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I’m almost 6 weeks out from plastic surgery. Everything is going great. I’m still wearing my compression garment but I will be going over to the underwear compression (girdle type) here soon. Sunday I wore this garment and did okay. I was more swollen then normal at the end of the day but it was fine, I can live with it.

 

I do have “dog ears” on each hip. The right one bothers me some and Dr. Camp said she can fix it but I have decided to leave well enough alone for now.

 

The new girls look great. They are the right size, I don’t look like I have implants. And the doctor was right in that I wish I had gone a little bigger but it is not so much of a concern that I would have them redone.

 

I am really happy with the results. I have dropped two dress sizes, from an size 8 to a size 4. And my weight has remained the same at 128 pounds.  

Well I went and did it! I had plastic surgery! I had an extended tummy tuck, breast lift and augmentation (went from less then an A to a full C small D). I’m thrilled with the results; I did not have to have the keyhole incision for the lift. She just removed skin from under each breast where the breast touches the chest wall. And my tummy looks fabulous! Even swollen as it is! 100% better then before. Of course I took pictures, before and after. I might post the decent ones, I have not decided yet.

 

 My doctor was the BEST! Her name is Dr. Linda Camp from Belleville, IL and she was reasonably priced! The group she is with is named “New Dimensions” and if you are interested in any plastic surgery and live in the area, give her a call. She has the best bedside manner of any surgeon I have ever dealt with. And that is saying alot since I have been operated on six times now. 

 

I will have to say it was painful the first two days. The surgery took a total of 5 and half hours. She removed 4 and half pounds of skin. This did not seem like a lot to me (considering how much I had extra) but she said there was hardly any fat, it was mostly skin. I do have a new belly button. She was concerned during surgery but was able to keep it alive. Something to do with the skin being thin (I guess from being so fat before) and not having enough fat around the core of the belly button. But it did fine and is healing nicely.

 

When I came out of surgery they were having pain management problems so I was in recovery for two hours. Thank God I don’t remember much. The one thing I do remember is telling them that it hurt and to put it all back. That it would take the pain away it they just put it all back.

 

The next morning I was moving very slowly to the bathroom and by the second day I was able to go home. I slept in a recliner for the first five nights and then moved into our bed. I’m glad we did not rent a lift chair. Chris and I really thought about it but what we ended up doing is having him or one of our girls would push the chair forward from the back so I could sit down. Then when I needed to get up they would push again from the back so I could stand up. It worked wonders!

 

Well I am very happy! My boobs are perky and full and my tummy is flatter then it’s ever been (even though it is swollen right now). And the incision looks wonderful. I have to say that my husband, daughters and twin sister have been the best in taking care of me. I also got the best card from the office where I work. It was hysterical! 

I thought I’d use my break time and update my blog. Made it to the year mark! Of course Christmas seems to be the time when I have to have surgery. I have been having gallbladder problems for the past year. Finally after my last attack on December 9^th my surgeon decided to go in look around and see what’s up.

 

 

 

The problem was the gallbladder tests were coming back negative for gallstones. But when they got into the surgery they found it was enlarged, scarred and full of gallstones. So I’m now minus my first organ, my gallbladder.

 

 

 

He also repaired two internal hernias’ he found so the surgery did two things at once.

 

 

 

Everything else has been going well. My weight has been pretty steady at 127. The loose skin is gross enough that I could stay at this weight and be fine. Loose anymore and skin will be touching the floor! Of course this is not true, but it is amazing where skin sags. I’ve been really lucky in this area; I’m seen people with this problem where it is really bad. I'm sure I'd never get approved for PS, some people have even asked if I've already had it done. But I'm not sure I'll be wearing shorts in the summer.

 

I am ten months out from surgery. I weigh in at 131 pounds which means I have lost a total of 128 pounds since the start of my journey. This last month I have barely lost any weight and I would say it is my first real plateau. The only reason it’s disappointing is because they say you will regain 20% of what you lose and I do fear that I will not lose anything else and start to gain weight back.

Everything is going good. I was having pains in my stomach so I finally went to the surgeon. He did several gallbladder tests and said it was fine so I was sent for a scope. It turns out I have a rather large ulcer. The medicine they gave me has really helped the pains I was having. I’m supposed to go back in 6 weeks to get another scope done so they can make sure it is healing.

