I have been overweight just about my entire life. In high school I did track and thinned down a bit, only to get pregnant and gain it all back and then some. Medical problems with the pregnancy and after caused my weight to sky rocket. I never got any of that weight off. Then each pregnancy after that I gained more and more. I am a borderline diabetic, my blood pressure is high, I have sleep apnea (on a CPap machine), plantar fasciitis in my left heel, chronic back pain and hip pain, asthma, I'm just a mess! I am married and have four children (13, 6, 4, 2). I'm tired of being exhausted and in pain all the time so I decided to look into GBS after my pcp suggested it. I himmed and hawwed about it for about a year and a half then finally decided to make an appointment with the surgeon to learn even more, and so my journey begins...
2/22/07
I went to the new patient meeting to get some information. Hadn't decided if it was for me or not yet. My friend came with me for moral support.
5/3/07
I went to a community support group meeting to get further information. I decided at this meeting that I'm going to move forward.
5/10/07
0-6 month group meeting
5/16/07
Preop required office visit. Weighed in at 272. Ugh.... Met with the nutritionist and surgeon. The psychologist was out sick, so I need to go to the office again.
6/17/07
Met with the psycologist. Everything went well. Weighed in at 266. Yay it's going down! Let's hope it continues. My weight can't go up at all between now and my next visit! The staff can't submit anything to my insurance because my insurance is changing as of July 1st...so now I have to wait. Arrrgghh!
7/9/07
Got an approval letter from my first insurance company! Yay, so exciting. Now I need to wait for the secondary insurance letter.
7/17/07
Got the secondary insurance approval letter! Yay!
7/25/07
I got a date, I got a date, I got a date. Whooo Hoooo. August 23, 2007. I can't wait. I have to go for a blended diet class on 8/9/07, then for Pre-testing on 8/17/07. That's less than a month away! I'm really trying to watch what I eat. I gained 4 lbs on my vacation a few weeks ago and I can't be higher than my last weigh in or they'll postpone my surgery. I've since lost the four pounds and one more.
8/9/07
Blended Diet Class. Down to 258.3 lbs.
8/17/07
Last pre-op visit. Down to 257.4 lbs.
8/23/07
Surgery Day! Down to 255.4 lbs.
My surgery went great. Took 2 hrs 15 minutes. No complications! My only complaint was pain in my chest (like heartburn). The docs said it was from the highest incision. Some meds took care of that. The other thing was that I was extremely bloated. I looked like I was pregnant! My surgery was on a Thursday and I went home on a Sunday. The docs wanted to send me home on Saturday, but I elected to stay an extra day due to I was going home to four children and wouldn't be able to rest as I would in the hospital, and my doctor agreed 100% with me.
8/26/07
8-day post-op visit. Down to 244.9 lbs. That's 10.5 lbs in 8 days. Whooo Hooo!!
9/5/07
243.2 It's coming off, but slowly. I was hoping it would come off a lot faster than it is.
About six days post-op and the bloat went away. The heartburn has just about gone away completely with the help of a prescribed antacid. I never had any pain in my stomach where the incisions were. The only incision that was a little tender was the one that the drain was in, but once that was removed, it felt fine. Having the drain removed was the weirdest feeling ever!
The first week on the blended diet went just fine. I'm able to tolerate everything so far. It's now the second week and I'm starting to get bored with eating mush. I think a lot of the problem is we've had a few bbq's to attend and it's hard to see everyone eating all the good eats. I did however try some corn on the cob. I ate it extremely slowly and chewed to a puree. Took me forever to eat it, but I did just fine. I've continued the blended diet and trying to eat the same things the family is eating, only blended. I'm also cooking a lot healthier for the family so I can eat what I cook for them. I must say though that my biggest challenge is eating slowly. I am trying as hard as I can, but it is really hard to make 1-2 ounces of food last a 1/2 hr.
9/13/07
238.8, 3 weeks post-op. That's 33.9 total and 16.6 since surgery. Only 13 more days till my diet advancement class. I'm really looking forward to this. I don't want to be on this blended diet anymore. All is going well though. I need to start walking more, but due to my husbands crazy schedule these past two weeks, I haven't been able to. Next week his schedule will be back to normal.
