marcie626
Finally figuring it out..
Oct 21, 2006
Woohoo.... it's finally coming along and I think I may have finally figured out this whole new profile thing... with the help of some great folks here at OH! Thanks again for all of your help and support!!!!
From then to now.....
Oct 21, 2006
01/11/06 - Well so far this has been a short journey. I had my very first appointment the second week in December and now I'm having surgery on 01/17/06! I'm totally terrified!!! I've been able to talk to some folks though and that has helped. Only 6 more days til D-Day.... and counting! Can't wait to see the new me!
01/14/06 - Did my pre-op stuff today. Not too bad, just a little blood drawn, some physical therapy and lots of paperwork. Only three more days now and I'm still terrified, but soooo excited as well! My very post on the forum was titled "Canceling Surgery!" I received many responses from several of you... ALL POSITIVE! Thank you so much! It helped change my mind and dig a little deeper to the original reason I chose to do this to begin with. That day I cried and sobbed, to the point of a full blown panic attack. I thought there was no way I would do the surgery. Heck, even as I type this now my hands quiver! I'm the biggest chicken head in the world and pain scares me! No pain, no gain, eh? The final countdown is here.... I couldn't be happier with my decision. Hope I still feel that way after I've gone through with it.
01/17/06 - Well it's the wee hours on the morning of my surgery - (9 hours to be exact)! I'm totally freaking out, but still excited. Fear creeps in there from time to time! I can't sleep, obviously, so I'm just up and about doing this and that! I do worry that I ate too much the night before, so hopefully that won't cause any problems! I just keep reading all the success stories of how miserable people were in the first few weeks/months after the procedure and then a year out they are all thrilled and happy with the results! That's great and I hope I will still feel that way 5, 10, 15, 20+ years out! I want this to be forever - no more dang failed dieting!!!! I want to live, happy, healthy and skinny!!!!! I'll post again as soon as I'm able!
01/30/06 - I am now 13 days post-op and feeling just kind of blah. Had my first follow-up today as well. Got the staples out, nothing major. I still have this stupid G-tube and it's driving me nuts! According to the doc's scales I'm down 17 pounds (according to mine 19). I like mine better. Anyway, no nausea, vomitting or anything horrible like that. Have just been depressed and weepy, I think because I had not been taking my hormones which the doc stopped in the hospital, due to the possibility of clotting. Started those back tonight, so hopefully that will help my mood. Start back to work this coming Thursday at half days for the next two weeks. I'm getting bored with my food, although I haven't really had too much of an appetite, so I don't guess it matters that much. All food has to be pureed for a month and then I can start on soft foods. I did have some shrimp and veggies a couple of days ago and chewed the living daylights out of it, but doc said that was a big no-no! *sigh* Also, I'll be glad when I can get a really good night sleep, so far can only sleep on my back. I know, I'm being too whiny.... this too shall pass. -17 lbs
02/03/06 - It has been a couple of rough days. Wednesday night I had to go to the ER because I had infections at two different places of my incision site. This was not fun at all! The doc actually pulled the incision open with his fingers at both sites to take a peek and then stuck a Q-tip in both of them to get out some of the pus. He put me on Levaquin and gave me more pain medicine (YEAH)! Can't live without the pain meds these days. I'm feeling somewhat better this morning, but still very sore and weak. I'm used to being able to do what I want and not being tied down, so this is a real downer for me. -21.5 lbs
02/09/06 - Well I'm still dealing with this infection. Saturday it got worse yet and as I was getting ready to go back to the ER my incision burst towards the bottom and all of this pus and blood came literally pouring out. Well here it is five days later and it is STILL pouring out! I'm so over it! I see so many people on OH say, "this is the best thing I've ever done" or "I would do it again in a heartbeat"! So far I have nothing but regrets! Sure I have lost some weight, but at this point I could care less and would take it all back to not be in the shape I'm in now. I'm in constant pain, I can't sleep, I have to force protein and liquids down, and this G-tube is enough to send anybody over the frigging edge. Anyway.... -24 lbs
02/18/06 - Still dealing with the infection, though it has finally slowed down some. I am now one month post-op and feeling better than I was a week ago. I still feel like I should feel better than I do, but that's ok. I'm working hard to get my fluids and protein down and am doing ok with that. I usually get about 60-70 grams of protein a day and about 30-40 oz of fluids, so I do need some improvement. I've only lost 2 pounds in the last week and so that sucks big time! I have noticed a loss in inches though. I've lost 4 inches in my thighs and 3 around both my waist and hips! I guess that makes up for not losing the pounds. We bought a treadmill, but haven't gotten it set up yet as my DH has been sick. I have one more hellish week of this G-tube and then it comes out. Last night it started trying to come out on it's own and came out approximately 3-4 inches, so I pushed it back in, but it wouldn't stay. There is some pain there now that comes and goes. That's all for now. -26 lbs
02/26/06 - Well the G-tube finally came out on its own and it was horrible. The balloon that holds it in burst and was painful. An hour later it came all the way and made me very sick complete with dry-heaving. It made me very light-headed as well and I almost passed out... very weird. Anyway, it has been out now for three days and the hole has almost completely closed and it just feels wonderful for it to be gone. As much as I hated it, it was kind of a "safety net" to getting all of my nutrition and now knowing that I have to get it all in by mouth is kind of overwhelming, but I'm trying very hard! Go tomorrow for my six week follow-up. Start back to work full-time on Wednesday.
