AnneB
10/01 04:45 PM
Well, I joined this site yesterday and I was feeling pretty down and isolated. But I have just been in the chat room and I am feeling much more positive. It is hard to feel positive without much support eg local doctors having a very negative view of BPD/DS. It is great to talk to people who have had it and been successful with it - just what I needed. I thought I would post myself a comment because so many people joined yesterday that I doubt anyone else will notice one little (well not so little yet - lol) person, like me! So hello to me!!! And goodbye to me - until next time (am I losing it!! lol) Anne B
I am 38 years old, very obese and looking into DS surgery, as for me I think this will be best. There is no surgeon in my state who does this surgery so I have had to look interstate. Two days ago I had my initial consultation with Dr Broadbent in Queensland. This is a 2 hour flight from where I live, so getting to all my appointments will not be easy as I have to stay overnight on the Gold Coast each time. I have 2 children who need me home- but I am determined to find a way!
I am scared of having this surgery and I am also scared of not having it. I looked into the Lap-band a few years ago (I can have this locally) but I felt it was not for me.
I feel very isolated in Adelaide, and worry that the distance to my prospective surgeon is too big. He has told me that I will have to see him for ongoing support after the surgery, that I can't link with a local doctor as it is unlikely they will understand the procedure I will hopefully have. This is really frightening.
My GP made it clear that she does not understand. When I asked her for a referral to Dr Broadbent, she asked me if I have tried 'eating healthy' to lose weight!! I told her that last year I lost 37kgs (81 puonds)but that it is all back now and that my problem is not so much losing the wieght but keeping it off. She just looked at me with disaproval. She had not heard of BPD/DS and had to look it up on the internet!! If/when I have the surgery I certainly won't be able to go to her for support!
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10/04 06:46 PM
5.10.04 (October, date in Aussie style!!) Well hello to me, Great news!! I have located a surgeon in Melbourne!! This is only 45 minutes from Adelaide by plane and I won't have to stay overnight each time I meet with the surgeon. I emailed 4 W/L surgeons in Adelaide and 3 in Melbourne over the long weekend and it is only 11am on Tue and already I have heard back from Dr Woods of Melbourne. He didn't sound very keen on using the DS on a first time patient, wrote that 'generally' only uses it with patients who have been unsuccessful with the Lapband. However, he did say I could make an appointment with him and he didn't say I couldn't have the DS. So I will wait a couple more days and see if any of the others I emailed reply before I make the applointment. But I am so excited! If I can get a surgeon in Adelaide it will be even better, but if it has to be Melbourne it will be easier to get a family member to come with me for the stay in a hotel after surgery for a couple of weeks (3-4 according to Dr Broadbent) Anyway, thought I might use this as a journal. Anne B
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2nd November 2004
Well I have changed surgeon! I met with Dr Woods in Melbourne a few days ago. He tried very hard to convince me that I should try the Lap band before going for the DS. He felt that Lap band is less invasive and should be tried before something as radical as DS. Dr Woods pointed out that though the liklihood is low, in the next few years, a 'wonder pill' may be developed meaning everyone can be thin forever! I have been waiting for this 'pill' for many years already and I don't think it is coming anytime soon - I have had enough of 'pipe dreams' I need to look at more realistic solutions now.
So after promising to think about Lap band, I called Dr Woods' secretary after the weekend and informed her of my decision. She gave me a tentative date of 5th of January 05!!. I could have had something sooner, but I don't want to be recovering during the Xmas season - I think this operation's initial impact on my family will be tough enough!
I will need some tests - but not many by the sounds of it. I am waiting to recieve some more information from Dr Woods by mail. Hopefully some of my many questions will be answered then!
I have been reading the stories of so many Americans, that I forgot that I have private insurance, and I am in Australia - this means things move pretty quickly - as we do not have to get any approval from our health insurance. I was shocked when, the first time I met Dr Woods he told me I could have surgery within 4-6 weeks. I was planning to give up smoking a couple of months before surgery and I thought I would have plenty of time! So, I am glad that my surgery won't be until Jan 5th 2005.
