AngKam

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I've definitely seen better days. 

Where shall I begin, without turning this into a long drawn out story?

I go back to that question, I'm always asked... Would you do it again?

quite simply... NO!

My honesty may get me flamed, but when you've been through what I've been through the past few years, I think you'd understand.

Instead of writing a story, I'll kinda summarize...

December 22nd, 2011 - I fell flat on my back, bc my legs were so swollen, I couldn't get in my low to the ground car. Why they were swollen, was yet to be learned.

February 14, 2012 -I wake from a coma in ICU. Unable to speak, but only say my name "Angela" to all questions asked of me.. I have no memory of that. In the few days prior, I had fallen in the garage, hitting my head on the garage door sensor. I bled quite a bit apparently, but my husband thought I was okay, so he didn't take me to the hospital - big mistake, but you live, you learn, right? Hard lesson to learn. 

I had fallen I'll o ER the days after my fall, staying in bed, not even getting up to use the bathroom, but once or twice. I was severely dehydrated. My husband wasn't supposed to come home that fateful day - he had a meeting with the state and hadn't thought he'd be able to. He says, he brought home KFC, thinking, I'd be so hungry from the smell, I'd get up and eat - I had not eaten in days either.  When I rolled over and just apparently, rolled my eyes at him, he thought I was being a bitch. He literally said he wanted to smack me to see if he got a reaction.. But upon feeling my face, I was alarmingly hot. 105 temp. He called my Mom, who wasn't home at the time, and called 911. Apparently, they didnt know if I was dead or alive, but my neighborhood was packed with cops, ambulances, fire trucks and first-responders.  

In order to get me from my bed to gurnee, they had to lift me and knock my knees to sit me down. My only memory, is the pain I felt in my stomach and a shadowy figure in front of me, that I assume was from sunlight behind them as they put me in the ambulance. I remember screaming in pain that it hurt and them having to strap me down. But otherwise, everything is hazy.

upon getting to the hospital, my husband was told, I was very sick and touch & go. They asked my husband how long I had, had this rash on my stomach. He said, that I get them alot, from the excess skin. They said, no, it's not that kind of rash. My entire stomach, was red from chest down, wrapped around to my back. He had given me a shower over the weekend, and he said it wasn't there. Let me tell you.. It hurt, burned, just like a sunburn does and it peeled, like one too!  

At the time, they didn't know what was wrong, so I was placed in quarantine, and anyone entering my room had to be fully robed and masked. When tests came back, I was septic. I had 3 blood transfusions in the ER and another before I left the hospital a week later. 

When I entered the hospital, I weighed about160 and left at 240. I looked like I had a huge tire around my waist. Fluid had built up all over me, especially my legs. My albumin (protein) was extremely low - 0.9. Normal is 3.5 and up. See, I don't remember how or why this happens, but when your protein is that low, you swell! I had to learn how to walk again, sit, stand, etc. I couldn't get out of bed to even use the bathroom, so I had a cath for the first day. I had to go to the bathroom so bad, they brought a bedpan - no way could I use that, even if I tried. And it hurt to sit on that thing. The nurse, Phyllis, God bless her heart, took my cath out, and despite the rules, she got me a bedside commode, lifted me up (mind you this is a 60+ yr old woman, who said my husband wasn't allowed to help), literally, picked me up and set me down. Ah, relief! But, I tell you what.. After the struggles of getting up and down, I wanted that cath back in! 

My husband stayed with me 24/7 that week. He helped me as much as possible. They gave me diuretics to help with the fluid, but, getting up every 5-10 mins for 4-6 hrs, is exhausting. 

Back to that night when I woke... A doctor, Dr. Anderson - who knows me quite well now, was calling my name, and when I finally came to, he asked if I knew where I was. I could only say "uh" even though I knew I was in the hospital. They did a spinal tap on me, which I highly do not recommend. It was so painful and leaning over, not able to move, for 45 mins, became so difficult. Thankfully, everything was clear. But I never want another spinal tap again, if I can help it!

They told me it could be 3-4 months recovery of getting the fluid off, but I fought hard and got most of it off within a month. I had home health nurses. One was so persistent and wanted me to get up out of a rocking chair, claiming she'd catch me, if I fell.. She was behind the chair. No way would she have caught me. I got up and down 3x and that was hard to do and that was my limit!

