Long time no post!!!!

I do have to apologize to everyone.  I am sorry it has taken me so long to post another update.  I am going to try to do at least 1 post per week. 

 I have been doing ok, taking one day at a time.  I have been having some issues with dry food.  I have had some emotional melt downs as well.  The thing I am finding the most difficult is when my family is eating something that looks and smells so good and I can't have it.  One example was last Wednesday, I had not made any plans for dinner,  now mind you there are two other adults in this house that can make a decision on what to eat for dinner, so Tommy decided to make breakfast for dinner.  It wouldn't have been so bad if it were bacon and eggs, but it was homemade waffles with butter and syrup.  The smell of the waffles and syrup sent my brain into a tizzy!  Tommy was kind enough to make me a scrambled egg,  I told him that I could cook my dinner, but he insisted on making me an egg, so I let him.  Well between making the waffles and trying to cook my egg, it go a bit over done.  I didn't think this was going to be a problem, so we all started eating.  OH but how good those waffles looked and smelled.  After about the 4th bite of my egg, I started to get an uncomfortable feeling in my chest.  OMG the egg was stuck!  Now once food gets stuck, I just need to let it pass, not eat or drink anything until it does.  Tommy felt so bad, he offered to cook me another egg.  All I could do was snap at him, I was just so uncomfortable.  I got up from the table and went outside for a walk.  Now Douglas is suffering from separation anxiety lately and gets very upset when I leave the house.  He also gets very upset when he sees me upset.  So as I am outside trying to get my food to move, I hear Douglas howling (crying), I try to ignore it, but that wasn't happening.  I came in and Douglas is freaking out that he is tired and wants to go to bed.  I told him that I just needed a little time to make my belly feel better.  I went out the back door and sat by the pool for about 5 minutes and he started to howl again.  You would think that someone else would start getting him ready for bed, but noooooo, so I came in and got him calmed down and put to bed.  Which turned out to be a good thing, cause it took my mind off of me and by the time I came back downstairs, the egg had passed!  Tommy was exhausted from not sleeping all day, so he went to bed and Nicholas and I sat outside on the lounge chairs by the pool chatting and reading.

Friday was another day from hell!  I made the mistake of drinking my shake right after eating a couple of pieces of watermelon.  After I eat something I am supposed to wait an hour before drinking anything to give the food time to break down and pass out of the pouch.  If I drink right away, it will force the food out of the pouch too early and will get stuck.  That is what happened.  So I poured out the rest of my shake, and took Douglas and my Mother in Law to get haircuts and then to Walmart.  After the haircuts I had noticed that the food passed and I was able to start drinking my iced tea.  Off to Walmart we go.  I had a list of stuff, just wanted to go in and get what we needed and head home, well 2 1/2 hours later we are checking out and I am absolutely starving.  WE are starving, except for Douglas, cause he thinks going to the store is like browsing the buffet table.  He has to get a cookie from the bakery, taste a sample of each cold cut I order, and of course get a drink to wash it all down.  You Gotta just love him!  We made a stop at Wendy's drive thru and picked up some lunch.  I got my usual, chili which I never have a problem with.  I quickly unload the car and then we sit down to have lunch.  I take a few bites of the chili, and do you know, it got stuck.  I was so upset!  Tommy woke up and I started crying.  I laid on the couch and feel asleep immediately, I was so wiped out!  I consider Friday a total wash as far as food goes, had a protein shake and hit the sack real early.

Saturday was a great day, I was able to eat 3 full meals without any issues, even tried a recipe I got from a fellow WL friend called Tipton Pizza Soup.  It was delicious. 

I know now that I just need to stick with the moist soupy foods until I am totally healed.  

I have been walking 2 miles every morning.  I find that walking sets my mood for the day, I feel really good after walking, but it is getting mighty hot here in FL.  Wednesday, Tommy, Nicholas and I meet with the personnel trainer at the gym for him to help us come up with individualized workouts.  Then I think I will be going to the gym instead of walking outside.  

NOW TO THE STATISTICS:

Lost a total of 42 lbs so far.

Lost a total of 17 inches 

• Neck -  1 1/2 
• Thigh - 1 3/4
• Bicep - 1 1/2
• Calf -    1 1/4
• Chest -  2 1/4
• Waste - 3 1/4
• Hips -   5 1/2

I knew I was losing inches because I have gone from a Size 2X to an XL and XL's are baggy on me!  I never thought that I would be able to shop outside the plus dept again, but YIPEE!  now I can!

