Melissa_C

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Today is my birthday.            I am 37 and feel and probably look better than I have in YEARS.     Thank you to everyone who has supported me through this journey.   As of today I have lost 61 lbs!! 
To all of  you getting ready to go through this journey, STAY FOCUSED! IT is Sooooo worth it!

hugs to all

~Melissa

2 months and 4 days out of surgery and I am FINALLY feeling TERRIFIC…it was R-U- F-F in the beginning!  I was not a good girl when it came to getting my protein in until we were able to do onto solid foods and I could have the protein bars, which I happen to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!  I have now lost 53 ½ lbs and am just really starting to exercise on the elliptical machine. I am no longer able to wear any of my clothes I wore before surgery, they are all boxed up and ready to go out of the garage! My thoughts and feelings on the last 2 months are as follows: I think Dr Bour and his staff are TOP NOTCH. I think the people who post on this board are amazing for sharing their trials and tribulations. If you are new and reading this, bookmark this site, there’s some good stuff on here! I hated the clear liquid phase after surgery, the only thing I wanted to do is drink water, nothing else. I hated all the protein drinks…ugh! I enjoyed the pureed food, for about a week. After the 2^nd week, I was ready to never have a bowl of soup again. And, again, I did not get in my protein, couldn’t stand any of it. I am getting in my 5 meals a day thanks to Michelle sitting me down and making a meal plan/schedule for me to follow and I am getting in my protein and drinking 2 glasses of milk a day. I do worry about hair loss due to the fact I was not getting in all of my nutrients in the beginning. But, I will cross that bridge when I get to it. I am getting a little bit of runaround from my insurance company, Cigna. I got a letter of denial for my $42,000.00  hospital stay…WTF??? I am working on that. Carmen said it is common for insurance companies to always deny the first few claims…sheesh, talk about a heart attack!! Then it pisses me off that the people at Cigna really don’t seem to know ANYTHING. When I called and said I had my letter of approval saying that they would cover the surgery, the lady on the other end muttered and stuttered ‘oh, well, that was a letter we sent saying that we agreed you NEEDED the surgery”   That is NOT what MY letter says!

Had my endoscopy yesterday...I LOVE the drugs :o)

Started out R- U - F - F, rough!

couldnt have anything to eat or drink from midnight the night before & it was scheduled for 1:30 pm...kinda cruel,  huh?

So, we get there and i get into the little gown, the nurse comes in and looks at my veins..and asks 'where are they??' I told her good luck...when I worked at Kemet years ago, I never had to take the yearly drug test, they could never find  a vein. Took 3 nurses 45 minutes and them using a brand new gadget right outta the box to find my veins. They got the iv started and around 3!!!!! I finally get wheeled back to the next room where they put this rubber mouthpiece around my neck with velcro that smells like CHOCOLATE! And the room smelled like Coffee...UGH!!! I was about to chew someones finger if I could get close to one! All I remember is the nurse kept asking my full name and what procedure I was having done and she said she would continue to ask me that throughout...whatever, ..i dont remember any more of it...I woke up during some part of it and was coughing and gaging...that thing HURT and was burping some HUGE 'from-the-bottom-of-your-belly' burps. I said something and went back to sleep...someone was patting my hand telling me how great I was doing....whatever, i was doped up and feeling fine! I finally wake up in recovery...looked up at Randall and asked where he'd been....went home and went to sleep till about 9...had to get up and take 4 shakes back to back to get my protein in before i went back to bed around 11 and slept so good all night. When I got up at 9, Randall had some stories to tell! Apparently, I kept the whole recovery room amused for a good half hour. He said Dr Bour came out and found him to take him to me...Randall told him I was looking forward to the drugs all week...Dr Bour laughed and said 'yeah, I know. SHe told us all about it!' and said that I woke up for a minute coughing and burping and was saying 'excuse me' and 'sorry' and then said 'well, at least it aint out my other end!!' (laffin...how funny is that??!!!) Dr bour did tell randall they found some irritation or infection in my stomach lining. They will know today when the biopsy comes back and its either form the EGD or an infection that they will treat with antibiotics...strange....Randall said i kept waking up in recovery and looking up at him asking when did he get there....the couple across from me loved me...her name is Joyce and she is actually a customer of our company's...well, her company is. He said I read her a riot. She  had told me a week ago that i would not be hungry on optifast...HAH!!! Randall said i told her and her husband (and the couple after them) that i was soo hungry constantly that i would come  home daily and tell cupcake to run before I threw her butt on a stick and called it lunch....haaa now THAT is funny!! On the way home, randall brought a shake i had made the night before and kept it in the cooler..it was bout 4:00-ish and asked if i wanted the shake..i said 'uh huh' and he shook it up and gave it to me...he asked if i wanted the straw with it and when he turned around to look at me, I had downed the whole shake and handed it back to him and slept the rest of the way.. i dont really remember that...strange! We stopped at the gas station near our  house and randall said i kept yelling out the window and asking him over and over if he had  'fart the strump'...whatever that means??? He said everyone just kinda kept looking at him... we get home and he is helping me outta the car...he bent over to pick up my shoes in the floor board and dropped his glasses on the ground..i yelled 'whoopsi' (smile nancy!) and when he picked up  his glasses his hat fell and i yelled 'oh, whoopsi, whoopsi' and he started laughing asking me if i wanted my shoes on...i told him 'heck no, i'll break my neck in those heels!' Anyway,  i was on the porch about 30 minutes and went to bed.  I kept waking up to Ethans or Aarons head looking down at me...thisclosetomyface....they never said a word, just checking on their momma i guess.

Not as bad as day 1, but not as good as yesterday. Not too hungry today, but funny how 30 minutes before i take my shake i am starving! I remind me of cupcake when she knows its dinnertime...if i had any energy, i'd shake my tail, too! Speaking of energy....ugh, where did it go? I have none...zero...zilch. So, if you come near me today, I wont bite you, but i might fall asleep on  your shoulder!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

ok, i could strangle someone at this point. and to think everyone said i wouldnt be hungry! ARRGHHHHHHHHH!!! Whew, if i can settle down and think clearly and LISTEN to my BODY and not my MIND, I am not REALLY hungry physically...but mentally I'll tackle someone who eats in front of me right now. So, I had my strawberry shake at 730 am, my water at 9 and 10 am, and my chocolate shake at 1030 am..and boy am I counting down the MINUTES between them until my next one. I went home at noon to raid my freaking freezer for a sugar free popscicle...yesss God is good :o) Found an orange one...who cares that I HATE  orange...was the best damn tasting popscicle i've had in YEARS! Then i came back to work and had my chicken soup optifast...actually pretty good, considering! Its hot and really thick with spices in it...hopefully it being thicker will last longer. And i have a bottle of water with a crystal lite in it...ahhh heaven!!...uh, kinda. Only 3 more hours until my next shake!!!!