Sharon H.

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Well hello to all of my fellow OHers!  I honestly thought I'd be better at updating my profile, as I could become quite frustrated by those who didn't when I was researching WLS for myself.  I would read profiles of people who had wonderful stories about their pre and post-surgery progress, but then the story would peter out and I'd be left wondering where they were and how they were doing 2, 3, 4+ years out - and I do still wonder about many of them!  Therefore, I am making the effort to update this now, and will try to do this more often in the future (at least more often than once every year-and-a-half)!

I am now 2 years, 2 months out from surgery and doing absolutely fantastic!  Of course it could be even better weight-loss wise, but I'm happy with where I'm at.  I currently weigh 177 (down 90 lbs).  I started out at 267 and my lowest weight was 171, so I was getting close to my 100 pound goal where I could then go sky-diving as my reward to myself.

However, as often happens in life, I was blindsided (or rear-ended more specifically by another driver) and some injuries from that have slowed my exercise routine down significantly.  Currently all I can do is walk for exercise, but I know I'll recover from this and get back to the more effective elliptical, biking and weight-lifting that I was doing last year.

It's easier now to fall back into old bad habits like eating for emotional reasons rather than hunger, but I'm working on those issues and still feel good about my choices most days.  

I still try to supplement with extra protein and really like ProCel, which I have to order.  It's great because unlike most of the other protein supplements I've tried this doesn't have an odd taste or smell and mixes very well with both warm and cold items.  It can be mixed with just about anything without changing the flavor or smell.

We had moved to a new house several months ago and for about 3 months after the move I hadn't been as diligent about my vitamins - I allowed the move to mess up my routine.  Before I went for my 2 year follow up in April I knew just by the way I felt that my vitamin levels were lower than they should be.  Sure enough, my D and B-12 were both low, and I was slightly anemic.  My doctor wanted me to increase my vitamins, but I explained that I hadn't been taking them regularly, so I just needed to begin taking them regularly again.  I could tell after just a few weeks that it was working, and I am now back in my usual routine of daily vitamins.  For any of you thinking you might some day be able to discontinue these, please DON'T - it definitely makes a difference in the quality of your life!!!

Well, I have to go now, but I will really try harder to keep updating everyone on how things are going.  Best wishes to all of you thinking of starting this journey, and to those who have gone through it with me or ahead of me.  Thank you everyone for your help and inspiration through this process!

Shar

The time is flying by now and I have to remind myself to keep this updated.  For the first few months I was on this site constantly but now have so much energy that it's hard to find the time to sit down for a few minutes!  That's a very good thing!!

I've now lost 91 pounds...9 more pounds to my next goal of 100 pounds lost!  The energy I now have is amazing and I feel blessed to be here enjoying life again.  I try to work out three days a week (I don't always meet that goal, but I keep trying) and feel I have a pretty good handle on healthy eating.  Now that I can eat more I find myself sometimes eating more than I need, or occasionally chosing foods I don't need, but I just try to keep myself aware of any bad habits that might be creeping in.  I'm not perfect, but MUCH better than I was preop.  I continue to keep a log of what I eat at least one day out of the week and that helps.

I'm starting a new job outside the home this week and can't believe how excited I am.  For many years I've worked as a medical transcriptionist from home so this will be a new exciting adventure for me!

I'm going to add a goal to my list.  Within the next year or so I'd like to go to one of the ObesityHelp gatherings and meet some of you face-to-face.  The encouragement and support I've received from this site has helped me through this process and I just want to meet the wonderful people who've been there with me through this process.  You're all the BEST!

My plan is to update this on my one year surgiversary and until then I'll be checking in whenever I can.  Hope to see you all soon!

(7 months postop today!...or 30 weeks 4 days)  Hello all...sorry I didn't get a 6 month update on here but here's the 7 month update!

I've lost a total of 80 pounds as of today, with a weight of 187#(unfortunately I was already at this weight two weeks ago).  I'm on a plateau, the longest one since I was 9 weeks postop.  I'll be working on getting those numbers moving down on the scale again.  I'm doing well and feeling fantastic!  The weight loss has definitely slowed down but I am still losing weight, and that's what is important.

Sometimes I forget how far I've come and get impatient with the slower progress now.  It helps to look back at my before pictures and even pictures from two or three months ago so I can see the difference.