Here are some pictures of my progress so far!

This is a total life changing experience!  and it only gets better from here.

One of the reasons I decided to have this reconstruction of my insides, was my uncontrolled diabetes.  I want to share with you my sugar numbers over the past month.  Incredible, just incredible!  Again a life changing experience!  I am no longer diabetic!  

I finally sat down and read "Living and Eating Well After Weight-Loss Surgery before & after" by Susan Maria Leach.  What an awesome read!  I should have read it before surgery, because everything I have been going through with food and my emotions, are very typical of those who have had WLS.  Plus the book has 135+ recipes that are Low carb, high protein, which is the diet I need to follow for the rest of my life.  I suggest you read it if you are planning WLS or have had it!  

Thank you for reading, I will post again soon!

Love,

Stephanie

Chicken did me in!

Tommy made awesome chicken wings tonight for dinner.  He barbecued mine because I am not supposed to eat anything fried.  Well after a few bites, I started to feel weird again.  By the time I finished the second wing, I was done.  The pain was unbelievable!  I walked and walked and walked trying to get the pain to go away, but it kept getting worse.  I felt like I wanted to just make myself throw up, but I know that isn't good for the pouch.  The pain was in the center of my chest and in my throat.  I went upstairs to rest a little bit and after a while it started to subside.  It took almost 1 hour for the intense pain to go away.  I am still having some pain in the center of my chest, but it is bearable.

So I guess I will cross chicken off my list of foods for a while.  UGH!

Going to have a cup of hot tea and relax for a while...I am wiped out!

No More Plus Size Clothes

Last week Douglas was receiving an academic award for having a 4.0 average through out the school year at school and he was adamant about wearing a purple shirt to the awards.  Of course he didn't have anything purple in his closet, so I needed to go shopping.  I went to Marshalls and found a purple shirt immediately, it was still early in the day so I decided to go to KMart, just to look around.  KMart always has clearance racks so that is where I immediately migrate to.  What a great feeling not to have to look in the plus size section.  I found a cute XL shirt in the misses department, marked down of course, so I bought it.  I tried it on when I got home, to find out that it was a little big, not huge, but a little big.  I was so happy for myself.  What a great feeling.  I think I may be going thru my closet sooner than I thought.  I have a lot of 2X clothes that just hang on me now. Watch out GoodWill.

I now wish that I had saved some more of my Mom's clothes.  She was a lot smaller than me, but I may one day fit into them.  I did take a few of her shirts, and guess what, they fit me now.  Mom would be so proud of me.  I sure do miss her, but I know she is guiding me through my new journey.  

Tonight I am going to try to have Chicken again.  Keep your fingers crossed that I am able to eat it.  I do love chicken.

Tomorrow is 4 weeks since surgery.  I will try to take some pictures this week.  Have a great day!

Love 

Steph

Another week has flown by

Hi Everyone I know it has been over a week since my last post, and I apologize.  I am still trying to get used to blogging. 

Weight loss has been real slow this week.  I have only lost 3 lbs in 10 days.  It kind of makes me upset, I think I really thought that the weight would be falling off me by now.  I did run into an issue though.  For those of you who plan to have this surgery, just try to remember to take your fiber supplements.  I had stopped taking mine, not thinking I really needed it.  Well I really did NEED it.  I had a few days of misery, feeling bloated and uncomfortable.  I started taking the fiber again, and my plumbing is back to normal.  :0)  I am still having problems with the potassium 'horse pill'.  I am now dissolving it in a medicine cup full of iced tea and drink like I am doing a shot. Still tastes like crap, but I can get it down.  I think I am starting to feel hunger again.  Not a growling stomach, more like a pain in my belly area.  Before surgery, when I was hungry or my sugar was low I would break out in a sweat and feel out of sorts, like I was losing my mind.  Now just some pain, and once I eat the pain goes away.  My diabetes is totally under control so I don't get the low sugar anymore, stay pretty steady through out the day. 

