Tina P.
Ok, so I am here... WOW what a find! This sight has been so informative and supportive, I feel like I've learned so much more by reading everyone's stories and I've only been on here two days now!
I had my pre-op with my doctor on Monday 4/24/2006 and we scheduled my surgery date for 5/24/2006... WOOHOO!! I can't wait... I've got ants in my pants! I've been working on this for a little over a year and finally got the approval about 3 weeks ago.
I've been a "vulptuous" girl all my life... I was a 36B in the 6th grade for cryin' out loud! I have issues with PCOS and my hormones and so losing weight has always been a huge struggle for me. Exercise has not ever been an issue but its frustrating when you work out for what seems like forever but you make no progress. Its been a crazy 29 years of dieting, exercising, changing my eating habits, pills, shakes... argh! I know that the exercising won't stop...again that doesn't bother me, it will actually be exciting to see some results this time!
Ok I'll be back later to continue on... smooches!
5/1/06
23 Days left!!!! I am so friggin' excited and scared at the same time. I am scared that I am going to mess up what I'm suppossed to be eating or drinking after the surgery. I am scared of getting sick if I eat the wrong thing or just getting sick period. I have been reading all the posts on the message boards and forums and they have been helpful and informative, I just pray that I am as successful as all of you wonderful people. See you later... smooches!
5/5/06
Look I finally put a photo up! MUAH! 19 DAYS LEFT! I did have an appointment with the nutrionist today however Aetna decided to not work with her anymore and so the visit would not have been covered. So I decided to wait and see if the other referral will be approved. I have all the info I need for right now but I still want to meet with someone to be safe and sure of my decisions. I keep looking at the before and after photos and I can't wait until I can put mine up there!
Its Cinco de Mayo... Felicidades to everyone, and ya know what... I am going to enjoy myself tonight before I have to get serious next week up until the surgery... or as I see it the day I will be freed from this fat prison!
love you all
05/08/06
I had a great weekend, celebrated "Cinco de Drinko" with my friends, and yesterday went to a wonderful brunch with my wonderful boyfriend... I love him so much. I was telling him that even though I was so full that I was going to enjoy the feeling of being full from the chocolate covered strawberries, the make to order pasta bar, the chocolate mousse pie all the stuff that (chocolate) that I probably won't be able to touch after surgery. I know that I will eventually return to more normal foods but not like that! It was a great day, we then went to the mall and walked around...we wound up going home and taking a nap! What a great Sunday!!!
I look in the mirror everyday and wonder what I will look like after having the surgery, my boyfriend points to a picture of me about 7 or 8 years ago and says that is what i will look like. I can live with that for now, I looked cute back then!
I have to admit, one of the things that scares me is staying in the hospital by myself, we are going to try and see if he can stay there with me but we can't get a definite answer until the day before. I don't have any family, aside from his, here so its always a little nerve racking. I revert back to wanting my mommy and daddy! I'm such a baby, i know, but I think its normal. My honey takes really good care of me though, I'm really lucky.
I told my parents this weekend that it was finalized... i explained everything to them. At first it was shock but the more i talked about it the more they became ok with it. I feel better now, I was scared that I would get a lot of negative feedback from them but they told me they would pray for me and hope that I don't regret my decision. I highley doubt I will, I will be able to do something that I have struggled to do all my life, no there will be no regrets here!
05/11/2006
Only 13 days left!!! I can't believe we are at less than two weeks away. I have nothing new or exciting to talk about today, its pretty boring around here. I am on the slimfast optima shakes for breakfast and lunch and its going ok. Trying to lose something before surgery, cross my fingers! I have been controlling myself lately which is good, I haven't let my eyes do the eating... hahaha. I don't weigh myself cause i don't like that feeling and i learned a long time ago that weighing yourself constantly isn't good, mentally. so i don't do it. Mother's Day is coming up... my mom told me that she received my present yesterday and she loved it. That makes me smile since my mom and dad are my heroes, I look up to them so much and admire the struggle they have come from and the successes they have now. So i really enjoy being able to get them stuff when i can. Okay thats enough rambling for now.
Hugs and kisses!
