Happy Surgiversary!!!

Jan 22, 2008

I can't believe a whole year has passed. I've gone from 265 to 159.5 lbs. From a size 22/24 to a size 10. I'm exercising just about every day and loving it. Life is SO much easier now that I'm a normal size. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm no longer big--it's still that new to me. Right now I'm trying to decide whether or not to go for the last 10 lbs. to get to my goal of 150 lbs. Everone is telling me I'm perfect and I should stop losing. Part of me agrees--I certainly feel great. But another part of me feels like I'm just not going to be a "success" unless I go all the way to 150. Plus, I feel like that would give me some wiggle room for when I really start going through menopause. The nutritionist said that from her experience the people who lose 90-100% of their weight are the ones who put some back on. One good thing about staying here is that I'm not depriving myself at all. I think I'd have to work somewhat harder (i.e., diet) to lose the last 10. I'll probably just keep doing what I'm doing and see what happens.

As far as exercise goes, I like balancing what I do between cardio (treadmill), weight training (Nautilus), and stretching (yoga/pilates). I think that including all three really helps me to feel balanced and healthy. This surgery was without a doubt the best thing I've ever done for myself!!!!

 


9+ Mos. and Feeling Great!

Nov 03, 2007

Since it's been 3 mos. since I've posted, I should say something. Sometimes the weight seems like it has completely quit coming off. Other times, it feels like it's pretty steady. It's weird, but now even if I lose 1-2  lbs. I can feel the difference. I'm wearing size 10s mostly now (I can't believe it!). I'm really enjoying exercising and like feeling so in shape. Still hoping the extra skin shrinks some, but it's not too, too bad. I keep saying that even if I stay right here, I'll be happy. But I really do hope I can get all the weight off. I've been eating just about anything I want (including some things I shouldn't). The good thing is that I can't eat huge quantities. Unfortunately, sugar really has no effect on me except I get a little lightheaded if I eat too much. But if I eat a lot (a lot these days means one piece of birthday cake), I do usually feel kind of crappy, so I'm learning that I don't like to feel that way. I try to subscribe to the 90%/10% rule. 90% of the time, I eat healthy foods and 10% not so much. I had to quit contributing to the weekly weigh-ins on the Jan. surgery board. It just felt too much like those old Weight Watchers meetings where everyone stands up to say how much they lost. How could I keep from comparing myself to others (I know we're not supposed to)? It was too much pressure (but I do still read them). Well, I feel great, have tons of energy, perfectly normal blood pressure, no snoring, hardly any arthritis pain--I definitely can't complain!

Fantstic 6 mos. Checkup

Aug 04, 2007

I saw Dr. Kennedy on Wed. for my 6 mos. checkup. She said I've lost 70% of my excess weight and that is what they hope for at 1 year out! She said she's very proud of me. It was kind of  funny that her student surgeon who came in to talk to me first was kind of upset because he and I have the same BMI! I was her last Ochsner patient that she was ever going to see because she's leaving to go to Dallas. I don't have to go back for 6 more months and I guess I'll see Dr. Richardson then.

I'm only 5 lbs. away from my next goal of 175 lbs. I've really kicked up the exercise and I feel great. I do 5-6 days a week cardio (30-45 min. on the treadmill). I go to Body Flow class (Tai-Chi, Yoga, Pilates) twice a week and I do strength training 2-3 times per week. With all this exercise I do find that when I eat a little more (even good carbs), I lose more. From now until goal I think it will be an experiment to see what works best for me. I feel like it's getting so close that I should be done by Christmas. It would be fabulous to be done by Ken and I's anniversary trip at Thanksgiving, but if I don't I know I'll be close enough. Wow, sometimes I can't believe this is really happening.

5 Mos.--Much, Much Better!

Jun 20, 2007

Somewhere around 4 mos. out, everything changed. I felt something shift--I started feeling so much better. I don't get sick anymore, I have much more energy, and I can eat a wider variety of food. My weight is coming off at a pretty steady 1 to 2-1/2 lbs. per week. Laura, the nutritionist, said that that loss is right on target. 

I'll be hitting my third goal this week (190 lbs)--to weigh less than when I moved from Morgan City to New Orleans. That was 16 years ago, and it was the last time I wore a swimsuit in public and wore a sleeveless dress. Now, I haven't shopped for a swimsuit yet, and I think there's a little too much arm flab for the sleeveless dress, but otherwise I'm extremely happy with the 74 lbs. lost. 