So, in the end, I lost 4-5 months of memory. I remember driving by a restaurant and telling my husband that I'd like to go there sometime.. "We were just there for your bday!" No memory of it, but I have pics from it. He said I was very frail that night. And this was before ever falling the first time. And oh do I remember the sound of my skull hitting the pavement and being soaked by the rain. 

The hardest part of my memory loss, was coming home. I didn't recognize my daughter, bc she had grown. And it took me a long time to go into the garage again. I balled like a baby when we pulled in the driveway. 

So, here I sit, a summary, it is not, but a story, I tried to make short. My memory, still gone. Seizures, possibly happening, narcolepsy, possibly. EEG coming soon. Nearly bit my tongue off recently. No memory - lights out, lights on. Underweight by alot. At my height, which I've shrunk from 5'11" to 5'9", weighing about 145, when I'm supposed to be 175. Can't gain weight, can't get my protein in normal range, still. Swell often, many hospital stays since last February. Talks of reversal and feeding tubes, etc... I need spine surgery and can't heal with such poor protein levels. Until then, I suffer. 

So, please keep me in your prayers. And to go back to what I opened with.. Yes, I regret my surgery. Because of all this, it's the root of the problem. I was happy fat, not necessarily healthy, but healthier than I am now. 

It has been FOREVER since I wrote anything here... I know.. I fell victim to what I said myself.. people lose weight, get comfy and forget about coming back here. Well I got a reminder to come visit and check in.. so here I am!

What can I tell you? It's been 3 years this March, so we're closing in on it being 3.5 yrs rapidly!! I've lost over 200 lbs and fluctuate between 180 and 160.. give or take. Most of the time those numbers are water weight. I'm pretty well set at 160. It's hard to believe I'd ever see those numbers in my life. Hell I never thought I'd get into the 100s.

Now for the brutal honesty of how I eat... I don't think about how I eat. Well I do, but I don't obsess. I get protein in - I still eat alot of meat for my protein. I eat alot of steak, chicken, pork and the occasional tuna or shrimp. I don't eat fish otherwise. I eat alot of veggies but I'm very careful about them because they can cause alot of internal gas that can cause alot of noise and discomfort internally. TMI.. if I could fart it out, oh how I'd love it!! I still take acidophillus for those times and it works wonders.

I've been bad about vitamins, but I do try to kick myself into gear and take them. I get going good for a while and then fall off the bandwagon and have to remind myself again. I am terrible about calcium though. It's too big for me to take and honestly I can't afford the chewable stuff.  I take Tums in place of it when I think of it.

I've been having alot of issues with my back, neck and legs - I may very well have a problem with my hip. I've been seeing my doctor about all this for a while now and I go back next week to see where things stand. I rarely sleep. I definitely do not sleep normal at all. I throw upon occasion but I think I know exactly why that is. I know it's related to my pouch but it's also related to medication I'm on. It's also related to air in my pouch. I drink soda from time to time and while I know I shouldn't... I just can't help it sometimes. I need that to feel normal sometimes. I don't go overboard, that's for sure. I suffer if I do. Usually I drink maybe 1/4 of a can.

I cook ALOT of homemade good food. It's rare we eat out anymore and fast food is for treats only. We might get fast food once a month if at all. I love Chinese food, but rarely get it. I make alot of homemade chinese, but it's just not the same.

So the biggest question of all... would I do it again? My answer is plain and simple. Yes, but I'd research a different surgery. Had my surgeon offered me more options, I'd probably have taken a different route. I can't go back so RNY is what it is. The only advice I can give to any potential WLS candidates - research research research. This is the rest of your life. It's not just an overnight fix. It's not like 3y rs later my stomach went back to the way it was. I think about food all day long. I'm hungry, I still have to eat 6x a day. And I still don't eat like I used to. Although sometimes I could eat ALOT more than I ever imagined, but most times its just a few bites.  I still can't do milk. Just last night I tried to have milk and threw it and everything else, up! Not fun!!! But I know I take those risks.

Well there ya go.. a quick update. I'm on Facebook for the most part. If you want to talk, have questions, etc.. just contact me there. If I don't have you friended or you try to friend me.. be sure to mention OH so I know where you know me from. I don't friend people that I don't know or don't give me an excuse of how we might know each other.. :)

http://www.facebook.com/angelakammler

I hope all is well and I really do miss the people I met here. I wish that there would be more updates! I'm going to research and see if I can find peoplle around on here and fb.