5/19/06
Well its been a while but I have good news, I only have 5 Days left!!!! I can't wait. I went to the doctor the other day cause my ear was hurting and yep I have an ear infection. she gave me some drops and it is feeling better BUT I lost another 4 LBS!!!! that is about 6-8 Lbs lost this month... my doctor will be proud!!! I am saying good bye to brownies this weekend, I will try my best to not over do it with any of the foods i eat this weekend. I can't believe it just around the corner!
I have everyone praying for me and it feels nice to know you have so many people that care. I am starting to get nervous but I know that is normal. It's times like these that i wish i lived closer to my family. None of them will be able to come and but I have confidence in my boyfriend, he is very gentle and caring and i know he will take good care of me. I just go through the "i want my mommy and daddy" complex when i get scared... weird i know. anyways... my family is routing for me and i will actually be flying out there in July for my dad's 70th birthday!! it will be the first time they see me after the surgery, although i will not have lost a ton of weight i will have lost some and thats better than nothing! it also gives them a chance to see that i am ok. I can't miss my daddy's big day! Other than that i am looking forward to my boyfriend's cousin's wedding in august. I know by then i will have lost a significant amount of weight i have the perfect dress in mind to wear! I'm not a superficial person as far as looks is concerned but i do want to look cute for him.
Ok I'm going to enjoy my weekend... I hope you do the same!
Hugs and more hugs
05/22/2006
All I have to say is 2 Frickin' Days!!!! Wow, althought I can't say that the time has flown by cause it hasn't. I enjoyed my weekend and I am ready for this! I hope all of you had a good weekend as well. Hey did I mention that I can't wait to go shopping?! My boyfriend is dreadding that day but as a woman, I can't wait. I have nervous energy now, it is a weird feeling. Well i wanted to check in and give my love.
Hugs
05/31/2006
I'm home, well actually I've been home since Saturday evening, the hospital was great, the staff was great and the surgery went great... what more can i ask for? oh yeah i know... no more painful gas! I am sitting here while i can, until i reach my comfort level to let all of you know that I am doing fine. I am getting my protein in and about 30oz of liquids a day, plus all of my vitamins... WOO HOO!! I will be visiting again soon but thanks to all of you for your support so far... I'M A LOSER!!!! This is awesome!
06/29/2006
Don't hate me for not visiting more often, its been crazy! It was first uncomfortable to sit at the computer long enough to update my profile while i was recovering. I am back at work as of the 19th and i feel great. I have some moments but for the most part i feel wonderful! I went to my second post op visit on June 12th and I had lost 30lbs!!!! Wow!!!! I have my next appt on July 6th, next week and I can't wait to see what my weight is. I still have not bought a scale, i just know that if i did, i would be on it like every day... that's not good. I have made plans to fly back to NJ next weekend for my dad's 70th birthday. It will be the first time my family sees me since New Year's Eve. They are all excited to see how much i have lost. I can't wait to see them either. My boyfriend will not be going this time since its only for the weekend. He is doing great in school and at work, I'm soooo proud of him. He is still 100% supportive of me and helps in every way... sometimes too good! I have started eating chicken, chewing very well is sometimes hard only cause of old habits, but i haven't had trouble with it. I am waiting for the dr's official ok to start solids to try more foods... being on mostly liquids is crazy! This journey so far has been so rewarding, i have been able to button up shirts that i have not been able to wear properly in 2+ years, my pants are so much baggier, my belt is buckled past the 3 hole!!! I can cross my legs and my shoes are even bigger!!! Its weird cause i feel like i have more "I feel fat today" days than i did before, huh, I wonder why?!
07/05/2006
Happy 4th of July + 1 day!!! So i guess my good luck streak has ended... I got sick this past weekend. YUCK!! I first didn't chew a piece of chicken very well and so my pouch was like "get the hell out!" so that came back up, but then later that night I had a few small pieces of a hamburger (I figured its ground beef) uuuuhhhh NO! My tummy was are you kidding me?! And to top it all off we were at a friends house, so we finally got home and I went right to bed. The next day was no better... I had it comin' out the other end! What the hell is going on here people? I couldn't eat anything all day and I didn't but I still had several dates with the toilet! Anyways Monday, I thought would be better, turned out to be a very "Yucky" feeling day until around 6'ish. I've been feeling good since then. Actually I can't wait to get to the friggin' doctor tomorrow to get weighed!!!! THIS IS KILLING ME!!!