9/26/07
Diet Advancement class. All went well, just a very loooonnnnngggg day...they were running 45 minutes behind! I weighed in at 233.1. That's four ounces up from my weigh in at home this morning, but then again, I don't weigh myself with all my clothes on either. So according to the Dr.'s records, I have lost 39.6 lbs to date. I have been given the green light on solid foods which is such a nice thing. I really was sick of the blended stuff. I did have some concerns though. I seem to be able to eat a lot more than 2 oz. I've never gotten sick and I've never had the full feeling. I'm worried that this could be a problem. They don't seem to think so, but they did say that I need to eat a lot slower than I am and to increase my water. And of course I need to exersize more. But I also got the green light that I can join the gym, but I'm not allowed to do any abdominal crunches or strengthening till after my 3 month follow up appt. So I called my insurance company today to see how much of it they would cover. They're sending me the forms and hopefully I can join the gym next week. I'm hoping with the added exersize that the pounds will drop off even faster.
Skin problems already! I've had five pregnancies. Four full term pregnancies. My stomache got HUGE! So I have a lot of excess skin in my lower abdomen. I am already having issues with that skin and an infection starting under it. The nurse at NWH gave me a prescription powder that should take care of it, but of course I left all my papers at the dr's office, so I have to wait till they mail them all to me.
Last night I moved down a size in clothes as well. I'm officially in a size 18 pants! I'm so excited.
My next appt is at the end of November.
10/21/07
Today I reached one of my goals of 50 lbs lost! I did a little happy dance when I got off the scale this morning. I am now at the weight I was at when my husband and I met which is 222. I also started at the gym a few weeks ago. 10/2/07 to be exact. I've been going four times a week. Two power classes and two kick classes. I went down another size last week as well. I'm offically in a size 16. Today I tried on a size 14. I was able to get them on and buttoned, but not zipped. Hopefully next week I'll be able to zip them.
11/18/07
I participated in the 27th Annual Slattery's Turkey Trot today. 5 mile walk or run. I've never done anything like this before but decided to challenge myself and brought my mother along with me for the trip. The weather was fantastic and I walked the entire thing along with jogging in a few spots. I finished my five mile walk in 1hr 18min and boy am I feeling it in my legs tonight!
I am also into size 14 pants now. Been in them for about two weeks or so now. Weighed in this morning at 210.2. That's a total of 62.5 lbs gone!
11/23/07
3-months Post-Op: Made it through Thanksgiving just fine except for having a nasty flu the day prior. The only good thing that came out of the flu was I lost 6 lbs in one day. My weight today after the marathon of shopping was 203.2!!!! I will take a new photo in the morning.
12/13/07
Today is a happy day! I jumped on the scale this morning for my weekly weigh-in and the scale said 199.6. I am finally in ONEDERLAND!!! No longer in the two hundreds. This is such a wonderful feeling!
12/19/07
I went to Kohl's today to spend my Kohl's cash and decided to buy a pair of jeans to hopefully get into. I bought an exact pair of jeans that I already wear, just in the next size down. When I got home, I tried them on and HOLY CRAP they fit!!!! Size 12!!! I couldn't believe it. Me in a size 12...who'da thought?!?!
12/26/07
I am 4 months post-op now and weigh in at 197.4. This has been a very slow month for weight loss. Only 5.8 lbs lost all month. Hopefully this month things will pick back up. I still need to do my measurements for the month. Things have been crazy with the holidays, so I'm running a little behind.
12/29/07
I received two pairs of jeans for Christmas. A size 12 and a size 10 to work toward getting into. Well just for kicks I decided to try them on to see how much longer it may be before I could really get into them. To my suprise.........they fit!!!!!!!!!!! Without cutting off circulation!!! So I'm going to be exchanging the size 12's that I got for 10's. This is just so strange to me. I just got into size 12's ten days ago. I haven't been in a size 10 since I was in middle school!