My eating is okay, but I could be better with my choices.  I have a little issue right now about mochas from Dutch Bros.  I get the sugar-free ones and add my protein in to them but still it's too many calories so I need to cut back on those and just make it an occasional treat.  I've discovered that I don't feel great when I indulge in sweets.  I don't really have dumping but just feel yucky after eating more than a bite or two (pretty good aversion therapy!)

(23 weeks postop) Where has the time gone?! In a few short weeks I'll be 6 months postop and I'm already down 72#. WOW! On September 18 I reached another goal of being under 200 pounds, with a weight that day of 199! Can you hear me WHOOOHOOOing?! My hair loss has slowed now, so that's a good thing. My energy is still off the charts...more and more energy each week it seems. I only have the occasional tired day and that, I think, is completely normal. Everyone has to have low energy days.

I'm really making some positive changes in my eating habits. I understand now what postops who are further out mean when they say you have to learn good habits while you're forced into different eating patterns by the size of your stomach. My hunger is returning and my ability to eat more than I should. I've been working on changing the types of food I eat and also LISTENING to my body and whether I'm just craving something, or whether I really am needing something. I hope my efforts pay off in an ability to keep the weight off long-term. I have had the occasional indiscretion and am learning how to avoid situations that can trigger me to overeat or eat inappropriate foods. I'm not perfect, but I try my best! :)

I'll be updating my pictures when I reach my 6 month postop mark the 25th of this month.

God has blessed me and I hope he's blessing you as well!

(16 weeks, 5 days postop) I now have lost 57#! My current weight is 210, down from 267 preop. Only 11 lbs to go to be under 200! I haven't been there in many many years.

I'm tolerating foods okay, with some appetite back but I am controlling it okay with only an occasional bad choice (I've found potato chips are a trigger food for me so they're off limits in my house). The only real problem has been that if I get too hungry I can eat quickly and fill up before my brain catches up...then I'm sorry! One bite too many and I'm hurting and have had to throw up a couple of times because the food just wouldn't go down all the way. Other than that, everything is going A-okay. Have a great day everyone!

(13 weeks 3 days postop today!) I've now lost 50# and it feels GREAT!!! My weight is down to 215 from my presurgical weight of 265. I haven't been down to this weight for more than 6 or 7 years!

I had a three month appointment with Kathy, the nutritionist, on Wednesday. I was supposed to see Kelly but schedules were mixed up so I saw Kathy this time. The visit was good and she said I'm doing what I should be at this point. The only trouble I seem to have is increasing protein without increasing my fat intake too much. I'm making the changes that will help though. I'm changing to low fat cheese and turkey chili rather than regular so these things should help with keeping the fat intake down. Other than that, my eating has been about the same since my last post.

I didn't have a three month follow up with Dr. Hong because he saw me last month and I was doing so good that he said I don't need to come back until my 6 month check. I had my labs drawn though and he called me to discuss them today. Everything was good except for Vitamin D being a bit low (which he says is pretty common for people living in this part of Oregon because we don't get a lot of sunlight). My Vitamin D was low before surgery also and it's still about where it was then. He's given me Vitamin D supplement to take for the next three months and we'll see how it is on my 6 month checkup. Everything else looked good, including my ferritin level.

My hair is definitely coming out more now. Still no noticeable spots on my head, but my shower drain trap has to be cleaned after every shower! I'm going to try increasing my protein and adding some Biotin but I know that this is just something that will happen for a while and then my hair will regrow.

My energy has been very very good...I'm starting to really enjoy life again. I hadn't even realized how little I'd been doing in the last few years!

(12 weeks postop today) As of today I'm down 46# and feel wonderful! These last couple of weeks have been fun. Lots of time spent with family and friends...and had a great experience at our church picnic. They had different races for the kids and some that paired kids up with their parents. A year ago I NEVER would have participated but this year joined in with my 11 year old daughter and had so much fun. The best part was the three legged race (where the parents had to be facing backwards). We didn't win the race but I felt like a winner just enjoying a fun activity with Abby. Afterwards I was talking with a friend and mentioned that I wouldn't have been able to do that last year and Abby said "yeah, I like that Mom does things with me now"! What a great thing to hear...that's one of my big reasons for having this surgery and to have her notice the difference after only three months makes it incredibly more significant.

