Most Recent Updates are at the bottom.
Surgery Date: 07/11/2003
Height: 5'4"
Before wgt.: 337 lbs.
Starting BMI: 57.8
I had decided to have this surgery in early Feb. 2002. I found out on Feb. 26th that I am pregnant again!! lol Guess I will try to wait patiently until I can have it done.
02/17/03
Well, I had my baby. A BIG baby boy. He weighed 10lbs. 3oz. and was 22 inches long. He was born on 10/29/02. I am trying to get the ball rolling on the WLS again. Hope to update with more happy news later.
04/15/03
I got the call from Patti at Liv-Lite that I was approved after the first letter!!! Yayyyyyyyyyyy!!! Thank God for good insurance companies. Well, now I have to have a psych evaluation and have my medical records sent to Liv-Lite and then I will make an appt. for my first consult. When I meet the doc, if he is comfortable with me and my test results and I am comfy with him then we will set a date for all the pre-op stuff and the actual surgery!!!! I cannot believe this is finally going to happen for me! Thank you Lord. I will keep everyone updated as I go along.
05/01/03
Today I had my psych evaluation and they decided I am normal!! I was quite shocked, everyone has been telling me I am crazy for a while now. LOL Everything went smoothly with that and my medical records have been sent so I am set for my consult. I called to let LIV-LITE know and one of the surgeons in the practice is having to have surgery himself. BUMMER!! I hope it is nothing serious. Somehow I don't think of doctors as normal, they aren't supposed to get sick or have accidents.lol Anyway,
they said I should be able to get a consult by the end of May and then we can schedule my pre-ops and my surgery.
I think I am going to have to wait until like September to have the surgery anyway because of the lifting restrictions after surgery. My baby is too young to understand, "Mommy can't pick you up honey, sorry." But he should be walking and able to come to me and climb on my lap by September. If anyone reading this can give me some advice about the lifting restrictions and having a baby I would sure be happy to have it. I guess that is all until I know my consult date. Write more later.
05/07/03
I just thought I would put in a little more personal info about me and my family. I am 32 years old, married for 12 years, and we have 3 beautiful children. Our oldest is Rebecca and she is going to be 5 on June 28th. Next is Jacob and he will be 4 on June 16th. WHEW!! They were close together huh? I was so scared but it wasn't as bad as I imagined. lol They are so close it is almost like having twins. My last is Chance and he just turned 6 months. He was born 10/29/02. We live in a very small town in Kansas and we love it.
I have had a weight problem since I was about 13 years old. It wasn't actually a real problem until after I was married and miscarried our first baby. I gained 100 pounds in a year after that. It was a very bleak time in my life. I have slowly gone from 250 pounds to 322pounds in the last 11 years. I was at 292 for about 5 of those years and just recently put on the last 30 pounds with my last pregnancy. I can't wait to have this surgery done. My husband is very supportive of me but is also fearful of the complications and worries about me perhaps not coming home. I, of course, reassure him as best I can. I so want to be able to REALLY enjoy playing with my children and lets face it, having an intimate relationship with my husband. He has NO PROBLEM with my weight, I, however am very self conscious and find it impossible to feel sexy or attractive.
So, that is a little about me and my life. I will write more when I know when my consult is. IT JUST CAN'T BE SOON ENOUGH FOR ME!!!LOL
05/15/03
I Have A Date For My Consultation!!!!!!!!!!! I AM ECSTATIC!!!!!!
I have been waiting for 2 weeks for them to call and schedule. This is the last step before I am scheduled for my pre-ops and my surgery. OH! The consult is on MAY 27th at 2:00 p.m. It is a 4 hour drive for us so it will be an all day excursion. I can't wait. Can't you just feel how excited I am!!!!!! lol I will update more when I get back from the appt. I should have my actual date by then. Wish me luck!!
05/28/03
I HAVE A SURGERY DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Do I sound HAPPY?
JULY 11th,2003!!!!!! My life will soon begin again!!!! Oh, I am sooooooooooooooo Happy!!!! Pre-ops June 9th. The doctor is absolutely wonderful, Pam at Liv-Lite is wonderful, Jennifer the dietician is wonderful, the doctors nurse Eileen is wonderful!! I Love them all!!!!!! If you live in Kansas, I strongly recommend you checking them out!!!!! On a sadder note, I had gained 8 pounds since the last time I weighed. 330lbs. now..UGH!
