olivija24
March 2006 - surgery scheduled for May 2nd, 2006
April 11th, 2006 - I've been heavy most of my life. I remember as young as age 10 it becoming an issue. The first time I was concerned enough about it to try and lose weight was when I was 17 and a senior in High School. When I began college, I weighed 180, which at 5'9" wasn't too bad. The freshman 15 became the senior 50, so I weighed about 230 when I graduated four years later. The next 15 years saw me continue gaining weight, fluctuating between 240 and 280, several times. It wasn't until I was about 30 that being overweight started to have visible effects on my health. I was active, able to hike, play tennis, and golf. I was told I had diabetes but should be able to control it with diet and exercise.
At this point I should add that I could compete and likely win at the World Championship of DENIAL. I went blissfully on my way, not checking blood sugars and eating whatever I pleased. Finally, about 4 years ago, my diabetes had progressed to the point that I needed to begin insulin injections. This ALMOST got my attention. Once I started insulin, my body became a weight gaining MACHINE. I went from 280 up to 330. I wasn't sure how much I weighed for awhile because our scale only went up to 300. The scale at my Dr.'s office also only went up to 300. This is when it almost began to sink in that I was in trouble.
I should say at this time that I love my life. I have a wonderful supportive wife named Karina, and two beautiful daughters. Olivija is 7, and Sofia is 3. It was the growing realization that I might not be around to watch them grow up that made me seek answers to this problem.
I've been hooked up with the Legacy Obesity Institute in Portland Oregon since last September, and after the process of supervised diet and exercise my insurance finally granted approval for surgery. I had originally planned on having Lap Band, but Aetna would only cover Gastric Bypass. So, Gastric Bypass it is.
It took a while to wrap my brain around this new plan, but now I am ready.
The surgery is 3 weeks from today, and I am working hard at being as ready as possible. Eating right, walking every day, getting things in order. I'm down 16 lbs to 314 since October, and I'm looking forward to the day when it starts to come off a lot faster. I know that this is lifelong commitment! Let's go!
5/13/2006 - Here I am on the other side of the surgery. I had the surgery May 2nd, came home on May 4th, and every day gets a little better. The days in the hospital weren't too bad, that PCA morphine pump kept things pretty calm. I did have a bit of a problem getting my system started again, and almost had to be re-catheterized, but basically forced myself to go to avoid that!
I was so glad I had been walking in the months leading up to the surgery, as I could feel that "reserve" built up. Easier than starting from scratch. The first few days at home I took the percocet for pain, but switched to plain old Tylenol to let my system get back to normal. Saturday and Sunday were the hardest days, as I had lowgrade nausea all day, and just felt like crap. Some of that was probably just the hangover coming off the morphine and percocet.
Monday was the turnaround day. Went for a good walk, but 20 minutes just about knocked me out! I'm back up to my 30 minutes a day, and now will start increasing.
I had no appetite, so it was actually a chore to try and get in the nutrients that I was told to. Finally got some Glass Isopure No carb Protein drink. 40g of protein in 20 oz, so it helps with both protein and liquid. My NUT said I should get 65-75 gr of protein, 48-64 oz of water, and 20 g of fat. The fat calories have been the hardest to get in. Dairy helps.
As of yesterday, I had lost 16 pounds in the first 10 days. I plan to ride this wave as long as I can. Getting the right nutrition, but losing as much as I can during this honeymoon period.
8/13/06 - 3 months since I've updated my profile! Yikes. Well, I'm down almost 60 lbs in the three months since my surgery, and feeling great. Still figuring out how best to eat... Every once in a while I'll eat too fast, or too much, and then pay the price. But every day gets better. I'm down from a 54" to a 44" in pants, and from a 4X to a 2X in shirts. My diabetes is under tight control, and I"m taking less than half the insulin I was on before surgery. The endocronologist thinks that ultimately I will be off shots once I lost more of the weight. Here's my chart so far:
October 2005 330 48.7
March 13 2006 317 46.8
March 20 315 46.5
March 27 314 46.5
April 3 313 46.2
April 10 313 46.2
April 17 312 46
April 24 309 45.6
26 lbs lost 7 months preop
May 1 304 44.8
May 8 295 43.5
May15 285 42
May 22 285 42
May 29 281 41.4
June 6 278 41
June 13 274 40.4
June 20 271 40
June 27 266 39.2
July 4 265 39.1
July 11 263 38.8
July 18 259 38.2
July 25 255 37.6
August 1 253 37.3
August 8 251 37
Onward and downward!