1/10/08
I jumped on the scale this morning for my weekly weigh in and it said 195.6. The scale hasn't moved in three weeks! It's so frustrating. I don't know what I can do to get things moving again.
1/23/08
I am now 5 Months Post-Op and weigh in at 190.2. That's a weight loss of 82.5 lbs! Still another slow weight loss month, but I'll still take it.
So last night around 6:30pm I had the shakes really bad. I thought maybe my blood sugar could be low so I ate something. Still after a half hour I was still shaking. Shaking so much that I thought my legs were going to give out on me. I laid down for a little bit (I couldn't even sit without feeling like I was going to fall over) but that didn't seem to help. Then I thought, maybe I'm dehydrated, so I had some more fluids. Still didn't help. I left three messages for my surgeon on their emergency line and no one called me back! I ended up passing out. Woke up at 1am, then went to bed. I got a hold of my surgeon's office today and they said that they don't know what happened to their emergency line but they're looking into it. Tina at the office wants me to go in and have IV fluids, but I can't do that. It's too far away and I have a house full of daycare kids. I do have an appointment to see my PCP tonight anyway, so she wants me to mention everything to her. Also, Dr. Partridge wants me to drink, drink, drink all day and have pedialyte diluted. So I'm on my fourth bottle of water and I feel so bloated. I'm still, believe it or not, a little shakey, but not nearly as bad as I was last night. The past couple of days I've been feeling so lethargic and just have no energy. Tina at the dr's office says that it sounds like I'm dehydrated. I still struggle everyday getting in all my water. So I'm doing the best I can to drink all day. I'm not a water fan, so it's tough, but I'm really giving it an honest effort.
2/16/08
I have been sick with diarrea for 5 days now. Been in and out of the hospital twice for IV fluids. I've lost 8 lbs in four days. I can't keep anything down. Everything goes right through me. I have been taking immodium and on the BRAT diet, but still the diarrea is not slowing down. I've keep getting dehydrated due to it. My daycare has been closed for three days. I was at the hospital today and they did blood work (all normal except an elevated liver---unsure why), x-rays of my belly (normal), and they took a stool sample, but that has to go out to the lab and because Monday is a holiday, I won't get the results of that until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. In the meantime, the Urgent Care doc put me on some antibiotics (cipro) to treat me for a parasite (they're assuming that's what it is). Hopefully by tomorrow night I'll be feeling better and not end up in the hospital again.
2/23/08
6 Months Post-Op. Weight 179.6. Down 93.1 lbs. This month was a better weight loss month, but I believe that was due to the fact of the illness that I had. I'm still battling the illness, can't wait for it to be completely gone. Also this month was a huge loss in inches. I was so suprised when I plugged in all my numbers and saw what it added up to. So far I have lost 63.76 inches! I have my 6 month follow up visit with the surgeon on Friday 2/29/08. I will post the results of that visit on Friday afternoon.
3/23/08
7 Months Post-Op. Weight 175.0. Down 97.7 lbs. It was a slow weight loss this month and I didn't meet my birthday challenge as I had hoped. I missed it by 2.3 lbs. Total loss in inches this month was 4.75. All together so far I've lost 68.51 inches! This is insane! I also wear a size 8 pants now. Never in my life have I worn a size 8! I went from a kids 16 to a womens 9 when I was in about the 5th grade or so. So this is all new to me. I also bought a bathing suit. I call it my itsy bitsy teeny weeny turquise polka dot tankini. Haha. I hope it will still fit come summer time, or fit even better.
4/13/08
Today is a very happy day. I jumped on the scale today and it said (drum roll please...) 172.4! That's 100.3 lbs lost!!! I rewarded myself with a shopping spree at Fashion Bug. I was in my glory all day long!
4/23/08
8 Months Post-Op. Weight hasn't changed. Still at 172.4. My husbands schedule is changing soon so I can get back to the gym more. Hopefully that'll jump start the weight loss again.
5/21/08
9 Months Post-Op. I had my 9 month post op visit with Dr. Partridge. 165.8 lbs. She said that I am a clinical success!!! Everything went great and she says I'm ahead of the game. Next visit will be on 8/20/08 for my one year follow up.
