katmom_02

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I have been lurking and occasionally commenting on OH, but seem to find myself much busier than I used to. I will be a year out next week. Everything has gone very well for me so far. My weight loss has slowed down, but I did expect it...not that expecting it helps the bitter pill to go down. I weighed in this morning at 165 lbs. and I SO want to be at 158 lbs by next Thursday...that would make an even 100lbs down in one year. I see everyone throwing around these huge numbers and it get discouraging, but then I think about it and I know I have accomplish a lot. I can run a 5k now...hell, I can bust out a mile and not even be out of breath or feel like I am dying. I am wearing a size 12...which I thought I would be smaller by now, but its not a 22 anymore! I am trying to get to AT LEAST 140lbs, which would put me at a normal BMI...I would like to be about 130-135, though. I can see the light now...when I think about it I only need to lose 25 more pounds to be in a normal BMI. I can totally do that. I just have to stay on track. I meet with a surgeon next Thursday (mine retired), and we'll see what he thinks. Soon I can start to consider plastics...THAT has me pretty excited. I just wish I could see my weight loss on myself, uh. *frustrated*

 

#165

So, I am 9 days post-op today. It is MUCH harder to get in fluids and protein than I thought it would be. My belly is sore, but not really painful. Surgery went smoothly ONCE I was intubated...there was issues with that, but I'm still here! I have lost some weight, but for right now, I am just really interested in getting through my stages, and getting in my water and protein. (which I'm not able to do right now)

#226

Well, I have finished going through the program, done ALL my pre-op stuff and I finally have my surgery date. I was offered surgery in Nov, but decided to wait until Feb...and I am scheduled for Feb 20, 2013. By that time, I will have a ONE YEAR OLD that can pretty much walk everywhere, and I won't have to carry her too much. ALSO, I am past the holiday and birthday stress...so I can focus on what I need to do. I AM going to have the RNY, even though I did have my heart set on the VSG...I trust my surgeon, and this was his recommendation. Because I have over 100 lbs to lose AND because of my level of GERD he believes that the RNY is the best choice for me. I am SUPER nervous because I know that it is going to hurt and I am going to mourn food...but on the same hand I will still be able to eat things, just not very much of it and I have to eat my protein first. So I won't be able to gorge on food anymore, WELL, I should never have done it to begin with, and maybe I wouldn't have this problem.

Well, I had my new BEAUTIFUL baby girl in Feb...she is now 4 months old. I also have an appointment with a new surgeon on Friday morning for my (new) initial consultation. I have decided to have the surgery at the Naval Hospital so that I can have the surgery that I really want, the VSG. With my DH being active duty and my insurance being Tricare, the VSG is NOT cover out in town...and that is the ONLY surgery that I am 100% comfortable having. One of the down side, to me, is that there is a 5 month WLS pathway program at the hospital that they require you to go through. However, I knew about it ahead of time and by going to my initial consult this Friday, I should be set to have the procedure in the Nov-Dec time frame. I would like to take off the first couple weeks of December for surgery and recovery (before everyone starts taking holiday leave). If that doesn't work out, I would like to wait until Mid-Jan. I am trying to continue with my weight loss now, but am struggling due to my work schedule changing and me kind of being in limbo. I am now working 9-5:30...which is too late to do anything in the AM and too early to do anything in the PM...FOR NOW. Keep in mind that I also have an infant waking me up in the middle of the night. Once she is sleeping through the night, I have no problem getting up super early and walking in the am before work. My schedule will be making the permanent change to 7-3:30....THEN I can go to the gym every single day after work, YAY! I love, love, love going to the gym, I just need more hours in a day!

I have already gone through this whole pre-op routine once, and it sucks that I have to do it again, but that OKAY...I got this.

