You can also find me on Myspace...www.myspace.com/trcy

 I have my first consult with Dr. Bilof of West Orange on Setpember 8,2005. I'm looking forward to meeting with him and I hope to get the surgery approved!

August 18,2005
I'm getting really anxious about my consultation with Dr. Michael Bilof. I have a little more than 3 weeks until my appointment date. I've been reading everything I can on this website. I think I've become obsessed with gathering ALL the information possible! My family and friends are all behind me on my decision and are also anxious to find out what the doctor has to say. I also spoke with representative from my insurance company, I was told that I shouldn't have any problems getting approved. This really made me feel better. Of couse I still have to have all the required information put together. I have't slept in weeks. This surgery is all I have my mind!

9/16/05
I had my consult with Dr. Bilof and he was great! Very nice and soft spoken, he explained everything in detail to my father and myself. My dad left feeling confident and so did I. I have an appointment with the GI doctor on 9/20/05, an appointment with the Psyc. doc on 9/27/05 and the appointment with JFK Medical Center for the Venous doppler of my legs. Hopefully all will go well and I can get approved by the insurance and finally get a surgery date. I'll write back soon.

October 7,2005
It's been a few weeks or so since I last posted. I ran into a snag with my insurance and having the Venous Doppler. Now everthing is okay and I'm schedualed for my venous doppler for 10/19/05 at Saint Barnabas Ambulatory Care Center. My GI scope is on 10/22/05 and that will be the last test I need to have. I'm hoping for a November surgery date. That all depends on the Insurance company. So far Dr. Bilof's office staff has been great. I've called a few times with silly questions and they always call me back. I've already seen the Physcologist, he was very nice. Dr. Gary Goldberg, he cleared me of being a crazy lady (lol) and just told me to follow up with counseling after the surgery. I plan on doing that. I'll write back soon.

October 21,2005
I had my venous doppler done the other day. It was so simple and quick. I was in and out within 15 minutes. Tomarrow I am having my GI scope done and after that hopefully I will get my date by the end of October. I'm routing for a December 5th surgery date. I was glad to hear the the GI doctor knocks out his patients while the GI scope is done. I didn't want to be awake for that!! I nice nap for me for about 30 minutes.

October 27,2005
All the tests are done! AND... I got the phone call that I'M APPROVED!!!! YAHOOOOO December 5,2005 is my surgery date. We are still awaiting results from the Endoscopy, I had a few polyps that had to be removed and sent for Biopsy. But other than that,,, I"M READY!!! Any of you watch Sponge Bob? I have 3 kids and watch it all the time,, one of Sponge Bob's famous quotes is,,, I'M READY, I'M READY, I'M READY Well that's me. I'm schedualed for my pre-addmision tests for November 22 and I've made an appointment with my Primary Doc to let him know. I call this,, MY DO-OVER. I finally get the chance to have a DO-OVER in my life. I'm sooooo excited!

October 28,2005
I was thinking about my surgery date today,, and OMG it's only 6 weeks away! November is a very busy month for me and it's going to fly by! Nov 6 is my son's B-day. Nov 18 is my step-mom's B-day Nov 21 is my daughters B-day. In between is Nov. 4 my nephews B-day and from Nov 17-19 I'll be in CT giving step a surprise B-day party. Nov 24 is Thanksgiving and the following week is Surgery! HOLY TOLEDO!!! I'm soooo excited. I explained the surgery to my kids the other night. I waited to tell them until I had insurance approval. Well, I'm approved and it was time to tell the kids. My oldest daughter is 8yrs old. I thought she was going to do a back flip when I told her. She was soooo happy. Her exact words were this...."You mean I'm going to have a skinny mommy? Yea, I've always wanted a skinny mommy! Now you can go swimming with us, and roller skating and bike riding!" Her list just kept getting longer and longer of the things she wants to with her new skinny mommy. She said she can't wait until next summer to start all these wonderful things as a new family. I told her, It's not a new family we are all still the same. She said, "No mommy, you will be different and newer so we will have a new mommy, which means a new family" Okay I told her. If that's how you want to phrase it. I think my kids are more excited than I am. This is what I wanted though, I wanted to be able to do more with them. I'm a single mom and our outing are limited to lack of money so bike riding and roller skating outside is a big thing with them in the summer time cuz it's FREE! LOL They enjoy the outdoors and now I'll be able to enjoy them and myself in the outdoor life. I can't wait for our first bike ride as a "New" family together!

