femprodrum
11/15/2004 I clued my employer in as to my plans and I think they are being supportive. It is medically necessary for this to happen so I hope they will be supportive!
11/16/2004 I finished all my pre-op testing today. The upper GI was a bit strange but I made it through! I hope it is all clear. They also did the chest x-ray. I had the female stuff done two weeks ago, (all clear), along with the EKG and blood work up. I think thats all they will need. I HOPE the insurance company says YES!! Did the sleep apnea testing as well. No results yet...
I was accused by a former bandmate and "friend" of being lazy and using the WLS as a "convenience" to loose weight! I think he was trying to be a "friend"? He thinks I have not tried EVERYTHING in my power to loose the weight. Oh well... another THIN MALE that doesnt understand. It hasnt been a very fun day.
11/25/2004 The day before Thanksgiving, because the last sleep apnea test showed nothing, I had another torturous
"in clinic" sleep study that lasted a whole 5 hours. I freaked when they came in at 2AM, woke me up and tryed to put that CPAP mask on me! They had many probes taped to my face and tubes up my nose then put a mask on my face! I guess I wasnt having it... I ended the study and drove home at 2:30 AM! I hope this doesnt have any bearing on the surgery!
11/25/2004 The surgery was authorized by the insurance company and the medical group so now I am waiting for Dr. Jossart and the medical group to agree on a fee. He is an "out of network" surgeon. My PCP tells me there is not another surgeon in my town that does this surgery so LAPSF is the ONE.
According to Dr. J's office staff, things can still fall apart. So this long "relaxation" weekend is anything but that.
Hopefully there will be an answer on Monday!
11/30/2004 I got my surgery date but my employer asked me to PLEASE make it for January. They are rolling out a huge new software package and need all the support they can get.
The Dr wanted to do the surgery in 2 weeks on Dec 15th!! Something just didnt feel right about that date. So now I'm looking at January 10 or 11th which isnt bad. I'll be able to get through the holidays....
December 1, 2004 It's official. I have my surgery date. January 11th, 2005. There are still many details I need to get done! Support at my job is getting stronger. Some of my co-workers are more excited for me than I am for myself! Interesting eh? I have been through so much trying to get this done that I'm no longer that excited!! I'll get a second wind as the date gets closer. I'm mostly nervous and a little worried. Gotta keep it positive!
December 7, 2004 I'm still taking care of details.I thought I'd be able to go back to work in 2 weeks but the Dr. said I couldnt lift anything over 10 lbs for 4 weeks!! Maybe I wont feel well enough to go back? Another "wait and see" situation.
December 23, 2004 I'm only 2 weeks away now! Gotta deal with all the holiday stuff now.
December 29, 2004 WELL....... I'm going to be on the Larry Elder show. They want to talk about WLS. The only criteria was that I am having surgery in January. I spoke to the shows producer this morning. He reassured me that Larry Elder was not going hound me or treat me like I was on the Jerry Springer show! LOLOLOLOL I have never seen the Larry Elder Show so I dont know what its about. They tell me that he is like a male Oprah
January 5, 2005 I am about to head out for Los Angles in the next hour. I dont know what the next two days have in store for me but lets say I'm possibly on an adventure of a lifetime. I need to be excited yet composed. I'm just going to be interviewed about the surgery.
January 9, 2005 I now have less than 48 hours to go before my life will change forever! The last week has been interesting! I taped the first half of the Larry Elder show. They sent a camera man out yesterday to film my band and do more interviewing. Everyone at the CBS studios were wonderful to me!
January 10, 2005 Here I am, 12 hours away from the start of my new life. I am doing the clean out right now. Blaaaa!! Dont really feel very well either! I guess I need to be more excited now.
Jan 20, 2005 WELL... It's all done and I'm on my way to loosing. I REALLY hope I loose weight this time! I had surgery 9 days ago and I've lost about 8 lbs. I guess that isnt bad. Maybe when I return to work I'll be up and moving around a lot and that may help. I have a semi-active type job.
My friends and family have been very supportive and helpful! I have my best friend here taking excellent care of me the last week. What a trooper! Thanks Karen!
