Tango Sierra Alpha
June 2005
My husband and I attended a general informational session at DePaul Hospital. There were easily 50+ people there. Most had family members or friends attend with them, which I think is a great idea. There was a Power Point presentation outlining the WLS options, risks, benefits etc. but they also gave us a copy of the presentation which I know I'll be copying for my Mom/Sister/Aunts/Uncles/Friends etc. There's so many fallacies out in the world about WLS and how it works. Everytime I bring it up to someone I hear a story about a "friend of a friend" who gained it all back, had major issues or died. It makes you wonder if those that succeed are quieter about their success. That thought helped me decide to basically tell everyone what I'm doing and why. My family and friends will probably get sick of hearing about this surgery!
As per the informational session, the insurance approval process and multiple medical and psychological tests I need will probably take six months. (They gave us a list of tests and letters we need to get together before they will start the insurance approval process.) That seems like a long time to wait as I'm anxious to get the ball rolling.
July 2005
This month I talked with my family practioner about the surgery and was glad to know she supports my decision to go ahead with it. In addition to the tests required by DePaul Weight Loss Center, she also wants an EKG and additional bloodwork.
This month I also went to see a psychologist recommended by DePaul Weight Loss Center. I was actually quite worried about the psychological evaluation, mainly because I did have a bout of fairly significant depression during high school. Luckily, my fears were unwarranted. The psychologist asked lots of questions about my life, thoughts about weight, expectations for the surgery and knowledge of both the benefits and the risks. She asked about family support and we talked about my relationship with my husband and how this would affect that. (Luckily, he's behind me 100%, as is the rest of my family. :)) In a nutshell, I'm "psychologically fit" and she's going to recommend me as a candidate for WLS. Hooray!
One of the other interesting outcomes of this session was her recommending another local psychologist who specializes in food issues and has actually had WLS. She suggested I see her after I have the surgery as those of us addicted to food often have "food issues" to deal with. I'm guessing that's the understatement of the century. *grin*
August 2005
After receiving the results from my blood tests, EKG etc., it's become apparent to me that I'll have no problem meeting the "co-morbidity" rules that insurance companies have. In addition to having a BMI of 42ish and continuing to struggle with bouts of high blood pressure, I apparently have an "off the charts" triglyceride level. So... now I'm on medication for blood pressure and cholesterol. My family practioner wants to get my cholesterol levels down before she clears me for surgery. In addition, my EKG was concerning and I had to repeat it TWICE! "A thickening of the left ventrical wall" was the ultimate diagnosis.
Regardless, my paperwork is going to the insurance company for approval. Nancy and her cohorts at DePaul Weight Loss Center are wonderful and I appreciate how much time they must spend drowning in paperwork. As it turned out, the insurance company decided they wanted me to have a "dietary consultation," which I was able to complete within a week. Then, the paperwork was off to the insurance company again and... drumroll please... we wait.
September 2005
After dilligently taking cholesterol lowering medication for a month, I had a blood test to see if my tryglicerite levels dropped. Low and behold... they did... but not enough, according to my physician. She told me she'd never had a patient not respond to that particular medication. At that point, I told her I had recently learned that my Father also had little success with that particular medication. She's of the mind that we must metabolize the medication differently. So... now I'm on the second round of a different cholesterol lowering medication and I'm starting to get worried that she won't clear me for surgery before they actually schedule the date.
September, 2005 will also go down in "Terri's History" as the month I got approved for WLS. My first phone call upon receiving the approval letter from my insurance company was to Nancy at DePault Weight Loss Center. "OK, what do I do now" was my statement. The answer is... I'm scheduled for my "pre-op" day on Nomember 3rd. They'll do lots of tests, dietician sessions etc. with a group of other WLS candidates. I'll get to meet with the doctor (Dr. Roger Delatorre) and get his final blessing. After all that is completed, they'll schedule my surgery. The hardest thing about all that is 1. waiting until November 3rd and 2. not having much idea of when they'll schedule the surgery. It will probably before Christmas (geez I hope so!). When I called a couple of days later to ask that question, they told me it could be 1-6 weeks. So... after all that... we're waiting again! *grin*
October 2005
Another month of waiting until my pre-op appointment. Oh what fun! My Mom and sister sat next to a WLS person at a teaching conference. Unfortunately, he had many negative stories to tell them and is actually considering having the surgery reversed, to the tune of $65,000+ that insurance won't cover. Then, a friend told me about her "friend of a friend" or "cousin of a cousin" or something who was in the hospital for four months, can't eat anything she likes and though she's skinny, is miserable. This all reminds me of the horrible labor and delivery stories people told me when I was pregnant. You get worried, and then you think "that's not going to happen to me because I'm an optimist, am preparing for the surgery by exercising, getting all my vitamins etc." On the other hand, I am sure those folks thought they would be fine, fine, fine too. Oh the joy of second guessing your decisions, right?
