Theresa K.
Theresa's Weight Loss Journey
I have been over weight ever since I was about 5 and finally, I am going to do something about it. I have tried dieting for many years but it’s just always the same outcome, I lose weight, I gain it back, I lose weight, it finds me back. Back in 2000 after hearing about how well Carnie Wilson did, I started looking into the gastric bypass surgery, but I was laid off from the company that I worked at when they closed their doors and because there was such a long wait, I wouldn't have been able to get the surgery before my insurance in my lay-off package would have expired, I didn't want to take a risk of something major happening after the surgery and not having the insurance to cover it. Well last year (August 2004) I got hired on full time for Citigroup and got United Healthcare Insurance. WELL now I am going to do something that I am hoping will change all of my past yo-yo dieting. In January I contacted Dr. Scott / Dr. De La Torre's office in Wentzville to have them send me the paperwork to get my WLS (Weight Loss Surgery) started and the ball rolling to become a new person.
More about me: I am single, 34-year-old female, have never married (still waiting for My Mr. Right to appear out of the sky), don't have any children, but I have a little sister who is 10 but it is kind of like having a kid of my own, except it’s much better, I get to spoil her and then give her back to my parents for them to deal with then. I am getting ready to go back to attending Maryville University in St Louis (actually the smaller campus in O'Fallon MO) finishing up my bachelor's degree in Business Administration. I should be graduating in May of 2008. I work for a great company in O'Fallon MO (Citigroup) which is where I have my medical insurance that is covering my surgery. I am currently living with my parents and little sister while I am finishing up my degree.
04-08-07 – Almost 2 Years Post Op ~ Guess I haven't updated this in a while. I have been living life and enjoying every minute of it. I just recently got back from a weekend trip to Gatlinburg TN where I got the chance to meet about 35 others who had this surgery also. Before leaving for Gatlinburg I took my little sister Ravin and myself to Miami Fl for a week. That was her Christmas/Birthday present, and I must say, it was a pretty amazing time. We went up to Jupiter FL with my Aunt Cheryl and cousin Melissa and got the chance to see the St Louis Cardinals play against the LA Dodgers. They lost, but that’s ok, I am still a huge Cardinals fan. We went to the Alligator Farm/Airboat ride. I just can't imagine if I was still at my weight before surgery and trying to keep up with all the stuff we did and not feel exhausted at the end of the day. It just hit me that in a month and half, I will be 2 years out of surgery. I haven't lost all the weight I have wanted to, but I am still perfectly happy with where I am. Since my WLS I have had 3 other surgeries, In August of 05 I had my gall bladder removed, in April 06 I had hemorrhoid surgery and in Dec 06 I had 2 hernias repaired. I have decided that the year 2007 will be my healthy year and maybe I can start looking into maybe having PS to get rid of the excessive skin that I am now having to deal with.
05-25-06 -1 YEAR POST OP- Wow! It’s hard to believe the changes that have taken place in the past year. So many people have come up to me and told me what a remarkable job I have done and it feels so great knowing that not only have I done this for myself, but that others have noticed the changes as well. A year ago, I went into surgery weighing 288 lbs, and today I am now weighing in at 163, that is a 125 lbs that I have lost in the past 12 months. Went by the gym and got measured, wow, its funny looking at my measurements that was taken a year ago and comparing them to now. I have lost a total of 125 lbs, 88.5 inches, 89 lbs of body fat and have went from a BMI of 48.9 to 32.21 (need to lose another 15 lbs to be at a normal range). I have such an increase of energy now that I just can’t explain. Before I had my surgery I would have problems walking, and I would have to push myself to get a mile in a couple times a week, now I walk at least 2 miles a day while I am at work and then have to force myself to go back into the building to go back to work cause I have all this energy and I want to walk another lap around. This past weekend me and Ravin, my little sister, went to a park not far from my home and I walked 3 miles while she rollerbladed, I wanted to do another lap, but she said she was too tired, so I guess that will teach me to take a 9 year old with me. Currently I haven’t been able to get to the gym to work out cause in April I had to have hemorrhoid surgery (not a surgery I would recommend that just anyone have, and it had nothing to do with me having the gastric bypass surgery), but because of that surgery I was off work for 4 weeks and couldn’t go to the gym for 6 weeks. But I am getting very anxious to get back to the gym and start working out again. It’s now shorts weather and I want to work on my legs and arms yet. My support group has had some plastic surgeons come in and talk to us, and after listening to their talks and seeing the pics, I have pretty much decided that I don’t want to go through all that. I want to see what I can do with just the gym once I get back in there. Went and met with Nancy at Dr De La Torre’s office on Tuesday and she said that everything looks great and I am doing an awesome job. She said that now the weight will start to be harder to get off, but now I will just have to work at it like everyone else. Well, what can I say, I have gone from a size 24 jeans to a size 10 jeans and a 2X or 3X shirt down to a medium within a year, I think I can work on it now to get down to a smaller size. The past year has been pretty easy for the most part, yeah, I look back and think about what I was feeling at that time, but I can honestly say that it was Well Worth Everything! I would do this surgery again in a heartbeat if I had to knowing what I know now about how much healthier and livelier I am now compared to where I was at a year or 2 ago. It was pretty interesting, I