heacop
3/8/07:
It seems that my story is just about to begin. I am 12 days from surgery! I am nervous and excited. My hubby is becoming excited also. He has been very nervous and concerned up until now due to his previous experience with a g/f who had an RNY. She had an open one and I am getting a laparascopic. That difference alone means alot to him. We attended an info session together in January so he could ask questions and he met some people who were post op. Through our discussions also he is really seeing the difference between me and her. I am very concerned about my diet and sticking with it. She never changed her eating habits and smoked and drank the entire time. I think this is not only opening his eyes to what she was supposed to do and that her ignoring the changes she was supposed to make affected her outcome but also that I intend to be completely different.
I am of course excited at the prospect of being off meds and off insulin. I want to be able to do things and not need a nap. I want to play with my kids. I also want to buy cute lingerie and small clothes and shop in normal sized stores. I hate to be so excited about the shallow vain aspects but I am.
I will keep you updated as to how it goes and post op.
3/19/2007:
Tomorrow is the day! I am nervous and excited. I have a friend arriving today from Washington State to take care of my son while I am in the hospital and help take care of me and the house for two weeks after the surgery. Today I am on liquids only. I spent the weekend trying to get my house ready for my absence and it isn't LOL. Today I am going to go get my hair cut and finish cleaning before my friend gets here. Then I have to take her around so she knows where my son's bus stop is and the grocery store, etc.
For the surgery I have one hold up that is irritating me very much. I had a conference call with patient liason on Thursday and she told us that we needed to get pre registered over the phone and gave us the number to do that. I have been trying for four days to do it. I talked to a receptionist at the hospital after two days of no luck and she told me they were open over the weekend and that was the best time to reach them. I tried approximately 15-20 times every day. I keep getting voicemail and left several messages. They have not called me back and I never have anyone answer the phone. The pre-op nurse called to get my medical history but because I am not in the computer yet she could not do it, she asked me to call her back after I was pre registered. I do not know what to do at this point. I will keep trying today. The anesthesiologist is supposed to call me tonight to go over my meds to see if I should take any of them tomorrow before the surgery.
I will post again after I get home. I should be released Thursday afternoon as long as everything goes well. I am a little nervous but mostly about the pain afterwards, not really the surgery (of course there is always a little worry about surgery). See you on the other side :).
3/26/07:
Well I am home and today have not had any pain meds so far. I am yawning pretty hard right now so I may need to. Today I have been pretty active. I have been nauseated the last two days but I think it is allergies with drainage because I had the problem beforehand. It is making it very difficult to drink fluids though, I get the heaves with too much on my stomach and it always feels like there is too much on my stomach.
The surgery was not a problem. I was taken back at about 5:30 and the doctor gave my hubby a call at about 9:30 to let him know everything was fine and had gone well. Wednesday I was feeling really great. The doctor even called and asked if I wanted to attend the support group that night and I did. Walked there and back with my IV stand. While I was getting into bed, I lifted my left leg and I had a sudden sharp pain in my left side which I told the nurse about. Then Thursday happened. The new day nurse came in and told me that if I wanted to go home I had to be off of the PCA (personal comfort anesthetizer). She said the doctor had ordered a liquid pain reliever so I agreed to use it instead. We started with the middle dosage to see how it worked. It put me out and I slept for about four hours. I woke up in pain. I called for the nurse and asked for more meds. She told me I had two hours before she could give me more. I asked what I should do and she said "I guess you can use your pump now". I tried to use it but by this point it was not giving me relief because they lowered the dose and I could only have a dose once every nine minutes. I couldn't hardly move and when the nurse came in and took my vitals I was told I had been running a slight fever on and off that morning. I was congested and having a hard time breathing. My hubby and I had no idea what was going on. At about 2:30 we were told I was being sent for a CT scan. I was given 11 ozs of fluid to drink for the scan. I could not get it all down. I was then taken down and they wanted me to drink 13 more ounces. I tried to drink what I could but almost vomited. I got down 7 ounces. I then had the scan. We went to my room and we waited to hear from the doctor. My new nurse came on at 7 pm. I pushed the call button and no one answered, I pressed it again 5 minutes later and a nurse asked what I needed and I told her pain meds she said someone would be with me shortly, no one showed, I pressed the button again and finally a nurse showed. She informed me that I was not her only patient and she could not just drop everything. I told her I needed pain meds and she came back with them about an hour later. About 9 pm my IV alert went off. There was 5 minutes left on my IV monitor. We pushed the call button with no response. We pressed it again and told the nurse that my IV was beeping. No one showed. My hubby went out into the hall and stopped a nurse who promptly told him she was not our nurse and couldn't do anything for me so press the call button. My hubby went and found my nurse. She was pissed. She came back and the IV had shut off by then. She squished the bag until there was a little at the bottom and told us "It is not out". She said she would change the bag and it took another 30 minutes. We did not see my nurse again. At 10:30 pm the doctor called and told me that my left lung was partially collapsed and if I didn't walk and use the spyrometer I would end up in the ICU for a month with pneumonia. I told him how much pain I was in and he was shocked. Why are you in pain? I explained and he told me he was going to call the nurses. About 20 minutes later the nurse supervisor came to visit me. She was apologetic and promised that things would be different.
