beckipoohbear

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Wow!! It's been a long time since I have written anything here!  Today is my 2 year anniversary since my surgery and I couldn't be any happier.  I have been at goal (or within 5 lbs) since 1 year post surgery.  I have kept the weight off, I am healthy, my labs are excellent and I am thrilled with the life I now I have.  I am down from a 22/24 in close to a size 4 (sometimes a 2!) and size Small.  I never imagined I would make it here.  I have run 2 half marathons, am training for a third and I am contemplating doing a full marathon next year.  All I can say is I STILL love my RNY!

 Well...it's been a while since I've blogged here but I took some pictures 2 weeks ago and thought I ought to upload them and do an 8 month update.  Things are going fantastically for me.  I've only got 17 1/2 pounds to go to my personal goal and the thought of getting down to 120 instead of 130 is starting to enter my head simply because I'm still losing 1-2 pounds per week.  I've gotten back to exercising a bit doing swimming/water aerobics 3-4x per week.  I want to do more but my knees are still bothering me.  No problems eating at all, I can tolerate pretty much anything which is both really good and a titch bad but it allows me to live a normal life, just with far less food than I used to eat.  Pretty great I think!

 I really hadn't been "seeing" my weight loss.  I intellectually knew that I have lost 48 pounds since surgery but I just couldn't see it.  Well we took pictures and wow! what a difference.  They are no posted here on my profile along with starting pics at my highest weight.

 So today was my 2 month post-op appointment, which went very well.  I am down to 209.5 which is 43 pounds since the day of surgery!  They were very pleased with the change in my BMI and pounds from fat.  I lost 29 pounds total since my last visit  after surgery but I lost 30.5 pounds in fat.  How can you lose more fat than weight you ask?  Because I gained 1.5 pounds in muscle which is fantastic!!!! I am so happy I am gaining muscle and not losing it and not just losing fat, means the water aerobics was working.  The dr. was very pleased with my progress so far, and I bought some bariatric advantage calcium which tastes a million times better than what I was taking before!

They didn't have the results back from my second labs for potassium levels but hopefully after doing the vile elixir for a week, it is up and I won't have to do it anymore!

Anyway, just a brief update, it's been a great day!  Plus I got 4 pairs of $90 shoes for about $35/pair because of a kick ass sale at Dillard's!! Double fun!!!

So, I have been at a stall for about a week and half now and boy is it frustrating!  I know intellectually this is completely normal and could go on for several weeks and that the body is just forcing a weight loss break.  However, it can be a bit demoralizing when you have been dropping 1/2 pound to a pound a day and then it just stops.  Oh well, all I can do is keep plugging along and I am planning to try to be better about mindful eating and see if that helps.  The problem is I'm still not that hungry and so it can be hard to eat very much and I think I'm not getting enough protein in and so that could be contributing to the stall.

Also, to make matters even better, the office called yesterday, the received my 2 month lab work in preparation for my appointment on Aug. 1st and my potassium is low so they called in a scrip for potassium chloride that I have to take twice a day for 7 days and then have new labs drawn the morning of my appointment.  From what I hear this stuff is NASTY, so that should be fun!  However, hopefully it will solve the problem.

So here I am six weeks out and figured it was time to post a new blog (thanks to some nudging!).  Things are going really well for me.  I am down 28 pounds from the day of surgery.  I am having no problems eating the foods that I am allowed to eat.  Getting back veggies and fruits (in very very small amounts) has been a godsend.  Even better is getting back low fat/sugar sauces and dressings.  Makes food so much more flavorful. I have discovered turkey pepperoni, which I love to crisp up in the microwave and eat with cottage cheese!  Makes a cruncy pepperoni chip, yum yum!  I am having a somewhat difficult time swallowing pills, even the teeny tiny ones.  They always make my chest hurt right above the pouch opening and increase saliva production until it goes down.  Oh well, something to talk to the doctor about when I go for my 2 month appointment.

I returned to work 2 weeks ago, ended up taking a month off.  I am really glad I had that amount of time available because it was really nice to have all that time off.  I was supposed to return after 3 weeks but I live 3 hours away from the doctor's office and I was going to have to return to the Phoenix area 3 days after coming back to work and I didn't want to drive 6 hours in one week because driving for more than an hour or so tends to make me sore.