I am not sure if chicken agrees with me.  I had it two nights in a row and got this strange feeling in my chest and throat.  I know the pain in the chest could be from being full, but the pain in the throat was very weird.  I haven't eaten chicken since, and feel fine.  I really do enjoy chicken though.  I hope it is just temporary.  I am also limited to what I can drink right now.  I can only drink brewed decaf Iced tea, milk, or water.  Everything else is upsetting my pouch.  I do really good with shrimp, ham, cheese, meatloaf, burgers, any vegetable or fruit and yogurt.  Cantaloupe is a real good fruit for me right now...soft and juicy.  I am really starting to like Greek Yogurt.  I have to eat the plain one, but there are many things that can be added to it to make it taste really good, and it is packed with protein 15 grams per 6 oz. 

Here are a few add ins if you would like to try it:

• sugar free applesauce, cinnamon, splenda  
• sugar free applebutter
• canned pumpkin, splenda, cinnamon, nutmeg
• sugar free jam

I found this wonderful blog called:  theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com   she has tons of recipes on her blog.  I find it very interesting reading about her weight loss journey. 

 I tried to have a cup of decaf coffee the other day, not what I was hoping for.  I didn't really like it.  Once I hit my 1 month mark, which will be Monday, I can start to have coffee again. So I will try it again.  I haven't had any caffeine since 2 weeks before my surgery, and I don't miss it.  I feel really good and have tons of energy.  I think I will try to stay away from caffeine as long as I can.  I don't think I NEED it anymore. 

This past Monday I went to see my primary care, Dr. Rodgers, who was a little apprehensive about me having the Gastric Bypass.  Well needless to say, he was pleasantly surprised when he saw me.  Not so much about the weight loss, but the fact that I no longer take 3 medicines that he prescribed.  He was thrilled, saying to me that this was our goal for having the surgery in the first place.  He also decreased my Lipitor and may have me stop taking it after my next visit in 3 months.  He actually smiled at me, instead of looking so concerned for my health.  

On Wednesday I went to see Bill, the Metabolic Psysicist, he had me stand on a machine that sent small shock waves through out my body then I had to breathe into a machine for 10 minutes.  All this checked to see if I am headed in the right direction with my weight loss.  What I mean by the right direction is not only am I losing weight, but the weight I am losing is fat not muscle.  Bill was very pleased too.  My next visit with him he will talk to me about strength training.  I have actually started some strength training on my own.  Not much, but it's a start.  During my walks in the morning I have incorporated 2 lbs hand weights and increased my pace a bit.   

Well that's all for now, I promise not to wait so long for my next post.

Love Ya,

Steph

First Dr. Visit

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't posted in a while.  Really nothing new happening.  Yesterday, May 12, was my first Dr. visit after surgery.  It went very well.  Dr. Kim was very happy with the way I have healed, and was even more happy that I am following his rules perfectly.  I am getting in all my fluids and proteins and exercising every day.  I am also taking all my vitamins and supplements every day. 

Here is a photo of how my insides have been re-routed:

 

I am very excited that I have lost 11 lbs since surgery.  So that bring me to a total of 30 lbs so far.  My sugars are totally under control, and my blood pressure is completely within the normal ranges.  Anybody need some Janumet or Lisinopril?  I have not had any complications from the surgery at all!  I am feeling great.  I am going to be needing some new clothes soon, some of my pants are starting to hang off my ass, like some of the teenagers are wearing these days.  At least I am in fashion!  AND I was actually able to cross my leg (right over left) today.  What a feeling that was!!!  I think is has been at least 10 years since I've been able to do that!

I went to Dr. Kim with a list of questions:

• Can I start Swimming again?  YES
• Can I ride my Motorcycle?  YES
• Do I have to use that stinky antibacterial soap anymore?  NO
• Can I have coffee?  NO well maybe a decaf every now and then
• Strength Weight Training?  Not for another week

The nurse went over my vitamins and supplements with me.  I can now switch to chewable vitamins (Thank God!)  The liquid is so disgusting!  I have to start taking Iron, calcium citrate, CoQ10, Fish Oil, Pepcid, and the other 2 prescriptions I am on, OH can't forget about the potassium.  The horse pill that needs to be crushed and added to applesauce.  Talk about disgusting!  The potassium tastes like salt, so I am having salted applesauce in the morning!  YUCK!  I also need to have vitamin B-12 which I had opted to give myself an injection once a month.  

