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I am down to a loss of almost 100 lbs.  I would have been there, but I had to go to Hawaii and drink Mai Tai’s all week.  I’ll hit the 100lb mark next week though.  

Some great things are happening to me though.  I am able to buy a regular XL t-shirt and sometimes a Large one.  That has been unheard of.  I was always scared when people where handing out t-shirts somewhere, and I would have to ask for a XXL or otherwise, I would be getting a shirt for my nieces and nephews.  

I got on the plane to Hawaii last week and didn’t need an extender.  I was amazed at how much weight I lost as I put the belt to the longest it could be and then held it away from me.  There was a good 5 or six inches between my belly and the belt.  You know sometimes I still feel as fat as I was the day I had my surgery.  What an amazing way to see the difference. 

While in Hawaii, my nephew and I hiked up the last 1000 feet of Mauna Kea on the Big Island .  (I’ll post the picture soon)  This was quite a hike as we were up at 12,000 feet already.  This is the highest mountain in the world (yes it is higher than Everest—it just happens that ¾ of this mountain is under the ocean and the last 13,700 feet is above it.  When I got back into the van to leave after trudging up that mountain, I broke down in tears.  It really hit me.  I was just on top of the world and I never would have been able to do this a year ago.  I thanked God so many times that day! 

My sister and I went Kayaking – yes we are still talking to each other, but next time she can do the steering and realize it is not as easy as it looks.  We only had to do 2 miles (we probably went 3 because of my lack of steering abilities) but then we had a jungle hike.  We literally had to rock climb and we did it!  I also tried a rope swing into a beautiful pool, but my upper body strength is still lacking so I basically “rope fell” instead of an official “rope swing”.  The cute young man who was our guide said that any water landing was a good landing so I felt it was a positive experience. 

On Kauai I went snorkeling on Poi-Pu beach (Absolutely beautiful) and I never felt self conscious at all, well except for my lovely entry and exit from the snorkeling area because it was a little rocky, but I could have looked like Angelina Jolie and never been able to do that gracefully.

Also, I want you all to know that you can still eat healthy and be on a cruise in the islands.  Most of the restaurants had a chicken or fish entrée and they would prepare anyway you would like it—meaning no cream sauces or breading if you didn’t want it.  As I said, I did drink a bit on the cruise, but I stayed away from all of the wonderful smelling and delicious breads they served and desserts.  One thing I did try was they had a section of the desserts that were no-sugar added, so I would have a few bites of those, however, some sweets still give me issues.  Also, you just can’t go to Hawaii and not try the pineapple so I had some of that as well.  Yum-o!  I also tried some Hawaiian cuisine at the Old Lahaina Luau that included Poke, which is raw tuna with a vinaigrette dressing along with onions, peppers and probably some other spices.  It was really good and I do not like sushi or raw fish.  I also tried the Lo-mi Lo-mi salad which also has raw tuna in it, but it was too fishy for me – yuck-o!  Then there was the Octopus and that was excellent, but very chewy.  Finally, I tried the Poi and it wasn’t too bad.  It had an applesauce texture to it, but no real flavor.  If anyone is a fan of Top Chef on Bravo, these are some of the items that were prepared in the season two finale.  I felt just like one of the judges when I tried it.  

One of the other great wow moment I had on the ship was that I actually worked out by walking two mornings – 3 times around deck six is a mile (did two miles each day) and hopped on one of the bikes in the great gym they had on board.  I never would have wanted to work out before this experience.  Also, being that the ship was so big and the elevators were so slow, I did a lot of steps.  One of the bad things about traveling this far is that your inner time-clock is mixed up by the 6 hour time difference as well as the 11 hour trip from Pittsburgh really took it out of me and my back.  So getting up and around and exercising really helped in the end.

All-in-all, a great time was had and I completely recommend Hawaii and Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America.  If you don’t want to gain weight, stay away from the Mai-Tai’s, but enjoy yourself in this beautiful paradise.

 

 

 

Well I had my two-week doctors appointment on Friday and I officially lost 25lbs.  That is only 139 more to go.  Dr. Raftopoulos was very happy with my recovery except my Protein intake.  I have to start using more of my protein powder.  I’m only using the unflavored kind right now.  I also have to start getting up earlier so I can get my breakfast in.  That will get better once I start back to work on Nov. 20^th. 

