Journey28

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I have now lost 115 pounds and I was 8 months post op a few days ago!  Yay for me!  I went to Victoria's Secret and got fitted for a bra... I am now wearing a 36 B down from a tight 44 C.  I am wearing size medium or large tops in the regular misses or juniors department and my last pair of jeans I got were a size 14!  I still want to loose 33 more pounds to be at my goal of 170.  I am hoping to get there by my birthday in January.  I will have to really step it up though!  I seem to hold the same weight for 2 weeks and then drop about 5-7 pounds a week until I start my cycle... so I guess I am averaging around 10-15 pounds a month now.  It feels SO good to be able to walk into ANY store and know I can buy anything I want... well except Lane Bryant because their stuff is just way too big now!  :o)

I have noticed that more people talk and smile to/at me.  Which is sad and exciting at the same time.  The most important thing is that I feel really good, I can chase after my son and walk around the mall without even thinking about it.  I still struggle with some pain every once in awhile but I would do it all over again in a heart beat... even with all of the complications I had.  I have extra skin that I am really self-conscious about and I am so glad its cold here so that I can wear pants and long sleeve shirts.  I hope one day we can afford plastic surgery!

It's not quite 6 months since my RNY and I have lost 100 pounds!  Woo-hoo!  Less than 50 more to go until I am at my goal!

So my 6 month anniversary will be 9/27 and my goal is to be down 100 pounds by then.  I've got 6 pounds to loose in the next 20 days or so.  I will be really happy to acheive that goal!  Then my goal will be to get under 200 pounds!  I'm at 224 right now... I can't remember the last time I weighed this... I am guessing early highschool.  I have tons of energy and feel really good overall.  I can eat pretty much whatever I want as long as it is a very small portion.  My biggest struggle is meat and bread, I just can't seem to get them down.  My favorite thing to eat these days is salad and yougurt.  They both go down easy, stay down, and I feel fine when I am finished eating.  I ALWAYS order a salad when we go out to eat because I know I will be able to do well with it. 

I am noticing some sagging skin on my inner thighs and upper arms.  I thought my arms would be worse then what they are and I didn't anticipate my legs being as bad as they are.  When I am at my goal weight of 175 I will see how they look.  Guys are so luck that even their bathing suits cover most of their legs up and their short sleeved shirts come to their elbows!

So I am 49 pounds until I reach my goal weight... it seems totally surreal that it is actually obtainable!  :o)  Very exciting.  I would really like to meet my goal by my 30th birthday in early January!  Then in March at my one year anniverary follow up my new doctor said we can try to get pregnant as long as my health and labs are good.

I bought jeans in the REGULAR misses dept!  Also, I bought a new dress in a size 12!!!

Also, to update everyone I am doing a lot better!  I am back to feeling like my old self.  :o)  I had to find a new doctor and have some additional surgeries done but he fixed me and I am so thankful.  I am just dealing with some vitamin deficiencies now, but overall I feel fantastic!

Wow, the last several weeks have been pretty traumatic for me and my family.  I have been back in the hospital for a week due to gallbladder attacks.  I had to have a second major abdominal surgery just 6 weeks after my gastric bypass!  Then a week after that back to the hospital to have a scope done where they put a camera down my throat and into my pouch, and a little bit of my intestines.  Low and behold I have a bleeding ulcer.  I have been really sick since my original surgery and it got to the point where I could keep no food or liquids down at all.  The doctors blamed that on my gallbladder, it was filled with stones and I had been having gallbladder attacks which Dr. Smith said probably caused the vomiting pain and nausea.  So, I was really hoping that after my operation I would be better by leaps and bounds.  The vomiting did slow down put the pain and nausea was still just as bad so Dr. Brown (my office has 3 doctors) ordered a scope.  That's when they found my bleeding ulcer.  So now they put me on even more medicine that is supposed to help it to heal.  From everything I read though it sounds like it will never go away completely.