I am allowed to start soft foods. So this was my lunch for yesterday.

Shredded Boars Head Ham 1 1/2 oz, and 1 oz of Cantaloupe, and an 8 oz glass of Skim Milk, that I must finish before I start eating and cannot drink for an hour after I finish eating or I may have an episode of Dumping Syndrome     Definition: Dumping syndrome, or rapid gastric emptying, is a combination of symptoms that occur when an overly large meal, or a meal high in fat or sugar is consumed by a weight loss surgery patient. The meal is "dumped" into the small intestine when the stomach empties quickly, causing feelings of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach gas, racing heart, cramps and cold sweats.  Most episodes of dumping syndrome can be prevented by avoiding eating overly large meals and sugary foods. Prevention is important as the symptoms are not only very uncomfortable, but they also are very similar to the symptoms of a heart attack.

For dinner last night I made Shrimp Scampi and Brown Rice with vegetables.  Now, I could only eat 4 shrimp, but I was in heaven!  YUMMO!  And everyone else enjoyed it too.  Today's lunch was the same as yesterday, but I added some shredded cheddar cheese.  And tonight we are going to have burgers on the grill with cheese and bacon added to the meat before grilling.  I will make french fries, the left over rice and a veggie for the rest of the troops, I will eat 1/2 a burger and maybe some veggies if I can fit it.

I am adding a few more things to my "Tools" page if you want to take a look.  That is all I have for today.  We are going to see Iron Man 2 tonight.  No popcorn for me!  Talk to you all soon!

Love, 

Stephanie     

OK having food issues

This morning I went for a 40 minute walk.  It is very very hot here in Florida.  Thank goodness one of my neighbors had his sprinklers on.  How refreshing it was to walk through them.  And don't you know as I am wet from the sprinklers, sweaty, hair is a mess, I could look any worse, there were some "hottie" construction men digging in my neighborhood.  One said hi to me, I just waved and put my head down.  Glad he didn't get a whiff of me.  

I got home, got Douglas out of bed and had a scrambled egg with cheese for breakfast.  It was very tasty.  I am, however, having some food issues.  I am not hungry, but I still want to eat, especially dinner.  It is real hard to make a full dinner for my family and not be able to eat it.  Right now I am on pureed foods and can only have moist, soft meats.  Plus, only 1 1/2 oz of pureed chicken fills me up.  Don't get me wrong, my diabetes and high blood pressure are gone, and I am losing weight which is wonderful, but I still miss food.  Food was such a big part of my life before my surgery, so I am experiencing a void.  I am trying to fill the void with other things to do, like knitting, reading, walking, and getting out of the house, but it is still hard.   Food just surrounds us.  

Today I ordered a new flavor of protein mix.  I am getting sick of the milk based ones, so I went to the Bariatric Eating web site and ordered Inspire-Summer Melon.  It has 30 grams of protein per drink and only 1 carb.  It is supposed to be light almost clear and you mix it with water.  I hope it tastes good.  I need a change!

Saturday's are busy for us.  Douglas has Freedom Ride horseback riding and Buddy Ball baseball today. Then a quick stop at Publix and home for dinner.  Tonight should be tough!  The family is having steak, my favorite.  I guess I just have to deal with it.  

I hope all my MOM friends have a wonder Mother's Day tomorrow.  This is my 2nd Mother's Day without my Mom.  I miss her so much.  Especially with what I am going through now.  She was a "take no crap" person and she would kick my butt.  Telling me to stop feeling sorry for my self!  Dad's coming over for dinner, I think I will make Chicken Cutlets, one of his favorites.  

Love you all,

Stephanie

Thursday

I took this picture yesterday right before the sunrise.

AHHHH!  Today is a better day.  Tommy and I went to the support group last night and I got to meet some people who are in the same boat as I am.  It was good to talk about food, not being hungry, and other issues that everyone is going through.  We met a girl who had surgery the day after me.  She had a different procedure done, the sleeve and she felt as good as I did right after surgery.  Really nice girl.  We hope to see each other at the support meetings.  Celebration Health also offers Bariatric Cooking classes every other month that I am looking forward to attending.  They also offer individual counseling (up to 4 times) free to those who are having a difficult time with anything.

