Some Good News

Aug 13, 2012

Here I start my 4th week out from surgery.  Weight loss has stalled (all of last week) so I am putting the scale away for a while.  I am following my surgeon's and his staff's directions to the letter so it was causing me some frustration. 

Last weekend (the 5th) I fainted at a graduation party.  I ate my lunch before I left,  brought lots of water but was too nauseous to really keep putting in enough water.  I vomitted a few times and the last time I fainted.  Lucky for my the girl's uncle was an EMT.  He determined that I was dehydrated and advised to see my doctor on Monday. Conveniently enough, I had scheduled an appoinment with my PCP to discuss the meds I have been on and how we go about testing to get me off them as is needed.  My PCP also thought it was dehydration but checked for electrolites to make sure everything was balanced.

Due to the fainting episode on Sunday, I did not take my blood pressure med that morning thinking that the med may have contributed to my fainting episode.  My BP was 113/78 without meds.  His advice, don't take it for a week, take BP daily..let's look at the data.  Well, it is not 'official' yet because he wasn't working today, but I did talk to his nurse and gave her the numbers...the highest was 118/78, once..she said that he would call me back tomorrow but that she thinks he will tell me to stop taking it:)  I also recently had my A1C done for diabetes..that was 5.9, which is not as low as they would like it (5.6 or lower)..but it was down from 7.8 the last time I had it done.  So it is in the right direction, but not quite there..so will probably have to wait 3 months until the next test to get off that med (I take Metformin for Type-2 diabetes)..they halved the med immediately after surgery...so I consider that progress.

Next Monday I return to work (teachers report back) and I have a NP appointment with my surgeon's office...so we will keep plugging away and focus on continuing to be healthy.

Thanks for reading.
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One Week Out

Jul 29, 2012

Is it really?  Wow a week since I've had my insides rearranged.  It is hard to believe and I still don't quite believe it is true.  I am still feeling great, getting walking in, all my fluids and protien.  This coming week is going to be exciting..I start soft protiens.  I said earlier this week that I feel like someone has pushed a 'restart' button on my life.  I remember decades ago thinking, if only I could start back a square one I wouldn't make the same bad eating decisions.  It never seemed realistic or possible, but here it is, my do-over.  I have learned a lot about myself so far in this journey.

My follow up appointment with my surgeon is on Wed. Technically I don't need someone to drive me but I do have a friend who said she could take me and it will be fun seeing her.  She recently rejoined WW a she too is overweight.  She knew that was what I was doing and how I lost over 40 lbs pre-op.  She doesn't know about the operation.  In an email last week she wrote how I was an inspiration to her and how she hoped that would keep her focused on doing well on WW again.  I haven't decided yet if I am going to tell her on Wednesday..it was my original plan to do so on the way to the appointment.  She is someone I can trust, so that is not a problem.  I don't want my future weight loss to misguide her as being solely attributed to WW and the gym. So I probably will tell her.

Tomorrow's activitity is to go through my clothes, I have a lot of them. I am getting rid of my 281 lb clothes now that I am more than 40 lbs lighter since that start day.  I have enough clothes to get me through the month of August (or at least until I start school on the 20th).  I believe I will need to obtain new clothes..lucky for me I left a lot of smaller sized clothing at my mom's house when I got married 15 yrs ago.  I expected that she got rid of those..she didn't.  I will be picking those up this week and seeing if any of them will work in the short term. Closer to the end of August, I will splurge (not too much) on new bras and a few pairs of pants, if I need them.  I am very lucky to have two friends, one who lost 38 lbs recently and has size 18-20 pants she'd love to give me, and another friend who has lost 17 lbs and is considering WLS to whom I can give my clothes to.  Shopping in your own closet is so much fun...I found a size 14 suit that I kept as a dream..my 12 yr old daughter wore the jacket in a play (she needed to be a conductor)..it was big on her as she is an 8/10..I think back into that suit is a goal..oh yeah...I guess I should set some of those:)
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It's Done

Jul 24, 2012

I had my surgery very early yesterday.  I spent most of the day sleeping off anesthesia.  I didn't sleep well last night, probably because of sleeping so much during the day.  So how did surgery go?  To quote my surgeon "You made me work a little harder for this one, but it's done and it went well."  He told me I had  swollen liver (even after the 2 weeks liquid diet). This is when my husband asked him if I didn't have this surgery, would this liver issue have caused me probems down the line.  The surgeon said that I would absolutely had, not to mention the diabetes He also told my husband that getting the weight off will help both those condidtions.  During recovery, my husband said to me "I guess the surgery was the right thing to do."  So now, finally, I think he's on board.

I have been feeling great today, started eating a clear liquid..love the broth..jello not so much.  I get to go home tomorrow. 

Let my new life begin!

