alittleisenough
NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS THIN FEELS!!!!!
March 5, 2006......At the beginning of December 2005 I decided that my new year's resolution was going to be to get out of debt. I got hooked onto Dave Ramsey & started my journey. My main goal was to pay off my credit card debt so that I could afford a bigger car. I'm a big gal & drive a lil bitty Ford Zx2 2-door. With a child that's just too small of a car. I wanted something w/ 4 doors. By mid February I had rec'd my income tax refund & had paid off 5 or so credit cards. One night laying in bed I had a thought.... I should take the plunge & have wls instead of going for a new car. A new car is not going to help me live a longer life! A new car is not going to let me get out there & be able to practice soccer & basketball w/ my daughter! I spoke to the sales floor manager at work about who did her lapband for her last summer. She highly suggested I use her doctor. So, I went in search of prices & financing. My insurance won't cover it. I already know this because several people at work have had the surgery & it wasn't covered. So, I knew I'd have to get financing. Well, I applied & was denied. I have horrible credit because of a spendy ex-husband who ran up bills while we were married. So, I talked it over w/ my boyfriend & he said he would co-sign w/ me. He knew how much this meant to me & was willing to help me out however he could. So, I applied again. I was approved; but only for $10K. Well, that's not nearly enough for surgery here in the states. So, I remember someone on a forum I visit saying something about having her surgery in Mexico. So, I sought her out & asked her a few ??? I remember her talking about how much cheaper it was. Her & her hubby both had the surgery done in Mexico for what it would cost 1 person to have it done in the States. I started researching. I narrowed my search down to 3 surgeons. I contacted all 3 patient coordinators. Emailing the patient coordinators back & forth was pretty much what made the decision for me. Joanne w/ Dr. Kuri's office was SOOOOOO helpful. She gave me all the info I asked for. She answered all questions promptly. My biggest concern was finding a local doctor that would do my fills for me. The other patient coordinators told me I would have to do my own research on that. Joanne gave me a list of doctors that at last contact they knew were doing fills for SOB patients. That clinched it for me! So, tomorrow (March 6, 2006) I am calling the financing company to make the final arrangements on the financing. Then I will call Joanne to schedule the surgery date. I won't be having it until June. I am laid off from work every summer so that is the best time for me! I wish I could have it done tomorrow; but good things come to those who wait, right? I am so excited about all of this! It's going to be a new life for me! And I can't wait!!
June 2, 2006.............I am no longer having my surgery w/ Dr. Kuri. I had scheduled my surgery for next week. I have not heard one word from the patient coordinator or Dr. Kuri since I scheduled the surgery. I was never given an address to mail my deposit to. No info on a pre-op diet. Nothing! I had put off my plans for having the surgery until next summer. I wanted to pay off more of my credit cards (I've paid almost half of the amount I started w/ in December...excluding my car!!) I talked to my mom a couple of months ago when she was here visiting. I told her of my plans and she agreed to help me pay for this. So, I'm no longer going to have to go thru a finance company. She is going to loan me part of the money (no interest!!!) and she will pay for part of it. I was still going to wait until next summer because I only have 7 weeks off work this summer and I've got something going on just about every week. I leave Sunday to go on a cruise. I will be gone for 7 days. 3 days after I return I'm going to OH w/ Tim for a long weekend visit w/ his family. The day after we return our Boston Terrier is having surgery. I have a 2 week break w/ nothing going on then my daughter & I are going to a concert (Kenny Chesney) and she is will be leaving for 4H camp the following Monday. I pick her up Friday and then the following Monday (July 17th) I go back to work. I'm going to have to go back to work for a vacation from my vacation! Well, I decided to see if I couldn't go ahead and maybe get something scheduled for the last week of June. If not, no biggie. So, I got in touch w/ Jessie from Dr. Rumbaut's office. He was one of the original surgeon's I was looking at. He come highly recommended from an online friend. She & her hubby had surgery done by him back in Jan & are doing fabulous! Well, as of last night I am officially scheduled for June 26th w/ Dr. Rumbaut. I have my deposit check wrote out & ready to be mailed. My mom is getting the rest of the $$ together for me. Once I return from my cruise I will make my flight arrangements. I have to have my preop blood work done here though. I'm not really looking forward to finding a doctor to order the bloodwork for me! I don't really want to have to explain why I need it done & then have to listen to them lecture me on the "dangers" of having surgery done SOB.