Tommy is off today, so we are going to run some errands after lunch.  He went with a friend this morning to the gun range.  He has been wanting to do this for a while, I'm glad he got to go.  I can almost make a bet what's coming next.  He's going to want a gun.  We shall see!

I exercised to Leslie Sansone this morning.  She has great walking videos.  I did a 2 mile walk in 30 minutes.  She is on Facebook and also on the web.  If you register with her on Facebook, she is doing a walking challenge starting May 14.  I joined, can't wait to see what she has planned for us.

Well pretty uneventful day.... See you tomorrow!

Wednesday - Weigh In Day

I am happy to report that I have lost 3 lbs since last friday.  While I was in the hospital  I gained 5 lbs from surgery and by Friday I was back down to my surgery weight.

Start weight:  242
Surgery weight:  221
Current weight: 218

I am really not having a good day today.  I feel really blah and crabby.  I don't know why.  I am going to attend a support group tonight, maybe that will help  cheer me up.

Talk to you all tomorrow

Stephanie

Tuesday

Today was a good day.  I woke up a little earlier than usual, got Nicholas out of bed and made him breakfast.  I should say I microwaved his breakfast for him.  He is a last minute Charlie when it comes to getting up for school.  His bus comes at 6:47 am and he usually gets to the kitchen around 6:40.  But I do have to say he has only missed the bus 2 times this year.  Ahhh! to be a teenager again!  As soon as Nicholas left, I followed him out the door for my walk.  I took a 40 minute invigorating walk.  My sister in law has a blog Creatively Fit (see blogs to the right) I will be posting some photos from my walks on that blog as well. 

 Today I started my day off with water, and didn't feel nauseous at all.  2 of my friends have suggested that I try Wylers Light Lemonade and Arizona Brands drink mix, they have found them to be tasty and don't bother their stomach.  So I will be hitting Publix tomorrow to buy these.  I am slowly growing an addiction to these sugar free ice pops.  They are so refreshing.    

I spent the day with my good friend Barbara.  Barbara and I were neighbors growing up, we are the same age and have so many good memories from our childhood.  As a matter of fact, Barbara's sister Cindy married my Brother Chris and we all live here in Central Florida.  Barbara and I went shopping, we leisurely walked around Walgreen's and Walmart, without children to aggravate us.  Barbara and I have battled with our weight all our lives.  So we are a Get Healthy and Lose Weight team.  We are both working real hard to change our eating habits.  I have the "tool" of the Gastric Bypass, and Barbara has the tool of Willpower and Determination.   As soon as we get to goal, we are planning to do a Glamour Photo Shoot for our husbands, who bear the brunt of our attitudes!  And of course Clothes shopping!  To enjoy buying clothes again, can't wait!

Tomorrow is my weigh in day.  I will let you all know how I am doing.  Thanks for following!

Monday - 1 week Post Op

The photo's above are of the Handbook I received at my Pre-op appointment.  I can't even begin to tell you how precise and step by step this handbook is.  It explains how and when to do everything you need to succeed in your Weight Loss Journey.

For those of you who know me well, I love to take lots of pictures.  So I will be posting photos frequently on my blog.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy taking them.  I will try to keep them relevant to my blog, but I may sneak in a few that aren't here and there.

Flowers and Bamboo Panda wishing me well

When I got home from the hospital last week my neighbor, Gladys, brought over a bouquet of flowers and Pam brought me the Bamboo Panda and the card.  It was so thoughtful of them.  I have a great support group, which is very important during this time in my life.  My family and friends have been wonderful.  Calling, sending me texts and messages just to check on me or see if I need anything.  My mother in law has been a huge help with shopping, in the kitchen and just moral support.    Thank you everyone!  I love each and every one of you.  

Today I woke up with a new attitude!  I am not going to wallow in self pity just because of a little nausea.  I am going to just work through it and make the most of every day!  I made the decision to have this surgery, it is up to me to make it work.   So while making breakfast for Douglas this morning, I mixed a container of Crystal Lite, took a sip and just like that the nausea started.  UGH!  But I needed to get Douglas ready for school, so I tried to ignore it.  After I got Douglas on the bus, I grabbed my Ipod and the container of Crystal Lite and went for a walk.  I walked for about 30 minutes around the neighborhood, not even realizing that my nausea had gone away.  Today was a real good day for me.  I kept busy with catching up on paperwork, dusting and chatting with my sister-in-law Nicole from NY.  