07/13/2006
Hey everyone, so I went to the doctor and I am at 241 now!! Incredible, he said I am looking great and that he is proud of me, we discussed going on solids and I am set. On the hand on my way home that evening I was talking to my mom on the phone when she received another call that my aunt passed away. It was very shocking and upsetting to say the least. She was one of my very favorites and it was totally unexpected. I decided to change my flight to the earliest possible on Friday and got out to NJ by early evening to be with my family. We had a quiet evening and I am glad that I went to be with them especially my dad. He was so suprised and shocked, he told my sister "did you see my surprise? she looks so good doesn't she?! " Everyone was so happy to see me and they were all so happy to see how far I have come. The next time they see me I will be a lot skinnier! Anyways that was my weekend, my parents are in Puerto Rico right now taking care of arrangements and family so they are all in my prayers.
Talk to you soon... XOXOXO
7/28/2006
It's been a while but I am surviving. Damn it's so hard since I've been back on solids, all I do is eat protein, vitamins, and my liquids. I feel like I am eating a ton of food but I know I'm not. I tried to do get my protein intake from foods only but it's really hard, so I caved and got some protein samples from bariatriceating.com, so far so good. Oh yeah, I also go those Profecta bullets... they are good too, but expensive. I figure if I can get one or two protein supplements in a day then that would give me a head start on what I need for that day... did that make sense? Oh well its friday!!! So I started the gym and thanks to this surgery I have had enough energy to go 5 days straight!!! I could have not ever done before! I do two water aerobics classes and then on the off days I do a little cardio to warm me up and weight training to help tone. I'm tired though today so I'll take a day off! Anyways, my boyfriend asked me last night "so when are you going to start doing more cardio, I don't think the treadmill is enough, you're not doing enough" WTF!!! Are you serious?! Two aerobic classes plus three days of weight training and treadmill a week aaaaaannnnndddd that's not enough?! I wanted to kill him! But instead I told him that what he said was extremely hurtful and wrong, I told him that for someone who had life altering surgery 2 friggin' months ago I thought it was a pretty damn good start! He then apologized and said he agreed, I told him I am not going jack myself up in the beginning, that I need to let my body get started and adjust. So I rolled over and fell asleep... AARRGH that still gets under my skin when I think about it! Ok so other than that things have been ok, my friends wife passed away this past monday from her battle with cancer. She was only 34 yrs old! We have known about her battle for 18 months but even though you know and anticipate it, it doesn't make it any easier to deal with when it actually happens. I feel bad for the children who won't have their mother now, the youngest just turned 2 yrs old earlier this month. I prayed for her and I continue to pray for her and the whole family through this time. Ok so its been a relatively hard month with losing my aunt and now my friends wife, Cathy, but I will continue on this journey. Oh I haven't weighed myself since last time and I think I will try to do that this weekend sometime. I'll let you know! Love ya!
7/31/2006
OMG!!!! I was in Costco yesterday and decided to weigh myself and I am proud to say that I have lost 53 lbs!!! That is 53 lbs gone for good!!! I feel great! I just wanted to share that for now.
8/21/2006
So I am 60 lbs lighter! But I haven't been feeling well due to this tight feeling in my pouch. I went to the doctor today and talked to him about it, he told me to go back on soft foods and liquids for a few days to a week to let any irritation go away. I have to check back with him in a week. He said it may be due to my period, water retention, he said that he has seen several cases of this happen. If I don't feel better by our next visit then he will send me for an upper gi, to see if there is any narrowing or strictures. We talked about a few other things and I feel better knowing that he knows whats going on. Anyways, we had a good weekend that included doing nothing on Saturday, and going to a friends house for dinner and games on Sunday. It was a nice time. Anyhoo... I have discovered something bad... I don't have any reactions to sugar, not cake, not ice cream, not chocolate. But the good part of that is that I have not ever been huge on sweets so I know I won't indulge or anything, but its nice to know I can have a taste of something and move on with my life!