BTW, my first two goals were to weigh 225 lbs. which is what I got down to the last time I dieted, and then to reach onederland. Next goal? 175 lbs. which is what I weighed the last time a guy in a bar flirted with me (of course, I was 30 years old!). After that---final goal!

Bump in the Road

Apr 15, 2007

On Tues., Mar. 27 I woke up at 2:30 in the morning with terrible pain in my shoulder and my chest. It just wouldn't go away. The pain eventually migrated to the area around my pouch and Ken called Ochsner and they said to come to the emergency room. We went in and they did an EKG, x-rays, Finally they called Dr. Kennedy and she admitted me. Well I was in the hospital 3 days. I kept running a fever also (they don't know what caused that to this day). They did a cat-scan and an ultra-sound of my gallbladder and nothing showed up! Dr. Kennedy finally did an endoscope looking for an ulcer. She found the beginning of a stricture, but didn't see an ulcer. She stretched the stricture and then sent me home. 

This last Fri. (Apr. 13th) I went in for another endocscope. She said she had to stretch the stricture some more (it wasn't as small as before) and said that I did  not have an ulcer. I've had some more pain (not as bad) that she said might be an internal hernia or twisted bowel, but she didn't think so. I had a very difficult time recovering from the endoscope. I was in recovery for 2-1/2 hours instead of 45 min. She put a lot of gas into my abdomen that hurt like crazy afterward, and I was naueated and throwing up bloody mucous. Dr. Kennedy almost had to admit me to keep me on the IV, but I stopped throwing up and got to go home. So, she'll have to go back in once more in about 4 weeks, but hopefully that's it. I'm just hoping it's only a stricture and that I'll be able to eat more soon. I just don't have any energy and haven't been able to exercise since I got out of the hospital.

2 Months

Mar 23, 2007

I can't believe it's only been two months. I've lost 44 lbs. total (30 since surgery). I'm really pleased with the way it is coming off--not too fast, but steady. Laura the nutritionist called and said my B-1 is low and to add a B-complex. I have to grind it up and it tastes so nasty! Evidently, after 6 mos. I'll be able to swallow pills again--thank goodness.

I'm really noticing that the food is going down easier--less throwing up. I'm starting to get a little adventrous in what I eat also. Ate out for the first time (a dinner party and at a restaurant). At the dinner party i just nibbled a little on everything and it was great. At the restaurant I ordered grilled salmon salad and just ate some of the salmon. 

I'm finally in a Misses 18 (instead of Women's 18). I just cleaned out a ton of clothes size 22 to give away. I'm still wearing things I had from a few years ago when I had lost weight, but it won't be long before I'll have to buy new stuff. I've picked up a few pairs of 16 pants on sale just to have on hand.

I'm still on the treadmill 4-5 days a week, but don't have much energy to do much else. I want to join the gym so I can get started on strength training, but I want to wait until I can eat a little more so I'll have more calories to spare. I'm thinking another month or so.

I'm getting a lot of great feedback at work. Everyone's noticing the loss. At times, it feels a little weird, like everyone's paying a little too much attention to my size. But I chose to tell all, so it's the price I have to pay.

Great Check-Up!

Feb 28, 2007

Saw Dr. Kennedy today and she says I'm doing great. I've lost 27% of my excess weight which is ahead of what they hope for (30% by 3 mths.). Laura the nutritionist said I'm doing great with eating and exercise too! They took blood and I guess I'll find out those results when I go back in 6  weeks.

One Month!

Feb 22, 2007

Feeling really good. Ken told me today that you'd never know by how I act that I had major surgery just one month ago. Moved on to soft foods, but haven't really changed what I've been eating. Today I discovered that I can't eat lunch with other people because when I talk and eat, I'm not careful about how much or how fast, or maybe I swallow too much air. Tonight I had baked catfish, one tiny tsp. of mashed potatoes and spinach. So far so good. I've been on the treadmill every Tues., Wed., and Thurs. mornings for 30 min. (at 2.8 mph) and on Sat. and Sun. for 45 min. Next week I'll see the surgeon and do my first bloodwork.