The rest of the evening the nurse came a running. There was a more timely response to our call button (instead of the complete ignoring of them, tell me the nurse is with another patient and it will be 15 minutes don't just leave me in the dark alone in silence!!!!) Don't get me wrong, I do not expect them to drop everything and come running at my beck and call. There were some VERY sick people there and they required non stop round the clock care. The first day I was there somebody up there kept coding and was getting the defribullator a total of 3 times. I said thank you for everything they did, when the nurse answered the button and asked what I needed I made sure I was polite and said thank you. Nurses deserve respect and appreciation! I also deserve respect. I am paying for a service when I am in pain and am unable to care for myself. I also expect the nurse to know what the doctor's orders are and to convey them to me properly. I was told by the doctor to use my PCA as much as needed and to get up and around. He said I would go home in the morning if I didn't have a fever and my white blood cell count was still normal. I was up walking and using my spyrometer and was determined I was going home. I got up at 6:30 am and took a shower and started walking. My day nurse came back at 7 am. She came in while my hubby was at breakfast and went off on me. She had never had a complaint before and she did not understand what my problem was, wasn't I an adult and if I was having pain problems why didn't I say anything, so on and so forth. I was bawling. My temp was 99.8 and apparently my lab works were still normal because the doctor called back at 9:30 am and asked if I felt well enough to go home and if I wanted to go. I assured him I wanted out of the hospital. He asked how the nurses had treated me and I told him the night nurses were fine but that I had the same nurse as I had the day before and that she was not happy with me. He couldn't believe it. So the nurses came while I was out walking and when I came around the corner the nurse said good news the doctor says you can go home. I was ecstatic. She asked if I wanted to wait for breakfast and I said yes since it was so close. She came and took out my IV and we waited. She called the cafeteria and gave me the phone and they assured me my breakfast was on its way. We waited another hour and it never showed so we left. My hubby spoke on the phone with the doctor the night before and apparently he said that it was "par for the course" for this hospital. So we are filling out the customer satisfaction survey and sending it in as the doctor requested.
I think the greatest difficulty is the distance between the doctor's office and this hospital makes it difficult for the doctor to oversee the care as much and the nurses are just not being as reliable because they know they won't be walked in on. While we were walking around Friday morning we passed a room and the doctor was talking to the nurse and patient. When we circled around again the doctor was at the nurses station and he said "YOU SCREWED UP. This was supposed to be done yesterday and there is no excuse for it not being done." I must say I wish that Blue Cross allowed a different hospital but this is the only one that is allowed. I definitely think I will be writing the insurance company also and relay what happened and let them know that the only reason I needed the CT scan was because of the quality of the nurses care. They would have been saved a large fee had I been at a hospital with better care. Anything that hits their pocket will be listened to.
So how is it now? I feel much better. I slept sitting up for the last few nights to help with my congestion. I am not getting all of my protein but am close with my liquids. I need much more today but have been more nauseated than I have been. My showers have been great and a large help. I start classes tomorrow and need to accomplish my homework (don't want to). I have walked around today, been awake for all of it so far, and no pain meds so I really feel I am making progress.
