. I have no vitamin or iron deficiencies. They told me to keep up the good work. The only annoying thing about the surgery is that after I eat for about 30 minutes, my stomach is really working on the food. It’s not a stomachache or painful, it’s just a nagging, annoying feeling. My husband says that I get really quiet after eating (which I’m hardly ever quiet) that’s because I’m concentrating on the food digesting. Other than that, I really feel AWESOME! Everyone says I’m glowing and my attitude is positive. I don’t have any regrets for having the surgery. I will try to get another picture posted soon. Take care. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wednesday, August 4, 2004 – Week 21 I guess you’ve been wondering where I’ve been. I’m still around, very much alive and kickin’! I’m currently down to 171 lbs. A total of 68 lbs. since surgery and 79 lbs. overall. I’m down to a size 12 and medium shirts. This was my original goal size and I’m still 22 lbs. from my weight goal of 150 lbs. That’s right, I’ve changed my goal. I’ve decided that at 140-145 lbs. I’ll look like a bobble head. Everybody tells me that I look 20 lbs. lighter than I really am. In fact, I went to an amusement park last week and played the "Guess Your Weight" game and she guessed that I weighed 148. Wow! I gave her a big hug! So you see, at 150 I’ll look like 130 which is small enough. Plus my entire wardrobe is a size 12 so I would have to replace everything in my closet and that’s not happenin’. Last month was not very good for my weight loss. Although, I stayed on the meal plan, I plateaued at 177 and stayed there for 2 weeks. That was a drag, but I knew that I couldn’t continue on my continuous weight loss without a plateau. Fortunately, that was the only one. As for eating, my portions have increased. I notice that I’m not getting full as fast, so I really have to be conscious of this and stop eating at a reasonable portion size. I still get hungry at every meal time (I have not missed one meal). Some people say they don’t get hungry but unfortunately, I’ve never had that problem. I still haven’t had any sugar but I really have to pay attention to my carbs. I’m consuming approximately 600-900 calories, 40-50 carbs and 60-80 proteins a day. I’m also doing well with my vitamin regimen. All, in all, I’m very pleased with my progress and would do this surgery again in a heartbeat. Check out my picture link above, I’ve added a couple of new photos. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 9/22/04 – 6 months post-op - Week 28 The last 6 months have been a whirlwind! I can’t believe the transformation. In December 2003, I weighed 250 lbs. On my surgery date in March, I wore a size 20W and weighed 239 lbs. Today, I’m wearing a size 10/12 and I weigh 158 lbs. Last month, I got measured at Curves and had lost over 66.75 inches! Wow! What a difference a little time makes! I’m very, very happy with my progress. I’m now 3-8 lbs. from goal. I want to remain between 150 and 155 lbs. What I have noticed is that it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to control my portion sizes. What happened to the 2 tablespoons of food and full??? I can now eat about a cup of food at a sitting. I think that’s too much. So now I have to WORK on stopping eating when I feel full, before it was not an option. Also, now that I’m close to goal I’m having more difficulty making the best food choices. I still haven’t had any sugar but I notice that I’m eating more snack foods like Cheez-its, popcorn, and nuts. I really have to watch this. I don’t want to deny myself everything, but I don’t want to overdo it. There’s definitely a fine line. I’m still not exercising as much as I should. I guess that will always be a battle but I’m trying to get a serious workout partner. That should help. Any volunteers? The one thing I’m struggling with is self-image. When I look in the mirror, I don’t really see what everyone around me sees (frankly, I never did when I was gaining either). People tell me I look beautiful and that I could be a model. Why can’t I see what they see? Someone actually looked at me the other day and said that she would give anything to look like me (my body). I looked at her and said, “Who me, you’re talking to me?” I couldn’t believe it. When I look in the mirror I still think I have much more to lose. I’ve got to get it out of my mind that I’m not supposed to have any fat. Can you believe I actually looked at my size 10 dress and thought it looked big! What’s wrong with me? That is ridiculous. I’ve got to keep attending the support groups because they can really help with these issues. I went to the surgeon’s office today for my 6 month checkup. I met with the nurse practitioner and she said I was doing very well. All of my blood tests came back normal. My cholesterol is down from 277 to 235. My bone density test was also normal. This means I haven’t lost any bone mass. She told me to maintain my weight I need to increase my calories and good carbs. That means I need to eat wheat bread, wheat pasta and brown rice. I also can eat more fruits and vegetables. I just have to keep away from white flour foods, rice, potatoes and sugar. I have to say all in all, I’m very pleased with my progress. I would do it again in a hot minute. NO REGRETS! Check out my picture link above, I’ve added a couple of new photos. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ March 31, 2005 – 1 year post op - Week 54 Well, here I am a year later looking back on my transformation and all I can say is, “WOW”! I feel incredible. I still can’t believe the change. My surgery was a success from the word go and life has been good ever since. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! I’m down 105 lbs. (from my highest weight) to my goal weight of 145. I’m holding steady at this weight eating just about anything I want (within reason). I still have a low tolerance for sugar and dairy, which is good because my weakness was ice cream. Alcohol knocks me out which is also ok with me because I don’t need the empty calories. I visited with Dr. Vaughan and he was very impressed with my progress. He actually said I was beautiful and that he would call me when he shoots his next commercial this summer. We’ll see. All of my tests came back normal. I’m very diligent about my vitamins and supplements. I also kept up with all of my blood work and bone density tests. This is so important to make sure I stay healthy. I’m so encouraged by everyone that has had the surgery and have transformed themselves. I personally have a circle of friends who have taken on this journey and are having amazing results themselves. To Jodi, Arlene, Bill, Donna and Nancy, keep up the good work. You all look incredible and inspire me to keep going. This will be my last update for a while. Thanks to all of my friends who have kept up with my journey. If you know of anyone who would benefit from reading my story, please share it with them. I hope that my journey will inspire someone else not to give up and to keep up the hard work because it is truly worth it! Ciao for now! P.S. – I’ve posted a few more pictures on the link to the left. Take care. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Weight Statistics 3/15/04 – 239 – Surgery date 3/22/04 – 227 (-12) 3/24/04 – 224 (-15)- 9 day post-op Dr. visit 3/29/04 - 221 (-18) 4/15/04 - 216 (-23) 4/28/04 - 206 (-33) - 6 weeks post-op 5/17/04 - 199 (-40) - 9 weeks post-op 6/9/04 - 189 (-50) - 13 weeks post-op 8/3/04 - 171 (-68) - 21 weeks post-op 9/22/04 - 158 (-81) - 28 weeks post-op 3/30/05 - 145 (-94) - 54 weeks post-op - Size 6/8 |
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