Kstrong
I live in San Mateo, am 50, married and work fulltime as a legal secretary. Looking for all the support I can get! Thanks and hope to meet others on the same journey soon.
My highest weight has been 273 lbs. My surgery weight was 255.
Not sure where I want to be at goal weight yet.
My journey started in late April of 2005. My doctor and I were talking about my weight issue and I asked him about gastric bypass surgery. He was worried about my blood pressure and cholesterol being so high so he set up an appt. for me to meet with a
bariatric nurse. Met with her and then she set up appts. for me to meet with a psychologist and nutritionist. After getting through those appts., I submitted a letter to Kaiser telling them why I would be a good candidate for Gastric Bypass surgery.
I received my approval letter dated May 20th from the Bariatrics
Dept. of Kaiser So. San Francisco which was very exciting!
Attended my Orientation/Lifestyles I meeting on August 30, 2005.
Met with Dr. Stiles on Sept. 15 and then with nutritionist Beth Goodridge on Sept. 15th. Both appts. went really well.
Attended Lifestyles III on Sept. 16th. ... Attended Lifestyle IV on October 28th
Met with Dr. Robert Li, my surgeon on October 4th. He wants me to loose another 10 lbs. before meeting with him in a month. Made an appt. to meet him on November 1st but wound up meeting with him on October 25th because my Nov. 1st appt. got
canceled. He then put me on the surgery schedule. Apparently there is a waiting list to get a surgery date so I needed to wait a few weeks before finding out if I make it onto the December surgery schedule.
Received a call from Kaiser on Nov. 2nd saying there was a cancelation and would I like to have my surgery on Nov. 7th. My heart was racing with excitement but decided not to have it that soon as it was only a few days away and so last minute. They then told me I'd be on the January surgery schedule.
Nov. 28, 2005 - Kaiser called me with a surgery date!
January 9, 2005
I am so excited. Got alot of appts. to get to between now and then
but at least I can let my employer know when I will be out. Only six weeks to go before surgery.
Got through all of my pre-ops okay.
Surgery day - January 9, 2006. Woke up early as I had to be at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. It's a good thing I live near the hospital! My husband commented that he was surprised at how calm I was last night and this morning. I am nervous but not to the point of falling apart. Checked into admitting, a nurse came and got me and took me to the prep room. Changed into my gown, put my hair net on, and laid in the bed. A nurse came by and asked me questions about my health and then an anesthesiologist came in to get my IV started. I was glad that he snumbed my vein first and then put the IV needle in. I finally asked for something to calm me down a bit and he came back over and gave me something. That stuff works pretty fast! The next thing I know is that I am being wheeled into the OR and my surgeon comes in. I say hello to him and then they put the mask over my face and out I went!
Woke up in the recovery room and the nurse said the surgery went fine, there were no complications, everything went well. I didn't have a tube in my mouth which surprised me for some reason. Then they carted me off to my room. Seemed like a long way to my room as we kept turning corners and going down hallways. My husband and son were there waiting for me in the room. The nurses got me settled in and checked my vitals. As the day went on, I was surprised at not feeling any pain. I was groggy from the anesthesia all day and wanted to sleep but it was hard with the nurses coming in every 15 mins. to check on me. I quit my morphine pump around 4:00 p.m. since I figured I didn't have any pain.
The two times I got up to walk, I got a bit dizzy and nauseous. They told me that I would feel so much better the next day. It was hard to sleep because the patient in the room next to me was seriously ill and moaning and throwing up all night. The next morning the nurse removed the catheter and I started my period which came on really heavy.
Dr. Li came in to see me right as my breakfast was being delivered. Broth and tea was the first meal. I didn't feel like eating but took a few sips. Dr. Li told me he would start me on the Stage II diet for lunch and if I felt good after lunch then I could go home that afternoon. I was so happy about that! The nurse then came in and removed my IV which was a relief. Lunch was delivered with pudding and cream of wheat which tasted really good but I only got a few sips and bites down as I wasn't hungry. Dr. Li came back and asked me a few questions and said I could go home later on. I called my husband to and left the hospital around 4:00 p.m. Got home and slept so good in my own bed in peace and quiet!
Sunday, January 15, 2006 - I am so surprised at how painless this
procedure has been. I haven't had to take any pain medications since the day of surgery. I feel pretty good but am starting to want some solid food as this Stage II diet is getting hard to stay on.
Haven't updated for awhile:
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
So far I've lost 46 lbs. This has been one the best things I've ever done for myself. I feel really good and finally got over fighting with my lack of energy. I sleep well, my clothes are getting baggier, I've gone down a size, it's just been great.
Personal Wow Moments as of March 27th, 2006 at 207 pounds:
1. The scale was "stuck" for the past week and a half and finally moved yesterday morning by -2 lbs.
2. Cleaned out my closet when I got home from work and removed all size 3s which were hanging on me. Rotated in size 2s which are getting big on me and discovered I am fitting into size 1s.
3. Crossed my legs last night sitting in my recliner. Haven't been able to do that in I don't know how long.
4. Walked up two flights of stairs yesterday without feeling like I was going to drop dead from a heart attack.
April 18, 2006
Been plateauing lately. Can't seem to get into Onederland as I am hovering at 200.5/201. I guess the weight will go down when it's good and ready to.
April 19, 2006
Am in Onederland! I am so happy to reach this goal.
Not so fast on the Onederland. I've hit a plateau and keep gaining a pound or two then losing it. My body plateaued for a good 3 weeks. As of Monday, May 1, 2006 the scale has finally moved to 196 lbs. I hope that it keeps moving downward because this plateau seemed to last forever. My Dr. appt. is next week with Dr. Li and it will be my four month "surgiversary".
June 29, 3006
It's been awhile since I updated my profile. Went to Paris, Brussels
and Amsterdam on June 4-16th. Had a wonderful time. Didn't drink enough water though and it was hot and we walked all over the place. When I returned I was dehydrated. Not a fun thing to go through, felt dizzy, weak and completely exhausted. I've learned that you have to really drink your water and then some when you travel like that. My fear was not finding a bathroom while we were out but there wasn't a problem.
As of June 29th I am down to 179.5 lbs. Everyone I know has been saying I look so much thinner now. I think this last 10 lbs. made a dramatic change in my looks. I am ready to retire from shopping at the plus size stores! In fact for the first time I was able to buy clothing at Chico's which was expensive but I have been waiting to shop there.
My hair fell out alot in Europe, especially in Paris. I am happy to
report that my hairloss has eased up and I am so happy about that. I was getting worried there looking at the drain and wondering how much more is going to fall out