I gave up smoking 2 days ago -and the cravings ARE KILLING ME!!!!!!!!!!!! I sooooo need a cigarette but I have more reason than ever before to give up - so I can't have one -screammmm!! But I will just have to live through the cravings - I am sure they are a lot more bearable than the consequences of smoking up to the operation will be on my recovery!!!
Well, nothing more to say today - so, signing off till next time!
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22nd December 2004
Well, I have met with Mr Woods again and with Leon Chapman the consulting physician and my surgery is set for 5th of January 2005. I am nervous and excited at the same time. I am struggling to be on Optifast during he Xmas season, but seem to have things under control at last.
Johnny, my partner will only be able to spend a few days in Melbourne with me after the surgery then he will need to return to Adelaide to look after our business. My mother and step-aunt will be coming to Melbourne to be with me until January 17th when I can fly home.
Well there is nothing for me to do but wait and get through Xmas now, I have known about my surgery date since early November and have felt like I am 'waiting to live' since then. It is like I have put my life 'on hold' -not that much was happening in it before anyway. But, I seem to have withdrawn from my friends in the past few weeks. I went out to a dinner dance with one friend a month ago, and I was just hot and miserable so I decided 'no more social events until it is more comfortable and there is a chance I can have fun'! If that won't 'put my life on hold', I don't know what will!! LOL
Well, I am just waffling - I really don't have anything to say at all so I don't know why I thought I should update my profile - basically, nothing has changed......YET! OK bye for now!
Anne B 22/12/04
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January 3rd 2005
ONLY 3 DAYS TILL SURGERY!!!!!
I am very excited now and nervous too. I keep thinking 'this could be the last time' about everyone I see, everything I do etc. At the same time, I am very calm and feel that I have done all I can to reduce my risks. I haven't smoked for 9 1/2 weeks now, I have been walking for 30-45 minutes most days for about 9 weeks, and I am feeling healthier than I have in years!
I have struggled with the 2 weeks of Optifast over the Xmas period. I have continually 'cheated' by having a mouthful of this or that - I even had 2 sausages!! Still, I have lost the 4kgs of weight I have gained since being given a surgery + 1 extra, bringing me down to 121kgs (266 pounds).
Tomorrow afternoon I am flying to Melbourne with Johnny (my other half), and then off to the hospital at 6.45am on Wednesday for my 8.00am surgery. Nothing to do now but pack and wait...........
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28th March 2005
WOW have I been slack! No update yet! Well this will be a brief one. I had the surgery and everything went well, I had a bit of a blood pressure scare in the hospital (too low 68/37) but they fixed it by giving me additional fluid (2 drips both going FAST) I ended up with about 12 kgs (26 pounds) of extra fluid which took a couple of weeks to get under control.
The surgery itself was not nearly as bad as I had prepared myself for - nothing like the open ovarian cyst removal with tubal ligation when I was 25 years old, not overweight and healthy! Eating was the biggest chalenge early on, I could barely manage a teaspoon of food in a meal for the first week. By the second week a meal was about a tablespoon of food. Now at almost 12 weeks out, I can eat quite large amounts, eg today I had about 1/2 a Subway chicken salad and last night at a chinese restaurant I managed a few bits of an entree as well as a bit of my main meal- heaven!
My weight loss seems to be quite slow and frustrating and has stalled for the past 2 weeks - this is the second time this has happened to me. I am trying really hard to stay away from the scales, but I have this stupid little voice at the back of my head that says, if you don't know what the daily fluctuations are and are not aware of what triggers the weight to finally start dropping again, how can you duplicate that day in the future, the voice also points out that maybe I am doing something wrong and eating the wrong things, too much or something, it I don't keep an eye on the scale, then I could just sit on the same weight for weeks on end and be under the impression that everything is fine (I am losing weight) when in reality I am having NO weight loss and because I don't know this, I am not in a position to adjust my diet/exercise to get the scale moving again! I am afraid of letting my weight loss window pass me by while I was happlily ignoring the reality that I WAS NOT LOSING ANYTHING at all!!!!!
I have decided that I am starting my accumulative weight loss 'score' from my pre-op, pre-Optifast weight which was about 126-127kgs (277-279 pounds). I am now 100-101kgs (220-222 pounds) which means that I have lost about 26kgs -55 pounds or so (sounds so much better in pounds!! LOL) I have lost and gained the same kg for the past 2 weeks - maybe this is a mental block thing - getting past the 100kg!!!??
