Dana K.

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I'm happy to report that I've met my goal weight and that puts me 5 lbs. within the "normal" weight range for my height. I'm 9 1/2 months post-op now and feel fantastic! I've come a long way from my rocky post-op start and looking forward to the continuing journey
Thanks to all of you for your support!

Happy Holidays!

Well, I am 12 weeks post-op next Monday. I've had my first labs done and everything looks....REALLY good! I'm so happy and relieved. I've lost 50 lbs. and have another 46 to my goal. So, I've hit two milestones...the half-way mark and the 50 lb. mark. Woohoo!!!
I'm still working on "head issues" and anticipate the battle with those will be ongoing, but I feel very good and I'm pretty happy with the way things are going so far.

I'm 9.5 weeks post-op now and I've lost 43 lbs. I'm almost to the half-way point to reaching goal. I'm down 3 pants sizes and I'm finally feeling pretty good.
The first six weeks were rough. I was having some real bathroom troubles (like 10-12 times a day!!) and got pretty dehydrated. Every time I put anything in my mouth (including water), I would end up in the bathroom! It was terrible and I was wondering why I had done this to myself. My C-diff test kept coming back negative, but all of my symptoms matched. So, my doc gave me a prescription for Flagyl and within two days I was feeling 1000% better. Since  the third week in April, I'm feeling great. I haven't had a bit more trouble.
I got a little discouraged when I didn't lose an single ounce from April 10-22. But I was back to losing again last week with a six pound loss from Sunday to Sunday.
I've been tracking my weight and taking my measurements every Sunday and had to double check my waist measurement to make sure I hadn't misread it this past weekend. I'd lost 1.5inches from my waist during the week! That was a real motivator!!
Someone snapped a picture of me last weekend and I was surprised by the difference when I saw it. I really hadn't been feeling like I looked any different.
I'll post some new pictures soon. 
Thanks to all of my friends for your support!! 

199.5!!
Yes, my number now starts with a one and not a two! Thanks to my best girlfriend Heather for noticing my number on the ticker

I'm still having a lot of trouble with nausea (and other digestive issues)...and trying to narrow down the cause of that.
So far, it is not:
* drinking cold water vs. warm (room temperature) water
* the rate at which I am drinking the water
* one protein supplement more than another
* milk (thank goodness...I thought that it might be...and I love milk)
* any particular food...sadly, any food makes me feel sick

Unfortunately, I don't think that knowing what it isn't is helping me any. I'm sticking with my soft foods, protein first, taking 15-30 minutes to eat my 1/4 cup of food. As far as I can tell, I'm doing everything right. I'm just not getting in enough liquids, protein or calories. I have not found a protein supplement that doesn't make me feel like I want to hurl. So, I might get one in each day, but never two. If I do get one in, then I miss a meal. I'm still too full from the protein supplement to eat. I also try to never be far from the bathroom. Sometime within 30 minutes and 2 hours after eating (or drinking)....well, let's just say, you would think that there couldn't possibly be anything left in my digestive system!

So, the quest to figure out why I feel yucky continues....

Well, I've lost 17 lbs. since surgery (and 5 the week before...for a total of, yes, break out your calculator...22 lbs) and if I stand up, my pants will likely slide down to a distinct, teenage, hip-hop star status. Why am I having a fat day regardless? I feel like a Weeble! Yes, you remember Weebles, don't you? Weebles wobble but they don't fall down...that's me today. I couldn't feel any more Weeble-esque if I tried .

And another thing....I would likely part with a limb at this point just to be able to drink a whole glass of water in less than 30 minutes...heck, in less than an hour would be great!

Oh, and oatmeal made me feel nauseous this morning...yes, f-ing oatmeal. Seriously?

I'm still having trouble getting in all of my protein and I keep having these visions of my future bald self...super attractive .

I don't want to be at work...I just want to go home and sleep and hope that I wake up feeling a little less bitchy and a lot less round. I'm feeling overworked and under-appreciated (translation...underpaid). I kind-of wish I was 19 again so that I could just say, "hey, this isn't working out for me...I'm going home" and it wouldn't matter to me. Alas, I am 35...36 in a couple of weeks (yes, closer to 40 than 30...woohoo...another reason to be in a good mood)....which means that I have to act like a real grown-up and pay my bills, yada yada yada.

OK...that is all the self-pity that even I can listen to today . Looking forward to tomorrow.