found a pic from when I was in Florida almost 3 years ago and I just looked at it and thought, how did I carry all that weight around? I think about it every now and then, figuring up that if I lost 125 lbs of fat, how many bags of dog food that is, and try to imagine carrying 2 50lbs bags of dog food and a 25 lbs bag of dog food around all day long, no wonder I had problems walking up stairs and keeping up with others. Now that I have lost all that, I am ready to live, I want to get out there and keep active. This summer I have already planned on going on a couple of day long bike trips, and of course Six Flags is defiantly going to happen at least a few times. ~As for the love life, met a new guy, but have learned from the past that I am going to take things slow, besides I am no hurry to go down that aisle. Just wanting to find someone that makes me happy, and so far, he does that, will just have to see how things go though. In the meantime, I am having fun getting to know him and enjoying our times together. 02-26-06 - 9 Months Out - It’s hard to believe it has been 9 months since I had my surgery. Still losing weight, it’s just slower now, but that is just according to the scale. I have gone and got remeasured and according to the gym I am still losing inches and body fat and that is better than what the scale says. I am now down a total of 113 lbs, down 12 lbs just this month, which is about 3 lbs a week, which is still really awesome. I have lost 83.75 inches throughout my body (do you realize that is equal to 6 ft and 10 inches) and have lost 76 lbs of body fat and my BMI is down 12.4.I am now wearing size 12 jeans and the large shirts are starting to get big on me. Today while I was at the gym I heard on the news that it is supposed to be up to 71 degrees out by Wednesday, then realization hit me, HOLY COW I don't have anything at all to wear this summer. I will have to buy all new clothes this year, nothing fits anymore, I tried putting on a swimming suit a few weeks ago that I had in my drawer from my fat days, and it was so big on me that I couldn't wear it. So now I need to start doing some serious shopping and stocking up on summer items. ~Met a new guy about a month ago, Ben, was seeing him for about 3 weeks and thought that things were great. I told him about my surgery and he seemed really supportive. He seemed like a great guy and after seeing him for 3 weeks and we went to Colorado for an extended weekend and I got a dozen long stem roses from him on Valentine's Day, the next day he decided to call it quits on the relationship and just remain friends, but of course, it never works out being friends when you had feelings for them at one time. Trying to recover from having my heart broken but figured that once one door closes another one opens. After going through my counseling sessions, I realized that it is for the best. I am not ready to be tied down just yet, I have just begun to live the life I always wanted and there is so much out there that I want to do and I don't want any regrets later. My counselor said that she thinks that things are really working out for me and unless I have any other issues come up and can't deal with them then she is going to release me saying that right now I seem to be where I need to be. Makes me feel really good that she thinks that I am where I am supposed to be cause I was wondering myself where I needed to be. I seem to know what I want, and now I just have to put them into action so I decided that right now I am going to remain single and just live my life for myself. I still have 35 lbs I want to lose and so from there I am going to work on maintenance so I can see if plastic surgery will work for me. I want to get a tummy tuck, my arms and a breast enhancement. I know, I am vain, but it’s something I want!
~Last Friday night went out the girls for Debby last day of work and Saturday night went out with the girls for her going away party. I am really going to miss her when she moves out to Reno, she always keeps Dawn, Cathy and I in order when we go out and now, I am not sure who is going to keep us in line and I think some nights we really need someone. Saturday night went out with a small group of us, had a blast and got to meet Kelli boo from the message board, what a sweet gal. Hope she comes back to Missouri and parties with us this summer. ~Wednesday night went out with my best friend and 2 of her friends who are bartenders as well. Man, there is something to be said about partying with bartenders, for one thing, drinks are never empty, once you start getting low there are more sitting there waiting on you. Had a blast, but got a little too much intoxicated. Need to relearn my limits with beer. But got to watch my best friend in a female mechanical bull competition, boy I thought I wanted to try that, till I seen her do it and she has done it before, No Thank You for me, not ready to straddle any cattle just yet. Maybe by the time I get to goal I will be ready for that.
12-25-05 - 7 Months Out - Wow, its Christmas and hard to believe that I am now 7 months out of surgery. For Christmas I got clothes (size 14 & 16 jeans, and Large tops) and new shoes (went down a size and half in tennis shoes) and cash/gift certificates to go and buy new clothes. Going to the gym on Tuesday to get remeasured. I am now down to 193, which is a 95 lbs loss, lost 71.25 inches (or 5 ft and 9 inches) throughout my body, my BMI went from 48.9 to now being 39.6 (total loss of 9.3 which means that I am no longer Super Obese, just Obese) and I have lost 62.5 lbs of body fat (1 lb. of body fat is equal to 4000 calories). Everyone is telling how great I am looking and how proud they are of me, I just feel relieved that I don't have all that extra weight to start next year with, for once my new year's resolution will not be to lose 100 lbs, because I don't have 100 lbs to lose anymore.........that is pretty awesome in itself. Life is going really good and I still and probably always will think that this surgery was the best thing that I could have ever done for myself. I have found that I am a lot more self-confident, happier, and generally, a whole lot healthier because of this surgery.
