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Well it's been a whole year and what a difference it has made to my physical and emotional well being.  I still have a way to go...I need to loose another 20lbs to meet the nutritionists goal and another 45 to meet my personal goal.  Haven't lost anything in the last 4 months but have lost a clothing size so things are shifting in flight! LOL   Here are the photos.

 

 

Well I just turned 50 yesterday and my initial goal was to lose 50 lbs by then and I made it to 65 lbs lost.  Yeah!  What a difference it has made for me.  Here are my update photos.  Here is my photography tip...turn your body away from the camera and stand on the leg furthest from the camera and put the front foot forward and you will look slimmer!  God I hate the batwings!

The things I love and have come to understand and appreciate now that I am 8 weeks post op.

* I can touch my toes and scratch the center of my back!!!
* I can once again wrap my my hand around my wrist and touch my thumb to my middle finger!
* I can pull any piece of clothing out of my current wardrobe and it either fits or is too big!  Whoo Hooo
* I have met so many wonderful, helpful and supportive people on the OH MB site!
* I am sleeping better than I have in years.
* I don't cringe when I look in the mirror, instead I am starting to like what I see and recognize someone I haven't seen in  a long while, the thinner me!
* My relationship with food is changing.  I am no longer consumed with food thoughts and am enjoying eating healthier.
* I feel like I understand my body a bit better and am getting used to listening to the subtle signs that I have had enough to eat and actually feeling okay about leaving food on my plate.  This is a big deal, my mother enrolled my in the clean plate club at a very young age and that habit is hard to break!!!!
* I now understand that the empty feeling in my stomach does not always mean I need to eat....sometimes it means I need to drink more water!
* I am off my high blood pressure meds!
* As the pain in my knees starts to lessen I have a new realization of just how much pain I was living with each day.
* My Advil consumption is down by about 99%.
* My rings are no longer cutting off the blood flow to my fingertips.
* My almost permanently swollen ankle is normal sized again!
* I actually wore a dress out in public for the first time in about 15 years!
* I know there are so many more great things to come for me as I watch the pounds melt away.
* I am so blessed to have had this opportunity and I am going to succeed at the weight loss this time and get and stay healthier! 

Well here is the start of my journey...40 lbs lost and heading to a new life.
I am glad I did the photos as it is a bigger difference here than I see in the
mirror.  I can't believe how bowlegged I look in the before....my thighs were
keeping my knees from getting to know each other!!

Blood test results came back and all is good!  I am passing more water than yesterday which is also good and am able to get up on my own and walk a bit more on my own.  Breakfast was the same and I drank the apple juice with the protein powder and had a few sips of tea.  Nurses removed my IV and my incision dressings leaving just the steri strips on,  The discharge process was beginning.  I called home to arrange for my ride and then had to wait for the Doctor to give the formal OK.  I got my instructions from the nurse for my home care and then was waiting on a visit from the new Nutritionist from the clinic in the hospital.  Finally they arrived  Kim Hutchison RD who is the Clinical Dietitian for the hospital and Jillian Paulmark RD who I believe was just hired to be one of the two nutritionist for the Bariatric Clinic.  She was still getting familiar with things so Kim did most of the talking.  They asked about the trays I had received and agreed that the coffee whitener, sugar and pineapple juice where probably not good choices for a bariatric patient.  They did say they had people asking for orange juice instead of apple but felt the acid in orange was not good.  We talked about the vile vanilla resource and they confirmed that no one likes it and it was a waste but they were obligated to provide it because of a pre arranged contract.  They provided me with their contact information and encouraged me to call if I had any questions or concerns at all.  That was it, I was going home.  Quick stop to fill my prescriptions of pain meds then off home!  Had a great afternoon nap and am feeling good.  I made it.  The scary hospital part is done and over with.  Let the healing continue and the weight loss begin.   May 15th will be my rebirthday going forward! 

