Julie K.

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November 19, 2007….The start of 10 days of anxiety and managing hunger.

After years of struggling with my weight I decided to have Gastric Bypass Surgery. November 19th was the day I started my 10 day pre-op liquid diet. I can’t believe I survived the diet. I never want to have broth and yogurt for Thanksgiving Dinner again! But in all seriousness, the struggle of those 10 days has all been worth it.

November 29, 2007….The start of my new beginning. This is the day my stomach became the size of a golf ball and my life forever changed.

Today as I reflect back on the last year, I can say the following:

1. I am approximately 110 lbs lighter. I don’t weight myself on a regular basis; therefore I don’t have the exact amount I have lost but this a pretty close figure.

2. I have lost 5 pant sizes and am continuing to drop. I can actually find clothes in any clothing store and they actually fit. But I now only buy clothes that are under a certain price, because I hope I will drop another size before long.

3. Pasta and I are no longer friends. This is one food that I have found I can not eat. It makes me sick!

4. I am a cheap date. I can not eat much and usually take a doggy bag home. Also, my alcohol tolerance is very minimal. I have only had a few sips of alcohol since my surgery, but I could feel it almost immediately.

5. My body is very sensitive to cold weather. Most likely because I have less fat to keep me warm. This is one bad thing I will deal with if it means I am healthy!

6. While I never had to have a seatbelt extender in an airplane, I never felt comfortable. I can now fit comfortably into an airline seat and don’t feel like I am crowding the person next to me.

7. I don’t mind taking the stairs or walking farther to get somewhere. Before I would avoid going up the stairs because after climbing them I would be out of breath. Now I make sure I take the stairs and am not out of breath by the time I get to the top.

8. I had to get a new drivers license because I don’t look the same. Even the bouncer at the bar questioned my identity, which made me feel pretty good.

9. I still have some weight to lose to get to my goal and I am losing it slower than I was before, but I know that in time it will come off.

10. I have a whole new wardrobe. I have sold or donated almost my entire old wardrobe. I still have a few items that I have kept to remind me of a size I never want to be again.

11. As of today I am totally off all my blood pressure medicines and I hope it stay that way.

12. I still take pills but all are vitamins which I will take for the rest of my life: 2 Flintstones (yes, I feel like a kid again) vitamins a day, 2 calcium pills a day, 1 iron pill a day, and 1 B-12 a day.

13. I still don’t have hunger pains like I did before surgery. In fact I am rarely hungry. I do eat 6 small meals a day. I also know to stop eating when I get the hiccups…that means my tummy is full and if I don’t stop I will be miserable for several hours.

Life is wonderful and I am healthy. I have a new job which I love and it has some great promotion potential over the next couple of years. I have wonderful co-workers who have been very supportive and helpful through this journey.

I still have a ways to go to get to all my goals, but I am so much better off today than I was one year ago. My friends have been very supportive, understanding and willing to help me through this journey. My family is a true blessing and I could not have done this without them. This journey has not been easy and is never going to be over, but it is something I would do over again because it has changed my life for the better.

THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF MY JOURNEY!

Saturday it will be 4 months since I had surgery.  I have lost 65 lbs since my pre-op appointment on November 20th.  I am feeling great!  I have dropped 2 pants sizes and about to drop another. 

 

I am back to taking my cholesterol meds, as my cholesterol was high.  But they expect that to come down as I lose weight.  However, there is a good chance I might always have to have a low dose of the meds because of my genes.  My good to bad cholesterol ratio is low which is a sign of bad genes.

I am also taking a blood pressure med.  However it is a low dose and much less than what I was .. surgery.  They are going to watch me for the next couple of months and I might be able to come off that soon. 

I am still not eating alot, but I am not throwing up as much either.  Food seems to be sitting better for me.  Still no beef till May, but otherwise I can eat pretty much anything.  Just have to make sure I get my protein in.  My hair loss has slowed down (it was pretty bad for a while), but still falling out some.  My hair is pretty thin, but I am not bald so that is good!

I got in on the 14th of April for another check up and lab work.  They will make sure that I am not malnourished and healthy.