06/02/2003
Well, I am just waiting for the time to go by now and getting more excited if you can believe that is possible. LOL I sent an email request for Vickie to fix up my profile here and make it all PURDY. I can't wait to see that. She's a busy gal, probably gonna take awhile. That's ok, all good things come to those who weight errr, wait, I mean. (grin) I find myself wanting to keep a journal of these days to go back and reflect on later and so I will never forget how blessed I am. I am not going to be one of those people that forget what it was like to be fat. Well, I feel like I am walking on sunshine and I haven't even had the surgery yet!! Look out world here I come!! teehee
06/09/2003
I had my pre-ops today. EGD (the scope thing down into the tummy), EKG, about 8-10 vials of blood drawn, ABG (arterial blood gases), cardiopulmonary lung function test, urine sample, and chest x-ray. I was put completely under for the EGD, thank God, so that was a breeze. The only thing that bothered me a little bit was the arterial blood gases. Can you say OUCH!! It wasn't too bad though. I have to say I was REALLY impressed with the whole staff at Geary Community Hospital. They were all great. Now I am just waiting for July 11th to come around. Shouldn't be too bad, I have 2 birthdays to do this month and then of course there is the 4th of July. I will know the results of all my test within a couple of weeks. I will post more then.
06/14/2003
Thank you Vickie for sprucing up my profile. It's just great! Well folks, 3 weeks and 6 days, or 26 days and a wake up however you like to look at it and I will be reborn!! I am still not having any fears. I am just so anxious to get it over with so I can begin losing. I am SOOOOO ready to be on the other side. Well, I am mostly just rambling so I will post more later.
06/23/2003
I found out on Friday that my best friend was APPROVED for her sugery!!!!! Yay, Allena!!!! Now she has to do her psych eval and then she can get her consult. She is on her way. I only have 18 more days until I cross over to the losing side and I am getting so excited. It seems it is all I think about. I am sure everyone has been there. I have to do 2 birthday cakes for my kids birthday party this Thursday. I will be busy now right up until my surgery, thank God. I will update more later.
06/30/2003
I sit here at my computer a measly 10 days and a wake up from my rebirth and find myself somewhat depressed. Hmmmnnn. I don't know why, I have been and still am sooooooooo excited about getting this weight off. I guess maybe I am just mourning the loss of one of my best friends. (FOOD) How sad. I have never thought of myself as a big eater, but lately, let me tell you I seem to have been shoveling it in. I know this is part of the problem with me feeling down. It's like, now I have even more weight to lose!!UGH Enough, enough, enough.
Allena is having some trouble with the insurance company. Imagine that!;) No, really she shouldn't be, our husbands work for the same company and we have the exact same insurance, mine went through without a hitch. I was approved at the PPO rate but Lena's approval letter said it was at the non PPO rate. Same exact doctor, same exact insurance, same exact person doing the approval. Things that make you go hmmmmmnnnnn. Anyway, the gals at Liv-Lite are getting it straightened out and there will be no problem. Frustrating though. Allena and her DH are also trying to quit smoking and believe me I KNOW how hard that one is, especially if you are really not ready. I am keeping my everything crossed for them, right down to my FAT little toes!! HEEHEE They will make it, I know they will. YOU HEAR ME GIRL?! I know you're READING this! (Big Grin)
I guess that's about it for now, I will probably be back at least one more time before my surgery. I hope I am in a better frame of mind then. Big hugs to you all and thanks for all your support.
07/18/2003
I am finally on the losing side!!!! Let me tell you those first couple of days after surgery I thought I was going to die, I felt so miserable. By the third day though I felt like a new woman. I cannot stress enough to all of you pre-ops, WALK, WALK, WALK, as SOON as you wake up really well from the surgery, get up and walk as far as you can. I walked and walked and walked and I felt and feel so much better everyday!!!!! Geary County Community Hospital in Junction City, Kansas is a top of the line facility as far as care goes. It is a small hospital and nothing fancy but ohhhhhhhhh you recieve wonderful care from EVERYONE there. From Doctors down to the aides, they are all wonderful. I am now so glad I had this done and I don't even know if I've lost any weight yet!! I go for my 2 week follow up appt. on 7/29/2003. I can't wait to find out how much weight I lose in these first 2 weeks. I will try to get a before picture on here so we can all see the transformation. Hugs to all.
