purpleangel0909

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Feb.  21, 2008

I am amazed how this whole DS thing works.  I was getting discouraged because I was losing so slow, it was like weeks were going by and nothing being lost, so I decided to take the advise of my DH and DS friends and not worry about the scales and just eat right and try to exercise as much as I can and the scales dropped.  

I'm not focusing on the scales and how much or how fast I'm losing, I'm just trying to stay focused on getting enough protein, water and exercise.

I haven't taken pictures with my BIG clothes but I saved some for the after pics.  I haven't taken very many new pics but I keep trying to find clothes that fit.  I don't want to buy any, until I'm done losing, I still have some that are too small but they won't fit until I get much closer to my goal weight.  

I love my DS and I'm becoming much happier and healthier than I have been in my life.  I am so grateful to Dr. Keshishian and his staff, my DH, my DS family and most of all my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for helping me research all the options available and for guiding me to the DS website, for helping me through the process and guiding the surgeons hand.  My favorite scripture 1Thesalonians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

It's been 5 months 2 weeks since I had my DS, I feel so much better than I did before surgery.  The most recent change was I used to have to take a high blood pressure medication to keep my heart regulated but I was having a hard time keeping my blood pressure high enough so they tried to decrease the dose with no success so they had to toke me off the medication completely which only leaves me on the medication I take for chronic pain.

This is great, I love my DS, I used to have to take about 8 different medications, my body was literally falling apart, all of my co-morbidities are gone, the only thing that's left is my arthritis and my fibromyalgia.  My fibro doesn't appear to be as severe as it was prior to surgery, part of it could be due to the weight loss, I am just excited to know that I am on my way to having a more active life.

I still have difficulty finding foods that are good for me that I like, I don't eat pork and I don't eat steak very often, my favorite is chicken breast and fish,although I'm running out of ways to eat it lol  I also tried salami with cream cheese on it and a piece of cheese rolled up, makes a nice alternative to a salami sandwish without the bread.

I'm losing weight very slow but that's ok, I'm still losing. I would probably lose faster if I exercised more so I need to try to exercise more, which will be my goal for the next 3 months.

I will update my blog in 3 months.

Well I'm at the end of my 14th week.  I start physical therapy today to see if I can gain some strength to go with my energy, they're trying to determine if my low energy is due to low blood pressure, it seems I do fine as long as I sit but when I get up to do anything, such as vacumn, make the bed etc. I get weak and break out in a cold sweat and haf to sit down.  I first thought it was menopause but that would be hot flashes not cold sweats and my blood pressure has been down in the 80's over 60's 
Otherwise, I think I'm doing great, I had a stall for about 2 weeks and I was getting frustrated so I went to the gym and swam laps, the next day I had dropped 5 lbs, I think it was probably just the end of my stall but I have kept up with going to the gym at least 3 days a week to swim and my physical therapist will get me on some machines then transition me to the machines at the gym when my therapy is done.  The more you exercise the better because you wont have as much loose skin.
Anyway I havent been good at recording my weight loss by the month but I'm down 45lbs since Sept. 5th and I seem to be losing about 15 lbs a month.
I will try to get some new pics, I have some but couldn't get them reduced small enough to fit.  I'll write more next year when I'm 4 months out.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

I am 3 mos 10 days post op and I'm doing pretty good except they're having problems keeping my blood pressure up high enough.  I havent had blood pressure this low ever and when I stand up from laying it drops 20 points.  Other than that I'm exercising more all the time and feeling pretty good most of the time and still losing weight....yea!!!! other than my BP getting too low I feel really good.  I dont have reflux anymore, my lower legs dont swell up and breakout in blood spots anymore, I have cut out 4 meds so far and I feel my overall health has improved between 25 and 50% I was wearing a womans size  24W pants and now I'm down to a size 18W and I cant wait till I'm back down to misses instead of women's, it's been a long time and it's going to feel so good to get there again and know that as long as I take care of my new body I wont ever be obese again. I am so Blessed!!!

At first I had so much pain I didn't want to do anything except sleep.  I had to get up and walk every 4 hrs, I was in the hosp. 4 days and a hotel for 1 week.  I got my drains out at my 1 wk post op appointment.  After my 1 week post-op appointment we headed for home. At my one month post op appointment I had lost 20 lbs. my dr was happy. I am down another 22 lbs since then for a total of 42 lbs                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

My story isn't much different than any other, I struggled with my weight most of my life and as a young girl I was always considered BIG for my age, when I grew up I would be told "wow you're a big one arent ya" once a friend jokingly told me there wasn't anything small about me.
Then as an adult I started having medical problems that I inherited from my Mom and Grandma. I inherited my mom and Grandma's rheumatoid arthritis, my Mom's osteoarthritis, and both my Mom and Grandma's heart disease. As if that wasn't enough I was born with scoliosis in my full spine, I had back surgery when I was 12 where they removed the disk and fused the vertebrae to sraighten the spine as much as possible, I had a severe case of it so I had a full "S" with another half "S" below that, so after 6 weeks and 2 surgeries in the hospital I spent one year in a body cast and wasnt allowed to play sports or school P.E. for the rest of my school life. On top of everything else I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia about 3 yrs ago.  So between the RA making my bones hurt, OA making my joints hurt and fibro making my muscles hurt I was dreading the pain I had everyday and each winter I became more terrified of the weather changes and the cold.  I was hearing more about this surgery and the more I researched, the more I asked questions and talked to others who had already had surgery and then researched some more I chose to have GRDS WLS surgery to eliminate some of my medical conditions as well as gain a healthy, slender body.  
Well it's been 4 mos on Jan.5,2008 and I'm doing great.  I don't have severe reflux anymore, my lower legs dont swell up or break out in blood spots anymore, I dont have to take Lasix in order to get rid of excess fluid and my blood pressure medication has been cut in half and will probably be eliminated in order to bring my blood pressure up higher.  As for all my pain? I still take medication for chronic pain but I've been able to reduce it to twice a day instead of 3 times a day, do I still hurt? yes, but not as bad, most days I feel like everything is going to be ok, if this is as bad as it gets then it was all well worth it.  In fact just the improvement I've had so far has made it well worth it, I feel like I'm alive again, I havent felt this good for at least 10 yrs.