Hope this helps for info for those going into the hospital and what to ask specifically from your doctor and what to be suspicious of from your nurses. Good luck!!!
3/26/2007:
Just a quick update. I got down a lot more protein after the earlier posting and I feel SOOOOOO much better. My nausea is nearly gone and I got much more liquids down and am still working on them. I was worried that I would begin to dehydrate. I just wanted to let you know what too little protein can feel like and how it can be that vicious circle we have worried about with other issues (such as our health and weight gain).
4/5/07:
Well it is now 16 days out and I am down by 31 pounds. I am flabbergasted. I feel a lot of it was water retention from the many meds I was on because I am not swollen in my legs, ankles, face and hands anymore. I don't care, I will take it. :) I am not having any problems. When I am full I sometimes feel like if I sit it will be pushed back up so I often spend the 30 minutes after a meal standing or walking. I have no problems getting my liquids down but it is a struggle with the protein. I am working hard at it though so I feel accomplished. I felt so good last Saturday I did yardwork which I later regretted because I did too much. I took a pain pill and a nap and felt much better. This weekend we are christening our season passes to Great America and I am very excited. Not only will the walking be awesome, I have hopes of fitting in most of the coasters. I cannot wait to spend the time with my son also, with all that has been happening in the last two weeks he has not gotten the attention he wants. He will have all day with my hubby and my attention to himself. Then there is Easter and my mother in law mailed a box of eggs for us to hide which have candy and money and toys in them. She is great :). The only issue I have is I feel HUNGRY at meals. It does not mean I need much to feel full but I find it aggravating to feel starved. I have started soft foods and have once again had no issues. No dumping, no vomiting, no intolerances, YEAH!!!! Update you later.
4/13/07:
Well Great America was great. I still cannot fit on all the rides but there were more I could ride. I have never been to this park and it was beautiful. We arrived at 9:30 and it opened at 10. We stayed until 5:30. I walked the entire time without much back pain. I had to eat twice while I was there but I did. The first meal did not sit well but the second time I took my time and chewed real well and did not have any pain. I am doing better with the eating. I am trying to make sure it takes at least 15 minutes. I am down 35 pounds now. I have been fighting for every pound the last two weeks. I think I have hit kind of a plateau, besides I am PMSing this week. I have had such carb cravings I actually cried one night because I wanted bread so bad. I have been adding much more food to my diet and have not had any intolerances or anything. I find I eat alot of beef jerky though at school because it is easy to carry and easy to eat. I have been eating chicken and beef mainly. I make sure for lunch I sit down and eat something other than jerky. I also make sure dinner is something cooked. I have had a difficult time cooking for the family because by the evening I am tired. I have been doing it though. I make sure I use these little tea saucers we have as a plate and even then I cannot finish it all, usually. I was really feeling like I was starving the first few weeks. I find that it is not so true anymore. The only time I really feel hungry is when I wake up in the morning. I also feel very nauseated in the morning so I have a difficult time getting anything down. Other than that things are going well. I work in my yard, go to school every day and take care of my son all afternoon and evening. I have one more week of school, then a reading week and then two weeks of finals. In the middle of June I begin summer classes. My hubby and I have plans for June 13 (going to see the Police) and June 29th weekend (going to Reno and seeing Gwen Stefani, then just enjoying time alone). My hope is to be able to wear some lingerie for the hubby in Reno. My goal at this time is to lose 50 pounds by May 23rd (my next appointment with my doctor) That is 25 pounds a month and I have lost 35 in 25 days. I think it is a reasonable goal. I need to start doing exercise. I am planning to do so after classes are out. I will have days to myself while my son is at school. I also want to start taking him on bike rides because he loves that. My only issues are it is hard to swallow my vitamins, makes me nauseated and makes my stomach and bowels hurt while they are dissolving. I try to space them through the day but it is hard. I also have problems getting all my fluids. Seems like I am thirsty all of the time but can only sip so its seems never to quench the thirst.
I hope everyone is doing well and things are going successfully.
