Sabrina J.

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Hey there!  It's been for. ev. er.  since I've made a post, but , er, life happens, ya know?  ;)

Yesterday (Sunday, May 19th) was my 2 year surgery anniversary and my life has completely changed for the better.  Some currents:

• I've met my goal and dropped below it by a couple of pounds (current 168);
• I can wear my husband's jeans
• For the first time since high school, I weigh less than he does! (He's a fit 190);
• I can wear some of my 15 year old daughter's jeans!;
• On the flipside, she can wear mine too and has stolen at least one pair from me (Lol!);
• I can ride amusement park rides with no problem!;
• I can keep up with my kid and frequently wear her out when running around;
• I can go to restaurants and fit in the booth (and have room to spare!);
• I can go to the theater and not feel squished in the seat, and not crowd out the person sitting next to me!;
• I actually have been called a "cougar", and they meant it! (LOL);
• Ditto for "MILF" lolol;
• I can wear sandals and high heels without sqooshing out every opening and having the straps cut into my feet;
• All of my co-morbids have been resolved for almost two years now - no more sleep apnea, high blood pressure, high blood sugar (was pre-diabetic, stays around 78), high cholesterol (stays around 68), etc., etc.!!!;
• My hair is finally growing back in (lost SO much in the first year)!
•  I look and feel 36, not 46! (I used to look and feel MUCH MUCH older!)

Well, the 19th marked my 3 month Surgiversary - and things are moving along nicely.  As of last night I am down to 277, that's 87 lbs off my pre-op weight and 78 lbs off my weight when I was discharged from the hospital.  Not too shabby.

I'm still having , er.. Adjustments to make now and then.  That's what I like to call them - "adjustments" . You know what I'm talking about; those things that aren't really major, or tragic, or debilitating, and from I've learned thus far, can be pretty much par for the course.  But troublesome, nonetheless.

Things like:

Adjustment: I can no longer tolerate milk.  At all.  Which really sux because I have always been a MAJOR milk fan.  I used to LOOOOVE milk!  I used to guzzle the stuff straight from the gallon jug. All. The. Time.  Now I can't have more than a splash in my coffee.  The tiniest bit causes a major sugar dump - cramps, sweats, chills, diarrhea, the whole bit.  
I know what you're thinking: "There's plenty of milk replacements out there, Sabrina, you big cry-baby!" Lol  But here's the kicker:  Since having the couple of MAJORLY unpleasant experiences with the stuff, I can't stand anything that resembles milk.  Just the the consistency makes me want to gag. Everything about it just turns me off.   Such a bummer. But hey, definitely not the end of the world - just another "adjustment".  (By the way, I can eat cheese all day long without problems - how weird is that?!?!)

Adjustment: Rice is no longer my friend.  I now understand why it is no longer tossed at weddings out of consideration for the little birdies.  Well, I understood before, but now I can empathize with the birds.  Even cooked rice expands in the tummy - and it doesn't take more than a few grains to feel it!  =

Adjustment: Life without bread.  Although I've been trying to avoid most wheat products for the most part, (I have psoriasis, and my dietitian said it could be linked to a gluten problem), I've found that bread does the ol' expando trick too.  If I eat more than just a tiny bit of bread, I feel like I swallowed a dough ball and can feel it all the way up into my throat.   Ick.

Adjustment:  Speaking of feeling things all the way up (or down, in this case) - One of my most difficult adjustments to date has been the ability to slow down when I drink fluids.  Slowing my eating has been easy-peasy by comparison, and maybe this will get easier when the weather is cooler, but time and time again, especially after I've worked up a sweat, I'll just automatically guzzle my water or whatever it is I'm drinking.   O.M.G.  It feels like I swallowed a friggin FIST!  Not a dainty fist either, but some big ol' man-sized fist complete with callouses and engine grease under the fingernails (not that it tastes like that, I'm just sayin..). And the feeling isn't isolated to my tummy; it feels like a fist down into my throat, through my chest, and into my pouch.  The feeling passes quickly - a few seconds to a minute, tops, but it's definitely uncomfortable and a HUGE adjustment.

And currently my biggest..

Adjustment: The whole hair loss thing.  In spite of me doing all I can to get my protein in, I've been shedding hair like crazy.  For a while now, I've found that I need to pull my hair back into a ponytail before fixing family meals lest someone find a surprise in the mashed potatoes.  But my big adjustment moment was when I was in the shower two nights ago, and while I was running conditioner through my hair, mass amounts came out in my hand.  I mean a crazy amount.  The good thing is I've always had very thick hair, so it's not like I have bald spots or anything, but it was a surreal & somewhat scary experience. But since I knew it could happen, it's just another one of those Adjustments I have to make and deal with it.


But ya know what?  Even with all the adjustments I've had to make, and may have to make in the future... I would do it all over again.  =)

Just had my 2nd follow-up with Dr. Carter yesterday (and I got a hug!  I have such a schoolgirl crush...  Lol!)