I get some great comments from friends, family and co-workers about how I look. I don’t care what people say, but when people see someone who is really overweight , they may not show it but most will think bad things. Like how did that person get so fat? And how can they be out and about looking that way? Oh my God they are going to die from heart failure. As one person said, even fat people look for other fat people who are bigger then them just to say at least I’m not that big! Or, they ask themselves how could they let themselves get that big? I think that overweight individuals are not treated as well as thin people are or at least not looked at in such a harsh light. People may not realize that they are even doing it. I’m sure some people know what I mean. Unless you have been there it is hard for you to imagine what its like being really fat.

Of course you then have to ask this question: Is it my aptitude and/or behavior that influence how others treat me? I think that also makes a huge difference. If I feel fat, sloppy, like a big blob of a person then I might influence how others see and treat me even if what I feel is unspoken.

I saw a picture of myself taken about a year ago. How awful! It seems the more I lose the fatter I looked in the past.

After Thanksgiving I’m going on a business trip out to California. This time I am looking forward to it. I won’t have to worry about having to get a seat belt extension, the tray not being able to come all the way down because I’m in the way, falling asleep and snoring (really loud) or (and best of all) crowding the unlucky person who sits next to me.

Some bad things about losing weight:
• Loose skin
• No boobs (I mean none!)
• Sometimes my butt hurts if I’m seating on a metal chair or bench
• It did not cure my knees and hip from hurting. After all these years of being told that I just needed to lose weight, it turns out my knee caps are not centered (just the way I’m made). So I’m wearing a knee brace and doing physical therapy.
• Sometimes I just get so exhausted. I think it is because of the malnutrition.
• I can’t threaten anyone with I’m going to sit on them
• I could get carjacked. Before it would take four men just to move me if I sat on the keys (thanks to Bell for that one)
• I get cold really easily
• My sleep apnea is much better but I still have the whole stop breathing while sleeping thing. But my hubby does say I no longer snore which is great for him
• I’m not a fan of shopping, so I drag myself to buy cloths then worry how long will I fit in them before they are too big. I did get rid of all the fat cloths I had, and started to keep all the cloths from a size 12 down. I may be in a size 8 now but you never know when the weight will creep back on.

Some Good Things about Weight Loss
• I can wear some of my older daughters cloths
• I weigh less then my older daughter (sorry Jess)
• I feel comfortable in my cloths. I rarely ask my family if “I look okay in this outfit” or “Do I look really fat in these cloths”. Like nobody would notice how big I looked in that particular outfit.
• I weigh less then my husband, which says a lot since he has not gained any weight in the 19 years we have been married. He is 6’ and 160 pounds! At my heaviest he could not pick me up. Now it is a breeze.
• My hair has come back curly, which is weird
• I can eat a little bit of chocolate. Like three heresy kisses. Considering I would eat the whole bag at once and wonder who snuck in and stole the candy because I could not have eaten the whole bag…. …..enough said!
• I can sleep on my stomach at night
• I don’t feel like I’m a failure anymore and that is the best feeling of all!

It’s hard to believe that I have reached goal! As of this morning I was 140.8 pounds. My doctor’s goal was 141 pounds. I got one of the biggest compliments from a person at my husband’s parent’s church this past Sunday. A person went up to my father-in-law and asked how I was doing after two major surgeries in less then a year. He was confused and asked her what was she talking about? Sandra only had one surgery and that was the Gastric Bypass this past December. She thought I’d had a tummy tuck done because I looked that flat in the stomach! Ron told her that I did not have another surgery but I did work out 5 times a week and that was why I looked that good. Of course he is stretching the truth. I try to get to the gym three times a week. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t.

 

Well that is my first real feel good story.

I had my 6 month check up on July 10th. At that time I had lost 102 pounds. The doctor was concerned because he said I was losing to fast with my ideal being 141. He was said that he did not want my BMI to get below 20. That is fine with me. I did tell him about the pain I get when I eat. They checked the gallbladder and said it looked fine and I might have to have a scope done to check out the stomach and make sure everything is fine there. If it is I want my gallbladder out. What I have heard from others who had their gallbladders out sounds like the pain I get.

This morning I weighed in at 149.8 which bring me to a normal BMI. It is so hard to believe! Of course I’m not going to complain! We went on vacation last week and I was not worried about me and how I looked in a swim suit and I was able to ride in the fishing boat and not feel like I was slowing it down because of my weight. In fact one day my 16 year old, 12 year old and I also sat on the same bench in the boat and we all fit just fine!

I was also able to shop in the town at the little boutique shops and they had my size! I also did not have to worry about getting the inside leg rash because my legs no longer rub together. What a treat. Things are going really well.

The big moment of admitting my weight. I'm now down to 160. I was at 162 for two weeks and started to get a little worried by then two more pounds disappeared so I now feel better.

