tlrowe612

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AHHHHHHHHH! Every time I try to update this page, it deletes everything! So, I will try to cover everything in a nutshell!
I started my "journey" last April by calling Dr. Hess's office and setting up an appointment. At that point, I had known a few people that had gone through WLS and had lost lots of weight, but nobody close enough to me to really ask many questions. So I was pretty much clueless, except I knew that I was dangerously overweight, and I needed HELP! So my initial consultation was on May 9, 2002. My friend and co-worker went through the entire process with me, we shared each appointment, as we both live more than 60 miles from Bowling Green, where the office is. We were both given August 1 as our surgery date; my friend would have Dr. Hess, and I would have Dr. Oakley. They were both great, very informative and I feel like I really knew what was going to happen to me after the initial consultation. We were given our surgery dates even before we were approved! I recieved my approval letter on June 4th; so the ball was rolling!
We finished most of our testing up in one day, our insurance did not require a psych eval or sleep apnea testing, it was mostly blood work, EKG, breathing test, and then an Upper GI and gall bladder X-Ray. None of it was that bad... this from someone that is petrified of needles! My only co-morbidity was high blood pressure, which I have had since I was 20 years old... when I was pregnant with my daughter. It has been DANGEROUSLY high at many points; and my doctor had been treating me with three seperate blood pressure medications... way too much. My family doctor had recommended that I check into weight loss surgery at the very time that I was thinking of it, which is what really made me think it was meant to be!
I went through a LOT of apprehension about surgery beforehand, in fact, I was scared to death! This website helped me through alot of fear, and everyone was so supportive! Finally, the day before surgery, my friend and I checked into the hospital, it all seemed so surreal! I felt like I was dreaming... it didn't feel real until I woke up the next day with a 12 inch incision!
Sure, there was pain, but it was bearable... thank God for drugs! haha I was in the hospital for 7 days... no complications, I did great! I was REALLY happy to get out of there though! I couldn't have asked for more support from my family and friends, they were great!
The next couple of weeks were kind of rough... the liquid diet was horrible. I hated the THOUGHT of liquids! lol I still can't stand boullion or jello! But pounds were dropping almost immediately... and I knew I had done the right thing.
After 7 weeks, I felt back to normal... I could eat without throwing up, didn't have any pain at all; and I had a LOT more energy! Now it has been 14 weeks... I am down 84 lbs, and 5 BMI points! I love trying on clothes that I wore before surgery, because they just HANG... talk about being inspired!!!! I'm already a LOT happier; just being able to see a difference, and knowing I'm going to change lots more is such a rush :) Oh, and I have recommended this site to several friends who had mentioned even curiosity in WLS, and 2 of my friends are going through with surgery, and my mom is considering it! I can't say enough good about it; sure, there is pain, but you get through it. The reward is worth all of the pain of sugery, and the frustrations that go along with it!

92 lbs down so far! YAY!!!!
It's been 18 weeks now, I can eat anything now, smaller portions of course, but certain things don't bother me anymore. I've been told that my personality has changed alot too... that instead of trying to blend into the woodwork, I am more "bubbly" now... I hadn't noticed, but I guess that's true! This surgery has changed my life in more ways than I thought; it's the best decision I have ever made. My weight loss has slowed down, but I know if I would exercise that I would drop more, I just need to motivate myself! It's not easy to exercise in the winter time in Ohio! Yesterday I attended my first weight loss surgery support group, it was nice to talk to someone and compare notes!
Tomorrow I go back to Dr. Oakley to make sure all of my blood levels are ok... I don't think there are any problems with that though, I don't ever feel weak or lightheaded anymore and I take my vitamins.

1-17-03
I was hoping to have lost 100 lbs by February 1, my 6 month anniversary, and as of last week (haven't weighed since!), I had lost 97 lbs... so I think I'll make it! Everything is going great, I started college classes last week, and that's going really well. I never would have have the courage and self-confidence to do that before... I would have been too self-conscious and worried that everyone was staring at me because I was fat. I am starting to fit in with people now, and don't feel so out of place. I have also found that I've lost almost all desire for sweets... a friend of mine brought over a bag full of chocolate the other day, and I haven't even touched it. Before it would have been gone in minutes! So all in all, everything is going well!

1-18-03
YAY!!! I made my 6 month goal of losing 100 pounds a little early... weighed in today, and I have lost 101!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just wanted to share that!!!

2-07-03
107 lbs down so far, and 16.8 BMI points!!!! I'm losing pretty slowly now, though, and I know that I need to excercise and cut down on my carbohydrates. I'm hoping to lose 19 more pounds by May 1st, and at least 50 by August. I'll update and let you know if I did or not :)

4-02-03
111 lost so far! Seems that I'm almost on a plateau... thank God the weather is getting nice though, I'd like to start walking asap. My mom's surgery (the same one I had) is in the morning... maybe we'll be able to motivate each other to walk!

7-29-03
It's been awhile since I last posted anything on here, but since my one year anniversary is coming up in 2 days, I thought I would check in! So far I have lost 123 pounds. Still not walking :( I am not a bit motivated when it comes to exercise, unfortunately. I haven't lost much more weight, haven't gained any back though. I need to get off of this plateau, it's just not easy! This summer HAS been alot more active than the previous ones, though; I've been out and done alot more things. And it's SO nice to get attention from men now! hehe
I had pictures posted of myself with my daughter, Meghan, from before my surgery and then one of the two of us that is current... check out the difference :)

8-12-03
I'm down 130 lbs so far... Seems that maybe my plateau has ended?! (I can only hope!!!!)