-30 lbs
03/03/06 - With the G-tube gone things had been great. My infection has decided to set up camp and stay forever, I believe. The antibiotics (the third round) are not working. Yesterday it got pretty bad so I had to go back to the doctor where he re-opened part of my incision and poked around. He ended up numbing my stomach with several shots of Lidocaine and then suctioning out a large amount of purulent material with a syringe. After that he packed the "new" wound with a gauze strip. Home health is coming tomorrow to show/teach me how to change it myself. Wonder how long this will stay around?!? - 30 lbs (still)
03/11/06 - The infection is FINALLY gone!!!! I still have a tiny hole there, but it's small enough now that I don't even need a bandage to cover it with and today is the first day that I will have been bandage-free since my surgery! I'm finding that eating is much easier than it was and I'm starting to find new foods that I can and/or can't have. Bread is the enemy I learned as of last week. I'm getting in about 60-70 grams of protein a day and around 50 ounces of water, so some definite improvement in both of those areas. I do need to be exercising more and had been doing well with the walking. I have problems with my feet and I think I need one more injection as my left is bothering me again, preventing me from walking as much as I would like. I'm sure that my weight loss would be moving much quicker too if this weren't the case. At any rate the scale has begun to move again so I'm pleased with that. Also I was having a very difficult time taking my calcium because the pills were so big, so last night I switched to the Creamy Bites and they are wonderful! -36 lbs
04/04/06 - Not too much new since the last time. I have lost another 10 pounds and I wish it were more and it probably would be if I would stick to my exercising. I plan to work on becoming more disciplined with that! We have just moved into a new house and I have a "gym" set up in the basement, so perhaps that will some too. Stomach is finally healed. The incision closed last week... FINALLY!!!! My energy level is improving more and more all the time. I'm looking for new foods/recipes as eating the same things day in and day out gets old after a while. Will post new pics soon.
05/07/06 - It has been more than a month since my last update and much has happened... all good though! : ) We finally moved to a bigger house that we all totally love and I have been very busy with that, so that's the reason for the delay. I have lost more weight of course and finally made it to "Onederland" and that has been really awesome. I have been able to keep all of my food down still and haven't had too much problem with Dumping syndrome, although I find if I eat the wrong foods my stomach is upset for a period of time. Thankfully so far my hair is not falling out, but I expect it just any time and I know I will freak out. I'm trying to watch my protein intake, but haven't done as well with it as I should, or my exercise. I went for my three month check-up last Monday and Dr. H was pleased though and feels that things are going along quite well. He did my first set of lab tests to check my levels and everything came back A-ok so that was good news.
