Jamie T.
Stuck Again
Jan 21, 2007
Well, I have lost 70lbs and it feels really good. I am trying to work harder so I can lost more by the time we go to Hawaii in March, this is a once in a lifetime trip and I hope to be able to take some nice pictures that I don't cringe when I see myself. I starting going to the tanning place last week, I don't want to arrive in Hawaii all glowing white. I always think I look better with some color on my skin and so I am working on that part too.
Clothing is still a pain, nothing fits. I buy new clothes and they fit for a couple of weeks then starting look all baggy. I can't wait until I get to my goal size, I am going on a big shopping spree!!
Let's hope this week things get better at work and with my eating habits and that I am able to make some positive changes and start doing more exercise. I know things will pickup when I start moving more.
Later!
Jamie
Almost Three Months
Dec 22, 2006
People at work are really noticing my weight loss and I had a good wow moment at our company Christmas party, a girl that sees me everyday didn't recognize me. That feels good. I have been more confident lately, going out more and working on getting the total package all prettied up! (got the nails done, going for the hair today) I am excited to see my husband's family today, they have not seen me since surgery so I am hoping for a good reaction. Most of my clothes ot too big, my 28 pants fall off so I bought some 26 pants and am wearing 18/20 tops from Lane Bryant. (started out in some snug 26/28 tops) I think I am losing faster on top, I can tell more there and I am liking wearing tighter tops that show the curves, I can tell that I don't want to wear anything loose right now on top!
Everything else is going good, we signed the contract to start building the house and it will be done in July. YEAH! 2007 is going to be an awesome year for both Aaron and I, I can't wait!
Happy Holidays to all my friends out there in WLS land!
Love
Jamie
STILL STUCK
Nov 13, 2006
Six Week Update
Nov 10, 2006
Other than that, I am eating pretty good. Most things stay down, I have now had fish, chicken, beef, shellfish, eggs, milk, and some veggies and they are all digesting just fine. I had a couple of throw up moments when I ate something that got stuck or didn't agree (cherry tomatoes were a bad idea one night, they came right back up and it hurt!!).
I am still having a hard time finding a protein drink that I can stand and that doesn't upset my stomach or give me gas. I bought some of those New Whey vials (2.9oz, 25g protein) and they taste absolutely horrible but I get it down in three swallows so I just drink it fast and chase it with something tasty. I bought some Lean Muscle Milk tonight at Vitamin Shoppe in Chocolate Mint and it's very yummy and has 22g protein but it does have 8g of net Carbs which I am trying to watch.
Overall, I am very glad I had the surgery and hoping that the weight loss will pick back up next week and also that I will be able to get some more workout time and fight the urge to skip the gym and hit the couch! My job sucks right now so I am totally stressed out with it and I have done good at not stress eating which surprised me. I just hope I am doing it all right, I get nervous that I am gonna mess something up and stay fat forever!! I know this isn't really realistic but it's just one of the things that goes through my head. I have good support in place though, my husband, mom, and friends are awesome. (especially me new friend who is also my WLS twin, Cherie!!)
Well I meet with the nutritionist again next week for my six week followup so I should get more tools to get the scale moving and hope to see more pounds go away by Thanksgiving!
Three Week Update
Oct 26, 2006
Eating is going well, I am still on soft foods for three more weeks but it's a pretty extended soft foods diet. It includes fish, poultry, ground beef, eggs, cheese, etc. I am doing very well eating fish which is something I love so I am happy to be able to eat it. I tried ground beef and it didn't set well so I am gonna wait awhile before I try anymore red meat. I realize now how ridiculous restaurant portions are, I order a normal meal and have enough food to last a week! I am eating about 1/4 a meal about 3-4 times a day.
I am mostly thirsty!!! I could down tons of water if I had the ability, I used to like my water and crystal light to be room temp but now it has to be freezing cold with tons of ice!! (weird how things change) I always have to make sure I have water with me no matter where I go and am drinking as much as I can handle.
My main problems right now are back pain (not sure why), inability to drink the protein drinks (1. I don't like them 2. they give me bad gas!), and I still cannot stop drinking while I eat. I am so thirsty that I want to drink all the time so eating without drinking just kills me! I am getting a lot of protein from my food, I eat almost nothing but protein.
Other than that, I am feeling more "normal" than I did at first. I have learned a few things along the way.
1. Don't let yourself get to the point of starving, this will cause you to be super hungry and leads to eating too fast or too much which is very painful (did this once, that will never happen again...I now eat every four hours until 7pm)
2. Gas-X Strips are your friend, yeah I love them. They are like the Listerine strips that dissolve on your tongue. They seem to nip the gas in the bud quickly for me and not cause any diahrrea like the Maalox did.
3. I carry a little "survival" kit with me when going to work, far from home, or out of town. It's my metal Cinderella lunch box and has my vitamins, calcium, B12, some crystal light to go packs, pack of instant oatmeal, pack of instant grits, anxiety meds, medicine measuring spoon, GasX strips, chewable Tylenol to go, a wellness pain patch for my back, sf breath mints and gum, small forks and spoons, small dixie cups, 1/2cup gladware containers (one filled with a scoop of protein powder), a small shaker cup, and a couple of packs of protein powder to go. That way I just grab it and go!!