6/23/08
10 Months Post-Op. 165.8 lbs. Absolutely no weight change at all. I'm hoping when I do my measurements later on today that I'll at least see some inches lost. I seem to be stuck in a rut right now. I've received a few ideas from other OH members that I'm going to try to get things moving again. I also just had a thyroid test (awaiting the results). Very low libido (has been for about three years now), and I'm very tired lately. The fatigue may just be because of my life style. I'm on the go constantly. With my four kids, my daycare and my husband working nights (2nd shift), I never seem to get a break. May be I bring a lot of it on myself by never saying no to anyone, but that's me I guess. So I'll update my measurements later on today hopefully.
7/23/08
11 Months Post-Op. 164.4 lbs. For a total loss of -108.3 lbs. Finally the scale moved!! Very little, but it moved in the right direction. How frustrating it was being on the 2 month stall, but I'm am very glad it is over and I'm moving on.
I started on Avlimil this month in hopes to spark my libido, but it does say that it can take up to three months before any change is noticed. The thyroid test that I had done last month came back normal and I also had my iron checked and that was normal as well. I guess I'm very tired because I just run myself ragged.
Hurt my back again. I have no idea how I did it, but I've been seeing a chiropractor and he has given me strict instructions not to do any weight lifting, so I have stopped going to my power class. He said if I have two visits in a row where I'm doing well, then he'll let me go back, but it seems I have one good visit then one bad visit. Hopeing my back heals fast, it's no fun being in pain.
9/1/08
1 YEAR POST OP!!!! I'm a little late with this post...should have done this on 8/23, but I've been very busy. I had my 1 year follow up visit with Dr. Partridge on 8/20. All went well, just need to keep a close eye on my blood sugars as they are showing some signs of hypoglycemia. Hoping it was just a fluke thing and was just that one isolated day, we shall see how it goes.
Dr. Partridge is extremly pleased with my progress. I've lost 77% of my body weight and they consider 60-70% a success, so I'm ahead of the game. She just said to keep doing what I'm doing and keep up with the exersize.
To my suprise the scale this morning said 158.2! I was so shocked I had to take a photo. I haven't done my measurements yet. I've really been procrastinating on this lately. I missed my 10 month photo and was late on my measurements then too.
All in all, things are going well. I was in a wedding over Labor Day weekend and it was a great time. (I looked fabulous in the dress too!) Never would have considered wearing a dress like that a year ago. Here's a pic of my husband and I.
9/23/08
13 Months Post-Op. 155.4 lbs. For a total loss of -117.3 lbs. I had surgery today for an internal hernia causing a small bowel obstruction. I was in excruciating pain for two weeks sending me to the ER twice. An x-ray at the ER found the obstruction. I also had an endoscopy which showed no signs of any ulcers. I believe the scale has moved so much this past month due to me not feeling well and only being able to tolerate liquids.
10/23/08
14 Months Post-Op. 152.4 lbs. For a total loss of -120.3 lbs. Still recoving from the hernia surgery. The recovery for hernia surgery was quite a bit longer than it was for the bypass surgery. I had a lot more incision pain (belly button) and lower abdominal pain. I spoke with my surgeon about it and she said that the hernia surgery was much more involved than the bypass. I also went right back to work. Had surgery on a Tuesday, went home on Wednesday and was working Thursday. At least with my bypass surgery I had the weekend to rest a bit before I went back to work. I am feeling better though. No more pain! The surgery did the trick. Now I'm just stuck here at 152.4. All my own fault. I seemed to have fallen off the band wagon. I'm doing terrible on my fluids. Not taking my vitamins on a regular basis and making very poor food choices. I know what to do, but for some reason I'm not. All my own fault and I need a swift kick in the @$$. I didn't have this surgery to screw it up. I will redirect myself.
1/22/09
17 Months Post-Op. Still stuck at 152.4. I bounce from 152 to 157. Playing with the same 5 lbs depending on the day and time of month. I haven't updated this in such a long time. I also haven't taken my measurements. Even though the scale hasn't changed, I believe my measurements have because I've gone down a few more sizes. I'm wearing a size 4 jeans. How CrAzY is that?!?!
