Michelle Smith

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So....I'm back....been gone awhile.....Since my last visit, I have relocated to Dallas TX, gotten off the wagon, gained 50 lbs, been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, & now am wanting to get back on track. I can do this, & i will do this. I will be on here frequently, as part of my re committment to my VSG. Its good to be back...

My BMI is under 40!!!! I am @ 39!!!!!! HOLY COW!!!!! SO SO SO SO HAPPY!!!!!

I started @ 63+.  WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW. I didnt even realize,till I updated my ticker,& there it was,in my profile!!!!!39!!!!!

Did i tell you my BMI is 39?!?!?!?!?!??!

I AM STOKED.      

It was *** FAN FREAKING TASTIC!!!!***

I...ME!!!! Michelle.......Fit on EVERYTHING, with ROOM TO SPARE!!!! WHOOOOO HOOOOOOOO

We had a FABULOUS time!!!! I have to say....I weighed the EXACT same thing when I got home 9 days later......BUT, everyone else GAINED. I blame disney world! They would not know protien if it walked up & slapped them,so me, not being prepared, carb'ed out the enitre time. Disney KNOWS IT'S CARBS!!!!

It was the best vacation I have had in years!!!! I will post pics soon!!!!

Good Morning OH family!!! As of yesterday,I am 5 months out. I started on day of surgery @ 383 lbs. This morning I am @ 273 lbs. So far, everything has went textbook. I cannot convey how blessed I have been, to be able to have this surgery. I was self pay, (due to ins written exclusion) I fought with BCBSTN for about 4 years,before I realized that they truly did not care about my health. I finally had enough, flew to MX, plunked down $7500, & Dr V gave me a new lease on life. My experience from the time I landed in Cancun till this moment, has been nothing but good (except for a trip to Dead Lobster in Feb that almost changed my religion)  LMAO!!!! Foamies galore after 3/4 of 1 piece of shrimp cocktail-lesson learned! That being said, I do not get enough water. I am aware of that,& I push myself everyday. some days I do better than others. I would rather drink my protein, than eat. I find myself not wanting to eat. I rarely snack, & once 6pm rolls around, I dont want anything. (I used to love late night big suppers-true southern style meals) My poor hubby knows,if we dont eat before 6pm,he is on his own in the kitchen. LOL!!! I tried JUNK the other day,& it made my stomach ache. Steak-umms. Pre-op,I LOVED those things. The other night, my hubby was craving them, so I caved,& bought a box. Can you see gag me with a steak-ummm??? It was just NOT GOOD to me. He thought they were fantastic.  

I weigh once a week on Fri, usually. I do give in & step on the scale in the middle of the week,if I feel"different". Usually though, Fri Am, after I pee, before I shower! I am OCD...LOL 

I take a multivitamin, & a daily calcium. I had labs done  @ 3 mon,& everything looked perfect. I go back on my 6 mon for another set of labs.

I came off my BP meds at 3 months. My BP was bottoming out,& I was having near blackout spells, & 1 actual black out, at my desk. I never thought about the fact that I was taking a BP dose for 400 lb Michelle...LOL  so my Dr cut the dose in 1/2, still too low, so she took me off it. BP runs about 110/65 anytime I check it now. pulse about 60'ish. (we have BP machine @ work)  I only have to take a "maintenance drug" for my emphysema. I am completely off the spiriva powder. I am off meloxicab (joint pain) completely. The only med I take is daily hormone (I had total hysto 3 yrs ago) & advair 2 X daily.

I can paint my toenails. I can put my socks & shoes on without getting winded (I used to just let hubby do it for me) I can CROSS MY LEGS comfortably, & it looks good when I do it!! I can see my hoo-ha! (& let me tell you, I have a severe case of FUPA!!!)  I get her waxed every 5 weeks, & my waxer told me that even she has lost weight. LMAO!! She better keep losing!!

I have not seen the inside of the elevators at work in 3 mon. I use the stairs. I can walk,& walk,& walk, & never get tired. I have found I like to walk FAST. Sometimes I get walking so fast,I feel like I am on one of those walk escalators at the airport. LOL

I have not had ANY problem with rashy/irritated areas from folded skin/panni area yet. I never did have that proble,so fingers crossed!!! I have always-everytime I get out of the shower,stood in front of the fan,& held all my folds up (boobs & panni) to make sure everything is DRY DRY DRY.