4/17/07:
Hi again. Well I am now down 42 pounds and today is 4 weeks since the surger. It is a little more than ten pounds a week. My goal is to lose 8 more pounds by May 23rd. I think I will probably surpass my goal. I am actually feeling like I WANT to exercise WOOHOO! I am wanting to take my son for a bike ride but the wind has been crazy and the other days it has poured rain.
I have been wearing clothes I grew out of a year ago and they are loose. I bought some new shorts and they are two sizes smaller than I was at the start. My legs, arms, face, and butt have shrunk considerably, even the lower part of my belly. There is still a large roll right under my breasts that does not seem to want to shrink...I hate that roll LOL. Anyway, I am happy, excited and feel great. I have not had problems eating. I still fight to get my water in but work hard every day. I have had my hardest problem with the vitamins. The pill for B12 is fine, doesn't hurt my tummy and it is easy to swallow, the calcium was impossible, and the daily hurts my stomach. I went to Costco and they have a Viactiv type of calcium that is Kirkland brand. It is sugar free, has 20 calories and only 4 g of carbs. They taste like tootsie rolls. I love them and have had NOOOOO problems with them whatsoever. So now I am just looking for some way to get my daily vitamins in in a way that is not painful.
I find that the further out from surgery I get the less and less hungry I feel. This makes it much easier to not eat fast. This has prevented the nausea and pain when I eat. The hardest part right now is my son keeps offering to share his food with me. I tell him I cannot eat it and he didn't understand at first but now he says ohhh cause of the suwgewy (he's five :)). Well that is all for now will update later.
5/21/2007:
Well I had not realized how long it had been since I posted anything. I have been very busy. I had the end of my classes and then two weeks of studying and finals. My last final was May 11th. Then there was Mother's Day and we have been looking to try and buy a house. Wednesday my son and I are going to Washington to visit my two older children and see my family for the first time in two years. I am nervous about the reunion.
I am two months out from surgery and down 52 pounds. With the twelve pounds I lost prior to the surgery I have lost 64 pounds total. I have been at a plateau and have been frustrated. I went to the support group and they told me to make sure I get my protein and to exercise, exercise, exercise. I am trying with the protein but am definitely having a difficult time. I joined a gym two weeks ago and have been going to a water aerobics class and seeing a personal trainer. It is helping but I am still moving slowly. I have lost seven pounds since starting the gym.
I start a summer class June 12th and it lasts three weeks. Then I have an online class for four weeks starting after July 7th. My two older children come to visit July 2nd. My hubby and I are going to a couple of concerts. June 12th is The Police and then June 29th is Gwen Stefani.
I bought a hoodie sweatshirt in April at Great America. I could barely zip it up but my hubby said I would "grow into it" so he got it for me any way. During the last few weeks of class I noticed that it zipped up fine with no problems and I was really happy about that. I put it on this morning and it is BAGGY. The arms, the shoulders, the stomach area. It is an XL!!! I have not fit an XL in years let alone had one baggy on me. I was delighted and could hardly wait until my hubby was home so I could show him. He couldn't believe it either. Even though I am not dropping pounds as quickly my shape is definitely changing.
I feel great, my sugars are even lower, I am exercising, I am traveling and I am having FUN! It will be a good summer.
6/5/2007:
Well I am back from my trip to Washington. I spent a week with my two older children and visited with my family. I really enjoyed myself. I start classes again next Tuesday and we see the Police concert on Wednesday. I have been seeing the personal trainer on tuesdays and thursdays. We did measurements last thursday and I am down an inch and a half in the waist and an inch in all the other places. I think I am going to blow that away by the next measurements though because I have all of a sudden BLOWN past this stupid plateau. I weighed in tonight (yes at night) at 239!!!! That is 73 pounds down total (12 prior to surgery and 67 pounds since the surgery). I cannot believe it, the 240s flew by in about a week. I figured I would hit 240 and hit a plateau again but so far so good. My doctor told me that I should aim at losing 75% of my excess weight by 6 months out. Of that number I want to lose 75% of that by 3 months out. (312 - 160 = 152, 152 x 75% = 114 (lose by 6 months out), 114 x 75% = 85.5 (lose by 3 months out)) Well by this equation I have 15 days to lose 12.5 pounds!!!! I think I will make it, WOOOHOOO.
