Cherie S.
10/19/11 - Wow! I can't believe it has been 9 years since my RNY surgery. :) Alot has changed in my life since then. Married to the love of my life Shannon for 6 years. We have a 2 year old son Aengus.
I had been maintaining my weight +/- 10lbs for the last 8 years until after the birth of our son when my OB put in a progesterone IUD.
I gained 53lbs in 6 months without changing any of my eating/exercise habits. :(
Since having that removed 3 months ago and a non hormonal IUD put in, I have lost 8 lbs without actually trying. Im looking forward to getting back on track. :)
The best advice I can give anyone is to take your vitamins/supplements religiously! I ended up needing iron transfusions when I was pregnant because my levels were SOOO low as I had quit taking any vitamins at all for a few years. My dr couldn't believe I even had enough energy to get out of bed in the morning.
I have gotten back into the habit of taking my multi vitamin and an extra iron pill every day.
I will be 38 years old in a couple of weeks and I do have to say I feel younger now than I did at 28.
Take Care and I wish you well on your journey!
Previous profile information:
Age:30
Height: 5'10"
Starting Weight:358
Current Weight:219 (6/22/04)
Starting BMI: 51.2
Current BMI: 31.4
I have lost 139 lbs since my surgery date of 10/18/02
4/9/02-I have never been "thin" but my weight has been adding on aggressively since Aug of 1998 after I was sideswiped on my Harley. I was not able to walk on my own for 8 months. I have tried a bunch of different diets and it has gotten me nowhere. I am in pretty decent health for being MO but I am fearful of what is to come since obesity runs in my family. My mom has diabetes and is dealing with chronic neck pain and sleep apnea. My grandma, grandpa, uncle and aunt have all had cancer. My dad has had a valve replaced in his heart at the age of 48. I would love to get my life going in a healthier direction.
I have been looking into Gastric Bypass for about a month now after a friend of mine from work had it done. She is now 5 weeks post op and is looking great and you can just see the glow around her.
4/18/02- I have been corrosponding with a few local people from this site, I really appreciate the answers to my questions and the encouragement. I am really looking forward to going to the support group meeting on Monday 4/22.
4/23/02- I attended the meeting last night and they had an open forum type this time. I was surprised to see over 40 people there. Alot of questions and answers from preop and postop, I am glad I went even though I just sat there and soaked it all in.
I had been really apprehensive to tell my parents about my desire to have wls done and I had made up my mind that I wasn't going to say anything until I had a date set. Well,my mom had come down to visit over the weekend and had seen the reminder on my bulletin board about the support group meeting. That broke the ice and she asked a lot of questions and is supportive of my decision. That makes me VERY happy =)
4/25/02- I called Pam at Dr. Obriens office today to set up a consultation meeting for May 6, 2002. I also found out that he IS in my Insurance Network. YEAH! =)
5/06/02- I met with Dr. Obrien for my first consultation this morning and had a nice meeting with him. He was very thorough with his diagrams and answering my questions. He suggested I try to lose some weight before surgery because he prefers his patients to be under 350 lbs to do the lap. I weigh 357 so it shouldn't be too hard to lose atleast 7 lbs. He said he would submit the letter to Cigna and we should hear back from them within 2 weeks. I am trying not to get too excited just incase I get the big de-nied! letter.
5/15/02- I have been waiting ever so NOT patiently to hear the status on the letter to the Insurance Co. I emailed Pam (Dr. O's nurse) she said it was at the transcriptionist and would most likely go out today. This waiting game really bites. I have been really moody lately, I think it has a lot to do with the stress of waiting. It is my sisters 25th Birthday today and I really miss her. She lives in Tx and I live in SD. I feel really sad that we have grown farther apart than the mileage between us is.