November 17,2005 (17 more days!!)
Had all my pre-admission testing done yesterday at Saint Barnabas. I love that hospital!! I wasn't there more than 1 hour. I can't belive that it's only 17 days left until my surgery. I'm soooo super excited about the changes I'm about to endure. My kids aren't so happy, they are happy that I will be healthier, but they are NOT happy about Mommy being gone for a few days. My son is 7 years old and he climbed on my lap the other night just sobbing away, crying that he didn't want me to go, he was going to miss me too much. Then he got my 5 year old daughter crying. So I set up play dates with thier friends while I'm in the hospital to help kill some time without mommy. I'm going to miss them soooo much! My 8 year old daughter is holding together good, so far.
I have been eating just about everything in site! I'm trying to fulfill all my cravings since I won't be able to have them anymore. I've gained about 15lbs since my initial consult with Dr. Bilof. I've got to slow down on my eating. I should be losing weight before the surgery, not gaining it. LOL. Thanksgiving will be good, I'll filling up on the stuffing and gravy!! It seems like a lifetime waiting for the day of surgery. It seems so very close,and going by so very fast, Yet it's not coming fast enough.

This is a picture from our trip to Connecticut. We all surprised my step mother for her birthday. My step brother and I drove up togehter from NJ with all five kids! He has 2 and my 3. Anyway, this is the most recent picture of myself. It was taken on November 18,2005 and I weighed in at 283. How ugly do (did) I look!?!! I'm in the purple shirt on the end.
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November 25,2005
Only 9 days to go until surgery! I went out the other day and bought myself some new jammies and a robe for my hosptial stay. It's nice to do something for myself once in awhile. I shop at Fashion Bug, and plan to continue to shop there after surgery. Just not in the PLUS section, LOL. I can't wait to put on a pair of zip up jeans and not feel like a stuffed pig. My children are getting excited too! I can't wait to get ME back again!

December 1, 2005
Holy Crap! Today is December 1st! My surgery on Monday! December 5th. It just doesn't feel real, I can't belive that only a few more day and my life is going to change dramatically! I'm really looking forward to it, but it doesn't feel like it's happening. I got my post-op supplies yesterday,,, some broth, jell-o and boullion, SF popsicles and flavored water. I figure that's all I'll need for awhile. I'm waiting for the pharmacy to call me and let me know when my Fleet prep-kit #3 is in. So for those of you who need to take this the day before,, make sure you go out looking SOON. Not all pharmacies carry it. I had to have it ordered by my pharmacy. It will be in on Saturday and I need to take it on Sunday! TOO CLOSE for comfort!! Anyway, I don 't know if I'll be posting anymore before my surgery. I also went out and got a journel to keep track of my progress. It's going to start the day of surgery. Just something to look back on in a few years. Well, if not before - I'll be writing once I'm on the LOSING SIDE!!!

December 12,2005
Well I had my surgery on December 5. I'm feeling great! I haven't thrown up or anything (yet) I haven't started the foods yet. I'm still on liquids. But all in all I feel terrific, I didn't have any complications or much pain afterwards. Of course there was SOME pain, I mean, I just had surgery! But it was tolerable. The most uncomfortable part was the gas. I was supposed to go home on Wednesday Dec, 7 but I didn't pass the gas I was supposed to and I was still feeling really bloated and uncomfortable. Well, that all changed Wed. night! LOL I went home Thursday. I also had a roomate from this site for a brief period, TERU. She was very nice and I'm looking forward to getting to know her a bit better maybe BAD! I still have to take it easy, too much really poops me out quick! I went shopping with my mother and after about an hour and a half I wanted to go home. My back was hurting and I was really tired. Tommarow is my first follow up with Dr. Bilof, I'm looking forward to seeing him, he's so sweet and gentle. I will post back when I see doc and soon to let you know about my weight loss.

December 14,2005
I saw Dr. Bilof yesterday. I'm down 11lbs since surgery and I'm on the stage 2 of my diet. I had a protein drink today for lunch, it was good and stayed down,YEAH!! Later on I tried some yogurt, not a good idea. I didn't get sick, just felt yucky the rest of the night and got really bloated and full of gas. Felt worse than surgery gas, so I didn't eat anything the rest of the nigh, just drank my water. I go to see Dr. Bilof again in 3 weeks. I'm feeling good and can finally sleep on my side in comfort. I'm sleeping better now than I did before surgery. Maybe just because all the anxiety is gone, I don't know. But I can go to bed at 9pm and fall right asleep and get up at 6:30am feeling refreshed. I'm usally hitting the snooze button for the next half hour, LOL. So, I'm doing good, feeling good and looking forward to losing more weight. My goal is to lose at least 20 lbs by the time I see Dr. Bilof again in 3 weeks. We'll see.

