Kathy P.

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

One year minus one day ago, I was getting ready for my RNY. I said my prayers, knew my dad was going to watch over me (he passed 12-29-08). I weighed 331 lbs. I was out of breath walking up stairs, my feet hurt so bad that when I had to get up in the middle of the night, I was in tears due to the plantas faciitis.  I had high blood pressure, family history of diabetes and stroke, as well as high cholesterol and sleep apnea. I wore a size 26/28, and had chronic knee and back pain.

Here I am today.....

I have lost 172 lbs. I wear a size 10. I work out 5 x's per week, including: running 5k races, routes, short hill work 2 mile runs, swim laps, work the eliptical and road training bikes. I lift weights, and build muscle and tone up. I've lost over 8 feet worth of inches (over 100 inches).

I had my gall bladder removed in August. No complications from either my RNY or gall bladder surgery.

I firmly believe the following:

              * RNY has added years and quality to my life.
              * my support system (you all included) has been essential.
              * My Surgeon ROCKS!
              * HAVING A SENSE OF HUMOR AND BEING ABLE TO LAUGH
                AT GAS, CONSTIPATION & LOOSE SKIN IS ALSO
                CRITICAL!!
              * I am in the best shape of my life (and was only overweight
                 from age 25 onward).
              * My family is proud of me
               *My dad is smiling down from Heaven with every step I run.
               *I'm going to be running for a long long long time.



Hope you are all well and smiling!!

7 months today!   Hope you are all doing great!
I predict you are   !!

I have recovered from my gall bladder surgery...really nothing much to it. But of course, I only had ONE, so nothing to compare to.

I am down 122 lbs. from day of RNY surgery. My top size down from 28 to a Misses Large (16?). Pants, well, that is harder to guage. After all, I hadn't worn "real" jeans, you know, the kind with a  for several years pre-op. I wore the elastic waist jeans....in a size 26. Anyway, my "real" jeans are a 18 today, but those are a bit loose. I just picked up some 16's.

I am learning to embrace the loose skin. My bat wings, thigh wings, panni.  I  have decided that if I ever want to give up my day  job, and be a superhero, I will be Ms. Airborne, the FLYING SQUIRREL  
You know her, Rocky's                  redneck cousin.


Seriously, I have succumbed to the idea that I will NOT be one of those persons who's skin bounces back like a rubber ball. (wow, that's an image). Genetics only carry ya so far! The rest is just exhausted skin that is telling me, "Hell, go for the tuck! You deserve it!"   So barring any other internal organs needing to be removed, that will be  my next surgery.  --> No, that is not my butt, but I think mine is getting there!

For those of you who have been absent from this board, AND PAM IN N.C. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!
Know that I'm thinking of you, and hoping all is well.

Will blog more later, it's been awhile..but life gets in the way sometimes.

Hugs,
Kathy

  Let me preface this post by stating that I am thrilled I had my RNY! I feel amazing, and with the occasional "weird thing" happening, the past four months have been physically uneventful.
   I take my measurements, and am shrinking.... which brings with it JOY, as well as it's own set (or pair) of problems.  You see, the "sista's" are shrinking at an alarming rate.  I just purchased three new bra's about one month ago. And noticed today, when slipping on a tank top, that "they" are hanging a little loose in the bra!
Bra's are expensive! So, I brainstormed (with myself) some ways to help the current brassiere's to last a bit longer.
  1)  I could revert back to what I did in the 8th grade, and Stuff with     However, in the 8th grade, I got caught, and humiliated. I didn't realize the cardboard roll was sticking out from under my arm pit. Luckily my family moved that summer. 
  2) Second idea was an easy one!  My DH has a true "man's garage". Having worked for Chevy for over 30 years, and restoring old cars and boats. AND fixing everthing around, whether it  needs to be fixed or not, there is always plenty of duct tape on hand. So, I experimented with making a "Body Slimmer".    Cheaper than those name brands at Macy's. AND LADIES, I'M TELLING YOU...YOUR MAN...HE WILL BE IMPRESSED!! Add a velcro stip to hold the remote contrl, which HE always misplaces, and you have a NEW AND SEXY piece of Lingerie!  A BONUS ! ! If I want to avoid alien mind probes, I got it covered with the matching tin foil hat!   
3) Lastly, I figured the "girls" are going to need ongoing support to be standing at attention. So maybe I could revert back to the late 1980's like this:     OKAY, OKAY, maybe not. I just want an inexpensive way  to "hoist the gals up", not set off metal detectors OR poke someone's eye out (even an alien's).