5/16/02- It just so happened that I had brought my cellphone with me when I went on lunch break today. Dr. Obriens office called and asked who my family dr is and if I have had a physical recently. I told her not since Dec 2000. I had inquired about that before I had even set up the consultation with Dr O. They had said it wasn't needed at this point in time. I should have made an appt at that point anyway because now when I called today to make an appt with the referred Dr, I am not able to get in until June 4. I keep telling myself that it is still progress...the ball is still rolling in the right direction, even though it seems that I am pushing the darn thing up a mountain right now. Hmm..so does that mean that they haven't sent the letter to the Ins co yet?? *sigh*
5/20/02- I recieved a copy of the letter that Dr. O'brien sent to my insurance company. One step in the right direction. =)
5/28/02- Good morning everyone =) I hope everyone had a safe and fun holiday weekend. I know I had a great time at my parents cabin. My mom,grandma and 3 of my aunts were sitting out on the lawn down by the lake talking and the 1 aunt that knows about my surgery endevor asked me if I have heard from my insurance company yet. I said "nope, not yet". Then of course that spiked everyone elses curiosity about our conversation. I felt my teeth clench and muscles tense as I began telling them about my plans for WLS. I was so afraid they would have negative comments about it. It went really well actually, they asked me some questions and 2 had commented on how they knew someone that has had it done. The only really concern one of them had is that she felt that I wouldn't get enough nutrition. It made my day when my mom said she supported my decison so I didn't have to end up with the comorbidies that her and the rest of the family suffer from. I had just happened to have my pamphlets in my car from my Dr. so I went and got them so they could look them over. I also told them to check out this site and my profile. All in all I had a great weekend. =)
6/4/02- Called Cigna to check on status of letter. Diane said there was no record of recieving a letter on my behalf (that was sent on 5/20). ggrrrr. I asked what addy was correct. She gave me Scraton, PA and offered to give me a fax number attn: medical review. (I was given an addy in Chattanooga TN and that rep said there wasn't a fax number the first time I called Cigna.) Hmmm..Do you suppose they just set up a fax number? I DON'T THINK SO. Yep, I feel like I am getting the runaround. =(
6/5/02- I emailed Pam (Dr. O's Nurse) and asked if they would fax my info to Cigna.
6/7/02- Called Cigna again to see if they had recieved the fax from my surgeons office. She said that it could take up to 72 hours for the information to be entered into the computer system.
6/18/02- I called Cigna this morning and asked if they have record of recieving my information. She put me on hold a couple of minutes and came back and said that yes, it had been reviewed by the medical board and they are requesting more detailed information of medical neccessity. That is a + that they got the info...but now what? My surgeon had pretty much just summerized my weight and diets and family medical history in his letter.
I also went and had blood work drawn this morning when I had went in to have a mole removed that my pcp didn't like the looks of when I had my physical a couple of weeks ago. She said she would be happy to write a letter for me also. =) She said my blood tests should be back by next Thursday, so maybe there will be something in there that will be useful for a co-morbidy.
6/26/02- I just got back from my 4 day trip to Ft Worth Tx to see my sister and nephews. =) I had a really good time except the flights.
It really hurt when the people that were suppose to sit in the seat next to me looked at me and made up excuses why they were moving seats on the plane. I had to keep telling myself that it is a benefit since I ended up having the seat to myself the whole flight down there and half of the way back.
6/28/02-
I am totally walking on air right now. I opened a letter from Cigna last night after work.
It was an Explanation of Benefits,( might as well have been written in Greek) On the front the first thing it says is Rights of Review and Appeal - for employee. Then on the back it has the date and a 1 under Charges submitted and a 1 under Not Covered/Discount. Then at the very end under See Note it has an A. Scrolling to the bottom it says A) THIS PRE-DETERMINATION HAS BEEN APPROVED.
It was SO confusing because I had bloodwork and a mole removed on 6/18. This was dated on 6/17, but processed on the 18th.
So I freaked out and went into the AMOS chatroom to see if anyone would be able to decipher it for me since the Ins office wasn't open at midnight. lol
I want to thank Karen from the bottom of my heart. She was so kind enough to let me send her a scan of the letter. She wasn't really sure what it meant either! So I call Cigna this morning, she took my information and asked if she could put me on hold. My heart was racing so fast, my hands shaking, then I end up hitting the disconnect button on my phone with my fat face!! GRRRRR. so I had to fumble around and call them back and be put on hold again. This time I had sat as still as I could...lol..telling myself it was probably something to do with my actual dr visit. She came back and said that it looks like whatever I had sent my predetermination letter in for is what I was approved for. Wanting total clarification, I said "So, you mean that my request for Gastric Bypass has been approved??" She said "Have you applied for any other?" NO! then that is the one that has been approved! WOOHOO!! I called and left a voice mail for Dr Obriens nurse Pam after I sat here and cried out of happiness.
WOOHOO! WOOHOO! I still can't believe it! Thank you GOD!
Thanks to all who read through my entire post. I read the board everyday and truly appreciate everyone of you and your opinions and insight. Have a GREAT DAY!