I am now half way to my goal weight! -60 lbs
05/31/06 - Well, my hair is starting to fall out. I notice it mostly when I'm in the shower washing my hair and then it's just all over my hands so that is kind of freaking me out. I talked to the doc's office and she said to up my protein to 90 a day and I'm trying, but good grief it's so hard! I've only lost 5 more pounds since my last post, and am kind of discouraged about that. I'm sure it will pick up again soon. Went on a hike to Rainbow Falls with a friend of mine this past weekend and wasn't sure how that would go since my energy still isn't where it should be, but it went very well and I'm looking forward to doing it again soon! - 65
06/12/06 - Well, I'm still not losing as much as I would like to, but then it slows down and then picks up again, so I guess I'm on the slow wave right now, but still I've dropped 5 pounds since my last entry, so I'm ok with that too. Summer is almost here and things are looking good! -69
06/29/06 - This is turning out to be a great summer with the exception of having to work so much... but that's life I suppose. The weight is still coming off which of course is just wonderful. I got some news that my sister from MN will hopefully be coming in August for a visit and also one of my best buds who is in Germany right now will be here for a visit in December, so I'm VERY excited about that. Neither of them has seen me (with the exception of a few pics here and there) since my WLS, so it will be a lot of fun to hear the differences they see in me! On the down side, my hair is still falling out by the handfuls. I can tell in a couple of spots where it is thinning out. I try so hard to get in more protein but there just isn't room and I get soooo stuffed. I've never put much effort into the protein shakes, but it looks as though I'm going to have to if I want to keep my hair. I got it cut short about a month ago and I absolutely do not like it. I'm a long hair kind of girl, so I can't wait for it to grow back out. At any rate, life is good! -75
07/27/06 - I'm now six months post-op and for the most part am feeling pretty darn good. I still get really tired, but worse than that my hair is still falling out. Hopefully it will stop soon. I noticed last week that I can really tell a difference on the top of my head now, so it probably won't be long before I can tell a difference all over. Anyway... I went to see a plastic surgeon (Dr. Y) Monday just to see what he had to say and get a price. I was shocked by the amount, but still want to do it, though I'm not sure if it will be with this particular physician or not as he is a bit socially retarded. I've wondered as of late about stretching my pouch as my weight loss has slowed down some, still happening, but slower. I need to be more careful about my eating and do more exercising. I know these things are the key to successful WLS. - 80
08/13/06 - Things are going relatively good. The weight is coming off slower than in the beginning, but still coming off, so that's a good thing anyway. My hair is still falling out and I'm hoping that will stop soon. It's not that noticeable to anybody else, but I can tell in different places where it is definitely thinner than before. I try to up my protein, but it's still hard to get it all in. -86
09/06/06 - Well last Thursday (six days ago) I had to have my gallbladder out. It was done lap of course, but today I'm still in pain and am going to the hospital in the morning for some blood work. I'm having a difficult time eating or even drinking and I'm not getting hardly any protein in at all. As if that weren't enough I've only lost 4 more pounds in the last three weeks, so that really sucks. Just going through a "yuck" spell I suppose. I'll post again when things are looking better. Keep your fingers crossed that will be soon. On the up-side I have only 10 more pounds to go before I reach the century mark! WOOHOO!! -90
10/20/06 - I finally hit the century mark!!! HOT DOG!!! I never thought I would see this day! Now I just have to find out how to get my century card. I'm just SOOO excited. On the down side my hair is STILL falling out and it's starting to become really noticeable. I'm wondering if it will ever stop. The doc said to up my protein intake, but I just can't seem to get it in. I'll keep working on it though. -101
11/26/06 - Things are still going fairly well and the weight is still coming off, though it has slowed down significantly. I'm only losing between 3-5 pounds a month now. Guess I shouldn't complain . I think it's just that the "honeymoon" may be getting closer to being over. I have been having some pain in both left and right upper quads and am supposed to have an EGD for that. I had it scheduled once already and canceled due to my mother having hip surgery this past Monday. She is now at home and doing well, so I guess I need to call the doc and go ahead and get that set up so we can figure out what's going on. I got majorly sick today because I stupidly ate a bowl of cereal... I ended up in the bed for a good part of the day feeling like absolute poop! Won't be doing that again... or at least until today becomes a very distant memory. HA! On the hair issue, it's still falling out, but not quite as bad as it had been. I think it's finally slowing down a bit which is wonderful. Something funny is that both of my boys have cow-licks right on the crown of their heads and I always wondered why... well since my hair has gotten MUCH thinner I realized that I too have a cow-lick in the crown of my head, but never realized it because my hair has always been EXTREMELY thick that the weight pulled it down! How insane is that?!? Anyway I found it fairly amusing. I can tell where my hair has started growing back in different spots too because I can see these little odd "sprigs" of hair sticking up all over the place. At any rate, life is good and I continually feel so very blessed. Had a great Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here soon... very exciting times, especially now that I've lost over 100 pounds!!! NEVER thought I would see the day that I could say that!!! - 107 lbs