My Surgery Story
Oct 24, 2006
My Surgery Story:
I wanted to give in detail my experience the first week of surgery. If it helps someone else, then that is great but I also wanted to have something documented for myself to look back on and see how things changed over time.
Monday 10/2- A rep from the hospital's day surgery dept called me and took some medical history questions over the phone and gave me the info on what I needed to do when I came in Tuesday.
Tuesday 10/3 Surgery Day- Arrived at the hospital with husband and mother-in-law accompanying me at 8:00am. Checked in at registration, paid my $50 copay and was given paperwork and a bracelet and directed to the day surgery dept in the hospital. Checked in at the day surgery nurses station and they showed me to a little room with a bed, two chairs, bathroom and tv. Aaron (husband) and Linda (MIL) were allowed to sit in the chairs while I was in there. The nurse had me change into a gown, put on the circulation socks, weighed me (364lbs) and give a urine sample. She came back and took some blood and put the IV in my right hand. She gave me a few different injections, I don't remember now what they were and we watched tv until it got close to 10:00am (my scheduled surgery time). My surgeon came in and said hi and then the anesthesiologist and the OR nurse came in and introduced themselves and put the paper hat on me and gave me some injections in the IV. I got a little sleepy but then they rolled me out, let Aaron give me a kiss and took me to the OR.
The last thing I remember is moving over to the operating table and them pulling the arm things out for me to put my arms on. Next thing I know, the anesthesiologist is shaking my shoulders saying "Jamie, wake up". I am in and out here and realize there is something hurting. After surgery, Dr. Martin (surgeon) came out and told Aaron and Linda that everything went well and that I would be in recovery for about 2hrs, then they would take me up to a room. Meanwhile, I am waking up and hurt and feel like I have to pee. I remember actually saying "it hurts" on more than one occasion to the nurse and I told her I had to pee and she said that I had a catheter in and that it would feel that way. There are about 5 other beds in the recovery room and one lady is all moaning (which I remember to be annoying) and somehow I got lucid enough to understand that there were no rooms ready and that's why we were here and that I was going to be room 356 but they hadn't finished it yet. Finally at 4:00pm (4hrs in recovery!!!) I am wheeled out to go to my room, Aaron finds us in the hall and has been sitting there not knowing what's going on since there is no one in the waiting room to ask and he thought I would be out in 2hrs but it had been 4hrs. He said he was getting nervous but was glad to see me.
He followed us up to my room which was the tiniest thing on earth. Most rooms are big enough to have those nice recliner/bed chairs but this was so small we had a hard little chair for him and he actually had to move anytime someone went into the bathroom. I had a nurse, a patient care assistant (came and took vitals, brought water, etc) and then a respiratory person came around and took my pulse ox several times (always was good, over 95 each time). My vitals stayed normal, blood pressure always runs a little low and it did the whole time I was there too. They came in and out several times for different things. Someone came and took the catheter out about 6pm. I was so glad for that, it felt weird and it hurt when they took it out!!!
About 8pm, they made me get up and walk. I remember it hurt like hell getting out of that bed but the walking wasn't really hard. I had tons of gas pains, my lower back was hurting really bad and my left side was hurting a lot from the surgery. So they added a morphine pain button to me about midnight. That helped me sleep good for the most part. I would wake up hurting, then hit the button every 8 minutes for about three times and then pass out. I was in and out all night. I remember I actually woke up bored a couple of times and would have called Aaron but wanted to let him sleep since I knew he would be back to sit in the chair again all day Wed. I know at some point I got up and peed which was painful too but I was glad to do it on my own!
Wednesday 10/4- A steady stream of people coming to check things happened non stop while I was there. They finally did some bloodwork about midnight and again midday Wed. About 8:30am I was taken downstairs for my upper GI to test for leaks. Rolling around on that table was a lot harder than it had been when I did this pre-op. Aaron arrived as soon as I was brought back to my room, yeah! I was brought a breakfast tray with very gross chicken broth, two kinds of sugar free jello, applejuice and tea. I was told I had to eat something from it to see what happened. I ate a few bites of jello and sipped some water and was fine. I walked again and Dr. Matin came about 2pm and looked at my incisions and we had a list of questions to ask which he answered and he said it all looked good so I could go home. I finally got to go home about 4pm, Aaron took me to the house and got me situated and then went and filled all my prescriptions. I left with the drain in me, coming out of my side which was a huge annoyance but it was still draining blood so I had to. I was given liquid Loritab (generic was hydrocodone), sublingual prevacid (which my insurance didn't cover and it was going to be $200, Dr. Matin said this might happen and not to fill it and call him so that's what we did) and I have to give myself injections of Lovenox twice a day in my stomach for 10 days (blood thinners).
The End (of the beginning)
Life Two Weeks Out
Oct 20, 2006
Things I Want to Do After Surgery
Oct 13, 2006
2. take a long comfortable (because I will fit in the seat) flight to anywhere in Europe or
3. buy "normal" clothes in a cute trendy shop
4. be able to buy regular length necklaces and normal bracelets
5. not worry about chairs with arms or plastic chairs breaking
6. wear a bikini or any other two piece suit
7. work out in a regular gym without feeling self conscious
8. learn a sport like tennis or fencing and get scuba certified
9. take dancing lessons (belly dancing, ballroom, irish step dancing)
10. get professional full body fun photos done with my husband...like something barefoot outside