Surprisingly I haven't kept very good track of my weight loss, so I'm constructing this from memory:
Surgery Consult:       265 lbs.
Day of Surgery:          252 lbs.
Jan. 29, 2007:            246 lbs.
Feb. 5, 2007:              241 lbs.
Feb. 12, 2007:            239 lbs.
Feb. 19, 2007:            236 lbs.
Feb. 26, 2007:            231 lbs.
Mar. 5, 2007:               229 lbs. (BMI 35.9)
Mar. 12, 2007:            226 lbs.
Mar. 19, 2007:            223 lbs.
Mar. 26, 2007:            218 lbs.
Apr. 2, 2007:               212.5 lbs.
Apr. 9, 2007:               210.5 lbs.
Apr. 16, 2007:             210 lbs.
Apr. 23, 2007:             206.5 lbs.
Apr. 30, 2007:             205 lbs.
May 7, 2007:               202 lbs.     
May 14, 2007:             201.5 lbs.
May 21, 2007:             199.5
May 28, 2007:              196
June 4, 2007:               195
June 11, 2007:            192.5
June 18, 2007:            191
June 25, 2007:            188
July 2, 2007:                 187
July 9, 2007:                 185
July 16, 2007:            185.5
July 23, 2007:             184
July 30, 2007:             182
Aug. 6, 2007:               179
Aug. 13, 2007              179
Aug. 20, 2007:             179.5
Aug. 27, 2007:             178
Sept. 3, 2007:               177.5

Three Weeks Out

Feb 11, 2007

Tomorrow will mark three weeks since my surgery. I began feeling a lot better around my third or fourth day home. I felt like eating and drinking were easy and was beginning to wonder if I was eating too much. I'm now learning to listen very carefully to the signals my body is starting to put out concerning when I've had enough. I had one vomiting incident after trying scrambled eggs for the first time. I'm still  not sure whether it was the eggs, the amount, or the speed I ate them. But I'll wait awhile before trying them again.

I'm still on pureed foods for one more week and I'm just adding one new thing every day or so. So far, yogurt, cottage cheese, ricotta with pureed meat and sauce, and salmon salad go down well without causing any discomfort. The sugar-free jello pudding gave me diahrrea. I'm starting to miss different textures, but I know that'll come soon enough. Some days are better than others when it comes to getting food down and being able to drink enough water. I really have to concentrate to get it all in (in addition to the vitamins and medicines). But I'm confident it'll be worth it in the long run.

The weight loss has not stopped, but has definitely slowed down a lot. I lost 11 lbs. the first two weeks, then only 2 lbs. the last week. I know this is very typical for being 2-3 weeks out, and because of losing 13 lbs. pre-op, so I kind of expected it. It does get kind of discouraging, but I know that I'm doing all that I possibly can to ensure success. Eventually the weight will have to come off. I took measurements today and I've lost almost 9 inches. A lot of my size 18 things fit (down from 22/24). Yipppeee!!!


Home from the Hospital

Jan 25, 2007

Got home yesterday (1/24/07). I spent 23 hours in Recovery because they didn't have a room to put me in at Ochsner. In one way it was good because I got very attentive care from the nurses. On the other hand, Ken and Claire could only visit for 10 min. every 2 hours. I was also hooked up to the catheter and oxygen the whole time so I couldn't do any of the all-important walking until late the next day.

I never got really nervous and the surgeon said that the surgery went great. I have 7 tiny puncture wounds that don't bother me a bit, and never had a drain at all. However, a lot of people told me that they had NO pain afterward, but I'm definitely not one of them. It's not really pain, per se, it's more like being very, very sore from being beaten up. Also, whenever I breathe deeply or cough or hiccup, it hurts. Unfortunately, the pain meds make me nauseous so I'm trying to stay off of them (same thing happened in the hospital.

Today I took a shower which felt great but wore me out. I also went to the bathroom and am finally passing some of the built-up gas. I know I'll feel a lot better once the gas dissipates. I've had a few moments where I've felt like, "What the hell did I do to myself? Am I crazy to do something so drastic?" Then I just read a few profiles or talk to a few of the helpful women who have been through this before, and I have to believe that it's worth it and that I'll be well soon.

They weighed me at the hospital and I gained 5 lbs. because of the fluid they put in me. I weighed this morning and that 5 lbs. was all gone--so I gues it's all downhill from here!!! Here I go!

About Me
LA
Location
41.5
BMI
RNY
Surgery
01/22/2007
Surgery Date
Oct 28, 2006
Member Since

Friends 29

Latest Blog 16
Happy Surgiversary!!!
9+ Mos. and Feeling Great!
Fantstic 6 mos. Checkup
5 Mos.--Much, Much Better!
Bump in the Road
2 Months
Great Check-Up!
One Month!
Three Weeks Out
Home from the Hospital

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