Everything has been going very well until Friday. While I was at the doctors my big toe started hurting and I was having trouble walking.  Now three days later I can hardly walk, as the pain is unbearable.  I actually had to take my painkillers from surgery to help.  And since it’s my right foot I can’t drive again.  I have an appointment to see the doctor to figure something out.  I’m not sure if it is a bunion flare up or Gout.  The symptoms cross both.  Gout would be an increase in Uric (sp?) acid and considering I only started on pureed foods Friday, and Uric acid is high in rich food, I can’t imagine it would be gout.  I have had Bunion pain before, but never like this.  Hopefully I can get some blood work done to see what it is.  

Whatever it is, it’s very frustrating as I was starting to get moving again and get rid of more weight.  I’ll get back on track.  Onward and downward!

It has been awhile so I thought I would update.  Friday is my Two-week doctors appointment and I hope to have lost some weight this time.  The last time, I weighed the same as I did when I went into the hospital at 291.  The people on the boards said that this is because of the anesthesia and all of the IV’s they put in me during my hospital stay. 

I’m doing pretty well with pain as only two of my incisions are pulling.  I got my first real/full night sleep on Monday night when I woke up on my stomach.  I didn’t remember even doing it, but it worked out okay.  In the exercise area, I’m walking around my block, which is about a ¼ mile and has hills and flat parts to give me a good workout.  I’m also looking into Water Aerobics at our local YMCA.

For food, I’m finally not as hungry as I was and not having bad head hunger as I was before.  This past weekend, I watched my niece and nephews while my Brother and Sister-in-law took a long needed break. (Ages: Zach-14, Amanda-12 and Coleman-9) They are pretty self-sufficient so it wasn’t more than taking them places and telling them to go to bed.  I took them to the movies and to Burger King on Saturday and I made it through with flying colors.  It was tough smelling the popcorn at the movies and the burgers at BK, but I did it.  Anyway, the burgers always smell better than they are at BK.  They also had Pizza on Friday night and that was a little tougher.  The only thing that kept me from taking a little tiny bite was that I could die.  Dying is always a good deterrent from eating the wrong things. 

I had my first WOW moment this past Sunday.  When I took the kids to church, I put on a blouse that was always just on the tight fit side and it fit perfectly.  My Mom actually said it hung a bit.  YEAH!!!!!  Onward and downward as I say!

Hi,  I'm three days out and there are some things that I'm experiencing that I didn't know would happen. 

* For those of you with a drain, even though you have one, it doesn't mean that it the gauze around it will get soaked with drainage too.  I thought I was dying and found out, it was just some gunk plugging up the inside holes and I just had to open the suction lid and re-squeeze the container.  I changed the gauze and everything seems to be working now. I called the nurse and she said that as long as it doesn't smell or is not "Bright" red (mine was just pink) everything is okay. 

*  You can't sleep on your stomach (duh) but try a recliner or a lot of pillows. 

*  While you are in surgery, they strap you to an uncomfortable table; you don't realize this, because you are gonzo.  I have been experiencing numbness on the out side of my thighs and sharp electrical pains every now and again.  This is because of the way you were strapped on the table and for the length of time. 

* You have to cough to clear your lungs, but to cough, it kills your incision area.  Hold onto your stomach area and cough.  You don't want your lungs filling up. 

* I hate watching TV because every time I turn it on, there is a pizza hut commercial, or some other food commercial on.  I think that the Government should ban food commercials like they banned cigarette commercials.  And it doesn't matter if you switch channels, because there will be another one on another station.  Anyway, don't be fooled into thinking you won't be craving food right after your surgery.   I don't have any nausea at this point in time, so the cravings are there.  I'm working through them though.

* A BIG NO!  If you are Catholic and a Eucharistic Minister comes in and asks if you want communion--Try and remember in your looped out state that "The body of Christ" is not a clear liquid.  Fortunately for me, my mouth was like cotton and I couldn't swallow the whole thing and the part what I did swallow was a host and dissolves pretty well.  But you don't want to tell your surgeon that you did this.  Not only do you have the Catholic guilt of spitting out the Blessed Sacrament, but also you have the Guilt that you could have ruined the entire surgery.  Take my advice and ask them if they have the “Blood of Christ” instead – Wine is a clear liquid isn’t it?  (Just Kidding)

That’s all I can think of for now.  If anyone else has any things they went through that would be helpful, send them along.