OK...so, I saw one of the surgeons from my group today and I've been cleared to return to work tomorrow!! Woohoo! Keep in mind that I initiated that conversation...LOL. I just said, "So, it's OK to go back to work tomorrow?" To which he replied, "What kind of work do you do?" Well, having a desk job made it easy for me to convince him that I was ready.
I had my CBC this morning and my hemoglobin level was back up to 11 today. Not great, but certainly closer than the 7.2 before the transfusion last week. I'm so happy and much less worried since I've had a follow-up and nothing is going wrong. I was worried about further delays in healing.
While I was there I also met with the dietitian and got the go ahead for mushy food. So, I guess now I should be logging all of my food in the Health Tracker. I'm keeping a paper copy of my consumption...mostly to track my fluids and for the benefit of my meetings with the dietitian. It is SO hard to get those fluids in...Holy Mary. I never would have thought it!
So, today I am happy to report that I was able to eat 2 tbsp of peanut butter and 2 tbsp of banana for lunch. For dinner, I had  1/4 c. of super  mashed chili...which would not have seemed too appealing to me two weeks ago, but seemed like heaven tonight. I have not been nauseous all day!

P.S. almost all of the swelling that you can see in  my post-op belly pictures is gone (I'd like to think more of it is swelling...but I have not completely lost my senses). So, tomorrow, I'll try to get some updated pictures posted for those of you who were worried that I might explode. Pain is almost gone! Just a little sore.

Well, I wanted to wait until I had been home for a little while before I updated too much. I had such a hard time at the hospital and really wanted to feel better before writing again.
Today was my best day yet. I managed to do a little shopping with my mom. We were only out for an hour and I did have to nap for an hour when we got back, but I still made it. I spent a couple of hours at my in-laws' house this afternoon and then went to the grocery store with my husband after. Now we're home again and I still feel fine. I only took one dose of Tylenol this morning and didn't have any hydrocodone at all today. Although, who knew that trying to choke down 1 oz. of Tylenol would be such a chore. It took me nearly 15 minutes.
I've gotten in about 40 of my 64 oz. of liquids today. That's as close as I've gotten to my goal yet. I should be able to get in another 10-20 before bed tonight. I'm happy about that. I am disappointed that I am getting hungry. So many people say that they don't get hungry after surgery and especially so early out...BUT I am! Luckily, I have a new, thumb-sized stomach to keep me in check. I have been very good about being slow with consuming the few things that I can have and measuring in appropriate portions. Of course, I am still very limited....water, milk, cream of wheat, pudding, yogurt, cream soups, broth, popsicles, jello...that stuff.
I am also a little disappointed that I returned from the hospital weighing darn near 10 lbs. more than when I got there. I have noticed that even with that gain, I am smaller. So, that's encouraging. My too-tight bra fits just fine now...yay! Of course, my abdomen is still very, very swollen...not quite as bad as in the pictures, but still very swollen. I told my mom yesterday, "Wow! this was such a successful surgery...I gained 10 lbs, my boobs got smaller and my stomach got bigger. My husband will be so happy...LOL".
I was worried about getting a diuretic that last day in the hospital since I knew that it would be hard to get in all of my fluids the first week or so. But now I'm glad that I did. Imagine how much more I would have weighed when I got home if I hadn't gotten it!! I didn't realize how puffy I was until I got home.
Overall, I'm feeling like I'm back on track and feeling just about how I think I should be feeling right now. I'm not freaking out and wondering why I had ruined my life at this point. Tuesday through Friday were completely different. I really felt that I made a huge mistake and was miserable.
Thanks to all of my friends for your encouraging words while I've been feeling so yucky! I appreciate your support more than you know!!

Well, I'm home again. Things didn't go so well for me...several complications (you can see some of the pictures in my photo album). Today was a good day. I'll update again soon.

Well, it's Friday and tomorrow I start my clear liquids in preparation for surgery. I'm getting totally caught up at work so that I'm not terribly swamped when I get back. I'm starting to get nervous, but not as nervous as my siblings! I'm still more excited than nervous.

Well, I've had my last pre-op appointment with Dr. Moazzez . So, I'm all set and have nothing else to accomplish before surgery. Well, I guess cleaning the house should be on my list of things to accomplish before surgery.
I decided that I should try some of the protein samples before surgery. I'm happy that I did. If it makes me gag before surgery, it's probably a pretty good bet that I won't like it after surgery. Maybe, but I doubt it.

So, I've tried two so far...Isopure Vanilla and Nectar Strawberry Mousse. The vanilla is not horrible. It's not my favorite thing in the world to drink, but it's ok.
I thought I was going to vomit just trying to get the Nectar Strawberry Mousse down. Then I felt nauseous for hours after. So, needless to say, I don't recommend that one. However, since it's still on the market, I guess not everyone feels the same way I do.