I saw my surgeon on the 23rd of May and he was very happy with my progress and the steps I have taken to help with my weight loss (the gym, support group, fitday.com, OH) and when I told him my goal weight was 160 he told me that he felt I would hit that easily and that I would probably even make 150. I have not been below 195 since the 6th grade. The idea of being 160 seems an unfathomable feat, 150 seems unreal. I would be flabbergasted to hit 160 but 150 would be surreal. I will aim for 160, if I lose more I will rejoice LOL.
My clothes are big, my underwear are baggy and I do not want to buy new clothes LOL. WHY? Because everytime I put those big clothes on and see how much bigger they are I can SEE the difference. Looking at my body alone I cannot see much difference, there is still fat, still rolls, still stretch marks but to put on underwear that would not stay up and had to be put under your bottom roll and it was stretched to capacity and now it is around my belly button and baggy and hard to keep up I can see a HUGE difference and I LOVE it. I can wear my bras again, they don't hurt, cut in or create that back roll that hangs over the top of the back band.
I visited with my mother and sisters while on my trip. My mother and two of my sisters have had lap band about three years ago. My mother lost 110 pounds total and I now weigh less than her. I was kind of jealous because they do not suffer from dumping and such and can eat many things I cannot. BUT I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if I did not have RNY I would not have been able to lose weight because I would not have changed my diet enough to do so. I am very happy with my choice. I shocked my mother though because I have always been such a carb addict and I was not eating them, meat and veggies and fruit. She kept offering me things and I would say no, I can't eat anything fried, or no too many carbs or no too much sugar. I am happy I was so successful and think it is part of the reason that I have now gone flying by my plateau.
Well that is the new stuff and I continue to be happy and excited. I will update you later.
6/18/2007:
Last week was fantastic!! My son went to his father's house for a summer visit on the 8th of June. That was hard. I started my summer class on the 12th. My hubby and I went to see the Police concert on the 13th. IT WAS FABULOUS!!! I got my grades back and I passed, not only passed but raised my GPA and kicked butt on two of the three tests, what a great feeling. My hubby and I have made the decision we want to buy a house and we went to a couple of mortgage brokers and to get the program we want to qualify with we need some more savings so we will be house hunting come this Nov/Dec.
As of this morning I am 230 pounds, down 82 pounds and have 3.5 pounds to lose in two days. I don't think I will quite make it with the weight loss but I am so close I am not worried about it. My hubby and I got several things to do around the house and I am repainting the entire inside. It is a rental but we have been there over a year and it looks so dingy, the bright shiny walls are really picking up my spirits.
Talk to you all later, have a good summer!!!
7/15/2007:
Well it has been almost a month since I last posted. I have been soooo busy! My two oldest children came to visit from WA for the summer. I have been going non stop since they got here. I am also taking a summer class online, there is a LOT of reading. I have three nights of class in a chat room and there is about 75 to 100 pages of reading for each class. I take my kids to Great America every Tuesday and spend all day. That is wiping me out. But I am getting a TON of walking and swimming in. My youngest son comes home next Sunday and we are all very excited. I miss him terribly. I am now down 92 pounds and cannot believe it. My body looks so different. I bought new underwear about three weeks ago and was shocked that a 7 fit, now they are baggy.
I bought two new pair of shorts in May and they fit but barely but I was sooooo excited that I could wear a 20. I now fit 16. I still wear them but they are huge on me now. I only have one 16 and they are jeans so I don't really wear them in this heat. Everything I have is a 20 and a few 18s. I love putting on 18s and having them button easily and feel lose after being in those dang 26/28s. I think my kids like that I can do so much now. I am trying to keep them busy. There is a community pool and I took them there Monday, the park on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday i had to read for class all day, Friday we saw Harry Potter and yesterday we went to Boomer's were we played mini golf, laser tag, raced go carts, and drove bumper boats (which I couldn't ride last fall because the weight limit is 275 and I was 312 lbs). Today my son and hubby went to play paint ball and my daughter and I are going to go paint some pottery. I think we might go to the mall also and do some shopping. I have also been doing reading for next week's homework so I won't have so much to do that it takes up the whole day.
