Michelle N.
I have been happily married for two years now. My husband loves me just the way I am, but I think he will love me even more after I loose some weight. I want to have a baby and at this weight, I cannot do so without risk to the baby and myself.
May 22, 2006: Today was the first meeting I had at the WLSC. The people were very friendly and helpful. After sitting through the seminar, I was able to sign up for my computer testing and my psychological evaluation. I was so excited. This also happened to be my 2-year wedding anniversary.
May 26, 2006: Today I went in for my computer test and evaluation. The test was interesting. Some answers did not apply to me at all, but I answered them anyways. Dr. Reese was wonderful. She said that I was fine and that I should call back in a week to see what was going on with everything.
June 5, 2006: Well I gave them more than a week so I could be sure they had time, especially with the holiday. They said that my folder was with Cat and that she would call me as soon as she knew anything. At 2:24 that afternoon, she called and told me that I was approved. I was so excited. I was not expecting it to be this soon. She said she had an opening on the 15th, but I knew my mom would be out of town and would kill me if I had surgery while she was away. We scheduled for June 29 and I am so excited. Just waiting for my packet of information to arrive!!
June 8, 2006: All the paper work arrived and there are so many dates. It is going to be a busy couple of weeks. My nephew has all these dr appts too so we will be in and out of Sentara alot. But it will all be worth it in the end!!!
June 15, 2006: So last night I went to the support meeting over at the hospital. I was thinking oh great I am going to go to a meeting that will be so boring and I will not learn anything. Well I was wrong. I was surprised at the number of people there, and I was surprised at how comfortable people were with telling there stories. I was amazed at the support that was actually available. My mom went with me and we were both shocked. I am actually getting excited. I have blood work this morning that has to be done and then next week starts the final count down. I am at 14 days and cannot wait!!!
June 19, 2006: Okay so I went and paid my money today and recived my "bible." I was looking through it and there seems to be so much information. I now understand why the educational class is 3.5 hours long. I have it tommorrow. I have 9 days and 15 hours left!! I am getting very excited.
June 20, 2006: So I went to the 3.5 hour seminar. I was very pleased. All questions or issues I had regarding my surgery both pre-op and post-op were answered without me having to ask many questions. I now feel more at ease with the whole procedure. Tommorrow I am going to the fitness center to tour and do all that good stuff.
June 23, 2006: I am getting nervous now. I am less than a week away from surgery and the reality of it all has just hit me. I am racing around to find someone to watch my nephew, making sure all the bills are paid (my husband sucks at doing bills) and cleaning the house so it will be okay for two or three weeks. My nervous are about to come unglued. Thankfully I have a wonderful mother and girlfriends who are taking me out tommorrow for nails, makeup, lunch and a good night out on the town (since will be my last good night of being able to drink for a LONG while)!!
June 27, 2006: SO I went to the Nutritional Class today. I was very informative for future eating habits. I am getting very excited and scared and anxious. One more day and a wake up until my surgery. I iam dreading tommorrow with the clear liquids only. Well I will post more after surgery. Thanks to everyone who left some love on my Surgery Page.
July 2, 2003: Okay so I am 4 days out and feel like I have been rolled over by a steam truck. My surgery took a little longer because of my think abdominal wall and that fact that I am so compact in the mid-section. I also had a real hard time afterwards because I was not breathing correctly. So much fun!! NOT!!! So the hospital stay was not wonderful, but not horrible either. The first night I slept mostly. The second day was horrendous. The ride down to imaging almost made me sick, the flat table for imaging stretched me out something terrible, and then they make you drink from a straw. Okay the number one rule after gastric is no straw drinking. This was so bad, and I dry heaved as soon as I got back to the room. They also too away my pain pump and took forever to come find out where I was bleeding from. Other than those things, my stay was good. Dr. T was awesome as usual and explained exactly what was going on and why. He was also good to my family. I am now doing okay. My back and abs are soooo sore and walking takes my breath away but even if I had known the whole outcome, I would not have changed anything. Thanks for reading and I will update more in a day or two.
July 6, 2006: I did an unofficial weekly weigh in and I am down 10lbs from my start. I am so excited. One week and 10lbs. I could get way too use to this..LOL. Well I had not been sleeping well, but doing everything else right and I decided that I was going to sleep come hell or high water. I had only been taken about 1/4 of my pain meds at a time, because I am not really in pain, just muscles ache. So I upped my dosage to 1/2 and I slept like a baby. Litterly like a baby though, up every three hours needing to go to the bathroom and take a pill. But it was well worth it. I got all together 10-11hrs which was wonderful seeing i was getting about 5-6 the previous nights. Today I think will be a good day.
July 8, 2006: I am a little over a week out and doing a whole lot better. Well the previous post felt I would have a good day. It lied. I pucked and dry heaved most of thta day. Called Danny at Dr T's office and told me to take Pepcid AC. Been fine ever since. I had a scare last night though. I was at school and was offered sugar free gum. I was ok I can have thta. Wrong...I am a gum swallower and without thinking I swallowed the gum. I was so scared. But I have not had any problmes. I would not suggest doing this, but I am so happy it was not stuck or something. I also went to Cracker Barrel last night and had tomato juice and vegetable soup. The waitress was so nice and even tried straining it for me. I love that restaurant. Thats all for now.
July 12, 2006: I went in for my 2 week visit and I am down 19 lbs. YEAH!! I am moved to pureed food and can exercise. I joined the Y today and they have a program called fit for life that I am going to join. I have to get Dr. T to sign an exercise release form for me. When i got home I have eggs and cheese for a snack and Taco Bell pinto and cheese for dinner. I am doing pretty well theses days. Tired right now and most evenings, but it seems to be getting better. Life is busy and I just have to try and keep up.