Weight - 147.5
Lost - 107
To goal - 12.5
12/24/06 - Here it is, another year almost gone and it's Christmas Eve. Things are going fairly well. I had an EGD last Friday due to some epigastric pain. The EGD came back normal but the doc says that I have spastic colon with IBS. Also on the up-side he says that my pouch still looks great and is still small with no stretching evident. I was really glad to hear that! He prescribed Levsin which made me completely sick, so for now I'm just dealing with the pain and nausea. My weight continues to decrease and I've lost another 9 pounds over the last month. I'm now only 3 pounds away from goal (13 pounds away from my ultimate goal). I'm a little less than a month away from being at my one year post-op mark, so I'm very excited about that. My hair finally stopped falling out too, so I'm really thrilled about that. I can see new hair growth all over and I can actually feel where my hair is re-thickening again. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year all. May God bless and keep you. -116 pounds ; )
Weight - 138.5
Lost - 116
To goal - 3.5
01/14/07 - It's the wee hours of the morning, but I've been so excited all day because I actually bought my first pair of single digit size pants... a size 8!!!! That's just insane to me, especially when a year ago I was wearing 24/26. I have three more days until it's my one year post-op anniversary and last week I met the original goal (set by my surgeon) which was 135 pounds. If you look back through my blog you will see that's where my goal weight has been. MY own personal ultimate goal is to be 115, which at my height of 5'2" I believe is a reasonable goal. That would leave me needing to lose 17 more pounds. So from this post forward my ticker will be changed to read my new goal weight and we'll see what happens. To celebrate a friend of mine and I bought rollerblades last night and went rollerblading, and had a ball. That's the first time I've been on skates of any kind in about 15 years! I looked a bit like a newborn calf on their new legs, so it was quite a sight, but after a few minutes it became a little easier. On the downside of things, I've still been having some pain and so Monday I go back to the hospital for a CT of the abdomen and pelvis. It would really be great if we could get this fixed. I'll post again on Wednesday, one my year post-op anniversary along with new updated pictures. So we'll see ya then..... ; )
Weight - 135
Lost - 119.5
To goal - AT GOAL!!!
01/20/07 - I am now 1 year post-op (as of three days ago, the 17th). I've read back over my blog for the past year and there was kind of theme that I had repeated several times saying things like "the weight is coming off slow" or "I wish I could lose more" etc. I had to kind of chuckle when reading this because over the last year I've lost 123.5 pounds!!! If it came off any faster I think I would have to be dead! LOL Hindsight is always 20/20. I guess when you are actually in the moment it seems like it should be faster, but looking back it truly was very fast. I am just so thankful that I was able to have this surgery and that it has been successful. I actually met Dr. Huffman's goal weight and went below goal weight by 4 pounds, so I'm very pleased with that. I pray that I will be able to continue on successfully with this and do the things I need to do to keep me healthy, etc. I am still having issues with pain though and have been referred to a pain management doc who I go to see next week. I've never seen one before so I'm not sure what to expect. At any rate life is good and other than the pain, things are going along rather smoothly. -123.5 lbs
02/10/07 - I'm almost 13 months post-op now and things are still going relatively well. I still have pain and problems with my IBS from time to time. They put me on Bentyl and that seems to help some with the IBS. As for the pain I honestly believe it's the costochondritis acting up again, and let me tell you that is some serious pain!! It feels like you are either having a heart attack or being electrocuted, no joke! Anyway, I've been on pain meds again for the last 3-4 months and go to see a pain management doc next month to help me "deal" with the pain, so we'll see how that goes. Not quite sure what to expect in that corner of the world. On the upside, I've lost a few more pounds since my last post and am now down 129.5 pounds and it's just so unbelievable to me. As of last week I can now wear a size 6 jeans and tops that are small to medium in size, so I'm just thrilled about all of that!!! Also last Tuesday we had a "new addition" to our family. We adopted a 7 week old Chihuahua. We named him Bailey and he's just a little sweetie. Life is good and God is great... all the time!!! -129.5 lbs
Photos
01/14/06 - Did my pre-op stuff today. Not too bad, just a little blood drawn, some physical therapy and lots of paperwork. Only three more days now and I'm still terrified, but soooo excited as well! My very post on the forum was titled "Canceling Surgery!" I received many responses from several of you... ALL POSITIVE! Thank you so much! It helped change my mind and dig a little deeper to the original reason I chose to do this to begin with. That day I cried and sobbed, to the point of a full blown panic attack. I thought there was no way I would do the surgery. Heck, even as I type this now my hands quiver! I'm the biggest chicken head in the world and pain scares me! No pain, no gain, eh? The final countdown is here.... I couldn't be happier with my decision. Hope I still feel that way after I've gone through with it.