12-18-05 - I have been back from Florida for a little over a week and boy do I want to go back, it’s so cold here and the weather was just beautiful while I was there. A lot has been going on with me, but mainly I think that I am starting to find myself again. I started going to counseling to help me stay on track and not let the little things bother me too much to where I am not happy with myself. I was starting to get into a relationship and realized that I wasn't ready for that yet. I was able to keep the friendship with him, we have decided that the relationship needs to be stopped though.. I have finally got my life that I have always wanted, I want to go out and have fun and not ready to be tied down. Life for the most part is looking so good. Went out with the girls last night for Debby's bachelorette party, met a guy and he was able to actually pick me up off of the ground, never had a guy do that before..........nor have I ever gotten a guy’s phone number in a bar before, most of the time the guys were always more interested in my friends then me. So, for me, not ready to be tied down, I think that my social life is now going to be picking up. I need to keep going to the gym, can't stop that, the weight is still coming off pretty steadily, but I am having to watch more of what I eat so that I don't start eating the things that’s not good for me. Thinking about going Weight Watchers after the first of the year, since I can eat pretty much everything, now I need to learn more about proportions. I know how to eat healthier, but I don't want to go back to overeating. Life is going great, still think that this is the best thing that I have ever done in my life for myself.
11-26-05 - 6 MONTHS OUT!!!!!!!!!!! Well it’s been a while since I have updated and boy the changes that have taken place is so awesome. I met with Nancy on Tuesday at the surgeon's office. Told her about how I am feeling so much better, before I used to be exhausted after walking up the flight of stairs at work, now I walk around the building and parking lot on break, which comes to almost a mile and still have the energy to walk up the steps. My self-confidence is coming alive and I feel like that skinny person that is hiding inside isn't yelling to get out now, she is almost out! I must say, I don't think that I could have made it this far without my best friends and my family for the support that they have given me is better than I could have ever imagined. I am now having to borrow clothes from my mom, which she isn't too happy about till I remind her that when I outgrow the clothes that I wear now I will be passing them down to her, after that she was ok with it. Went to get measured at New Lady Fitness on Monday............WOW, it’s hard to imagine how much I have lost so far, not only in the lbs but in the inches as well. I have lost 82 lbs so far and 65 inches throughout my body. My BMI went from 48.9 down to 41........and I have lost 57 lbs of body fat. Marissa, my personal trainer gave me a new workout and I can feel this one working, they have been so great to me at New Lady Fitness. Thanksgiving went really well, despite the fact that this is my first Thanksgiving with my new stomach. I took a little bit of everything and tried most of everything. I just ate a little bit and didn't eat too much to where I was sick.........which is a good thing for me because I was really worried about it. Went out with the gals and Sparky on Friday night, and that was such a great night. Sparky proposed to Debby at the restaurant, and I don't think that none of the gals had a dry eye at the table. After that we all went over to the Landing to our usual hangout, the Study Hall, and partied there to celebrate Debby getting engaged.
Well I leave for Florida in 4 days, time to get out there and get some clothes that fit..........thank goodness it is pretty warm there because I don't really have any sweaters or a winter coat that fits. I am sending myself to Miami, Florida to visit my aunt and her family and give myself and nice relaxing vacation in celebration of making it through these past 6 months and as of this morning, I am now under 200 lbs on the scale.............Yeah, for me! Next year I have a feeling, is going to be much better than this year.
10-03-05 - OH BOY, WHAT A WEEKEND. Went to Chicago and met others who have gone through the surgery or are getting ready for the surgery. Rode up with Tina and Dawn to the outskirts of Chicago where we met Nancy from the Single Board, she took us to the train station and from there we rode the train up to Chicago. This was the first time I had been to Chicago and pretty much the first time I have been on a vacation by myself without any family members. We met some of the others in the hotel lobby and had a great time trying to match who was who by their pics we seen. It was so great to finally get to meet so many others who have gone through this surgery. There was 7 of us in the suite that I was in and I just happen to be the only one out of the 4 of us in my room that had the RNY, the others had the Lap Band done. It was nice getting to see the difference that we could all do from our surgery, but yet it was really alike when it came down to it. The other room had 3 other gals, 2 of which had the RNY and one is still waiting for her approval (we are all keeping our fingers crossed that she gets it soon). Friday night everyone that was there met up in the lobby and we all went to dinner at Ed Debevics, that place was great. It was a 50's diner and the waiters and waitresses are rude as ever to everyone, so you get to play along. After that we went out to a dueling piano bar (Howl at the Moon) and there everyone had a great time getting to know each other, dancing, and drinking (even though I don't promote drinking until your Dr says that you can). We left that place and most of the group went back to the hotel, while some of us ventured on to another bar down the block. We ended up getting back to the hotel room in the wee hours of the morning. After staying up all night talking, we finally fell asleep about 6:30 and then got back up at 8:30 to start Saturday's fun filled day. Saturday 6 of us from the room went to the Sear's Tower, which was really cool to get to go up and see, and then after that we went to Rainforest Cafe for lunch. Saturday night we met the others and everyone went out to a bar called Syn. We stayed there for a while and then everyone headed down a few blocks to a karaoke bar, and we pretty much stayed there till really late into the night. Sunday, we got up, went and had breakfast with everyone and said our goodbyes. Dawn, Tina and I headed back to the train and back home. All in all, everyone had a great time and it was great to get to meet so many others that have been in the same shoes.
