Billie R.

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Well things continue to change for me. Over the past year I have had alot going on. Mu husband and I seperated in July of last year. I moved back to Tennessee from Maine. I could not take being away from my kids, so I moved back to Maine in January of this year.
April 11th I went to the hospital with severe back pain only to find out 10 hours later after being rushed by mabulance to a larger hospital, that I had an internal hernia. I had an open surgery for repairs on top of being 8 months pregnant.
William Chase is due May 26th via c-section.
I am still doing good as far as the weight goes. My doc says I have gained just the right amount for being pregnant.
I weigh 158 pounds right now at 38 weeks pregnant.

I can't believe how fast the time has gone. It has already been over 4 months ago that I had surgery. It just don't seem possible.
I feel like a new person. I am 159 lbs and a size 10. I was 12 years old the last time I was a size 10.  It just blows me away. My co-workers are just amazed at my transformation. They all say I have a new glow about me and that I carry myself more confident than before. OF COURSE I DO!! I love the new me.
I have the energy of a 20 year old. My kids can't keep up with me now!
I have been going to the gym at least 3 days a week, runnung on the treadmill at home and I am taking kickboxing classes. Life is good. Praise GOD.

I had an appointment with Meghan, my dietician, on Friday and was happy when she told me I was out of the obese BMI range and in the overweight range. That felt so good. Today I officially weigh in at 175 lbs. I feel great and my overall look on life is great. My kids are loving that I can run and play with them. My 5 year old daughter actually told me I had a skinny butt.
I know better, but it was cute and funny coming from her. On the down side, my hair is falling out like crazy. I was already losing hair before surgery due to PCOS, but now it is really bad. This morning was the worst it has been so far and it was really BAD.  Small price to pay for good health I suppose. It still sucks ass to lose you hair though. Hopefully it will get better sooner than later. I am getting all my protein and water now. I am also getting my vitamins in. I do take Biotin also to help the new hair growth grow faster, hopefully.

I weigh the same today as I did five days ago. I don't know if this is what I should expect or if my period played a role in the slow down. I was hoping my weight loss would be kicked up a notch by my increase in exercise, but maybe it just takes a little longer than I expected.
Everyone around me is noticing a change. My customers at work that I haven't seen in a few months are a bit surprised when they see me. I love the feeling of accomplishment.  One of my big disappointments is I am losing my boobs. They are looking a bit deflated these days. I guess that is nothing a good plastic surgeon can't fix though, right?

I went to the most recent support group meeting in my area last Monday. This meeting was hosted by a psychologist who works with the Bariatric Center. She spoke alot about mindful eating and cravings that come back after the "honeymoon phase" is over. There was a lady there who was 2 years post op and she was talking about how hard it is for her to keep her focus on the right foods that she needs to eat. She said it very hard to not have all those things that got her to where she was before surgery.  She said she really thinks it will be a life long struggle to not resort to stuffing her face with all the wrong foods like in the past. I sat there listening and thinking to myself that I didn't want to have to deal with the temptation like her. I guess I just have to accept the fact that this was surgery on our stomachs not our brains. Back to the mindful eating, the psych said that once we are out of the HM phase and have a craving for it that we should have it. She said that we should take it and savor it and make it last. Enjoy it to the fullest extent instead of popping it in our mouth and gobbling it down. If we savor it, then we have a better appreciation for our surgery and for the right to have "something special" every now and then. It made total sense to me. If you openly allow yourself to have a special treat then you are less likely to try to sneak something and feel guilty about it. That would be denial.
On another note, we spoke aloud as to wether we were pre or post-op. When it came my turn I was so excited to tell everyone that I was post op. There was a lady a couple seats down from me who said "I can't believe you had RNY. You don't look big enough". After the meeting was over I had a talk with her. She asked my my weight before surgery and my reason for choosing RNY over Lap Band. I gave her my reasons. Come to find out she is 10 pounds less than I was when I decided to have surgery. She just assumed that you had to be like 200 lbs overweight to have RNY. I told her I stand behind my decision to have RNY and would do it all over again. She told me she was certain that she wanted Lap Band until talking to me and now she is uncertain. I recommended to her to have a long talk with Dr. Trieu about her options and then decide what would be best for her. I didn't want to sway her decision one way or the other, but on the other hand I want her to explore all of her options. I hope I did the right thing. After we talked she told me that I was an inspiration to her and that I looked great. That made me feel good!

