Tamee B.

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Today is eight weeks, and officially 50 lbs down - yesterday we had a gathering of friends, Andrea and Lisa were there in all their successful glory - it wasn't the intention, but we ended up celebrating my 50, Lisa's 70 (close enough) and Andrea's successes at meeting her health goals - Our friend John, my own personal nurse angel, was there as well - he was my pre-op, surgery and PACU RN for my procedure, and I know he thinks it's no big deal, but having him there gave me peace of mind that my needs would be met, and I KNOW his presence helped Jason through a very stressful time - I sure love that guy - 

It was a hoot to see a lot of folks I haven't seen since before surgery or immediately after - the reactions are so affirming - even when I look in the mirror and struggle to see it, I can always count on someone to say "no REALLY" - I'm starting to trust that more and more instead of thinking to myself "oh, they're just being nice" - 

Shellie had been at Girls Night In right before Lisa's surgery, and the totally best moment yesterday was Shellie NOT recognizing that Lisa was the same person - it was a happy/sad moment though because as Lisa pointed out, when we're so obese, our features are almost irrelevant, we disappear in our bodies - how WOULD we be recognizable . . . 

Ben is going to take my 50 lb picture tomorrow so my mom won't have a cow - I promised her a picture at every milestone - my next big moment will be crossing to 100-something - I've been 200-something for so many years, that will likely be a bigger milestone than even getting to my goal weight . . . only 26 lbs to that goal!

Things are going FAR better than I could have hoped - only one minor complication, an infected incision, but it's being treated and is on the mend.  Haven't had any major food issues but have definitely felt the wrath of eating the wrong thing too soon - YUCK.

Just had my first apple, talk about a little round bit of heaven - 

My favorite part of this whole experience (other than my incredible melting body) is the gym - who knew I wouldn't hate working out?  Hard to imagine.

Down 39 lbs as of this morning, and I'm now closer to my lowest adult weight than to my highest - woohoo!

Man it's good to be on the other side!!!!  So I'm 17 days post-op - doing well, no complications (knock on wood) - tolerating food well, mostly staying hydrated, and mostly getting my protein in.  Still waiting for the miracle energy everyone keeps talking about, but I have faith that it will come.  Went to the gym last night for the first time, just did some stretching and a little cardio in the pool, but MAN it felt good to be in the warm salty water and to be able to do some MOVING . . . 

If you're reading this, you're in my circle, and I want to tell you how much I appreciate you - thanks for your friendship and your support - 

So I was wigging a little about losing my 5% because I never synched my scale at home after my intake visit, so I went to the surgeon to weight on their scale prior to my pre-op next week - I'm down 11 lbs - WOOHOO

Today is my LAST DAY in my current role at work - effective monday, I'm back to full time clinical research - WOOHOOOO!!!  Stress level is going to be high for a few weeks, but Barb is going to be great, so once the learning curve has passed, I'm going to be flying high.  I'm down 10 lbs of my pre surgery requirement of 12 - 15, so I'm feeling very confident that I'll be ready for pre-op on the 27th.

Got my bike back from the shop today, so now I have transpo to go swimming with Lisa, VERY excited about that - ok, not VERY excited, but SOMEWHAT excited - and that's good enough . . .

GirlsNightIn was a raging success - had 12 groovy chicks show up, some were old friends and some were new - we had birthday girls (3 of them) and surgery girls (three pre, one post), and assorted supporters and celebrators.  Gina ROCKED in the massage salon - everyone who wanted was able to partake of her LMT offerings, and Ben took some gorgeous portraits and group photos (soon to be posted here).  Thanks to the supportive loving group of women who have my back, I love each of you and I'm glad you're in my circle!

I really do have a date - I'm still in shock - I've sort of walked around waiting for the other shoe to fall - for some insurance muckety muck to tell me I'm out of luck, don't qualify, aren't allowed - but I'm NOT, I DO, I AM!!!

Spent sunday with a group of friends from church - reminded once again how blessed I am to be surrounded by supportive, loving people - 

Knee deep in planning the big celebration for next saturday - Girl's Night is going to be great fun - having a massage therapist come in, and a photographer to do before and afters for Lisa and I, and portraits for anyone else who wants them - also celebrating Andrea's two years of success and three birthdays - going to be uplifting!

So Terra, the coordinator called me today and left a voicemail.  They were supposed to submit to insurance on tuesday (today is thursday), so my first reaction was to be steamed because I thought maybe they hadn't done it yet - my second reaction was panic because if they HAD submitted it, surely they were calling to tell me I was declined - I took a deep breath and called her back . . .

I HAVE A DATE!!!!!!  I was approved in TWO DAYS and I HAVE A DATE!!!!!

So thanks Lisa for schooling me on this resource - I love the site - I've gotten lots of good information from others who have been where I am - and WOW is it inspiring to see the success of others!

Had a horrid couple of days - not adapting well to falling asleep on my back or side - I'm a stomach sleeper and a burrower, which isn't conducive to keeping the  tarantula cpap mask glued to my face.   I literally had to beg for a script for a short-acting sleep aid.  NP told me "that's something we prefer not do prescribe" then the next sentence was "make sure you have two weeks or more of total compliance with your cpap before surgery."  

I'm a pretty good and thorough communicator, did I leave something out?  Did she MISS the part about - hey, I have exchanged one problem for another?  I used to be able to fall asleep on a dime, but then had lousy sleep because of the apnea.  So now, the cpap makes me sleep GREAT, but I can't FALL asleep because I'm on my back and I have the aforementioned tarantula problem.

It got resolved finally - I went back to the NP who did my sleep study - she was very gracious and understanding - the bariatric people just didn't want to deal with me - you'd have thought I was a drug dealer looking for a steady supplier, when all I'm trying to do is comply with therapy so I don't get rejected for surgery.  Ok, enough - I'm letting it go -