I have been SO disappointed in my team of doctors.  They treat me like I am some kind of hypochondriac every time I call or go into an appointment.  Then they seemed to finally believe me after I was sent to the ER because of dehydration from the gallbladder attacks.  After a few days of being in the hospital and them ordering duplicate upper GI, X-rays, and CAT Scan they did an ultra sound and saw all of the gallstones.  The only reason I even knew I had them was because the Tech felt bad for me because no one was communicating what was going on or why I felt so sick.  They sent me back to my room and after a few hours a hospital transporter came in and said he was taking me to surgery.  I was like "for what?"  Thank God my hubby happened to be there with me when the guy came in or I would have been taken to surgery without anyone knowing.  Crazy.  My husband confronted Dr. Smith who blamed it on a mix up with the nurses.  So, I had that surgery and then they released me the next day even though I was still throwing up which they said was due to the anesthesia (even though I have never had a reaction before).  I had the scope the following week.  I went in for my one week follow up on Friday and saw Dr. Moon (because Dr. Brown who did my scope was on vacation) who treated me like I was some kind of hypochondriac.  He said there was no medical reason that I should still feel nauseous and that he wouldn't prescribe me anymore anti-nausea medication.  I told him that on last Wednesday I passed out in the shower, he wasn't the least bit concerned about that.  He said that it was due to dehydration and that no one could make me drink but me.  I thought um, yeah I get that but when you feel like you're going to throw up all of the time you really don't feel like drinking.  Plus, with my ulcer I can't have anything acidic and I've become lactose intolerant so I can't drink milk... and water makes me feel the worst.  So, after that enlightening appointment I think I will be trying to find a new doctor.  I am so mad that my original doctor, Dr. Sonnastine left the hospital that takes my insurance like a week before I was scheduled for surgery.  Maybe I will drive the hour and try to get in to see him at his new practice?  He was so nice and supportive during my husband's surgery and all of my pre-op appointments.  I felt like he actually cared and wanted me to succeed.  I feel like Dr. Smith's team just wants to get rid of me and blame all of my complications on me.  I don't know why people go into medicine who don't care about people.  It's like running a daycare if you hate kids?!?

Why haven't I lost any weight in the last 5 days?  I was blaming it on my monthly cycle but now that it's over I don't know what is going on?!?  :o(

Today marks one month post op for me!  YAY!  I do feel better than I did at first but I am not near 100%.  I went to the doctor today and expressed my concerns about my lack of energy and just feeling weak overall.  I also told him that I am still struggling getting my protein in because I am nauseous most of the time.  He ordered a full blood work up to check my thyroid levels, iron and lots of other things.  I just don't feel like eating.  It's so weird to say that because I LOVE food!  There's a major void in my life where food used to fill in.  I don't think I finished a meal without thinking about what the next one would entail and now I hardly ever think about food.  When I do I actually feel kind of physically ill.  Not much sounds good and not much tastes good anymore.  My tastes have changed greatly... food now is like watching tv in black and white, it's not nearly as good.  I am one month out so I can eat pretty much whatever I want to now and a salad sounds really good but the doctor told me not to eat too much lettuce because it is hard to digest without my old stomach.  :o(

I am down a total of 43 pounds!  Since my surgery a month ago I have lost a total of 26 pounds.  In the few weeks leading up to my surgery I had lost 17 pounds.  Today I put on a pair of my capris from last summer (the only ones that fit) and they were too big.  I had a few more pairs in the closet that were way too tight last year and they fit comfortably now.  So, I think I am down from a 26 pant/jean to a 24.  I would have thought that after 43 pounds I would be down more sizes but I guess it comes really slow at first.  I still have a LONG way to go but at least I have come this far.  I am 100 pounds from my goal weight.  It seemed so far away when I had 143 pounds to go but 100 seems a lot closer!  My next goal is 250, which is another 25 pounds.  I would like to get there by July 1 if possible.  Hopefully I will have some energy soon and I can start walking, I think that would really help.