I just started back at the gym last night. I've been delayed for a few reasons. As you know I had hernia surgery. That set me back for a month or so. I went back for about a week then I got injured Thanksgiving weekend. My husband fell on me and severely bruised my sternum (long, long funny story). That was a six week recovery. I was given the green light to go back to the gym for the first week of January, but due to my schedule and my husband's schedule, I just couldn't get there.
I was suppose to start Nursing school yesterday but the school was missing one piece of my financial aide paperwork so now I'm delayed until March. Seems to be the way of my life lately. Everything is a day late and a dollar short.
Started a new business too. Trying to get that up and running and hopefully make some money!
Kind of stuck in a rut eating wise. Eating too many carbs and having issues w/my hypoglycemia. All my own doing. It's just too easy to grab crackers. I need protein in a pill form. They need to make that. I also have found that I can tolerate sugar and I don't dump. Not a good thing. I'm a sugar addict.
2/25/09
I had my 18 month follow-up visit with Dr. Partridge today. I didn't get the earful that I was expecting. Dr. Partridge was more concerned with how I was feeling since my last surgery. Which I'm feeling just fine from. I did tell her about my sugar consumption and she said that it's ok that I have it, but to still think of it as poison and watch my carbs. She also said I need to start exercising again...which I know I do, just getting it into my already hectic schedule is tough.
I asked her about plastic surgery and she said that I can do it, but she doesn't feel I'm ready. I need to be able to have the time to recover, and that I don't have right now. So we'll see where my life is when I go back for my two year follow up in August.
According to Dr. Partidge's records I'm down 6 lbs from my last appointment in August. I was 160.4. I told her that I was lower than that, but she believes that I was lower before because of my illness and had to have surgery.
Overall it was a good appointment. She thinks I look good and I'm doing well. I did tell her that I have some self image issues and that I don't see myself as other see me, but she said that I look like I put effort into my appearance and that I will see what others see soon and it all comes in time.
6/18/09
I've gained some weight. All my own doing too. I can eat sugar...so I do. I can eat carbs...so I do. I can drink alcohol...so I do. I stopped working out.
Before it spirals out of control I need to do something. The gym is not possible right now. I don't have time in my schedule since my husband's accident. I can cut out the sugar and I really should since it makes me very tired. I know I need to take my vitamins, but I don't. I do protein first because of the hypoglycemia which I seem to have under control. I know for sure that I do not drink enough. Never have, probably never will. I always mistake thirst for hunger.
What I need is a swift kick in the @$$. I know what I need to do, I'm just choosing not to.
Today's weigh in was 168.8. That's a gain of 16.4 lbs from my lowest weight. I am disappointed in myself, yet I continue to make the wrong food choices. Someone just slap me please!
1/23/13
I haven't been on this site in years. Time to jump back on the band wagon. A lot has happened since my last update. Between my husband's accident, my youngest daughter being diagnosed with Cancer, a major knee injury for me. Surgery on my knee. Infidelity on my husband's part, separation, divorce and then a new baby. All kinds of depression, anxiety, panic attacks and weight gain. I've put on about 50 lbs with all the stress in my life including the pregnancy. The baby just turned a year last month. I NEED to do something. I don't like how I look, I don't like how I feel. None of my clothes fit. I don't feel sexy or desirable. I'm lonely and depressed. I make all the wrong food choices, I'm positive I've stretched my pouch. I know I need to stop with the sugar. Sugar is my biggest problem. I have never drank enough water. I know my portion sizes are too much also. I don't work out anymore. My knee surgeon still hasn't given me the 'ok' to go back to the gym. I actually need to have the ACL/Meniscus surgery again. I won't go to that surgeon if I do decide to have it redone.
I'm a single mom of 5, I work full time. My kids are in a bunch of extra-curricular activities every day. I never get any down time or alone time. My ex-husband takes his three kids every other weekend, but I still have the baby at home with me all the time. My oldest has moved out and on her own now. I need to do something for me and get my life back on track. It's been too long.