09-10-05 - I went into the hospital on Friday to have my gall bladder removed by Dr Follwell. Surgery was supposed to be at 11:30 and we were to be there at 9:30, but they had rescheduled it and had it moved up so I was to show up at the hospital at 9:00 am. My dad was going to take me and sit there while I was in surgery. Well we were there on time, got all the admittance paperwork done and was sent back to Outpatient Surgery. They called me back right away and then after I got changed and had my iv in, and sat there watching tv. Sat there for 4 hours watching tv before they took me back. I was awake while they took me back and got me set up in the operating room. I remember Dr Follwell asking if I was ready and I shook my head yeah. After that I remember waking up and they were telling my dad that they were taking me upstairs to my room now. I told my dad that he could go ahead and go home cause all I was going to do was sleep, and knowing that he is not the type of person to sit around all day, he was probably going nuts by that point. I told him that if they released me that night then I would call and have someone come and pick me up. The nurses came in every 15 minutes at first checking my vitals, then they moved it to every 30 minutes, then every hour. I pretty much slept the whole night off and on, waking up for vitals to be taken. They came in later in the evening and took me off the oxygen when they were checking my vitals. The next hour when they came in to check them, my oxygen level dropped to below 90, they wanted it to stay above 90 to be at a safe range. Because it wouldn't stay up where it was supposed to we decided that it would be best if I just stayed the night in the hospital. They brought in my dinner, which unfortunately I couldn't eat, it was Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, peas, Jell-O with fruit in it, and 2 % milk. I told the nurse that I was to be on a bariatric diet and she took that plate away and brought me a new dinner with mashed potatoes and sugar-free Jell-O. I ended up sleeping most of the night and then Saturday morning Dr Follwell came to visit me, he told me that surgery went well, he removed the gall bladder and made sure all the ducts were clean. He also took a look at my new pouch and intestines to make sure that there weren’t any signs of a hernia started and said all that was clear and that the pouch looks really good. He did say that there was a little bit of scar tissue but he took care of that. I have 4 incisions in my stomach with a total of 10 staples in them which will be taken out on Thursday September 15th.
09-01-05 - Met with Dr Follwell who will be taking out my gall bladder. He explained to me what all was going to happen in surgery and showed me the charts of how the gall bladder works and what was going to happen after surgery. He had said that since I have had gastric bypass that they can't do the surgery like a normal person's, which for them, they run a scope in through their stomach and down to check to make sure all the gallstones have been removed, but since I now have my stomach stapled off they will bring in x-ray type of machine to check for them. He said that he wants to do the surgery next week. He gave me some antibiotics since I had an infection set in. Surgery is scheduled for Crossroads Hospital in Wentzville on Friday September 9, 2005.
08-16-05 - 3 MONTHS OUT – Well this morning on my way to meet with Nancy at the surgeon’s office I stopped by New Lady Fitness and got measured throughout my body. Wow, it’s amazing my results: Lost 41.5 inches through my body, 36.5 lbs of body fat and around 55 lbs (different scales for the same day: home said 56, gym said 55, and surgeon’s office said 53). If I go by my scale, then I am no longer Morbidly Obese, just Severely Obese, but that will be going down so I am ok with that, I won’t be like for long. Afterwards I went by the surgeon’s office and met with Nancy. Went over how things are going, said I am doing really good, not losing too fast or too slow, which is what I worry about. Told me to start on my Calcium now, so now I have another pill to take, but this one is easy, I can just drop it in my water and then drink my water. And now I can have things with citrus in it…Whooo Hoooo, I can have orange juice now. Told her that I was to hear back from my Dr’s office this afternoon in regards to my gall bladder ultrasound. She said to let her know what the results are and if they aren’t related to my gall bladder then she will talk with the surgeon to see what else it could be that is making me sick. Got home that afternoon and called the Dr’s office, found out that I do have gall stones so I called Nancy back to see if there was a surgeon that she would recommend. She gave me the name of Dr Follwell out of Wentzville that will do it. Called his office and made an appt for Sept 1st for a visit.
08-15-05 – Well just when I thought everything was going great, something had to put a bump in the road. Well just a small bump I guess, but I have started to get sick, happened about 2 weeks ago and then again yesterday. Not sure what is going on but it seems like every time I eat something that I used to eating I get this nausea feeling to my stomach. So far since my surgery I have not been able to throw anything up yet, but with this feeling, I just want to so that I can get my stomach to stop turning. I finally broke down and called Nancy at the surgeon’s office and talked to her about this feeling. She suggested I get a hold of my primary Dr and see if he can get an ultrasound of my gall bladder. Called up my Primary Dr and they had me come right in. They checked me out in the office then made an appointment for me to go to the hospital on Monday August 15th for the ultrasound. Kind of scary, not sure if I want to go through surgery again, but then again, I don’t want to feel like I am going to keep getting sick. I will find out the test results tomorrow on that. I also meet with Nancy at the surgeon’s office for my 3 month checkup……WOW, can’t believe it has been 3 months!