7/8/02- I emailed Pam and asked if they have recieved the approval letter yet. She emailed me back and said that Cigna had sent their office a letter dated 6-16-02 that they wanted a letter of necessity from my general doctor. Now what? More running around! I am going to deal with this after my fiance and I have gotten our new home moved in on 7/15. Ahh! I feel like I have been burning the candle on both ends lately!
7/17/02- I woke up this morning thinking about surgery, so I decided to give Corrie (insurance dept at Dr Obriens office) a call to see if it is normal that I would get a letter of approval and they get a letter asking for more info. The letter they recvd was dated 6-16 and mine was dated 6-18. She called back about 45 minutes later and said YES INDEED! YOU ARE APPROVED!! woohoo!
She said Cigna is going to fax them a copy of the approval and then they would call me back to schedule a date. About 25 minutes later another staff member at dr o's office called and we set the date:
8/6/02- Wow! I can't believe how time is just flying by since my last update. Bob and I have been busy moving. Slowly but surely we are getting everything put away. Moving two households into one is a big challenge. It definately has been making the days go by faster until surgery.Only 72 days and a wakeup to go. =)
9/25/02- Another month since I have updated. YIKES! I have been busy getting all my ducks in a row. Only 22 days and a wake up. I have been going through MANY emotions lately. It is really hard to explain, I guess I am just scared of the unknown and the what-ifs but then I remember the reasons why I proceding with this journey when I look at myself in the mirror or when I am out of breath climbing the steps at work. It is going to be worth it. =)
10/03/02- Pam called me this morning asking if I would like to move my surgery date up to MONDAY! Oh how I wanted to say yes!! but I just couldn't leave my team at work stranded like that and my mom has also been approved for vacation for a few days around the 18th.
10/13/02- WOWZA! only 4 days and a wakeup until surgery. I am pretty much ready, I think. lol I have been going through every emotion that you can think of the last couple of months. It is pretty sad that I shed tears watching the Minnesota Twins not making it to the World Series.
My dads 50th Birthday party was last night. We had a really good time. I felt kind of awkward with all my relatives wishing me good luck and all my gpa could say to me is that he is worried about me. Being emotional already and discussing this after having a few beers just wasn't a good combination but I made it through and hopefully calmed the nerves of some that weren't really sure what is going on.
10/16/02- Today is the day I went and took my tests and my 2nd and final visit with Dr O before surgery. We left at 8am with snow flurries and accumilation of 3" on the ground. UGH. Winter already?? The snow tapered off as we got to the hospital.
First thing they did was draw blood for anesthisia lab work.
Then did an EKG, which consisted of putting about 8 "patches" on my chest, arms and ankles and hooking them up to a machine for about a minute and a half.
Then I went downstairs for a chest xray. One from the side and one from the back and then back up to my "room" in 15 minutes. I was really impressed how everything moved so smoothly.
Next test was a Pulmonary screen, which is just breathing into this machine a couple of deep breaths. Then the dietary consult. Sherry went through the booklet with Bob and I explaining everything thoroughly. Last thing she said was "remember, liquid diet tomorrow!"
Bob and I went to chilis for dinner. Yum. Did some running around. Picked up a plastic spacer for my eyebrow peircing at The Tattoo Shop.
We met with Dr. O that afternoon. I weighed 358.8 with my full stomach and shoes on. He wasn't very happy with me not being able to lose weight before surgery as he asked me to do with my visit with him back in May.
He checked over my stomach and said he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to do it lap since he normally doesn't on patients over 350 lbs. I gave him the consent to go ahead and do it open if needed. He said he would put the scope in and check it out like he does with all of his patients. At this point I was praying that he will be able to do it lap. I am presuming since my weight was so close to borderline,Dr O's nurse Pam said I need to be on a CLEAR liquid diet Thurs. OH NO! I am SO glad I had taken Thurs off from work also. I would have been a bearcat only being on clear liquids.
10/18/02- Well, today is the BIG DAY! My mom came down last night and will stay with us to help out after surgery. I slept pretty well until about 2am. We decided to get up at 4:15am to be able to get to the hospital in plenty of time for 5:30am check in, 7:30am surgery. Everything went really smooth. Got in my little room, got the gown on and Mom and Bob were allowed to come in there with me while I met with the anesthesiologist. Had an IV put in. Dr O stopped in to see if I had anymore questions. Nope, I just asked him if he got a good night sleep. He smiled and said yep, I was in bed at 9pm.