Anyway, I posted some concerns about the above conversations and the members of this group were terrific. Thank you to all of you who responded. It is my decision and I have to make the best one for me. I believe the best one is going ahead with this surgery. Come on November 3rd!
November 2005
I HAVE A DATE!!!!!! Wednesday, November 30th is the big day. Hooray!!!!!@
My "pre-op" day was yesterday (Nov. 3rd). There were about ten of us there and though it was a long day (8 am. to 5 pm.) it was informative and somewhat reassuring. We met with the head nurse for the program (Nancy is FANTASTIC) and she told us exactly what to expect on the day of the surgery and the following two days. We met with a nutritionist who went over everything about the post surgery diet, week by week. Next was an exercise specialist where the how's, when's, and whys of exercise were discussed. Dr. DeLaToree spent more than an hour with us, going over the risks of surgery and answering all of our questions. At that point, we met with the doctor one-on-one and finally, our surgery date was chosen. Mine is Wednesday, November 30 at 11:30 p.m. The day closed with multiple lab tests including puliminary breathing tests, EKG, blood test and chest xray. I have to call the nurse with an update on my medication lists and bring a first morning urine sample on the day of my surgery. Our surgeon doesn't do the liquid diet before the surgery, though we do have to eat bland, soft foods on the day prior to surgery.
In truth, I'm still sort of in shock about actually having a date to look forward to. This has been a long journey and it's hard to believe I'm close to starting the next phase.
November 28, 2005
My surgery is two days away and it looks like it's really going to happen. I'm amazed... and excited... and nervous... and feeling somewhat shell shocked. My cardio stress test went well today. It's amazing how much you can work up a sweat with 8 total minutes on the treadmill. Of course it was at the "highest hill" setting but jeez! The cardiologist asked me why I needed the surgery if I could walk on the treadmill like that. I jokingly told him he was a "little tiny guy" and "it was all about how you look at things." I then pointed out my plump apple shaped figure, which is the worst, according to everything I read about heart disease. He said he thinks my smile distracts people from looking at my weight. I laughed and told him to stop talking because I was trying to concentrate on not dying on the treadmill. The long and the short of it is... this is really going to happen. Amazing!
December, 2005
Surgery day went well and I had no complications (whee!) I was up and walking the entire surgical floor about 6 hours after coming out of surgery. They told me this would help alleviate gas pains and speed up recovery ... so I did it. One of the nurses told me I was the "best moving bariatric patient she'd seen in a long time."
The nurses and techs at DePaul Health Center in St. Louis, Missouri were terrific and I have zero complaints. Dr. De La Torre did stop by my room on Thursday (day after the surgery) and did a once over check. I saw his residents before and after that. That was actually allright with me. I'm an Air Force brat and we saw different doctors every time we went to the doctor when I was growing up. I don't worry too much about it. I wanted the very best SURGEON I could have for my surgery and I believe I got that.
I was discharged around noon on Friday and was raring to go. As soon as I got home I promptly crashed and slept three hours in my own bed, which was heavenly.
At this point, I'm already SICK of broth and jello. I thought I was fully aware of how long and hard I would have to work to get the required liquid and protein down in the first several weeks... but I was mistaken. I feel like I'm sipping things all day long.
I have multiple samples of protein shakes to try and have worked my way through five of them. I could tolerate two so far (Matrix Perfect Chocolate and Champion Nutrition Pure Whey Chocolate Stack). I hated the Matrix Lemon Tea protein (you add it to iced tea or water) but it did taste like the bottled tea they sell in gas stations ... which I also hate. The other shake I tried is the Elite Berry Blast and it was not good on the first attempt. I plan to work more with that one though, because I do have a big container of it. I'm not sure why I thought I'd like vanilla more than chocolate shakes but I was wrong. If I remember correctly, I thought you could add more things to jazz the vanilla shakes up. So far, I haven't been successful with those efforts, even with my DaVinci syrups and splenda.
Oh... and though this is somewhat gross, I have yet to poop. The last time was Tuesday afternoon, before my surgery on Wednesday. That doesn't seem right to me but I guess I haven't put anything besides liquid in my body so nothing but liquid is coming out. Go figure.