Keep your heads up!!

So my 2 year anniversary was March 5th and I'm still losing!! And I'm trying not to honestly. Today I got on the scale and hit my all time low of 163.4. My doctors are noticing that I'm looking thinner each time they see me... which could be because I've cut my hair pretty short.. but who knows. I know that my numbers aren't moving drastically, but my clothes are looser and my body look thinner in areas.. but at least I'm slowed down. I'm just surprised how much I can eat and not be gaining.

I have my good days and bad days with food still. I eat too much, too fast and it comes up. I can't eat pasta in excess.. and I can't eat a vegatarian style diet because it destroys my stomach for days. Meat is my only friend LOL I've been trying to "stretch" my pouch out some just to get some more comfort. I don't care if I gain a lil bit of weight honestly. I'd rather not be puking a couple times a week and randomly. It's no fun at all!! I'm going to see a RNY dr next week for a 2 year check up and then I'm going to a GI doc to get a scope done soon to be sure there is no issues in there. Better safe than sorry.

I need to do a before and after pic for my 2 year to post here.. I've just been slacking. I definitel don't look like my avatar pic that much anymore.

I ran into an old co-worker at the mall the other day.. she didn't recognize me at all. She looked at me funny.. then realized it was me. LOL It was nice catching up with her and seeing her surprised face.

Other than that.. I had back surgery in January and I'm still dealing with lingering pain from that. I still have neck issues that need to be dealt with but I'm in no hurry.

I've not been able to work because of the pain I'm in and getting around here at home can be challenging. I have good days and bad days of course. I really just want to be normal and pain free. Money is so tight around here that living normal is hard to do anyway.

Well I hope that everyone is well. I know that I slacked off for a while. I've noticed alot of my other friends on here have slacked off too.. sadly! I was hoping to come on and see an update from some of them.

As for my future... no plastic surgery in the works for me. Cost too much money. I'm ok with my body.. my arms suck, but what are ya gonna do... ! I've had 8 surgeries in just a few years so I'm in no hurry for more, especially ones that are just going to hurt like crazy!! LOL

Anyway........... I hope that everyone is well and continues to do good in their journeys!

I'm on Facebook more now than ever so you can catch me there if you'd like. Just be sure you tell me who you are and where you found me when you request me!

www.facebook.com/angelakammler

Hey all - I'm still alive! I've been slacking on OH, but I wanted to try and update OH here for anyone who's onwdering about me. :)

Hope everyone had a nice holiday! We had a really nice one - lots of special gifts were given to us through a charity program. I hate that we needed the help, but we needed help. I'm not ashamed to admit it. It just sucks that we weren't able to do more.

My daughter turned 3 in November and I turned 33 in December..  hard to believe the time has gone so fast!! I'm nearing my 2 year post op mark. I don't know if he'll test everthing for me, but if not I'll have my primary check things out for me.

I just had back surgery last week (1.11) on my low back. I had a herniated disc that was causing a ton of pain and leg pain. I still have it, but it's because of the swelling inside. Of course, we RNYers are not allowed NSAIDs so that makes it a bit longer to deal with. He did give me 2 steroid injections to help, but I had werd side effects from it.

I'm on my road to recovery from that. I'm feeling improvments every day.

Ok as for RNY/GB related stuff on me.. I'm still below goal and still losing (and don't want to!!). I'm down to 166.4 and I feel like I'd really like to weigh about 200. Crazy I know.. but it makes a huge difference with comfort. I can't lay on my sides all the time and now with low back surgery it makes it difficult just to sleep... I just remind myself to turn over as much as possible.... and hope for the best by morning.

I was having alot of throwing up issues not long ago, but I stepped back and slowed down and so far so good. I don't think there was another reason other than too much, too big, not chewed enough etc.

Well I better get some sleep. My pain medicine is kicking in and I don't want to go on and make no sense :)

BTW Here's an updated picture of me.. it's from November, but it's me!

  It's been a long time since I blogged so I figured I better do it!