It was really wierd because I didn't feel as nervous as I thought I was going to be. I felt rather peaceful as a matter of fact. It was time to go to the preop area. Mom and Bob were able to follow. Then I did break down and have a few tears. Off to the OR.
Waking up in recovery was the most pain I had through the whole procedure. It lasted about 5 minutes until I got a shot of morphine. The first thing I tried to say was Lap or Open??
It took me about 4 tries to get it out because my throat was so dry and hurt. she said she wasn't sure and she would ask....she came back in a few seconds and said LAP. I was SO happy, in pain but SO HAPPY!! I was pretty concious in no time (atleast it seemed that way) Mom and Bob were able to come back to post op because I had been in there for 2 hours, sugery was 90 minutes.
A few minutes after that they had a room ready for me. I was feeling alright now. They wheeled me upstairs and finally got to my room. At first they put the gurny next to the bed and wanted me to scoot from the gurny to the bed. I suggested that I would rather put my feet on the ground and pivot to sit on the bed. Alright, much easier!! I dangled my feet. The nurse and NA's were really shocked once I stood up I told them I felt like I had to go to the bathroom. So I walked to the bathroom, urinated, and walked to the bed. =) I was pretty proud of myself.
They had me up and walking again later that evening. They give you a scale of 1-10 for pain. 10 being the worst pain you could imagine. I picked 3 for a comfortable level. I don't think I was ever above a 5 after the first few minutes I woke up. I actually am doing better than I had anticipated. =)
10/19/02- I was SO looking forward to be able to eat more than ice chips. They brought chicken broth and orange jello! AAhHHGGG! I couldn't eat it.
HINT TO PREOPS: Don't eat, I should say, drink any of your favorite things on your clear liquid diet before. I had made a big bowl of Orange Jello, and drank chicken broth for my preop clear liquid diet!
The apple juice was good after diluting it with a little water. Sipped on 30cc of juice every hour today.
10/20/02- I was able to come home from the hospital today after they made sure that I could hold down full liquids. The 30 cc of cream of wheat was WONDERFULL! for breakfast. Had 30cc of creamed tomato soup. It was HEAVENLY! 30cc of milk too. The ride wasn't too bad. 30cc of creamed of potato soup and 30 cc of skim milk for supper and I was FULL. I had a hard time trying to get the Tylenol Elixar with Codein down. I felt like I had to throw up. I called Dr O's and Pam told me to have someone get me some liquid ibuprofin. Tried that after putting it in the freezer to get it cold. YUCK!
10/22/02- No pain meds today. A little sore, but tolerable. Making sure to get a few walks in today, getting my liquids in. I have graduated up to 90cc of liquid per hour. It was funny when the neighbor came over. I have my 90cc in a short bar glass with ice in it. It looks like I am drinking Brandy on the rocks! lol
My drill sargent (mom) =) went home today. It may be a challenge to make sure to eat when I am supposed to because I don't think I have really felt like I am hungry yet. I will try my best mom. Thank you so much for coming down to take care of me. Love you.
10/24/02- Today I went to get my staples out. Pam, Dr O's nurse took them out. A couple of them stung a bit, but nothing major. Now I will keep the tape on my incisions for the next five days.
I was kind of excited to get on the scale today...343.8 lbs. Holy Cow! WOOHOO! -15lbs in 6 days.
She said that 10 lbs is the norm. Me?? Ahead of the norm?? I can't believe it! lol I am sure it will change now that I graduated from a full liquid diet to pureed for the next 8 weeks.
Bob had put some chicken breasts covered with cream of mushroom soup in the oven before we left for the Dr appt. We went to the grocery store to pick up some different types of crackers and some other neccessities for my new stage of my diet. We got home to have him finish supper by making a baked potato. The chicken breast was nice and tender so I was able to mash that up with my fork. Had 30cc of chicken, 30cc of baked potato w/o skin with a little of the cream of mushroom for gravy over both. Truely heaven to be able to chew something since I haven't done so for 8 days. =) I definately had to pace myself to go atleast 20 minutes for my meal so my timer will continue to sit right by my plate. I really hope my journey continues with such great results.Thank you AMOS family for all your great support!!