June 14, 2006.....I had my pre-op blood work done yesterday. Since my surgery is scheduled on an off day for Dr. R I had to get my blood work done here in the states. I was SO nervous about talking to my pcp about this. But she was totally cool w/ it. She's very excited. And she didn't say anything negative about my going to Mexico to have it done. She understands the situation since I'm self-pay. She just asked that I make sure I bring all my records from Dr. R back home w/ me along w/ any labs that he would like for her to run periodically. So, YAY!!! I had a fantastic time on my cruise! I think I came home w/ some sort of stomach bug tho! Either that or my nerves are giving me stomach fits! I think it's probably both! It's easing up tho thankfully. I leave tomorrow to go to Ohio for the weekend. I will be back on Monday. Our dog is having surgery on Tuesday. And then I leave on Sunday for Monterrey!! I feel like I'm living all of June in a suitcase. I will have been out of the country twice in 1 month! HA! I booked my flight today also! I bought some cross stitch patterns to do while I'm there. I also have 2 new books to read. And I bought myself a laptop to take w/ me! So, I don't think I'll be bored while I'm there. I'm kind of looking forward to going alone! I need some alone time! It's been hectic this month! This will give me some down time! Oh! I also bought a new scale to document my weight loss. Our old one only went to like 2 something. This one goes to 380. I'm just barely able to use it!!! I now know officially what I way. ACK! It's depressing. But not for long! It's downhill from here! 10 days & counting!!!!
June 20, 2007 (380.9 lbs).........I started my pre-op diet today. So far so good. I've not really felt hungry. And drinking all this water is helping w/ the swelling in my legs. I got my pre-op blood work also from my local pcp; so that's taken care of! My dog is having surgery today and I'm having issues trying to get my reuter to work on my desktop computer so I can use my laptop; and that's helping me not think about being hungry! I spoke to someone from Dr. R's office yesterday. She just wanted to make sure I wasn't on any meds & was doing the pre-op diet. So, all is well. 6 days & counting!!!!!
June 20, 2006 continued (377.8).......I just weighed myself. I've lost 3 lbs today! I know it's all water weight tho as my feet and legs aren't nearly as swollen as they usually are! But hey....3 lbs is 3 lbs!!
June 21, 2006 (372.4).....Day 2 of the pre-op diet. I'm doing fairly well. It's been easier than I thought it would be. I just have some water if I get hungry. I'm having 3 protein shakes a day...the one at dinner is made w/ soymilk instead of water. Drinking lots & lots of water....and peeing A LOT!!!!! LOL! Dr. R's office called me today to see how it was going & to make sure I had my pre-op labwork. Turns out I need a pregnancy test also. So, I had to go back to the doctor's office & have that done. I should be able to pick that up tomorrow or Friday. I KNOW I'm not pregnant. LOL!
June 22, 2006 (367.9).........Woohoo! I'm down 13 lbs so far on this pre-op diet! Makes it all worth while. This is day 3 for me. It's not been too bad so far! I think I'll make it!!!
June 23, 2006 (365.6)..........Down 15 lbs!!! YAY! Day 4 of the liquid diet. It's going pretty good. I rec'd all my confirmation #s for my hotel & transportation today. I've got all my laundry washed & ready to pack. I've really started thinking about how much I'm going to miss Tim and my dog. I'll miss my daughter too. This was supposed to be my weekend w/ her (she's at her dad's for the summer); but she went to my mom's for the weekend since I'm leaving on Sunday. There's also a family reunion there this weekend. I'll be excited to go to it next year and show off the new me!!! I'm ready for the surgery to be done & over so I can come home. Lourdes called me from Dr. R's office yesterday. She just wanted to touch base w/ me to let me know she & Dr. R will be coming by the hotel on Sunday to see me. She said the surgery will be done very early on Monday. I also heard from Jessie...one of the patient coordinators. So, it looks like everything is a go. I have my cashier's checks ready. I have all my pre-op blood work done. All I have to do is pack my bag and get on the plane!!! I bought 2 goal outfits yesterday. Size 24 pants and size 2x shirts!! I can't wait to be able to wear them!!!
