taraemerson

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

I know, I know !!! I skipped the 9 month blog....I just couldnt bring myself to write anything then. Now I wish I had, because its part of the journey.

I had actually gained a couple of lbs from 8 to 9 month...I havent really had a wt loss in a couple of months.

I had been off work and not really doing anything, no real steady workouts or limiting the amounts of food to my activity level.

OK OK that was then this is now !!!!!

Its been 10 months,  Ive lost 96 lbs. Im 4 lbs away from the goal number the PA mentioned at one of our visits. The dr. himself has never set a number.

I had 5 hernias repaired 2 weeks ago, im still very very sore....lord help me if I sneeze...omg it hurts so bad. Dr. Babineau said he put a 5 in by 12 in piece of mesh from my  strenum to bast my naval....I hope this hold like crazy.

Its still hard to try to stand up straight. Im no longer taking lortab daily, but only because I hafta go to school on Tuesday nights and I need a clear head....I still hurt like crazy.

Im a Granny now, my son and his wife blessed me with a beautiful little grand daughter, her name is Sandra Lynne. They will be up her in December....I cant wait im just giddy with excitement.

My husband has been offered a job overseas that pays more in 6 months than he and I make together in a year. He wants to go so bad, its a wonderful opportunity for our family. I will be able to start college fulltime and finish the RN  transition program in 2 years....I pray this is what God wants for our lives.

Im unable to exercise for 2 months...im not even gonna push it either. I can walk, but thats it...and not far at a time and very slowly.

My eating is good, I have a new love "ham", its so loaded with sodium....i hold fluids like crazy, but I sure do love that ham...

still not a big sugar eater, pinched the corner off a brownie the other day, was satisfied with that. boston baked beans, uummm yeah keep me away from those...

Ive come too far to mess it all up with junk...I want to be healthy and fit...cant wait to get back on my bike and just ride till im exhausted. I love to ride !!!

I didn't write the 8 month update till now because Ive been so sad/depressed and I hate to be a downer.
but that's part of the WLS journey for some and for me.

Reality is...I have stopped losing wt. I know where the fault lies..Its with me....my eating is crazy off....

I am an all or nothing person...if something happens in my professional life it affects me in every aspect of my life.

I'm working on that...Ive been going back to church, putting my faith in God.

My DH said last night lets go on a protein diet....Me: hahaha..okay !!!!

He has gained up to 200 lbs now, he was in the 160's when we met 3 years ago. Between me and his government fat cat job, we have fattened him up....

We have been going to the Gym, he is lifting heavy wt.s, and it shows in his arms and legs....poor poor belly though.

I don't look forward to the 9 month pics and update...I weigh more now today than i did at the 8 month weigh in...ugh...

I'm waiting on my hernia repair surgery next month....Life is looking up....

Hi again,

I'm down 80 lbs in 7 months and I'm loving every minute/lb of it....

I find myself out of work again !!!!! My employer does not allow "work restrictions" and I'm on no heavy lifting or strenuous activity restrictions until after surgery.

On Saturday June 12th I had a tummy ache from hell. I drove myself to the emergency room, after a CT of the abdomen, I was told i had an incarcerated hernia and a small bowel obstruction.

The local surgeon said "NO WAY" to doing  emergency surgery. So I was put in an ambulance and taken to Tyler. The ambulance broke down about an hour out. So I was taken by another ambulance the rest of the way.

By the time I finally got to the Tyler hospital, I was fine, after 3 different shots of dilaudid and zofran and one shot of phenergan....I guess the bowel relaxed enough to untwist.

My potassium was low so I received IV (ouchy) potassium.....My vein is hard and dark from that stuff.....its very hard on your veins.

So by the time Monday rolled around I was fine and the PA from the Dr.s office said I'm no longer in an emergent situation, so I can go home....which made me very happy....

I got my medical records and it shows that i have adhesions wrapped around the bowel, so this WILL happen again, the question is when....I make sure to eat small amounts, as I fear a large bolus of food would get stuck behind an adhesion and not pass through....