08-07-05 - Relay for Life was Friday night, boy was it a blast. I got up at the football track around 6 pm that evening and didn’t leave till 2 am. I walked A LOT that evening. It was a fun filled evening, they had guys parachute in with the American Flag, and Kevin Sharp came in to put on a mini concert……..Boy is he a Hottie……..I bought his book and had him sign it……..it’s amazing at the journey he went through with his cancer and how he survived it. He is truly an amazing person, I have always loved his songs, the song Nobody Knows had become one of my favorite songs while I was starting along on my weight loss journey………..I walked and walked, and walked some more, and I never did feel like I was getting out of breath or anything. It’s amazing what this surgery has done for me. Saturday, I had family reunion, I got to see an aunt that hasn’t seen me in 2 years and she was just amazed at the progress I have made. Even I get amazed at the progress that has happened so far, never in a million years did I think that I would be losing this weight and feel so much better, not only physically but as a person I feel so much better than I had before. I guess in the back in the back of my mind I have always just thought that I have tried everything I could to lose weight and nothing ever helped so I felt like there was nothing else I could do………..but now, I know there is a lot I can do………I make sure I get my protein every day and exercise 3-4 times a week, and I drink as much water as my body can hold.
07-20-05 - 2 MONTHS OUT - Well I am now 8 weeks post op. Talk about a journey, this has defiantly been a while journey for me. Things are changing, clothes are getting big, people starting to notice the weight loss, and I am feeling really good about myself. Have kind of been at a standstill for my weight loss for the week, but going to start back on the liquid diet for a few days to see if I can get it going again. Went to the gym lost 7 1/2 inches throughout my body in the last month.
07-04-05 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME...............WHAT A YEAR THIS HAS TURNED OUT TO BE SO FAR, ONLY HALF WAY THROUGH IT AND I ALREADY FEEL LIKE I HAVE LIVED ABOUT 3 YEARS FOR EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE GONE THROUGH. Family had a get together at my aunt and uncle's house yesterday, complete with kids in the pool, lots of food, and of course, my birthday cake. Well I decided that since I couldn't have cake this year for my birthday I was just going to stay the same age as I was last year.....but they all demolished that cake, which of course, I had to joke about them all gaining the weight that I lost........except I don't know where I lost it so I can't go back and find it, which is a good thing!
Last night went out with the IL gals, boy do we find a way to have fun or what. There is never a dull moment with them gals. I met Cathy for the first time and what a great person she is. I have never thought that I would be out having this much fun and even before I lost all the weight I want to. My self-confidence has kicked into overtime at this point and I just feel like I can shout from the rooftops, or the Eads bridge, as long as security doesn't show up.
07-03-05- Went shopping with my mom and little sister at Kohl............ ..WHHHOOOOO HOOOOOO, got to get on a pair of capris that are 16's, I haven't seen that size in a long time, of course they are stretch jeans, and still a little tight, but I got them on, button and zipped them up!!!!! Then went over to Target and got another pair of capris and a pair of shorts, these were 18's that I bought at Target, figured that I deserved them, I was wearing size 24 when I went into surgery, and now I am in 18s, this is just amazing. Going out with Debby, Cathy and Dawn tonight so now I have new clothes to wear and going to celebrate my birthday down on the Landing in St Louis. We have a blast when we get together, get to meet Cathy for the first time.
06-26-05 OMG.............WE HAD A BLAST........them guys were just amazing..........I don't remember a time I had so much fun without drinking. I got to be the Designated Driver, since I can't drink, and I think I had just about as much fun as them gals did that were drinking all night long. Of course, I didn't have to deal with a headache in the morning. What a great group of people to hang out with!
06-25-05 One month exactly from my surgery date.........wow, what a difference it has been. This is one ride that I am enjoy more and more every day. I don't have any regrets to the surgery, sometimes the food takes a bit of getting used to, but all in all, it is really great. I went to my PCP yesterday and got my B12 shot, told him how my surgery went, he put all the information down in my paperwork. Tonight, I am going out with some of the gals and guys off of the OH board that I talk to. We are going down to the Landing in St Louis, can't wait to meet everyone. Debby, Dawn, and Jason all live in IL, Rhonda is coming in from Kentucky, Ann is coming in from Texas, and Mike is coming in from Arizona. Hope we don't get into any trouble.
06-21-05 - 1 MONTH OUT - HOLY SMOKES BATMAN...........went to the Dr today to meet with Nancy and go over what I have been eating, or better yet, what I have been drinking........not really eating much.....just started on mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs just a couple of days ago.......not doing so shabby with those......S/F pudding on the other hand, going to keep that for when I get constipated, that just doesn't go well with my system at all. As far as my incisions, they are healing up to where 2 of them you almost can't see anymore.
ANYWAYS.........I AM DOWN 30 LBS..........jumping for joy.........I figured that was excellent. I know that is about average what some people lose in their first month so I was really pleased. Well since I knew I had the appointment with Nancy that day, I called New Lady Fitness, where I work out and made an appointment to go in and get re-measured. I was measured 2 weeks before surgery, so I am really anxious to see where I am at.
06-10-05 Well I made it through my first week of work, it was pretty exhausting though. I am glad I came back when I did, but maybe I should have only come back for a couple of days and taken a day off in the middle there or something. But I really want to keep my vacation days and that until later in the summer, I am ready to get out there, lose this weight, and then go on a cruise, need to save my vacation days for that.