As I had posted prevously, my dad passed away on Dec. 29th of last year.  Now, my FIL has passed as well. It started Thursday (May 14th) with a late night call from paramedics. My FIL, Bill, was refusing to go to the hospital. His pulse ox was down to 78. Paramedics gave him 90 minutes without intervention. My DH and I hit the road and went to Bill's apartment. He resides in an Assisted Living apartment, here in town. I tried to get him to go to the hospital, telling him that if he didn't, he was going to die right where he was...in his chair.  Finally, Bill told me that he didn't want to go to the hospital, because the last time he did (a week previously for a broken collar bone), his Safe had been broken into! Being a retired cop, that is probably the one thing that he could absolutely NOT tolerate.  I could not believe it! On so many levels, I was so angry and upset! Bill would rather sit and die in his apartment for fear of being robbed!! And on top of that, the Manager hadn't let us know this had occurred! She (Ms. Manager) did tell us that it was obviously staff, as it is a secured building, and all staff have a master key. No way to get in or out unless you are staff.  Anyway, after a couple of hours, we got him talked into going to hospital.  We were in and out of his room in ICU all weekend. His COPD and CHF were taking it's toll. On top of that, he had pneumonia, which wasn't responding to the massive amounts of antibiotics. My DH and I met with Hospice workers, and my dear friend who works at the hospital was there for support as well. My poor DH had to make the most difficult decision that he has ever had to make. With that said, on Monday (May 18th), we stood by his father, Bill, in the ICU, when he gently passed away. I'm so thankful that my DH was there with his dad when he left this life.  I, however, am still so very angry at the assisted  living complex. I'm angry that the manager didn't contact us about FIL's robbery. I'm angry that he wasted precious life-saving time in his apartment for fear of leaving it. I'm angry that the manager KNEW RIGHT WHERE MY FIL KEPT THE KEY AND COMBO TO HIS SAFE! Anyway, I guess I just needed to post and vent....my therapy.
          Hugs to all of you-

I love my husband. I mean seriously love him. He is a loving and emotionally generous man. With that said, I wonder how such a borderline brilliant man can trip over his freaking tongue!      I hit my 50 + loss mark. My DH, Ted, crawls into bed next to me. We are back to back and he rests his arm on my hip. Got the visual now? Okay, so anyway, he says, "Wow...you have gone down (meaning weight...get your mind out of the gutter). This (as his smacks his wrist and hand on my hip) used to be WAY UP HERE (as he raises his arm about three feet up in the air)."  Of course I was in shock at his exaggeration, and added, "Reallly! I lay on my side in bed and my hip and side of my body brushed against the ceiling fan? I  mean good Lord, I guess "it" (meaning the 50 lbs. I lost) must have just been spilling out of our King Size Bed!" 
*sigh* It was a chilly night in Washington...I was tempted to get a set of    ! ! ! !

So, two night later, DH comes to bed, and and pats my hip and side again..yet refrained from commentary.  (this portion edited....cuz I do have some boundaries!   ).

Later that night/early morning...he says, "You know...I'm glad you had surgery...cuz now you are easier to manhandle".

I GUESS IT'S ALL IN THE DELIVERY    !

I just had to laugh. I calculated my BMI, AGAIN!!! On day of surgery, I was SERIOUSLY MORBIDLY OBESE. That is exactly how it read, "seriously mobidly obese". (SMO) Like if there were a category higher than that, I would  have been in it. Maybe something like:  "Are You Kidding Me? You are ridiculously, sickly, one-step-away- from-a-stroke beyond mobidly obese." (AYKMYARSOSAFASBMO). 

Anyway, today, I am Extremely Obese (EO). Where did the morbid go?? I know all of my co-morbidities are not completely remedied, so where did it (the mobidly) go?
Now don't get me wrong. I am glad I am just extremely obese, rather than SMO. I am healthier, and having a great time working out and becoming stronger. But when you are the fat or voluptuous gal for so many years....it is a bit shocking to be downgraded! I am going to think of a new "title" for this current BMI catagory. Maybe, X-tra junk in the trunk; A Little Too Cushy and Curvy; Anorexic Phobic...

Okay, seriously now.  I am just messing around, and venting a bit.  I am doing well, feeling great, plugging along with the day to day challenges and joys of just "being". I am so very thankful for all of my WLS friends, and ESPECIALLY for those who have "re-surfaced" and "get me".
Hugs to ya all!
K.