I am currently at, or rather below goal. I've lost 202 lbs and honestly, I'm hoping to gain a little bit back. I know that's crazy to say.. but I really do not like being this thin. My bones ache far too much now and I'm freezing all the time. I've had alot of ups and downs over the last couple months or so. I've been dealing with alot of spinal issues and am once again facing surgery. I went in today to have a spinal epidural done in my low back and I'm pretty sore still tonight, but I have high hopes that it will give me some relief. I can't blame my weight loss on this, but I do feel that it does make me ache alot more. It's hard for me to sit comfortably alot of times. But you manage and just have to keep going.

As far as my eating goes.. I'm having some issues here and there with throwing up. Whether it's that I ate too much or too fast.. who knows. I don't really think there is a problem inside there, rather just other circumstances that bring it on. Either way, throwing up is not fun with this surgery.

I constantly go back and forth and ask myself if I would do it again.. alot of people say in a heartbeat.. I sadly say no.. I wish I had considered something else, had more options offered to me.. or went with lap band like I originally planned. I've recently looked at the sleeve for a friend of mine and that is truly what I should have done. It seems like that would have been better for me. But who knows. There was no guarantees with any surgery choice. Would I still be diabetic with that? Who knows. I'm no longer diabetic now - my A1C is beyond perfect.

I can only hope that as time goes by, things get better and easier.. that I can gain a little bit of weight and be comfortable. I loved myself as a fat person.. it was just my health that I hated. And I still have health problems now, so it's hard to stay positive. I want nothing more than to be healthy & happy. I'm far too young to suffer and suffer in front of my family.

That is partly why I think surgery on my back is in my near future. If this injection doesn't take, I'll be contacting a surgeon for another consult. I just want to feel better and function better. My neck is messed up too, but that surgery is really scary. We'll see.

As for how much food I can eat - a fair amount most times. Sometimes I can only eat a few small bites though. And other times I'm really surprised how much I ate. I've gotten away from measuring simply because I do want to gain some weight. It's more about being careful to not push myself to the point I throw up. I definitely don't watch my fat intake anymore.. but I am aware of what I'm eating. I do eat fruits & veggies all the time.. keep my protein up as well. I'm probably the worst about drinking my water. It's very important to do, but some days you're just not thirsty! I also will have some dessert items from time to time.. but I am very careful with them. I nevero  eat them on an empty stomach. Dumping is not fun. I don't dump so much anymore as I throw up.. lol which is better or worse right?

So life keeps going on.. we'll see where it takes me. Hope everyone is well!!

Hi everyone!!

I was just sitting here & decided it was time to catch up with a few things I've been neglecting. I seriously have not been on my Myspace account in forever. Facebook has taken over the world it seems.. :) I also really wanted to come on here and write a lil bit. I feel like some people get to their goals and stop coming back here to update... and we all wonder - "What happened to them??" I've said it before & I'll say it again - I'm dedicated to this life and I'm hear to help others along their journeys. I'll be totally honest with you about my whole process - the good, bad & ugly. I'll be straight with you no matter what you ask. And I hope that my advice will only help you along your way.

So here I sit.. 18 months out from surgery. 18 MONTHS!!! Time has truly flown by. I'm currently weighing in at 178.6 (as of the other day)... I do not weigh myself every day like I used to. I don't feel that it's necessary at this point. I've reached MY goal long ago. My goal from my nut was to be 175-180 and I've reached that. I can honestly see reaching the 175 mark eventually. That will make 200 lbs down, which is an incredible thing to tell people! When someone says to me "How much have you lost?" I say right around 200 lbs.. their jaws drop. When I'd say 100.. they'd be shocked by that.. 200.. wow. They look at you like "how big WERE you???!" Hell I even look at myself and say that. Because in all honestly, I'm still a "big" girl and I always will be. I'm 5'10, so there's nothing small about me. I consider myself to be "skinny" now but have a hard time even saying that. But the truth is.. I am skinny! I'm smaller than I ever thought I'd be. And once again, honestly speaking (honestly is a big part of my story if you hadn't noticed).. I feel like I'm too thin. Maybe my numbers are ok, but I would like to have some of my fat back in my face. I would love some of it in my tailbone area & my neck/shoulder area.