06-02-05 Went to the Dr's office today to get my staples and drain out.......WHHOOOOOO HOOOOOOO down 17 lbs.........wow, can't believe it, in just a week I am down 17 lbs. They took my drain out, wow, what a relief that was......said that it will leak for a couple more days, just keep it covered so it doesn’t get all over my clothes. Got the staples taken out. I asked him about going back to work, he said whenever I am ready. So, I am going back on Monday.........that will give a week and 2 days off since surgery. Can't wait to get back into a normal routine. Dr told me to walk as much as I could. Going to start going up to the park in the evenings and walking on one of the trails there.
05-29-05 Had my first BBQ at my parent's house with a lot of my family members. Surprising enough, all that food didn't bother me. I just sat there talking to them as they were eating, drinking my water and my Isopure drinks. A lot of people had questions so I spent some time going over the whole surgery with them. They are all really supportive of my decision to have this and I am really glad for that.
05-27-05 - Today I got to come home from the hospital. Not looking forward to the drive home on the Friday before Memorial Day in St Louis but we made it home with no problems, even had to go and pick up some relatives and still no problems. Now I get to start getting used to my new stomach at home in front of my family. My little sister has a lot of questions but hey, she just wants to learn, she thought that I was going to lose all the fat at the hospital, I only wish, told her sorry, that is a different kind of surgery, the one that I did I have to work my butt off after I have the surgery to lose this. Going back to the Dr's on next Thursday to get my drain and staples out, can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
05-26-05 - Still in the hospital, woke up with some chest pain and told the nurse about it, she checked me out and then went and then had them bring in an EKG that they hooked me up to, said everything was fine there, guess it must of just been air or something cause a little bit later I felt fine. Couldn't have anything to eat or drink yet cause I had to go down to X-Ray for my liquid test, they took me down there and you have to drink this really nasty stuff and they watch it as it goes through and everything went through just fine. They took an x-ray of my chest and I was set to go back up to my room. After I got back to my room, my nurses, who I must say were the best gals I could have ever asked for being in the position that I was, they were just there with smiles on their faces, willing to answer any questions that I had and just great gals to be around, well they brought me my blue die for my drain test. They were even nice enough to put a towel over me as a bib and give me plastic gloves to eat the ice chips with, the blue dyes will stain your lips so they brought me some Vaseline and everything. I ate them and after that they checked my gauze, then they brought me a menu where I could order some lovely liquids. Well they say that you get to order 3-4 things so I tried the s/f gelatin, a bottle of Isopure, and a popsicle. Needless to say, though, I didn't get but maybe 3 bites of s/f Jell-O down and a bite of the popsicle down. Just didn't feel like eating. They brought me in my mug of water and a few little measuring cups for medicine to drink out of it. Nancy from Dr. De La Torre's office stopped by and told me that the Dr said that mine was one of the easiest ones he had to do which would benefit me because that means that my recovery will better and faster. After that I just felt great. Slept a lot off and an on while family and friends stopped by to visit.
05-25-05 - THE FIRST DAY OF MY NEW BIRTHDAY - Well me and my mom drove down to the hospital, my mom, bless her heart, since I couldn't eat anything after midnight, she didn't eat anything or drink anything on the way either. The hospital was only about 45 minutes from me and traffic was really good that morning, so we got down in time to go by the Pastoral Care office for my Durable Medical Power of Attorney and have someone witness it and notarized it for me. From there we went upstairs to Surgery check in and Family waiting room, my paperwork all was a breeze and in no time, I had my wristband on. My surgery was scheduled for 11:30 now but I had to be there 2 hours early so it was a little after 9:00 am at this point so me and my mom sat there talking, she kept asking me if I was going to back out, I said no, I made it this far, I was going all the way. About 9:20 they called me back to start all the pre-ops. Weighing in on the scales at 284, not bad, that soft foods I had to have yesterday helped me lose about 4 lbs. Took my urine sample, guessing to make sure I wasn't pregnant, and then they took me to a small room and had me put my gown on and all my belongings in a bag, after they got the IV hooked up in me and then they brought my mom in. Dr. Richardson came in and introduced himself, said he was going to be assisting with the surgery and asked if we had any questions. Later Dr. De La Torre came in and told my mom a little bit about how things were going to go with the surgery and asked if there were any questions, of course, I did all my research and felt like I was in great hands with these 2 surgeons. After that, the anesthesiologist came in and introduced himself, he said he would be back when it was closer to surgery for my little "cocktail". Well he came back in a little bit later with his needle with my "cocktail" to get me ready for surgery, all I remember from that part was him saying, in 15 seconds you won't remember what else happens till you wake up after surgery. I said my little prayer and thank God for giving me this chance and went to sleep. I don't remember anything throughout the surgery, actually don't remember much from that whole day till about 9:00 that evening when the nurse came into my room and I heard her telling my mom that they were going to be getting me up soon to walk around. I remember my aunt coming in and talking to my mom and asking how I was feeling, but I wasn't awake long enough to say anything. My mom told me that after surgery I was still in quite a bit of pain so they gave me an extra cocktail, bet my insurance company is going to love that bill. :) About 9:30 pm the night nurse came in and taught me how to get up out of bed and took me for my first walk being post op. It was painful, but I was just so happy cause I made it through surgery and now was going to be a loser that I didn't care that it hurt. That first lap in the hallways was enough to exhaust me so I went back to my room and went back to bed. I stayed at DePaul Hospital in Bridgeton MO and they were just awesome, I couldn't say enough nice things about them.
