Hi! I hope you enjoy reading my profile.
Hugggs and blessings to you, Heidi
Here's a recent photo of me with my daughter before Christmas.
This is my weight loss since my surgery date of 3/28/05:
Here are my preop pics of 3/27/05.
  
Compare!
Here are some postop pics from 7/25/05 4 months out!
  
This is an Amber Alert Ticker. It never hurts to keep our eyes open. If my child was missing I'd want everyone to know because someone could have seen her.
Have some fun and fill out Heidi's WLS survey by clicking below.
It's short and sweet and will only take you a few seconds.
My Favorite Quotes Joyce Meyer "I'm not where I need to be, but I thank God I'm not where I used to be."
Maya Angelou "I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow."
Maya Angelou "I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one."
 
IT'S HARD TO BE AN ELEPHANT(I got this poem from Christie D's profile. I love it because I had to keep reminding myself that the poem was about an elephant, not me. Christie D says, "The following is a poem by a great author named Jack Prelutsky from a book of his children's poetry my daughter has. The book is called A Pizza The Size Of The Sun. It's good for both a smile and a reminder as to why I'm doing this!")
IT'S HARD TO BE AN ELEPHANT
It's hard to be an elephant
Tremendous, broad, and tall.
I can't attend the cinema,
the seats are all too small.
It's practically impossible
for me to board a bus,
the tires often flatten,
and the driver makes a fuss.
I'm ushered out of luncheonettes,
the waitresses are rude.
They fume, "We cannot feed you,
for you'll finish all our food."
I'm drawn to the piano,
but I'm daunted when I play,
I tend to be ungainly,
and my ears get in the way.
My trunk is far too powerful,
no sooner do I sneeze
than windows crack and shatter
from the impact of the breeze.
I'm plagued by a peculiar,
purely pachydermal plight--
I find no socks and underwear
that fit precisely right!
If you're a pre-op, I wish you luck with your decision. It's very personal, but thought it might help if I shared mine with you.
Before I do, let me tell you that I am only where I am because of my dear Lord Jesus Christ! You'll find many references to his love for me in my profile! I hope you find encouragement from this. Jesus loves you tool. "If you're headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-turns."
My Pre-Op Journey10/15/04 I gained 150 lbs. during my 18 year marriage and have been divorced now for since 4/16/02. Ready to have WLS but have to jump through the hoops first. I hope to get it all done in record time! This is a pic of a the weight loss surgery I have chosen. It is a completed gastric-bypass RNY where a small pouch is stapled away from the stomach and the lower part of the small intestine is brought up and connected to the pouch. You get some help losing weight due the small pouch which is only able to hold about 50-60cc (1/2 cup) and due to malabsorption because the food doesn't go through the top part of the small intestine where much of the nutrients are absorbed.
2/7/05 I've got a date! My surgery is scheduled with Dr. Frezza in Lubbock, TX for March 28th, 2005. I'm ready to go. It is disturbing some of my family members.
3/1/05 27 days until my surgery and I'm ecstatic. Had a rough day yesterday as I found out I gained 15 lbs since Nov. I'm too heavy for my scales, so I didn't know. Got very depressed and felt defeated. I had to remind myself that is why I'm having surgery. I'm a smart woman. You'd think I'd be able to figure out how to do the "diet" thing. Nobody's holding a gun to my head to make me eat, but it sure feels like it.
I've been making lists of many of the things I need to get done before surgery. I want to try to make my life as stress-free as possible once I'm home. That means I need to get caught up on some major procrastination. I need to file my taxes, since April 15th will still be a time of recovery for me.
I ordered some vitamins and protein drinks to have ready to go. I've been reading a lot of profiles and soaking up as much information as possible. I'd like to see a pic of someone's belly right after surgery with the drains still in. I'll make sure to get one of me after my surgery to help people who read my profile.
3/4/05 "Morbid Obesity" What a horrible term. I don't even like to say it. The information below takes a little bit of the sting out of it.
