If anyone cares...

May 12, 2012

Well, I did it! March 20th, 2012 I had my gastric bypass. Currently 7 weeks out, and down 47 pounds. I have to say I'm a bit discouraged by the rate of my weightloss. It is my own fault though, I make excues not to excersize. Even though i've lost a good chunk of weight, I still weigh a whopping 320 pounds, so I have a bit of trouble manuvering the ever troublesome elliptical and treadmill.... I'm gonna try harder, I owe it to myself.
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3 days left... yowza!

Mar 16, 2012

Ive got to say... starting to get nervous! In just THREE measly days, my life will be changed forever.

Since my surgery is on a tuesday, and the surgery is out of town, Ive had to say "goodbye" to all of my participants tonight (I work with the mentally handicapped). It was a bit rough, but they all left me with encouarging words..well the ones that could speak anyways. Lots of well-wishes, kisses, and hugs flew my way but I couldn't help but think "What if I never see them again?" Now I have lots of confidence in Dr. Holloway, but I am not blind to the fact that mistakes happen... and that a mistake could lead to my death. I have also had 6 months to prepare myself for this. With the help of this wounderful website, google, and my father, i beleive that I have learned all that I can, and am completely prepared. Through my research I have discovered that Dr. Holloway is one of the best in my area. But I have also learned that the benefits of having this surgery %100 out-weigh the risk.

Jon (my fiance) & I will leave for Scottsbluff around noon on Sunday. My parents however, will be leaving from Minnesota around 3am. They're going to meet us in Scottsbluff, then travel back to Casper with us for a few days after my release. They are my support team, and one of the best a person could have. My mother, is a nurse. But not just any nurse... noooo MY mother is the Director of Nurses in the hospital she works at. Can you tell I'm proud? :) And my father? Well he has actually has this surgery himself. So big supporters there. BUT my biggest supporter is Jon. The love of my life. He has helped me through all the bad gunk, and I couldn't be more thankful to him! 

While we're on the topic of Jon.... as my date creeps closer, I see him getting nervous. He has told me that he feels like I am going to leave him once I drop the weight. Now I know that I have a pretty face. I've been told that my whole life. He feels like once I have the body to match the face, that I am going to get distracted by more attractive men, and leave him. No amount of coddling will fix this. I guess the only way to calm his nerves is to prove to him that I love him, and I want to be with him. Although, I cant deny that being hit on will be nice. Who doesnt like a little attention from the opposite sex? 

Well anyways, I have a request for all the post surgery females: can you PLEASE share the nitty-gritty details about the days of, and days immediately following the surgery? I wanna know about all the bad/embarassing stuff so I can better prepare myself. Thats all for now. I'll update as soon as I can! Wish me luck!

p.s. does anyone know how i change my surgery date on here? i cant seem to find it! :/

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It's been a while... good news!

Mar 02, 2012

Ufda, I haven't been on for quite a while! I hope all of you are doing well in your endeavors, and as well in life! 
I, Briana Carpenter, has scheduled her surgery date! The gods have smiled upon me, and granted me this wounderful opportunity :) on March 20th, 2012 - my life will change. I can't even describe what I'm feeling. Joyous, nervous, scared, overwhelmed, hopeful, and very very lucky. Also, my parents are flying in from Minnesota to be with me during the recovery process....sooooo happy about that. I know I'm 22, and shouldn't need my mommy.... but I do. This will be the biggest surgery I've ever had. That's a lot of pressure to handle on your own. 

Going to head out my friends... I've only got 17 days left, so I'll need to prepare! :) 
P.S. I'll take any advice/tips for the actual surgery day...like what I'll need in the hospital, what to eat/drink upon returning home, how to shower/groom with surgical incisions, etc. Anything will help :) 
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The Countdown Winds Down

Nov 19, 2011

I have about 40 days, and 3 more appointments before my file can be sent to my insurance for approval!! Next dietician/counselor appt is Dec. 5th, then my LAST mandatory appt is Jan. 5th! After that last appointment, it's just the tedious waiting game for that wonderful phone call saying "Congratulations, you've been approved!". I have an appointment with my regular doctor on Monday to talk about my "Letter of Medical Nessecity" (also required by insurance). I'm not worried about it though. I mean, I DO weigh almost 400lbs... how could they say no? :)
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Struggling...

Oct 21, 2011

I'm having a hard time with my diet. The more that I think about the food that I won't be able to eat post-op, the more and more I want to eat! I even think about it WHILE I'm eating, then beat myself up for eating so much. I think that this whole process is a LOT harder than I thought it would be.

