SkinandNails

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

Hello! 

I can't believe I have not posted a blog entry in a year!  Life has become CRAZY, but a good kinda crazy:)!  I hope this finds you all, safe, happy and healthy in this new year!!  I couple days ago I become 2 years post-op..WOW!  In a way it feels like FOREVER ago that I had surgery, and in a way it also feels like it has just happened! 

So this past year has lead to SO many changes!  I finished nursing school, passed my boards & found my dream job!  Now I am SO busy!  There is NO way I would have had the energy to work this hard if I were still 265!  I would not even have gotten the job if I were still back there!  But I LOVE IT!!  I have found a wonderful work family and I am truly thankful!

After I started working, I was still loosing weight...I started having A LOT of hypoglycemic episodes at work..I e-mailed my dietitian who told me this is becoming more of a problem of women my age after surgery..She recommended I add some carbs to my meals and to eat at least every 3 hours....I do that, but I pretty much eat all day, 1-2 tiny bites between patients...It has keeps the hypo episodes to a minimum, I still get them, but not as often....If I have a nuts day where I could not munch, I seam to have a couple bad hypo days to follow......This is my only concern at the moment beside still having issues finding ideas on what to eat. :)

I had my 2 year post-op with Dr.Glass this week, I thought it would go wonderfully!  I had some LOW iron issues a couple months ago, but have brought the #s up and now normal....I left feeling like a complete failure!!!  He wants 3 solid protein meals a day, NOTHING else!  He acted like I made up my dietitians advice about carbs and eating through the day, he did NOT like that at all!!!  He really made me feel like I have screwed up!!  I was SO upset with the visit!  He does not want me to loose any more weight, but did not want to talk about how to manage the hypo episodes, he feels I have brought this on by adding carbs!  I tried to explain this advice was given AFTER having so many lows and had not touch but the smallest amount of carbs at that point (by the way she is talking complex carbs)...WOW, it did not go as planned....I came home and pulled up the e-mail with all the advice from my dietitian and replied explaining what I have just shared with you, she said she will get back to me as she need to talk to Dr.Glass about it...Still waiting on that reply.

With all that, I am SO thankful for my healthy life!!!  I am right where I wanted to be when I was imagining my life years ago!!  I love all of you and am SO thankful for the support I have received here...I have not had the time to contribute as much as I wish I could!!  I have made wonderful friends that I have not been able to be in touch with, but am SO happy they are a part of my life because of this site!!! 

Thank you for letting me vent and share my life with you!

Hi Everyone!  I hope this finds you all well!  In 2 days I will be a year post op!  I can't believe how fast this year has flown by!  It has been a CRAZY year that is for sure!!  I had my 1 year appointment with my surgeon today.  All my levels are just great!  That made me happy!  My surgeon does not want me to loose anymore weight though and wants me to still get up to eating 1 cup at each meal.  I can eat around 3/4 cup for lunch and dinner, but breakfast, never over 1/2.  He was SO nice today, he usually has SOMETHING negative to say, but nothing, which made me leave in a good mood for once:)

I did want to loose another 5 pounds, but I really think I am happy where I am.  My husband wanted me to stop 20 pounds back.  I looked at some Christmas pictures and I think I am right where I should be, I think I look good at this weight.  I FEEL amazing, have for a while and that is most important:)

I did have a gallbladder attack a bit over a month ago, it was TERRIBLE!  We did an ultrasound and it was clear.  The Dr. said today it very well may happen again, and if it does get in to him right away. I HOPE not, that was amazing pain!!

You don't think about all the things that change everyday, but I have thought a lot lately about it...I have not had a back ache in a LONG time.  I do not wake up feeling like I am 90 years old from being SO stiff.  I do not need my CPAP machine anymore.  No diabetes (well, it was actually borderline).  I can walk ANYWHERE and not be out for breath.  I do not look for  a close parking spot when shopping, I used to be out of breath just walking in the door to the stores.  I can see my legs to shave them, and I can reach them.   I can SEE my feet when I stand straight.  The list is endless on the little things that are SO much better by not carrying the extra weight on my body..I FEEL WONDERFUL!!!!

