Jerzygurl

Ok so I'm so close to Onederland that it is killing me. I am a frequent weigher, I weigh everyday that's just something that I do. So I thought that instead of obsessing over that 1 stinking lb, I could make a list of NSV's that I'm happy about, maybe that would make me feel better. So, here it goes:
1. I can fit in the booths at the diner that we go to, no more taking the table just because I could'nt breath in the booths.
2.I can slide the seat in the car all the way up and everything fits just fine. yeah!
3. I can fit in the smallest size hand-me-down clothes that my sis gave me when she lost weight.
4.Now everyone at work is starting to tell me that I look good, have lost a lot of weight.
5. I can wear my grandmother's heirloom ring, it fits me now.
6. I can wear necklaces again and not look like a walrus in a tie!
7. I actually have a neck now, it's amazing.
8. I tried on coats in Wallyworld in the regular size dept, and they fit!
9. I walked around the fair for 6 hours, was not out of breath, didn't have to sit down every 10 minutes and my feet didn't hurt.
10. My singing has improved, I can hold a note a lot longer than I could before, I guess my lungs needed the room to expand that the fat was taking up.
 
Woo-hoo, I am feeling good, OK you 1 stinking lb, you are going to be history!!!!

One Week ago today I had my sleeve surgery. This past week has been not what I was prepared for or expected. I have felt practically "normal", with no bad effects at all. I was prepared to be laying on the sofa wrapped in quilts and being waited on by my hubby. But reality was from the day I came home. I never needed a nap, never needed waited on and never had a moment of nausea. Thank you God! I weighed myself and one week out I am down 8 pounds for a total of 62 pounds lost! Hope it continues.

I had my pre-surgical clearance appointment today. This is the final appointment with the surgeon where I asked questions and signed surgical consent forms. My patience is wearing thin with all these medical appointments. I know, I know, it is a journey and takes time, yadda, yadda, yadda. I just feel overly anxious and antsy. Especially all the sitting I've done in waiting rooms. My appointment time today was 3:25. I arrived at 3:15 in order to sign in and take care of my co-pay and all that. When did I see the surgeon? 4:30. I still do not have a surgery date as I have yet to receive an insurance approval. I was cleared on 8/27 medically but the office did not submit to Cigna until 9/12. If you were wondering, yes, I called Cigna today to see if they approved yet but my claim is still processing. The recurring theme here is my impatience
I brought my ‘sleeve bible’ to the appointment. The 3 nutrition classes, 3 life-skills classes (courses specifically about the sleeve and how to eat), and 2 visits with the nutritionist were informative and produced a ton of paperwork and instruction packets. I appreciate all of the literature I have received and it helped to build my ‘bible.’ I had a few questions for the surgeon about the size of sleeve, blood thinners, medications, leak rate, opti-fast diet, etc. and they were all answered within 10 minutes. So 75 minutes of waiting for 10 minutes with the surgeon and a $50.00 copay. But at least I got my questions answered, right?
The best part of my trip happened around 4:00. Just as I felt my blood pressure rising, 2 nuns walked in. You heard me. Nuns. Not just any nuns. Nuns who are getting bariatric surgery. I was really thankful for the laugh and the blatant message from above:
Patience is a damned virtue.

So tonight is somewhat of a big night for me. Due to my weight, I've always kept my hair long. I guess I felt I could 'hide' behind it..HAHA imagine? I kept it down to my waist. A few years ago, I got 'brave' and cut it to my shoulders. Mainly because my hair is super thick and heavy. Well I've ALWAYS wanted to have short hair. In my opinion, the less the better. Of course I'm struggling with my g/f about the length. I know it's not HER decision, but we all know we refrain from doing certain things due to our significant others. So her and I spent a couple of hours the other night going over hairstyles. We finally came up with one. So I'm doing.. i'm finally shedding some of this hair. I know to some this may not seem like a big deal, for me it's HUGE. To expose my neck, my cheeks, my face, my back. YIKES! But guess what, back fat is gone, the hump on the back of my neck I had started getting, GONE. my cheeks (they were my signature chubby cheeks) gone.. so it's safe now.. I think this is by far the 'biggest' thing i've done since surgery. The next big thing will be the tattoo I want across my back...
 
so here is what I came up with for hair... i'm SOO Excited. And pray my stylist does it just right!!

Saving this' date=' it's a good point.[/color']
 
Source: What was your breaking point?