Tuesday Night... Great News! I pooped and all is well! I can't beleive I was so worried about that. :)
1 Week Post Op Appointment -
Everything went great. I lost 16.5 pounds in my first week. Recovery has been decent though I am still completely and incredibly tired of broth and jello. I really think my biggest issue has been the sugar withdrawel. I also think that's why I dislike most of the shakes. They're not sweet. The splenda doesn't give them enough sweetness for me and I can taste the aftertaste or "bite" of not having sugar. Hopefully that will pass.
At the 1 week post op appointment the four of us that had surgery on the 30th were all there. Three of us had laproscopic RNY and one had the lap band. Of the four of us, three of us were doing well and the other had a truly rough week. She hadn't been able to keep much down and her pain level was fairly high. I felt terrible for her.
On Thursday (1 week and 1 day after surgery) I started to not feel great but determined it wasn't my incision, but a pain under my right breast when I breathe. I called the Nancy (nurse extraordinaire) and she thinks I've got a touch of plurosy because I haven't been using my goofy spirometer thingy like I should. In actuality, the hospital's instructions were "sketchy" at best. They told me to use it ten times an hour while I was there but said nothing about the at home use. Anyway... I've dedicated myself to breathing in and keeping the flimsy ping pong ball thing between the two lines before I turn blue. As of Saturday, I'm feeling much better.
Just to give the pre-ops an idea on my recovery, I'm writing this on Saturday, December 10 -- 1 week and four days after my surgery. Tonight I went to the St. Louis Zoo Christmas Light festivities and walked, walked, walked. Then I took my two daughters and one of their friends to Steak and Shake where they had their hamburgers, BLT's etc. and I had vegetable soup broth and water. I was full... I wasn't tempted... I walked... spent time with the girls... and I feel good now (it's 11:40). I think this is actually going to be okay. *grin*
I weighed exactly 280 on surgery day and my goal is 160-165 (I’m 5’8”). In truth, I’m planning on having the celebration of the century when I get into a size 12. I can’t imagine myself any smaller than that. I think I was a 10 in high school and a 12 in college but naturally, I thought I was huge because many of my friends were 3’s and 5’s. It’s sad that we do that to ourselves.
I had one episode with sugar free hot chocolate. My nine-year-old daughter made a point to make me a cup of sugar free hot chocolate because they were having hot chocolate with marshmallows. She even brought it to me in a special Christmas Mug so I couldn’t turn her down. I did fine, but in the middle of the night I spent about 45 minutes in the bathroom with the most bizarre diarrhea I’ve ever had, pretty much just water. Weird.
I had two instances where I think I ate too fast once with soft egg and once with tuna salad. Both times I got this stuck in my throat feeling and got sort of teary eyed. I walked to the bathroom, threw up and then felt fine. I’m guessing neither of those instances would be considered dumping.
I can tell you I’m not tempted at all to eat the cookies and candies that are in my house. I’m totally afraid of sugar because I don’t want to dump. I’m sure that fear will likely dissipate at some time, but for now, it’s working for me.
I started walking on the treadmill and outside when it’s not too cold. I am hoping they will okay me going back to Curves next week at my 1-month appointment on 12/27. Work has been no problem, though I am not particularly motivated to get much done. That is not related to the surgery though, because I am like that every year during the week before Christmas. We leave on 12/22 at 4:00 and do not have to come back until January 3rd. It is wonderful and I'm looking forward to it.
1 Month Post Op Appointment Update
I had my 1-month post op appointment on Tuesday of this week (December 27th) and am down 29 pounds according to their scale. However, I had an appointment with my G.P. the following day (Wednesday) and their scale showed me down about 34 pounds which I liked much better. :)
The neat thing is my blood pressure was down as well as my blood sugar. My G.P. thinks I can go off both meds, though we're going to watch the levels of both. I also dropped from the "morbidly obese" category to "severely obese" and that's really neat. Finally, I was cleared to go back to Curves and got measured. I dropped a minimum of 2 inches off every measurement. Hooray! Hooray!
January 2006
I just finished up my first ever holiday season where I did not hate my body on January 1. Granted, I am not where near goal but I know I am on the right path and I have a plan. It is an amazing feeling.
Thus far I am down roughly 40 pounds or so. (You never know which scale to believe.) I am doing the Curves workout 3-4 times a week and trying to walk on days I do not get to Curves. My next post op appointment is in February so I have to wait a while to get the official loss.
On January 4th I attended a DePaul Weight Loss Center support group meeting and enjoyed it. We even learned a country line dance, taught by one of the long-time-post-op WLS folks. The goal is to join the others in this line dance at the New Year, New You party on January 18th. I'm hoping to take my husband and daughters.