Well it is Sunday Feb. 1st and I am officially 20 days post op. There really hasn't been anything too exciting to report. Friday I had a seminar to go to for work and almost got sick on some scrambled eggs. I had to excuse myself for about 10 minutes. After that I was fine.
I had my first post op appt with the nut. She said everything looks good for the most part. I just need to be taking in more water and more calories. I am getting around 45oz of fluid and it should be 60oz. Calories wise, I am getting about 600 and it should be 800-1200. She said I would lose weight faster if I upped the calories. Right now my body is storing all those calories because I am not getting enough to burn.
I am down 13 pounds since surgery. I don't really think that is too bad considering I didn't have as much to lose as alot of people.
I am just so thankful that this tool has been created for me and for all of us who has chosen to use it. God is Great!

Well, tomorrow is my first day back to work. I am mentally ready to go back. I just hope I am physically ready to go back. I get tired really quick which could be a problem. I work 10.5 hours 4 days a week and 12 hours 1 day. My job is very fast paced. I guess I need to focus on my health first and foremost. If I am tired,  I will rest. If it becomes too much then I will come home.
I start my vitamins tomorrow also. I hope I can keep stright when to take what vitamin. It can be confusing.  I am nervous about going back. I have lost 10 pounds since my last day at work and I know someone will notice. I chose not to tell my co-workers about my surgery. It really isn't anyone's business, but mine. I'm just not sure what to tell them when they start asking how I am losing the weight. I guess I will tell them I am choosing healthier foods with no breads or soda. Sounds good, huh?

Today I am 9 days post op. I haven't lost any weight in 2 days. I guess this is pretty much normal. I go tomorrow for my post op appointment with my surgeon. I will be glad to get these strips of my stomach. It has been itchy around the strips.
I guess I probably have some type of allergic reaction to them.
My energy level today is not as good as it was yesterday. I actually cleaned house and went out to my daughter's dance class for and hour. I think part of feeling down is being cooped up in the house, so I think I am gonna go out to the store or something just to get out of the house.
Also, yesterday my protein shake made me kinda sick to my stomach. I think it may be because I put ice in it when I blended it. Normally I don't do that.
Overall, I am still glad I had the surgery. I know each day will get easier. 

Well, I am officially one week out of my RNY surgery. I have to say today is the best day so far. I have had no energy, but today I seem to have lots. I suppose it may have something to do with the fact I got in more protein yesterday than any other day.
I still seem to be struggling to get my fluids in, but I am trying!!
I think I will do house work today.
Normally I would be at work right now, so it does feel a little weird to be sitting at home. I am the type who enjoys working. I crave adult interaction!! That is one of the things I love about this site!! People WILL talk to
you!
Since Monday I am down 8 pounds. I think that is pretty darn good. I will be below 200 before I go back to work. It just sounds so weird. At Christmas I weighed 224 pounds. I can't believe I was able to lose that much weight t that short of time. I guess I am stronger that I realize sometimes.
My life long love affair with food is over and it doen't really seem to bother me that much. I see some of my previously favorite foods and I only think about it for a minute before I think, wow, I really don't miss that as much as I thought I would.
I really think I am gonna be ok. I have the best support in the world!!

I was finally discharged from the hospital at 4:00pm today. I should have been home Wednesday, but turns out I had a fever beginning Monday night. Tuesday I got up and walked as much as possible. Tuesday evening I was feeling like I had  a section of my guts removed. It was an unusual amount of pain according to my surgeon. So Wednesday comes around and I am still not feeling well. My surgeon came in around 5pm and checked me out. He said that I had a touch of pneumonia and that he thought the catheter was causing part of my pain. they started me on antibiotics that night, bt chose to wait til morning to take out the catheter. Once the catheter came out I felt ALOT better. Still not great, but better. Thursday evening Dr. Trieu came in to check on me again. He thought it would be a good time to remove the drain tubes since my fever had gone away.
I had no idea that removing those tubes were gonna feel that way. The first one wasn't bad. It just felt like a little snake squiggle though my tummy. I made the comment "at least I know how the next one is gonna feel". WRONG!!! He started pulling it out, got about 3 inches and it hung up on something , then he tugged and quickly pulled the rest of it out. It felt like the inside had just been turned upside down. That hurt like hell!!!
I was just glad they were out. Thursday night my nurse wanted me to  try sleeping on my side. I tried it. A couple hours of sleeping and I woke up with the most horrible pain in my left side (this is the samw side of the pain from my tube). I called the doctors off and spoke with the nurse. She said it was normal to have this kind ofpain in the side ue to the fact that I just had part of my insides rearranged. Hoepfully she is right and it will go away soon.
This morning was ok. No weird things going on.
I failed to mention I had to get a new IV of Wednesday because the one I had sprung a leak.
I am home now resting an all is good.
No additional weight lost yet. I am patient. I will give it til next week