HeLLeNa_HaNdBaSkEt
*UPDATE 10 JULY 2015*: 
Well its been a while so here's the latest. Yes, I'm still homebound and disabled, but progress is happening. I qualified for Medicaid and get my insurance, Care Source, through them here in Northeastern Ohio. My PCP is with V.P.A., Visiting Physicians Association. She and her assistant visit me every 90-125 days. My case worker @ Care Source is an RN and years ago she too had WLS. She comprehends my predicament somewhat; she was ambulatory, could go up and down stairs and drove a car. I cannot. Still, she's all for me doing all I've been doing to try to get healthier to drop some weight so i can have enough self confidence and become mobile to go out to appts for certain procedures that can't be performed in my flat. And to eventually attend seminars at the bariatric center of my choice and the surgeon(s), etc.
In late April I had my visiting counselor witness my weigh in before my pcp visited me. Back then I nearly fell over in shock because I'd gone from 441.2 Lbs down to 399/ 398!! That's 40-ish Pounds! 
I couldn't believe it... so I had her weigh me a second... and third time. It was the same. I was in tears and I'm still in disbelief only because I don't "feel" or see the loss. I have lymphedema in both legs and my stomach. It's awful and soooo heavy. Anyways, my pcp doc visited me that following week and I gave and showed her my documented weight change. She was in awe and said the same thing my wide eyed counselor did: "What on Earth did you do?!? I said that despite my limitations, I did all I could do: extensive stretching, bracing myself as i did leg/ hip extensions, arm lifts w/ 5Lb. weights 
, crunches, front-back & side bends, light marching in place, deep breathing, taking my meds, faithfully drinking 64 ounces of water EVERYDAY, and I made an investment a 6 weeks prior. I told her that after i was finally approved 
for SSI in December 2014 and took care of my priorities, my most important, necessary purchase would be for my nutritional health and weightloss. I bought the 2-for-1 NutriBullet online. It was the best thing I ever did in a long time. I'm able to easily extract/ juice every veg., fruit, nut and seed for my benefit in a convenient 18-26 oz. beverage. 
LOL I do this once, sometimes twice, a day, 5-6 days a week. You do have to give yourself a break 1 or 2 days a week so your digestive system can adjust. It does shrink your tummy's pouch a bit. I noticed it 2.5 months of 'juicing'. Lets say that consuming all of those dark leafy greens, turmeric, garlic, ginger and cinnamon does 'flush your pipes'. I actually feel it when I tried eating a dinner I prepared and I'd barely made a dent when my stomach hurt from feeling full. Wow. Not had that sensation in decades. Seriously.
Well, my pcp gave me a challenge. "I only want you to try to lose just 10 pounds. Really. Think about it and forget it. Just continue to do what you're doing because clearly it's working. That's great!". All I can say is I'll be ticked off if the scale says I : 1. lost LESS than the additional 10 Lbs. Or worse, 2. I regained a whopping amount back.
I admit, as i confessed to my counselor, I cheated 
off and on for a week and ate pizza and carbs for a week. 
She told me to ot beat myself up about it. But I had to immediately get back on track w/ my nutribullet and more so with my exercises for my lower body and back. Its tough, tougher still when you're alone w/ no friends or family nearby. Not even a pre-op or post op friend. Oh well. I'm in the middle of crunch time, so I really need to do this. Wish me luck.
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*UPDATE* : Its been a long time since I've been on this site. It leaves me crestfallen. Had been homeless and lost all belongings. Trying to cope w/ anxiety, severe depression, agoraphobia [wish doctors made house calls]; I cannot go out due to so many reasons. Trying to start over now that I'm here in Youngstown, OH. Have gotten larger and need to try to qualify for Medicaid and Medicare. I am disabled but it comes down to having PROOF on paper. Its a pain. I need Medicare because the facility I'd probably go to is in Akron or Warren i think. All I know is that they don't take Medicaid-- which I don't have anyway- but will accept Medicare.
I'm damned if I do and if i don't. I know I'd have to go through a battery of tests, that'll cost a fortune. I'm broke anyway and can't be approved for a loan. Its bullshit and it's not fair. I'm older, tired, fed up with fighting and often wish I were dead. I can't function anymore. Its tough to make new friends. I have none here. With my condition, hampers it even more.
Say a prayer for me. Sick of everyone else's accomplishments. Despite all of my past efforts it got me nowhere and have not had any joy in my life for 10.5 years.*
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Hi there, I'm J.B. and I exist in my adopted city of Manhattan. I say that 'cuz I'm not a native New Yorker. I'm an Army Brat, born in Kentucky and was raised in Germany from 10mos. old until we returned to the states when I was 5-ish. First residing on an Army post in Washington state, then in my parents & older sibling's birth state of Maryland. But I fell in love w/ the spires of NY, the sounds, the smells(?) LOL , the energy and vibe of this city in 1976. I was 7yrs. old and on a family car trip to visit my Uncle Bo in Brooklyn. And doesn't everyone have an uncle, or some relation, in Brooklyn? Anyway, though I was only visiting for 2 days, I was soo moved and inspired by all that I'd seen and heard, I knew I had to make it my home someday, somehow. The twin towers gleaming in the morning sun in the distance were the first skyscrapers I saw, and were the last that I watched pulling away from me as I gazed out of our car's rear window. I turned to my mom & said, "I'm gonna live there one day, mommy." She said something to the effect of "That's nice sweetie, now sit down all the way so daddy can see out of his rearview mirror." To everyone's shock & awe I moved here 05 December 1993 when I was 24 and never looked back. Aside from having married a wonderful, irreplaceable man (I never actually ever planned to get married), moving to NYC was the only goal I ever accomplished. The only time where I sat back & said I was proud of myself. Getting WLS would be another reason.
My story? I'm just looking to start a new story for when I someday become the NEW me. Otherwise if you, dear reader, would like more, just read my profile intro. Toodles WLS-keteers! 8^D
Ahh, Paris! No, that's not Quasimodo... c'est moi! 8^D Me w/ Notre Dame behind me. Diagonally in front of me, out of view, is the original Shakespeare and Company Bookshop. As much as I love France, and after hearing nothing but french for two solid weeks, it did my heart and ears good to hear english being spoken! Yay, I could finally talk 2 people and not depend on my then boss/fiance to translate. And I saved myself the public humiliation of stumbling through their lovely lingua.
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About Me
Before & After
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