My surgeon will perform a hernia repair and i believe adhesion removal in August...

I do not consider this a complication of RNY.....I do consider it a result of the 5 hernias he repaired at the time of RNY...

My potassium has always been borderline low....even before RNY

I fell into a feeling of uselessness/broken after my employer wouldn't let me come back....I internalized it way too much...I'M still a good nurse and a good person.....I'm just gonna take this time to love on my boys and enjoy my summer....

My eating is good, I tried sweet tea....oh my goodness.....i can not do sweet tea....not even a little bit sweet....

If I could have a Cajun rib eye from chili's everyday, I think life would be good.....!!!!!

It seems like just yesterday that I had this done....but then it seems like forever.

It's been 6 months and I'm down 75 lbs. Woohoo !!!!

I've heard of cross over addiction, where you find a new passion other than food....I think Ive turned into a spendthrift.
I used to be the chinchiest person I know....I could save a dime and feel rich....My bank account is suffering badly...I've gotta get a grip. I have things that I need to do with that money, important things, like PS...yet I keep spending it on "junk". No really,  junk...I bought a broke down truck at a garage sale for $300.00.....We are gonna fix it up for the boys to drive when they get old enough...they are 7 and 10....what was I thinking....I bought a yard ornament is what Ive done.....OYE !!!

My wt loss has been wonderful...I'm so happy that Ive had this done. I want to tell everybody how awesome this is and encourage them to consider it....I even thought to myself, if I won the lottery I would do a foundation to help ppl who couldn't get insurance funding and wasn't able to self pay...that would bring me so much joy!!! I must start playing those numbers...hahaha

I'm gonna post a monthly breakdown to keep up with my  poundage

Date          Wt.          Date          Wt.          +/-
12-3-09     250        1-3-10       219         -31
1-3-10       219        2-3-10       213         -06
2-3-10       213        3-3-10       202         -11
3-3-10       202        4-3-10       193         -09
4-3-10       193        5-3-10       185         -08
5-3-10       185        6-3-10       176         -09
6-3-10       176        7-3-10        170        -06
7-3-10       170        8-3-10        164        -06
8-3-10       164        9-3-10        163        -01
9-3-10       163       10-3-10       154        -09
10-3-10     154       11-3-10
11-3-10                   12-3-10
12-3-10 


By date that's 74 #,    I weigh 175 now but that doesn't get added in till next month...hahaha
The NP at the surgeons office said I should look really good at 150 lbs....so that's what I consider the surgeons goal as he never really set one for me....My personal goal is 125 lbs.


I still think I need  a nutrition coach....I stick to the protein side of things, but, wonder everyday if this is "it"....I don't do carbs so well....they make me sleepy...and have a tummy ache sometimes.

I find it hard to cook enough meat and keep it on hand to just grab and go.... I need help in that department....

I wish everyone well in all their endeavors.... love to you !!!

Im a little late getting this out...I am doing great still no major complications...Thank you Jesus !!!

I am now a fulltime employee, I work at a Rehab hospital. 3-11, not the best shift for a mom of young children but I had to take what I could get.

I dont get enough rest, I dont drink enough fluids, the wt loss, in my opinion,  has slowed down....I saw my PCP this past week and he diagnosed me with a UTI and said there was blood in my urine...He also put me on Ambien for sleep and told me to drink more....

My outlook and my attitude have change drastically ....cant put my finger on it....but Im not the same person I was 5 months ago....but then again Im still that same ol' girl....its a wierd feeling....

The eating part of WLS is okay !!! I stick to the protien and the green vegies...my typical day is coffee with splenda and coffeemate, then a couple of pcs of ham (sandwich sliced),  sometimes if i have any,  a banana then off to work, where i have lunch thats usually some type of meat and brussell sprouts or broccoli or greens...i usually have 2 bottles of water throughout the day....and occasionally cheezits on the run...

Now that I write that down....thats not good enough....man, i need a kick in the pants....

No wonder im exhausted and dehydrated and suffer from a UTI...I promise to do better...