01/17/06 - Well it's the wee hours on the morning of my surgery - (9 hours to be exact)! I'm totally freaking out, but still excited. Fear creeps in there from time to time! I can't sleep, obviously, so I'm just up and about doing this and that! I do worry that I ate too much the night before, so hopefully that won't cause any problems! I just keep reading all the success stories of how miserable people were in the first few weeks/months after the procedure and then a year out they are all thrilled and happy with the results! That's great and I hope I will still feel that way 5, 10, 15, 20+ years out! I want this to be forever - no more dang failed dieting!!!! I want to live, happy, healthy and skinny!!!!! I'll post again as soon as I'm able!
01/30/06 - I am now 13 days post-op and feeling just kind of blah. Had my first follow-up today as well. Got the staples out, nothing major. I still have this stupid G-tube and it's driving me nuts! According to the doc's scales I'm down 17 pounds (according to mine 19). I like mine better. Anyway, no nausea, vomitting or anything horrible like that. Have just been depressed and weepy, I think because I had not been taking my hormones which the doc stopped in the hospital, due to the possibility of clotting. Started those back tonight, so hopefully that will help my mood. Start back to work this coming Thursday at half days for the next two weeks. I'm getting bored with my food, although I haven't really had too much of an appetite, so I don't guess it matters that much. All food has to be pureed for a month and then I can start on soft foods. I did have some shrimp and veggies a couple of days ago and chewed the living daylights out of it, but doc said that was a big no-no! *sigh* Also, I'll be glad when I can get a really good night sleep, so far can only sleep on my back. I know, I'm being too whiny.... this too shall pass. -17 lbs
02/03/06 - It has been a couple of rough days. Wednesday night I had to go to the ER because I had infections at two different places of my incision site. This was not fun at all! The doc actually pulled the incision open with his fingers at both sites to take a peek and then stuck a Q-tip in both of them to get out some of the pus. He put me on Levaquin and gave me more pain medicine (YEAH)! Can't live without the pain meds these days. I'm feeling somewhat better this morning, but still very sore and weak. I'm used to being able to do what I want and not being tied down, so this is a real downer for me. -21.5 lbs
02/09/06 - Well I'm still dealing with this infection. Saturday it got worse yet and as I was getting ready to go back to the ER my incision burst towards the bottom and all of this pus and blood came literally pouring out. Well here it is five days later and it is STILL pouring out! I'm so over it! I see so many people on OH say, "this is the best thing I've ever done" or "I would do it again in a heartbeat"! So far I have nothing but regrets! Sure I have lost some weight, but at this point I could care less and would take it all back to not be in the shape I'm in now. I'm in constant pain, I can't sleep, I have to force protein and liquids down, and this G-tube is enough to send anybody over the frigging edge. Anyway.... -24 lbs
02/18/06 - Still dealing with the infection, though it has finally slowed down some. I am now one month post-op and feeling better than I was a week ago. I still feel like I should feel better than I do, but that's ok. I'm working hard to get my fluids and protein down and am doing ok with that. I usually get about 60-70 grams of protein a day and about 30-40 oz of fluids, so I do need some improvement. I've only lost 2 pounds in the last week and so that sucks big time! I have noticed a loss in inches though. I've lost 4 inches in my thighs and 3 around both my waist and hips! I guess that makes up for not losing the pounds. We bought a treadmill, but haven't gotten it set up yet as my DH has been sick. I have one more hellish week of this G-tube and then it comes out. Last night it started trying to come out on it's own and came out approximately 3-4 inches, so I pushed it back in, but it wouldn't stay. There is some pain there now that comes and goes. That's all for now. -26 lbs
02/26/06 - Well the G-tube finally came out on its own and it was horrible. The balloon that holds it in burst and was painful. An hour later it came all the way and made me very sick complete with dry-heaving. It made me very light-headed as well and I almost passed out... very weird. Anyway, it has been out now for three days and the hole has almost completely closed and it just feels wonderful for it to be gone. As much as I hated it, it was kind of a "safety net" to getting all of my nutrition and now knowing that I have to get it all in by mouth is kind of overwhelming, but I'm trying very hard! Go tomorrow for my six week follow-up. Start back to work full-time on Wednesday.
