sdw1963

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Long time no post...been really busy with life and all that goes with it.
I am officially half the person I was . I started out at 359 and this morning I was 179.  What a feeling !!! I have not been this small since I was a young teenager....lol too bad what body I have left is so droopy, saggy  and deflated....Oh well, I woulds rather carry the skin than the excess weight for sure. This surgery has literally saved my life...for I am sure that I would be dead if I continued on the path and at the weight I was at before hand. it has NOT been easy but I would do it again and again. I will post some pics when  I can get my daughter to take some for me. God bless you all.
Love, Sandra

  So far  I am doing a little better sinced my last post. My brain is finally out of a fog like state. I  have returned to my post op ways. Wish I was dropping weight like I was in the early days.....maybe I will still loose some .
I can't really complain though since MY goal  was to get below 200....which I have done.
I am at 192 for now....which I haven't been at that weight since before I got pregnant with my first child. I have the hanging skin to prove it. Still I would rather live with that than all the weight I carried around before. I see pictures of me before and  it is funny , but it doesn't seem like me...ya know  ? and I see pics of me now.....and that doesn't look like me either ....lol
  I will post a new pic next week when I get my before and after from my surgeons office, I hope  everyone is doing ok too. Hope to hear from any of you that wish to talk. Sorry I have been so distant...I have issues as well....trying to learn and deal and cope.....that is not always an easy thing to do sometimes is it ?
 Until next time....Hugs, Sandra

Well friends, it's been a long time since I posted anything here. At this point in my journey , I am experiencing serious complications and it has really thrown me for a loop. I come here to tell this to let you and everyone know what you might face at some point in your journey. Until now , I never thought I would/ could be facing such an issue.
 You see , prior to  my gastric bypass I was diabetic and on oral meds for that. Here I am over a year out and thought I was experiencing "dumping" over the last several months. Occasionally I would feel "odd" and my vision would start to disappear. My legs would feel as if I was standing on jello....I would have trouble breathing...I would sweat profusely.
 It was getting to the point that it was happening quite a bit....so I vowed to watch what I ate alot closer....go back to basics.
It helped some as the frequency went way down ....
This past Thursday, my family and I went to Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC to see the shipwreck display. Very interesting and worth the trip, I might add. On the way back we stopped at J&S in Hickory ( my favorite place to eat) I ate the country style steak with mashed potatoes, bread and a small bowl of salad. we come back home and are talking about buying a laptop computer. we decide to go see what Staples had and then while there , we decide that Walmart has a better buy  and decide to go there. On the way I ate 3 pieces of those jr. mints and two sweet tarts.
Not fifteen minutes later and walking down the aisle in Wally World, my vision is quickly disappearing and  my legs are feeling very weak. I tell my husband that I am not feeling right.....I might be getting ready to "dump" That is the last thbing I know anything about till I come to in the ambulance...and the paramedic asks me if I remember being in Walmart ( which I don't) Says  I had a seizure. Not just simple dumping but a fullblown seizure from blood sugar that was way too low.
Over the course of the last several months I had begun to decipher my symptoms and had checked my blood sugar when I was feeling "odd" and knew it was taking some low dips. Never would I  have thought that low blood sugar could make a person have a seizure. I have learned alot since this has happened. I am not the only one who  after gastric bypass surgery has a major problem with severe hypoglycemia......It can even be fatal if it goes low enough .
Not sure what the next step is going to be....one thing I know is that I am going to get an appointment for a follow up visit with my surgeon to see what he recommends. One thing I know for sure is that I don't want to repeat this episode.... I have been lax in doing what I am suppose to do as far as taking my supplements, returning to my surgeon etc. I thought I was doing ok and no need....I see otherwise now.
This  has really thrown me for a loop. I have been severely depressed and still feel as if my brain is in a fog and feel at odds about life in general. i am very afraid of this happening again. I have enough wrong with me as it is and hate to add another problem that I would have to deal with for the rest of my life.
Just know it can happen to you too.  If you can learn from me, the dummy, and don't do as I have done....and if you can save yourself  and your family the heartbreak.
Until next time,
Sandra

