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IsaacsGram's Blog

A blog by IsaacsGram in General

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About this blog

Journey to Fit by Fifty

Entries in this blog

46 Days Postop Update

I haven't updated in awhile as I'm back to my busy life. Returned to work this Monday, 12 hours shifts, no restrictions. I am doing pretty well, keeping up, keeping hydrated. I was afraid of not having time to drink, let alone eat, but so far I've been able to make it work. I'm also babysitting my 1 year and 2 year old grandsons-that seems to wear me out faster than work! I had this surgery to help me keep up=but so far I'm struggling just as much as before. A bit disappointing, but I'm ho

6 Week Scheduled Follow Up Appointment

I attended the required 6 week follow up class and MD appointment today. The class was ho-hum, we received a script for lab work for the 3 month visit and every 3 months for a year, and a reminder of our diet restrictions and exercise recommendations.   The good part, or the part that made the 1 hour drive worthwhile was sitting next to a fellow sleever I had met briefly at the last pre op class. She and I have a lot in common, age, weight to lose, type & date of surgery and the POST

I'm Baaaack!

What a day! Finished writing my main paper for my Nursing ethics & legal issues class, went shopping for something to wear to a baby baptism scheduled tomorrow, and cleaned/changed water in my 90 gallon saltwater fish tank.   Any 1 of those 3 would have killed me just a few days ago!   Good news! Tried on dress slacks at Kohl's and ended up getting a size 18W, I could get the 16's on but they were a little snug(I only tried them for fun-didn't expect to be able to even button them-but

Good News And Bad News

It's Monday, and the good news is that it seems that the sharp, debilitating pain I was having on my left side has dissipated. It is now just a sore area that is tolerable. Prayers work! The bad news, the local surgeon I was going to try to switch over to will not follow up with me. He apparently is not doing sleeves after all. So I am still debating about following up with my original surgeon for the long run. I still think I will try to find another office-I have just really lost all f

"i Have Nothing More To Offer You" So, On To Plan B

Yesterday was Friday, I called the surgeon's office as he had requested to give an update on my abdominal pain. Of course I had to go through his nurse, ok, fine, well she puts me on hold then comes back and says doctor would be happy to call in a refill for Vicodin for me. I start to lose my patience and tell her I never finished the first prescription of Vicodin, I hate the way it makes me feel, I cannot function, I just pass out and then wake up in more pain! So, finally she puts the good

Another Doctor Appointment, Another Attempt To "fix" Me

My appointment was not until Nov 7, but I called the surgeon's office yesterday to ask if I could go to my chiropractor for assessment of my continued pain. Initially the nurse said, "sure", but then she asked if the pain I was talking about was related to my surgery, I told her, "of course". She then put me on hold and came back and asked if I could come in at 1:30. So I did, and the surgeon looked genuinely concerned, which was new. He palpated my abdomen, and this time found the VERY SORE

Loa Extended, Pain Continues

Called my employer, confirmed my LOA extension until Nov 8. Feel like some pressure off, not worrying about having to get back to work in less than a week. However, the pain continues. Slept in recliner again, but even getting out of that chair is becoming painful. Pain seems to have moved to more central upper abdomen, just above belly button. I am taking ES tylenol every 6 hours and wearing my abdominal binder to make it tolerable. I still cannot bend over, or lean to one side or the oth

Just Gonna Take Time.....

Spent entire day yesterday at hospital, drank disgusting contrast for an Abdominal CT scan to check for any problems that could be causing my ongoing pain. Test was ordered stat and I was to wait for the results. At 4pm got results, NORMAL. Yep, normal. Don't know if I'm happy or not. I'm glad there is nothing horrible going on inside me, but why am I still in so much pain? A doctor friend of mine said it best, "It's just gonna take time, REST, superwoman". I guess that's all I can do now

36 Hours Of Clear Liquids

Follow up from Monday's fiasco from taking Nyquil. I did not go to the ER, but I did follow up with my surgeon on Wednesday. He looked at my incisions again, and I told him about the pain wrapping around from the front to the left back, I told him how I cannot sleep in my bed now, I cannot walk on my treadmill, I cannot sit at the table for more than 2 minutes; all things I could do right after surgery. I also told him that my belly is bloated, and my stools are watery. He tried to assure me

2 Weeks Post Op Today

2 weeks ago today I had 85% of my stomach removed. Wow, I really did it. I am still uncomfortable-pain in my left side continues, and even extended around to the left side of my back-like pain through and through from front to back. MD says its normal-don't worry. Ok, sure. My regret is that I ended up telling almost everybody, and now I'm getting those looks-you know the kind-"maybe you shouldn't have done this", "maybe you should have tried harder at dieting/exercising, etc", "so sorry, b

2 Week 1St Follow Up Md Appointment- Good Luck!

Well, as I predicted my surgeon advised me that my left sided pain is "normal" and will resolve "eventually". He looked at my wounds, palpated a couple spots, and said I looked fine. When I voiced my concern about returning to work in 2 weeks as I am still exhausted and can barely walk on my treadmill at 1.5ml/hr for 10 min and my pain, he said I would be fine in 2 weeks. I wish I were so confident! Then the "bariatric coordinator" RN told me to stop taking my sublingual B-12 because their v

One Week + One Day Post Op-On My Own!