05-24-05 - Can you say Pre-OP Jitters. This is crazy, been on the phone most of the day at work trying to get my short term medical paperwork all set up, had to contact the hospital back to finish doing all my pre-registration over the phone and then trying to get my Durable Power of Attorney notarized for my surgery tomorrow morning. When I spoke with the hospital pre-registration, they told me that they do have some at the hospital that can notarize it for me. Wow, what a relief, not sure I would have been as comfortable going into this without that, not saying that anything bad was going to happen, just wanted to be on the safe side. Besides I have full trust in my surgeon. Then the hospital called back, they had to set my surgery back a half an hour, OK, I can work with that. :) Things are going to be looking up for me.
05-19-05 - Had my Pre-Op Class today. Ann, the registered dietician came in and spoke to us about our diets after the surgery and what we needed to know to be able to take care of ourselves then. Nancy spoke to us about what all goes on during surgery and our stay in the hospital and follow up visits. After lunch, Dr. De La Torre came and talked to us about the actual surgery itself and what all happens, it was very informative. After that, each person met with the Dr for a one on one with him and to get his approval for the surgery. After that we met with Nancy and she went over any insurance papers we needed and co-payments if needed, (thanks goodness for the awesome insurance I have) and then she set up our surgery dates. I got mine for next week, May 25th, 2005. I am so excited, I can't wait. Thank goodness it is only about 6 days away and I don't have to wait another month or so, I have waited so long for this and now it is finally coming true.
05-18-05 - Went to the support group tonight, met quite a few new people that have had the surgery and are on their way to losing their weight. They spoke about hydration and how important it is for us to keep drinking our fluids. They also had people bring in their favorite protein drink so we all got to sample them, there were different flavors and brands, some were ok, some weren't so good. But all in all, really enjoyed the meeting, can't wait till next one.
05-10-05 - Went for my measurements at New Lady Fitness and get a new workout so I can be on track now. Spoke with my personal trainer and told her about my upcoming surgery. She was really excited for me, said her friend went through about 4 years ago and did really awesome with it. Told her that I wanted to make sure that exercise is in my routine because I really didn't want to have to go through plastic surgery in case I have the excess skin overhanging. Hopefully going to the gym and doing different workouts will help keep my skin from sagging. She is going to follow up with me on a regular basis and make sure that I am going through things right and she told me once the Dr releases me to go back to the gym after the surgery to let her know and she would see about getting me a new workout and re-evaluate me on my difference sizes. I can't wait to see all of them sizes start going down.
Well now I am waiting for my Pre-Op testing and to speak with the surgeon to get my date set. I really want to be a loser before my birthday (July 4th). Nancy said that they were scheduling surgeries into the month of June when I spoke to her on the 3rd. Just hope I can get it all done and get to a life that I have always dreamed about. I will keep you all posted as to what is going on.
05-9-05 - Started getting back to New Lady Fitness and working out. Going to go in tomorrow night after work and get re-measured. Been away from the gym for a while, had some back problems in March and April and spent quite a bit of time at the Physical Therapist so going to the gym then was out of the question for me. Felt really good to start working out again.
05-3-05 - Spoke to Nancy at MBC she has me set up to come in May 19th for my Pre-op Testing and meet with the surgeon. I can't believe this. I feel like I am on a cloud. My longtime dream is going to finally come true.
04-29-05 - YIPPPPPPEEEEEEEE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WHOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM JUMPING FOR JOY.........DOING THE HAPPY DANCE.......I WOULD DO CARTWHEELS BUT UNFORTUNATLY I HAVE TO HAVE THIS SURGERY BEFORE MY BUTT IS GOING TO GO ANYWHERE UP ABOVE MY HEAD.
I GOT MY APPROVAL LETTER TODAY IN THE MAIL.........WOW, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, THAT WAS SOOOO QUICK, GUESS THAT CUSTOMER SERVICE GAL DIDN'T KNOW WHAT SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT CAUSE IT HAS ONLY BEEN 4 DAYS AND USUALLY TAKES AT LEAST 2 DAYS THROUGH THE MAIL FOR THIS LETTER TO GET FROM THEM TO ME. BUT ANYWAYS WHO CARES, I GOT MY APPROVAL LETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
04-25-05 - Called insurance company to see if they have received the paperwork and how long it would be. Spoke to a customer service rep (who later I figured out that she didn't know what she was doing) but she told me that they hadn't received anything yet and once they did, then it would take 30 to 45 days to process and send to Medical Review Board for approval. Talk about a huge let down. I was really hoping to have this surgery this spring, now it’s going to be early summer before I even get my approval letter. Feeling really down about it. But all I can really do right now is just wait........Yeah, you guessed it.....Patience.....Patience......Patience
04-19-05 - Called Nancy but she was in a meeting, talked to Kathy, she was going to give Nancy a message that I called. Nancy called my home number and left message with my mom that she had everything that she needed and would be sending it all off to the insurance company........Know Patience really comes in handy.