August 5th is my hubby's 31st b'day and we are having a BBQ with some of his friends from work. We have met some nice families of the guys he works with so we are looking forward to that. They haven't met any of my kids yet because they were all in WA at the time we went to their house. I meet with Dr. Cirangle again August 23d. I start school August 13th. I have class Tuesday thru Friday. My youngest son starts 1st grade August 22nd, so he will be in school all day. Things are going to stay busy it seems LOL. Well hopefully, that means the last two years of school will fly by and I will graduate, pass the bar, and get a job and be an active participant in society.
My hubby and I are looking into becoming foster parents also. We want to have our own baby but cannot until two years after the surgery. I would love to be able to give a home to a child or two and help out. I never would have before, I just did not have the energy to keep up with my own kids let alone MORE.
Talk to you later
8/7/07:
Well summer is coming to an end for me. The 13th is my first day of fall semester. I cannot believe I am starting my third year of law school. I am very excited, There is only two years left. I have a take home final due Friday from my online class that I have been taking for the last four weeks. The reading was intense, between 70 and 120 pages a day. Our last day there were 129 pages. It included a case that was decided 6-26-07 so that was great, being able to see down to the very present what is happening. I have been taking my kids swimming two hours on Monday evenings after my readings are done. I did not swim yesterday but it was too cold for me I was freezing sitting on the bench. Every Tuesday we spend all day at Great America. We ride the rides all morning, go to the car and eat lunch, then go swimming til it closes at 6 pm. We drive home and we are exhausted, it takes Wednesday to recoop LOL. Sunday we had a B'day BBQ for my hubby who turned 31. It was great, I BBQ'ed and apparently they call me the grillmaster at work now. I ate tri tip and some of my sugar free fruit salad and was stuffed. Although the B'day cake smelled really good, I did not even take a lick of icing when I got some on my finger, I washed it off. I am now 210 lbs, 50lbs to go to my goal weight. I have 12 lbs to go to meet my September 20th goal of 114 lbs gone. I think I will make this one. That is 75% of my excess weight. I see my surgeon on August 23rd, I keep worrying that he will disappointed in my weight loss but then I do the math and 100 lbs at 5 months out is 20lbs a month. I still have 13 days until I hit the 5 month mark so I am doing great. It is weird that I have lost so much and yet there are still days were I feel like I am failing. I went school shopping with my kids last Friday, K-mart was having a sale on Levi jeans for $10/piece, my son told me to try some on. I said okay but only from the normal sized area. I went and chose about 6 pairs of different brands and styles. Every single pair I put on FIT!!!! I could not believe it. I did not like the look of most of them on me, my belly does not look good in mid rise or low rise LOL, but I had grabbed a pair of normal cut and they looked great and were a nice khaki color so I bought them. WIth the one pair of 16 jeans I had before I now have two pairs of size 16 clothes LOL. I did not ever expect to see that size again, believe me. One more incredible thing happened. I decided to try on my wedding dress. When I made it it was fine but by my wedding day it almost did not fit. I put it on and it was loose! I cried, it was amazing. I put on my Police t-shirt that I bought at the concert in June which was tight but barely fit and it was baggy. The other thing that has been really obvious to me is that although I am exhausted at night, I sleep about 6 hours some times less sometimes a little more and am roaring to go. I do NOT need as much rest and I do SOOOOO much more than I used to. I talked to my mother on the phone yesterday and she said that she could tell by the way I talk that I felt better than I have in years. My parents are coming at the end of the month to pick up my two older kids and take them home. I have lived here two years and they have never visited. I am excited but worried also. We have not been on good terms for that time. We did not talk at all until about March of this year. I went and visited them in May. My mom was coming with two of my nieces but now she says my dad is coming also and possibly my grandmother. I was surprised to hear that.
Well just wanted to let you know how everything was going. Talk at you later :).