BMI Range Meaning (BMI=Body Mass Index)
The table below shows value ranges and what they mean.
| Range | Meaning | | less than 18.5 | Underweight | | 18.5 - 24.9 | Normal | | 25.0 - 29.9 | Overweight | | 30.0 - 34.9 | Obese | | 35.0 - 39.9 | Severely Obese | | 40.0 - 50 | Morbidly Obese | | over 50 | Super Obese |
Individuals in the last category generally qualify for surgical treatment for obesity.
Do you know what your BMI is? You can calculate it here:
What is Morbid Obesity?
Medically, the word "morbid" means causing disease or injury. Morbid Obesity is a serious disease process, in which the accumulation of fatty tissue on the body becomes excessive, and interferes with, or injures the other bodily organs, causing serious and life-threatening health problems, which are called co-morbidities. Morbid Obesity is also called Clinically Severe Obesity, and is recognized by the consensus of medical opinion as a very serious health problem, a disease process. In most cases, the underlying cause is genetic -- you inherit the tendency to gain weight, and once the problem is established, there is very little that will power can do about it -- any more than a diabetic might control his blood sugar by will power.
How do we know it's genetic?
Numerous scientific studies have established that there is a very powerful genetic predisposition to Morbid Obesity:
Children adopted at birth show no correlation of their body weight with that of their adoptive parents, who feed the, and teach them how to eat. They show an 80% correlation of their body weight with their genetic parents, whom they have never even met.
Identical twins, with the same genes, show a much higher similarity of body weights, than do fraternal twins, who have different genes.
Certain genetic populations, such as the American Indians of the Southwest, have a very high incidence of severe obesity. They also have a markedly increased incidence of diabetes and heart disease.
Mice can be bred, which are very obese (they look like little powder puffs). This is the result of a defect in a single gene, called the ob gene, which is associated with the ability to make a hormone, called leptin. The problem in humans is much more complicated genetically, with 100 genes involved in some aspect of obesity.
Another hormone has recently been discovered, called ghrelin, which stimulates appetite in normal persons. Persons who lose weight by dieting have persistently elevated ghrelin levels, urging them to eat more. Persons who undergo a gastric bypass have a decrease in ghrelin levels by about 77%, indicating one mechanism of how the operation reduces appetite.
Everyone knows diets don't work in the morbidly obese, and there has actually never been a scientific study reported which shows that they do, but you should at least have tried it.
3/5/05 Here's a really good article explaining obesity as a disease.
Obesity as a disease
3/6/05 I found some interesting information about hearburn and the lapband. I find this good to know even though I'm having RNY.
Heartburn is caused by reflux of gastric juice up to the esophagus. The acid in the gastric juice is not produced in the whole area of the gastric mucosa. It is produced in something called parietal cells. The upper limit of presence of these cells is about 2 inches from the gastro-esophageal junction. The band is placed above these cells which prevents acid from running up in the esophagus.
The second factor of importance is the hiatus (the opening in the diaphragm through which the esophagus goes up into the thoracic cavity). In most individuals the hiatus is tight and no gastric juice is allowed to pass up into the esophagus, In many obese individuals the hiatus muscle becomes slack-so reflex is actually a complication to obesity. During gastric banding the hiatus musicle is usually tightened with a couple of sutures.
3/7/05 This is what I chose for my liquid diet which began 2 days before surgery and goes 2 weeks after surgery. Low calorie, low fat, full liquid diet (shrinks your liver so that doc can get to your stomach easier.)
My diet up to 2 weeks after surgery
Water
Herbal Tea
SF popsicles
Veg/Chicken/Beef broths
SF Jell-O
Crystal Light
100% Juice (I loved apple juice after surgery. It was very gentle on my stomach. Avoid acidic juice, like orange, grapefruit, lemon)
Propel water
Included in my diet 2 weeks to 3 mos. after surgery. Must chew to the consistency of applesauce.
Cream of Wheat
Oatmeal/Grits
Scrambled Eggs
Mashed potatoes
Refried beans
Low-carb yogurt
SF low-fat pudding
Applesauce
Cottage cheese (small curd)
I can't eat anything that swells when added to water like dried fruits or drink carbonated beverages because they may stretch out my pouch and cause staple line failure.
