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Carla
[email protected]

Wow, here it is, another new year! I really am awful about keeping this page updated. I am adding posts more frequently than before, but not as often as I probably should be. Anyway, like always, I will try to do better. I did at least change things to the new format and post the goals that I’ve held near & dear since before surgery. I selected goals for myself that would be ongoing because I always want to continue striving for a better tomorrow; when I stop, I stagnate.   I had my 5-year surgiversary back in November; it’s crazy to look back and realize that it really has been 5 years. On one hand, it seems like yesterday; on the other hand, it truly feels like a lifetime ago. My weight is the lowest it has ever been in my adult life, 179. How insane is that?? I bought some jeans the other day and they are a size 12! If anyone had told me that I would really drop 190+ pounds with WLS, I never would have believed them. Anyway, I sit here less than half the size and twice the person I used to be! Amazing! I’m truly blessed to have this second opportunity to “be all I can be”. (Sorry, I guess the Army is in my blood.)   As I said in my previous post, I did have a consult with a plastic surgeon. After talking with him about all my excess skin, we came up with a 4-phase plan. Phase 1; Tummy tuck (Fleur-De-Lis). Phase 2; Lateral thigh & butt lift. Phase 3; Medial thigh lift and Phase 4; breast augmentation. I’m not sure I will go all the way to phase 4, but I will complete the others. I didn’t realize I could ever afford to have the procedures done. Having a consultation with the surgeon really opened my eyes to information I was totally clueless about. Of course I had to go and do a ton of research after that! Anyway, I had my tummy tuck completed for my birthday in October. I plan to complete my lateral thigh lift in a couple of months. People wonder why I’m not just going for the whole lower body lift at once; the answer is that this is the plan I feel the most comfortable with. The surgeon estimated that I have about 15 pounds of tissue that will be removed in this process. He took off 3.5 pounds from my stomach.  I may decide to have my arms done sometime down the road, but that will be quite a while if I do it. Quite a change for someone who never thought she’d consider plastic surgery!!   We also came up with a new goal weight for me, 165 pounds. I haven’t quite decided if that’s a goal that I absolutely want to achieve, but time will tell. I’m not going to be heart broken if it doesn’t happen, I’m pretty happy at my current weight. That said, I was thrilled when I weighed 210…..that only changed when I found myself getting too comfortable. Honestly, I got scared when I found out that I had the enlarged stoma. My world shook a little; fear is one hell of a motivator! It was a swift blow to remind me what a gift my tool is… and that no tool works without an operator. I guess I’m proof that the tool still works, even if you do have to pick it up and dust it off.   So, that’s a bit about me today. I will try to make it back for an update in about a month.    Be well!

I had my open RNY with Dr. Zahn in Phoenix on 11/26/03.

09/15/2008: I’m down another 12 pounds since my last update for a total of 172 pounds lost since surgery. I can’t even begin to explain how much better it feels to be back on track. I hope that I won’t stray again. I know now that if I do stray, there most definitely is a way back….big fat stoma and all!

I’m still working on my back issues. I have another epidural procedure scheduled for this week. I will finally be seeing a sports medicine doctor next week as well. I’m excited and hoping that he will have some new insight to offer.

I’m happy to say that I will also be evaluated by a plastic surgeon next week as well! I honestly didn’t think I would ever consider having plastics but I firmly believe that all of the excess skin on my thighs is a major contributing factor to my back issues. I don’t think I want to have anything done except my thighs, but I’m hoping the doctor can give me an estimate on how much my excess skin (all over) might weigh. I’ve recently been having some conversations with my family about my weight. They think that under my loose skin, I am at the weight I should be. I’m not sure I agree, but I will have a better idea about the numbers after I see the plastic surgeon. If he says I have 40 pounds of excess skin, then they just might be right. I don’t think the number will be that high though.

Well, that’s the latest.


7/28/2008: I’ve been good about making changes since my last update. I was able to get with a bariatric surgeon here and have him check my innards to see how my surgery is holding up. It turns out that I have an enlarged stoma, it’s 4cm. I though really hard about a revision, but I decided against it, another surgery is just not something I’m interested in pursuing at this point. Maybe if I find I’m unable to control my weight in the future, I’ll re-visit the idea. For now, I’m doing just fine without all the risks involved in a revision.

I followed thru with my plan to get back to basics and get rid of the twenty pounds I allowed to invade my body again. I’m happy to report that I am down 22 pounds! I don’t care if I loose another pound, but I’m going to do my very best to honor my body with the proper feeding and care. If I keep dropping weight that will just be an added benefit.

I’m still unable to get much exercise in because of my back. I had hoped it would be better by now, but it looks like there is most certainly not a quick fix for my issues. Earlier this month I finally took a medical disability retirement. I am working really hard to avoid back surgery.