I actually have to remind myself to eat.  I am not hungry at all.  I am still having trouble with the liquid vitamins.  They make me gag.  Douglas was so cute this evening while I was trying to swallow them.  I have to take an ounce, so I sip half and try to swallow it.  Douglas looks in the cup and sees that I still had more to take.  So he handed me a cup of water and told me "just drink it Mom and then drink the water fast".  He doesn't realize that I can't drink anything "fast" anymore.  I have to sip sip sip everything.  The look on his face while I am gagging and quivering trying to get these vitamins down is priceless!  I just ordered new vitamins from the Celebrate Vitamins web site.  It is a powder that you mix with water and I hear it is very good.  I got cherry flavor.   Has to be better than what I am taking now.  And by the way, if you go to the Celebrate Vitamins web site, you can request free samples to try before you buy.  I also ordered chewable vitamins for weeks 2-4 post op.  Celebrate Vitamins Here is their link, check them out.  

Tomorrow I may start off with a warm drink.  I MISS MY COFFEE!!!!! Have to drink decaf tea for now.  

Thanks for reading, register to follow me, and post a comment....Would love to hear what you think!

Stephanie

Saturday and Sunday

Saturday was an all around great day for me.  I woke up feeling great and went for a 30 minute walk.  I came home, showered and got ready to take Douglas to baseball.  Douglas has a caregiver, Pam, who comes every other weekend to help out.  Pam is a wonderful person and has become such a great friend to me.  I feel so comfortable with her, the whole family does.  This was one of Pam's weekends so she was a great help with Douglas.  After baseball we came home and had dinner (God Bless my wonderful husband) he has been a huge help to me with everything around the house.  He was in the process of making hamburgers on the grill.  We discovered a yummy way to make burgers.  We cook bacon until crisp, crumble it up and mix it in with the chop meat.  We also add some shredded cheese in the mix too.  Comes out so delicious on the grill.  I measured out my 1 1/2 oz and threw it in the food processor, and VOILA burger puree!  It was a little dry, so I dipped small amounts in some Chipotle Mayo and dinner was served.  It was very good and I was full after my 1 1/2 oz.  I was able to get in all my liquids and (oops!) went over a little on my protein.

Sunday is another story.  I woke up feeling real good then I took a sip of Crystal Lite Raspberry Ice Tea.  Well, that sent my belly into a tizzy!  I was nauseous the entire day.  Nothing seemed to calm it.  I was also very gassy.  I wasn't able to eat much at all during the day.  I had a scrambled egg for lunch and Tommy made these delicious Turkey enchiladas for dinner.  I measured out 1 1/2 oz of the meat and gave it a whiz in the food processor.  I still wasn't feeling so hot, but I knew I had to eat.  It was so good (even though my taste isn't 100% yet).  I was full after only eating half.  I knew at this point that I was not going to get in all my protein, so I needed to add a supplement.  After I put Douglas to bed I made a protein shake with skim milk, plain Greek yogurt and added chocolate protein powder.  The protein shake equaled 39 grams of protein.  I sipped it slowly and soon my stomach started to settle down.  What a relief.  I am thinking the Greek yogurt had something to do with it.  Shortly after I went to bed :0) 

It's FRIDAY

I woke up today almost pain free.  I feel real good with the exception of a sore throat. I am hoping it is from the breathing tube and I am not getting sick.   This morning I decided to have a protein shake for breakfast and try to get in a lot of liquids.  Which I was able to do.  Tommy and I went shopping to Home Depot, Pet Smart and Walmart.  I started to get tired in Walmart, but I was trying to find some foods I can eat on this pureed food diet.  I found a few things, and I will post them if they are any good.  Reading labels can be exhausting.  When I got home my dad was here for a visit.  He was worried about me.  He said I looked good.  The rest of the afternoon was pretty routine, laundry, vacuuming, and sipping my liquids.  Nicholas, my 16 year old, came home with a sore throat, so now I wonder if I am getting sick.  I haven't had a sore throat in 6+ years and I thought hospitals were supposed to make you better.  Guess not!

I am finding sugar free ice pops are an important food to keep in the house.  No only do they feel real good on my sore throat, but they are a help to your liquid intake and you feel like you are having a treat.  I buy 2 boxes at a time.  The rest of the family likes them too.  Well, except for Douglas, he says they are too cold!