Well here I am four days togo.  Today we are celebrating my nephew Coleman’s 9^th birthday with a Bowling party.  He is so excited as it is his first kid party.  Also my nieces Sydni and Riley (See my pictures) will be in for the party. I haven’t seen them in a couple months so I’m very excited to see them.  I bought them a princess and fairy princess costume for Halloween and can’t wait to see them in them.  This is one of the big reasons for my surgery.  To be a part of their lives.  I won’t be able to do that much longer if I stay on the path that I’m on now.

I’m four days out and have all of my pre-op work done. Today is my last piece of birthday cake and I’m treating it like a part of my journey to the new ME.  Ta Dah DA – From Now On I Decree NO MORE BIRTHDAY CAKE! Silly huh!  Other than having to go and get a new battery in my car and working all day tomorrow in preparation of 3 weeks off, I’m ready for this.  Tomorrow starts Clear liquids and then Monday is the dreaded Bowl clean process.  Well I’m off for my big day as I need to get presents and a new battery!

I can't believe it is 9 days away.  I was very excited when I got the word that I had been approved for surgery.  On the first try too!  I was so sure that I was going to be denied, that I was getting kind of bummed.  But I don't have to worry about that!  

I do worry about food afterwards and before hand.  Should I go to McDonalds and eat one last BigMac and fries or just stay with my meat roll ups (BBQ Chicken Breast Lunchmeat with LF American cheese) and try and lose as much weight as possible before hand.  I think I'll post this on the message board and see what others say!

Well more later!

I always thought that the gastric surgery was a dirty word and I could do this on my own.  My sister just lost 75lbs without it and looks great.  Why can’t I?  My biggest problem was portion size and never feeling full.  I finally realized that to control the portion size, I’m going to have to make the portions smaller and the area smaller to tell me I’m full. So I contacted Dr. Raftopoulis (Pronouced – Raft-Top-po-lis) and started the long journey.  

The journey began with the requirements of my insurance that would last at least 6 months long. First I had to go to a nutrition class once a month for 6 months.  Keep a food log for 5 months and begin a healthy diet and workout program. I couldn’t believe it, but after attending my last nutrition class this past week, I would do it all over.  The women, Melinda and Alicia, that ran the class and the people in it were amazing and so supportive.  It really got me psyched.  In addition to the class I had to have the following procedures: Sleep Apnea, Stress test, Upper GI, Abdominal & Pelvic Ultra Sound, Chest X-rays, Mammogram, Blood Work, Physical w/PCP, Psych Consult and Nutritional consult.  For those of you who are just starting out the first three are the worst.  Let me tell you something that really put me in the right mind to have this procedure done.  It was the stress test.  Since I was too big to do a normal run on the treadmill, I had the medicated version of the test.  This is where they slowly, over 3 minutes, inject a drug into your vein that makes your heart rate increase. It was the worst three minutes of my life and I now knew what a heart attack feels like and I NEVER EVER want to feel that ever again.  After the 3 minutes it goes away completely like it never happened, but I remember it and I’m never going to forget it. The life that God gave me is too precious to keep ruining as I’m going now.   As for the Upper GI, yes the stuff you drink is horrible, but don’t think about it while you are drinking it.  I just gulped, gulped, gulped it down and the doctor was happy.  Also ask them to let you watch while they are taking the pictures.  It is really cool!

With the rest of my procedures done, I called Dr. R’s office and spoke with his Physician Assistant, Babs, who she herself has had gastric bypass done, so she knows what we are going through.  Babs said I had enough information to turn in to the Insurance and said we can tentatively schedule the surgery for Wednesday, October 25, 2006.  Now I just have to wait for final word from the insurance company, go through Pre-op on the 18^th and work like hell at my job so I can be off for 2 to 3 weeks. I realize this is a lot of info, but I wanted people who are reading and considering this procedure to go into it with all the information.  It was a long road, that six months, but like I said I would do it again in a heartbeat and I might have to if the insurance comes back and says no, but I know what I’m doing and I know where I’m going to be and it will be so much better than where I am today at 300lbs.