June 24, 2006 (364.7).......... Well tomorrow is the day I leave for Mexico. I'm getting so nervous. I packed my bag today. I'm only taking knit shorts & shirts. I have a knit capri outfit to wear if I go out and to wear home. I have my books & cross-stitch. I'll pack my laptop tonight. I have toiletries. Gotta pack my tooth brush after I brush my teeth in the am. My plane leaves at 735. Gonna leave around 445. That'll put me to the airport at 530. I wish Tim were going w/ me. I think I would be less nervous if I weren't going by myself. But, I know everything will be ok. :-)
June 25, 2006........Well, here I sit at the Hampton Inn in Monterrey. I have an appointment w/ Dr. R's assistants at 6pm at their office. Dr. R came by to meet me; but I was out getting some soup. I was starving! I hadn't had anything besides yogurt since 4am!!! The flight was pretty uneventful. I was lucky enough to be able to trade seats w/ someone so I was sitting on the side of the plane that only had one seat from Nashville to Houston. All the rest of my flights already had me assigned to that side. I hate sitting next to someone...I always feel like I'm squishing them or something. That was the tiniest plane I'd ever been on!! The hotel is SUPER nice! I'm all checked in only to check back out tomorrow morning to go have my surgery. But, I will be back at the hotel on Wednesday. I will stay Monday night & Tuesday night in the hospital. As soon as I get back to the hotel & feel like it I will post an update. Tim suprised me on the way to the airport this morning & asked me to marry him when I get back!!!! :-) I was totally shocked! And 100% HAPPY about it! I love him so much. He's been so great to me through all of this. So supportive & loving. I don't ever want to be w/out him. I don't know when we'll get married. We didn't talk about a date. I couldn't be happier right now. Well, I'm off to lay down & rest. I'm EXHAUSTED. I don't think I'll have any problems sleeping tonight. At least I hope not! Well....I met w/ Dr. Horace at the office. He explained everything to me & gave me this nasty laxative to drink. UGH IT'S HORRIBLE!!! Finally choked it down. It better work after how nasty it tastes!! He explained the procedure to me. Everything is good to go. I will get to the hospital at 8am tomorrow. They will do the chest xray & EKG. The procedure should start around 930 or 10am. He said it normally takes 3 hours. So, I'm thinking should be done around 1ish or so. They're gonna call Tim & let him know how it went then I will call him when I'm awake & have my senses back! The only question I had for him was about pain. He assured me if I had any pain to let someone know & they would give me something. So, I guess I'm good to go!! Oh yea...he weighed me I'm down to 361.5.....that's 18.5 lbs gone!! WOOHOO!!!
June 28, 2006........ Well, I had my surgery Monday. All is well. Here's a little description of how it went.... Monday: Checked into the hospital. That was simple enough. The hotel shuttle dropped me off. The driver was great! Reassured me that I was going to be fine! They took me to pre-op and I had to change out of my clothes into a lovely hospital gown. I left my undies on because I was on my period (sorry if it's TMI guys!!) and when I came out they made me take them off. I could leave my pad there tho. I laid there for a while & Dr. R came in. We chatted for a moment or two. He's a great guy! Then another Dr came in & asked me a bunch of questions. After that I went & had my chest xray. Then back to pre-op. Laid there a little while longer. I started getting a bit antsy! The anthesiologist (did I spell that right???) came back and chatted w/ me. Said it'd be about 10 more minutes. They put my IV in sometime during all that. LOL! Off to the OR we go! The anthesiologist said he was starting me off w/ a couple of margaritas. I laughed. He asked what kind of dreams I wanted to have. Told him I wanted to dream about marrying Tim when I got home. They put some electrodes on me to do the EKG & then a bp cuff & that's the last thing I remember! I woke up in recovery freezing my ass off!!! My lip felt like I'd been punched. I thought I'd bit it; but another gal I saw today had the same problem so I think maybe it was when they had the tube in me during surgery??? Who knows! It's finally starting to get better tho. I eventually stopped shivering. I'm not sure how long the surgery took or how long I was in recovery. I kept falling asleep! They eventually took my catheter out....oh what fun!!! Then off to the room. The doctors all eventually came in one at a time. I don't remember much of the conversations. I just remember when Dr. R came in he had me get up! I went to the bathroom. WHEEEEEEE! :-) After that I was allowed to get up whenever I wanted & he let me have some ice chips. The next day (Tuesday) wasn't