I have decided not to weigh myself everyday.  I am going to try a weekly weigh in.  My 2 week Dr. visit is on May 12 (my brother Chris' birthday).  So I think I will do a Wednesday weekly weight.  I will see if that works for me.  Well that is all for today.  Gonna hit the hay, Douglas has baseball tomorrow and Nicholas and Tommy will be putting down sod a good part of the day.  Yes we are sodding our lawn again this year.  It seems like we do it every year.  Gotta love the Florida heat and bugs, they do a number on the lawn!

Thursday 4/29/2010

Well today I can start pureed foods.  So not looking forward to it.  Tried to make an egg for breakfast but couldn't get it the right consistency so had a shake instead.  For those of you who know me well, I have Type II diabetes.  In the hospital it was a little high so I was given a shot of insciline every day.  Dr. Kim told me to monitor my diabetes and if my sugar went over 150 to talk a pill.  Today I took my blood sugar and it was 90.  I haven't seen that number in years.  What a great feeling.  I also got on the scale and weighed 5 lbs more than I did before having the surgery.  UGH!  Was not a happy camper.  But I am still puffy from the surgery.  Tommy and I went for a walk around the block.  I took a walk to the mail box and watered all my flowers.  So I was on my feet for a little while.  I am doing ok with the liquid intake, 80+ oz daily, the protein is going to be a challenge.  I had 2 shakes and an egg today which ='s to about 50 grams of protein.  My goal is 63-77 grams.  Gonna try some pureed chicken for dinner, I will see how that goes, and will have another shake and maybe some yogurt. That should bring my totals up for today.  It is 5:30 pm now and I am extremely tired and sore.  The incision in my belly button is oozzing quite a bit, so I have to keep that on covered.  But all in all I am doing ok.  NO Regrets whatsoever!  When I am feeling better I will try to make this blog a little more exciting.  I know it's boring right now.  Take care every!  Stephanie
OH almost forgot Here are my before pictures.  We took them today!
Start Weight  =  242
Surgery Weight = 221

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday

Florida Hospital Celebration Health

Monday April 26 was my RNY Bypass Surgery.  The day is a complete blurrrr to me.  My husband tells me that the Surgery took about 2 hrs and Dr. Kim said I did very well.  I remember being in my hospital room asking for Tommy and my dad.  Shortly after asking they arrived with my friend Barbara, who I was very pleasantly surprised to see.  They stayed for a while, but I was so groggy I don't remember what was said.  Monday night I had a terrible night sleeping.  At 4 am Tuesday the nurse helped me move to the recliner and I was so much more comfortable there. I was experiencing so much left shoulder pain.  It was at time totally unbearable. Sandra, Dr. Kims nurse, warned us about this during our pre-op visit.  The pain was caused by the drain in my stomach.  The drain was pushing up against a nerve that radiate up to my left shoulder.  The drainage looked good so they decided to remove the drain.   All I have to say is OH MY GOD!  but the pain in my shoulder disappeared immediately. Tuesday morning they took me for an upper GI to make sure there were no leaks.  I had no leaks so it was time for me to start my clear liquid diet.  I was able to drink Crystal lite drinks, water, chicken broth, and sugarfree popcicles, plus I was still getting IV fluids.  And the Dr. wanted me to walk walk walk as much as I could.  So I did.  

I was going to get discharged on Tuesday cause I was doing so well, but then I started to get a little nauseous, which may have been from the pain, so they gave me some pain and nausea meds and decided the keep me till Wednesday.  I am so glad they did.  I felt so much better when I got up Wednesday.  

Sandra gathered all the bariatric patients and took us all to an exercise class.  It was a class to teach us how to prevent blood clots.  And again it was stressed to us walk, walk, walk, it helps relieve a multitude of problems, gas, bloating, blood clots, nausea, and help with the lungs.  Then shortly after I was released to go home.  