This Wednesday I went to a seminar down in Scottsbluff, NE done by my future surgeon, Dr. Holloway. The seminar and all the meetings that went a long with it really motivated me and got my spirits up.... for about a day. Then I lost my focus when I saw a bag of Halloween chocolates I "COULD NOT" live without. I'm sabbatoging myself, and I know it. But I still do it. I'm starting to have fears that I lack the dedication that it's going to take to really lose this weight, and that scared the ever-loving CRAP out of me. Because if I can't do it WITH the bypass, there is no way in the world I could lose the weight by myself. I'm afraid I'm going to be stuck like this forever..... *sad face* 

On a slightly better note, I've been terying to excersize more. BUTTTTTT!! The more I excersize, I keep getting pains I don't have on a normal basis. For example: 2 weekends ago, I went for (maybe) a 30 minute walk with Jon and Moose on a Saturday night. Felt great the next day, so we decided to go on another walk. Still doing good. Monday I took Moose to a bikers trail and walked for almost an hour and a half! I was SO proud of myself. Tuesday, I went to the gym and did various excersizes for approximately an hour. By Tuesday night, my back was in KNOTS. Not one position made me comfortable. and now I have this shooting pain in my right heel whenever I stand up after sitting/sleeping for longer than an hour. The pain in my foot is still unbearable in the mornings, and my back is still giving me trouble. I talked to Dr. Holloway about this...basically he told me I'm too fat to excersize! HA! Talk about irony... but anyways, he told me that for now, I need to lose weight before I can start walking that much simply because 400lbs is A LOT of weight to be carrying around, and thats why I'm hurting. So for now, I have to "less straining" excersizes, like swimming, biking, eliptical, etc. AND dieting of course, which I'm having troubles with.

10 days from now will mark the beginning of my 4th month of "Dietary Guidance". I'm already halfway there, and I'm wracked with nerves. At first I wasn't worried about getting approved for the surgery because, to put it mildly, I'M FREAKIN' FAT! But now, having troubles dieting, I'm worried that SOMEHOW the insurance company is going to figure out that my motivation/dedication is a wee bit shaky. Hopefully, I'll be able to pull myself out of this FUNK, and get down to business!

All My Love,
---Bri
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6lbs down.. yay me!

Sep 30, 2011

8 days ago I had my first appt with my Dietician. She gave me a few goals to work on, like chewing food very thouroughly because thats what I'm going to have to do post-op, so I might as well get a head start on it. Another goal was to cut down on starches, primarily because my surgeon is "gung-ho" about his patients eating starches about a month before the surgery. I'm not sure if there is a medical erason behind that, or if its just a personal belief of his... The 3rd goal was less juice. Did you know that one bottle (16oz) of OJ is almost 500 calories?! And has about 24 grams of sugar... yeesh.... So with that realization, I've done better. I'm becoming more "food aware" and making better choices, but I'm not always doing that.. today I was super bad and ate a WHOLE BUNCH of stuff I shouldnt have. BUT I'll work it off tomorrow and take Moose for a walk :) 

Tommorrow marks the beginning of my 3rd month of documented weight loss for my insurance. Im nervous and excited all at once. I could have the surgery as soon as Feb, but as it were, my mom REALLY wants to fly over from Minnesota to be here for the surgery. She is the Director of Nurses at the hospital in my hometown (Faribault, MN) so obviously she is going to need ample time to take a few days off. When I hit near the end of my 6th month, Im going to tell her to take the time off because it could take up to a few weeks to get approval from my insurance.

Good night my friends!
-- Bri

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1st Month done, Heading into 2nd...

Sep 22, 2011

Cheers to the end of my 1st (of 6) month of "dietary guidance"! Just 5 more to go until we can send the paperwork into the insurance company for approval! That month kinda flew by, so I'm hoping the rest do the same :) Coming up next month, I have the seminar/orientation in Scottsbluf, NB. And (hopefully) my Physc evaluation. According to all the information I have read, I already qualify for all of the guidelines that my insurers have set up, so I'm not too worried that I won't be approved for the suregery, but you never know. Playing it safe, and keeping my fingers crossed! All my love, Bri :)

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*sigh*

Sep 17, 2011

its beginning to feel like these 6 months are just gonna creep by....
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Psych Evaluation...scary?

Sep 16, 2011

Well, I scheduled my Psych Evaluation (as required by my insurance). I'm a wee bit nervous about what this is gonna entail... could somebody please enlighten me??? What am I to expect during this appointment??

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:)

Sep 16, 2011

I just cannot wait to have my surgery! Im looking forward to having energy again, like I did when I was younger :) 
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