Lori G.

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135lbs.
Wow. I honestly cannot say, or even guess, when the last time it was in my life I was this low in weight. My ultimate goal was 140lbs, and I'm 5lbs BELOW that. My new goal: 129lbs.

At my heaviest, I was 297lbs w/ a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 52.6, a BMI of over 30 is considered "Morbidly Obese" or "Super Obese." Today at 135lbs, my BMI is currently 23.9 which is considered "Normal Weight."

I had Roux En-Y Gastric Bypass on July 29, 2008. It's taken me 2 years to get to this point. A lot has happened in my life in the last 2 years. A lot to do w/ my health, family life, personal life & inner-struggles w/ myself & my image and self-worth of myself.

Physically... I am in a great place. My jeans are size 6 and my tops are a size Small. Personally, I think I look great and I'm keeping up w/ my new way of eating healthy &  keeping physically active.
Family life... I almost lost half of my family in 2009. In 2010, I lost my aunt Lorraine and Bob's mother, Joannie... but gained a nephew, Thomas in June.
Personal life... a nearly 7yr relationship was ended in December 2008 (he had the same surgery & a lot of things between us changed) & we decided to go separate paths. But I met & have been w/ an amazing man since March 2009, Bob, who has stuck by me through a lot of good & tough times.
Emotionally-balanced life... I'm working on that. I have Anxiety Disorder that's being treated. With all I've gone through the past 2 years, it's hard not to see how I wouldn't have an issue w/ Anxiety.

I can now honestly look myself in the mirror & admit that prior to July 29, 2008, I indeed had an addiction to food. I used it as a coping mechanism when I didn't know how else to deal w/ a tough situation. Or I over-used it to celebrate when over-usage wasn't necessary.
Today, I simply look at food as a source of nutrition. I don't really get any overwhelming pleasure from food anymore, unless its one or two bites from something abnormally fantastic that makes me wish I could eat 2 plates-full of it, but then I remember how far I've come & realize it's not even close to being worth it.

I'm eager to see what the next 2 years has planned for me...

Things have been progressing just splendidly! I went through a couple-week slump where I lost very little weight, but I'm back on track & losing faster than ever! In fact, I've lost 10lbs in the last 8 days alone! Friggin sweet! Since April, I'm down 70lbs, 47lbs of that has been lost since July 29 (my surgery). I think 47lbs in 2 and 1/2 months is pretty awesome!
My new favorite place to shop: OLD NAVY! When I was bigger, I was limited to the things I could buy at Old Navy that would fit properly. But now that I can fit in size 18/20 jeans and XL tops, I can find clothes anywhere, especially at my new favorite place to shop.
I have no pain what-so-ever that is surgery-related, except the muscle on the left side of my abdomen that I pulled WICKED bad the 2nd week post-op. I can still feel that it isn't 100% healed just yet. My migranes have returned, but it isn't surgery-related, I've had them since I was 13 or 14 years old. I'm on a new treatment course for it, so hopefully me & my primary doctor can finally get control of the migranes. My back pain & Sciatica are begining to be as pronounced as they were pre-op, but I am told that there is a good chance that when I lose more weight, those things will go away a bit, if not at all.
I have a collar bone and shoulder bones! haha I can see & feel them nowadays and I think, as dorky as it sounds, it's fantastic and I can't stop touching them! :-P
I feel more comfortable walking long distances now, feeling slightly more socialable, and wanting to do more physical things like hiking, hore-back riding (which was a BLAST), and I eventually wanna get into Yoga when I get closer to my Goal Weight (which is 140lbs). I also wanna try-out some sort of fighting training, like Karate or something like that.
So all-in-all, things have been going along excellent & according to plan! Eachday is like a new adventure, discovering new things about my new shrinking body & my new abilities & goals. I just can't wait to see what I'm gonna look like next summer!
I'm just so excited to have been given this opportunity, this second chance at a new, healthier, happier life :) I take NONE of it for granted!

My surgery went smashingly well! Dr. Gens is a miracle-worker!
Everything went according to plan, no complications at all. I was in the hospital July 29 - August 1 and I was well-taken care of.
I'm at home, relaxing but up & moving around (don't need any of those pesky blood clots) but not doing anything like housework, chores, etc.
Taking a shower kinda tires me out, but I'm getting my strength back each day. I'm back to sleeping in my own bed (not on the reclining couch).
I've begun sleeping on my sides, which for the first few nights caused me pain in the morning, but now it doesn't bother me much at all. My cat, Mika, still doesn't understand that I can't have her sleeping on my tummy at night right now.

I go for my first Post-Op appointment with Dr. Gens and Nancy Seesman (program directer) on August 14. I'll be weighed, which I'm curious about because my pants already are falling off me. When Monty went for his 2 week Post-Op appointment, he had already lost about 20lbs.

This was the best decision I've made in my 24 yrs of life, because now the rest of my years can be much easier and happier :)

July 29 is the big day!
Tonight, I have a mandatory Pre-Op class at the hospital. I'm not very certain what the class is all about, but I'm sure they'll go over what to expect, Living Wills, etc etc.

Soooo excited :-D




July 29 is just a week & a half before the Nine Inch Nails concert, so obviously I won't be able to go :(

So I've been approved by BC/BS for the RNY! But I have to wait until Monday to call Dr. Gens & schedule surgery. When I talked to Dr. Gens 2 Mondays ago, he said as soon as I am approved, it would only be a week or two until the actual surgery. So I've gotten together all my Short Term Disability paperwork from my Human Resources people for Dr. Gens' people to fill out, then I'm all ready to go! :-)

I met with my surgeon, Dr. Gens, today. All my pre-op tests came back just fine, except that the Ultrasound found some Gall Stones in my Gall Bladder. I was shocked! I haven't had any abnormal abdominal pains, so I was flabbergasted when he told me that. We may opt to have it removed when he does the RNY. 

But now I have to wait about a week for BC/BS to approve me for the surgery. I'm sure I'll have no problem getting approved. Monty was approved along with 4 or 5 other co-workers with the same insurance. 

I have lost 1/2 lb more than required by the program (I had to lose 17 lbs, which is 10% of my excess body weight) but as of today, I've lost 17.5 lbs! :-D Go me!



So now the wait begins... After work for the next week, I'll be pulling into my driveway like a crazy person to get to my mailbox faster!