I'm to avoid "fibrous" foods such as asparagus, pineapple, rhubarb, corn (especially popcorn) and grapes as they may get stuck in the stoma.
I'm avoiding nuts and seeds (walnuts, whole peanuts, almonds) as may be hard to digest.
3/21/05 One week from today, I will be recovering from LAP RNY in Lubbock, TX. Woohoo. I am just so excited I'm about to crawl out of my skin. I've been having fun packing. I am packing for 2 wks since I have to stay in a hotel until my drain is removed.
THIS IS ALL I NEEDED FOR THE HOSPITAL: (revised 4/7/05)
FOR THE DAY OF SURGERY:
Wear loose sweat pants (esp. in the waist) and a top that can be worn home
An eye glass case for glasses
Paperwork-living will, important?phone numbers, insurance?card and payment for admission
Something fun to do while waiting-book, travel games, etc.
THE HOSPITAL PROVIDED:
gown, socks, shampoo, toothbrush/toothpaste, comb, baby lotion/powder, and deodorant
FOR AFTER SURGERY: (a family member can bring this to you once you are in a room)
slippers
chapstick (several because they get lost easily)
hair brush
ear plugs
special face soap/lotion
wet wipes-for refreshing hands
long-handled bristle brush to reach itchy places you can't reach yet
cordless curling iron and makeup (I like having this for the trip home)
FOR TOILETING:
flushable wet wipes
spray bottle
wooden spoon
(When wiping, I could reach through OK, but a spray bottle with warm water and a long-handled spoon with a rubber band to hold on the wet wipe or TP made the job easier.)
OPTIONAL ITEMS:
picture of family and pets
hand-held fan (You probably won't be allowed to plug anything into the wall)
phone card, trac phone, or cell phone
FOR THE TRIP HOME:
Have a pillow for the ride home that you put on top of your stomach to keep the jiggling to a minimum.
3/25/05 I drove down to Lubbock, TX for my preop appt Wednesday and got in Thurs at 4:00am. Got up at 7:30am to get to the 8:30 appt at docs. I had to sign the usual "won't sue" paperwork. I also had to take a test showing that I understood my diet plan. I talked to the nurse a long time and she answered a lot of last-minute questions I had.
She said I need to make sure I'm up and walking within 4/5 hours after I surgery. I'm going to have to ask my mom to help me since I've heard the nurses get busy and don't always get you going soon enough.
She also said I'd have cuffs on my legs while I'm in bed, but I take them off to go to the bathrooma and when I'm sitting up.
She talked to me a little about the upper GI test I have to take before I can have ice chips, water, etc. She said to make sure they have me up, not lying down for the test. Also, to make sure I put it in my mouth from a cup, not a straw and to not let them put it in my mouth with a syringe.
Once I'm cleared, I can start with ice chips, 1 ounce of liquid, and then 2 ounces of liquid progressively. She says to make sure I drink from a 30 cc cup (1 ounce) so I don't get too much. She says doc's pouches are 50 to 60 ccs and the limb is about 100 cm.
She explained the Jackson-Pratt drain I'm going to have. She says its a tube with holes in it the lies in my belly to absorb fluid. Did you know the body sends fluid to heal itself and that's sometimes what causes so much pain and inflammation?
Anyway, if the pouch leaks, it will come out the drain and we'll know by what color of the amount of fluid being excreted. She says it should be yellow to clear at my first week's visit. If the fluid is black or brown, to come in immediately, because that means I probably have a leak.
Did you know that after about 3 months, the pouch is healed and it is very unlikely that you can break open the staple line?
I also didn't understand why the large section of the stomach didn't feel hunger. She said that is because the hunger sensors are in the upper part of the stomach where the pouch is. The pouch gets full so there are no hunger pains.