Hi All,
It has been forever since I posted ( long story) Been alot going on here...and not alot of it good , I am afraid.
Just a quick update B4 I get B out of bed for school. I am   9 months plus out and I have finally made it to onederland as of yesterday morning. I am in a size 14/16/18 size pants depending on the  " make" and in a large/XL top.
The weightloss has really slowed......almost to a screaching halt. Cant wait for warmer weather so I can be more active if my back will allow.
Hope everyone is in a good place in their own journey. Till next time....Hugs, Sandra

 Hi Friends,
Thought I would take a minute to post since it has been awhile. For now I am doing ok....no major arthritis flare...the epidurals( back) and shots in hips and knees have knocked my pain down to a very tolerable level. I have started back riding my re-cumberant exercise bike.
My weight loss had stalled AGAIN for far too long...and I realized that due to boredom and winter time , I was doing far too much grazing and not the best food choices. I decided to re- commit myself  and try to do much better. If I am ever going to make it to my ultimate goal I gotta do more......PERIOD.
With that being said I have broken this stall and have been averaging loosing a pound a day. I am now at 216... down 143 pounds in a little over 7 months and am so close to being to onederland I can almost taste it ! Getting to onederland was  once something I never thought pre-op that I would ever see again....so as you can imagine this has been one of my major goals. I am enjoying shopping for new clothes/shoes waaaaayy too much !
Well that is all I have to report for now. Hope you are all doing great in your own journey...and look forward to taling to you all again soon. Until next time .
 Hugs, Sandra

This is just a general weight update. I will be 7 months post op on Nov. 8th. As of today ( Oct. 29th) I have lost 136 pounds. I am down to 223...which I haven't seen in a VERY long time. Looking forward to getting under 200 which will make me the weight I was BEFORE any of my kids was born ( 195) .
Funny how absolutley HUGE I felt then...now it doesn't seem so as much compared to where I've been.
Seems my WL will last for about a week then I take a break for a week or two then I loose more. I need to get more exercise 4 sure. I am truly freezing to death this year ! I know that since I am getting older, that I also get colder....even before WLS....now since I don't have as much fat to insulate me I can't seem to stay warm. Hope this doesn't last forever....as I HATE being cold !
I have had a few recent wows lately. Last Saturday I became a great aunt !
I took my camera and I took a few photos...my sis who is the baby's GM took a few of me holding the baby. While I was reviewing the pics ( on the camera) I didn't even recognise MYSELF...and asked myself , "Who is that? "
LMAO....Maybe the Alzheimers slipping down into my genes and kicking in.
I was at the grocery store yesterday evening , walking down the aisles and noticing my reflection and thought..." Hey, I almost look normal..... It is the first time really that I have looked at my reflection and it really registered that I am down to the weight that I am. Usually I look at myself in the mirror and still think " Yuk !" I still see myself almost as big as I ever was. I know it takes a while for your mind to wrap around the fact.
One thing is for sure...I def. need a tummy tuck !. I have had this huge hanging apron way before the WLS. If I didnt have this huge panni I know I could get into several sizes smaller pants. I hate to see how far it hangs when I get done with the weightloss !
Everything else is sagging and bagging too but the huge panni is the only thing I feel the need to get rid of. I am 45 now and I dont feel the need to impress anyone. I have had 3 kids, 1 vaginal birth and 2 C-Sections....and a miscarriage...and for most of my life have been overweight. I consider these to be "battle scars" They help remind me that I am no longer 20 again and I have something to show for it
Hopefully a panni removal is in my future, but I gotta wait another year.
 Well that is all for now. Hope you are all at a great place in your own journey. Until next time, hugs all around,
Sandra