December 19,2005
I hopped on the scale yesterday and I'm down to 260! Feeling grrrrreat! I feel my confidence coming back and everyone keeps telling me that I'm looking really good. That makes me feel good. I'm still kind of afraid to eat too much. I'm on the 3rd stage of the diet and I'm still scared to eat, I can start on fish, tuna fish, eggs and other soft solid foods. I just can't get myself to eat it. My mom is going to cook some fish tomarrow night. I'll see how that goes. I'm one of the few lucky ones who hasn't thrown up. Not once and I'm gratefull for that. I feel really good and I've had my ups and downs with eating too fast. I ate some pudding the other night, I didn't take my time and ate too fast. The pain was horrible and I was on the couch the rest of the night with gas pains and just a nasty stomach ache. I learned my lesson there. Now it takes me an hour to eat 4 oz of cottage cheese or yogurt. Nice and slow! LOL

December 22,2005
I had some fish lastnight for dinner. I don't think I chewed enough cuz it came back up, with some serious pain too. I felt nausious at first, then got this pain, I thought I was going to have a heart attack,then I had to run for the bathroom cuz I tossed it all up. I was in pain the rest of the night. I'll try the fish again tonight, I'll take MUCH smaller bites and chew a few more times. I didn't like that feeling AT ALL and do not want to have to go through it again. I'll be more careful from now on.

December 28,2005
Nothing much to report here. I'm still holding at 23 lbs lost, I think it may be water cuz I'm due for the monthly. I've tried some new foods that were surprising good, I've had refried beans warmed in microwave w/shredded cheddar and a dollop of sour cream. YUMMY! It's my new snack food! Lastnight I also tried out my new magic bullet thingy that my mom gave me for christmas, I put in a slice of ham, a tbs of vegetable cream cheese and blended until smooth. I then put it in the microwave to warm, shredded some cheddar on top and YUMMY! I'm not getting in all my protein like I should, doc is not gonna be happy about that. I should be excercise more too. I can't wait to get back to CURVES next week! Just gotta wait for the okay from Dr. Bilof which will be Jan. 3

January 5, 2006
I went to my first support meeting lastnight. I have to admit, I though more people would have been there. But the few that showed was nice. Dr. Bilof even made an appearence, it's always nice to see your doctor still interested in how everyone is doing. I'm down 26 lbs since surgery, which is good but I was hoping for a bit more during the first month. I've gotten my clearence from Dr. Bilof to excercise more and I have no restrictions! So I've been working my soon to be little butt off! I'm only going to weight myself once a month , or try to at least. So unless something totally outstanding happens I'll be posting once a month now.

January 13,2006
I went to CURVES for the first time since WLS yesterday. The scale read 252!!! WOOO HOOO That's 31 lbs gone since surgery!!

February 9,2006
I haven't officially weighed in yet at curves, but my scale at home reads at 238! I haven't been this weight since I was preggers with my second child!

March 24,2006
Oooops, I kind of slacked off on updating! As of this morning, and the scale was being nice to me today.. I weigh 215!!!! (doing a happy dance!) Things are good, I'm finally starting to get my protein from FOOD instead of just protein drinks. Of course I still do drink my drinks, I've grown to just like them. All in all, life is GOOD!!!!

April 6,2006
Nothing big to report on. I'm still losing weight on a regular basis, haven't really hit any plataeu yet. I'm averaging about 5 lbs a week and I'm good with that. I saw Dr. Bilof the other day and he says that I'm doing great. My vitamin B level was a bit low so he just told me to double up on my vitamins. I still can't eat very much, it's not that I can't because it'll make me sick, I can't because I'm just not hungy and I'm not going to force myself to eat cuz then I will get sick. My mom is getting worried that I'm not eating enough and is scared that even when I hit my goal weight that I'll just continue to lose weight because I'm not eating. I eat when I'm hungry now, not just because I'm bored. I feel good and I'm looking forward to the warm months ahead when I can feel comfortable going outside in shorts (maybe). I'll probably just get a lot of capri pants. Anyway, the weight loss progress is still going strong, I just have to commit myself to an excercise regimen.