Now I'm starting to really notice a HUGE difference in my clothing. I started out at a size 24 pants and 26/28 shirt. I now wear a size 20 pants (and they're a bit loose but 18's don't quite fit yet), and wearing a size 14/16 or 18/20 top (depending on the style). I did get one t-shirt that is NOT a plus size, it's an extra large, and it fits just fine. My first "normal" sized piece of clothing! Whoohoo! Also, I had been wearing my loose bras and finally went in to find a couple of new ones. I tried several on in smaller sizes than my previous 48DDD but nothing fit right. I had the saleslady come in and measure me and found out I wasn't looking at small enough sizes. I'm now a 42DD! WOW...haven't been there in many years! Now my boobs are sitting so nicely up on my chest like they should, not hanging down towards my belly button! (I keep getting distracted by them when I look down at anything...kinda go "oh my, what is that...oh yeah, it's just those perky breasts!")

I also had my first dumping episode...on BBQ sauce. I've had BBQ sauce on chicken a couple of times since surgery but didn't think about the fact that it's been put on the outside of the skin of the chicken (and I don't eat the skin) so I haven't actually eaten much of the sauce itself, just a tiny little hint of it. Well, last week I had some steak and was dipping it in BBQ sauce and apparently had too much. About 20 minutes after eating I felt terrible (nauseated, sweaty, weak)....finally threw up and eventually felt much better. Won't be having BBQ sauce any time soon now; the thought of it makes me nauseated. I kinda like that aversion therapy...just like snapping that rubber band on the wrist!

I'm eating pretty regular foods now, but just seem to naturally prefer the proteins over anything else. I think my body craves them. So it's chicken, seafood, beef & pork with some dairy, veggies, fruit (yummy summer fruit is abundant right now!), with the occasional tastes of pasta, rice, potatoes or bread...but those type of carbs are just not appealing to me like they used to. I also eat the low carb style Lean Cuisine meals, turkey meatballs cooked in chicken mushroom gravy, chili with cottage cheese, my ham/cheese/pickle/tomato roll-ups, scrambled egg with tomato and onion. I also discovered a new soy treat. The Revival Soy chips at bariatricadvantage.com are fantastic! They come in 11 different flavors including plain, salted, Jalapeno Cheddar, Ranch, BBQ, Honey Mustard, and even Apple Pie. They're each about 100-110 calories, 2-3 grams of fat, 13 carbs, and 7 grams of protein per 25 g bag. The few times we've gone to a restaurant since my surgery I've ordered the things I like and have been very happy with just my small amount I'm able to eat. I don't feel like I have to finish what's on my plate...not that I could anyways! My friends and I went to Momiji a few days ago and I had teriyaki chicken with just about 1 tsp. of rice and then just ate the chicken and veggies (the sugar in that didn't seem to bother me but I didn't eat too much of the sauce, mainly the chicken) I also have had an occasional bite of pie or cake but haven't tried any more than a bite so haven't had any dumping episodes from those items.

I'm having a great summer so far and hope you are all doing the same. God bless you!

(10 weeks postop today!) Happy 4th of July! Down 42# as of today and feeling GREAT! For my birthday last week on June 29th I reached one of my goals. I'm now no longer "morbidly (or severely) obese"...just "obese"! I never thought I'd be excited to be called obese! I woke up on the morning of my birthday and weighed in at 224#...just 1# below the "severely obese" mark! :) Yay me! I've lost one more pound since then for my 10 week total of 42#, which brings me down to 223# now.

My workouts at Curves are going great and I feel good about going. I go three days a week and enjoy the time spent down there. (I also never thought I'd hear myself say I "like to exercise"!)

I'm eating about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of soft food at a time unless it's a smooth, non-chunky soup - then I can eat almost a cup. When I eat a denser protein I can only eat about 1/3 cup at a time. If I try to eat more than that I will get sick (but that's only happened two times since surgery and both times with chicken). I'm trying to make sure my protein is moist and fairly soft so it digests easier. I still enjoy the soy chips and am currently on a chili and cottage cheese kick so that's a staple of my diet right now. I also eat Activia yogurt, cheese sticks, fruits and veggies, deli meats rolled up with some cheese and pickle, and occasionally some bread or crackers but not very often.