This has been an interesting experience. I have never really had a major surgery before. Never had kids either. I had my tonsils removed in 1965 but that was the last time I had been addmitted into a hospital! A long time ago! I was in for 4 days. The Dr was able to do a lap on me so no major complications. I had a little more bleeding than expected and I had a fever for two days after surgery but that is all over now and I feel pretty good. I cant tell anything was even done! It doesnt feel differnt. At first I couldnt drink cold water because it hurt too much. I am still on a liquid diet which I REALLY welcome the change! So I can start eating mushy food next week! WHOOOHOOO! LOL
January 22, 2005 I want my life to return to normal so bad. I'm scared to go to work Monday. I want to be able to get my job done but I dont want to deyrdrate nor do I want to get sick in front of anyone. This morning I kind of felt sick for the first time since I left the hospital last Friday. It's weird, I almost have the begginings of dumping like the heart racing and hot flashes. I feel sick but then it goes away. I have yet to throw up. Maybe I'm panicking? I just found out my friend has been offered a new job in a different town. I was enjoying having one of my best friends living in my area. I wish her the very best in her life!
January 26, 2005 Went back to work on Monday. Its like I never left! I had a little problem on Monday becasue I ate a hard boiled egg and ended up getting sick! Kind of freaked me out a bit. I seem to be able to eat canned Tuna, and minced chicken breast no problem! I just put a tiny bit of homemade ranch dressing in there and it wonderful! I'm loosing weight. My pants are getting loose finally!
January 30, 2005 I made it thru the first week back to work. Today I went out to my favorite eatery in Petaluma called McNears. A very cool historic place. I had a protein burger with avocados. I only ate about 1/3 of the burger. No problems to report! Any kind of meat seems to be the only things I can get down and KEEP down! That and hot tea.
I think my friends are getting sick of hearing about my surgery. That seem to be all I can talk about. And what I can eat and anything about the whole procedure. Time to move on... it just seems to be the biggest news and the newest experience in my life! I can see how it would bore others tho. I have lost 18 lbs since January 11, 2005.
February 12, 2005 So its been one month and I'm down 27 lbs. I think my next step is start a vigorous exercise program! I dont like the extra skin I'm seeing already. I REALLY hope some of this skin shrinks up! I do have 100 more pounds to loose. My little incisions are ugly as well. I have very white skin and red marks (incisions on my gut... I want my stomach to be flat and not so bumpy with all the fat/cellulite. I carry all most of my fat around my gut. I HATE it! I noticed my butt and outer thighs are hanging. I hope my employer hangs in there with me. Things seem a little weird around there ever since I got back. Its not about me. They rolled out a new software package on the first of the year. I seem to have terrible paranoia lately! I'm really bothered by it as well. Maybe I need to see the dr again.
February 20, 2005 Eight days since my last confessional! LOL Like anyone reads this... I saw Dr. J last Friday. He claims I have only lost 21 lbs but I weighed in at 255 just before surgery. But then this morning I weighed in at 225. So I finally lost 30 lbs! He wants me to loose 20 lbs a month. So in April I should see him again and should be under 200. Time to exercise!!
February 27, 2005 So tomorrow I'll join a gym and start an exercise program with a few of my co-workers. I'm pretty excited. I'm a big whimp! I DONt like pain but I'm hoping to get used to it quickly and start enjoying it.
April 2, 2005 So a few things have changed. Mostly my weight! :)) So far, I have lost 42 lbs to date.
I have been a bit depressed the last week or so. It's enviromental I think? Been pretty lonely. My best friend moved to Santa Cruz which is a 3 hour drive from here. She needed to move on for a better job and make new friends.
There will be big changes at work soon. My boss gave his 2 week notice yesterday. I think they are going to make a 24 year old kid my new new boss and I'm HATING the idea! No matter what I do, I never seem to be good enough for these people! Thats ok... maybe there will be a big change for me too... beside my weight. Maybe a trip to a therapist is in order?
May 3, 2005 Well, I was right about the 24 year old kid being my new supierior! I felt that one coming. At least he's only going to be a lead and NOT an actually a supervisor. Now I've been getting wind they are hiring another friend of a supervisor that is going to be tech support. I wanted that job! But they wont say anything to me! Who knows what will happen?