I am off to the Gold Coast next week for 10 days for my daughter's National Drill Dance Championship. My neice is in my daughter's team so my sister and I are going together and we will have a few days to ourselves while the girls are training, we will stay in a separate hotel from the team to give them space (or to give us space!!). I guess I was hoping to be a bit smaller before this trip, but I guess I have come a fair distance.
I bought some new clothes last week because everything I had was literally falling off me. I was pleasantly surprised to be able to buy 'normal' size clothes (mainly size 18 - Australian sizes where I think our 8 is equivalent to a US size 4; so an 18 would be like a US 14). I wore jeans for the first time in 15 years yesterdy, it was amazing.
Anne
7/7/05
Oh Boy, am I hopeless at keeping a journal!!! It has been over 3 months since my last update. There is so much to say that I just can't spare the time to say it all!
I am down to 84kgs or 185 pounds now and I have been shooooppppping!!!!!!!!!!! I am wearing size 14, 16 and sometimes an 18 still. I can't believe that I can fit many of the clothes that I have kept from my youth (when I wasn't yet obese)! There is a coat I bought last time I lost weight, that I never got to wear because it was WAY TOO SMALL. Well, I tried it on tonight and I CAN WEAR IT!! (not done up yet though!)
I am going to the gym at least 3 times a week and I have a personal trainer! I am really loving it and feeling the benefits of it already, I have been going for about 7 or 8 weeks now.
Life is VERY busy these days and I know that I would NEVER have been able to keep up with everything had I not lost so much weight. The total loss so far is 43kgs or nearly 95 pounds!
I have been rethinking my goal weight, I really don't think I need to get much below 70kgs or 154 pounds, this means that I only have 14kgs (31 pounds) to go - lucky because it is moving verrrry sloooowwwwwly now, only about 4 kgs (9 pounds) lost in the last 6 weeks!
Well, I don't know what else to say, except that I have to go to sleep now, big and busy day tomorrow at the gym and work tomorrow.
Oh, one more thing. I do not get how this weight loss is working at all!!! For the past 2-3 days I have ben sick in bed with a cold, somehow I still managed to eat like a PIG. I hadn't lost ANYTHING for about 3 weeks and was really starting to feel angry and 'cheated'. SO I cheated - BIG TIME! I have just eaten continually, ceareal with milk and sugar, ice-cream (not sf!!!), bread, chocolate, ice-blocks etc and very little protein. I couldn't beleive it when I got on the scale this morning (to punish myself - you know,so that I had to face the damage I had done by the binging spree)- I lost 1 kg (2.2 pounds) when I REALLY SHOULD have GAINED. Certainly, before the DS, I would have gained 2-3 kgs for the HUGE transgression, but there you have it; a loss - go figure!!!!!!!
5.1.06 (5th of January 2006)
Today (5th Jan) it is 1 year since my DS surgery!
It has been an amazing year of change for me. I started at 127kgs (279 pounds) and today I am 77kgs (169 pounds). I have pretty well stopped losing now but I am really happy with where I am (BMI 25.7). I lost somewhere in the vicinity of 90 - 96% of my excess weight - it depends on which goal weight is used. My personal goal is 72 kgs.
I am now planning plastic surgery and hope this will take a few more kgs off and leave me with a BMI under 25.
I can now eat a normal sized meal most of the time. I find that I can expand and shrink my stomach capacity very easily eg. a day of very small meals seems to shrink my stomach so that I can only 'fit' small meals - but I can stretch my stomach too!!
My eating feels pretty normal - I just can't manage 2nds (just as well!! LOL). If it weren't for the vitamins and calcium on my kitchen bench top (there as a constant reminder) I could easily forget that I had any surgery at all.
My labs have improved lately. I was low in Vitamin A & D as well as having very raised liver enzymes. The enzymes are closer to normal now, my vitamin D is within the normal range though my vitamin A is still quite low. I am takin mega-does of A & D to bring up their levels and it does seem to be working (at least with the D). My calcium and PTH levels have been good all along.