-30 lbs
03/03/06 - With the G-tube gone things had been great. My infection has decided to set up camp and stay forever, I believe. The antibiotics (the third round) are not working. Yesterday it got pretty bad so I had to go back to the doctor where he re-opened part of my incision and poked around. He ended up numbing my stomach with several shots of Lidocaine and then suctioning out a large amount of purulent material with a syringe. After that he packed the "new" wound with a gauze strip. Home health is coming tomorrow to show/teach me how to change it myself. Wonder how long this will stay around?!? - 30 lbs (still)
03/11/06 - The infection is FINALLY gone!!!! I still have a tiny hole there, but it's small enough now that I don't even need a bandage to cover it with and today is the first day that I will have been bandage-free since my surgery! I'm finding that eating is much easier than it was and I'm starting to find new foods that I can and/or can't have. Bread is the enemy I learned as of last week. I'm getting in about 60-70 grams of protein a day and around 50 ounces of water, so some definite improvement in both of those areas. I do need to be exercising more and had been doing well with the walking. I have problems with my feet and I think I need one more injection as my left is bothering me again, preventing me from walking as much as I would like. I'm sure that my weight loss would be moving much quicker too if this weren't the case. At any rate the scale has begun to move again so I'm pleased with that. Also I was having a very difficult time taking my calcium because the pills were so big, so last night I switched to the Creamy Bites and they are wonderful! -36 lbs
04/04/06 - Not too much new since the last time. I have lost another 10 pounds and I wish it were more and it probably would be if I would stick to my exercising. I plan to work on becoming more disciplined with that! We have just moved into a new house and I have a "gym" set up in the basement, so perhaps that will some too. Stomach is finally healed. The incision closed last week... FINALLY!!!! My energy level is improving more and more all the time. I'm looking for new foods/recipes as eating the same things day in and day out gets old after a while. Will post new pics soon.
05/07/06 - It has been more than a month since my last update and much has happened... all good though! : ) We finally moved to a bigger house that we all totally love and I have been very busy with that, so that's the reason for the delay. I have lost more weight of course and finally made it to "Onederland" and that has been really awesome. I have been able to keep all of my food down still and haven't had too much problem with Dumping syndrome, although I find if I eat the wrong foods my stomach is upset for a period of time. Thankfully so far my hair is not falling out, but I expect it just any time and I know I will freak out. I'm trying to watch my protein intake, but haven't done as well with it as I should, or my exercise. I went for my three month check-up last Monday and Dr. H was pleased though and feels that things are going along quite well. He did my first set of lab tests to check my levels and everything came back A-ok so that was good news.