07/25/2003
It's official!! I have lost 21 pounds in 13 days. WOOOOHOOOO!! I was never so happy as when the Doc took that G-tube out! I am now also tube free, stitch free. The Doc told me that I was doing great!! He actually said I am doing better than most people. That made me proud. I work hard to get in all my fluids and protein and make sure I walk everyday. I do NOT allow myself to slack. I am very enthusiastic about this tool I have been given. (Some call it obsession, hehe) I intend to be at goal by 18 months. So, there it is in black and white. I will be at my goal by 18 months out. My goal is tentatively 130 pounds but I haven't weighed that since I was like 14 so who knows I may be really happy with 150. My new friend Joyce lost a whopping 35 pounds at her 2 week check up!!!!! WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO, Joyce!!!!! YOU GO GIRL!!!!!! More next month.
08/21/2003
Today I had my 6 week check up which will OFFICIALLY be tomorrow. I have lost 38 pounds in 41 days. I am pretty satisfied with that. I will be joining the wellness center at the hospital here in town now that the Doc has released me for weight training. I have to get that resistance training in as soon as possible. I so hope it will help with the loose skin. More later.
09/05/2003
I finally joined the Wellness Center. I went for the first time last night. I think I am really going to enjoy exercising this time around. Nothing like ACTUALLY BEING ABLE TO SEE SOME WEIGHT LOSS FOR YOUR EFFORTS!! They have all the muscle toning machines and the treadmills and stationary bikes. The best part is, it only cost 20.00 a month and it is open 24 hours a day!!
I will be very interested to see how well this jump starts my weight loss. More later.....
09/15/2003
I have really been enjoying the wellness center. My weight loss has also picked up. The 11th was my 2 month anniversary and as of today I have lost 52 pounds. 52 pounds in 66 days for those of you that are interested in that ratio. I am thrilled with my weight loss. I may lose slower than some, I may lose faster than some, but hey, I'M LOSIN' AND THAT'S ALL THAT COUNTS!!!!!! I don't like it when I hear people say "I am doing better than so and so did." or "That person is doing better than this person is". WHO CARES??? We are all LOSERS and that should be all that matters. My friend Allena joined us on the losing side on the 10th of September and I know she is excited to get the weight off. She is doing great and walking, walking, walking. I hope she gets to come home today. YOU GO GIRL!!!!
I have really been concentrating on my exercise and eating correctly and my fluid intake has fallen a little. I have to get that back on track. My clothes are getting very loose which makes me VERY happy. I am thinking I will post a picture to the sight as soon as I hit the CENTURY CLUB. Going strong at 2 months post op. Any questions, feel free to email me anytime.
02/16/2004
Long time, no type. HEEHEE I have been without internet for several months. I am now 7 months out and have lost 119 pounds. I cannot begin to describe to you how very awesome that feels. People who have known me for years no longer recognize me. I recently went back to work and the people who come in and I of course know them and talk to them like an old friend and they are like, "umm, excuse me, who are you?" It's hilarious. Life is really quite grand. I have had some setbacks, hernia repair at 6 months out then developed staph infection from that, but I have no complaints. I would do it ALL all over again. I am weighing in at 218 pounds and loving life. I wonder what it will feel like at 150? HMMMNNN Can't wait!!!!!!!
05/04/04
Almost ten months out and I have lost a total of 135 pounds. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. Today I updated my weight on my profile (202 pounds in case your interested) and I am no longer severely obese according to the BMI calculator, just plain old OBESE. Doesn't that STILL sound hideous? It's not. People let me tell you about how much better I feel physically and how much better I feel EMOTIONALLY. No damn depressing BMI thing is going to bring me down!! If I never lose another pound from today, for me, the surgery would be a complete success. That's not to say I don't want to lose more weight, I just wouldn't feel like a failure if I didn't. I still intend to be down to 150 pounds by January 11th, 2005. That is 18 months out and then I can start seriously researching plastic surgery. OH BABY do we NEED plastic surgery!!!!!!!!! I have to average a weight loss of 6.5 pounds a month in order to meet my goal. That doesn't sound unrealistic for as far out as I am. I am going to take some pictures real soon and post them on the site. My baby doesn't recognize me in the old pictures anymore. Kind of sad in a way........know what I mean?? hmmnn.
A really good friend of mine, really a member of our family we feel like, has lost 95 pounds in 8 months. He started doing the high protein low carb diet 2 months after I had surgery and he is doing absolutely wonderful. I am sooooo proud of him. He has lost from 443 down to 348 and still going strong. He will definitely go all the way with this. Talk about willpower, he's the man. I am proud of you Joe!!!! I will try to update more later and get the pictures up.
Profile put together by ~~Vickie !~~
If you'd like your profile spruced up
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times. Thanks for stopping by.