8/30/2007
Summer is over. I have been in school for two full weeks now. My youngest has been in school a week and my two oldest have gone home. My parents came for the weekend and we spent two days at Great America, I was exhausted afterwards but it was really enjoyable. We swam like crazy on Saturday and it was great. We are leaving in the morning for Washington to spend five days with my in-laws. I am 202 lbs now, down 110. I have 4 lbs to meet my goal by September 20th. I cannot believe I am sooooo close to onederland!!!!! I have not been under 200 lbs since senior year in high school (1989/1990). I have consistently been over 220 for as long as I can remember, of course got up to 312 at the end. I have crossed the BMI line of morbidly obese to the obese category. Doesn't sound like much saying it like that but it feels GREAT!!!!! My visit with my surgeon was good. He is really impressed with my progress and thinks that I can get down between 145 and 150lbs. Seems impossible but I can hope. I was down 107 lbs at the visit.
Have fun folks. :P
9/17/07
Well things have gotten interesting here. For Labor Day weekend we went to WA to visit my in-laws. The day before we left my son started vomiting and he did not feel well for a couple of days. I began to feel ill myself. On 9-1 I realized that I was due for my period and it had not come. I sent the hubby for a pregnancy test which came up positive. On 9-4 we took another one and once again it was positive. I went to the doctor on Monday after we got back. I had a tubal ligation and a reversal so the chances of ectopic are increased. For ten days now I have been having blood tests and ultra sounds. So far there are concerns but no answers and it is driving me crazy. I have a message in with my OB/GYN for a call back because I have heard nothing since my last blood test and ultra sound last week. I feel pretty good, usual morning sickness and some tiredness but other than that no pain or bleeding. I am really excited but am scared to death.
As of this morning I am 196lbs. I beat my goal of 114lbs by 9-20. I have lost 116lbs and am wearing size 12 pants. Although that won't last long with a baby belly lol. Anyway send me good wishes I need them.
Thanks!!!
10/8/07
Hello all. I am doing well and so is my baby. I am ten weeks on Wednesday. I found a good doctor in another county so I am not going to be forced into a c-scetion. The baby was seen on two ultra sounds now, its heart beating away and in my uterus right where he is supposed to be. The "thing" by my ovary started to deflate and never had anything in it so they feel it was a corpus luteum cyst and it is now dissolving which is why it is flattening out. It is not growing and is causing no problems so I have no worries at this point. I had several blood tests and no vitamin deficiencies and my iron is high. My sugar levels have been awesome. My new doctor has ordered some more detailed blood tests to check my B vitamins and my thyroid. She is also checking me for gestational diabetes due to my history. I like her and she is on the ball. She said the only difference with my checking into a hospital for delivery and someone who has not had a c-section will be that I will have an IV in case of possible emergency procedures and she will not induce labor because that can be too strong for a uterus with a scar. The medical group is all female doctors and they do not use doctors for on call from any other group. I am excited and relieved. Although I have still been losing some weight I am not counting calories or carbs. I know that I eat much differently than I used to but I am eating more than I was. I graze thru the day which helps with the morning sickness.
Well I will update again later. Hope all is well with you!
2/13/08
Well the new year is here and I am 12 weeks away from having a new baby. I am doing well in school. I got good grades on my mid terms. I have been put on meds for gestational diabetes but am on a minimal amount and my sugar levels are good. I have been really sick for several months unfortunately. I started having allergies once the heater was turned on in the house. Then it became a sinus infection. The doctor did not want to give me anything due to the pregnancy. About four weeks later I ended up in the ER with pneumonia. I was put on Azithromyocin. It helped but it did not go away and three weeks later I was back at the doctor's office with a wonderful sinus infection. I am back on antibiotics but am feeling better finally. The baby is doing beautifully. The ultrasounds have shown he is measuring within days of what he should, so no diabetes issues, etc. All the testing for chromosomal abnormalities, etc have been negative or low risk. The baby is active and we found out in December that it is a BOY!!!! We are calling him Oliver Gage Coplin. I lost weight until recently. I have gained a total of 11 pounds. I am perfectly on the chart of growth where they want me to be. I see a nutritionist, dietician, and a social worker every couple of weeks for the diabetes. I see my OB now every two weeks. I have another U/S next week. I am in classes two days a week for four classes each day. It has been working well. I have volunteered on campus to do taxes for low income families. I have four Saturdays that I will be working between Feb and April. I am looking forward to that also. My son has been having his meds adjusted by his psychiatrist and the difference is INCREDIBLE. He has been doing fantastic. I also bought some books to read on raising a bipolar child and have found some good things to help with his behaviors. At the last parent/teacher meeting I gave them to his teacher to read and she took some of the suggestions and immediately put them into practice and lo and behold they are HELPING. It is great because he is getting some tastes of success in class and is enjoying it. It is encouraging him to try more. I am very proud of him. We also joined him in a Pee Wee Bumper Bowling League. He plays every Saturday and is with two boys his age on a team. I want him to get some socialization practice and see how to play like a team. He LOVES it. So here is hoping that things continue to go well. Hope that the baby comes uneventfully and is a healthy beautiful boy.