The "New Year, New You" party at DePaul Health Center on January 18th was fun, though I was only able to stay a short time due to my Mom being in the hospital. Her hospital stay has made getting my exercise in a little more difficult and believe it or not, the Barnes West hospital cafeteria has nothing decent to eat if you're a WLS person. No yogurt. No cottage cheese. During lunch one day they did have a salad bar where I could grab some turkey and boiled egg but that was it. I found that amazing.
February 2006
I threw my back out on Sunday, January 29th so I have to take a mini break from Curves. That said I went last night to be weighed and measured. According to their scale, I've lost 47.5 pounds and 23 inches. WOW! I weighed a little lighter there than at the surgeons office so I think it's actually a 50 pound in about an eight week time period. Holy Cow!
A good friend gave me three huge bags full of clothes that she'd grown out of (she's been doing Weight Watchers and has gone through 18, 16 and 14 and is wearing a size 12 or 10... she looks amazing.) She and I have similar taste and I am thrilled to have some clothes to wear because all of my 20's and many of my 18's are too big. Nice problem to have, right? The weird thing is, they're baggy in my butt and legs but still fit in my stomach. AARGH!
Tonight's support group at DePaul Health Center is focusing on plastic surgery. I'm glad to be attending that one. :)
Okay, so the Plastic Surgery info was eye opening to say the least. I've never been overly fond of my chubby arms but after seeing the scars from the "brachioplasty?".... NO WAY! I need to get to Curves four times a week to avoid that one. Eeeck.
That said I do want to have a tummy tuck and possibly a breast lift. My stomach is already flubby and "gooshy" as my nine-year-old daughter calls it. You're going down in size but you still look flubby. I'm not cool with that. However, I know I'll have to pay the cost for any plastic surgery I have so that puts a somewhat significant road block in the way. I guess we will see how things go.
My follow up appointment with DePaul was on February 28th and I've lost 61 pounds so far. I weight 219 pounds and am solidly in a size 16. Thank goodness for my friend Terry, who passed on a huge amount of clothes. Now that I'm out of the 18's I guess I better see if she has 14's and 12's. (It was hard to even type the "12" part.)
I did attend a support group at Southwestern Illinois College on Monday night. It's actually run through obesityhelp.com and I'm glad I attended. I gave two huge trash bags of clothes (20's, 18's and 2X shirts) to a fellow WLS patient from the area and I know she's looking forward to getting into those sizes. It's nice to be able to "pay it forward."
March, 2006
It would be remiss of me not to tell you about my ongoing issues with constipation. Not quite the fun and exciting topic, but a fact of life none-the-less.
I am taking 2 stool softeners each morning and night as well as adding Benefiber to my shakes. A week ago I traveled over the weekend and did not get enough water and fiber. I had the absolute worst case of constipation of my life and had to do the whole laxative, suppository etc. thing to get things moving. Then, because of all that strain, I ended up with several hemroids.
To cap off the wonderful "concrete butt syndrome," the hemroids hurt so badly I was forced see my G.P. She took a look and promptly asked me if she could bring her partner to consult. Her partner, male of course, is my husband's doctor.
Yep, you guessed it. I got to shake hands with my husband's doctor, make some small talk, and then show him my aching bottom. It was not one of my prouder moments. They ended up cutting one of the "included, occluded, thromosised" (not sure what the terminology was here) hemroids right there in the office. I got a super duper prescription for a numbing gel to get me through the pain. The numbing gel works for about two hours and then the "my rump is on fire" pain comes back. I've been living in the bathtub, thinking that a warm soak makes things better. (That's when I'm not at work trying to ignore the pain.) It's been a lovely couple of days.
Wondering what the moral of the story is... it's simple. Do not cut back on water intake regardless of the reason. Make it a priority and you won't pay the piper like I have. Concrete Butt is a mega drag but hemorids are the WORST!
March 13, 2006 -
My constipation issues, though not as bad as the original time I mentioned it in this post, are still causing me issues. I've been to the doctor twice -- for an exam I would never voluntarily have if I didn't think it was really an issue. On March 11th my G.P. recommended I see a surgeon that deals with hemroids because both she and I think this may be an ongoing issue. Oh what fun that will be. So... there's the bad news.
The good news is, I'm heading to Florida on Friday of this week (March 17th) which also happens to be my 37th birthday. The day prior to that (March 16th) is my 15th wedding anniversary. I think both of those are worth celebrating!
We're spending the week at my Grandmother's in Ft. Myers, Florida and are looking forward to a week of pools and beaches. On Wednesday of next week my husband and I are heading to a St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training game. That's something we've never done and we're truly looking forward to it.
Finally, I got weighed and measured at Curves last week. I'm down to 214 (that's 66 pounds if you're counting...) and I've lost 34 inches. Hooray!!!!!!!!!
