nicole W.

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Time sure flies when your life is in the crapper! On that happy note, 2008 is turning out to be a bad year. However on the bright side, I am now 4 pounds away from my goal weight, and have surpassed my goal of a size 12! I am currently 4 pounds away from being considered "normal" weight. I went from a BMI of 44, to a current BMI of 25.4. I am able to get on the treadmill this month and barely break a sweat. I am living in a hotel, so trying my best to remember the rules, and after a rough patch there, am back on track. Now, if only I can find a free plastic surgeon, my body would look pretty good. Thank god for clothes! Nobody can even tell about the loose skin when I am dressed. I even took some swimsuit pics to show myself how different I look. If I ever find my USB cord after the flood cleanup, I may even be brave enough to post them. 
PRE 267 CURRENT 154 GOAL 150
PRE size 22-24 CURRENT size 10 GOAL size 12 surpassed goal!!
PRE shirt 3XL CURRENT M

Well I am now 6months out and according to the scale at Urgent Care, I am .5 pounds away from the century club! That's right, after one more day of the flu, I bet I will be at 100 pounds gone forever. I am now 17 pounds away from my goal weight. My hair loss has pretty much stopped, now I am just waiting for it to start growing back. My energy level has gotten somewhat better, now I just wish the muscles would get stronger. I still am doing a really bad job at excercising, but I am working on that. I am so glad I had this surgery!

So I am now 5 months out, and down 94 freaking pounds!!! I have lost my daughter and one of my dogs worth of weight! My hair loss is starting to come under control, and I still love my wig, nobody can even tell, and I get compliments on it all the time. Today I heard coworkers talking about how amazing I look, then a bunch told me to my face. My friends say I have a "tiny butt" and my husband is teasing me because in 8 more pounds I will FINALLY weigh less than he does, he seems to think this means he will be able to pick me up. NOT A CHANCE BUSTER!! I am a very loose 14 now, and Medium or Large shirts. I can wear tight shirts (my daughter and I call them Hoochie Mama shirts) and there are no rolls, and I have what appears to be a flat ab, as long as my pants are covering the loose skin. I am 18 pounds away from being considered slightly overweight!!! I have a BMI of 27 currently, and would not be a candidate for surgery. I can eat almost anything but fill up quickly. So far have avoided sugar to the best of my ability (no more than 10g) and knock on wood have avoided dumping. I am becoming a huge advocate of this surgery, and would do it all over again, even if I had the same complications, because now it is SOOOOOO worth it.

Down 85 pounds now. Clothes are size 14 pants, Lor even M shrirts. So greatful for this surgery! Had my 30th birthday on the 16th. Having some PTSD from the second surgery, don't worry, I am in therapy now.

Well, I am now out four months, and down 74 pounds, 43 to go to goal. When I started this journey my goal was size 12 or 150 pounds. Well, today I went shopping, and in two different brands, I am in a 14!!! I weigh 193 right now, so I am so I close. The thyroid issue is still not worked out. I am on synthroid, but doesn' t seem to be doing it, so I go  back to the Dr. on Monday. I have lost a large majority of my hair between surgery and the thyroid so I have started wearing a wig. It is cute, so I am ok with it. 
Some of the best things about surgery:
* I feel so much better, my GERD, Hypertension, Joint Pain, and IBS seem to be gone
* I look much better
* I can buy clothes in any store I want to
* My daughter says I have more energy
* My grocery bill has gone down
* I can wear high heels
* I fit in all chairs, in movie theaters, or anywhere else I want to sit
* I don't mind the scars or extra skin so far, becaue I am getting closer to goal
* I could get new boobs some day. and justify it by th surgery
* I can shop for sexy undies at Victoria's Secret
* I am able to help others who are preop with words of wisdom and by sharing my experience. 

Well I am 9 days away from the 3 month anniversary of my RNY and WOW what a difference in how I feel from a month ago. I have progressed nicely to regular foods with very little problems. I am now down 57 pounds after a month long plateau. My clothes fit so much better, I can hardly keep up with the weight/inch loss. People definately notice and many have commented on how good I look. And it is amazing how much better I feel physically as well as emotionally. My voice is slowly coming back. I have gotten used to the numbness and tingling in my hand. The scars look horrible, but the only people who see them are me and my husband, and he is so glad that I am alive that he doesn't seem to mind them, in fact he is really fascinated by how well I have healed from all of the tubes and the big incision. I have not found any foods that I can't tolerate, so that is a blessing. The biggest problem I am having so far is muscle weakness, and my surgeon says that with as sick as I was, that is to be expected, and it will take a long time for that to come back. I have been lifting weights 3-4 times a week to help it along. The muscle loss may also be why I have not lost more weight, because I didn't have the muscle to help burn the fat. I have no regrets about this surgery and am looking forward to getting to my goal of 114 pounds gone forever I will keep ya posted in how that goes!

