Symi

Sleeved December 6th. Date of surgery weight: 329 Current weight as of 1 month appointment: 289 (Today) 40lbs Yay!

I eat about five small meals a day but I don't plan on what I want to eat or how much. My body knows best when I need something and I've learned that if I'm craving a certain type of food, I'm probably low in some sort of Vitamin that it offers. I'm still on the mushy stuff until the 9th though so my little offerings might not be as helpful as others. List of stuff I enjoy; Greek yogurt drinkable yogurt probiotic shots (tastes like drinkable yogurt) Baby food of all sorts, especially baby hot dogs, lol tomato soup cream of mushroom soup a little bit of brunsweiger (liver pate) when I'm low on Iron Vitamins (I have to put this because my doctor reminds me constantly to take them. It nearly counts as a meal.) fruit puree a fruity popsicle every now and then tuna fish with mayo mixed into it and cracker crumb sprinkles. A measured drink of those nasty, awful, horrible Protein drinks. (Blech! I can't stand them!) I've lost 34 lbs since my surgery and I am... about a month out. (I started at 329 and am now 295)

Well, the welcome letter said to introduce myself, so here I am! My story... I could fool myself and say that it's only been in the past few years but really the decline began even before I had my first child. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism as a child and I just could not lose weight once I gained it. Activities were difficult and I eventually got very lazy about doing things I didn't absolutely -have- to do. I managed to maintain a decent figure as a teenager because my activity was as much as the other kids around me but when I got into college, it simply did not matter. When I was 19 I got married and pregnant in the same year, my husband was and is a wonderful man who never minded that I had a few extra pounds on me. At the time it -was- only a few extra but it was part of the decline. I was around 230 after my first pregnancy, which was the most I ever weighed in my life, I was absolutely miserable but my "down feelings" were blamed on pregnancy hormones and I was encouraged to eat -more- rather then less to make myself feel better. (food was always a comfort thing in my family.) We moved to Japan, (my husband is military) and lived there for three years, during that time I had another little baby and gained -far too much-. (I ended up weighing 300lbs) At this point I was miserable -and- desperate. I was trying so many things and absolutely none of them worked for me. I was told about the gastric bypass surgery around then and began researching it but the prospect of being cut into like that to lose weight terrified me. It wasn't until I reached about 225 when we were back in the states and eating good ol' American food again that I realized, this wasn't a problem that was going to just go away on it's own. I couldn't ignore it like a passing thing and I wasn't going to be around for my children if my weight kept dragging my health down and down. I had to act on it, scared or not. I asked my regular PCM (Primary care manager, for non-military people.) if I could have a referral for gastric bypass. She agreed immediately of course and to be honest it almost seemed as though she was waiting for me ask. She had all the information on hand and sent me to the information seminars as well as gave me a referral to the general surgery clinic. Actually convincing the surgeon to do the procedure I wanted took much longer then I expected it to and in the end, I did -not- get the gastric bypass surgery. I was convinced because of Vitamin deficiencies, to do the gastric sleeve instead. (To which I am -extremely- grateful to my surgeon for, he saved me a lot of tummy aches.) I jumped through all the hoops, psychiatrist, blood tests and other fun things before I was even finally approved for -that- surgery, eventually (obviously) I did set a date! The surgery day I was almost excited even as much as I was scared. I was finally taking that first step and I -knew- I needed that step more then anything. I felt at that point that the rest of my life, the quality of my life even, with my children and husband depended on this surgery going well and the results of it being what I needed them to be. The anesthetics were simple and I went under for many, many hours, only to wake up in my hospital room with the most -awful- ache in my side and a very dry mouth that I was told I could not fix with water! Later that day... (or maybe the next, I couldn't -quite- tell the days apart the first couple days with the pain medications,) I was allowed to chew on ice in tiny little medicine cups. I was only allowed to have two medicine cups of ice an hour. I was not allowed anything with flavor until my very last day in the hospital, where they provided me with some sugar free Jello and bland chicken Soup. I didn't throw up but I couldn't really eat it either, the flavor just didn't sit right with me. Home was another hurtle but it was much easier. My husband was able to take a month off from work to take care of the kiddies and I was able to relax on the couch for the first week. Of course I followed instructions, getting up to walk around and drinking plenty of fluids but for the most part, I was a piece of living room furniture. Those first two weeks were uncomfortable but easily the simplest part of the procedure. My first appointment was very brief and to the point, I was scolded for not taking my chewable Vitamins enough but since I wasn't weak, in pain or throwing up at all, he wasn't too hard on me. I was sent home with a very stern "Take your vitamins!" and that was that. My next appointment is on the 9th of this month and I look forward to it. I've lost a total of 30lbs and while it's not very noticeable yet, I'm damn proud of myself. Not a moment of throwing up, not a moment of cheating on the diet (it helps that food no longer tastes the same) and I've been rewarded in the best possible way. I'm beginning to go to the gym with my husband this week to keep the weight loss steady once they put me on solid foods, which I expect to happen at my upcoming appointment. My goal is to be among those who lose 100% of their excess weight in a year! (Please no one remind me of the extra skin, ohgod, I've seen pictures and it scares me. I just pray I can convince the military peoples that it's enough of a health issue for me to get mine removed cosmetically in a year's time.) Ahem, that's my gastric sleeve story, glad you stuck with my rambling. *Tips hat* ~Symi