Looking back on some of my goals I set before surgery..They were
~Get our family picture taken!    Did it, we took a family pic for Christmas cards:)
~Go to at least 2 concerts with my husband.  Yep, did it.
~Take the kids to the water park and feel NORMAL if not FANTASTIC:)    Check, still a bit uncomfortable, but I felt good.
~I will not skip or get out of ANY gatherings of my friends or my husband's friends.  Yep.
~Contact old friends I have not stayed in touch with because I did not want them to see me.  I LOVE FaceBook for this one:)
~I want to go on a hike.  No, did not get to do this this summer, hopefully next summer.
~SHOP for CUTE CLOTHS!!  OH YEA!!  I have PLENTY of clothes, all cute!!

Pretty good 6 out of 7...Another was to be able to shop at Victoria Secret, I can do that too:)

As of today I am down 128 pounds.  I went from a size 24 possible 26 considering they were tight to now a size4- 5 pants and 2-3X to a small top size.  Bra was 40DDD and now 34C, do DO wish I could have SOME back:)  Someday I want new ones:)  I lost a shoe size and 3 full ring sizes, possible 3 1/2 because my rings are getting a little loose again. 

The Dr. asked me about my skin..I am pretty happy with it thanks:)  My only area that is not pretty is my arms, BUT I REFUSE to let it bug me too much!  I am TRYING not to let it get into my mind to where it changes the was I dress...I will never wear a bikini anyway, but I WILL wear tops I like without zoning in on them and obsessing over the way they look...Well  will try anyway:)  The rest is not bad at all, I feel lucky..My tummy is a little wrinkly, but it is not bad at all...My legs are a little jiggly, but again, not bad at all...BUT my boobs SUCK!!  I want NEW ones, the Dr. said he has NO COMMENT on that:)  SOMEDAY!!!   I have NO butt at all, but I am trying to work on building a little muscle in there, I get uncomfortable sometimes sitting on hard seats since there is no cushion back there anymore:) 

I wanted to list all the things that have changed, I just can't think of them for some reason right now...I am SO happy I made the decision to have surgery..I am healthy and happy!  That is the most important thing!!!!  My life is amazing!  I had a tough beginning, but I just had to let some time pass, now it is GREAT!!!!!

That is about all from me, I will think of all the things I wanted to list in the middle of the night I am SURE:) 
I hope the new year brings you all health and happiness!!  

I am SO happy I made it to 6 months!!  I feel GREAT!!!  It is funny to look back on some of the blogs from right after surgery, I really was not sure I made the right decision until about 2 or 3 months ago..NOW, I KNOW I made the right choice!  It was a rough start, but worth it now.  I had my 6 months post op visit to the surgeon and all my labs are in normal limits, which surprised me since I was deficient in Vit D before..I guess all with all that we are doing outside these days has paid off too:)  SO as of Monday I am down 91#!  I just returned from a trip with the kids, we visited my Dad in Illinois and he took us to Six Flags in Missouri..It is like Valley Fair...I had NO trouble walking ALL day in the HIGH HEAT and humidity up the hills and all..I really felt good!  I was thinking on how on earth I would have been able to make it through and keep up if I still had 91 extra #s on me, I think I would have pooped out early for SURE!!!  Everyone is right, this is a wild ride!!  I have started talking to old friends I haven't talked to in years because I did not want them to see me as a big person..It is sad, but that is how I felt..I am getting out of the house and we are doing so much stuff as a family, I am SO happy!  My family is happy I join then for all the fun stuff now too!!  I am just completely amazed at how WONDERFUL I feel!  I really was SO used to feeling so crappy before that I had forgot how this feels, to have energy and be able to move and keep up with everyone else:)  I will try to post another pic of 6 months, not much different than 5 months, but hey:)  I hope everyone is doing well!!  I appreciate all of you for all your help!!!!  Take Care!!!!

I am uploading a couple photos of me before ad now 5 months out..I can say WOW..First of all I never saw myself THAT large before, I knew I was BIG but not THAT big..BUT now, I do not see this much more normal looking person in the mirror..I see a BIG me...The pics really help to see what others see...I am very happy, it took a while, but I am figuring this out a little more every day:)  Thanks to all of you for your continued support!!  I REALLY could not have gotten this far without you! 