That left side pain that everyone always talks about is totally accurate.  My left side is still fairly uncomfortable but I am learning to live with it.  Especially since at 1 month class/support group they said it can take 2-3 months to go away!  Yikes! Oh well, the small amount of pain is worth the miracle this surgery has been.

I joined water aerobics yesterday and that was fantastic!  It was really fun but it was also REALLY hard work, since this particular class uses these dumbell like things that increase the resistance under the water.  I took it easy when they did stuff like crunches because my stomach is still a little sore.  I slept like a baby last night, I haven't worked out that hard in a long time.  From nothing to a 50 minute workout is a big change.  However, I really enjoyed the class and can't wait for tonight's class.

Enough rambling for now, better get back to work.

So, now that I am feeling better and have a good internet connection, I thought now was the time to post about my surgery and hospital experience. I had my surgery at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea and it was performed by Dr. Kurt Sprunger, the new surgeon with Dr. Blackstone and Scottsdale Bariatric Center. He was absolutely wonderful. I am going to post in detail because I know that can be useful to some when exploring whether to have the surgery or not. My surgery was scheduled for 8 am so I was to arrive at the hospital at 6 am. We told the information desk that I was here for surgery and they told me to head up to the 2nd floor. There were many people there waiting for various surgeries and because there was no volunteer at that early hour I started to get very anxious when I hadn't been called yet by 7 am. However, they came and got me right around 7:15. I was taken back to the preop area, given a gown to change into, put all my clothing in a bag, gave a urine sample, was weighed and then taken to a bed. I had a preop nurse assigned to me who came and explained how things were going to go and started my IV. The anesthesiologist came in, reviewed my history and the procedure. He said shortly before they wheeled me back he would come give me a sedative and then once in the operating room they would put me under and put in the breathing tube and catheter. The surgeon also came by to check in and make sure I was still good to go. Then my sister was allowed to come back and since my mom's flight hadn't made it in yet, I was surprised when our conference's Bishop came back with my sister to stand in my mom's place. They spent some time with me chatting and then my mom showed up, we had a quick prayer and then the anesthesiologist came back and gave me the sedative. From there on out things are fairly fuzzy for a few hours. I vaguely remember being wheeled from the preop area, I have a snapshot in my head of the OR and then it was total lights out. Next thing I knew I was waking up in the recovery area and the nurse was talking to me and then I was magically being wheeled up to the 5th floor which is specially for bariatric patients (although they do take others when there is space). I was really starting to come around at this point and then my mom and sister were allowed in the room. The next several hours were spent dozing off and on, having my vitals and labs taken, etc. Then about 6 pm it was time to get up and out of bed and start walking. My surgeon has a rule, walking every 2 hours and the rooms have recliners in them as we are not allowed in bed from 6 am to midnight. Walking was pretty short at first but I was very glad to have my sister and mom there to help me around so I didn't have to rely in the nursing staff. Walking with the catheter in was a bit odd but liveable. I also had bought a short sleeve house coat which I was really happy to have b/c I was much more comfortable walking the halls then in a backwards gown and the IV fit nicely through the short sleeves. I got a little nauseous right at the end of my last walk and was dry heaving but they gave me medicine for that and I never had another incident after that. The night passed pretty well, they kept coming in to take vitals and empty the catheter (apparently I was a champion pee-er according to the nursing staff). Right around 3 in the morning I was very, very uncomfortable and had to call a nurse to come in and sure enough my catheter wasn't draining properly and was all backed up. The next morning, due to my stellar peeing, the catheter came out at 6 am and then it was up and out of bed to start walking. More of the same all day long. My IV started to came out on its own so they just left it out and let me take the anti-inflammatory orally b/c they couldn't get another IV started. The "meal" trays were an oh so exciting combination of jello, herbal tea and broth. I had a few bites of everything with each tray. The surgeon and the office's nurse practitioner both came by in the morning to see how things were going and check my incisions and drains. The next day everything was going well, the nurse practitioner came by and removed the drains and declared me ready to go home that day. I got to take a shower too, which was wonderful!! At about 9 am they started preparing my discharge papers and right around noon I got to go home. Overall, I had a really great hospital experience as expected, some of the nursing staff was great, some was fine, and some were real sourpusses. I don't think I could have asked for a better hospital experience.

