jaymaree

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  Ok, here goes... been almost another month since posting.. that seems to be my habit..  today I woke up feeling awful.. cough, chest congestion, runny/stuffy nose, coughing up gunk..etc..  I have been fighting this for the past week and today it won.....  My surgery has been really good... only problem I continue to have is protein intake... I can not tolerate protein shakes.. I still try every couple of days to try a new one, as I really hope to find one or two I can drink.. I am also currently trying several different brands of protein bars... so far I haven't found one that is truly appealing but I continue to search.. it's my goal to find at least 2-3 protein drinks and 2-3 protein bars that I can use... I have found a couple of things I do love... JERKY (high in protein, low in fat) and Kay's Natural Protein pretzels (10 grams of protein per serving - cinnamon toast flavor - YUM YUM).. these 2 things are great !!!  I am continually on the look out for new protein ideas and currently am awaiting a huge order from dietdirect and bariatric eating for more protein foods/drinks.. Today I weighed in at 203.4 pounds.. I am almost to my next goal (199 pounds)... I can't believe it.. soon to be under 200 pounds... WOW is all I can say... I have only had 2 episodes of vomiting (once my fault, once not).. the first episode was eating turkey hamburger.. I really don't know what caused the vomiting, except maybe it was to dry.... the 2nd episode was definitely my fault... I ate a chicken nugget from B.K. .. I think way to much grease.... I won't be trying that again any time soon....  The one thing I do have to sometimes work at is making sure I chew my foods really good.. it definitely hurts when I don't... and I have to have patience to let it work it's way down...  I get my fluids in easily and am still about 98% compliant with vitamins.. I only miss a pill once in a while... I'm still trying to get to 100% compliance with them.. some days I get so busy I miss one pill, no excuse I know... My exercise has been nonexistent... some thing I know I need to get with the program in doing... I am in the phase where the weight loss is easy and I need to take full advantage of that before it gets harder...  The biggest change in my life with this surgery has been the strangeness of never being hungry.. it's mind boggling.. I went to Denny's with my older son last night and had about 2 bites of turkey, one bite of swiss cheese, 1/8 of cheese stick and 2 french fries.. talk about a change... before I would have ate everything and them some... I keep waiting to wake up and see the difference in myself, as I've lost 60 pounds but so far I still don't see it.. I can tell in the way my clothes fit but I still see the same person before the surgery... My older son did tell me last night when I walked into his basketball game, he could really see a difference in me.. that made my day ... Life has changed quite a bit since December.. I am no longer at my job (of sixteen years - my last official day as an employee was December 10th, 2008) and that has been so different... I try to believe everything happens for a reason and am just waiting to understand why all of this happened... it's been hard some days not to get down... but I just continue to try and find the positive in it all...  I am excited to see what the future brings, both in my personal life and career life.. I believe this surgery is changing me in better ways, as to self-esteem and self-confidence and helping me to get healthy and to live a better and longer life.. well that's all for now...

  Well, it's been almost a month since I last wrote and here goes....  so far things have been very uneventful in regards to my surgery...  I haven't had any nausea (other than with drinking of protein shakes or bullets), no vomiting and no pain... I really had been having only two issues to speak of.. the first is the struggle to get in my daily protein... since switching to pureed/soft foods this has been a major issue.. the protein shakes make me feel horrible and so I continue to search for one or two shakes that I can tolerate, as I am unable at this time to get in the protein requirements with food... this is a work in progress daily... I keep ordering protein samples in hopes I will find one or two I can tolerate.... the only other issue I have is fatigue in the later part of the day.. which I think is due to lack of protein and just in general from having the surgery... I have not had any hunger experience so far and the only thing I have craved is salty foods... but I have avoided this due to the fact most of the salty foods are crunchy and I'm not at that stage yet... Since switching to pureed/soft foods, I have tried cheese sticks, homemade chili, beans with melted cheese, homemade bean soup, eggs, some turkey and ham (very small pieces and very soft) and of course I continue with sugar free Popsicles... as of today I am down 50 pounds (36 since surgery and 14 pre-surgery)... I have been faithful with my vitamins 98% of the time and my goal is to be 100% compliant with them.. I have no problem taking them.. sometimes I just let time get away from me and miss one, not good I know...  Since tomorrow is the new year I have come up with a few new years resolutions  (of course, how could I not...lol).. they are as follows... 1st goal - getting my protein in daily (I know the importance of this for success and health)... 2nd- 100% compliance with vitamins (again health and success for WLS)... 3rd - daily form of exercise (even just walking daily will do), 4th - continue with daily journaling of food and water intake and 5th - take the time daily to appreciate what I have in this life (my family, friends, health, God  and love)... so far this has been a great journey... I sometimes still get worried about the future with this surgery (possible complications, regaining the weight, etc) but know I made a good choice and want to live the healthiest life I possibly can. I want to be there in the future for my husband, my kids, my family and my friends... so happy new year and may it be a great one for us all....