04-18-05 - Called Nancy to see if psych eval has been received yet. Nancy was out of the office but spoke with Kathy, told her that I was looking to see if it has been sent over to them yet and she looked on the fax and still no Psych Eval. Told her that I would check back tomorrow and if still no, then I would call Dr. Sloan's office. It has now been over a month since I seen her and still no evaluation, she is going to cause me to be UNSTABLE. Back to Patience......Patience.......Patience.
04-13-05 - Called Nancy @ De La Torre's Office to see if she received everything yet that she needs so she can send the package off to the insurance company. Says she is still waiting for Psych Evaluation to come over. Called Dr Sloan's office, they said it was being processed and should be to Nancy on Monday or Tuesday of next week. (April 18 or 19).
04-6-05 - Went to first Support Group meeting, met a couple of other gals who where there for the first time and getting ready to hopefully go through the surgery also. Everyone there was nice and was full of tips and ideas to help others. Can't wait to finish my college class for this semester so I can start going more often. They had a guest speaker who talked about positive internal dialog, very informative.
03-30-05 - Called Nancy, she moved to DePaul Hospital's office, which is where surgeon is doing WLS at. She is still waiting for psych evaluation to be sent over. Spoke to her about Support Group meetings - they meet the 1st & 3rd Wednesdays of each month @ DePaul Hospital's May Room @ 5:30. Well normally I have class on Wednesday nights but this next week our teacher will be out of town so I will be able to make the meeting.
03-29-05 - Called Dr Sloan's office to see if results were back yet. Still not there......PATIENCE........PATIENCE...........PATIENCE!!!!!!!
03-16-05 - Appt with Psych, visit went well, she mainly asked that I was aware of changes going to be taking place with this surgery and if I was prepared for it. Wanted to make sure that I had plenty of support around me for this. Well I told her that I had a large family who are there to support me along 2 best friends that have already lived through it with their families and is very supportive of me in this decision. Between my family and friends at home that is quite a bit of support and then my co-workers know that I am wanting this and they are rooting me on along with one of my co-workers who is getting ready to have her surgery probably right before I have mine. So yeah, I defiantly have the support behind me. I then had to take that dreaded MMPI test, I don't see how they can make someone take a test to see if they are stable or not, besides, who sets the answers and how do we know that they are stable. ANYWAYS, I am just closer to getting my letter! Well then, they told me that it takes 10-14 days for the results to come back from the test. Why don't they just cut off my left leg. I was feeling so good at that point, now they knocked me back to reality. This is where that patience that I told you about before comes into play, and make sure that you have plenty of it..........sometimes it takes ALOT OF PATIENCE.
03-14-05 - Called Nancy at MBC to see what else is needed from me at this point. Referred me to Dr. Sloan for Psych Evaluation. Called Dr Sloan's office and scheduled appt (going to be there about 15 minutes to meet with Dr. and then take a 2 1/2-hour MMPI test, man I hate them test). Called insurance company to get authorization for psych evaluation and testing. Insurance company approved extra visits for me to see Psych, if needed, do they know something that I don't......it’s bad enough for them to make me take this MMPI test, but then for your insurance company to think that you are nuts and my need more visits is way more than I had imagined. But that is ok, I can deal with that, just as long as they give me an approval letter, I will go every week if I have to just for that one piece of paper that will say that they will approve my surgery.
03-10-05 - Made copies of all paperwork going to MBC (Midwest Bariatrics’ Center) just in case something gets lost. Mailed off and now just waiting for them to get it and see what else I need. A lot of waiting going on, defiantly have to have patience for this surgery, if you don't have it before hand, you will learn it as you go along, so much of it is all just waiting for paperwork to go from this office to that office and for phone calls to get returned.
02-25-05 - Picked up copy of TSH test at PCP's office.
02-9-05 - Had to call back to PCP to schedule TSH (Thyroid level blood test) and to pick up referral letter that PCP wrote. Stopped by New Lady Fitness and picked up workout card and measurement card.
02-8-05 - Met with PCP - he says that he will write my letter of recommendation and asked if I have already picked a surgeon, told him that I had picked Dr De La Torre, he told me that I was in good hands and if I would have asked him, that is who he would have referred me to. That made me feel much better about my choice in surgeons. I was nervous about getting him to write my referral, afraid that he was going to tell me that I just need to watch what I eat and exercise more, but he was behind me 100%. What a relief!
02/4/05 - Made appt with PCP for Tuesday 2/8/05. Made call to New Lady Fitness to speak to them about getting copies of my workout cards and measurement cards. Need to run by there and pick them up later this week. Make copies of Weight Watcher's membership cards. Figured that I would send the copies of work out cards and Weight Watcher cards in with paperwork to help show that I have tried other ways of losing weight, it just must have a map because it keeps finding its way back onto me.
01/29/05 - Received package from Midwest Bariatric Center for my WLS.
01/21/05 - Called Dr. Scott / Dr. De La Torre's office in Wentzville to see about getting a package of the information mailed out to me. Spoke with them and they told me that Dr Scott wasn't doing surgeries around St Louis any longer, that he was only doing them in Columbia at the University. Decided to go with Dr. De La Torre as my Surgeon. My best friend's mom and my other best friend's father-in-law both used Dr Scott as their surgeon when they had their gastric bypass many years ago.