I am wonderful at taking my vitamins and supplements...I dont want osteoporosis or anemia or any other yucky stuff, that coulda been prevented by taking Vits...

Now on to drinking more water. !!!

Oh yeah !!! im down 70 lbs...woohoo....i just ordered more scrubs, in a size large....down from a 3 X

Hello !!!

Im down 57 lbs...I had my 4 month follow up yesterday...the NP called me "tiny"...it felt good...

My 7 y/o has told me all along "I dont see it"...well last night I put up side by side photos from the day of surgery and 4 months out and he said....oh I see it now....

Then he wrapped his arms around my waist and got so excited and shouted "im the smallest person in this house and i can get my arms around your waist and hold my own hands"....at that point we were both excited....lol

I have not had any problems at all....I have never thrown any food up...not even nausea...besides the immediate post op period, which i feel is normal...

I had a hard burning sensation after eating a raw tomato one day, so I dont eat much tomatoes, specially not slice after slice...I ate on that bad boy all day long, just cutting a little here and the acidiness musta been too much for me....

I pretty much eat whatever I want...I dont do the sugary thing though....I have been known to eat a kids popcicle on occasion...I will admit to trying things...if you do, just be ready to suffer....

If we make a pasta dish, i eat around the pasta and pick out the meat, I will eat some pasta but not in every bite.
If i eat a fried piece of meat i remove the skin or breading....again i admit to trying the skin from fried chicken...and it was good....but for the most part i take it off..and leave it alone..

The NP told me yesterday, that I need to follow the rules without fail in the first year....I stay really close to them...I do get in  a rut with my eating, i sometimes feel like i eat slabs of meat and get bored..i plan to venture over to eggfaces blog and get some ideas...im worth the trouble....

Thanks to a friend of mine that i met on here (Kim)....I am learning my self worth...that doesnt mean i think im pretty or look sexy and am gonna go flaunt my stuff....it means im worthy of this life....im not just the silt beneath the doormat...

Tell someone that youve never told before that you love them today and every day that you get the chance...

I love you !!!!
 

Here I am 49 lbs lighter and so so much happier....

I am a revision so I know it is supposed to be slower...but Im happy with the way things are going...

Im 1.2 lbs from onederland...Woohoo!!!!

I have really chilled about the carbs thing....I was really anal about it...it was stressing me and stress makes you hold or gain wt.

I went to my BFF Misty's house last weekend and she fed me a brownie, it was itty bitty but man was it tasty...yet i have no leftover desires for cakes or brownies....Thank you Lord!!!!

I didnt dump, like i said it was tiny...i think im one of those people that doesnt dump, but diarrhea's...if I eat stuff that too greasy its gonna slide right out...lol...yucky I know!!!

My new favorite thing is Crystal light "orange" drink....it taste just like Tang to me....i love it....I tried the cherry limeade...nooope not for me....i felt it for hours...it was not good.... 

I squeezed into a pair of 18 Lee rider jeans the other day....I had a "muffin top" goin on...my sister ask if i looked like a can of popped biscuits....lol

I wore them all day to a birthday party, I was ready to peal them sucker off by days end...whew...

One of the things i look for in other peoples profiles is: What did they eat at this stage?
I eat anything, we went to Chili's for a cajun ribeye, i ate what i wanted there at the resturant and it took me 3 days to finish it off and i ended up sharing it with my 7 y/o...

I have tried chinese, fried chicken, fried fish, rice, pasta, bread.....i take the skin or breading off....the rice was very tricky...i ate very slow and chewed very well...

Tonight I am making chicken tenders; I slice onioninto evoo, then put frozen chicken tender breast over them, salt and pepper, cover with lid til tender, then i add cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup...im serving them with mashed potatoes and corn...im pretty sure i'll only do the tenders and let the guys have the starchy sides...i may make me some green beans...i just never know till dinner gets here...

My outlook on life has improved....im not as sad, or at least im not today.....i look forward to every waking moment.... 

I often look around at other peoples profiles for inspiration and guidance....

