mysticfeather
9 Weeks Post OP
Apr 23, 2010
9 weeks post op and I am feeling that surge of energy that everyone talks about having after the surgery. I have lost 55 lbs and I'm feeling better than I have in years.
I have slipped into the new eating pattern with no trouble at all. I've discovered some old habits are hard to break, like finishing everything on my plate. Now I am careful to only take the amount I'm allowed to eat. eyeballing it before hand saves me a lot of pain later.
It's hard to believe how fast the weight comes off. I notice it in my clothes most of all. I started out in a size 26 and now I'm wearing an 18. I'm on the last hole in my belt.
My birthday is Sunday. Here's a picture of me last year and a picture that was taken 2 weeks ago.
1 comment
I have slipped into the new eating pattern with no trouble at all. I've discovered some old habits are hard to break, like finishing everything on my plate. Now I am careful to only take the amount I'm allowed to eat. eyeballing it before hand saves me a lot of pain later.
It's hard to believe how fast the weight comes off. I notice it in my clothes most of all. I started out in a size 26 and now I'm wearing an 18. I'm on the last hole in my belt.
My birthday is Sunday. Here's a picture of me last year and a picture that was taken 2 weeks ago.
7 Weeks Post Op
Mar 28, 2010
Down 50 lbs!!! Yippee! Can't believe how much better I feel.
My knees don't hurt any more, I'm able to walk without huffing and puffing, and I'm down about 3 sizes in clothing so I can wear much better looking things to work (luckily I have saved all my clothing as I've "grown" so I have about 3 sizes worth of old clothes to choose from)
Eating has fallen into a routine that I find very easy to follow. I've never gotten sick or had dumping, but I stayed on pureed food for a long time to make sure my stomach healed. I'm really able to eat just about everything without problems. I've been eating chicken and vegetables without an issue. I usually have one "real meal" a day (mostly dinner) and the other times I have a protein drink or protein bars.
For dinner and sometimes lunch I will have fish/tuna or egg salad. If we go out I will have a chicken dish and one or two veggies, but it sure doesn't take long to fill up! The other night I had chicken Alfredo from Olive Garden, it took me 4 days to finish it and hubby ended up eating the some of the pasta. It was sure good to have something that tasted like a real meal. I thought it might have too much fat in it, but I did fine on it. I guess because the portions are so small.
I met a friend for lunch at TGI Fridays and ordered the crab-cakes from appetizer menu. It came with 2 cakes. I ate half of one (thought I had died and gone to heaven) had the other half for dinner and gave the other one to hubby.
I am lovin' life!
2 Week Post OP
Feb 24, 2010
At my 2 week post op I had lost 15 lbs! Wow, I'm thrilled. That was last week.
I go again today to weigh in and will post my loss (hopefully) I have to say at this point the weirdest thing is not feeling hungry. Very odd to go all day and never feel hungry.
Will write more later.
2 comments
I go again today to weigh in and will post my loss (hopefully) I have to say at this point the weirdest thing is not feeling hungry. Very odd to go all day and never feel hungry.
Will write more later.
One Week Post Op Appt
Feb 13, 2010
On Thursday I went for my one week follow-up visit to see my surgeon. I was amazed how well I felt that day.
I stepped on the scale for the first time since my surgery and I had lost 9 lbs! In one week! Geez, that made me feel even better!
Everything was fine with the surgeon. He said I was progressing very well and my next visit would be in one month.
Today is my 9th day post-op and I really feel so fantastic I can't believe I had surgery. My small incisions from the surgery have almost healed completely. I haven't gotten sick or thrown up on anything. I am now able to take regular drinks of water instead of the baby sips and haven't taken a Gas-X all day! What more could you ask?
I still have 4 1/2 weeks off work, so hubby and I are planning some day trips to spend more time together. In another week or two I think I'll finally be able to have enough energy to keep up with him
2 comments
I stepped on the scale for the first time since my surgery and I had lost 9 lbs! In one week! Geez, that made me feel even better!
Everything was fine with the surgeon. He said I was progressing very well and my next visit would be in one month.
Today is my 9th day post-op and I really feel so fantastic I can't believe I had surgery. My small incisions from the surgery have almost healed completely. I haven't gotten sick or thrown up on anything. I am now able to take regular drinks of water instead of the baby sips and haven't taken a Gas-X all day! What more could you ask?
I still have 4 1/2 weeks off work, so hubby and I are planning some day trips to spend more time together. In another week or two I think I'll finally be able to have enough energy to keep up with him
Day 6 Post-Op
Feb 10, 2010
I'm doing well. Today was a day with zero pain, last night I slept on my side for the first time, and today's highlight was finally finding the "magic amount" that I am able to drink at one time without getting the burps! All is right with the world! lol! I go tmw for my one week follow up. I am so amazed at how quickly our bodies heal from such an "invasion"
Although I am seeing improvements each day, I have to say I was really low energy today. I don't know if I am expecting too much or I need to exercise more. I have my list of questions ready for the Dr. tmw.
Was so thrilled yesterday to have BM (love that my high point is something like that!) and today I had the runs! How is it possible given I am not eatting anything! Ahhhh...these are the questions that baffle mankind...
0 comments
Although I am seeing improvements each day, I have to say I was really low energy today. I don't know if I am expecting too much or I need to exercise more. I have my list of questions ready for the Dr. tmw.
Was so thrilled yesterday to have BM (love that my high point is something like that!) and today I had the runs! How is it possible given I am not eatting anything! Ahhhh...these are the questions that baffle mankind...
I had my surgery on Feb.4!
