Leslie H.
Did I hear you correctly????
Jul 10, 2008
Today's One Year RNY Check-up:
Ummmm... Excuse me, but what did you just say?
"Don't lose any more weight."
Are you sure?
"At this point we will be concerned that you're losing too much."
But I still have some fat I want to get rid of....
"That's not fat, it's excess skin and we want you to see a surgeon regarding plastics. We will get a referral started for you."
Are you kidding me? I'm there? I'm not fat? No way... I'm fat. No, maybe I'm not fat. Well, maybe chubby.... Is this real? Well... I guess I'm plump. Are you sure I'm where I should be?
"Leslie, you look fabulous and should be proud of yourself.... You're at the weight you should be, and you are not fat."
So now I'm officially not a fat lady.
I have to get used to this. It feels so foreign to shop at Chicos and wear a size 1. I used to wear a size 32 in the plus size department! I can fit behind the steering wheel of my Jaguar and actually enjoy driving it. Painting my toenails is no problem. Walking for miles is a pleasure.... No more seat belt extenders when I travel on a plane. I can sit in a regular seat at the theater. No more snoring, high blood pressure, and sweating. So much change!
So now I start the plastics journey.
Time to do the insurance game and get to where I feel totally normal.
Regardless of the plastics battle with insurance and the outcome I'm very happy with my decision to have the RNY. The results have been unbelievable! It will take time to adjust to the new me, but as my doctor said, "You worked hard to get the weight off and you deserve to feel right in your body."
So the journey continues and with every step I feel better about me, the lady who looks like a thin person! Okay, I am a thin person.... I did it.
A Thanksgiving to remember.
Dec 08, 2007
Thanksgiving.... I hosted the "feast" for 20 family members whom I hadn't seen in several months. I'm so proud of myself for losing the 100 plus pounds and this was a time to basque in my glory!
I look soooooo much better, and didn't have to be the fat one at the dinner table this year. YEAH! And yes, I did get lots of compliments and was very pleased to say that "so far no complications and I felt like a million bucks!"
I even knocked on wood.
The next morning we went up to Sonoma bright and early to get our "perfect" Christmas tree before the wineries got to the biggest and tallest Noble Fir. Got it! No need to wait for them to get it ready to tie to the top of the Suburban... The shopoholic in me thought we'll go shopping in Sonoma Square and come back and get the tree when it's ready! Let's have some fun!
And that's when I realized that something was wrong.
My abdomen started hurting so bad. I mean like agony! Of course my first thought was that the raw vegetables that I ate on Thanksgiving were doing a number. So I kept shopping for about halfway around the square. My niece and daughter hit a shoe sale. Normally I would be in heaven... Big trouble. I told them to go ahead without me and sat down on a bench.
I realized that I had to go home. Something was really wrong!
So I went home and got into bed, still hoping that the pain would go away. I really thought that our day in Union Square and tea at the Rotunda was going to happen . All would be fine when I woke up in the morning. I looked forward to our very special holiday shopping trip to San Francisco every year and I had no intention of missing it.
You guessed it... The next day instead of sipping tea at the Rotunda I ended up in the emergency room for 8 hours while everyone else (besides my husband and daughters) went on MY shopping trip.
I was so damn sick I just wanted to die.
They couldn't find the source of my pain even with a CT scan. There was much concern that there was a problem with the RNY and so my doctor decided that they would need to do exploratory surgery within 24 hours to find the problem.
That evening I got much worse. The pain was out of control. So at 11:00 P.M. I was in surgery and all was well... I was heavily sedated and in another place!
I just prayed that it had nothing to do with the RNY. I didn't want any revisions!
Of all things my appendix had turned gangrene, burst, and was hiding behind my uterus. This is why they couldn't find the source of the pain.
Is that bizarre or what????????
I stayed in the hospital for 5 days and came home with antibiotics and vicotin. Yeah pain killers!
I'm on the mend but still am exhausted. I guess the healing part of this takes some time.
Well Merry Christmas. My prized tree is up and the house looks beautiful, thank God for my children! Christmas is my time of the year and I'm still planning on my annual Christmas Eve Brunch . Kind of insane because we usually have over 200 friends attend.
But I've learned some things this year... Get the brunch catered, count on your family being there for you, and (even though my issue wasn't directly affected by the RNY) never boast that you haven't had any "complications."
I wish all of you a blessed holiday!
4 months Post-op
Oct 08, 2007
Feeling great and FINALLY the weight loss is showing!!!!!
Just revised my slide show with my 4 mos. images. I can actually see a difference now and am soooo happy!
The weight hasn't come off as quickly as I thought but patience is something that I'm getting good at... I take each pound as it comes and know that eventually I will reach my goal!
Slowly but surely....