Over Xmas I have really overindulged (lots of chocolate, cake, potato, bread etc, etc). I am amazed that I have only put on 2 kgs (4.4 pounds) as a result of eating VERY badly for a couple of weeks. This morning I lost one of those kgs after eating more moderately over the past couple of days. It seems to be that easy to control my weight - I don't need to starve to lose and I don't put on 10 kgs over Xmas!
I feel like I have become at least 20 years younger in the past year - I have so much energy and I 'want' to go out and be sociable for the first time in many years.
I have fun getting dressed, though it is sometimes hard to choose what to wear. Sometimes I am like a teenager, I try on 5 outfits, decide on one and then change my mind 1/2 an hour later and put on another outfit!!!! LOL
I run circles around my hubby now. A year ago, I was always asking him to walk slower so I could keep up (huffing and puffing the whole way). Now, he asks me to slow down - but I don't - I tell him to try to keep up!! LOL
My kids invite their friends to our house now. I know that they were embarrassed about having a 'fat' mother - I hate that they felt that way but I also understand it. I am so happy that they now feel more comfortable to have their friends around.
I actually use our outdoor spa now when we have visitors, I used to be too embarrassed to get into my swim suit when anyone was around. I plan on going swimming at our local swim centre (as soon as my daughter's broken foot heals - and she can swim). WOW, I can't believe that I am contemplating swimming in PUBLIC!!!!!!
All in all it has been an amazing year, I am sooooo happy that I researched my options and found the DS - It has given me the opportunity to live life as a relatively normal person for the first time and I love it!!
Monday 6th March 2006
On 27/2/06 I had my tummy tuck with muscle tightening, hernia repair and lipo on my outer hips and flanks, though I think the surgeon might have missed the target spots - time will tell.
I am just begining to get around a bit more after a week of being pretty well confined to bed ( the couch, actually).
I have been surprised that I have lost a bit of weight since my surgery, especially as I am very swollen and would have expected to have gained weight. I am currently 165 pounds, though I went to hospital weighing 170 pounds.
I had a horrible toothache the week before surgery and the night before surgery I was in the ER department of another hospital with severe abdominal pain (I had the tooth fixed the day before!). Testing showed that I had elevated pancreatic enzymes (5 times normal), though the hospital doctor, Simon Woods and the PS all thought that my hernia may have been strangulated as this can cause elevated pancreatic enzymes. My own research convinced my that I may have had a bout of chronic pancreatitis. No matter what it was, it was solved somehow between being given a good dose of Morphine (which gave me nausea), the doctor prodding and poking my tummy and 2 litres of IV saline solution for dehydration probably brought on because I did not eat or drink much while I had the tooth ache for a week or so.
All of this did not stop my PS from going ahead, it was thought that if my hernia were the problem then going ahead with teh surgery was the best thing I could do. Now a week later, I haven't had any more abdominal pain (other than from he surgery) though my tooth again hurts and I have a dentist appointment tomorrow with a new dentist.
Back to the weight loss, the lack of food (and drink) that occured immediately pre-op, continued a bit post-op. This was mostly because the hospital kept giving me high carb foods, despite my ordering high 'protein' foods. I didn't want to risk eating the carby foods because I tend to get gas and bloat. I was feeling bad enough without adding that into the equation!
On the operation table, just before being put under, I asked the surgeon to make the muscles nice and tight! I don't know if my request made a difference or not, but I am soooooo tight that I am unable to eat a decent meal now! So this too is contributin to my weight loss. The stupid thing is that for once in my life I don't actually want to llose weight. As the weight is dropping off I am finding that my face is looking 'gaunt' and my eyes are getting a hollow, sunken look. At this time I am not willing to trade the last signs of my youth in order to be 'ideal' as far as weight. I am willing to be a 'little' over the ideal (BMI 25.7) to stay youngish looking for just a few more years. Sooooo, I am hoping that either the weight loss stops or my face fills out a bit again. I know I can always get a face lift, but I really want to get on with my life and forget about surgery for a while now.
As far as changes to my body after the PS, I really can't see a difference yet - I am not looking for one because it is so early yet. I feel fairly confident that I will be happy with the results, I think that as long as there is 'marked' improvement I will be satisfied - I never expected to be perfect.