Feb 09, 2010
After all was said and done, participating in the Kaiser classes gave me great information and helped me to form a support group with some of the other people in the class. I think the whole "Options Program" is very valuable. If you dont see the need for some of the psych stuff before surgery, you sure do afterwards.
My highest weight was 292, but I managed to lose a little and went into surgery weighing 279. While most people would have been proud of that I found myself asking the question, "Do I really need the surgery if I can lose the weight on my own like this?"
For me the answer was simple. Losing the weight had never been a problem...I have lost the same 30 lbs at least 50 times in my lifetime. The question was, "Do I have a solid system in place that will stop me from getting to this weight (or higher) again?" The answer was "no". On with the surgery!
Surgery was great...I don't remember a thing. The several days I spent in the hospital are a blur. I'm fortunate that my husband was there and I can see the value of having a Very Special Person program that allows someone of your choice to stay in the room with you. I can't remember much of what happened, but my husband handled many of the decisions for me.
I had a problem with my 02 sateration levels which were down to 73 on several occasions and I was taken to have a chest x-ray. Everything looked fine except I needed to do some additional deep breathing and walking. I started doing that and improved greatly. I was discharged home on Sunday.
Monday I was in surprisingly good spirits, despite the restless night of nightmares and periods of having to get up thorughout the night. I was excited for my journey and not feeling much pain due to the liquid pain meds I was given. By Monday evening, after two restless naps, I knew I was having nightmares as a reaction to the pain med. The surgeon said there wasn't anything else he could give me that wouldn't have the same effects, so I stopped the pain meds.
Tuesday was a bummer. I was in pain. And while I wasn't throwing anything up, the gas and "gurgling" response I had to everything I drank had me uncomfortalbe, cranky, and thinking, "What the hell did I do to myself" I worried that I wouldn't be able to get enough protein and liquids down to keep me from becoming dehydrated and seriously ill. My one week appt. wasn't until Thursday morning. I was taken off all my aniexty and depression meds in the hospital so those issues were rearing their ugly heads.
Worst of all, the one tool I had to deal with all of these emotional issues (food) was now gone. What?! Deal with an emotion? Gee, what a concept. That's when I pulled out my Options Program materials and started reading them through...and I mean, really reading them this time.
0 comments
My highest weight was 292, but I managed to lose a little and went into surgery weighing 279. While most people would have been proud of that I found myself asking the question, "Do I really need the surgery if I can lose the weight on my own like this?"
For me the answer was simple. Losing the weight had never been a problem...I have lost the same 30 lbs at least 50 times in my lifetime. The question was, "Do I have a solid system in place that will stop me from getting to this weight (or higher) again?" The answer was "no". On with the surgery!
Surgery was great...I don't remember a thing. The several days I spent in the hospital are a blur. I'm fortunate that my husband was there and I can see the value of having a Very Special Person program that allows someone of your choice to stay in the room with you. I can't remember much of what happened, but my husband handled many of the decisions for me.
I had a problem with my 02 sateration levels which were down to 73 on several occasions and I was taken to have a chest x-ray. Everything looked fine except I needed to do some additional deep breathing and walking. I started doing that and improved greatly. I was discharged home on Sunday.
Monday I was in surprisingly good spirits, despite the restless night of nightmares and periods of having to get up thorughout the night. I was excited for my journey and not feeling much pain due to the liquid pain meds I was given. By Monday evening, after two restless naps, I knew I was having nightmares as a reaction to the pain med. The surgeon said there wasn't anything else he could give me that wouldn't have the same effects, so I stopped the pain meds.
Tuesday was a bummer. I was in pain. And while I wasn't throwing anything up, the gas and "gurgling" response I had to everything I drank had me uncomfortalbe, cranky, and thinking, "What the hell did I do to myself" I worried that I wouldn't be able to get enough protein and liquids down to keep me from becoming dehydrated and seriously ill. My one week appt. wasn't until Thursday morning. I was taken off all my aniexty and depression meds in the hospital so those issues were rearing their ugly heads.
Worst of all, the one tool I had to deal with all of these emotional issues (food) was now gone. What?! Deal with an emotion? Gee, what a concept. That's when I pulled out my Options Program materials and started reading them through...and I mean, really reading them this time.
Where to begin...
Oct 10, 2009
My name is Deborah and I am 51 years old. I'm married to a saint--he is the calm to my storm. I have always "thought" I had a weight problem, although looking back on my pictures from high school I was in great shape. I'm in a program at Kaiser and on schedule to graduate from the required class next month. In our last class our instructor discussed "Body Image" I couldn't believe it when I took the test and scored very high (this is not good) in having a bad body image.
After the test I thought, "Well, yeah. Of course I have a bad body image...I'm 5'9" and 290 lbs!! That's not a pretty picture! Then I began to think back over my life and I realized that from my earliest memory I have always thought I was fat. Even when I wasn't. It seemed I was always either being compared or comparing myself to my older sister who was and still is "perfect" (No, really. People say that about her!)
So, I guess this is probably why they have these classes. I'm learning a lot. My weight loss has to start in my head if it is going to a lasting change.
2 comments
After the test I thought, "Well, yeah. Of course I have a bad body image...I'm 5'9" and 290 lbs!! That's not a pretty picture! Then I began to think back over my life and I realized that from my earliest memory I have always thought I was fat. Even when I wasn't. It seemed I was always either being compared or comparing myself to my older sister who was and still is "perfect" (No, really. People say that about her!)
So, I guess this is probably why they have these classes. I'm learning a lot. My weight loss has to start in my head if it is going to a lasting change.