Anyway, I had to have this baby via c-section and it was actually my very first surgery of any type (except my wisdom teeth). I had her at the Naval Hospital Jacksonville and it was a fantastic experience, which is why I am now okay to have my WLS here too. My recovery was a LOT smoother than what I was expecting...I don't know what all the fuss is about. I am going to take just over two weeks off from work for the VSG surgery. I sit at a computer all day, so my job is NOT physically demanding (mentally, yes), and I think two weeks should be good enough for minimal activity. I understand that I will have to take it easy and that I will get tired easily, but HEY, at least I know what to expect!!

you lose a few dozen lbs and then you go and get knocked up! APPARENTLY, that's how it's done! I am 12 weeks preggo now, and when someone asks, 'how old are your kids?' I shall reply....13, 11, and 0---SUPRISE!! I haven't been pregnant in over a decade and don't know how I forgot how MISERABLE I am during the whole 40 weeks.  I have been SO sick and SO tired..I just have my fingers crossed that it will end with the first trimester. After this baby is born, I'm not messing around! It's back to the grindstone...just with a higher calorie intake to account for breastfeeding (hopefully).

So, I guess its time for an update. Since seeing the NUT on the 15th of Dec, I have been eating within her guidelines (99% of the time) and going to the gym. Right now I am down from the 253 to 224, and I am struggling to lose more weight. I logged ALL my food and drink for the first month and a half, but have stopped doing that because I am now in the habit of measuring and weighing my food, so I know about how much I am eating. I eat healthier choices and SINGLE SERVINGS of things. I eat very low simple carbs and high protein. I am in the gym at least 3 times a week, and on days I am not in the gym, I am usually going for walks with the family or going to the indoor pool (until summer-then I will swim in OUR pool every morning before the gym and work)...one thing is for SURE, I definately clean my house on my days off.

I have decided that will try one more time to lose this weight on my own. I am having trouble breaking my current plateau, and I realize that it is going to take time...but I figure I owe it to myself to try and fight for this, REALLY fight for it. If I start gaining or my health status changes, then I believe I will find a way to get the surgery I feel most comfortable with...which will most likely end up being the sleeve. I am focused on losing weight and getting healthier...I MUST do this.

Because I am at a plateau, my plan is to: (1) begin logging all my food again, AND (2) add another gym day and change up my work-outs.

Hopefully everyone will see my ticker go down.

So, I met with the Nutritionist on Wednesday and today is Friday.....HEY, I've been busy! You know my flippin' DH is on LEAVE for 30 days....holy moly, will we be lucky if our marriage survives this. Anyway, so I went to the appointment and DH came with for support and education. I was basically told that I had a good idea of what I am supposed to eat and what I'm not supposed to eat...duh. This is not my first rodeo, I have seen a nut before....oh, yeah, and done TONS of research. I know what I need to do to lose the weight, it the execution that I have a problem with. So, with all that and the out-of-pocket fee (which, I grant you, wasn't that expensive at $55), I am now 'officially' on a 1400 calorie a day diet and I am back in the gym AT LEAST 3 days a week. I personally think that this is just to see if I will be compliant. Of course, all of this is not a problem...I did this for 6 months last year, but lost just over 20lbs.---then gained all that back PLUS another 12lbs., putting me at my highest ever weight of 252. So, yesterday and today I have had 1400 cals or LESS and I have gone to the gym both days as well...and taken a multivitamin...AND logged my food and activity. I should get labs back next week, and I have my psych appt on Tuesday. FULL STEAM AHEAD!!

Well, after all of my research I haven't found one person that had the VSG approved by Tricare to be done by a civilian doctor. I can have it done at the MTF, but my husband doesn't feel comfortable with me seeing Military docs. I really would feel more comfortable having the VSG, but it looks like I might have to get the RNY. My insurance doesn't cover the DS or the VSG, it WILL cover the Adjustable Gastric Banding and the RNY-GP. I really liked everything that I learned about the VSG, really, but maybe this was meant to be. I absolutely CAN be a volume eater, but I tend to graze because I feel hungry ALL the time. I do NOT have a problem going to the gym or for walks, and actually enjoy working out. I have started to hurt lately, though. It hurts when I sleep in one position for too long, it hurts when I sit for too long, it hurts when I stand for too long, it just hurts and this is BS! I also recently had to start medication because of edema all over my body...but especially my legs. They were like those tempurpedic matresses...my fingerprint would just stay for a while. Sooo, it looks like I'm going to be getting the RNY. I will know for sure by Tuesday of this week. Wednesday I have my appointment with the NUT, and if I am going to have to change procedures, I will be able to tell them then. We shall see.