too bad. Got up & walked around. Had a shower. Two actually...I eventually found some shampoo so I took another one to wash my hair. Did the swallow test & passed w/ flying colors. Tried to stay up & moving as much as I could. Got some broth for dinner. Mmmm...it was divine! That evening my IV started hurting. The nurse came in & tried to flush it; but it wouldn't go! Then Dr. Horace came in & said they'd just take it out. YAY!!! That was great. I talked w/ the nutritionist. She's super nice! She's going to be a big help along the way! Dr. R came back by and said they were kickin me out tomorrow!! Oh yea..Dr. Horace showed me a pic of the new baby!! She's absolutely adorable! Congrats Dr. H!!!! Wednesday: Dr. H came in to check on me. He said as soon as Dr. R came by & they brought me my meds I could go. He said he'd be by the hotel in the am to check on me. Dr. R came. Said as soon as I got my meds I was free to go! YAY!! I got tired of waiting on my meds so I eventually went out to the desk & asked the nurse when I could go. She said 5 more minutes. I rode back to the hotel w/ 2 other ladies that had had the band put in the day before. The ride to the hotel was rough. Every little bump jarred my sore belly!!! UGH! So, that's my journey. The pain wasn't too bad. It mostly felt like someone used me as a punching bag!!! And it really only hurts when I try to use my stomach muscles...like getting up or sitting down. I did eventually break down this evening & took half a dose of pain meds. It was hurting a bit more than I wanted to tolerate. It helped take the edge off. I'm trying to walk as much as I can. I just get so tired! Trying to drink as much as I can also. The isopure makes my mouth really dry. It was nice to have one of my water sensations tho. The grape is so yummy!!!
June 29, 2006....... Day 2 back at the hotel. :-) I'm doing much better today. I had to take some pain meds last night; but today is A LOT better!!! I saw one ofDr. R's assistants today. He just came by to check on me. He was happy to see I was doing so well. He said Dr. R would be by sometime to see me. Didn't know if it would be today or not. But, soon. I hope so I want to beg him to let me go home!!! I also ventured out to the HEB and to Office Max. The HEB was neat. It was like going to a grocery store at home only everything was in spanish. Thank god for pictures on the labels! LOL! But they had a lot of the same brands as we do in the US. :-) It felt so great getting out. I can't wait to step on the scales again!!!! :-)
July 3, 2006 (354 lbs)...... Well, I'm officially 1 week post op. I weighed today at Dr. Rumbaut's office. Down 7 lbs since surgery. That's a total of 26 lbs since I started my pre-op diet! YAY!!! :-) And I have less than 200 to lose! Woohoo!! :-) I'm going home tomorrow. I'm so excited. I can't wait to see Tim. I miss him so much. And my daughter will be home this weekend. I miss her too. She & I are going to a Kenny Chesney concert this weekend & she goes to 4H camp next week!
July 5, 2006 (351 lbs)....... YAY!!! I'm home!!! My plane landed around 2pm yesterday afternoon. We were about 30 min late. We had some delays in Houston because of weather. Let me tell ya, going back thru customs in Houston was a hassle! I was so scared I wouldn't be able to make my connecting flight because of all I had to do and I only had an hour layover! Once you get off the flight you have to go thru customs where they stamp your little form. The walk there from the gate took forever! They stamped my form then it was off to claim my luggage. Then I went thru another line where I dropped off my form that the custom agent stamped. Then I had to go check my bag back in. After that you had to walk thru security. Empty pockets, take laptop out of case & put in a separate tote to go thru the scanner & take my shoes off. Then have to put shoes back on, repack laptop, and put stuff back in my pockets. Then it was another 10 miles (so it seemed) to the gate! I get there only to find out there's a bit of a delay because the plane isn't ready! They finally put us on the bus to go to the plane. Get on the plane & sit on the runway for what seems like a half hour because of the weather delays. And I will NEVER fly on a plane that small again. I was freaking out landing in Nashville. LOL! It was so good to see Tim waiting for me at the airport! I missed him so much! We got home and I had a protein shake. I was majorly weak! All I'd had was a few bites of yogurt & some diluted apple juice & some water. After that we just chilled on the couch & eventually fell asleep. :-) It was so nice to sleep in my own bed last night. I slept like a rock! I'm down a total of 29.9 lbs! Almost 30! WOOHOO!!!!! I just gotta work on getting my water in!!! I feel so full all the time that I just don't drink as much as I should!!!