The morning began with a lab tech and a student coming to get my blood.  Was not looking forward to another needle but it was quick and smooth. Started  trying to take in more water and waited to see what the day was to bring.  Tried to get up on my own to go to the bathroom and sit in a chair for a while as bed was very uncomfortable.  I was very weak and got dizzy right away upon standing.  Waited a bit a tried again with the assistance of the nurses, and again was very weak and dizzy and felt like I was going to faint.  The nurses really wanted my to try to walk but there was no way that was going to happen. 

The good news was that the muscle spasms had passed and I was breathing deeper and better.  I managed a few deep coughs and coughed up a wad of phlegm.  This was a turning point, the coughing continued and I started to feel better with more deep breathing.  I asked why I hadn't gotten a breakfast tray yet, it was already about 10:30 am and I thought if I got something more than water in me I would get more energy.  No one knew what had happened to my tray and the search began.  Finally got it an hour later and it had coffee, with a packet of whitener and a packet of sugar.  I did not want coffee at all and don't think either the whitener or sugar was part of the diet.  I opened the apple juice and added the packet of beneprotein to it and managed to sip that for the next hour.  There was a can of vanilla resource but the can looked old and I was not interested in trying it. The last item was a cup of strawberry jello.  I managed a few bites of jello mid afternoon but it was not great.  

I was right, after I had the apple juice with the protein I started feeling better and more energetic.  The nurses said my colour had returned to my face and suggested we try to walk.  This time it was much better and I managed a short walk half the length of the corridor!  Success!

Lunch arrived with my requested tea rather than coffee, a cup of warm broth, pineapple juice and orange jello.  The broth was amazingly good and felt good too.  I added some protein to it but it kind of globbed up and was not a good idea.
I didn't think the acid in the pineapple juice was a good idea so I passed on it, and had the tea black without sugar.  Jello was not great, but had a few bites later in the day.    

Spent the rest of the afternoon dozing in the chair, walking a bit and sipping, sipping, sipping.  Had a visit from Twyla a nurse from the new bariatric clinic in the basement. She checked my progress and we talked about the meals I had received so far.  She said I would still be seeing Laura Toews for the last two follow up visits and then I would be coming to the new clinic there for the later visits.   Supper arrived and it was the same as lunch, broth and tea were good. 

The bossy nurse came on shift early evening and insisted that I try the resource and poured out two 30 ml cups and I was to sip them for the next hour.  It was horrible, I added ice and water to make it palatable and managed to get them down.  Was not looking forward to another evening with this nurse and anymore of the resource.   Dr. Andrew came by for a visit  at about 7:30 pm and was pleased with my progress, especially that I was taking in good volumes of fluids without any nausea.  He said he thought that if I continued this well and got some more walking in and got my fluid intake consistently up to 120 ml per hour I could go home the next day!!!!!  YEAH, can't wait to get into my own bed.

My hubby came to visit and did a good job of distracting me and got me up for a couple more walks up and down the corridor.  Decided to order TV as I didn't think I was going to get much sleep but after we ordered it we realized that the hospital's main power was off again for maintenance and the TV did not run on the back up power.  Turned out the power came back on about 11:00 and I managed to catch a bit of TV between naps.  Slept more and better than night one but still was up every hour for a while. 

Arrived at the Vic early and had a very short wait for my paperwork, headed down the hall to the surgery dept. and had another short wait.  A volunteer got me and took me to get changed into a gown with second gown as a housecoat.  She packed up my clothes into a bag and labeled it and my overnight bag with my name, weighed me and  then got me settled into a chair to wait for the nurse.  She told me I had lost 20 lbs on my pre op diet.  A male nurse and a student came to insert my IV and the adventure begins.  The student ( who seemed very nervous ) attempted the IV in my left hand with the nurse watching closely but he was not able to get it in as my veins are small and changed direction.  So then the nurse attempted it in my right hand and had the same problem as the student.  Then they start looking up my arm and the inside of my elbow and now I am getting nervous.  I tell the nurse I would prefer it in my hand not in my arm, so he makes a third attempt in my hand and gets it in, yeah!! 