11/02/02- 2 WEEKS POST OP - Today is my 29th Birthday. For the last few years I have been dreading turning 30, but now I am looking forward trying to picture how good I will feel and look when I do turn 30 next year. =) Everything has been going really well after surgery. I have only dumped once and I really can't pinpoint what the actual cause was because there were many factors. Bob and I had went to Subway for lunch. I had gotten a bowl of Cream of Potato soup which had other vegetables cut up in it. I had a couple of bites of chicken, a pickle slice and a slice of tomato from Bob's sandwich. Everything tasted really wonderful. I brought the rest of my soup home. By the time we left town and got home, it had been about an hour after what time I normally eat supper, I was feeling kind of shakey and light headed, so instead of waiting for what he was making for supper, I had warmed up the rest of my soup. I felt really yucky for about a half hour after I ate and I ended up getting sick.
The factors that played a roll were:
-I was REALLY hungry.
-I didn't measure the soup.(which was probably more than 90cc)
-I didn't take the 20-30 minutes to eat.
-It had bacon bits in it.(That is all that actually came back up)
Truthfully, getting sick wasn't as bad as I was expecting it was going to be but YES, I have learned from my mistakes and don't plan on doing that again anytime soon!!
11/18/02- 1 MONTH POST OP - Everything is going really well, I am really beginning to see and feel my body change. I have lost 37 lbs and a total of 13.5" so far. Whoohoo! not bad for 30 days. =) At this point, I think the only thing I really miss is being able to have a big glass of milk with my meals. Milk just doesn't taste quite right anymore. So I drink my glass of milk in the morning with no sugar added chocolate Quik and a glass at night. That tastes pretty good. I have my first post-op meeting with Dr Obrien on Thursday. I have been getting my list of questions ready for him. I want to thank my family and friends for being so supportive through all of this. Take care for now.
11/21/02- I had my first Post-Op visit with Dr. Obrien today. My appt was scheduled at 3:30pm and I didn't get in to see him until close to 5pm. I know you are thinking that would be terrible, but actually I was having a good time out in the waiting room chatting with fellow gastric-bypass patients. One had surgery a week before I did, one lady was having her surgery tomorrow, and the other was there all the way from North Carolina for her 8 month checkup. It was really great chatting with them all. When I weighed on the clinics scale I was 330 lbs.
I had on a pair of jeans, sweatshirt and my tennis shoes. I was kind of disappointed because I weighed 322 this morning on my scale with no clothes on and before I ate. So I weighed myself when I got home from work and my scale said 329 with all the clothes on, so my scale is pretty close to the clinics scale, I am just going to have to make it a point to wear "light" clothes and make my next appt in the morning! lol Dr O said that even at 27lbs lost in 34 days is above average and is great. Even though he was running WAY behind he didn't seem to be in a hurry. He answered the following questions I had:
Q. What medicines can I take for headaches, menstral cramps, etc?
A. He said I could take what I had normally taken (Ibprofin), he just didn't want me to take them in excessive amounts for extended period of time.
Q. What he felt my goal weight should/will be?
A. He said that he doesn't like to put the pressure of goal weights, he feels if the patient loses 1/3 of the their original weight he considers it successful.
Q. When can I start doing more exercise (curves, water arobics) than walking?
A. Any time you feel like it, everything should be good to go.
Q. Can you drink water/liquids too fast? (I asked this question because I have a glass,which is about a cup and a half, of chocolate milk in the morning before breakfast and another when I get home from work in the PM. I read a post from the dietician that said we should not drink more than 6oz of water in an hour and I usually drink that cup and a half in about 20-25 minutes.)
A. He said as long as you don't gulp it won't stretch my pouch because liquids will drain right through my pouch.
12/18/02- Two months post-op today, down 53 lbs. It is definately great! =) I am really starting to notice a difference. My clothes are getting loose. I don't even need to stretch my t-shirts out before I put them on anymore and I have actually been pulling clothes out of my closet that I have never worn or worn many moons ago. =)
12/27/02- Well, I made it through Christmas without indulging too much. I did have a part of one of my fiances moms frosted sugar cookies. It tasted SO good. There have been treats fluttering around at work and it makes me think I need some of it. I think that was the hardest part of the season. It doesnt' seem like I have been drinking as much water as I should. I have been really cold lately and I think that is why I don't drink as much water. I had eatten a bit of mongolian stir fry vegetables and part of an egg roll for lunch today. It tasted really good. For some reason I haven't even tried to eat rice since surgery, there is something that scares me about eating it. Not sure why, but it does.