Aug 16, 2007
So here I am! Not a huge weight loss but feeling lots better.... The images are of me at Fentons eating my "last sundae" a week before surgery, then the day of surgery, and a little over 8 weeks post-op. Think I'll do another slide show in a few months... Hopefully the results will be more significant, but hey! I'm not complaining!
Almost 9 Weeks Out....
Aug 10, 2007
It's been a hectic nine weeks with many outside things going on that have added to my stress level.
Some things are out of my control so I'll just take it a day at a time and do the best I can! And life goes on....Happily I'm able to report a 38 pound weight loss since my RNY and over 60 pounds lost since I started seeing the surgeon. AMAZING! I'm down 2 sizes and feel so much better!
Still working on getting my daily protein levels up. Hard to do when meat makes me gag! Only getting about 500 calories per day but still feel pretty good.
I purchased an eliptical machine and walk quite a bit. I hate
exercise but know that it's a must. 
Glad to have all of your support and please know that I'm thinking about all of you... It's such a blessing to be able to go through this journey with such wonderful friends!
I'm home and it's over!
Jun 26, 2007
Well I'm home and in one piece... Just have a new stomach and lots of bruising around my incisions.Had lots of gas from the surgery and have never had so many people want me to "fart" and "poop" but understand why. With lap RNY they inflate your abdomen with CO2 which you need to get out. And Lord, it hurts until you do!
So that's all past me and now I'm 8 days post-op. Think I'm losing weight and craving guacamole! Just glad it's over with and taking it a day at a time....
Making it better....
Jun 15, 2007
Went to Alta Bates Summit Medical Center for all of my pre-op labs then went upstairs to the Bariatric floor. I asked if my daughter (Elizabeth aka Bitsy) could stay with me while I'm there. Apparently this is fine. PHEW!!!!!!
Bitsy, my wonderful 16 year old daughter, is very concerned about the surgery. Initially she feared that she would lose me and confided that I was her best friend and the most important person in her life. Quite an honor as she has many siblings, her dad, friends, Alex (her boyfriend and my buddy). We are very close and I understand her fear. Just wish that I could make it all better...
I have to be strong for my parents who recently buried their third child, my 52 year old sister. My father has been concerned about my weight but panicked when I decided on the RNY. He is a strong handsome man who suddenly looks very old and weak. He told me that he doesn't want to bury a fourth child. I promised him that I would be fine, but I understand his worry as well. I will see him tomorrow for a early Father's Day. I want him to be calm, I want to make it better...
Then there is me. I am making me better... No more yoyo dieting. No more unhealthy aches and pains. No more fat clothes. No more being ashamed of how I look. No more of lots of uncomfortable and awful things that are caused by obesity.
I'm making me better, and everyone else will be better because of it!
So now I'm starting the countdown, drinking my protein, and getting support from my OH friends. Thank God for this site and special thanks and big hugs to my ANGEL Charlotte (kid4ever)
YAY.... Got a surgery date!
May 25, 2007
Well after a year of doing exactly as "prescribed" I'm here... VERY excited and in disbelief! My surgeon's office called and said that they had submitted the RNY request for surgery this morning and to please call my case worker at Healthnet. Of course I immediately called Johnny Ann (Healthnet case worker) and was informed that yes, she had approved the surgery. So in a matter of minutes all of this was decided and a done deal... So all of the twists, turns, ups, downs, and anxiety over the past year are coming to a close. My new "remodeled" life will begin on June 18!
Crazy couple of weeks and now all is calm (for the moment!)
May 22, 2007
Thank God for my friends at Obesity Help. You have all been so helpful and supportive!
I had the dreaded endoscopy last Friday and survived! I had gone the Friday before and got as far as filling out all of the paperwork, getting in my cute little (or I guess I should say extra big) hospital gown, and gritted my teeth while several attempts were made at inserting the IV needle. About the time I was ready to rip the nurses head off they got a call from my surgeon's office saying that they had to cancel because of an emergency. Needless to say, I was beside myself... I wanted this damn thing over with! So when the next Friday came I made sure that they had an experienced nurse insert the needle, had a xanax the night before, and slept for 1 1/2 hrs. while I waited for my surgeon. Yep, he had another emergency but was able to do the job for me this time.
The only thing I remember is burping or barfing ? when they took the tube out. I think I apologized and went back to sleep. And that's all there was to it after my months of agonizing over this procedure.....
And now it's on to the reason I've gone through all of these hoops: SURGERY!!!!!! And I'm at peace with it. I know that the RNY is the right choice for me and have faith that everything will be fine.
First we need to get the endoscopy biopsy results back which should be later this week, then submit to insurance. My surgeon's office said that surgery should happen in June or July. And I already feel flutters of joy! I'm really on my way....
