Joanne K.

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Thanksgiving was wonderful!  We had almost our entire family here to celebrate and it was incredible.  Of course I am exhausted but I'll get over that!!!  Everyone commented on my weight loss and that felt really good.  I wore a skirt on Friday night for our open house.  I don't think I have worn a skirt (specifically a shorter one) in 25+ years.  I'm not sure I even recognized my legs!!! LOL

Any way I am a little over 4 months out and doing great.  I am down 73 pounds and amazed at how much energy I have.  I had my first real WOW moment when I went into a clothing store and was able to fit into a regular size 16 pants.  My arms still won't allow that, but my bottom did.  It was really funny I couldn't believe it to the point that I went into another department store and tried on another 16 just to see if it really was true or a fluke.  It was really true!!

I am three months out today and down 57 pounds and 43+ inches!  WOW!  So far everything has been going perfectly.  My energy level has gone way up and I am thrilled.  Next weekend we are going to a wedding out-of-town.  I haven't seen this part of my family since I was 3 weeks out.  HMMMMM, I wonder if they will notice as none of them know that I had surgery.  I'll update y'all when I return next week.

Time is flying by.  I can't believe I am 2 1/2 months out and down 48 pounds.  So far everything has been going very smoothly.  I have been keeping up my walking on the treadmill 4 mornings a week.  (1.5 miles at about 3 mph.)  I still haven't tried beef again.  Turkey, chicken, fish and cheese are all fine.  One of these days I'll venture out and try beef again, but so far I haven't missed it.

DH and I have started all of our preparations for Thanksgiving.  We have painted the doors (to fix my mistake!) and had the house pressure washed.  We need to set up a schedule for all of the baking and other home improvement mini projects that I want to do before the family arrives.  I am really excited for this Thanksgiving as we are celebrating a huge milestone in our daugher's life.  On October 31
she reaches her 5 year mark of being in remission from her cancer.  Needless to say we have good reason to be celebrating!  I have said from day one, that we were going to have one hell of a party for this, and we are! 

I am now 2 months out and down 43 pounds.  Everything has been going really well for me.  This past week I started getting up at 4:45 to walk on our treadmill.  I felt that there was much less a chance of not doing it early as opposed to being too tired when I get home from work.  So far, so good!  Of course it has only been one week.

Tonight I have to take my 2 month pictures and measurements.  I have been able to go shopping in my closet so far but I think I am reaching the end of that for awhile.  I haven't even gone to the store to look at clothes.  However I may have to buy something for a wedding that we are going to in late October.  I figured I had best wait until mid October to see where I am before buying anything. 

I still haven't found much time to much but lurk on the boards lately.  Hopefully I will get back to being able to post soon as I really miss that interaction with everyone.

Okay, I haven't been very good at updating my profile.  It seems that since I have been back at work full time I don't have time to even be on OH much.  I miss that!  Overall I am doing great.  I have lost 36 pounds so far and walking every other day on our treadmill.  I am doing a course that goes up and down hillls and I walk about 1.5 miles in 32 minutes.  It feels great.  Hopefully within the next few weeks I will start some weight training.  I have to look into joining a gym.

I've had one really bad experience of not chewing food well enough and thought I was going to die!!  Of course I was out to dinner with my in-laws (out-of-town) and they don't know anything about my having surgery.  Until I could get back to where we were staying and throw-up, I was miserable.  I try very hard to chew, chew and chew some more now.  However Sunshine told me about an enzyme to take if that happens again.  I went out and bougtht them immediately but  thankfully haven't needed them!  Better safe than sorry.

I have definitely started to notice my clothes getting baggy and have been able to start wearing some of the clothes that I already had that are a size smaller.  I think I can go shopping in my closet for a little while longer. LOL  This weekend I am hoping to put together a spreadsheet with weights and measurements and add it to my profile.  I decided to take my measurements once a month and I weigh myself
once a week.  In the beginning I was getting on the scale daily and that was driving me crazy.  (not a far drive!!)  I am also using fitday.com to record everything that I am eating and my exercise.  It is addicting!

Yesterday I had my first post-op check-up.  I have lost 18 pounds!  Dr. Sieloff was very pleased with my progress.  He said he usually wants his patients to lose 20-30 pounds in the first month and I am only half way through the month.  He also told me I could increase my diet and try pretty much any food.  He said that beef, chicken and pork will probably not be tolerated for some time yet, but I can try seafood and veggies. 

I went back to work today part time.  It felt good to go into the office.  During my check-up I told Dr. Sieloff that I was really bored and needed to go back.  He told me I could go back part time and not to push it.  I will try to keep my hours to 4 hours a day for the rest of this week.

I continue to feel better each day.  I have started pureed foods and crispy foods.  I have not had a problem with most of the foods that I have tried.  It will be some time before I try hummus again!  It definitely didn't agree with me.  Not sure if I dumped on it, but I got so sleepy I just fell asleep and when I woke up I had the runs.  Either way, I will stay away from it for now.  (Or try making my own with out any fat!)  I am hoping that I will be able to go back to work part time on Tuesday.  I have never been one to sit around and I'm getting bored!

Well I have been home from the hospital for almost a week and doing great.  I am amazed at how good I feel.  I have been sipping, walking and sipping some more and not having a problem with it.  I go back to see my surgeon on August 7 and am looking forward to seeing how much I have lost.  Each day it get a little easier to sit up, but that seems to be my only problem.

Starting to get anxious.  I didn't think that I would be feeling this way but, WOW was I wrong.  Okay, I know this is the right thing to be doing but lots of thoughts keep cropping up in my head.  I so want to be around to see my children get married and for me to have grandchildren some day.

Today I went to see the dietician and the bariatric nurse.  I have met both of them before at our local support group meeting.  When I was in with the nurse my cell phone rang and then rang again.  First of all I rarely get calls unless it is my children or husband.  This was my normal ring on my cell not one that I have to identify the family.  Second I usually don't answer my cell if I am meeting with someone.  For some reason I actually took the phone out and look at who was
calling.  I mentioned the number since I didn't recognize it and the nurse said that that was the back line to my surgeon's office.  I got very nervous and said, "I wonder if they are canceling my surgery." (since this happened before I guess I'm gun shy and nervous.)  The nurse said, she was certain that they wouldn't be canceling but why didn't I call back to find out why they were calling.  I did and it actually was just checking out some information that had been faxed to them from the aesthesiologist.  Needless to say I was very relieved!  The nurse hadn't taken my blood pressure yet.  She waited a short time, but
it was still higher than normal.  She assured me that Dr. Sieloff won't cancel my surgery if my blood pressure was higher than normal.   (it wasn't off the charts, just higher than normal.) 

I'm starting to get a little anxious but not too much so.  Of course I have
stayed very busy.  Saturday I worked putting up 2 1/2 gallons of pears.  I made pear sauce with splenda.  It is very yummy and I figured I'd be able to eat it once I get to pureed foods.  (I'm putting it in the freezer in small containers.)  On Sunday my husband and I cleaned our house from top to bottom and did lots of laundry.  I got carried away scrubbing the baseboards with a toothbrush and cloth.  My hands hurt from all of the scrubbing.  (I am actually having trouble typing because of that.)  It is not that our house was that dirty, it is just that I went that nuts needing to feel that I have done everything before I go in the hospital.  4
days and I will be a loser.  WOW it really is going to happen this ime!!!!!!!!  Tomorrow I start my 3 day clear liquid diet and then the bowel prep on Thursday night.  What fun! NOT!  But, it is just another hoop to jump through and it will be so worth it.