I wish everyone a safe and peaceful holiday season.
1/6/03- I had my 3 month post op meeting with the dietician. There scale is about 5lbs different than mine but it has been consistant. I have "officially" lost 56lbs. Weighing 306 on her scale. She said that it is average to lose 10% by now which I surpassed. WOOHOO! She said I am doing really great with my diet and exercise. She said I should start taking B-12 sublinguals. If 500mcg take 1 daily, 1000mcg take 1 every other day or have b-12 injections 1 time a month. She said I may also want to supplement my calcium & Vitamin D with a Viactiv chew every day. I do get 3 cups of milk in a day so she said it is optional to take the Viactiv. I can also start taking "grownup" vitamins. She recommended Theregran M complete. She said any would be fine as long as they are COMPLETE vitamins.
I went to Super Walmart, picked up the store brand of Viactiv. It tastes really good, it reminds me alot of how tootsie rolls taste, which I am happy about. =) They were out of the b-12 sublinguals, so I picked up a liquid B complex. I put the recommned amount under my tongue and that 30 seconds was an eternity. YUCK! I ordered a bottle of Twin Lab B-12 Dots that says it has a great cherry flavor, yeah right! UGH! I have made an appt with my general Dr. to get the shot. I am hoping she will give me a perscription so I can just give them to myself or have my friend who is a nurse give it to me once a month. MUCH EASIER!
1/23/03- I went to see Dr Snow (PCP) yesterday about getting B-12 shots since I can't handle the taste of the b-12 sublinguals. She said she won't have a problem setting me up with the vials and needles so I won't have to make monthy visits to get the shot, but she wanted to do a lab first to see where I am at. I got the test results back today and my B-12 level is at 506 which is just fine considering the borderline deficiency is at 170-175 and deficient is <170. I will go back in 4 months to have my level checked again. She was very interested in my progress since my wls and commended me on a job well done. Another milestone is that I was actually able to weigh on her scale this visit. =)It said 300 lbs fully dressed, but still weighed me this time. My scale at home hasnt budged from 295 for about 2 weeks now. Patience...
1/30/03- Yeah! my scale has finally moved again. I am now at 293lbs. In the morning I am going to call about joining the local Curves that will be opening Feb 3. I think it will be really beneficial, hopefully get some muscle back. My mom and my friend Gail both really enjoy going to Curves. I have been feeling really good but I have been experiencing hair loss for about a month now. I have been thinking about getting it cut, but naaahhh. =) Sorry mom. heheehee
2/03/03- Today I went and signed up with Curves for Women. I am pretty excited to get a little muscle toning going on along with this weightloss. First day tomorrow at 9:30am. I will let ya know how that goes. =)
2/04/03- This morning was my first workout at Curves. It was really awesome. I feel really good about it and will continue with atleast 3 days a week.
2/27/03- Wow, I can't believe it has been 4 months already since surgery. I stepped on the scale yesterday morning. 280lb. Very cool, It is definately weird weighing LESS than what is on my drivers license. lol I have been feeling really great, making it to Curves 3 times a week. I will weigh in there the first time on March 3rd.
I did get some new "comparison pictures" put up. It is really weird when I end up taking a double look at my reflection sometimes. It definately feels good to see the changes that are happening. I don't have any negatives to say about having WLS.
I have noticed that it is harder opening heavy doors now days..GO FIGURE!
We are heading out to Arizona to see my sister and my 2 adorable nephews. I am SO excited to see them. I am also going to visit an old highschool friend that I havent seen for over a year. It is going to be interesting seeing his expression when he sees me because I have not told him about my surgery. It is going to be a great time. I will update more later. =)
3/7/03- Well, today I am down 81 lbs! Weighing in at 276lbs, which puts me into the Severly Obese Category instead of the Morbid obese, Definitely a plus since I started out as Super Obese WOOHOO! This morning when I weighed, I was in disbelief, so I stepped off the scale and back on a couple of times. Bob was snickering as I was standing on the scale and doing the math outloud.