I've been purusing the message boards. Quite often I see posts about NSV (non scale victories). Many are to do with getting a smaller pants size, co-workers or long lost relatives noticing weight loss, and the such.  I've yet to post my recent NSV, as it was a NSV as well as PH (personal humiliation).  I have yet to decide which wins out.  Anyway, I thought I'd share my NSV/PH with you, as I'm sure you'd appreciate it, and "get it".
   Before I describe the aforementioned NSV/PH, let me preface this by saying that at work, we have had a challenging pre-teen girl to work with. She is, God bless her, developmentally delayed, and we assume has had a history of sexual abuse. As tragic as this sounds, she is a very stubborn and delightful girl. However, she has the habit of putting her hands down her pants and touching herself at most inopportune times (school, dinner table, bus, court room, during therapy appointments, and any other time to just get a shock out of poor unsuspecting bystanders).  Anyway, we had just be discussing her at work not more than ten minutes before I left to go do some grocery shopping at Fred Meyer (like Super Walmart).  This Freddy's is the one that we frequent almost daily for groceries, toiletries, prescriptions, and the such.  Anyway, I'm searching for Greek Yogurt, Splenda, etc., as I was planning on making a new recipe (too much food network is not a good thing)...but I digress...
  Anyway, half way down the cracker aisle, in front of the Keebler Elfs and God, my underwear fell off!  Seriously!  Okay, go ahead...laugh........ya just have to...
  Thankfully I was wearing jeans, or I would have just had to step right out of them completely, and request a clean up on aisle 14.
   Being aware that there are "eyes" and security cameras everywhere, I tried to put my hands in my pockets and pull my deserting panties up from there.   However, the pulling up from the pockets didn't work. I could just imagine the odd panty line I was sporting while rounding the corner and coming face to face with Aunt Jemima!  I was so very focused on getting all my new and untried ingredients for my dinner, that I just unconsciously kept trying to pull up my granny panties from the outside of my jeans. I'm sure that the clerk at the front of the store (you know the one...she points you to the register with the shortest line...or asks if you want to go to self-check out)...anyway, I'm sure that clerk wanted to point me towards aisle 8 which was home to various itching creams and topical wonders for jock itch, yeast infections, and bug bites. But she remained stoic as I pondered the lines at the regsiters.
   Then it happened! I didn't even realize I did it! I slid my left hand inside my pants, ran it down to the outside of my thigh....and hoisted those darned panties up to my waist (just short of a wedgie). INSIDE MY PANTS FOR GOD SAKE!
   Before I knew it, the previously referenced clerk, asked me if I wanted to go in "this line right here"?? I looked at her, then the register, then my basket.  I had more than 12 items. She said it didn't matter, that I could check out quicker. Before I could say another work, the courtesy clerk from the SELF CHECK OUT LINE, comes sprinting in my direction, grabs my basket, and says, "here hon, why don't i help you down here?" I followed my basket, which was leaving me in a trail of grocery store dust, to the self check out lines. This clerk actually scanned, bagged, and carted my groceries. IN THE SELF CHECK OUT STAND!!!
   So I guess there were two ways to look at this. Either these familiar clerks, whom I've interacted with for 10 plus years, decided I was some mentally ill woman who couldn't keep her hands off herself, or they feared that I was getting ready to lose a prostetic leg.  Either way, I now know what to do if I want to get out of a store quick...just shove my hands down my pants and wriggle a bit....while looking lost.
   So that is the story of my NSV/PH...my underwear is too big. Have to get more, but not from Fred Meyer.

Thanks Steph for making this for me! I'm a Loser, uh huh, uh, huh...

I'm home from the hospital. Got home today, 2/12. I was set to discharge last night, but the doc didn't get in until rush hour, so I elected to hang out one more night and have a leisurely drive and ferry ride back home with my dh. Surgery went well. Walking was not a problem at all, nor was drinking water. The Med Tech's and Nurses at Overlake (5th floor) were amazing!
My pain is manageable, just deep muscle pain when I cough, breathe deep, laugh hard, but totally worth it. Having to pass gas  was a bit difficult, but my bowels are awake now, with a vengence!  I am on liquids until 2/18, then start pureed diet and post op with doc on 2/19.
   I  just want to thank all of you for your support!  And my God, I can't believe it! I'm a LOSER    !

Less than 48 hours and I will be the proud owner of a spanking new RNY pouch!  Life has been so hectic the past month and a half. My dad (God bless his soul) passed away, and then work has been crazy with the DSHS budget cuts. I've been so incredibly busy holding every aspect of my life together, that  I hadn't really taken time to process my upcoming adventure.  Well, it all hit late last night, and off and on throughout today. I go back and forth between being totally fine, and crying for no reason at all.  I think about my dad, and how I don't want to risk anything that would take me away from my children and my husband. Then I think, I have a special angel up in heaven, who will be looking after me, his little girl.  Either way, the tears escape.
   I am totally ready for what Monday will bring..for my new birthday. I've been so fortunate to be able to chat with all of you online here, and several who have the same date as me, and appreciate my "dry" sense of humor (Pam, I think I love you). I feel such support and comfort knowing that we are all here, albeit in cyperspace, together.
  Off to shave my legs now so my Hubby can take my BEFORE pics!  Looking forward to updating you all very soon.