I'm trying to get onto the boards more to post but just haven't had much time with all of our relatives visiting this summer...but it has been wonderful to have energy to go do things with the family! I hope all of you continue to do well!

(7 weeks 5 days postop) Now I've lost 38# total! My weight is down to 227 today. In two more pounds I'll no longer be "morbidly obese"...just "obese".

Hey people...I can CROSS MY LEGS NOW! YIPPPEEE! It's amazing! The other day my leg just automatically went up and over the other knee...and stayed there! It took me a second or two to realize what I'd just done. Funny how it snuck up on me! :)

I saw Dr. Hong last week for my stomach problems and he said I could possibly have an ulcer but since the Prilosec OTC is helping just to keep on taking that for three months. If there's any problem when I go off that med in three months then he'll do a scope. He was very pleased with the amount I've lost and I don't need to go in for a three month follow up since I'm doing so well. He gave me my paperwork to have labs drawn next month so that's all that has to be done for now!

My workouts at Curves have been very good. I've been going three times a week and Dr. Hong said he likes the combination of cardio and strengthening at Curves so he was happy about that too!

The only other new thing going on is that I ordered some items from www.bariatriceating.com and they arrived last week. I like the soy chips, didn't like the soy cereal (tastes like eating dirt), and the Optisource caramel flavored drink that I enjoyed so much right after surgery seems to taste different to me now. It's still okay, but I don't think I'll order more after these are gone. I have some other things that I ordered but haven't tried yet, and will update on how I like those after I've tried them. (Profect 2.7 oz. vials, protein pudding, etc).

(6 weeks, 3 days postop) Hello friends! Well this week has been an exciting one with the weight loss. I had been sitting at about 240# for a week or so and finally this week the scale decided to drop...and boy did it drop! Earlier this week I lost some pounds, last night the scale read 234, this morning 232, and this evening it's 230! MY GOODNESS! So now that's 10# in one week, and 35# lost since my surgery date. I'm a happy camper! (I know some of you don't think the scale should be so dominant in our lives, but I really enjoy watching the numbers move...and don't get too terribly concerned when I'm plateauing so I don't think it's such a bad thing for me.) I see that my tendency is to lose some weight very quickly and then stay at that weight for 1-2 weeks. I don't mind...as long as the numbers keep going down, not up! :-)

I am having some difficulty this week with my little tummy. Had my first vomiting episode on some chicken three days ago. I thought I had chewed it up pretty good and didn't think I ate too much of it, but whatever the case it came back up just a few minutes after I finished eating. My pouch has been hurting the last several days and I think I might have an ulcer. I've called the surgeon and have an appointment to go see him next week to check that out. I have all the classic ulcer symptoms of aching in the upper abdomen that sometimes becomes sharp, feeling better after eating, milk soothes the ache, and waiting too long to eat makes it hurt even more. We'll see what Dr. Hong has to say when I see him on Wednesday.

On a better note, I've started exercising at Curves...today was my FIRST workout! I think I'm going to like it. I'm determined to make this a healthy lifestyle change, not just a temporary fix!

As far as eating goes, besides sticking to easier to digest foods these last couple of days, these are some of the things I'm currently eating: Cottage cheese, eggs, deli sliced ham, chili, refried beans, soy crisps with hummus or cheese or tuna, applesauce, bananas, yogurt, chicken, salmon and other fish, noodless lasangna, occasionally will have Cream of Wheat. I have discovered a new way to have my "sandwich". I take two very thin sliced pieces of ham, melt about 1/8 cup of cheddar cheese on top, add pickle to the center (right now I cut the skin off because it's too tough for my current diet allowance). I roll these up and enjoy as much as I previously enjoyed a good sandwich! For me right now it really has to have the pickle to make it satisfying. I think I need more flavor now than I did before my surgery. I'm finding that I like things with more spice or just stronger tasting than I did previously.

Also, now I can drive my Blazer comfortably. I can have the seat in a comfortable position to reach the pedals and no tummy rubbing on steering wheel! Driving seems SO much easier now!

I hope all of you are doing okay in this journey we're on together. Feel free to write if you have any questions for me!