June 23,2006
I've haven't been very good with posting updates! Things are still going really good for me.. I'm down 98lbs now. I still can't eat alot of my favorites,, no bread, no pasta, no steak, sometimes I can tolerate chicken and porkchops. Depends on how it's cooked. But I'm okay with not being able to eat everything that I used to, it makes me second guess my choices when I've got the munchies. I still have a habit of eating too fast, then it has to come up.When I started my weight loss journey I weighed in at 283lbs and was wearing size 26/28 pants. Now I'm at 185 and I've gotten into a size 12 comfortably. I never thought I'd get out of the size 20's. And here I am nearing size 10. My weight loss has slowed down ALOT over the past 2 months, but I knew that was to be expected. Instead of losing the average of 5lbs per week I was losing, I'm now losing approx. 5-10 per month. As long as it's still coming off I'm happy. I still have NO regrets about the surgery and still believe that it was the best decision I've ever made for myself. I owe my new life to Dr. Michael Bilof!

September 19,2006
Wow, it's been awhile since I've updated my profile! Well, I'm now down a total of 127 lbs! I'm almost at goal and NEVER thought I would see this day! I'm still getting used to not going directly to the "plus" department in the clothing store. I'm finally able to shop from the "normal" rack! Anyway, things are good. I'm able to eat more of a variety of foods, although I still make myself sick if I eat too much or too fast. This is something that will never go away, but I LOVE IT no matter what! I still state in the fridge for a few minutes trying to figure out what I WANT and what I CAN have. Sometimes I get frustrated because what I want isn't what I can have. so I just don't eat. Not good, I know.. but I'm still trying to deal with that. Anyway, I'll try to keep updating my profile a bit more often. Thanks for taking the time to read it!

January 8,2007

WOW..been a loooooong time since I've checked my profile..things have changed on OH! Looks good though..okay so a little update on me..I have now lost a total of 145 lbs..HOLY COW! I've lost an entire person! It's the best feeling in the world..I'm always getting compliments now..although I'm still getting used to them..I'm not used to people telling me how good I look. I guess I should get used to it..lol It's been over a year now since my surgery..I can honestly tell you that it gets scary when you realize that you can eat ALMOST the same foods as before WLS. I can now eat bread..took me a whole year to be able to eat bread but now I can have a sandwhich for lunch. It still takes me like 45 mins to finish it and sometimes I can't. I find myself falling into "old habits" often. Eating nothing but junk! During Christmas and New Years I can't tell you how many cookies I ate...but it was ALOT. I'm still getting used to the idea of excercise..haven't really commited myself to doing it yet. But I'm working on it. I feel great and my kids tell me all the time that they are soooo happy that I'm not fat anymore. It hurts at first..but then they smile at me and tell me how pretty I am now. My son loves to hug me..he always has..but now it's ALL THE TIME..he loves the fact that he can put his arms all the way around me. That makes me feel good inside and reminds me of what a good decision it was to have this surgery! I'll try to be more frequent with my updates..lol

January 20,2007

I went shopping the other day to use the gift cards I received for christmas. Everyone knows and see's that I need clothes! So I got alot of gift cards. I went to JC Penny's..and get this..I was shopping in the Misses section! Misses!!! Not PLUS..Not WOMENS..but Misses! AND I couldn't find my size..they were all TOO BIG! LOL I got alot of nice tops and a few pair of jeans. I can fit into a snug 6. A 6!! But the 8's are much more comfortable..but it's nice to have a pair of 6's in my drawer! Wow..from a size 26/28 to a comfortable 7/8..the feeling is undescribable. I've also had alot of fella's interested in me...not the one that I want..but alot of offerings that feels good. I always felt like the guys were laughing at me behind my back when I was heavier..now I'm getting looks from them. Kinda hard getting used to that!




This picture is of me and my dad. We go fishing together every summer, I LOVE IT! I am approx. 280lbs in this picture. Yikes!
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Yet another picture from a fishing trip, the only time I get my picture taken because my father demands it, LOL This one was from our July 2004 fishing trip. I had the biggest catch of the day! The only girl on board, and I caught the big one!
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Just one more picture of me and MY BIG FISH! LOL
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Me now at 142..what a difference from the above photo! WOW!

 Photos


197

About Me
Edison, NJ
Location
41.5
BMI
RNY
Surgery
12/05/2005
Surgery Date
Aug 04, 2005
Member Since

Before & After
rollover to see after photo
197lbs
Fishing with my dad again. This one is in May of 2005
280lbs

Friends 10

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