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T-7 Days

Jul 15, 2012

Well, we are back from our vacation in Maine.  Overall, it went well.  The family and our guests all had grilled meats (which my husband cooked) and various sides.  I had my shakes.  I took many recipes with me and had a variety of flavors to experiment with.  By the end of the week I was wishing I had a cheeseburger flavored shake (cheeseburgers aren't even my favorite food).  What I learned the most from this week is the food/person relationship.  One of the things we never talked about in our behavior classes was food as an addiction.  I am feeling this very badly now.  I feel like a herion addict, only it's food (or what I imagine that to be).  

Most people are supportive.  I thought my husband was coming around to being on my side. Sadly, I believe I am wrong.  For example, when I would get up to make one of my shakes his comments were "Well you signed up for it."  It was uncalled for hostility.  My sister and brother in law came up to visit on vacation.  I told my husband that my sister was going to be at the hospital on Monday (the 23rd)  for the day of the surgery.  That is when she told me that both she and her husband were going to be there all day.  My husband was a bit surprised.  My sister knows he has not been the most supportive. So I am glad they will both be there. 

On the way home from vacation we have a tradition of stopping for lunch at a particular restaurant, one of my favorites.  My husband asked if we were going to meet him and the kids there (we take 2 cars due to people and stuff)..I said we would pass.  Then we get home, another tradition is to go to my favorite italian restaurant once we are done unpacking..so he asked if it would be ok to go.  I told him..you go, I am going to they gym.  These two actions are ok and I handled them well.  Don't ask me to sit in my favorite restaurant and not be able to eat. Tonight was a totally different thing..we spent the day out at an event..I brought my 2 pre-made shakes..they had a bbq..I was ok with that.  We get home and my husband asks what I am going to make for dinner.  I said I would find something to fix..then he asked the kids what they wanted.  My daughter (11yrs old) says chinese.  Do they go out to eat it?  Nope..they order take out and bring it in to the house.  I went upstairs and watched tv.  I thought I handled it well..they should be able to eat what they want.  Apparently, my husband was upset that I did not join them for dinner.  I did very nicely tell him that I am not going to sit at the table and smell the chinese food while drinking a shake.  If he continued to insist on ordering things like that, I will be eating separately..so I handled it the best way I could.

Here's why I am upset:  I was obsessing over what was downstairs.  I couldn't concentrate on the television or the book I am reading.  I was plotting ways to sneak a chicken finger from the left overs when everyone goes to sleep. I was ridiculous.  I was mad..mostly at myself.  What would happen if I had one little chicken finger, one little spoonful of pork fried rice?  I have decided that I hate unstructured weekends. Good news, not that much in the way of leftovers and hubby is taking it for lunch tomorrow..it's in separate containers and he will be able to tell if I so much take a small finger..yup I even had my fingers on them.

Update on that Elusive 1 Pound:  Before vacation I went to WW for my weigh in..I had been on the liquid diet for a few days..lost 2.2 lbs..so ha to the elusive pound..now I can say I lost more than 30 lbs.  After vacation week, again went to WW for my weekly weigh in..lost 6.2 lbs and am less than 2 lbs from hitting the 40 lb mark.

On vacation we kayaked (for 3 hours), hiked (twice), I walked the mud flats a whole bunch of times with my MP3 player.  All that was awesome!  So overall a good week.  This last one is going to be tough..but I will be getting together with a few women from our behavioral management class..one woman had the surgery a little over a week ago, I have mine next week, and the other woman hasn't been scheduled yet.  I will also be popping in to work this week and haven't seen these people since the 3rd week in June (remember I am a teacher).  So I think that will be a good support for the week!
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Tick Tock..It's Coming

Jul 03, 2012

Well..I am less than a month from surgery.

I worked and worked and still have not lost the 1 lb to get me to 30 lbs lost..29 is good, I get that, but I really wanted the 30.  I am not surprised though since that number is below the weight that I and my doctors have determined that my body can lose on it's own.  I get to the 250 range and my metabolism and such shut down keeping me at this weight.  So in comes the liquid diet..just in time:)

I went to all my pre op appointments yesterday.  The NP was thrilled at my progress, I a was not..hence the damn 1 lb.  She said oh don't worry about that..the HRM will take care of that part. So my numbers from the 8 vials of blood they took last week are pretty good.  I am low on vitamins D and B1.  So I will be getting supplements later today for those.  She was like "Let's talk about your iron levels."  I replied "Let's not. I have genetic anemia (Thallasemia) and no amount of iron pills is going to help that."  Her reply was "You are right.  Cross that off the list and I will make a note so that it is clear."  That kind of annoyed me that my PCP knows that (and she keeps trying to push iron supplements as well) and it wasn't listed in my file. Progress:  my husband asked about the appointments.  He's still on the fence and unsure about the whole surgery thing. 