I wanted to FINALLY post a pic. The before picture is a couple days after surgery...probably about 300 pounds. In progress photo is my current picture (on my way to the gym) at 208. I am 5'6" My highest weight was 311 before surgery, but got down to 298 on my 1 week liquid diet for surgery day.

I did something I didn't think I'd EVER be able to do Saturday night: I attended a bachelorette party for a good friend, jumped on a party bus with 11 other ladies and didn't touch a DROP of alcohol the entire night. Well, ok, there was ONE sip at a comedy club after my friend sent her margarita back twice claiming it had soda in it so I just had to see for myself how truly hideous it was. And it WAS. But that was it! We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant. My FAV food in the world. Not a chip passed my lips. No beans. No rice. Just some grilled chicken with a bit of salsa on it and a few black beans. The moral? If I can spend 7 hours on a bus full of crazy drunk people, pass on Mexican, (oh and did I mention there was cake?), pass on cake (I shall leave the "shape" of cake to your imagination) - I CAN DO THIS. Just how tough was this? Oh so hard. Normally I'm the life of the party, and at my current height/weight I can put it away. Bottom line - WILL POWER. One week until surgery. I've turned down fruit, beer (gulp), chips, etc. My size 0, 19 year old daughter left a 1/3 eaten Snickers bar on the counter the other day (who DOES that?!) and I wrapped it up and stuck it away for her later. I wasn't even tempted to finish it as I would have been a month ago. I want to be healthy more than I want the 2 second gratification of tasting chocolate. The other thing I'm learning is that food is for FUEL, not for emotions. Old me: "Hey! It's sunny! I need a bowl of cereal! Oh crap, it's raining, I should probably make a pot of pasta and have 3 huge bowls. Look at that, I'm sad - better grab some chips and dip" (you get the idea). Now I'm listening to my tummy for cues that it needs fuel. Let me close this post by saying - to know me is to know how hard this has been and will be for me. BUT I'm doing it and so can you. Stay positive - eye on the prize.

I checked in to the hospital earlier than anticipated Monday, Aug. 26th (they called and said they had a cancellation and could I come in early!).  After a few hours of prep and waiting and more waiting, I was finally wheeled away.  Surgery went quickly, doc said about an hour and NO hiatal hernia to repair after all!  Apparently sometimes the endoscopy will pick something up but then when they actually get in there, there's nothing to sew up.  Recovery was long for me.  I had a hard time waking up from the anesthesia.  I was in a ton of pain and almost collapsed when they got me out of bed the first time to go to the bathroom (no catheter for me) but thank goodness for my husband and a strong nurse that held on tight.  First night was rough - not going to lie.  I wasn't prepared for the pain from the gas they fill your tummy up with.  I have 6 2 inch incisions on my stomach and no bandages!  I came home yesterday the 27th and took my pain pills religiously thru the night to allow me to sleep.  Each hour gets easier and easier pain wise.  I'm up and walking a bit and doing 2 oz. or protein shakes at the top of each hour and as much water as I can get in.  My daughter just shared her chicken noodle soup broth with me and it was HEAVEN.  It feels very strange at first to have anything going down to the stomach pouch but I'm getting used to it.  I weighed 266 going in to surgery and gained a few pounds from the gas, fluids, etc. but my weight is going down quickly.  I can't eat until 9/19 when I go back for my 3 week appointment but I'm prepared with all my shakes and supplements, etc.  I'm so happy to have the actual surgery behind me and be moving on.  And I can't say enough about the staff at Swedish Hospital in Seattle - they are AMAZING! 

The below quote is from here.
 
 
Welp. That's depressing. And very accurate for me.
 
My timeline (that I can remember)
 
2003 - 200 lbs, graduated high school tried Jenny Craig, Weight Watcher's, Herbal Magic, physician-supervised weight loss
2004 - 230 lbs, freshman "15"
2006 - 200 lbs with diet/exercise concurrent with first serious relationship
2006 - 230 lbs, 3 months after end of first serious relationship
2007 - 250 lbs
2008 - 220 lbs with diet and exercise, then started a grueling intensive 3 year program
2009 - 250 lbs
2011 - 275 lbs, graduated from said program, then couldn't find a job for 4 months, did food and retail therapy
2012 - 235 lbs, with personal trainer costing $4000 with diet/exercise
2013 - 285 lbs, highest weight ever at pre-op for vertical gastric sleeve surgery, found out 2 weeks before surgery I am hypothyroid.
 
Time to put an end to this horrific yo-yo dieting.
 