Well, I thought the worst was behind me, but I was wrong. It all started on June 11th. I took a different calcium chew and about an hour later, I began to experience pain worse than childbirth in my abdomen. It was a pulling, tearing sensation, and I was sweating, and nauseous, and ended up on the floor unable to move for 3 hours. Well, the calcium chew had about 8g of sugar, and being so new, I thought that was too much, so I assumed I was dumping. This went on for 13 hours. I called the Dr. on call and he said he thought I was just dumping too, and it could last 2-12 hours and there was nothing I could do about it. The next day I felt horrible, but the pain was gone. I was so restless, I couldnt sit still, couldn't sleep, felt nauseous, lightheaded, and basically miserable. I didn't drink any protein drink that day, just lots of water, thinking my stomach was just healing from "dumping". The next morning, the 13th, I had not slept, I was very lightheaded could barely get from my room to the bathroom without feeling that I was going to pass out. I called the Dr. office and the nurse called in a prescription for a suppository for the nausea for me. That afternoon my husband brought the prescription home, and I took it right away. Within an hour, I felt horrible. I began sweating profusely, very lightheaded, and began to experience pain in my stomach area. I took my pulse, and it was 150 beats. I knew I was in trouble, I used to be a paramedic, and I realized that I was not in good shape. I called 911 and waited. The first responders came, but the ambulance took 40 min! They are only 5 miles away! By this point I could not open my eyes without great effort. The first responders took my bp and it was 80/50. They thought their equipment was broken! I finally got to the hospital, and things went down hill very quickly. I had a CT which showed I had a leak. Then the Dr. said they weren't going to operate!!That is the only way to treat a leak, and now I was in septic shock. My blood pressure began to drop very rapidly. I had multiple IV's and they had to start Dopamine because at one point my bp was 43/20, which means my kidneys were in danger. I ended up in ICU, and my husband was somehow able to get my dr.'s home phone number since he was on vacation, and he told the dr.'s in the local hospital that they needed to get me there NOW! They worked on me for another 3 hours trying to get me stable enough for the helicoptor ride. During this time in ICU I was semi-consious. I was stuck 18 times in my wrist looking for a arterial line, had a central line put into my subclavian in my chest, and eventually was paralyzed and intubated. I was then FINALLY sent onto the helicoptor. My family and friends beat me to St. Cloud hospital, and they were 2 hours away when they heard I was ill. I was 20 min away by helicoptor. I was told nobody at that hospital expected I would survive. During the helicoptor ride, I have found out that I did die briefly. I had a near death experience, and made the decision I wanted to come back to be with my daughter. I then came back and started chocking on the ET tube in my throat. I then passed out. I have been told that NOBODY expected me to make it through when I arrived. I looked horrible. My dr. did not give me good odds when they took me to surgery. (He came in from vacation to operate on me). Obviously I did make it,with a few extra scars, and a voice that doesn't work right which is hard to deal with because I was a singer, but I am alive against the odds. I spent 1 and 1/2 days in ICU, which I don't remember, but I was writing notes to my family. I spent one day in progressive care, and seven more days for a total of 10 days in the hospital, which is unheard of. Most people who go through what I did stay for at least a month. I am still sore, but am healing more every day. I do not have sensation other than numbness and tingling in my left arm, because they had to do an emergency cutdown trying to find a bp because I did not have one when I went to surgery. I have a scar from my sternum to my belly button, and a G tube in my abdomen for drainage. But, I am alive. And guess what, even after all of this, I do not regret having surgery for WL. I went into the hospital weighing about 243, and when I left I was 300 due to the fluid they had to infuse to resusitate me. After leaving the hospital, within 10 days, I weighed 227. I currently weigh 219. If you have any questions for me after reading this, please feel free to ask, I am very willing to talk about it or answer questions.

Well, I survived surgery, despite a setback of having a rare GI bleed at the staple line requireing an additional day in the hospital and two units of blood. I got very nauseous from the pain meds, so avoid those if you can. I really don't and haven't had much pain, but forgot about the shoulder pain that having the gas put into your abdomen causes. I have now been home 3 full days, and despite not feeling very good, have no regrets. I have been lightheaded and dizzy, and get nauseous after drinking my Boost. I am learning very slowly just how much I can swallow at a time, and what being "full" feels like with my new pouch. If you think you might be getting full, YOU ARE FULL. Not being hungry even when smelling food, is an awsome feeling. I gained 11 pounds from all of the fluids at the hospital, but have lost that all. I started out at 254, and this afternoon weighed 244, so obviously this is working. Feeling like crap for a few days is definately a price I am willing to pay to loose this weight and get my health back. Good luck to anyone planning to have surgery.

Wow, talk about an emotional rollercoaster! My insurance took it out until the last minute, but I got told yesterday I was approved, and now today, I was told there is a cancellation, and I will be having surgery in 10 days, start your liquid diet! WOW I went from totally depressed that this was never going to happen for me, to totally overwhelmed that it is all coming so fast. Lol, be careful what you wish for I guess. I am so excited, and nervous, and more excited. This has been a struggle for so long being overweight, and now, it is almost the end of that life, and time for a new one to start. If I had to give one word of advice, it would be to join some sort of support group, either in person, or online. The online one has been a life saver for me in this very emotional process.

Well, this has proved to be too much lately. I have been told by insurance that I would have an answer in 10 days unless something was wrong or missing, but now it is been 11 days business days, 15 days total and still no answer. My drs. office even called, and were told that there was no decision yet. Then the insurance gal at the office told me not to call anymore because it just slows things down, and they have been taking longer than 10 days, and that we have no idea when we will get an answer. I am so tired waiting. I just wanted to know that this was going to happen, so I could start planning, and now I have no idea if it even will. I am running into a time constraint because my company might switch insurance companies on June 30th, so if I don't have surgery by then, I may not get to have it. I am so upset about this right now!!!