I am now half way to my goal weight! -60 lbs
05/31/06 - Well, my hair is starting to fall out. I notice it mostly when I'm in the shower washing my hair and then it's just all over my hands so that is kind of freaking me out. I talked to the doc's office and she said to up my protein to 90 a day and I'm trying, but good grief it's so hard! I've only lost 5 more pounds since my last post, and am kind of discouraged about that. I'm sure it will pick up again soon. Went on a hike to Rainbow Falls with a friend of mine this past weekend and wasn't sure how that would go since my energy still isn't where it should be, but it went very well and I'm looking forward to doing it again soon! - 65
06/12/06 - Well, I'm still not losing as much as I would like to, but then it slows down and then picks up again, so I guess I'm on the slow wave right now, but still I've dropped 5 pounds since my last entry, so I'm ok with that too. Summer is almost here and things are looking good! -69
06/29/06 - This is turning out to be a great summer with the exception of having to work so much... but that's life I suppose. The weight is still coming off which of course is just wonderful. I got some news that my sister from MN will hopefully be coming in August for a visit and also one of my best buds who is in Germany right now will be here for a visit in December, so I'm VERY excited about that. Neither of them has seen me (with the exception of a few pics here and there) since my WLS, so it will be a lot of fun to hear the differences they see in me! On the down side, my hair is still falling out by the handfuls. I can tell in a couple of spots where it is thinning out. I try so hard to get in more protein but there just isn't room and I get soooo stuffed. I've never put much effort into the protein shakes, but it looks as though I'm going to have to if I want to keep my hair. I got it cut short about a month ago and I absolutely do not like it. I'm a long hair kind of girl, so I can't wait for it to grow back out. At any rate, life is good! -75
07/27/06 - I'm now six months post-op and for the most part am feeling pretty darn good. I still get really tired, but worse than that my hair is still falling out. Hopefully it will stop soon. I noticed last week that I can really tell a difference on the top of my head now, so it probably won't be long before I can tell a difference all over. Anyway... I went to see a plastic surgeon (Dr. Y) Monday just to see what he had to say and get a price. I was shocked by the amount, but still want to do it, though I'm not sure if it will be with this particular physician or not as he is a bit socially retarded. I've wondered as of late about stretching my pouch as my weight loss has slowed down some, still happening, but slower. I need to be more careful about my eating and do more exercising. I know these things are the key to successful WLS. - 80
08/13/06 - Things are going relatively good. The weight is coming off slower than in the beginning, but still coming off, so that's a good thing anyway. My hair is still falling out and I'm hoping that will stop soon. It's not that noticeable to anybody else, but I can tell in different places where it is definitely thinner than before. I try to up my protein, but it's still hard to get it all in. -86
09/06/06 - Well last Thursday (six days ago) I had to have my gallbladder out. It was done lap of course, but today I'm still in pain and am going to the hospital in the morning for some blood work. I'm having a difficult time eating or even drinking and I'm not getting hardly any protein in at all. As if that weren't enough I've only lost 4 more pounds in the last three weeks, so that really sucks. Just going through a "yuck" spell I suppose. I'll post again when things are looking better. Keep your fingers crossed that will be soon. On the up-side I have only 10 more pounds to go before I reach the century mark! WOOHOO!! -90
10/20/06 - I finally hit the century mark!!! HOT DOG!!! I never thought I would see this day! Now I just have to find out how to get my century card. I'm just SOOO excited. On the down side my hair is STILL falling out and it's starting to become really noticeable. I'm wondering if it will ever stop. The doc said to up my protein intake, but I just can't seem to get it in. I'll keep working on it though. -101
11/26/06 - Things are still going fairly well and the weight is still coming off, though it has slowed down significantly. I'm only losing between 3-5 pounds a month now. Guess I shouldn't complain . I think it's just that the "honeymoon" may be getting closer to being over. I have been having some pain in both left and right upper quads and am supposed to have an EGD for that. I had it scheduled once already and canceled due to my mother having hip surgery this past Monday. She is now at home and doing well, so I guess I need to call the doc and go ahead and get that set up so we can figure out what's going on. I got majorly sick today because I stupidly ate a bowl of cereal... I ended up in the bed for a good part of the day feeling like absolute poop! Won't be doing that again... or at least until today becomes a very distant memory. HA! On the hair issue, it's still falling out, but not quite as bad as it had been. I think it's finally slowing down a bit which is wonderful. Something funny is that both of my boys have cow-licks right on the crown of their heads and I always wondered why... well since my hair has gotten MUCH thinner I realized that I too have a cow-lick in the crown of my head, but never realized it because my hair has always been EXTREMELY thick that the weight pulled it down! How insane is that?!? Anyway I found it fairly amusing. I can tell where my hair has started growing back in different spots too because I can see these little odd "sprigs" of hair sticking up all over the place. At any rate, life is good and I continually feel so very blessed. Had a great Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here soon... very exciting times, especially now that I've lost over 100 pounds!!! NEVER thought I would see the day that I could say that!!! - 107 lbs