It reinforces in my mind that I'm doing the right thing by having this surgery. No turning back now.

Day of surgery: I pop out of bed at 6:30 am because I am SO excited to get this over with. My sister drives me to the surgery center. I ask my surgeon again what are the chances that I'm going to die. My surgeon smiles and says he has done over 5,000 of these and he's never lost a patient. That helps some. I still beg for some "chill out" meds. They give me some and all seems okay. Then, the mask and that's all I remember until waking up in recovery.
 
Recovery: I woke up feeling very sore where the biggest incision is. I had to move from the surgery bed to a wheel chair to get me down to the outpatient recovery center. That sucked. I remember thinking, "This is not do-able." But it passed. I was ready to walk pretty quickly.
 
Nighttime: I got no sleep, but it wasn't bad. The nurse kept coming in to check my vital signs and I was vigilant about pressing my morphine button. I feel about morphine about the same way I felt about the epidural when my kids were born. They don't give out a medal for extra suffering...!
 
Day one post-op: The soreness increases some but it is manageable. Also, I am drinking water and ice chips at a quicker rate than I should be. Nurse tells me to slow down. The dreaded pulling out of the drain turns out to be not that big of a deal. At this point, before leaving the hospital, I feel pretty darn good.
 
Day one post-op once I get home. Things get a little dicey here. I find I can't hardly drink any water and I'm burping all the time. I vomit once. Then I crawl back in bed. Later, went to Target just to walk around some. Now, trying to get some more water in (I should say Crystal Light). Also, I'm on psych meds (Celexa and Lamictal). Doc says I can start taking them right away when I get home. I crush them and take them. I think it added some to my upset stomach, but for me it's totally worth it because I can't imagine having a full blown panic attack at this juncture!
 
Also, I'll add this because I worried whether it was normal: My stomach is WAY swollen. I look like I am 6 mos pregnant. I haven't lost any weight since I got home. From what I hear, this is fairly normal so I'm not going to freak out about it. I mean, seriously, I just had 80% of my stomach removed - my body has to be in shock. Still... the bloating/swollen feeling is yucky (I'm way less concerned with the weight loss at this point - the weight will come off -- it has to given what I'm (not) eating!
 
My biggest complaint: the burping, which makes me feel like I might vomit. Also, the soreness. The best way to describe it is like the pain you would get after doing a million sit ups. But, again, all-in-all, not too bad.
 
IF I CAN DO THIS, YOU GUYS CAN DO THIS TOO!!!!
 
I'll check in with Day 2 post-op tomorrow!

Today has been pretty uneventful. I slept all day. Literally. I got up every 4 hours to walk a little and drink a little and do some deep breathing. Then...back to bed. I got in 32oz of fluids (and I'm sure I can get in another 10 or 15 oz). As far as I'm concerned, this is pretty amazing.
 
I thought very seriously about going to my kids' soccer games this morning -- that's how ok I feel. I ended up staying home just because it is Africa hot here and I knew I could sleep.
 
My tummy is still swollen - I look fatter than I was when I went in for surgery. That said, some of the fluid has started to drain off. I was 230 on DOS. I came home at 237. Today, I'm back to 230. So that is very encouraging. (I'm not concerned about the weight loss right now - but it is nice to have the swelling go down).
 
I took a shower today - I highly recommend it. It made me feel more human. After the shower, I changed my dressings. I wasn't prepared for these big honkin' staples. They are sore and itchy.
 
Burping remains an issue. But it is way easier to drink today as compared with yesterday.
 
Tomorrow is my 8 yr old son's birthday. My BFF is hosting a party for him so all I have to do is show up with the little birthday boy. I'm confident I can do it. While napping today, I had a dream that I freaked out and went inside and ate all the icing off the red velvet cake. Total reminder of my "old" self. Eating in secrecy, feeling guilty, etc. Soooooo glad I don't have to do that anymore.
 
Finally, I know it is too early to say, but I can't imagine that I won't be ready to go back to work at the end of week 1. If I absolutely had to, I think I could go back Monday (I have a desk job). Don't get me wrong....it wouldn't be easy, but it could be done. I say that just because I know there are lots of people out there wondering about work. My advice: take off as much time as you can but don't let a lack of time off prevent you from having this surgery.
 
Okay...I'm about ready for bed again...hahaha! Tomorrow - FULL LIQUIDS HERE I COME!!! (Not a moment too soon!)
 
Love to all,
Angela