I have nationality neutral pancake boobies. (inside joke!) they are pitiful. That will be the 1st PS I get. My girls are gonna be overhauled!!! Not sure about the "TT,anchor cut,lower/upper body lift" stuff. I read about them, & it terrifies me. So far,I think I look pretty darn good. I think,if everything keeps going right, I may just have arms & boobs done. I cant wait to see what Missy does, & her results.She & I are about same height & started @ about same weight,so she is my muse. LOL

I am officially rambling, but I just cannot tell you how much this has changed me life,& I still have a ways to goal,so the changes will keep coming,I am sure!!! We are taking my stepdaughter & granddaughter to Disney in July,& I am SO EXCITED. I used to be a HUGE (pun intended) theme park fan, but the bigger I got,the less fun it was,till 1 day,about 10 years ago, I just stopped going. So,this will be like Xmas in July for me.

Anyone contemplating this surgery, get off the fence,& get on the bench!!!!

I will take some more pics & post soon. My collar bones are poking out!!!

Best Best Best thing I have ever did for myself. I DESERVED this. I am worth this. Ya know, for so many years, I thought I was not worth much. I was fat, & in pain all the time from my weight. I wanted to slide thru life, without anyone noticing me. I literally felt that I wanted to die, & not have anyone really notice. I was morbidly obese, & my life was coming to an end. I was in the twilight of my life, & only in my 30's. I knew death was waiting for me. I knew my body could not go on for much longer. My mind was still a young girl's mind, wanting to live life, & love life. My physical body was dying. I hit rock bottom one day (& you know,for the life of me, I cant even remember what it was) It was in Sept 2009. Kinda like the proverbial straw I guess....I decided that,for once & for all, I was going to stop being my own victim, & DO SOMETHING about it. I sick & tired of being sick & tired. I started researching WLS, specifically the lap band. I actually had a date set in Cancun Mexico, & I was readin so many posts about lap band problems. I started thinking, Oh NO,AM I trading 1 hell for another hell? So,I kept reading. I started reading about DS. After much research, I realized I did not want that procedure. So,I started reading about VSG. (I had really never heard of it) The more I read,the more I liked it. I started lurking here on the VSG board. After much research & soul searching, I informed my hubby I was flying to Cancun for VSG. I was calm. He said "ok", lets do it. *I am very type A personality. He knew that if I was that sure of it,then I had done my research,& felt that this was the way to go. I flew to Cancun, had a textbook surgery, & flew home. Went back to work 5 days later. I have not once regretted doing this. All you newbies, if you are on here reading this, then you are desperate for a change. Let me tell you, I would do this a million times over again. I am so blessed to have this opportunity. I encourage anyone thinking about this, to do it for YOU.  No matter what WLS you decide, do it for YOU. Good night OH family.

     

I am approx 17 weeks out. Everything has went textbook. I have not had any problems. I do **cheat** occasionally. (by cheat,I mean, I eat a hershey kiss or something like that)  I do not snack. I have no desire for it. Sure, sometimes my head says, DONT U WANT A SNACK??? but, No....not really...it is just my head. I could not be happier (well,OK..once I get to goal,I am sure I will be even happier, but for now, I could not be happier. I thank God every day for this new lease on life. Anyone considering WLS, & more specifically, VSG, I say, get off the fence, & get on the bench...the losers bench that is!!! I was a heavyweight. This is working for me.