1-29-04
Wow... a new year, guess it's time to get serious and take the rest of this weight off!!! With winter here, it's so hard to find the energy to get out and DO anything... and being home so much makes it easy to snack. Well, my New Year's Resolution is to drop more weight, as I'm sure is the same with all of the rest of you :) Although, I have lost 5 more pounds since I last weighed... about a month ago -- getting lax on that too :( I've lost 138 so far; another 30 or 40 would be great. I have to say, seeing before pictures really makes me want to lose more!!! Maybe I should make one of my "fat" pictures my desktop wallpaper?! hehe

11-28-04
Wow... it's been a long time since I've updated my profile! A lot has happened in the last 10 months since I updated last!
I am now less than a year away from graduating from college--something I never thought possible before my WLS :) I never had the confidence in myself that I have now--I know that I can do it, and do it well!!! :) I've been on the dean's list many times, and function well in a classroom full of people, which I would have cowered away from a couple of years ago! WLS has really made a big difference in me--inside and out.
In February my 13 year old daughter was in a car accident with her aunt and two cousins--her aunt was killed and Meghan was hurt very badly when an impaired (he tested positive for many different drugs) driver ran into them head-on on their way home from a shopping trip. She was life-flighted and in ICU for a week; had to have her face almost completely rebuilt, but she's pulled through the whole experience incredibly well--she looks almost like she did before the accident, despite the fact that underneath her skin her face is full of titanium plates and screws! Kids are resiliant, thank God. You can see pictures of her here:
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=3741129&uid=1840682

Health-wise, things haven't been great. Soon after my surgery, November of '02, I was laid off from my job, so I lost my insurance and didn't have any medical coverage for awhile. (which meant that when I ran out of my prescriptions for my supplements I was out of luck!!!) I was finally approved for Medicaid and was able to find a clinic that would take me in September of '03, and the first thing that I had them do was bloodwork to see how my levels were. I had been tired and felt weak and dizzy alot of the time, so I had a feeling that my iron was low--and it came back very low. Unfortuntely, sometimes the clinics that take medicaid are not the best for those who need immediate care. They told me every time I went back that they would just recheck my iron in a couple of months, and "make sure you take a vitamin supplement that has iron." Well, after the third set of bloodwork, they told me that they suspected I had a cancerous growth on my thyroid (and scared me to death!)then sent me to a specialist. I went, and he said that the only thing wrong with me was my iron level, which at that time was 7.9--dangerously low he said. Again, the clinic told me to take my vitamin supplement with iron, and come back in 8 weeks. I'm a full time student, and work part time, but for about two months I could barely function, saw white spots in front of my eyes and almost passed out every time I got up. That is NOT normal!!!
After finding out that my old family doctor had started a new practice in town after being gone for a few years, I made an appointment with him, and he took bloodwork the day before Thanksgiving. He called me back that night and told me that my iron level was 6.7, and normal was between 11 and 15--I was to report to the hospital Friday morning for a transfusion!!!! The moral of the story--make sure that your healthcare provider doesn't 'jack you around' until it's too late!!!! I thought since I was 'under a doctor's care' that I was safe, and they would make sure that I'd be ok--but I guess we all have to take some responsibility for our own health and make sure that our doctors do their jobs! Also--if I could advise anybody who was going through something similar--do all that you can to get some sort of healthcare coverage--signing up for medicaid was humbling and I did NOT want to do it, but there are so many things that can go wrong with you--slacking off on my vitamins was a big mistake, and if I could do it over again I would have done everything I could to make sure that I took them and kept myself healthy!!!

07-02-05
It's hard to believe it's been almost 3 years now since my surgery! I've come a long way from the person that walked into the doctors office, desperate to be "normal". I'm no Barbie doll, but when I look at pictures from before, then pictures now... what a differance! I still see that person in the mirror sometimes though. I doubt that will ever go away.
I still need to lose about 40 pounds to get where I really want to be... I need to get motivated and make that happen, just haven't yet. I hope one day to be able to get rid of this extra skin... it's just gross; but not as gross as it was when it was filled with fat.
I am finally almost finished with school... I go back in the fall for one quarter and then I'm done. I have a new job as a hospital registration clerk, and hopefully that will lead somewhere. So things are looking up--it's hard to get out of a rut, especially one as deep as I'd been in for YEARS. 140+ pounds gone=a whole new outlook :)

July 9, 2006
It's been quite awhile since I've updated my profile! I'm still at the same weight--no gain, no loss either. I guess I have a weak will and fast food to thank for that, lol. I have about 8 pounds that I keep losing and gaining... mostly through the winter though. I just haven't been motivated to really try and lose it. I wish I could make myself get on the ball and just DO IT!!!
I feel normal sometimes, but sometimes I look in the mirror in disgust, I still see the fat girl looking back at me. I don't know how to see what's really in front of me.
I'm still a much happier, healthier person that I was prior to August 1, 2002 :)

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