Little Green

Had an interesting experience at Patient First... went in with symptoms of a UTI and discovered I'm extremely dehydrated, with protein in my urine, and I also might have gallstones. Frustrated but glad I ended up getting tested so I could be aware of this stuff.

Well, I hit the gym for the first time post-op today, nothing too strenuous, just 30 min on the treadmill. And that's all it took for me to feel my first real hunger pangs since surgery. I'm hoping they will be isolated to post-workout because I'm just NOT ready to give up my blissful lack of hunger yet. I know it will go away eventually but I was hoping for several more months! 

Bariatric Fusion vitamins... I'm sure they are easier than whatever I'd be doing if I wasn't using them, but man the sheer volume of stuff in your mouth when you chew them, lol... They get washed down with water ASAP. 

Cooked refried beans in the Instant Pot and got some 2-ounce containers ready for pureed phase on Friday! Pics in my personal thread  

I ALMOST sneezed today - first time post-op. It was coming but as I flailed around to get a pillow to splint my belly, I lost it.  Usually I hate that feeling but in this case I'm okay with it. I'm not pain-free yet so I would love to avoid a sneeze until then if I can! 

Been feeling pretty bummed all day since it was supposed to be my surgery date. Trying to stay positive and think about the big picture!

Desperately craving peanut butter & banana on toast. This is the first time on the liquid diet I've been truly hungry - had my last protein shake around 9:30, so 4+ hours ago. My stomach is rumbling and gurgling and I can't get the thought of the PB&B toast out of my mind!!! AHHH!!!!!! Not tired enough to sleep yet, but hopefully soon!

Day 3 of my liquid diet. Somehow I managed to sleep until 1:45pm today and it's AMAZING what it's done for me! I have no headache for the first time in almost 48 hours. I feel much more stable and clear-headed. Woot woot! I have also lost 6 lbs in the first two days LOL. Wow!

Day 1 of my liquid diet. 

Got my date!!!

February 15! 

I'm doing so well on the new plant-based way of eating! It's been 1 month since my final diet visit, where I found out I had gained about four pounds since my previous visit in November. That meant I had only lost 3 pounds overall from March-December 2017. Ugh, sad trombone. However, in the last 3 weeks of eating a plant-based diet I've lost 13 pounds from my December visit weight! And that includes Christmas and a vacation! So definitely not a "perfect" month by any means. I'm really hoping this way of eating will support my goal of reaching and maintaining 100% of excess weight lost. 

A little bummed because I still have not heard from the office that does endoscopies to get mine scheduled so I can get my surgery date! Between the holidays and the recent snow, I can understand why, but it's still frustrating. Impatiently waiting! 

Happy New Year! I can now say that I will be having WLS this year! Hope you all have a safe, happy, and healthy year. 

I was APPROVED!!!! for surgery today! I will find out the date tomorrow or Friday. It feels SO real now and I think I need some Xanax for my twisting, squeezing, anxious insides. 

Well, I had my last diet visit yesterday and also met with my surgeon and signed the gastric bypass consent form! Time to wait for insurance approval, purchase vitamins and protein shakes/broths, and start getting prepared. I will likely be having surgery some time between February 5 and 16. Due to having surgery in a different city and staying with family for recovery, the only week I would be able to do in January would be the 15th-19th and that would require getting approved within the next 2 weeks, which isn't likely. So.... early February! Between 7 to 8 weeks from now. How did this happen so fast?! 

I forgot to say that I started with a medication called Celexa for anxiety & depression. I thought I would be given Wellbutrin but the dr. chose Celexa due to added anti-anxiety benefits compared with Wellbutrin. Of the SSRI's this one has a low risk of weight gain (although it still has some risk). I have not noticed any increase in appetite or weight since I started two weeks ago, but I will be on the lookout as I get to therapeutic levels which can take anywhere from 6-12 weeks. 