At my appointment with the doctor yesterday...he was smiling at me because he remembered me from the seminar in September. Oh, yes, and when I put that my weight yesterday was 252 in was the highest I have ever seen my weight. Although, I keep telling myself that I ate lunch RIGHT before going to the doctor...but I didn't eat much 'cause I was nervous, dang it! Also, my BP was a little elevated..but that is because I was SUPER NERVOUS. It usually runs pretty low.

So today I scheduled my physical with my PCM for the 8th of Dec, and I'll go in for my labs on the 9th or the 14th....I'm just SO busy! I couldn't get through to the psychiatrist's office today, so I'll book that tomorrow. I have decided to just start therapy like twice a month. Just to get me up to this procedure and through the crazy post-op i'm-losing-my-mind phase...that way if I need some Xanax (which I took last summer when we left the kids at my parents house for a few weeks---a few STATES away from me), I'll just be able to call my doc and I'll be set.

My appointment is later today and I am super nervous. I am about to go do something mundane like laundry...that should calm me down. I'll make sure to update tonight with what happens.


**So, it's nighttime. Things went very well. First the MA that took my information and vitals was super nice. My BP was a little high, but I WAS super nervous....so whatever. The nurse wasn't awesome. She came in all matter-of-fact and asked, "So, you're interested in bariatric surgery?".....and I said "Yes..."------then she starts going off on things that I am going to have to get done, including three months PCM(PCP) supervised weight loss. Also, that I need to get 'these' labs done, and they should be fasting...and it might be a good idea to stay off the fried and fatty foods for a few days prior to the labs so that they look good. I was like, uh, okay. Then she started to mention that after the procedure I would only  be able to eat a very small amount because you will only have a very small stomach...and, again, I was like, uh, yep, I know that. Then it was like this:
Nurse:  "You won't be able to eat sugar"
Me: "I know"
Nurse: "Because you can have this thing call 'dumping'
Me: "You know, I am not interested in having the RNY, I would like to have the VSG."
Nurse: "Well, dumping can happen with that too."
Me: "Even though I will still have my pyloric valve?"
Nurse: -baffled- "Well, you have the pyloric valve intact with both procedures."

After that I started to not listen. That's when she turned to the computer and said...

Nurse: "You don't have any co-morbidities?"
Me: "Not yet"
Nurse: "Well, I don't know if, based just on your weight if you're insurance will cover you"
Me: "Oh, they will cover me, my BMI is almost a 45. They may reject my request for VSG, but I can win an appeal based on my need for NSAID's"
Nurse: "I don't know, Tricare has been giving us trouble lately on approvals"
Me: "I work at the Naval Hospital and very closely with Tricare representatives, I pretty much  know Tricare's loopholes"
Nurse: "I have had the bypass, and I can take childrens motrin and liquid gel nsaids, but if you want to take on Tricare..."
Me: "Yes, I'll handle Tricare"

Then after more questions she asks me if I spoke to the doctor at the seminar and if I would like to talk to him today. Well, yes, I would love to talk to the doctor...that is why I came in. Then THAT WOMAN left....I don't know if she was actually a nurse....Lord, I hope not.

Then Dr. Sharma came in and the sun came out, yay! He answered some questions for me. Told me that I didn't need to do the three months of supervised weight loss because it wasn't required by my insurance, and that all I needed to do was the NUT and the Pysch evaluation. I talked to him about possibly getting the single incision and he said that wouldn't even be a problem...and to go one step further, they are trying to make the procedure painless (as painless as possible), so with single incisions they can do this thing with called an ultrasonic nerve block. Where they can block the nerve endings near where I am going to be cut, and they stay numb for several hours. We shall see about that one. So, he says that as soon as I get all this other stuff done to come back in for a date. AND, he said that if I know I will need to take nsaids forever, then the VSG or Imbrication would be the best choices, and since no insurances are covering Imbrication yet, VSG is definately the way to go....and that he would write a letter for me if I needed him to. He was SO AWESOME...

The only complaint I have is that awful woman, and let me tell you...it is VERY difficult to get me to say a cross word about anyone.

First appt with the NUT is on the 15th see you then....oh, btw, my weight today was 252.