Now about my life and WLS. I have lost between 50-60 lbs. Weight loss is much slower than most people. But some say that its a good thing? 15 lbs a month means less skin trouble? I'll let me Dr. figure that out! So i've been getting looks from guys lately. Its been a while since that happened! LOL
Well, more later! over and out
6/10/2005 OK, well... over one month later and I'm down 70 lbs!! My co-workers are all saying I look different everyday! This is pretty cool! I'm starting to feel so much better. It took long enough but my body is adjusting nicely. My skin is retracting except for my belly of course... I'm still having a hard time eating enough food everyday. I get so busy at work. I dont drink but a few oz's of water while I'm at work. I'm lucky to get in 32 oz's a day! I am trying to eat more fruits and veggies which is real hard! But all in all, I'm doing pretty good...
More later!
July 6, 2005 Larry Elder show aired today!
September 3, 2005 My oh my, sooo much has changed! Thats what its all about! I wanted to change EVERYTHING and that is exactly what I did! LOL As I read back on some of the old entires I see now how much I have changed as well as my life. In the midst of my change, I decided it was time to upgrade the brand of drums I was using. Or maybe change the brand I was using. The brand is and always will be fantastic but I digress. I put in a bid on this beautiful little 3 pc. kit on ebay. Low and behold I WON the bid. So panic time, I had to sell a bunch of stuff to buy this dream kit. I ppulled the cash together in just three days, sent this guy a money order expecting him to respond with my new drums. WELL>>>> It's been almost three months later and NO drums! I have called this guy, stayed on top of him, bugged him ( he calls it harassment!!) I think NOT! I paid for a product he sold me. I called his business everyday for two months. He didnt understand nor did he care that this purchase was all part of a life changing experience I was going thru. After getting the postal inspector, the FBI and the Davenport Iowa police department involved the ASSHOLE finally shipped my drums Thursday! I HOPE IT IS THE SAME SET I BOUGHT! I ALSO HOPE HE DIDNT DO ANYTHING BAD TO IT THEN SEND IT. You just imagine where my mind is going on that one! So this whole experience has been horrendous and tramatizing at best. I moved to Santa Cruz, CA three weeks ago as well. I've lost 90 lbs maybe a little more as of this morning? I need to update the rest of my stuff as well. until next time!
Sept 7, 2005 I get the drums tomorrow. Lost another three pounds. Feeling pretty thin these days! I wish the rest of my belly fat would shrink like all the fat on the rest of my body! That was the biggest part of me so i know it will take longer to go away! LOL
Just checking in and giving my journal an update. Going to play music tonight with some people. Should be fun!
more later!
over and out
September 23, 2005 All turned out great with the new DW drums! They are pretty amazing! Got two auditions and a few gigs coming up soon. Music is starting to come around again! I missed it big time! My job got better today as well! I moved my desk into the mailroom which opened up the entire room! I'm pretty excited about it! I have everything I need in one room now. By the way I've lost almost 100lbs! I'm about 4 pounds away from the century mark!!! As of today all is well in my world! Got my brother's b-day party tomorrow. Should be fun! A bunch of family is going to be there. They havent seen me since before the surgery. Surprise!
until next time!
January 10, 2006
WOW! Its been a while since I updated my profile. I've lost 115 lbs. An entire person! :)) I am feeling great, looking so much better. Getting much needed attention. Good for the soul and ego too! :) I joined Trusting Lucy, my good friends band in Monterey, CA. Rehearsals start this week! I found out that while loosing weight this last year, I was also going though menopause! How's that for a double whammy! lol On top of that I moved to Santa Cruz, CA changed jobs and put my 19 year old cat to sleep. I asked the universe for change and boy did I ever get it!
Need to get busy with my bio for the band. More on my life in a nut shell later!
September 3, 2006
So my life has changed yet AGAIN! I got myself involved in a horrible tamulchous relationship with someone that will never fall in love with me. We ended it about a week ago. Its all I can think about these days! Time is going to be my best friend!
SO, I need to move closer to work soon because the commute and gasoline is killing me!
Maybe next month? I found a beautiful one bd apt in Los Gatos, CA. Turns out the owner has had the lap band so we connected right off the bat! My job is going OK for now. Got THE busy month coming up soon.
I've lost too much weight. The Dr wanted me to stop loosing at 133 but i kept going. I got down to 118 but then gained about 7 lbs back. That was good. I feel rail thin but i look good. I've been drinking WAY too much red wine! Thinking about cutting back on the drinking and start going to thr gym instead!
MORE LATER!