Also at the appointment, the liquid diet was explained.  I purchased my 19 day supply and get to start today..Happy 4th of July! I am pretty excited about it though..to get rid of that damn pound and to see me on my way.  I will be leaving for vacation with my family on Friday..I think this is going to be good..no way I will gain weight and I have a variety of physical activities planned to keep me and the family busy.  I have my special box packed with a variety of sugar free/fat free instant puddings, flavored extracts, and sugar free syrups. I feel like a chemist! 

I usually have a theme for vacation. I didn't make one this year.  My husband asked what the theme was, my 11 yr old daughter replied, "Getting Healthy" or "Finding Your Inner Athlete."  Love that girl!  So there it is..healthy theme vacation!

Wish me luck..will check in when I get back from vacation.
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Where Has The Time Gone

Jun 20, 2012

So much has happened since I last wrote.  I had to back and read my post.  Well I am well out of the 60's and down into the low 50's (252), the next goal is to be out of the 50's and into the 40's.  I never thought I would be at that number, nonetheless on my own. My surgery date is July 23..so it is coming soon.

I have started the behavior management classes and oddly enough met people there that I know/have known in my life.  One woman and I figured out that our daughters were friends, another woman I worked with a long time ago.  Our hospital is about 40 miles from our home, so it was odd to run into them there as there are other hospitals closer that do this surgery.  We definitely have bonded as a group so it's not too bad.  Earlier this week we had our dietician/nurse practioner teaching classes..had a lot of the same people in that group.  My next set of big appointments is my pre-op appointments on July 3..one of the women in our group has the same date/times; so we are going to go together.

My biggest joy was our high school graduation on June 16.  At my school, teachers write a short speech about each student as we present them with their diplomas.  I wrote for one boy/young man who was a total inspiration to me.  I have known him for 2 years and he mentioned a while back that his mom had the gastric by pass, I remember that was one of the times I was jealous that I probably would never have the opportunity since my husband was sooo against it. One of his goals was to become healthier.  I met with him a lot, cause I have a lot of knowledge in this area even if I couldn't do it for myself.  Two years later he looks fantastic and has lost over 90 pounds. I wrote about how inspiring he was to teachers, students, and his family.  After graduation, I talked to his mom and told her that I was going to have the surgery in July and if she wanted to tell him that was fine. The last day of school was  a half day, graduates did not need to come to school.  He did and he found me.  He said "I had to come talk to you, my mom told me about what you're going to do and I think it's awesome."  I told him that he was a major part of inspiring me to finally get my act together.  He responded that his mom was his inspiration and perhaps I could pass that inspiration on to someone else.  My hope is to be able to be an inspiration/role model for my daughter as she is turning 12 2 days after my surgery and is in the 'critical' state where she could potentially gain a lot of weight in the next few years (as I did).  I don't want her to be in the same place I am 36 yrs later.

I imagine I will start the liquid diet in about 2 weeks, just in time for our beachhouse vacation..not the best planning but I will do fine..lots of activities planned.  Although I don't think I have a bathing suit that fits me..they are all too big:)

Til next time!
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And we're off...

May 07, 2012

Greetings,

I have been plugging along trying to lose weight since February.  I have officially made it past the 20 lb mark.  I did my 'at home' sleep study in April and I had my appointment with my surgeon.  Love him..not at all like he was at the info session.  This was partially due to my telling him that I liked his "if you don't do A,B, and C, don't waste my time or yours' attitude.  Since then I have just been waiting. 

My weight loss has been sporadic lately..but this is mostly due to me allowing myself a cheat day, which became cheat weekend.  My primary care doctor actually endorsed the cheat day as a way for me to not feel like I was giving everything up all at once.  What she didn't count on was it extending the whole weekend.  You can do some major damage in two days.  I finally realized that at the end of the weekend, I was using at least two good eating days to undo the damage done.  This week I went back to one day..started Monday where I was at the end of the week and hopefully I will make more progress this week.  I am 260 and some change..I want to be out of the 60's and into the 50's by the end of the week..that is my goal.

In late April I joined a local gym and signed my 11 yr old up too.  So now we excercise instead of going out to eat.  She doesn't have a weight issue and I want to keep it that way for her.  Although I did kick her butt in Step class..I surprised and impressed her as she said, "Mama I didn't know you could move like that.":)

Today I had my appointment with the pulmonary doctor to discuss the sleep apnea test from April.  First, I have to say I was a bit distracted by how handsome my doctor was..he did tell me I had mild sleep apnea and that it may be the cause of my "ADHD". As a Special Education teacher this was very interest information.  So he is going to set me up for an in hospital sleep study for the CPAP machine. I look forward to not being tired all the time and falling asleep while driving.  I don't watch tv because I am asleep in 10 mins or less.