Hi Everyone,
Well I will be  6months post op on Oct. 8th. I have been on a slooooow downhill battle to loose weight the last 2 months. Suddenly in the last week I have restarted loosing like I did post surgery. Now that really makes your day !. I have been averaging loosing a pound or two a day in the last week or so. I sure hope this holds out for awhile anyway. I am down to 239 from an all time high of 359...so that means that I have lost 120 pounds. Not bad for being nearly 6 months post-op. Sure makes my goal seem a little more attainable anyway. I always said that if I could get below 200 I would or could be happy with that. My ultimate goal is to get to 160.
 Yesterday I went to the Pain Management Center and had a spinal epidural to help ease the back pain and try to avoid back surgery. I am hoping and praying that this works greatly...and can delay back surgery indefinitely ! So far I have noticed some relief of the pain and hopeing that in coming days it will only get better.
I go back in a month to recheck and maybe get a second epidural. The Dr. Tells me there is no limit to the amount of shots I can get in the future, that as long as they are working I can come back for more. I tried the facet injections a couple of years ago and they did very little for me....these are a very different kind of injection....and since I have lost alot of weight I am desperately hoping that THESE work. I just started to enjoy life more....get out and doing more...trying to be really active ...then bam the back, hip and leg pain knocks me down....I have been soooo worried about returning to the life I was living B4  WLS..... I never want to be a couch potato again, watching others live a full life and merely being an  observer.....
Those of you that have lived a life of merely existing can relate , I am sure...You see where you have been...lived in that state longer than you wanted to....hated it as much as I did...and can probably relate to the very real possibility of one day being faced with the fact you might go there again unwillingly.
At that thought I kinda went overboard, I supose in pushing myself to keep going in spite of the pain...in fear that I would return to that physical state.
We all know that post op , esp in the first year or so , we do not want ANYTHING to interfere with our weightloss goals...especially another major surgery , which would lay us up for God knows how long.
It is hard enough to keep the hope alive  of reaching goal when you are simply loosing weight. Most of us come into this  WLSsurgery with  multiple problems anyway. Just adds some temporary ( hopefully) road blocks along our path.
Well that is all I have to report. I hope you all are at a good place in your own journey. Until next time,
 Sandra

So far I have lost 110 pounds. The weightloss has slowed down substantially.....almost to a slow crawl. Still this is better than gaining weight ! I recently met two of my goals...one was to weigh less than my hubby and the other was to get past the 100 pound mark.... so yippeee for me !
I am now in a size 22 pants and an extra large or 18/20 top. Havent been able to wear these sizes in a very long time. I am now at the weight that I was before I married my hubby , or maybe even a little smaller. Cant wait till I get into 18 or smaller pants. I am more energetic than I can ever remember being. I am however having alot of bone/joint issues that are slowing me down. I apparently must have hoped/thought that having this surgery (WLS) would fix most of my issues. I would have thought that loosing the weight I have would have lessened my pain and my arthritis...especially in my back....would magically feel better. This hasn't happened . A recent MRI of my  L spine showed even more deterioration and damage. What I was attributing to my  restless leg syndrome...wasnt entirely the RLS.....some of it was from forminal stenosis of the Lspine.
I am suppose to go for injections in the facet joints of my back and see if that helps....If not then the next step would be surgery ( which I desperately want to avoid if at all possible. The leg symptoms and muscle weakness in my legs are really worrying me. It is hard for me to even step up into my house and get up and down on the couch......UGH !!!!
Well that is all I have for now. Hope everyones journey is going great ! Until next time,
Sandra

I will be 4 months post op on Aug. 8th. As of this morning I am down 87 pounds. I have noticed the weight loss slowing down some. I just hit a two week stall where I lost nothing. This was by far the longest stall I have had since my surgery.
Each day I have to recommit myself to eating the right things. My hunger ( head and physical) have increased...not to a very bad level, but it has picked up since my surgery.My hair is falling out too...I hope that reverses itself in the next couple of months anyway. I am feeling better about myself  a little more each week. Cant wait till I get below 260 ( hubbys weight)...and I still have about 12 pounds more to loose the first 100 pounds..
Hopeing to get a short mini vacation at the beach in the next week or two. Been a long time since I've been there.
Well thats about all I have to report at this time. I hope you are all doing great my friends.....until next time.
 Hugs, Sandra

Here I am a little over 3 months post op and I am down 77 pounds. Last Saturday  my knee locked up and I couldnt straighten it out for several hours. I have had nothing but pain and instability in this knee since. I hate being limited in what I do...and if I continue to ride my bike , I pay for it dearly by the end of the day. They couldnt give me an apt. with  ortho till July 23rd...so I guess I am pretty much stuck till then....need more cortisone shots...Actually need it replaced but hope this knee eases up and holds out  for a couple of more years. What I really hate is loosing my exercise routine....ughhhh
Now I know my weight loss will Slooooooow down.
Till next time...Hugs, Sandra