Hi All!!  I hope this finds you well!!!  Things are going pretty well here for me:)  I finished my last final today and I am SO looking forward to a summer of not using my brain TOOO much:)  I have not had time for my family and I just can't wait to spend time with them again!    Well I think I am at week 19.  Things have started to go MUCH better since my last update:)  Just this last 4-6 weeks, I have started to figure this out a little more.  I feel SO great right now, I did not even realize just HOW crappy I felt before!  I am still not getting in the whole 61g. of protein OR all my water, but I am working on it.  I am not eating as much as my Dr. says I should be either, but he did not seem to be concerned when I went in a bit over a month ago.  I was pretty unsure about if I had made the right decision for a LONG time after the surgery, but I am making a change I think..I feel SO good, and I know there is more to come:)  So we sometimes get off to a tough start, but once you start to figure things out and feel good, you realize it was for the best, and I am SO happy I did it!!!  I was comparing myself to others at first, but I have stopped.  I have never had a BIG week, but it is OK, it is coming off and staying off:)  WOO HOO!!  As of today I am down a total of 75 pounds!  WOW!  That is a LOT:)  I have lost 54 since surgery Dec. 30...Well, that is all I have for now:)  Thanks to all of you for your help and support when I had questions!!  I hope you can all forgive my absence while I have been in school:) 

OK, so this day so far I am feeling a bit better!  I am pretty tired, but better:)  A night in your own bed is WONDERFUL!!!  Liquids are not going great, but I am trying....I am looking at my last post and thinking how jumpy it is, but I am going to leave it, it was what I was thinking as I wrote it:)  I want to thank EVERYONE for the kind support I have received!!  You are all helping me more than you know!!!!!

OK, so surgery went well on Tuesday..I was doing great when my Dr. released me Wednesday evening...6 hours later my husband was calling my surgeon's office....3am I could not pee and I could feel how full my bladder was, it hurt!  SO we call the office and ask if we should drive back the the hospital (the one my surgery was at, which we expected) or if we could just go to the closest one just to get the catheter in and come back home??  The Dr on-call said just go to the closest hospital, no problem!  OK..We drove 15 minutes to the closest hospital, go in and I am in SEVER pain, not from my bladder alone...I kept asking the ER doctor to call my surgeon and ask him what to do...He didn't until 11am, I was there at 3am..They admitted me for having a ton of air in my intestines, that was not moving and for the pain..I was there overnight..Then the next day which is now Friday the nurse comes in and tells me they are transporting me back the the hospital I had my surgery at..I was SO upset, I though my Dr would be there to yell at me, even though we called....Horrible ride in an ambulance later, there is one of the on-call Dr.s there telling me I should have gone to that hospital, not the closest one..I told him, we did not know there was anything wrong except the bladder issue and we called and asked, well HE was the Dr who told my husband we could go the closest hospital, and then I found out my surgeon was NOT happy with him for telling me that....My surgeon came in a few minutes later with this look on his face, he was going to lecture me you could see it, I got all upset again and he softened up and made me feel a little better..They ordered a cat scan, which did not show much so I have NO idea what was gong on, but I was in so much pain and my bowels were not making any noise at all, stayed another 2 nights and just got home at 2 pm today......I am SO uncomfortable, I can not get in water or boost, I feel like it is going to come right back up, I am miserable with gas and no BM for a week now..What have I done!!  I was hoping for some time with my family before they go back to school and work tomorrow and that is not going to happen either, did not expect a 5 day hospital stay..Now I am also wondering how on earth I will be able to start school in a week!!  I REALLY hope to come back to this page in the NEAR future and say, yes it was worth it because right now I think everything sucks!!

A sore loser, but a loser all the same!!!  THANKS Audrey for the flowers, they are beautiful!!!  I will write more when I get home:  Thanks to everyone for the prayers, thoughts and love, I can feel it!!!!!

Well here it is, my surgery is tomorrow..All the preparing has lead to now, less than 24 hours..I am freaking out to be quite honest!  I am thinking, what if something goes wrong..I am not ready to leave yet...I know, I know..I need to STOP IT!!  I keep averting my mind back to the reasons I NEED this surgery...I have been on my pre-op diet for 2 weeks, I cheated twice and felt like a loser all over again..BUT NEW YEAR AND A NEW ME!!  I am going to focus on the positive!  THAT is my New Year's resolution, to focus on the positive and when a negative thought enters my mind, I will think 2 positive thoughts to make up for it:)  Thank you to you all for your thoughts and prayers, I will take all I can get!  Thanks for all the help you have all given me, I am SURE I will need LOTS more as I cross over to the losers side!!  Happy New Year Everyone!! 

WWOOO HHOOO!  December 30!!  So it fits into my break from school, I will have 2 weeks to recover before heading back:)  Is it normal to be a little scared at this point?  It is all so real, I am freaking out a little!  But happy, I KNOW this is what is right for me:)