I have spinal stenosis of the neck - it's hereditary & stems from some car accidents I was in years ago. My weight loss has not helped in that.. I can feel & see my spine - and yes in some people you can normally. I just don't like how it feels or looks. I've got to be very careful about my calcium now more than ever. WLS patients have a high risk of bone loss and I do not need that!! But when I started having kidney stones, they backed me off the calcium. Well, long story short, my Endo put me back on it & is running some tests to see if I'm actually having stones or something else. I've got to do a 48 hour urine over the weekend. I've been seeing a urologist as well, so that will help too. Calcium isn't good for kidney stones, but is bone loss worth it? Nope. The stones hurt like hell, but they don't last long with me. Now if you're having them, I suggest seeing a urologist to get a proper diagnosis of course.

So the big question peopl ask me - especially people just now having surgery or a few months out from me - how much can you eat?? Well I don't measure as much as I used to and part of that is because I've gotten used to the portions and because part of me would like to gain a little bit of weight back. I do not advise that to anyone on this journey - it is your responsibility! But I'm honest.. maybe more than I should be some times. :)  And I do eat things that we're not supposed to, according to some... I eat hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos, pizza.. and dare I say it - dessert!! But I eat those things in moderation!

Some days I can eat more than others.. and some meals I can eat more than others.. Sometimes I might sit down and only get 2 bites in and feel sick. It's usually because my stomach is not "primed" for eating yet. A bite or two gets it ready. So... I can eat a whole hot dog, without a bun.. or about 1/2 to 3/4 with a bun. I can eat half a slice of pizza comfortably.. if I take my time and eat over the course of 30-60 mins, I can eat a whole slice, minus the crust & size of the slice. I can eat 1/3 or less, of a burger with bun or almost the whole meat patty (once again depending on it's size). I can eat 1/3 of a chicken breast, 1/3 of a normal size (6-8oz) steak.

I eat lots of veggies, but I've got to be careful with them. Some affect me worse than others. Onions do me in no matter how they are prepared. I can usually enjoy them & deal with the misery, but if I make a habit of eating something with onions over several days, I pay for it. Onions cause alot of internal gas for me - not the kind you can get out!! My stomach talks back to me & everyone can hear it! Cooked ones are better for my stomach vs raw ones. If I'm having issues that I can not handle, I take Acidophillus and it usually helps.

So how do I eat dessert and not dump? Well I usually eat a few small bites of dessert after I've had a meal. I can never eat sugar on an empty stomach. Dumping is not fun at all. For me it's pain - like being stabbed over and over down my intestines. What causes me to dump the worst?? MILK!!! Now for over a year I thought I was lactose intolerant. Every time I tried to have milk, mainly with cereal, I'd get so sick. I found that it wasn't just the milk, it was the cereal. I know we're not supposed to drink & eat, but whenever I eat cereal, I'd just have it to wet it.. well that was enough to make me sick anyway. I have never figured out why that is.. but I imagine it's just too much sugar, even though I eat low sugar cereals (like Cheerio's, Chex, etc) and never put sugar on it, not even Splenda. It's very rare for me to eat cereal and not get sick, but I actually ate some yesterday - I could feel the pain coming, so I stopped before it got worse. When other things make me dump it's always alot of pain & nausea. Never running to the bathroom with diarrhea. Dumping is such a bad word for this. LOL! I dump from high fat & high sugar. I've dumped off of steak before!!! I've dumped off of pork! If it's cooked in an oil or has alot of fat.. watch out! I remember going on vacation and having a steak dinner with the hubby & being miserable in the car after for about 45 mins. Alot of heaving was involved.

Do I throw up? Yep! It's usually if I eat too fast. I've had moments where I rushed through a meal and been immediately sorry for it! It's no fun.. but I have to say and this sounds wierd to even say this - but throwing up now vs before surgery.. is not as bad! Before surgery I was a very violent throw-er-up-er. My whole body would be involved.. and the next day I'd be feeling it. I remember having severe food poisoning a few times in the past and just being so unbelieveably sore the next few days because I used all my stomach muscles. Now, I get sore & my stomach definitely hurts, but it's because I feel like I'm trying to throw up this pouch! But somehow, it's just not as bad. I usually have to heave a bit and feel better right away. It's like the food had to move around in there to feel better. It's not too often I will actually throw up food, but it does happen.. Those few times, I knew exactly what caused it - sugar or high fat - dumping. You live, you learn. Some of those things, I didn't think would cause such a reaction, but they did.