I actually bought three summer dress size 12! I have not seen this size since 1994 over 13 years ago. What a great feeling. Of course I doubt it the whole time, from looking at the clothes, going to the dressing room and actually putting the item on. The whole time my inner voice is telling me how there is no way that it will fit, It looks way to small and who are you kidding?
It's hard to get over that voice.

And then it fits! I'm surprised each and everytime!

Down to 173 pounds. Actually 173.4 but we will round down. I had a great weekend. We did some spring cleaning, went to the park with the kids, played some tennis (my husband I both suck) and I rode my bike a couple of miles and worked in the vegetable garden. I also went to the YMCA and worked out. 

I also went to Victoria Secret and got fitted for new bras. I went from 42D to 38C. Can't complain about that. I also had a neighbor/friend who gave me some shorts and pants that she did not need anymore. They are just the right size at 14 so I'm good for a couple of months.

Sandra

 

 

 

 

 

 

A good friend of mine had surgery yesterday and she is now on the other side! I'm so happy for her.

I'm down to 177 pounds. So that is 80 pounds gone. That is 320 sticks of butter. Yuck! When you think of all that fat and now it’s gone. It still can be hard to believe that I have lost that much! And I still get worried/scared that the weight will jump right back on when I'm not looking. It's a kind of fear that I will wake up tomorrow and it will all be back. Sounds stupid and I don't think many people (who have not had weight loss surgery) can really understand.

This past weekend I went with my middle daughter to a Girl Scout camp out. They had an ice cream social one night a smores the next. And it did not even bother me that I could not have any. I did not crave it or really desire to eat any of it. It amazes me because before I would have eaten seconds of it all and now I don't even want it. I guess that's why they call it the honeymoon phase. I guess I'd better enjoy it while it lasts.

Sandra

I'm down to 179 (78 pounds lost) and everything is going well. I saw my doctor last week and he said I was doing great. At my next appointment I'm going to get my blood work done so I will see how that is all going.

Okay, this is going to sound really gross, but I have noticed that if I have regular bowl movements I lose more weight within the 24 hours then I normally do if I don't have a bowl movement that day. So, of course, I drink plenty of water and try to get some form of fiber in every day.

I still have gotten sick. Sometimes I know why and other times I have no idea why. It also seems to come in sprits. I'll go along feeling fine for several weeks and then all of a sudden I'll get sick at every little thing for a couple of weeks. And I still can't eat any type of fish, which I love. I can eat shrimp which is a great trade off but I really do miss tuna and salmon.

Everybody I know is curious/ supportive to how I'm feeling or doing. I've had a few friends who will ask me how much do I weigh and then when I tell them say "Soon you'll be thinner then me!” I don't think anyone means to sound nasty about it but that is how I've perceived it at times. I was telling a friend about this happening and she said it's probably because they could look around the room and always feel better about the friends who were bigger then them. (Come on we all have done it...find someone who is bigger then you so you can feel better about yourself). So now they can't count me as the bigger friend.

Now when I see a bigger person I want to talk to them about WLS. But then I remind myself that not everyone is interested or they might even think it's a little insulting. But if someone does comment about my weight, I do tell them about the weight loss surgery and I will answer all their questions. 

And I have two good friends who have asked allot of questions. Both have decided to have the surgery after they saw how "well" I was doing. One has a surgery date of 4/24/07 and my other friend is waiting for her final insurance approval. 

Of course I told them both that it's not easy, but if you’re realistic about how it will be, follow the rules, realize you will be going through a huge change, well then hopefully, everything will be fine. I pray for them everyday now and I've told them that I will be here to support them anytime, whether it is to cry, laugh, worry or complain. Plus we could start our own support group!

Over all things are coming along great. Many people tell me that I seem much happier, that I smile so much now then I did before and I agree with them. I'm glad not to worry about how I'm looking. Although most of it was in my head, I thought about my weight (how it was out of control), how I looked (fat to myself so others must think the same thing) and what I was eating (I knew I should not eat that high calorie, high fat, high carb item but I could not help myself and so I felt guilty most of the time). Now I still worry about the food I eat, but then I remind myself that I eat good things (low in calories, fat and carbs) and much smaller portions. 

I also have started working out at the YMCA in February. I go at least three times a week, this is realistic but I try to get their a couple times in addition to this in a seven day period. I do a round of weight/strength training and a 40 min aerobic weight loss walk. I figure I have to make most of the opportunely that I have now, so I can lose the weight and keep it off. It's a sacrifice in time (the excuse we all use... it takes up so much time) but I want to be and get healthy besides that was the main reason for getting the surgery in the first place. To get healthy!

 

Sandra