Here's another thing: when they do the surgery laparoscopically, they fill the belly with carbon dioxide to separate the organs. The muscle absorbs the gas, so you have to walk to get it out of your system. Also, side effects of the morphene pump are headaches and constipation. Walking helps that, too. More importantly, walking and coughing gets the anesthesia out of your system faster than if you didn't do them. OK. I'm sold. I'm up and walking as soon as possible.
I'll have Levinox injections in my belly. Ouch. Will have Toradol for pain. When I'm released from the hospital, I'll have Lortab for pain.
After the nurse's visit, I had to have an EKG, a chest xray, blood tests, and talk to the anesthesiologist. I was done by 12:00noon.
As far as I know, I'm cleared for take-off!! Woohoo. I have 2 days to get caught up on my life. OMG. Don't think that's going to happen.
I was back in Albuquerque 24 hours after I left. Whew! That was a quick trip.
Next time driving back from Lubbock to Albuquerque, I will have 2 stomachs like a cow, a pouch like a kangaroo, will be gutted like a fish, eating like a bird, and will have rolls of skin hanging off my bones like a Shar-Pei once I lose the weight." LOL
3/27/05
Well I'm off to Lubbock for surgery. Thank you all for your support and prayers. I appreciated all your messeges, chats, and ims. See you on the other side.
My Post-Op Journey
4/1/05 This is Heidi's friend, Carolyn. She's out of the hospital and doing well. She's staying in the motel waiting for the doctor to take her drain out on Wed. 4/7/05, then back to ABQ...
4/7/05 I'm home! Everything went fine. I arrived at the hospital at 5:30 am. They took me right back to the surgery prep room. I had to strip of everything and put on a gown. They started an IV. The LVN didn't use enough pressure above the needle that when she put undid something to connect the tubing, blood flowed all over the place!! I was like, OMG!!! She got it connected without having to restick me, but I was pretty grossed out. She tried using this little tiny alcohol square to clean me up. I didn't say anything except to ask why that happened and she said she didn't use enough pressure.
I was taken out of that area to the surgery room about 7:00am. I was done and in ICU by 10:30am. (Was moved to a private room on the third floor Tuesday and was released Wednesday. WOW.)
I remember being in a lot of pain after surgery. They let my mom come see me in ICU around 11:15am once they had gotten me stabilized. Fortunately my mom is an RN and had worked in surgical recovery in a hospital in TX for 20 years.
My mom says that the carbon dioxide used in the laparoscopic procedure was what was causing my upper abdomen to hurt. I remember the pain even though I was barely conscious. I remember groaning and my mom talking me through it and rubbing my cheek. She said the ICU nurses were amazed she could get me to do anything. They let her stay as long as she felt like it even though there were visitor hours. Praise the Lord. It's nice to have an advocate that knows what they're doing.
I hadn't been given enough pain meds because the nurse didn't know what "agent" (medical term) had been used and didn't understand that the agent would only help for about 15 min. at a time. Good 'ol mommy. She got them to get me comfortable. The nurse said he was glad she was there because he couldn't have given me that much without her being there (permission?)>
Anyway, they finally got me comfortable with morphene, but then I wouldn't breathe. Silly me. My respirations were suppressed by the morphene. Normally you should breathe 12-16 times/minute Even with my CPAP on, my respirations got down to 0,1,2,and 3. I had to be orally stimulated to breathe - meaning my mom says "HEIDI BREATHE." I'd always breathe. (I'm a good daughter.) Not very restful though to try to sleep, stop breathing, wake up to "Heidi breathe," and try to sleep, stop breathing, wake up to "Heidi breathe," and try to sleep......
The next issue I had to deal with was low blood pressure. I know my blood pressure got down to at least 90/53. That's why I didn't get to walk for 24 hours. To help with my blood pressure my mom said they bolused my IV with lactated ringers. Whatever the heck that means. I just know they had to supplement. They also took blood to check my HNH (hemoglobin and hematocrit) levels to see if I was bleeding out. Those tests were normal, praise the Lord.