Some people say they don't dump - and maybe they don't... or maybe their dumping is just mild or they think it's just a tummy ache. I say, never say never. I didn't dump until I was about 9+ months out.

I take my vitamins every day.. and yes there are days I forget, but I make up a pill box to have them ready. If I left them in the bottles, I'd surely forget. I take a blood pressure pill still.. but my blood pressure goes through ups and downs. Some days it's low others it's sky high. That's one thing that's never normalized. I've gone through different doses of medicine - high to low.. and some doc's say "maybe you don't need to be on them at all." Yet here I am, still oin them. I do know if I get any bit dehydrated, my blood pressure drops! And dehydration and me are no laughing matter. I literally fade out - I see white coming in from the sides of my vision, my heart races to compensate and if I don't get to sit down quick, I'll surely go down. It's hard to always remember to drink. If I chug water, it hurts. But just like in the beginning, it's not like I want to spend an hour drinking 4 oz. So I try to remind myself to drink and drink often.

I do drink alcohol on occasion. This year.. I've drank a few times.. 2 times majorly (birthday parties out at clubs), but otherwise, half a beer here and there.. but rare. It dehydrates and if I'm not careful, the next day will be a day like above. I've found I LOVE to dance. I'm confident and not ashamed to let loose. And hey, it's exercse! :) Dance like nooone is watching.. or rather that everyone is watching, if you want. ;)

I also take Protonix daily. The doc was thinking I might have been getting an ulcer at one point and put me back on it along with Carafate at the time. I felt alot better after my treatment, so it's very possible that was the problem. He felt we should treat it as an ulcer rather than test for it - it wasn't going to hurt treating it vs a huge upper GI bill.

If you are having any stomach pains - call your surgeon or your primary doctor. You're primary doctor should be VERY familiar with your surgery and if their not.. get a new doctor! My surgeon is not in my network for my insurance and I still see him when I need. But my primary doc is very familar with the surgery and so is my Endo - he's partnered with my surgeon, so he's very educated in this.

If you have a CT scan done, be sure to tell them you had surgery. They will try and make you drink tons of contrast, when you don't need to. Drink what you can, but don't overdo it if you can't. They can still do the test! CT scan's give me migraines the next day.. it's got to be from the contrast stuff. But I'm totally knocked out in pain the next day. Thankfully I've found a great migraine drug - Maxalt. This last one I had, I took it feeling like my eyes were going to blow out of my skull and my brain was going to explode. Within about 30-40 mins it was amazingly gone!

If anyone tells you to take aspirin or ibuprofen or any kind of nsaid - call your surgeon. Don't just ask here on OH. Get their permission. Some will say it's ok, if you take something for your stomach with it. Some will say NO WAY! My doctor said Ibuprofen was pure evil... so I stay clear of it and anything similar.

What else can I tell you?? My health has been a roller coaster really. I had another surgery a month ago and we're hoping that will help us to get pregnant in the near future. However, I've been given an option of trying an injectible therapy drug to help rid some other gyn issues. I'm thinking that I'm not going to go that route because the drug is going to cost way too much money to afford. For now, we're just taking things day by day.

Oh.. as far as the other health reason I had surgery - I was diabetic. I am no longer considered diabetic. My doc says I'm in remission, but that I really don't have to put that down on my paperwork any longer. My last A1C was 4.1 which is awesome!! If I do get pregnant, I need to see my Endo for my sugar testing. I will not let my OB do the testing because they may cause me to get sick unnecessarily. My Endo is very familiar with the surgery and diabetes obviously, so I'd rather he handles it.

Well for now this is all I can think of to write.. I've got to take some new pics for comparisson.. maybe I can get my husband to do some later on so I can post an 18 month picture. My clothing size has been anywhere from a Small to a Large (in shirts & depending on their cut) and pants from a 10-14 depending on thei cuts. It's strange being able to fit into a 10 in some things, but squeeze int a 14 in others LOL! It can be very overwhelming trying to shop now. There's so many choices! And I can't go into Lane Bryant anymore. I almost can't go into Torrid now - all of their jeans are too big on me now and tops, eh.. I never know.