3/7/2008 Dang, talk about dropping the ball! It’s been over 3 years since I’ve updated anything here. It’s been a little over 4 years since my surgery and I’m still doing pretty well with my weight. My total weight lost was 160 pounds; however, I have regained 20 pounds. There are lots of reasons for the weight gain but I totally own every single pound. Until about 1 ½ years ago, I exercised very regularly. I did a minimum of 30 minute, 5 or 6 times a week. Unfortunately, I started having some problems with my back and allowed myself to slack off. First it was a little at a time, then it was all the time. I totally quit exercising and it absolutely shows! I’ve been off work for most of the last year, dealing with the back issues and relocating. Between the back, the move, not working, and my husband spending a year away from us overseas, I have really let myself down, hence the 20 pound weight gain. Needless to say, this is totally not acceptable! I am dealing with some medication that CAN cause a weight gain, I don’t think that means it has to though. If I took the proper counter measures, it wouldn’t have the effect I have allowed. I promised myself when I took the risk of having the RNY, that I would commit to a new lifestyle. It is, most definitely, time to re-commit! I have allowed bad carbs to creep back into my diet and to, once again, become a mainstay. Not good! I got too comfortable & too confident in my ability to maintain my weight loss. Reality bites, but it is what it is. So here I sit, newly resolved to get back on track and even take my weight loss to new heights! I have quite a bit more weight that I could have lost, but I chose to stop my weight loss at 160 pounds. I was getting to the pint where I hated my body because of all the extra skin I was left with. Plastic surgery, because of the cost, was not something that would ever happen for me. So, I didn’t want to lose more weight and make the skin issue bigger than it already was. However, I now find myself in a position where I will probably be able to have my tummy done. So, it’s time to attack the remaining fat!! If I’m going to have the tummy done, I want to have maximum benefit. I’m not sure how much weight I want to lose now, but I think I’ll know it when I get there. So, my new goal is to drop the 20 pounds I regained and get to a place where I feel like I’m ready to approach the tummy tuck. Wish me luck!!

Oh, I almost forgot!! One truly great thing that I can report is that I remain smoke free!!! It’s been 4 years +, I’m very proud of that! Who woulda thunk??! I smoked for 35 years! Again, I have to say that Dr. Zahn saved my life in more ways than one. Unfortunately for everyone in Lthe Phoenix area, Dr. Zahn is now retired.

So, what have I learned about my body a little over 4 years out? Tons of stuff!! I’ll make a list here, in no particular order:

1.) Drink your protein!! It is not reasonable to assume that you will absorb all you need from food.

2.) Take your vitamins & minerals! (At a minimum: calcium CITRATE, a good multi vitamin and carbonyl iron.) Look to your labs to see what else you need to add.

3.) Track your labs and know when your numbers are changing well BEFORE they are abnormal! When you find out you’re low, it’s very hard to get the numbers back up. You’re far better off catching & correcting before trends. Don’t assume your doctor will do this for you! Take the time to have a conversation with your doctor. If your doctor doesn’t have time for this, find a new doctor!

4.) Don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t need a bone density study!! You need one at least every 2 years for the rest of your life, more often if there is an issue identified! This includes men!

5.) Educate yourself and share the knowledge with others. That includes your doctor!

6.) Never quit attending an in-person support group. Online support groups/message boards are great, but nothing replaces that accountability of an in-person group.

7.) READ, READ, READ!!! There is no such thing as too much information.

8.) Never forget what brought you to the decision to have surgery and how personal it was for you. I say this because you need to understand that you do not have the right, obligation, or anything else you want to call it, to approach friends, family or strangers to tell them how badly they need the surgery. Please trust that people will approach you if they are interested. Remember how devastating it would have been (or was) to you before you made the choice. People do die from WLS.

9.) You’re not the same person after surgery as you were before. Don’t even try to fool yourself about that one! Be open & honest and talk to the important people in your life about the changes.

10.) It’s never too late to change your life.

OK, that’s it for this long overdue update. Hopefully I will update again before 3 more years go by. If I can answer any questions for anyone, please feel free to email me.
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11/26/04 Happy Anniversary to me!! I’m down 155 pounds and couldn’t be happier. I am absolutely thrilled to say I am now in a size 16. I haven’t seen this size since my Jr. High days! I have so much to be thankful for this year; Thanksgiving was a wonderful time for me to have my surgery. Thanks to Dr. Zahn being quite clear on his no smoking policy, I remain smoke free (1 year on Oct 1). He saved my life in more than one way. I don’t even know what else to say here except what a wonderful change this has been for both my family and myself. If anyone ever has any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. :)


5/3/04 You know, I swore I would not be one of those people that didn’t keep up with their profile and look at me! It’s been 21 weeks and I am just now updating. How sad is that!! Oh well, better late than never. As of this morning I am down 98 pounds and quite happy about it! I started in a tight size 32 and am down to a loose 26. I carry most of my weight from the waist down so the change in pant size is slower than I would like. I can’t even begin to describe how much better I feel. My friends and co-workers are really noticing the difference and I get lots of complements. The funny thing is that I honestly don’t see a big difference when I look in the mirror. How weird is that?! I’m curious to know when I will see the change myself.

I had some complications with the surgery that made my recovery a little longer; however, I was back to work part-time in 4 weeks and back full-time in 6 weeks. Like a lot of people I went thru the “what have I done” phase. Having made it thru my own personal pity party I can now say that I would do it again in a heartbeat. I have been one of the lucky ones and have not thrown up once. There were times I wished I could throw up and be done with it but I learned from them and haven’t had too many repeats. I think I’m clear now on the amounts I can ingest and proper chewing…. very important things to learn.

For those of you that have made the decision to have an RNY, I highly recommend Dr. Zahn. Not only is he an extremely talented surgeon, he is also a very compassionate, approachable and responsible physician. For those of you still contemplating surgery, please educate yourself and join a support group. When you’ve done that, go to one of Dr. Zahn’s seminars and learn some more.