And ... my urinary output was decreased. I remember the male nurse saying, "You aren't peeing. What's up with that?" It made me laugh. It's not like I had any control over it. Then it felt pretty funny asking "Am I peeing yet?" They kept praising me when they found my urine increasing. How funny!!!!
Once I became more coherent, I needed something to help my dry mouth. My mom swabbed my mouth many, many times with the sponge on a stick that the hospital provides. She also put lip gloss on my lips a lot.
They took me down to radiology for my upper GI Tuesday. Dr. Frezza's nurse Betsy had given me explicit instructions on how to do it and how the techs may try to get me to do it a different way. Sure enough, there was a straw in my cup. So I told them I had to drink it without the straw. Also, once they had me standing on the contraption, they tried to lower me down to a lying position. I had to tell them to keep me standing. One tech said "no." Fortunately, the nurse that was with me knew that Dr. Frezza wants the test standing up. Once I drank the barium, the fluid flowed beautifully to its destination. They said sometimes they have to wait a long time for it. NO LEAKS FOR ME! Yeah. Time to start drinking 1 ounce of water every 30 minutes. Good grief. That's not much.
I managed to wade through that day. I used my morphene pump less than I was told I could since it was repressing my breathing and I wanted to avoid the headache that I had heard it causes.
My neck was very sore. I had been intibated, so I guess those muscles towards my collar bone had been stretched pretty far. Oh boy, was I needing a massage. Another place that hurt was the back of my hand where a nurse had taken blood. She didn't put a bandaid on or even hold it for a second after taking out the needle, so I had this giant bruise on the back of my hand. Still hurts.
Wednesday, I actually got a shower. Boy did that feel good. I put on my going home clothes, make up and curled my hair with my cordless curling iron. I felt like a brand new person! The doctor came it to see if I wanted to go home and he was amazed that I looked so good.
4/2/05 Well, I got to my Motel 6, battle scars and all, and had my mom take good care of me. I had to rent a lift-recliner from a medical supply store because the bed was so hard, I could hardly breathe when I woke from the first night in the motel. The chair helped SO much.
4/7/05 My doctors Frezza and Shebani (sp) with me at my first appointment after surgery. You can still see my drain poking out from under my shirt.
Warning: Below is a pic of my tummy with the drain coming out of it and the incision marks from the laparoscopic RNY. Don't look if you have a weak stomach!!
Betsy removed my drain (not as painful as I thought it would be.) I flew my friend Sally from Albuquerque to Lubbock to drive my home to Albuquerque. Woohoo. Here's a beautiful (LOL) pic of tummy with drain and drain without tummy! It's not a good pic of the drain by itself because it is on top of the white paper that is on the office bed. The stitches show how far the drain went into my tummy. It's hard to see, but there is a safety pin attached at the other end that you hook to your clothes or dressing.
4/8/05 I put some surgery pics on my home page: 
4/22/05
Starting Weight: 353 3/28/05
Goal #1: 300 (To weight less than 300 lbs.) Date Achieved: 6/1/05
Goal #2: BMI under 40 Date Achieved: 7/15/05
Goal #3 To lose 100 lbs. Date Achieved: 9/1/05
Goal #4: To weight less than 200 lbs. Date Achieved:
Goal #5: To weight 170 lbs. (Goal weight) Date Achieved:
Long-term goal #6: Maintain my goal #5 weight for 1 year Date Achieved:
5/1/05 Here's my 2 cents on why I had surgery and how I feel about it now. I had run out of options. I was making myself ill with food and found NO way out of it. There are hormones, like ghrelin, that I think get messed up in our systems that won't allow us to eat normally ever again, even if we did lose the weight, which I did many times, but my eating would just get out of control again. I would eat because I felt like I would die if I didn't get what I wanted. Sounds like a spoiled brat, but honestly, in hindsight, I don't think it was my fault. I think genetics played a huge part in it.
They've proven that 95% of morbidly obese people fail diets. And morbidly obese people die early. If you put the two together, you could conclude "most morbidly obese people can't lose weight on a diet and will die early." In the extreme view, morbid obesity is a DEATH SENTENCE. Have you seen any morbidly obese 84 year olds?