I'm going to see Jason Mraz tonight.. I think I'll try on one of my tops I got at Torrid to see if it will fit.. I have so many clothes I love, that just don't fit any longer.. it's sad! Don't spend tons of money on things until you think you've gotten down to a steady level.. about 18 months out LOL! ;)

Well I hope everyone is well.. and I welcome any questions and comments anyone may have! I also wanted to let people know you can add me on the various websites out there...

http://www.myspace.com/angkamm (my main RNY page, has before & after pics, but not updated often)
http://www.myspace.com/frankieak (main myspace page - I do not really discuss my surgery on this page)
http://www.facebook.com/angelakammler (I don't discuss my surgery on here often as I don't feel it's anyone from my grade/high school's business what I've done to lose weight LOL - I got enough crap for being fat in school, I don't need to hear more)
http://www.twitter.com/angkam (alot of WLS people are on here)

Feel free to add me.. follow me.. etc! And if you'd like to contact me via email - [email protected] - just be sure to put in your subject line that you're from OH or something regarding WLS so I know it's not spam. :)

Good luck to everyone on their journeys! And be sure to update your pages from time to time.. 


This is me from about 3 months ago.. enjoying sushi!!

I thought I was gaining a few lbs.. but nope.. I've hit my all time low now of 178.6. I just hope I don't drop below 170. I stopped by my old work tonight.. one guy told me I looked good.. another told me I was looking "rough." I guess that means too thin. Who knows....

I definitely wish I could get up a few lbs.. and maybe be around 200 lbs would be nice. Ha... that's kinda funny. My BMI is 25.6 which means I'm 0.6 away from NORMAL! I'm still considered overweight at this BMI.

I've been doing ok.. having some stomach issues since my last surgery - just alot of discomfort and running to the bathroom more often. I've been trying to watch what I've been eating to see if it makes a difference.. and to some degree it has.

I've been really expanding with cooking and recipes and I really enjoy it. I'm hoping to subscribe to a cooking magazine.. :)

Not looking forward to winter - I'm already freezing cold in Aug/Sept. Going to need a winter coat soon!!

I've been asked to try an injectible drug from my GYN that would put me into menopause temporarily... can I just say when the doc said I'd have hot-flashes I immediately thought.. Ooooo I'd be warm!!! :)

Otherwise things are ok.. need money.. or a job.. or something. Can't see getting another job outside of the house right now though because of the health issues. May end up having neck surgery before too long. Have to set up another appt for a surgeon consult. My Spine doc is certain it's coming. We'll see.

Anyway.. things are moving along otherwise! No plans for plastics.. and well depending on my decision on the injectible drugs, TTC may or may not be happening. I'd have to hold off for 8 months if I do it. I just want to be sure I have an opportunity to have another. I also need to come off some medications in order to safely get pregnant and have a healthy child. :)

Hope all is well!!

Just wanted to put up some new pics of me.. since they only allow 50 on the photo section, I thought I'd post it this way.. This is most recent pic of me.. I really like this pic.. I look skinny! down almost 200 lbs!


This is my going out clubbin' outfit.. :) This was what I got for going to Vegas.. so this pic is a couple months old.


Just a pic I really like...


My new bathing suit I love!

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I love this red top.. however it's gotten too big on me now! :(

Me with black hair..

And me & my Mom

At 179lbs..

Having surgery on Monday - been having alot of pain in my low abdomen & saw my OB about it over the last couple months. I've been diagnosed with PCOS of my remaining right ovary & endometrosis. They are going to go in and do laser ablation of the endo and clean up scar tissue. They also have found I have fluid in my pelvis that's not going away, so they are going to clean that up & biopsy it. They are also going to drill holes in my ovary to help relieve the cysts inside of it and hopefully make it better. That in itself sounds scary. The doctor says it should help with the PCOS better than a medication would. The doctor will also look around in there and see if there is anything else wrong. I've been having alot of pain which feels as if I've got a hernia, but they say they don't think thats the case. We'll see!

Otherwise.. usual stomach issues.. throwing up here and there. Water makes me nauseous something even. Just keep trucking along.. trying not to lose anymore weight honestly.

Well I've got to run.. didn't want anyone to think I fell off the face of the earth. Will hopefully update after surgery!

I just wrote a post the other day about my weight loss and wanting to see 179 for once.. well there ya go.. I hit 179.4 today!!

4.4 lbs to the doctors goals. They actually told me being between 170-180 would be ideal. So technically I'm at goal.

I'm done losing!!! I don't want to lose more, seriously.