July 9, 2006 (345.8 lbs)....... Just thought I'd pop a lil update while I have a moment! I'm down 35 lbs! Woohoo!!! Im feeling great! I still have a touch of a yeast infection; but that's getting better. I also developed a rash on my abdoment. I'm thinking it might be from my bath soap; but I don't know. It's the same soap I've used for several years. I finally had to go to the walk-in clinic yesterday for it. They gave me a steroid shot, an Rx for claritin liquid & told me to get some cortisone 10 cream. It was doing better until I took a shower last night. So, that's why I'm thinking my soap maybe. I bought some aveeno today to try to see if that helps. My daughter & I went to a concert last night. It was a blast. We saw Little Big Town, Dierks Bentley, Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson & KENNY CHESNEY!!! Cowboy Troy, Uncle Kraker & Keith Urban also stopped by. The show lasted 7 hours!!! I drank plenty of water & gatorade & sat down when I needed to. I held up pretty well I thought. The toughest part was resisting the food. It smelled SO GOOD!!! But, I was too afraid of getting sick if I ate something. I did dip my finger into Kelsey's nacho cheese twice...just to taste it. LOL I'm getting married tomorrow! WOOHOO!! I can't wait. Oh!! And I can wear 2 pair of capris I wouldn't wear before because they gave me a "camel toe" too bad! LOL! I also bought an XL Kenny Chesney shirt as sort of a reward to myself for when I lose enough weight that I can wear it! :-)
July 13, 2006 (342.8 lbs)...... I'm married!! WOOHOO! And I'm down 38.1 lbs! Life is grand! I had my first scrambled egg today. It was so yummy!!!! I also added the treadmill into the mix today. I'm hoping that will help melt the pounds off. I know it'll make me feel better to be exercising some. I go back to work Monday. :-( I'm so spoiled being off work. HAHA!
July 13, 2006 (342.8 lbs)...... I hit the 40 lb mark!!! WOOHOO!!! I'm also walking the treadmill we bought. Today I did a whole mile. That has really added to my energy level. Things are going great! I'm very happy w/ my progress!
July 26, 2006 (339.7 lbs)........ It's been a rough week! I've hit a plateau. I think a lot of it is because I was on my period! Which lasted for 9 days! UGH! And Elsa had me to stop drinking my protein shakes. She feels I'll get enough w/ just eating. So, that should help! I'm down 40lbs as of today. I hit 43; but it's been up & down this past week! I hope now that my period is gone & I've stopped the shakes when I step on the scale in the am it'll be down! :-) I've uploaded my pre-op & 1 month pic! See below!
July30, 2006 (333.9 lbs)........ Finally my plateau broke!!! I'm down 47 lbs as of this morning. YAY! I had my first eating out experience on Friday. It went well! I was happy. I was worried about it! I bought a freezer yesterday. Was tired of having things crammed in the side by side in the kitchen. Lowe's had one on sale so I got it! Now I can buy things when on sale & stock up! I've been bad about getting on the treadmill this week. Gotta get back on it! I need the exercise! Also, my BMI has dropped 7 points since the surgery. I was a 61 now I'm a 54. :-)
August 4, 2006 (330.8 lbs)....... Well I hit the 50 lb mark!! I am soooo excited. I'm feeling better & better every day! I'm so glad I made the decision to do this! My mom is coming up this weekend. This will be the first time she's seen me since the surgery. :-) I'm so excited! And woohoo! BMI is down to 53!!!!
Aug 27, 2006 (316.1)......... I haven't updated in a bit. Yesterday marked 2 mos since my surgery. I've lost a total of 64 lbs. I feel great! My clothes are getting too big. My daughter can reach her arms around me. I also bought a new car to go w/ the new me! :-)
September 17, 2006 (304.8).......... It's been super busy around here!!! But, I'm still on track. I'm down 76 lbs. Another 4.8 and I'll be out of the 300's yay!!! And my bmi is down to 49! That' puts me out of super obese to just extremely obese! WOOHOO!! LOL! I'm so thankful every day for my surgery!!! And for the people I've met because of it! Another 9 days & I'll be doing my 3 mos pictures! I can't wait to see the difference!!!
Tips: They give you great big bottles of water in the hospital. I snagged my 2 & brought them back to the hotel w/ me. They give you a gift box when you get back to the hotel from surgery. It contains a mug, tea bags, equal, a couple broth cubes (very greasy), 2 gatorades, some bottle of something similiar to crystal light & two packages of a similiar crystal light mix, and a bottle of Isopure. I'll add more tips as I think of them!!!! I can't wait to step on the scales!!!