It's November 29th, I can't believe it's passed this quickly... I am still on the 3 weeks all liquids... It is going ok... I have no problem getting in the required liquids (water/juice/ sf Popsicles,v8) but getting in my 6 protein/formula drinks has not been as easy...most days I get in 4-5 of them. they are so sweet and not a huge amount of variety (chocolate, banana and vanilla).  mixing them with other stuff hasn't helped so far, as it just seems to make them sweeter and that's the whole problem to begin with.. but oh well.. it's just a passing phase in this journey.. I am remaining positive and know it will be over soon enough.. I weighed myself this morning and am down 15 pounds since surgery.. which brings my grand total of weight loss to 29 pounds (I had to lose 14 before surgery).. Thanksgiving was not hard to get through.. I didn't miss eating but the smells... WOW... everything smelled so good... my sense of smell seems to be more sharp now... I have only had one day which I would call a bad day.. it wasn't that I felt sick or in pain but my mood was just a little low... no specific reason.. just not a good day... I was truly surprised at how little pain I did have... my worst pain was my back and I think that was just due to having to lie flat on my back in the hospital.. I only used four doses of pain meds once I was released from the hospital (2 the first day, one after riding in a car for almost 6 hours to get home and one the following night for my back) ....Tomorrow I am starting the "exercise" plan... I am shooting for 4 days a week... 40 minutes of walking... we'll see how it goes.. That is one thing I have noticed since the surgery... I do get tired or am more tired now.. I have always been a night owl .....11 pm - 1 am has always been my bedtime but now usually by 9:30 to 10:00 pm I am out... it'll be interesting to see if this sticks or passes... Let's see what else... no problems with diarrhea/constipation.. that all works just fine....I am not the most creative person.. so I posted on the message boards for ideas for more things to have during the liquid phase (thanks to all who answered )...that's were I discovered V8 juice and it is amazing....I can't really think of anything else to add today.. so more later....

Today is November 21st and I just got home from having surgery on the 18th of November (9:05 am).. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday night in the hospital.. then was discharged on Thursday.. I had to spend Thursday night in the area and then had a doctor's appointment this morning and was released to come home.. it was about a 5 1/2 hour drive home and I was so ready to be back.. I am a little sore and tired but other than that things are good.. I am still on clear liquids today and will start on the protein drinks (formula) and continue with fluids tomorrow... it is so unreal that I haven't ate since Sunday night and am not hungry in the least.. my surgery went well and the nurses were great... I am down 3 1/2 pounds even with all the fluids they gave me, while in the hospital.. I have been walking to make sure I don't get any blood clots in the legs and actually feel better when I get up and around... my back was really sore for being in the hospital bed for those two days.. well more tomorrow I'm tired and think I'll call it a night

Just got approval and a surgery date for the 18th of November, 2008. I am both excited and nervous at the same time.. it is such a mixture of emotions.. so many things are present in my thoughts at this time.. I have been overweight for many years and have tried many different diets and ways to lose weight... I am diabetic and beginning to have other issues with my health (pre-hypertensive and hypertriglycerdemia).  I decided i needed to take a serious look at my health and were it is leading if I don't lose the excess weight and it scared me... I am a mother of 2 amazing boys (17 and 9) and am married to a great guy... They are my world... I also have a great family and irreplaceable friends.. I finally came to the conclusion, although I am scared of some of the aspects of the surgery, I am more afraid of what will happen if I don't get healthy.. I don't want to miss out on anything the future holds....I am looking forward to the changes that will come....