The big news for today..my surgeon's office called today to schedule my surgery.  I will call her back tomorrow and hopefully have a date.  I was surprised that my reaction was one of excitement.  I think it's been so far away since January and all the steps in between have kept me distracted (I don't wait well).  I did tell a friend about the surgery yesterday, she asked if I was nervous, I answered no.  She is much younger than me (early 20's) and has a weight issue as well, but no comorbid factors.  I remember those days.  Maybe when I get closer to the date I will get nervous, but that is just not how I roll.

Peace
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So Many Appointments..Gotta Make Time

Apr 18, 2012

About three weeks ago I had a series of appointments.  One with the NP, one with for an EKG and one for the excercise stress test.  It was odd, but I was looking forward to these appointments.  I like Sara my NP and she was awesome.  Was thrilled at my weight loss so far and that I'd made so many changes that were recommended.  I said to her, I didn't think they were suggestions, so I did it.  I've had an EKG before so that was not a problem.  I had no idea what to expect for the stress test..that was interesting.  The two women I had were fantastic and funny..that helped a lot.  They said I did well, I don't think they had high expectations for me, which I alwyas take a challenge in my own mind..I just got my note from Lahey..passed the stress test.  Yay!

A week later I had an appointment with my nutritionist..her I didn't care too much for the first time I met her.  This time she was very supportive.  Like Sara, Kelly was surprised at the changes I had made (drinking the required water, giving up diet soda (anything with bubbles basically), not drinking with meals, etc.).  I was glad I could make the changes.

After both appointments, they stated that when I met with the surgeon I would get my surgery date (they were booking May at the time).  I had to remind them that I wanted to schedule it for late July early August because of my teacher schedule.  So we agreed one more nutritionist/NP appointment should happen before the big day.

With all these appointments, I had to let my principal know what was going on, just told him I was having some surgery over the summer and these were all prep appointments. Now I won't feel guilty leaving school early a few days.

I meet with my surgeon next week.  He is a tough one, very direct and no nonsense..that is why I picked him.

So far I have lost a little over 18 lbs!

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Adding Up All The Successes

Mar 07, 2012

Well had another WW check in.  Down 1.2 this week. I am glad it's down but expected it to be a bigger loss.  I was able to add in 3 days of exercise, working my way up to 5 days.  I had a few days where I got in my 64 oz of water. 

One thing I was very proud of this week was when we (my husband, kids and I) went to the 99 Restaurant.  My husband got to the restaurant first and ordered nachos, with everything on the side except the cheese.  I arrive not knowing he did this.  The order came, I did have some, not the entire plate, or even half.  Seriously, just a few. The proudest moment was when the chips were gone...I didn't even go for the extra cheese on the bottom.  We all try to be the first to get to it.  That was a shining moment for me. And I did account for all of this on my WW tracker.

Got a phone call from the hospital asking some questions so I can get pre-authorization for my sleep study, so now waiting to hear on that.  I am hoping I can do it during April school vacation.

Some things went really well, others not so well...if this were a math problem I'd be on the positive side of the zero..so it's a good thing.
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One Week At A Time

Feb 26, 2012

Well, I made it through school vacation week.  Lots of lunches and dinners out this week.  I am using the Weight Watchers plan but trying to follow the Pre-Op diet/life style.  So a highlight, at one restaurant they brought out this awesome loaf of bread.  I had planned on having french onion soup and a chicken dish (one of those 500 calories or less deals).  So I did not have ANY of the bread.  Another highlight, I had a church meeting on Saturday morning, one person brought 'treats' for us..McDonald's Cinnamon Bites.  I thanked him for them but handed them promptly to someone else.  I explained that I just had some doctor's appointments this week and really need to watch my sugar intake.  They were respectful of that answer.

During the week, I was confused and called my dietician. If I am supposed to eat protien first, veggies/fruit second, and starches last, what would I do if I wanted a sandwich.  Of could I not have a sandwich?   She called me back, yes of course I could have a sandwich now but I won't be able to have one after surgery.   That makes sense.  So I trudge on looking at protien and counting my points.  Still not doing a great job getting in the 64 oz of fluid (non caffienated).  I think that will be easier at work because I can keep it on my desk and carry it in my classrooms.

I got my long list of appointments this week:  March 21 for the EKG, Exercise Stress Test, and a NP appointment. April 2 for Dietician and April 26 to meet with the surgeon..pretty excited.

Great news:  Weight watchers weigh in on Saturday is at 273.8  down 4.2 lbs I know not all weeks are going to be like this..but one week at a time, I will have the good ones to look back on for motivation for the more difficult weeks.
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Feb 23, 2012
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