It would be wonderful if the next 80lbs would come off as nice, which would put me at 195. I would ultimately like to be at 165 "at goal" but anything under 200 will be great!! I had my first weigh and measure at Curves yesterday. She measured me a little different than the first lady did a month ago so my inches came out to be -20.25" , -8.5 lbs, -1% total body fat. I would say that Curves is helping to increase my rate of weightloss. I know it has increased my cardio strength because I unconsiously jogged up the 2 flights of stairs the other day at work and wasn't even out of breath. When I got to my desk it dawned on me what I had just done and asked myself why I did that? The only thing I could think of is..BECAUSE I CAN! =)
3/28/03- We had a great time on vacation in Rocky Point Mexico and visiting my friend Jimmy in Phoenix, AZ and especially seeing my newphews and sister in Kingman, AZ=) We decided not to make the trip to Wy to visit Bobs brother on the way home because to the big old snow storm they had in CO. The 10 days we were gone were just too short.=( I know next time I go to Az from SD it is going to be by plane. 3500 miles round trip was a little too long in the car for me. I did manage to actually lose weight while on vacation, I think that is the first time for that! I am now down to 271 lbs, which is -87lbs. WOOHOO!
My sciatic nerve has started bothering me again. This time Bob made me go to the chiropractor since this has been an on and off issue but has been bothering me for about the last 6 weeks this time. The doc took xrays and I am suprised that my back doesn't hurt ALL the time. Come to find out that my lower spine and pelvis are all out of wack from having to wear a compression boot for close to a year while my left foot healed after my Harley accident in 1998. He said he could get it lined back up for me with a 90 day therapy plan. That in turn would relieve the stress on my right hip,pelvis and spine hand hopefully prevent having a hip replacement by the time I am 50. I forgot to ask if I can continue to go to Curves and exercise or not since he has gotten most of the pain under control. I will have to remember to ask on Monday. Have a great weekend everyone. I don't plan on doing much but lounging around and healing. =)
4/3/03- Well, my sciatic nerve is feeling better, been going to the chiropractor 3x a week. I still haven't been back to Curves since before vacation. OOPS! I have had good intentions of going this week but then getting side tracked before work. The Dr said I can exercise and ride my Harley, just don't do any heavy lifting for awhile. I have been walking laps here at work so that is a plus anyway.
I have TOTALLY been craving sweets lately. =( Not sure what is up with that. On a good note, I am now fitting comfortable in size 24's and loose 26's. I had 1 pair of size 26 jeans that I could wear, I should say squeeze into before surgery that were extremely uncomfortable. I had to give them away because they are now JUST TOO BIG! What an awesome feeling. =Þ
4/11/03- This week I made it to Curves 3 times. YEAH! I weighed in there today and I lost 10lbs but only 2 inches for the month. I figure it is because a different lady measured me this time. I don't think we were measuring in the same spots as last month and she wasn't pulling the tape as tight either. That is alright, I wasn't expecting big losses since I hadn't really exercised for 3 weeks other than do a few laps at work since I have been back from vacation. I will be measuring next week for my 6 month anniversary, so hopefully I will see a difference then.
I have been pulling clothes out of the closet that I haven't worn for a long time and I do have to say they look pretty dang good =). I have had 2 people at work tell me that I am melting away to nothing (at different times, mind you) =). That was a great feeling. I bought a pair of size 20 jeans the other day at the thrift store since I couldn't pass up a brand new looking pair for $4.99. Just for kicks I tried them on. They were painted on but I could get them buttoned and zipped without flopping on the bed. Woohoo! Hopefully not too much longer and I will fit in them comfortably.