Future Update
April 2006
The constipation issues continue to cause me issues every once in a while, though my family practioner prescribed Mirolax and that's done wonders. I add it to one of my protein shakes about twice a week and things are moving. :)
People are really starting to notice and say things about my weight loss. Apparently my face really looks thinner, but in truth, I still see the same person in the mirror. Psychologically I know I'm a lot thinner now -- a size 16 and sometimes 14 in fact -- but my eyes haven't caught up yet.
In late March we visited my Grandmother in Ft. Myers, Florida and had a terrific time. I felt decent in a bathing suit and that was wonderful. My Grandmother was thrilled to see my weight loss as she's always been fairly thin and I know it drove her nuts to see me so heavy.
On April 4th I had a liver biopsy due to my psoriatic arthritis and the cummulative amount of methotrexate I've taken over the last five years. I was a little scared about the procedure though it was not a big deal at all. However, the neatest thing was that whenever the automatic blood pressure machine would power up, my pulse registered quite low (50-54) and a beeper would go off. The nurses would come in, check me out and re-set the blood pressure machine. On the third time they came in to re-set it, one of the nurses said "you must be in good shape or quite athletic." My husband laughed outloud, as did I. No one has EVER said "you must be quite athletic" to me and I'm sure they wouldn't have dreamed of uttering those words to me prior to November 30, 2005. It was a true WOW moment.
The biggest change, in my estimation, has been my energy level. I'm not tired all the time. I don't need a nap on weekends. It's amazing. I continue to look forward to getting into "ONEDERLAND." Today at Curves I weighed in at 206. It's in reach folks!
May 2006
It's Tuesday, May 9 and I had a follow up appointment at DePaul Health Center. It's official ... I am in "onederland." I weight 198.5 pound. To reach my initial goal of 160, I need to lose 38.5 more pounds. In truth, it's all sort of unreal to me, even still.
June 2006
I am solidly in a size 14, with an occasional size 12 thrown in. In all honesty, if my weight loss stopped now, I could be allright with that. I have 30 pounds to go to hit 160 and would like to get a total of 35-40 more off to be in my original goal of 150-160. I weighed 165 when I got married in 1991 and that worked for me. I guess it is hard to imagine every being truly "small" (in my case that would mean wearing a size medium) but I guess we will see how it goes.
I weighed and measured at Curves yesterday. Since September, 2005 (my surgery was in November) I have lost a total of 53.5 inches and 90.25 pounds. I've lost 9 inches in my bust; 8.25 in my waist; 11 in my abdomen, 7.75 in my hips; 10 in my thighs; 7.5 in my arms and, according to the hand held BMI thingy... 11.4% loss in bodyfat. Wow.
I do want to have a breast lift/augmentation and a tummy tuck and expect that to be "self pay." Given that, it will likely be 2-3 years until I can undergo that procedure but hey... Rome wasn't built in a day right.
My goofy husband has started "cataloging" the boobs he likes so he can be helpful when I start talking to plastic surgeons. I think he's going to need to join a support group to learn how to handle the loss of 9 inches in my bust. He cracks me up.
Future Update
August 2006
It's nearly September but I wanted to get my "August" update in. I've had a lot more attention from people in the last several months. Several times I've had people not recognize me and that seems odd. If it's an old friend, they do recognize me, because I now look a lot like I did in high school and college. If they've gotten to know me in the last 10 years (i.e. after delivering my beautiful munchkins) they don't recognize me. Again, I am amazed at that. In my mind, I looked the same. Clearly I didn't, but I didn't see that.
One work associate I hadn't seen in a year and had only met in person once or twice said "Terri? You're pretty!" like it was a huge surprise to him. I laughed and told him I was always pretty... it was just hidden.
My current weight is 174 and I'm really close to being in the "normal weight" category. My how times have changed...
December 2006
What a year it's been. My current weight is 156 pounds. I'm calling that "goal" as my true goal was to stay between 150 and 160. I'm wearing a size 10 comfortably, though I admit they are baggy in the butt and thigh area (who would have thought?) I'm exploring plastic surgery options and would like a tummy tuck and breast augmentation. My poor husband, the ultimate "boob man" is most saddened by the loss of my big boobs. :) I still find it strange that I'm not a big person anymore. It's weird when I'm searching for a size 10 and always find 16's and 18's. I couldn't ever find those before. Go figure.
I have eaten too may "cookies" this month. It's been about 1-2 a day but I don't want to get into bad habbits again. Gaining anyting back scares me. I'm still working out, doing my protein shakes and trying my best to follow the rules. I would do it all over again, in a heart beat.