School has started and my fitness class on M/W has proved to be very difficult so far. When working out by myself I used to back off if my heart rate got around 140 but this class gets it up to 160+ and it stays there. It's a whole different reality to push myself to do something that's extremely difficult. It's caused some low self-esteem and low confidence, so I talked to my therapist about it. I realized that I have never really done anything, ever, that I wasn't really good at. Singing, violin, school, learning languages, even work stuff, etc. are all things that come naturally to me and I was good at them right away. This fitness class is something I am not good at, at all, and will need to continue pushing and working in order to improve. So it's natural for me to feel uncertain and strange, and my confidence will grow as I continue working. I'm glad I have realized that and it's made me feel better and more excited about continuing. My husband and I have been walking more frequently and today we went to the gym to use the weights. So I'm making good strides with fitness! Food is pretty stable, I've eaten some "bad" choices here and there but I've been able to come right back to nutritious food without feeling like I failed, which is an improvement in my mental state. I have my 3rd diet visit on Tuesday and I think I will have a 5-lb loss for the month. I'm starting to feel eager about getting to surgery and it doesn't seem so far off as it used to. Just about 3-4 months now! 

Been away for a bit - went out of town the beginning of August and since then have been struggling with depressive episodes so all I do is lay around and watch YouTube lol. However, I had my diet visit today and it went well. I lost 4.6 lbs over the last month, which is all right! I have an appointment next week with a psych doc from my therapist's practice and we are going to discuss possibly starting Wellbutrin to help with anxiety and depression. It has some slight appetite suppressant qualities (and the NP today said it's also used for smoking cessation) so it would be a good fit compared to some medicines that might increase hunger/weight gain. So... overall, I'm coping. School starts next week and getting back into that routine will be a blessing. Thank you for reading & have a great week!

I was behind my mom in the weekly Fitbit challenge so I went to the gym tonight and pulled out 5k+ steps to beat her! I'm more competitive than I thought!

Struggling at the moment, the last few days have been pretty bad. Feeling frustrated and angry. Have made some crappy eating choices since Monday and having an awful flareup of knee pain that is affecting my walking. Trying to stay positive and not let some bad choices affect my overall path.

Hit my step goal today and made healthier, protein-focused choices at a Mexican restaurant! Woohoo!

I got my Fitbit set up! Let me know your username and I'll add you!

The Fitbit is on sale on Amazon today! $129 instead of $149! So we finally took the plunge and ordered them. Alta HR for me and Charge 2 for my husband. I'm excited for info about my heart rate and calorie burn but I'm really interested in the sleep tracking aspects. We'll see!

Had my 3rd diet visit today (which is a restart in the process since I missed 2 appts) and it went very well. I lost 10.58 pounds (4.8 kg) since my last visit of April 28, about 10 weeks ago. They were very proud and encouraging. I talked a long time with the NP (bless her patience!) about some of my fears and anxieties about getting surgery and besides giving me lots of good info she reminded me that since I still have five visits to go before we can submit for approval, I have plenty of time to make decisions.

I am enjoying the new protein-focused diet which I find easy to stick to at the moment, and I am swimming every day which is also helping! Between the nutrition changes, therapy, and sleeping a bit better I am feeling pretty positive about my chances for success.

It looks like December is totally out for surgery since my final visit with the surgeon is 12/15 and the NP said it's 3-4 weeks for approval usually. So looking at the middle or end of January at the earliest. That will change some of my plans for school, but thankfully I planned ahead and I already have all the classes I need to transfer in the fall, so I can just take online or half-semester courses to allow for some downtime in Jan & Feb. I do need to be enrolled in at least 6 credits to keep some of my merit-related things in place, but I think I'll find something that works.

So once I get approved, they schedule a pre-op visit with anesthesia to get cleared for surgery and I will attend a class that gives all the nitty gritty about post-op care and diet. That will also be the start of the 2-week liquid diet which will continue for 2 weeks after surgery (or 3 weeks if I change to the VSG). I'm really looking forward to getting to this stage! I'm at 362.75 pounds at the moment and between the liquid diet and my pre-op diet changes, I would love to hit the operating table at 299. Can I do it in six months??????

Sorry for the rambling update! Hope everyone has a great weekend, and stay cool out there!!!!

Met with my therapist today and we discussed sleep. Less than six hours sleep affects hormone production and can cause heart attack or stroke. I haven't slept more than 6 hours regularly for years. One solution might be for my husband and I to sleep separately, which I am fine with but my husband is extremely upset by. Have had issues with sleep for over 15 years, so I'm willing to try just about anything.