Weight - 147.5
Lost - 107
To goal - 12.5
12/24/06 - Here it is, another year almost gone and it's Christmas Eve. Things are going fairly well. I had an EGD last Friday due to some epigastric pain. The EGD came back normal but the doc says that I have spastic colon with IBS. Also on the up-side he says that my pouch still looks great and is still small with no stretching evident. I was really glad to hear that! He prescribed Levsin which made me completely sick, so for now I'm just dealing with the pain and nausea. My weight continues to decrease and I've lost another 9 pounds over the last month. I'm now only 3 pounds away from goal (13 pounds away from my ultimate goal). I'm a little less than a month away from being at my one year post-op mark, so I'm very excited about that. My hair finally stopped falling out too, so I'm really thrilled about that. I can see new hair growth all over and I can actually feel where my hair is re-thickening again. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year all. May God bless and keep you. -116 pounds ; )
Weight - 138.5
Lost - 116
To goal - 3.5
01/14/07 - It's the wee hours of the morning, but I've been so excited all day because I actually bought my first pair of single digit size pants... a size 8!!!! That's just insane to me, especially when a year ago I was wearing 24/26. I have three more days until it's my one year post-op anniversary and last week I met the original goal (set by my surgeon) which was 135 pounds. If you look back through my blog you will see that's where my goal weight has been. MY own personal ultimate goal is to be 115, which at my height of 5'2" I believe is a reasonable goal. That would leave me needing to lose 17 more pounds. So from this post forward my ticker will be changed to read my new goal weight and we'll see what happens. To celebrate a friend of mine and I bought rollerblades last night and went rollerblading, and had a ball. That's the first time I've been on skates of any kind in about 15 years! I looked a bit like a newborn calf on their new legs, so it was quite a sight, but after a few minutes it became a little easier. On the downside of things, I've still been having some pain and so Monday I go back to the hospital for a CT of the abdomen and pelvis. It would really be great if we could get this fixed. I'll post again on Wednesday, one my year post-op anniversary along with new updated pictures. So we'll see ya then..... ; )
Weight - 135
Lost - 119.5
To goal - AT GOAL!!!
01/20/07 - I am now 1 year post-op (as of three days ago, the 17th). I've read back over my blog for the past year and there was kind of theme that I had repeated several times saying things like "the weight is coming off slow" or "I wish I could lose more" etc. I had to kind of chuckle when reading this because over the last year I've lost 123.5 pounds!!! If it came off any faster I think I would have to be dead! LOL Hindsight is always 20/20. I guess when you are actually in the moment it seems like it should be faster, but looking back it truly was very fast. I am just so thankful that I was able to have this surgery and that it has been successful. I actually met Dr. Huffman's goal weight and went below goal weight by 4 pounds, so I'm very pleased with that. I pray that I will be able to continue on successfully with this and do the things I need to do to keep me healthy, etc. I am still having issues with pain though and have been referred to a pain management doc who I go to see next week. I've never seen one before so I'm not sure what to expect. At any rate life is good and other than the pain, things are going along rather smoothly. -123.5 lbs
02/10/07 - I'm almost 13 months post-op now and things are still going relatively well. I still have pain and problems with my IBS from time to time. They put me on Bentyl and that seems to help some with the IBS. As for the pain I honestly believe it's the costochondritis acting up again, and let me tell you that is some serious pain!! It feels like you are either having a heart attack or being electrocuted, no joke! Anyway, I've been on pain meds again for the last 3-4 months and go to see a pain management doc next month to help me "deal" with the pain, so we'll see how that goes. Not quite sure what to expect in that corner of the world. On the upside, I've lost a few more pounds since my last post and am now down 129.5 pounds and it's just so unbelievable to me. As of last week I can now wear a size 6 jeans and tops that are small to medium in size, so I'm just thrilled about all of that!!! Also last Tuesday we had a "new addition" to our family. We adopted a 7 week old Chihuahua. We named him Bailey and he's just a little sweetie. Life is good and God is great... all the time!!! -129.5 lbs
Photos
 254 Morning of surgery |
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 153 Nine months post-op |