My mother left at 7am this morning. My hubby left for work at 8am. So here I am all by myself. Well, thank goodness I'm feeling better. Slept about 6 hours straight without having to get up and take pain pills (tylenol). So at noon, after I made my own lunch, pureed chicken salad, I found my car keys and went to the store! Woot Woot! I can still drive! LOL. Felt good to have my freedom back. Unfortunately was only at store about 10-15 min and had to leave-bowels were talking to me-and the

Tomorrow Is One Week Postop, Still Rough

I thought I would keep this blog better, but it has been a ROUGH week! Surgery Monday, Oct.1, 7:30am. recovery was a blur, brought to my room, then after first thing to sip and a pain pill I puked till I thought I was gonna die! It hurt so bad I cried - which made it worse! Staff was good, most of the time, I had terrible gas in my left shoulder and had to have moist warm compresses-which my mother applied first, then staff brought more. The leak test on day 2 was bad, and when they wanted

Less Than A Week To Go And Finally Told Sons

I have two sons and one daughter. My boys are the oldest, Eric is 31, Adam is 26, and Rachael is 23. They are all adults and I am proud of all of them. My daughter was one of the first people I told as we have a close relationship. My boys were both in the Army and are very physically fit and active. I had chosen not to tell them of my surgery earlier as I feared their reaction and the look of disappointment from them. But I finally came out to them this week. Adam lives in Anchorage, Ala

Day 4 Of Pre-Op Diet

So, three days of 2 protein shakes, and 4 oz of protein & 1/2 c veggies equals = leg cramps from HELL! Woke me up in the middle of the night with screaming pain! Dear God! But once that passed I fell back to sleep, woke up and weighed myself. 12 pounds down! Holy Cow! At this rate (4lbs/day) I should lose 40 lbs by surgery day! But of course then I won't qualify with my BMI. Hopefully they don't weigh me, BUT BE SURE I WILL WEIGH MYSELF ! I then went to the gym for the first time s

Continuing To Get Ready!

With the help of my daughter, Rachael, put together the treadmill that I had ordered from JCPenney. It's a lot bigger than I figured - and heavier! It won't even fit through my doorways. So it is parked in the livingroom-Dan has not seen it yet-can't wait!! We also went shopping for a few more "post-op" things. 3 water jugs-with measurements on the side, one 64 oz, and 2 32 oz. Also a nice robe and nightgown for the hospital, as well as underwear, socks, and soft athletic bras. Earlier

Consents Signed, Questions Addressed

Had my final appointment with the surgeon (Dr.Joyce in New Lenox) today. I signed the consents and initialed all the "patient responsibilities". I must say the list of possible complications was intimidating, especially the last one, "death". I asked about the possibility of him going into my abdomen and NOT doing the surgery due to my liver and he said that has happened "a couple times" but he reassured me it was usually with people much larger than myself. I also asked about blood thinner

3 Week Countdown

My husband just up and asked, "so how many days till surgery?". It made me kinda freak out, 21 days, 3 weeks, less than 1 month! My head is swimming with all the details to take care of before the day arrives, I'm trying to plan for the worst and hoping for the best. If I end up really, really sick post-op I have to have a plan in place. I pay all the bills-my husband doesn't have a clue... I do all the shopping... I babysit for my grandkids... I only have 11 weeks of paid time off at work..

Exercise To Build Stamina Pre-Op

As I met my "personal trainer" Monday I could tell I really needed to build myself back up. I have been fighting with my left foot since April-plantar fascitis and achilles tendon sprain-and I can really tell I have not been exercising for 5 months. So I went today and did my routine that I was given. I'm glad I work out at a Wellness Center instead of a real gym-I am really embarassed by my large abdomen! So humiliating to try and get off and on some of the machines! But I know this will

Back To The Future! (The Gym)

Kept my appointment at the Wellness Center (Gym run by my Hospital) with Ryan (about 25years old) the personal trainer guy. He greeted me with "Look who's back", and I said, "Yes, the return of the prodigal daughter". He weighed me, measured me, took my body fat percentage and BMI. Then I told him about my upcoming surgery and reminded him "that is confidential information, young man!". He smiled and said "Good for you, you're taking control of your health and your life, nothing to be ashame

28 Day Countdown Starts Today

October 1st, 2012, that is the date. The date I will have VSG and start back towards being myself. In this picture I'm at 215#'s. I felt really good, and my daughter called me "freakishly thin". I hope is that this surgery not only helps me get back there-but to stay there (or a little thinner even would be nice!). Notice October 1st, 2009 I also embarked on what I thought was my LAST diet. Yeah, right. So, all the hoops have been jumped through, all the tests done, the date has been deci

Catch Up-May 15,2012 Blog Entry On Another Site

Hawaii was my first REAL inspiration. October 1, 2009 joined Jenny Craig, joined gym. Followed diet, worked out 4-5 days/week. By April 2010 I had lost 62 pounds! Fantastic! (Except my dirty little secret-Jenny Craig and the gym didn't do it all-a bunch of little pills called laxatives helped). So, YAY me, I went to Hawaii for the first time 62 pounds lighter, although still 50pounds overweight. Got on the helicopter without being made to step on a scale (yes they can do that!), so everything

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