Oh, I wanted to mention too that I had my first vomiting incident.  I ate about 1 table spoon of rice and about 2 bites of a grilled chicken breast (both of which I had ate the night before with no problem) and it just felt really uncomfortable like it was just sitting in the middle of my chest.  The next thing I knew my mouth started watering uncontrollably, there was so much saliva it was completely unnatural and unlike anything I have ever experienced.  I ran to try to spit some of it out and I gagged and the rice came up.  After that I felt totally fine, the whole thing was probably 2-3 minutes long. So, I know that's a lot of information but I think that might be "dumping" I'm really not sure.  My friend who had the surgery 5 years ago said it really wasn't dumping that dumping was way worse and lasted for like 30 minutes or longer she said that this is what happens when something doesn't agree with your new stomach.  I don't know what the heck happened but it wasn't any fun and I hope it doesn't happen again.

It has been 3 weeks since my surgery but it feels like it was just yesterday.  I am still horribly exhausted all of the time and I know I am not getting in near enough protein.  I've been having this muscle pain in my side near the site of my largest incision, my husband had the same thing and they told him there wasn't much they could do for him it was just from where they cut through alot of muscle.  Anyway, I am able to eat slightly more but no where near the amount I should be eating.  The good news is that meat doesn't seem to bother me at all.  I just don't like the taste of it anymore but I don't throw up from it or anything.  Each morning I look forward to waking up feeling refreshed and good but everyday I feel like I can barely get out of bed and I wonder how I will ever make it through the day.  I am down 21 pounds since the day of my surgery and it seems like that would make it easier to move but I don't notice a difference at all.  I can't wait until the day when I am glad that I had this surgery and that I feel like I have enough energy to do just my normal daily activities.

I am finally starting to feel a little bit better but I still feel completely zapped of all energy.  I am really looking forward to having some energy back!  My main problem is that I am not getting enough protein in and I think that is why I am so tired.  I have had a hard time eating much of anything, nothing really sounds good and my insides feel better when they are empty.  When I eat I feel kind of nauseous and icky... even with just a little sip of water.  I guess some people have this and you just have to fight through it, supposedly it does get better.  I did have a couple of bites of a beef meximelt from Taco Bell and a chili cheese burrito.  I know it wasn't a great choice but it was protein and soft.  I had no problems with it at all other than my normal queasiness that I feel any time I eat.  I would guess on average I have less than 200 calories a day still.  On a normal day I have 4-6 ounces of skim milk, 2-3 ounces of low fat yogurt, a sugar free Popsicle and maybe 5 saltine crackers and that's spaced out over all day.  I drink water and I try to drink some protein water or vitamin water/G2.  I wish that there was something that sounded good that I could try to eat.  I have had a couple of bites of chicken, prime rib and ground beef and meat doesn't seem to bother my pouch like it does some people.  It's just that nothing really taste good or sounds good anymore.  It's so weird because I used to LOVE food!  I remember looking forward to the next meal before I had even finished my current meal.  So much of my life used to revolve around food I feel kind of lost now that it isn't appealing anymore.  I know it sounds crazy!

I also wanted to talk about how gross the protein shakes are.  I just can't even choke them down, I gag even thinking about it.  I don't know how people can do it?  I even had my hubby get me some sugar free ice cream and try to make me like a little protein milk shake and I still couldn't get it down.  Why does that stuff taste so freaking nasty?!?  I think I would rather try to eat meat.

As of yesterday I have lost a total of 19 pounds since the day of my surgery (2 1/2 weeks ago).  In the few weeks leading up to my surgery I had lost 17 pounds so I am down a total of 36 pounds in the last 4-5 weeks.  It seems like I should look and feel totally different but I can't even tell.  :o(  My hubby and Mom say they can tell, so I guess that is good news.  I need to try on my jeans and see if they fit differently.

I saw the doctor yesterday, he wanted to admit me back into the hospital for dehydration, I have had terrible diarrhea for the past 2 days.  I begged him not to, I just can't take being there and away from my family or any longer!  He agreed to let me go home.  Today I feel a little better, the diarrhea has subsided a little.  Yesterday I was able to sit in the rocker and hold my son and give him his nap time and night time bottle which meant the whole world to me.  My hubby stayed in the room and then picked him up and put him in his crib.  It was the first "Mommy" thing I have been able to do so far.

Good news... I broke my first goal!!!  I am under 300!!