The Next Steps:

And so my Journey begins.  I was contacted by the Insurance Coordinator from Dr. Kim's office to inform me that my insurance company will cover my Gastric Bypass and that all I needed was a letter of medical necessity from my primary care physician, Dr. Rodgers.  And as luck would have it I had an appointment with him the following week.  I have been seeing Dr. Rodgers for the past 10 years and we have spoken numerous times about my health and my weight, so when I brought up the subject of Gastric Bypass, he was very supportive and together we created an outline for the letter he was going to write.  After I received the letter I sent it to Dr. Kim's office and that's when everything started to move.  Vanessa, my nurse, called to let me know what the next steps were. 

I was to start the Phase 1 Diet, which was: 

•  Cut meal portions in half
•  NO starches or simple sugars:  no breads, pasta, rice, candy, or other sweets
•  Eat lean proteins: chicken, fish, beef, pork, eggs
•  Have a fresh fruit or vegetable with every meal
•  Consume 2-3 servings of dairy per day: low fat milk or low fat yogurt only
•  Exercise at least 5 days per week.  Increase the intensity and time every week
•  Take an adult formula multi-vitamin two times per day

I needed the following clearances before I could be given a surgery date:

•  Psychological Evaluation
•  Cardiology Clearance
•  Pulmonary Clearance
•  Chest X-Ray
•  EKG
•  H-Pylori Test
• General Blood work

All this took about 3 weeks to complete and get written clearance to Vanessa.  The cardiology clearance was the most stressful for me, because of my family history.  My cardiologist sent me for a stress test, talk about stress!  OIY!  But my cardiologist was kind enough to call me that evening to tell me that everything looked great and he was giving me clearance to have the Bypass.  Now we wait for Vanessa to call that she had received all the clearances!

The following week Tommy and I decided to go to Universal Studios. While eating lunch I, Vanessa called the let me know that she had received everything she needed and was forwarding my information onto Amanda, who will be calling me within the next week to schedule my surgery.  

After finishing Islands of adventure, Tommy and I decided to sit in the chair outside Margaritaville to listen to the music and do some people watching (my favorite past time)  I was watching this family walk and the young boy was looking behind him and walked right into a light pole.  He really hit his head hard, I saw it coming, but couldn't yell fast enough.  An YES, once I saw he was OK I laughed.  Then a guy came buy with a Macaw on his arm looking for people to hold him so their picture can be taken holding the bird.  2 kids sat in the chair next to me and held the bird.  The guy took their picture, and so did their mom.  The man had the nerve to tell the mom that they didn't allow personal pictures, if she wanted the picture, she would have to buy one from him.  Then he gave her a card and walked onto the next group of kids.  What a scam!  As I sat there with my mouth open, not believing what I just heard, my phone rang.  Guess who it was? Amanda from Dr. Kim's office ready to schedule my surgery.  We spent about 20 minutes on the phone going over all the information, but she did tell me that everything she was telling me she was going to send in an e-mail.  Thank Goodness, I lost everything she said once she told me that the date was April 26. On April 12 I was to start the Phase 2 diet, which is a complete liquid diet. I was really dreading it, but it is not bad at all.  

The Beginning:

I am a 45 year old woman with a husband (Tommy) of 22 years and 2 boys ages 13 & 16. I have battled with my weight since my childhood, and as I get older I have developed several weight-related illnesses. I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about 6 years ago, have high blood pressure, cholesterol issues, depression and just feel like crap every day. On January 15, 2010 my father had open heart surgery. He had a valve replacement and a quadruple bypass. My dad, 76, is the picture of health. He eats right and exercises everyday. He also has type 2 diabetes, but has always controlled it through diet and exercise. When the Dr. told me that he needed this surgery, I was flabbergasted. Not my Dad...He's too healthy to be sick. Well, Dad was walking laps around the hospital 5 days after surgery, never had to take any pain medication, and did not have any rehab. The doctors all believe that his quick recovery was due to his great health prior to the surgery. I decided at that point that I needed to get healthy. I am 30 years younger than my dad, and he is in better shape. I am 100+ lbs overweight and have been on many diets throughout my life. I had always been able to lose weight, but could not keep it off. I told Tommy that I was thinking of having weight loss surgery. He just smiled at me and asked my why. I told him that I was sick of being fat and unhealthy, that it was time for me to take care of me. For those of you that don't know my husband, he is a very supportive, no pressure type of guy. We had spoken about my weight in the past, but he always believed that when I was ready to lose weight I would do it. So the following week we attended a Weight loss seminar at Florida Hospital Celebration.