Anyway... back to the BIG news - my blood test results and stats from yesterday (07/20/2011):

Weight lost: 67lbs
Blood Pressure: 122/67
Glucose: Normal
Cholesterol: Great - Doc said mine was even better than his own!  LOL 

Funny moment:  My pants have become so loose that I'm constantly having to tug them back up.  So after my appointment, I went to go use the ladies room, and as I'm entering the stall I didn't have a free hand to keep hold of my pants - and they literally dropped straight to my ankles!!!  Good thing no one else was in there.  LOL 

And the weight is (drumroll please)...... 312 pounds, making for a total of 43 pounds lost since discharge from the hospital.  Not too shabby, if I say so myself.... hehe 

Well, it's been exactly one month since surgery, and I'm around 40 pounds lighter (weight loss definitely slowed down once I was off liquids).  I'm getting around fine and returned back to work last Friday.  Can't say I missed working, but it was nice to see some freindly supportive faces. =)
I'm STILL gassy (will it never end????), and still have discomfort when eating.  I'm trying my best to remember to stay hydrated but not to drink too close to eating - that has been a challenge for me.  I also am still searching for a protein powder that DOESN"T TASTE LIKE DOO DOO!  I've tried three powders, 2 pre-mixed, and these things called "protein shots", and they all are pretty much gag-a-licious, meaning, I will not try them again!

I've graduated to "soft foods", so I found some life savers in Campbells Chunky Sirloin and Split Pea soups.  I'm so glad to be off strictly pureed foods!!  That was nightmarish. I had started considering pureeing the most unlikely things... not good.  I stopped after a failed experiment involving pureeing a bacon & tomato sandwich. Lol

Well, enough for now - It's Father's Day, so gotta go get gifts ready, etc.  Till next time...

Emerging from the pain and murk (and gas.. so much darn gas...  >.< ) that is post-op with some (really, REALLY) good news:  The bathroom scale I had ordered from Amazon.com arrived earlier this week, and after much trepidation I finally planted my feet on the sucker and got a number. And guess what??


Since my last weigh-in (whilst being discharged from the hospital), I've lost 36 POUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ZOMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


I weighed myself 1 day short of my 3 week surgiversary (not sure if I spelled that correctly), and was discharged 2 days after, so I guess it would actually be 36 lbs in 18 days, or 2 lbs a day.     Unreal.

So for the record:

Highest weight (at Primary care Dr.'s for her clearance letter, apprx. 5 weeks before surgery): 364 lbs.
Weight leaving hospital, post-op: 355 lbs.
Weight 3 weeks (18 days) post-op: 319 lbs.

So, I'm thinking that losing will slow as I'm able to eat more real foods, but for now, especially after enduring the post-op pain and second guessing... Well, I think it's a great kick-off to the rest of my life.  ^.^

There.  That's me in one word or less.  The smiley represents it all. 

Although I'm fairly certain that I'll be able to come back months or years from now, view that icon and know exactly  what I mean(t), I'll elaborate anyway...

My wls was last Thursday, May 19th, I was discharged from the hospital right on schedule on Saturday, the 21st. The whole traveling to SF, having the surgery, and especially traveling back to Sac., was certainly as grand an adventure that I had anticipated - more on all that later, because, while I'm feeling much better, I'm not certain I want to get started on all that quite yet.

So... 6  days out and I'm cruising around the house pretty nicely;
6 days out and I had (finally) my first post-op bm (which was everything I hoped for in a post-op bm - no pain, just... results), so I'm happy about that;
6 days out and I'm still ridding myself of the gas, so every burp is a small victory;
6 days out and I'm weaning myself off my pain meds (mostly because I'm concerned that I'll use em all up and then find myself sol and REALLY needing them - at least this is what I tell myself..
and... that's about it for now I think..

6 days out... Yaaay. me. 

Finally. I finally decide to take the plunge and post to my blog.  In my "lurking", I have (indirectly) received and continue to receive so much inspiration from others here, but so hesitant to type even a few words about myself.  I'm not sure what the hold up has been - maybe something along the lines of, "What if I Posted a Blog and Nobody Came"?

I finally convinced myself to post because, as inspiring as everyone else's post may be, I thought that there will probably come a time or two when I wish I had some sort of record of my mind-set going into surgery - a reminder of why I'm making this commitment, and perhaps a baseline to visit from time to time and see how far I've come.

So, here I am, 3 days away from my surgery date, looking forward to the time off of work. (lol)
I live in Sacramento, but the closest place to get the RNY (that's covered by my ins.) is UCSF, so that's where I'm going.  There have been a number of additional logistics (and expenses!) to plan for with the surgery in San Francisco, but I'm not complaining.  My husband and 13 y.o. daughter will be accompanying me and so I'm treating it like the grand adventure it is!
I have to report to admitting @ 6am Thursday morning, so we are going to SF on Weds. morning on Amtrak (tickets booked).
I Priceline'd a 4-star hotel and got our room booked for Weds. - Sun. I'm supposed to get out of the hospital Saturday, but I booked an extra night just in case (he last thing I would want is for my hub and kid to have to do a frantic search for a decent hotel room if I'm still stuck in the hospital!). But if I get out on Sat. as planned, I'll use the additional night in SF to rest at the hotel before the trip home. 
Rental car is reserved and will be dropped off at the hotel Sun. AM for our trip home.
Only thing I haven't bought yet are attraction tickets for daughter and hubby  for days I'm in the hospital (want to keep em busy ;), and the magnesium citrate I've been told I have to down @ 4pm the evening before surgery. Oh, and the Dial anti-bacterial soap I've been told to shower with the morning of.  Does anyone know if Dial anti-bacterial body wash will do?  If so, I can check that off my list!  =)
Just got a call from my ins. co. - was told that I've been assigned a case worker (something they do for all bariatric patients, apparently) and that she'll be calling me this afternoon @ 2:30.  Wonder what this will be about?

Ah well, I s'pose that's enough for a first post.  Catch ya later!