11th January 2007
Well, it has been 2 years and I am still going strong. My weight was pretty stable until I went on an Asian cruise for a month long holiday recently. I put on a bit of weight through incredible food that was available 24/7 everywhere I looked! LOL It isn't really a problem because I have already started to lose the excess few kgs (about 4 kgs).
It is funny that when I was 50kgs more, I couldn't tell when I lost 10kgs, it made little difference in my clothes and I couldn't physically 'feel' a difference. BUT NOW, wow, 4 kgs and I feel 'frumpy' and 'solid' but yet when I look in the mirror I can't really see a big difference.
Anyway, I have no choice but to lose this 4kgs because I am off on another cruise in only 8 weeks, this time I am coming to USA and going on a Mexican Riviera cruise. If I don't lose the excess, I can't eat well again!! AND, I want to feel comfortable in my 'cruise clothes'.
I have learned a few things about maintaining my weight loss. Firstly, you MUST get on the scale regularly (well I must anyway) and especially if I feel that I might have gained a little. Usually I find that I have not gained much and that it takes only a week or 2 of 'adjusted' eating to 'correct the problem'. I think that if I didn't 'face the scale' regularly, it would be easy for a small weight gain to gain momentum and get out of hand. At least this is what works for me. I can certainly eat more 'bad foods' that are high in fat etc than other people that I know, but I still have a limit on what my body will accept before adding weight.
I have also learned that the best way to control weight is to be really active. If I go back to my old habit of sitting around doing very little, then it doesn't seem to matter how little I eat, I am in danger of gaining weight. If however, I am really really active, I seem to get away with eating a heck of a lot of food with no bad consequences (except gas if it is very high carb foods).
I have recently had my blood work done but I don't have the results yet. I have had problems keeping my vitamins A and D up and now also my vitamin E is low. I also have low Iron and lowish Zinc. I get heart palpitations occassionally that get very annoying and can happen several times a day. I take a dose of potassium or eat a banana and this alleviates the issue for a few months at a time. I also have a skin rash all over my back. I managed to control this with high does of Zinc for a while but it has recently flared up again. I don't really know if it has anyting to do with the DS or not, it could be something completely unrelated and it may be coincidence that it cleared up when I lifted my use of Zinc for a while - I will have more idea after I see the DR in 2 weeks.
I have also had some extreme problems with my teeth in the past year (well, extreme for me). I have never had more than a small filling in my teeth in the past and my dentist used to tell me that I am very lucky that I have such strong and healthy teeth, her used to tell me that my teeth would outlast me by at least 100 years. Well he isn't saying that anymore. I had one tooth that was worked on by 3 dentists and a specialist for 9 months to try to save it (at my insistance) it suffered an infection that would not go away and had about 12 attempts at root canals. In the end the specialist had to remove the infection surgically, however I think it might be back. The tooth itself has jsut managed to be saved though there is not much left of it. I still get bad tooth aches on that side of my mouth and I find that if I chew things that are tough, my teeth seem 'sensitive' and begin to ache. I can't really eat beef jerky anymore because of this.
I also have a new tooth problem in that one of my teeth has split down the middle! I am too scared to go the dentist because last time the problems got much worse after the first dentist let the infection into the tooth. So I will wait and see what happens.
It could be that I am just having troubles because I am getting older, maybe it is just the way things are.
Anyway, generally, my health is better than it has been in many, many years. I feel mostly energetic and can be on the go all day without passing out! LOL My kids notice that I am more involved in their lives and say 'no' to things like ' can we go to....' much less often.
I don't get much chance to come to this site anymore but I know that it was so important to me to be able to read about other people's experiences who were further post op than I was, so I hope that I am able to 'give a little back' by at least ensuring that I update my profile on a yearly basis. On the other hand I would be really happy to answer any questions anyone has and to help out where I can, so feel free to email me - just make sure you use the 're' line to say you are from OH, because the way junk mail is these days it would othewise be deleted before being read! LOL
I should add that I never was entirely happy with my tummy tuck. The surgeon left me too much upper stomach skin. It isn't a major concern, but some day I will aprobably have it fixed along with a lower bady lift.