July 15, 2005: Okay today I am going to tell you all about my life as a student. I am going to be a student forever, because I cannot pass a stupid exit exam. I have taken it three times, failed twice and it got lost once. I am so sick of this I could scream. I just needed to let that out. Thanks.
July 21, 2006: Not much to update. I have been at a stalemate with my weight for a few days. I understand that these things happen and my body is adjusting, but come on I am only 3 weeks out. Today i stepped on and found it had moved back to the 259 mark. I am okay with this. I also have found that my BMI is now Extremely Obese and not Super Obese. YEAH!! Little yeah, but a yeah none the less. Okay, other than that not much happening. Doing okay on the puree diet. I have tried chicken, tuna, cod fish, hamburger, pintos and cheese and some veggies. Spinach is my new favorite. Well thats all for now.
July 24, 2006: Okay this weekend was a rough one for me. I think I did too much and had an emotional breakdown. On Friday I had a mid-term exam and then we drove to Nags Head just for a few hours. On Saturday I was up at 7am to meet my mom for a hair and nail appointment. We had lunch and did a little shopping. I did not get a nap in and left that afternoon for a Richmond Braves game. Atlast I got back to my mom's at 11pm and was so tired i had to spend the night. Sunday I woke up at 930 am drove home and about 1pm I started crying for no reason at all. I was so depressed and lonely. I am not sure what triggered it, but i know I hate feeling that way. Trying to get better at sharing my emotions with my DH and my family, but sometimes I feel and cannot explain what it is. Well that was my weekend. Hope everyone else's was better!!
July 27, 2006: So I went to my 4 week dr visit yesturday. He said I was doing great and that I had lost 17% of my excess body fat. He said to loose what he wants I need to loose 12 pounds a month for five months. I guess he see the window and does not want it to shut on me. He said that that goal is do able and I should have no problems. I was happy to hear thta. I also set up an appt with the NUT so that I can see what it is I need to eat and how much and things like that.
August 3, 2006: I have not been on in a week so I guess I should write something. I am doing okay physically and mentally right now. My tiredness has gone away. B complex is a nice pill but hard to swallow. I am going out of town this weekend and it will be the first time since my surgery. I hope I do well and feel well. I am scared that I will get to my friends house and just feel terrible from the long drive. Lets hope not!!
August 21, 2006: Wow it has been awhile since I was on. I am doing well. My weight loss has slowed, but I have also been out of town and not on my regular routine. I am eating well most days. Sometimes food just does not want to stay down. Other than that everything is fine. I have my 2 moth appt this week and we will see what he says.
August 25, 2006: I had my two month appt with Dr. T this week and it went well. He says I am doing great and that I had lost 13lbs in the last month. He said this was wonderful especially since I was 6 days away from my true 2 month date. I am down as of today 43 lbs and feel great. I still have tired days but other than that I am doing fine. School starts tommorrow and I am happy to start back lighter and healthier. I really want to shock my classmates this semester by loosing the remaining weight.
September 10, 2006: Well I am down 50 lbs and sad to say I really cannot see a difference. My husband and parents say they can tell, but not me. I am hoping that I can start seeing it soon. I am still having problems with food. Some of it is okay, other things are not sitting well. I love my cheese, but the problem is that it makes my intestines hurt. Other than that I am doing well. Nothing really to report.
September 26, 2006: Well I can see a difference in some things, but not in others. I hit a plateu for a couple of weeks, but the scale is moving again. YEA!!! I am still tired and my appetit is still small if any, but I am trying to do beter at getting food in. I go tommorrow for my three month, so I will see what he says then.
October 5, 2006: I am down in the 220s. Yippe!! I am feeling a little better. I had a trip to the ER with dehydration and gas, but other than that I am doing good. My birthday is in two days and I am feeling excited and sad at the same time. My mom and dad are planning a party, but without cake I am not sure what kind of party it will be. I guess I just have to wait and see.
December 14, 2006: SO I really suck at writting on this site. I have slowed drastically in my weightloss. I am down to 210, for a total of 75 lbs lost. Not bad, but ot where I want to be either. Life is hectic and I feel that has alot to do with it. The problem I am having now seems to be hair loss and self esteem. I always had high self-esteem until this surgery. I now feel almost like a failure. I do not look any better than I did in my mind and feel like crap. I have been told this too shall pass, but who knows. Well I gotta run.
May 31, 2007: So life takes over and my posting suffers. I have lost a total of 100lbs. I am so excited. I however have become regnant so we will see where my weight goes after the baby. I am happy though. The reason I had surgery was to have a baby, so as long as everything goeswell it will all be worth it. Mornig sickness is reminding me of the first few months of surgery with the nauousness and vomiting, but it is subsiding slowly. I was really starting to feel good. My self-esteem is back and even with the growing belly, I am happy. Well I will try to post more often in the future. Bye for now!
Measurements
July 2006:
Chest around 52.5 in
Chest under 45.5 in
Waist 50.5 in
Hips 55.5 in
Arms R 14 in L 13.5 in
Thighs R 27 in L 26 in
October 2006:
Chest around 44.5 in
Chest under 39.5 in
Waist 45.5 in
Hips 48 in
Arms R 14 in L 13 in
Thighs R 25 in L 24 in
May 2007:
Chest around in
Chest under in
Waist in
Hips in
Arms R in L in
Thighs R in L in