Anyway, I'm delighted I chose to have the surgery. Sure, I get a lot of people who can't believe I did it or can't believe I couldn't just stop eating so much. But I've found that it's my business and I don't have to tell anyone unless I want to. I'm still dealing with a lot of shame with my weight and hope to deal with that in therapy eventually.
I already feel better. I was on 5 antidepressants/high blood pressure meds pre-op and now I'm not on anything! Not even pain meds.
I look at it this way. I was dying and now I'm living.
There are no guarantees as to how much longer I will live vs. my old ways, but I'm getting busy living. Tired of dying. If I die now I still think I feel better than if I died before surgery.
5/2/05 Here is a photo of me with my soon to be bride daughter Sarah taken at her bridal shower Saturday 4/30/05.:
5/4/05 I'm having some pain and have been worried about a stricture. Called the nurse and she said I was probably eating too fast or too much. She said to set a timer and to eat my 2 oz of food, and no more, in no less than 30 minutes and I should do this for about a year. OMG!!!!! I had no idea. I was already eating about 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes and soup. A year!! Wow, many people are eating way more than that after 6 months. Oh well. Every doctor is different and I'm going to follow my docs guidelines. Back to the timer. I used to have it going off every 15 min to try to remember to drink my fluids right after surgery.
So much to learn. My body is going to be the best educational tool, the trial and error way.
I'd love to see some of the other surgeon's diet guidelines.
5/6/05 I walked my first mile today (with my 4 dogs!). Before surgery, I had driven around and found a good route. Couldn't possibly have walked it then. But I did it today. I've been working up to it. Honestly, I hate walking but the weather was beautiful. Just a little breeze. Cool. I might learn to enjoy it. Naaahhh! But it's what I'm supposed to do. The dogs LOVE it. Makes me want to walk just to please them. Wonder if I'll ever do it again??!!
5/10/05
I had a REAL hard time about the 5th week out. Had horrible brain fog. Felt possessed. Prayer is the only thing that got me through it. I may have just had a lot of toxins, but something was WRONG. I couldn't even sleep, but needed rest. I felt wired. Couldn't stop crying. I had all sorts of blood tests, even a hormone level check and all was OK. So, since my body had healed so beautifully from the surgery I honestly think it was a satanic attack of some kind. Prayed the blood of Jesus over myself about the 5th day of this "hell" and was instantly healed. I even felt something "leave" my brain area. A weird sensation.
5/11/05 One of the hardest things for me to changing was drinking too fast. Try getting a sipper cup and learn to drink slowly. I'm used to drinking gallons and gallons of soda a day. After surgery, I found myself taking a big gulp and stopping myself just in time with another big gulp in my mouth. If I swallow the second big gulp I get a real bad tummy ache. A sipper cup was very hard for me to manage at first. I felt like I couldn't get ANY liquid in, but it's what my pouch required so I had to learn. I don't use the sipper cup anymore, because I've trained myself to be more careful and I think my pouch isn't as picky.
5/19/05 I walked my second mile tonight at 9:30 pm.. Wasn't sure if I'd ever do it again (the first one was on 5/6/05.) But I did. Can't say I enjoy it yet, but the dogs LOVED it. If nothing else I can just keep doing it for them. There was a little breeze and it was cool.
5/20/05 I walked again tonight (10:30pm). I didn't go the full mile, but most of it. The dogs were much more behaved, like they can anticipate what's happening. Still didn't REALLY enjoy it, but the dogs LOVED it again. Wish I enjoyed it more, but at over 300 lbs. how can it be any fun to try to move that much weight around on these poor little feet and knees. I think I'll enjoy it more with I'm another 50 lbs. lighter.
6/3/05
I got to see my daughter get married. Here's a pic of her relatives. I'm wearing light blue.
This is REALLY sad, but before I had surgery, I was trying to find a way to get out of going to the wedding. I was so humiliated by the way I looked. I was too embarrassed to show my face. But, praise God, I had the surgery 2 months before the wedding and lost 50 lbs. I felt so much better. I looked better and my confidence was back. I didn't look great. I was still 300 lbs! It makes me very sad to think I would have missed her wedding because of my insecurities. I'm glad I didn't have to make that decision!!!.