4/18/03- I am 6 months post op today and it is also my nephew William's 2nd Birthday. =) I didn't have time to measure, or even weigh myself for that matter this morning before work. Seems like there is never enough time in a day to get everything done lately. I feel like I have more energy, I catch myself crossing my legs more often, I am wearing clothes from WAY back in my closet, Bob has threatend to throw away my "clown pants" that I like to wear to Curves. Just imagine, 6 months ago they were almost too tight. This has been an awesome tool, it gave me the kickstart I needed to get my life back on a healthier track. =)
5/13/03- Well, I have been putting off updating my profile until I reach the century mark but they way things have been going in the last month, I wouldnt' be updating this for a LONG TIME! I have been sitting at 260lbs which is -98lbs loss for about the last 3 weeks. The scale did say 259 this am, but I am not holding my breath. I have been under alot of stress lately. Just went through a messy breakup with my fiance and I haven't been taking care of myself very well as far as my food choices, water intake and I have not been exercising regularly. The exercising part is hard because of the stress which makes my sciatic nerve act up, in turn makes it hard to do much of anything. GRRr. I know breaking up with Bob is the best thing for me but it is still hard. I am needing to take care of me. That is all there is too it. =)
5/19/03- 7 MONTHS POST OP- WOOHOOO! I am now officially a memember of the CENTURY CLUB =Þ. Look what happens when I decided to now take care of myself. Made it to Curves last week and I have been eating properly and drinking my water and dropped 3 lbs in the last few days. I am feeling great and on top of the world right now. =)
5/30/03- I am still in the process of trying to get back into the groove of things after Memorial Day weekend. I had a great time at my parents cabin with relatives and friends. My stomach muscles hurt until about Wed from laughing so hard and so much over the weekend. heehee
I did make it to Curves this week. whew. That was an accomplishment all by itself. I haven't lost any lbs but I decided to try on a pair of 22's that I had picked up a while back just to see how long it would be before they would fit. Good thing I tried them on when I did because they are almost loose. So then I said what the heck and tried on the pair of 20's. They fit PERFECT! Woohoo!! It is an awesome feeling going from a very tight 26 to a now size 20. I don't ever remember being anything under a size 16 in highschool and I am almost there again! Woohoo! I am not sure what I am going to do with alot of my Harley tshirts that are now getting too big. I don't want to get rid of them because they all mean something to me. Some people collect spoons or thimbles, I collect Harley Tshirts.
6/19/03- 8 MONTHS POST OP- I am down 109lbs and feeling just wonderful. =) I finally see the major difference in the pic that took above in the same shirt as I did when I was 2 weeks post op. I must say I look pretty dang good! lol. I do have a hard time seeing the difference when I look in the mirror though. I guess my mind hasn't caught up with my body yet.
7/29/03- Wowsa! how time flys when you are having fun. =) lol. Geez! I didn't even get my measurements done yet for my 9th month. My weightloss has slowed down tremendously. Of course I am not making it to Curves 3x a week like I should. I do get a mile walk in 4x a week. I have not been following my diet as well as I should either. So it is noone's fault except my own.
When I had went to Dr Snow a couple of weeks ago to test my b-12 level because I have felt really sluggish. My b-12 level was borderline low. She gave me a perscription for injections because I can't stand the taste of the sublinguals. I need to give myself a shot 1x a week for a month. It isn't a big deal to do and I think it is helping my energy level.
I am contiplating on getting my hair cut short as I am going through another phase of losing hair. YIKES! My hair has really thinned alot but I don't know if I can take the plunge to get it butched. lol
On a good note. I now can wear size 16/18 jeans. =) of course they are the stretch jeans but woohoo! not too shabby! I have picked up a few pair of size 18 jean shorts and I am in a XL or size 20-22 shirts. It seems I have been leaning towards tops that have a nice open neckline because I am really liking my collar bones. =)
On another good note, I have noticed that men actually notice me more than I ever remember. It made me feel ecstatic the other day when I met a nice looking guy while I was walking into a building and seen his reflection in the door actually turn around to check me out. WOOHOO! ;)
9/26/03- Here I go again with not updating for about 2 months! YIKES! Well, I guess there has been alot of things going on in my life. I have had a very busy summer doing this, doing that. I am 11 months out and of course my weightloss has slowed down greatly but it is still plugging along. I am at 235lbs now and I feel great! I reached two goals. One is that I now weigh the same as my ex did when we split up and the other is that my bmi is at 33.7 which puts me in the OVERWEIGHT category! OH YEAH BABY!! :) A far cry from the Morbidly Obese category I was in a mere 11 months ago. I bought a few new to me pairs of size 18 jeans. The local Savers store has been a God send while going through all of these sizes of clothes! Looks like I should have done it awhile ago since I had 4 people compliment me and ask how much weight I have actually lost the day I wore the jeans that I just bought. I did end up buying a couple of pair of size 16s to put in my wish pile. Heck they were only $1 a pair. I couldn't refuse! I am just estatic that I am now wearing jeans that are in the "teens" than a tight size 26. I really would like to get ahold of my medical records from when I was younger to see where I actually am weightwise compared to then. I seriously don't remember being any smaller than a size 16 in High School. I still have a problem seeing my weightloss when looking in the mirror. I think everyone is getting sick of me asking, "Am I the same size as her?" lol.
On another note, today is my last day working for Gateway. They have laid off 650 of us technicians. Even though I have been kind of stressed about the situation, I am looking at it as a window of opportunity. :) Gotta go for now, will get my pics updated early next week since I will now "have time". Take Care and God Bless.