The nurse came by to check all of my information and gave me a shot of Heparin in my arm to help prevent blood clots.  Then Dr, Ross the anesthetist came to talk to me about putting me under.  Then after what seemed like a very long wait Dr. Andrew came by to go over the procedure, get my signature on the consent form and answer any questions I had.  I am feeling better now, and ready to go.  It's about 11:30 now and I was scheduled for10:45 am surgery.  An orderly comes to walk me to the OR.  I'm feeling excited and anxious as we walk down the long hallways, but I am ready, no regrets, no thoughts of backing out.....which I worried I would have.  The nurse greeted me and checked my info another time and then I was walking into the OR  It was bright and busy,  3 or 4 people rushing around getting things ready.  I was helped onto the table, lied back, they put each of my arms onto a board and strapped them to the board explaining that they were doing it so they wouldn't fall off during the surgery.  I joked that it felt a bit like being strapped into an electric chair.....(not funny at all...did I really just say that?  Must be nervous )  They put an oxygen mask on my face and tell me to breathe deeply, I remember taking about 5 or 6 deep breathes and then some said "Have a good sleep" and that 's the last I remember.

The next thing I remember is waking up a bit, feeling very sore on my lower back, hip and stomach, someone was helping me roll onto my side a bit and someone was asking me what my pain number was.  I think I said 7 and she said she would give me some more morphine and it should take effect in a few minutes.  Then I remember feeling the bed moving and thinking that if they didn't slow down and take the corners easier I was going to throw up.  I heard us enter the elevator and felt us going up and then I was out again.  The first time I really remember waking up fully was about 4:30 in my room and a nurse coming in right away to see how I was feeling.   I got more pain meds, started drinking water from 30 ml cups and dozed on and off.  This was the pattern for the whole night.  I felt pretty good, considering what I had been through.  I was waiting for the "Why did I do this to myself" feeling but it didn't happen.  I just kept thinking this isn't as bad as I had imagined and I can get through this.  I remember reading that the first 24hours is the worst and the amount of change is incredible.  I couldn't do the deep breathing and coughing that the nurses wanted me to do to help with the effects of the anesthetic as I was having constant muscle spasms across the top of my stomach and sharp pains when I breathed in.

I slept for no more than 15 to 20 minutes at a time and was awake allot watching the hours tick by. I found the beds very uncomfortable but mostly from the aspect that I suffer from sciatic nerve pain in my left hip and lower back and being on my back on the hard surgery table had really caused it to act up.  I was concerned with the fact the I had numbness and tingling up my left forearm and my thumb and first two fingers.  The nurses talked to the doctors and said it was probably just from the way my arm was strapped to the board during surgery. 

That was surgery day and the first night, as I reread it I am thinking it sounds worse than it was.

Getting closer now.  I have woken up hungry the last two mornings now and can't wait to make my shake.  Because I like it with ice I am feeling pretty cold in the mornings but it only last for an hour or two, the the old menopause kicks in and I am hotter the heck.   I didn't get my 4th shake in yesterday as I didn't get to supper until 8:30 and was too full to have the last one.  My weight loss has really stalled, losing about .2 of a lb last two days.  Trying to keep up with my water and am getting it in most days.

I am surprised by my food thoughts lately, it's not been on burgers and fries or pizza but rather I am thinking of eating an egg or veggies.  I guess that's good but it strikes me as odd with all the fast food commercials on tv.  Have not exercised much this past week and have mucked up my knee some how and am limping.  Glad I asked about taking Advil at my hospital visit, they said switch to Tylenol instead as Advil will slow the blood clotting similar to aspirin.

Going to do one last big house cleaning this weekend, laundry and pack my hospital bag this weekend.  Woo Hoo! 

Well today is my first non weight loss day   even though I have resisted the overwhelming urge to eat saltines.  I am sure I will make up for it tomorrow.  I am hoping to lose another 8 lbs in the remaining 5 days to break my  mental barrier of being under 100lbs to go when I go for surgery.  I gotta try to get a good long walk in today although my energy levels are dropping I feel a tad more energetic today.