I am so glad I did this and in some ways wish I had done it sooner.  But can’t change the past can only look forward.  I live each day to the fullest and am enjoying life.

Thanks for checking in!

Today I am one month out from surgery.  I am doing good.  I can already see the weight loss in my face and on my stomach.  My clothes are fitting better and everyone is making comments, which is nice.  I have lost about 30 lbs since my pre-op appointment on November 20th.

I am on pureed foods and so far so good.  I did throw up  my lunch yesterday, which was some ricotta cheese mixture.  I will avoid that for a while.  I have been able to eat chicken, shrimp turkey all pureed.  I am on this till the 11th of January when I can start soft foods.  

I am back to work full-time and feeling great.  I can already tell my energy level is up. 

I had my surgery on November 29th.  All went well.  I have not had any pain since the Friday after surgery.  I have been able to keep down all food and all my incisions are healing well.  I do tire easily, but so far this has been a good experience.  I am down a total of 12 lbs from my preop appointment on November 20th.  I plan on starting back to work 1/2 days tomorrow and Thursday and then full time next week.  I have plenty of leave so if I tire or wear out, then I can just work 1/2 days next week.  My coworkers are very supportive and want me to be back, but also don't want me to get sick. 

Well Thursday is my surgery day.   The day can't come soon enough.  I am trying to wrap things up at work, which is stressful, but I know I can't leave certain things undone and be off work for two weeks without feeling quilty.  Thankfully my co-workers are very nice and helpful.  

I started my 10-day liquid diet last Monday.  Thanksgiving was not too bad as it was just my parents and I.  I had some Turkey broth, which was good. Thankfully I am not a big turkey fan (more of a red meat girl), so it was not too bad.  Saturday was the worst because my mom was cooking many things.  She started while I was gone and hoped to finish before I got back, but that did not work.  She felt bad about it, but it is just another challenge I had to face.  I survived and now the countdown begins.

I am not really nervous about surgery yet, but I am sure Thursday I will be.  I plan to be home on Saturday, so I will post next week to let you all know how I am doing.  

I can tell I have already lost weight on this liquid diet.  My pants and other clothes are lose and my face it thinning out.  One of my co-workers noticed it this morning.  Not sure what my weight is today, but last week when I went it was 307.  I am sure I am below 300!  

More soon and I will post some before pictures this week.

I finally have a date!!  I will have my surgery on November 29th.  I was hoping for a date sooner than that, but I will take what I can get.  They are requiring me to go on a 10 day liquid diet before surgery, which means I will be on a liquid diet for Thanksgiving.  Don't know whether that will be good or bad.  I am hoping I can make it through.  I have to look at the end goal!!  Just glad I finally got a date. 

I just got a call from Tallgrass and my insurance approved my surgery.  YEAH!!!  I was pretty sure this was going to happen, but you just never know.  So they are going to call me back this week with a date.  Now that things are falling into place I am getting excitied. 

I had my first appointment today.  They just went over the risks, answered some questions and did a physical.  They will now submit my info to insurance for pre-certification and then I can set a surgery date.  Since they know my insurance will cover (they have had other patients under the same insurance) they said they hope to call me next week.  I hope so too!

I had a bad day at work, so the excitement of the appointment and upcoming surgery were dampened.  Why is it that people from your past always come back to haunt you?  Why is it that some people can't grow up and be adults about things when they are 40 and 50 years old?  My former boss and co-worker are trying to make my life miserable.  But I am trying to be the bigger person in this situation.  Bad thing is I have to work with them....thankfully it is not daily, just occassionally!

THANKS for listening!

They called me this afternoon and said my doctor had to do emergency surgery tomorrow morning, so my appointment is now on Thursday.  I was so ready for tomorrow, but at least it is only Thursday and not longer. 

I have my consultation with my surgeon on Tuesday.  Don't know what to expect but I have lots of questions.  I hope be able to schedule surgery after the appointment.  Now that I have made the decision to go through with this, I am anxious to have it done.  More after my appointment on Tuesday!