ckpointchickie

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Hi All, It's been awhile.  I was doing great until about 6 months ago.  My husband has been in and of hospitals and subacute facilities since last fall.  Unfortunately, this means lots of time in the car and easting out of bags and boxes for me. A great deal of the time, my dinner has been a bag of popcorn when I get home around 11pm.  I am really struggling. I have gained 38 lbs since September.  I am also holding down my full time job and taking care of everything at home.  Even my dogs are getting fat because we have no time to exercise.  I know what I need to do, but I also know part of this is just depression and not taking time for myself.   I am asking for prayers, good wishes, positive energy, whatever your beliefs are, for me any my husband.  Interestingly enough, he has lost 130 lb since January, but I wouldn't recommend the method.  

Anyway, I wish you all success on your journeys.  We all know this is lifelong.  I just need to get back up in the driver's seat and get mine on the right trail. 

April 7th and I am down about  61 lbs. Have 40 to go until I hit goal!  Going to visit new sisters in law and their families in early May and am challenging myself to lose 10 more by then.  I need to get on that treadmill and use those hand weights!  I could easily say I have a month, but I am telling myself it is days away. I would also like to reach that 10 lb goal before my 6 month checkup.  I would like Dr Kerlakian and staff see their good work! I feel so much better. What a difference this has made in my life.  

This past week has been the most awesome so far.  I hit the halfway mark.  I was looking to lose 100 lbs and I am now 52.8 down.  When I hit the 50 lb lost mark on Tuesday, I didn't think it would get any better for one week.  Then, this morning, I find myself under 200 lbs for the first time in 12 years.  Feeling sooooo good!  I am so glad I had the surgery!

After a week of home health care, iv feeds and blood draws through a PICC line, I finally reached hydration and good nutritional levels. Although I only had a one lb weight loss, I feel so much better!  I went off iv nutrition on Dec 31st and the PICC line came out on Jan 4th.  I went back to work on the 7th. The really beautiful thing is that the constant foamies subsided FINALLY. I have been exhausted by my nutritional journey, but honestly, the foamies were the worst. I have experienced them once last week and once this week but that was because I still have to teach myself to slooooowwwww down.  I have lost 32.2 lbs since my surgery on 11/20. Although the high calorie iv nutrition slowed my progress, I feel like I am still on track and successful.  Now, if I can just get my fiancee to stop asking what I want to drink with my meals. But I am not complaining.  He has been completely wonderful through the whole process.  It is just so tempting! 

It has not at all been what I anticipated.  Was it preventable?  Is it something I did wrong?   I had my surgery on the 20th of November.  Post surgery was typical, groggy, slight abdominal pain at the incision sites. For this day and the next several days, they brought me trays of various sugar free juices, sugar free jello, either chicken or beef broth and decaf tea.  Day one, the jello was barely tolerable and the juice gagged me.  Day two, I took a chance on chicken broth and jello, and begged for ice chips.  From there on out,it was pretty much ice chips.  I came home and the next thing I know, I am throwing everything up.  Tried jello, sick...tried broth, sick...tried pudding, sick...

At this point, the nutritionist said back to clear liquids...what clear liquids?  I was pretty much living on ice chips.  I couldn't stand protein shakes, I tried taking ginger and drinking ginger tea.  Thought it was the miracle cure until I got sick on it.  Don't think I will come close to ginger for a very long time after that.  By the 7th of December, I called my doctor's office and told them the difficulty I was having keeping nutrition in.  They said to give it until the following Tuesday.  No improvement, so I went in on the 12th for an upper GI.  It was discovered that I had a stricture at the bottom of my pouch and therefore, nothing was passing through.  On Friday, the 14th a doctor of endoscopy dilated the area.  They told me to call if I got sick, to call right away.  Well, I got sick.  I called.  Somehow in this period the endoscopist's office believes they told me to go to the ER  and I said I would.   But I thought we left it that the endoscopist was calling me back.  I heard back from them on Monday am (17th) and was directed to the ER where I was found to be malnourished and dehydrated.  I was put on IV nutrtion, sterioids, insulin, vitamins  and anti nausea meds.  I was released on Friday the 21ar and set up with home health care. which I am still on.  I did not get to spend Christmas with my family this year.  Thank goodness for my wonderful fiancee who has been by my side through it all. 

I have lost 30 lbs, although this was not the way to do it.  I blame no one, it is what it is.  And while a blizzard kept my nutrition bags from being delivered today and my home health nurse was not able to get here to do my blood draw, I have enough to get me through foodwise until they deliver tomorrow AND I have been able to hold down small amounts of solid food today.  The only thing I can say is maybe I am starting to turn the corner and I will be able to look back on this more positively later.  Were there times I wish I hadn't had the surgery?  You betcha!  But attitude is everything and I am going to fight to turn this into a success!  Stay tuned...

So...on 11/20/12, I go into Good Samaritan Hospital weighing the most I have weighed in my life.  I was confident in my choice to have Vertical Gastric Sleeve Surgery, but had no idea that a week later I would be down 17 lbs. It has not been easy this week.  I will go into more detail later, but today, I am so glad I made this choice.