Oh I forgot my poor little doxie woke up paralyzed a month ago. I took her to the vet the day before it happened because she was acting like she was having some pain. She was going into heat so I figured it was probably that but took her to the vet anyway. He ran some tests which were all negative for back pain or issues. He told me it was probably her going into heat but because she is a doxie he could not rule out beginning of back issues. The next morning she drug herself down the hall to my hubby while I was at school. I had to take her to the ER in Sacramento and spent 4 hours there. I cannot afford the 5k for the surgery so I have a little disabled puppy. She is not quite 5 years old but she has had some improvement. She has regained her bladder and bowel control (thank goodness) and can use one of her back legs some. The best thing is she can wag her tail again. It is nice to know when she is happy again. We are going to make her a little cart so she can move around the back yard again. We take her out to go potty and she drags her back legs but she will wear the hair off and hurt herself if she keeps that up. She is settling down happily again.
Hope everything is well with everyone!!!
4/29/08
Well my new baby boy is now 9 days old. Oliver Gage Coplin came into the world on Sunday April 20th, 2008. He weighed 7 lbs and 3 oz and is GORGEOUS!!!! :) We are all madly in love with the little man. I feel fantastic and as of yesterday I weighed 185 lbs. I had gained 24 lbs during the pregnancy which was perfect. I have lost it all and 3 lbs extra in 8 days from the delivery. I had quite a bit of water retention from the IVs and the baby was of course the largest part of the weight gain. I did great and feel great and the gestational diabetes is GONE. I have been checking my sugars and they are really good. They checked my A1C in February and it had actually dropped from 5.0 to 4.7 while pregnant. They were thrilled and so was I. We spent almost two days in the hospital and were sent home. Even though he was a bit early, he was due May 8th, he has done exceptionally well. He is nursing fantastically and had minor jaundice. He was the perfect size and the birth was quick. Ten minutes of pushing, 5 pushes. I was in 12/14 when I got pregnant and I am now in 10s. I cannot believe I went through a pregnancy and got smaller. Anyway, I am thrilled and had to tell everyone about my new little man. He has my toes and my nose. He has a head full of dark hair and has dark eyes. He looks alot like his daddy.
Talk to you later!!
8/9/2008
Hello all!
Well I had to leave a message because today I weighed in at 168 pounds. I have officially crossed from overweight to normal weight BMI. I cannot believe it. I am eight pounds away from my goal. I believe that the doctor is right and I could possibly make 150. I will keep working on my 160 goal and if I reach it will try for 150. I can now wear size 8s. I have not bought any yet, will wait until receive my financial aid in September and buy some new school clothes. I had a great thrill in getting to buy my first work suit from Anne Taylor's The Loft. I got it in a size 10 pant and they are beautiful. So far the summer has been great but with four kids I am incredibly busy and tired. I have developed tennis elbow in both arms thanks to lifting the car seat with the baby and am having difficulty getting it to heal because I cannot just stop carrying my baby. Other than that things are good. Ollie is almost 4 months and is smart and beautiful and strong. My other kids love him to pieces and have been great helps with him. I have been spending the summer on trying to get my family eating better and healthier and so far so good. My hubby has lost 30 lbs and my youngest son has lost 14 lbs. My daughter has lost about 5 lbs but she was a skinny little stick anyway and I just want them to eat healthier. I start my last year of law school on the 18th of August. It hit me this morning that I have 9 months until I graduate. It seems so close and I cannot wait. I am ready to be done and ready to get a job and be a real adult. We will be moving back to Washington State next June.
Hope you are all having a great summer!