After the wedding, I got to look around Washington DC. Here's a pic of me feeding the birds in the reflection pool that's between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.
6/6/05
I'm doing great. I've lost 57 lbs and I'm on week 10. My side effects have been brain fog (my eyes don't seem to move with my brain and my brain just feels foggy) and gassy type abdomen pains. I have to reduce stress to help with the brain fog and I found Queasy Pops to really help with the pains. I went to the doc today thinking I had strep throat, but it must just be allergies, thank goodness. I feel a lot better, but still move as slow as a slug and it still hurts to get up. I'm expecting both those things to get better with another 50 lbs down. My self-confidence is way up and I'm off of all meds which is amazing.
6/26/05 I took my big dog yesterday and hiked an itsy bitsy bit of the La Luz Trail in Albuquerque, NM, that goes from about mile high to 10,000 ft. It's an 8 mile hike. I only walked about 30 min up. It took about 20 min to get back down.
I have a goal to hike the whole way up that mtn by the end of the summer. I can just ride the tram down, but until I can walk up about 1/2 of it, I'm going to have to walk myself back down. 20 years ago, I did the hike is 5 hours. Now, I couldn't make it if I tried.
I really don't enjoy exercising in any way, shape, or form. I'm just trying to change my mindset about it. I'm always in pain with my fibromyalgia and plantar fasciitis in my heels, but if I don't exercise and get this weight off, my life will always be filled with pain and that is a bleak future at best.
So, while I know it's going to hurt, I'm still trying to do it.
After the hike, I could barely move the rest of the day. But, I'm surprised about how I feel today. Not too bad. I thought it would take me days to recover, but I actually am thinking about walking the trail again tomorrow.
Just think. I've lost 74 lbs. If I try to carry four 20lb bags of dog food, I couldn't do it!!! I'd collapse. I've asked my knees and feet to carry that all this time. It's no wonder I hurt.
I still need to lose another 109 lbs. That's about 5 more 20 lb bags of dog food! With that off of my, the hike up the La Luz trail will be a breeze. I'm so looking forward to that! And to being out of pain! It's going to happen some day. I can feel like and I have no doubt about it. I never believed that before surgery.
7/7/05 I got to go to Ouray, CO to see my mom for the 4th of July. Had a great time. Here's a pic:
7/27/05 I went to Lubbock to see Dr. Frezza on 7/20/05. Officially down 85 lbs. Here's a pic:
9/7/05
I think it's natural for our bodies to slow down losing weight as we get further away from the surgery.
I've lost -110 lbs and I couldn't be happier.
However, my weight loss has slowed dramatically. Here's how much I've lost each month:
1st month: -30 lbs. -30 total
2nd month: -23 lbs -53 total
3rd month: -17 lbs. -70 total
4th month: -15 lbs. -85 total
5th month: -13 lbs -98 total
6th month: -12 lbs. -110 total
7th month: -10 lbs. -120 total
8th month -10 lbs. -130 total
But I've learned with this little chart that if I lose 10 lbs a month I'll reach my doctors goal in January. I've lost 73% of my excess weight so most people would consider my surgery a success. Given that I still need to lose 40 to 70 more lbs, I would consider it a success already, but am so looking forward to reaching my goal.
Hang in there and think of it all as a learning process. It's not easy and we're not going to be perfect. Oh well. Jump back on that horse and stay with it!
9/28/05
I'm celebrating my 6 month anniversary with friends! I'm in the back on the left in the blue sweater.
11/28/05
Here's a recent photo of me from around Thanksgiving!
12/28/05
I saw Dr. Frezza today. It's been 9 months and I've lost 130 lbs. I couldn't be happier about my choice to have surgery. I still have some depression but at least it's not about my weight anymore!
That's all for now, folks.
Huggs, Heidi
Email me! I'd love to hear from you!
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