So...here I sit just 5 days away from surgery.  I have purchased all of my supplements so that I have them on hand once I can start vitamins, I bought my chicken broth and herbal tea, I have started to pack my suitcase.  I am feeling really calm and prepared for this surgery (I excpect the calm part to start to go away as it gets closer).

I am still feeling a little anxious about the bowel prep.  I bought the bottle of magnesium citrate yesterday (hopefully it's the right stuff).  It promises on the bottle to have a "pleasing lemony flavor" but really, how true can that statement be?The office tried to bump my surgery up to tomorrow but I have court up in Clifton all day tomorrow so that is obviously not a possibility.  They did warn me they may have to shift my time on Monday and they would let me know later in the week.  Hopefully it's to the 1st position and not the 3rd.  I know SHC will be a great hospital to be in, I just hope I am up to my room and lucid enough to maybe be able to watch the Dancing with the Stars finale (silly I know, but life's simple pleasures right?)Also when my sister had her baby at SHC a month ago, she was allowed to have her laptop in the room and use the wireless internet, I don't know if it's the same thing on our floor but I hope so (as does my poor sister who will be staying with me).

I have a little anxiety over the place I am staying after surgery.  I live 3 hours out of town so I am taking 3 weeks off of work and remaining in the Phoenix area the entire time.  My aunt and uncle live in Paradise Valley and had offered up their guest house for me and my sister to stay in for those 3 weeks.  However, my aunt is currently on a trip to China and she was supposed to come home on the 18th.  Well, as you all know that earthquake happened and it turns out that the tour group she was with was the group of 12 americans missing in the Wolong Preserve, visiting the pandas.  I guess from a news article this morning they have been found and are safe but they're not sure when they will be able to get home and I haven't heard from my uncle for confirmation that she herself is fine.  So anxiety over her saftey plus a possible change in plans.  Fortunately I have two other family members I can stay with, my other sister and her husband and my father and stepmom.  Downsides, my sister has a 5 week old baby at home, my father and stepmom have 3 teeenage boys who have gross personal hygiene.  The guest house was going to be such a nice little getaway but at least I have backup plans.

Ok, I have rambled entirely too long on this topic.  Thanks for listening.

Rebecca

Well my preop appointment is done and here I am, just a little over a week away from surgery!  This appointment was especially nervewracking because my case had been assigned by the new surgeon to Dr. Blackstone's practice and I was really worried about having him as my surgeon.  Well, he is very friendly, empathetic, really believes in Blackstone's practice which is one of the reasons he joined.  He plans on doing everything exactly the same way right down to her surgical technique.  I now feel very confident he will be good to do my surgery.  He spent an hour with me and my sister answering all of our questions and declared me good to go for surgery.  So very shortly here, I will be on the loser's bench.  Hooray!

Well...I'm suprised it's taken this long but I am actually starting to feel nervous about my surgery now that it is only 2 1/2 weeks away. All of a sudden it feels like there is a HUGE list of things to do: buy vitamins, buy protein drinks, pack for the hospital, pack for my family's house (since I live 3 hours from the surgeon, so I need comfy clothes for 3 weeks), remembering to practice the deep breathing hourly, practicing with the spirometer thingy and coughing (I am totally forgetting to do this stuff). I am anxious about giving up Iboprufen in a couple of days b/c of my knee pain. I am nervous about my surgeon since he is new and I will meet him for the first time next Wednesday. I am nervous I won't have lost enough weight and they will postpone my surgery. My house is a mess, my clothes aren't organized like I had planned. And I'm nervous just a little bit about the actual surgery itself, which my sister (who is getting a doctorate in psychology) tells me she would be worried if I wasn't nervous. I know this is normal, just wanted to let it all out a little bit to my friends here on the board. I am feeling positive, excited, nervous and god knows what else but soon I'll be on the losing side and that will be great! Rebecca