One of the things i search for is their height.....I am 5'1", my starting wt. was 250 lbs.
When I see pictures of people before, i say to myself thats about what my body shape is.....
When I look at their wt. and ht. they are like 350 lbs and 5'7" to 5'10"...
So I have concluded that I'm not overly heavy, I'm underly tall...lol

My wt. loss since RNY has been unpredictable at best....it seems i woke up 15 lbs lighter...i did really well for the first month...with a 31 lb loss for the first month.....
Then it seems i lost and gained the same 3 lbs for the next 3 weeks, then it started falling off again...now I'm back to around 1/2 to 1 lb a day.....

I had to do some more research, i evaluated my eating, my movement or lack thereof....

I notice that 550-700 calories are not created equally.....if they consisted of any of the "bad carbs", low fat or not, I'm not gonna see any movement out of that scale....if i stick to my pouch rules and do protein first....i see results....

I went to a couple of profiles of very successful RNY patients and i read their blogs....my favorite is Martitalinda....she says "protein, water and motion" are her core values....

I have followed that, and I have had heart to heart talks with my friend Pammie (ticklezngigglez)....Pam will tell me straight out no holds barred...."NO, don't eat that"....she is my conscience...

My BFF irl Misty, is the shake queen, it has been very difficult for me to chug them things down....she has been very successful with WLS, it was with her encouragement and her trust in our Dr. that I pursued this....I'm so thankful to her...

So with all that said.........for all those doing research and you come across this....it is so worth it....just follow the rules and you'll be amazed....stay away from the starchy carbs....period

OK, its been a week.
It finally happened, I didn't think it ever would....I told my husband that the first question that I am gonna ask you after surgery is "what did he do"

I was so afraid that I would have scar tissue or a previous hernia repair that would inhibit him from doing anything or maybe me just having the hernias repaired or maybe him not being able to get to the roux limb because of scar tissue...

I didn't even get to ask before my husband told me that I had the hernia in the belly button area and the one just below the breast bone, but what we didn't know was there were 3 more in between....so a total of 5...the Dr. opened  them all up to be one big one and fixed it as good as he could.....he also did the RNY....

I had 2 JP drains and a gastric tube along with a very long incision.....the JP drains were removed before i came home....yeah
I still have the gastric tube which i should have til early January...it hurts more than anything, well except my poor old back....

I will not lie, this procedure with the repairs and all hurt terribly....it is getting better everyday.

The icing on the cake is that Ive lost 15 lbs in this first week, i know it wont always be this good but I'll take what i can get.

Four days til surgery......Ive gotten as close as two days before surgery before the hammer fell.....I guess it just wont feel "real" until I wake up in recovery.....

I don't feel any panic or anxiety about the surgery, I have a very strong faith in God and my surgeon....

The only real concern is my husband being at the hospital, he doesn't have a spleen, and hospitals are so germy....he says he will be okay, but I'm not gonna be able to be there to wipe everything down with a Clorox wipe.

My kiddos will be at their Dad's house, he is going to see to them....which is good for him, he needs to be more involved in their lives....

I still feel like I have a million things to do, but I don't really....I just need to pack the boys and our stuff on the day before as we will need everything up until then.....

I look at all the before and after photos, and wonder, will i ever really be thin, can this surgery work for me....like I'm some abnormal being that's meant to be overweight and miserable their whole life...I'm not...I'm worthy!!!!!

I met a lady from OH who lives in a town on the way to the hospital, she told me she wrote letters to her kids and felt "if" she didn't make it she wanted them to know how much she really loves them....I think I may do the same,  but if i did,  I'm afraid it would show weakness in my faith.

I came across a post on the boards that said " my hubby is becoming intolerant" that is what a lady said about her situation...excuse me....what?   Where is it written and who the heck told these men, that they can become "intolerant" of anything.....I'd like to see a woman say that.....I don't think so....Men need to go buy a big ol bag of tolerance every week....I be dang if a man is ever gonna say that crap to me....that burns my butt!!!

I'm just puttin out there everything that is crossing my mind....its 12:42 am and I should be in bed....but I'm here...blogging...im out...