Seriously....I will be in the enquirier next week!!!!! LMAO......Sewiously....I am 3 mo out, & last week, I never even noticed, that I was not pooping. Sat, I thought about it, & it was day 4.. So, some cause for concern. I started getting belly pains (felt like belly) so we got home sat night,I took 2 dulcolax, & drank miralax. I would push,& groan,& grunt, repeat. NOTHING. BUT. It was there. I could feel it. Like I had a neighbor down there, thats how big it was.....I 1/2 slept fitfully thru sat night, Sun AM @ 5am, I woke, up,thinking, this is it!!!! So I repeated. Nothing. (I had to work Sun) So.......I go to walmart enroute to work, & get fleet suppositories, & 2 pack big enema, stool softener, & fiber. (the lady at the counter never did say a word...I am sure I looked AWFUl, I was in PAIN) I get to work, wondering exactly how this is going to work, cause the box says u gotta either doggie style it, or lay on the side. Well, IM not laying on the floor in the bathroom at work.  but wait......I think.....could it be....I think its coming....without the enema help!!! WOO HOO!!!! I Repeat. Nothing. Nada. So,I put on the gloves I bought to put in the enema, & I ***feel back there*** & sure enough, the head of a 5 yr old. Seriously. 1/2 in, 1/2 out. But not moving. I did not know what to do. I sucked in, trying to pull it back up. Nothing. So, with tears in my eyes, worried that I would have to crawl out to get an ambulance (I went to the front of the building which is mt on the weekends) So, with tears in my eyes, I shove that enema thru the poop, & squeezeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. UGH. It burned....BUT, the second,I got about 1/2 the bottle mt, I felt it, so i sat down, & it just slid out, like a dang Xmas Goose. Now for the gross part. I couldnt help myself. I amost felt bad for the lil feller. I looked at it, & it was literally the size of soda can, & 7 inches long. If it were a penis, I would be proud of it. I still have the gloves on,& miraculously,have NOT made any mess.....I couldnt believe it!!!! well, I thought too soon,. I turned around to finish, & slipped on the enema liquid that poured out as I was trying to shoot it up in there, & fell. The enema bottle,,which was **perched** on the hand rail, fell down the front of my shirt (now remember where it was just a couple of minutes ago) thats right ladies & gents. POOP all down the front of my shirt. I was so excited about this. LUCKILY, I had my gym bag at work, so I put on my shirt I use to work out in (it didnt smell as bad as the current shirt!!!) & got cleaned up. I managed to get back to my desk, but it STILL hurts to wipe, & walking is a bit stiff still.   So!!! Now, I take fiber gummies every day,& a stool softener. so far, no more issues,I have been getting out lil rabbit turds.... WOOOOOO,is all I have to say on that.   

So....I go to Dead Lobster with DH for his birthday today. I have been doing very well, with eating foods, chewing to a pulp, etc. We sit down, I feel fine, they bring a shrimp cocktail. I usually do not eat this anyway, I just dont like the taste,but DH convinces me to try 1. Says they are AWESOME. So, here I go, I eat a 1/4 of one. Ok, it is pretty good. I eat another 1/4. So, 10 min later, I have eaten 3/4 of a shrimp. (I do not use any sauce,except lemon) Almost immediately, I start feeling a little "off".   (this was my 1st official-did not go well-experience)  About 3 min later, I realize I am going to hurl (the place was COMPLETELY full, we had to wait an hour for a table) I sit there, trying to stop it, & could not. So,I grab DH lobsterita, & fill it up for him.,pee'ing my tan colored pants as I do so....you KNOW what color pee is on tan...VERY noticable! I then sqeeuze out of the booth (that I was so proud to fit in only minutes earlier!!!) make my way to the bathroom,with my mouth full of gunk,in my pee pants. I hurl 3 times, & it is the shrimpy pulp. But, then I still could not get right. I kept yaking up slime. I yakked up slime for about 30 min. We are home now, & I am out of my pee pants, & showered. Anyone else have this? I am feeling a little better. This was the 1st time I have hurled since surgery Jan 8th. Just wondering if this was just a fluke, or was it my VSG that decided NO SHRIMP

I am 7 weeks out, no problems so far,except this past Sat,my hubby @ Dead Lobster. I am not getting in all my protein, but I am working at it every day. I get in most of my water by unsweet tea. I am able to eat eggs/dairy. I handle chicken fine. I am going to hold off on shrimp for awhile! I am down to 321. I have lost 13 inches on my waist.

It has now been 2 weeks (& 1 day) since my VSG surgery. I am feeling fine. I have been SO fortunate,not to have had ANY problems (yet!) Never had to have antacids,or anything like that yet. BUT..I have never had an issue with that stuff, even before the surgery. I am not getting 100 oz of water in a day, but I am getting better. I have been having 1 scrambled egg white for breakfast, & wendys chili or another egg white for lunch, then I usually dont want supper. If I do, I usually eat the leftover wendys. (a small lasts me 3 days in the fridge) I am down to 336 (started @ 383) BUT..I am a heavy weight, so that makes a big difference, from what I have read) I have lost 7 inches in my waist. I am so thankful for the sleeve. Yes, I get a little muddly when I see people eating stuff I LOVE, BUT.....I just have to pull thru it. I actually wore an outfit to work yesterday, that has been in my closet for 3 yrs. When I bought it, I THOUGH it was a 5x. Got it home, & it was a 4x, & I just never took it back. So, I tried it on, & it was LOOSE!!! Ripped the tags off, & here I go! I walked into the kitchen,& my hubby laughed,& said, when did u go shopping already?? I said, just now, in the back of my closet!!!It was a very good feeling (I actually had to roll the waist to keep the pants up) I urge anyone who wants to lose weight, & still live a normal like,to get this surgery if you are able. Thank you God.