shakis99

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I am 28 year old and a mother of a 7 year old boy. I currently weigh 320lbs, I have been overweight since about the 6th grade. I have tried everything including starvation to lose weight. Some things have worked in the past but nothing has had a lasting effect on me. I am a full time student so of course you know that I am realy embarrassed when it comes to trying to sit in a desk at school. Although I am very fashionable, and fun to be around I think, (others might think differently). I always look very carefully around the room to find my seat. This is because I need the big ONE,the one with the high tabletop. I have been researching gastric bypass surgery for about three to four years. I have had a couple of friends to have the surgery, a few are more than a year post op, so I have lots of support and people to go to for any questions or concerns that I might have.The only reason I have not had the surgery any sooner was because I did not have any insurance that would cover this surgery.

2004

4-14-04 Today, I had my consultation with my surgeon Dr. John C. Alverdy at the University of Chicago Hospital. I filled out lots of papers and was told about the surgeries that he performed and which one he would recommend for me. I have never met a doctor that was so personable. He wanted to know what I thought about things and he just seemed to have a general concern about my safety with the weight loss surgery. He was able to answer all questions that I had for him. I can't wait to be on the losing side. I hope that everything goes well with all of my appointments and my approval. My psych and nutrition evaluation is on 6-6-04, I will let you all know what is going on as I find out. I will post again later



5-19-04 The doctor's office called me and asked if I would be able to come in today for my nutrition and psych evaluation. I was more than happy to oblige because my original appointment was not until 6-9-04. I have been on such a rollercoaster this week. My financial Aid was canceled for school, so I had to write an appeal letter. They did this after school had already been in session for two weeks. I was disappointed but I can do nothing but get over it. This week has been full of interesting things. My window would not roll up in my car so I had to pay $325 to get that fixed. I had to call the police on a person who was lurking around my apartment. I also was scheduled to take a 4 hour test for a job. I feel like screaming because I feel like my life is not in order like it should be. Oh, I forgot my appointment went fine. I was so busy venting that I did not have time to tell you all about the appointment. It went fine, the psych and nutrition Dr's were great and they told me that I was a good candidate for the surgery. They will have a group meeting with the surgeon and someone will call me in about a week and let me know what to do next. Talk to you all later.



6-2-04
Hi all!!! I am still waiting to hear from June the program coordinator. I called her earlier today and she was not in her office. Well, my financial aid was reinstated after I wrote my appeal letter. Things seem to be going better than when I last posted. I am just waitng to hear from June. I leave for Orlando on June 11 and I am very excited about that. I am trying to get things together for my trip so that is one reason that I have not been stressing about why I have not received my phone call. I am sure that it will come. Just waitng on my next instructions. I will talk to you all later.

6-30-04
Hi again, My trip to Florida ws wonderful as usual. We go there every year. It was so hot that I just thought that I would die from heat exhaustion. We got back on the 19th. I got my call from the hospital letting me know that I was approved to have the surgery from them. But know I have to wait on my insurance to approve me. I was told that it should only take about two weeks. My birthday was on the 25th and I had a wonderful time. My friends decided that they would throw me a get together the day of, I was so surprised. These days I am doing so much running around trying to get things in order for my surgery. I have to have a sleep study, and a right upper quadrant ultrasound on my liver. I guess I never mentioned that I have never been hospitalized for anything other than childbirth. I am kinda freaked out about having to stay in the hospital for 3 to 5 days. I am sure that I will get over it. I will talk to you later, I have to spend time with my son and his father.



7-6-04
The 4th was great. I received my approval for surgery today. I have my sleep study on 7-8-04 and I still have to be scheduled to have my right upper quadrant ultrasound done.



8-4-04
I got my surgery date today and it is September 2, 2004. It seems as though things are speeding up quickly. I never got back to you all about my sleep study. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and I now have a cpap machine that I have to sleep with nightly. I also had my ultrasound done and it was very painless. I have a lot to be thinking about, I finish school on the 18th of this month. I will get back to you all later.





8-11-04

Today was my appointment for the preop testing. I had my blood tests done and EKG. I also had a final for my class in school. I had so much anxiety about how things would go. I am so glad that everything went fine. My class was over it was so great. They told me at the hospital all the instructions for the day of surgery and we went over the nutrition. It was a great day. I can't wait to be on the losing side.




8-18-04

I haven't heard anything from the blood tests so I am hoping that the results are fine. From this point on I am just praying, waiting and getting myself togeher for the surgery. I am finally finished taking classes. I have not gotten my report card but, I know that I have passed my classes. I am on my way to starting a new life. I am not walking for graduation, because it is in January. I hopefuly will be receiving my diploma soon. I am so happy to be receiving my Bachelor's Degree, finally. I will talk to you all soon.



8-31-04

Hi all,
I will be having surgery on Sept 2nd and I am sooooo ready for this. I am ready for new beginnings and there will be no need for looking back. All last week I was nervous, I was going to the bathroom about every 30 mins with the runs. I could not calm my nerves. My mother was looking at me and asking me what was wrong, did I still think that this was something that I wanted to do. She does not agree with the surgery but will support me. This is coming from a woman who they used to call Pee-We. People in her hometown still call her that.

My son asked me last night why do you have to have surgery to lose weight, mommy. I told him that you don't, but this is the way that I have chosen to take. He also asked me if I was going to die. I told him to just pray to God that his mommy will return home safe so that she can take care of him. He said okay and then asked to sleep in my bed. Of course, I said yes and he was as happy as he could be. I prayed myself to sleep last night because I wanted to talk to God about his plans for me. I am still a bit nervous but it has not affected my bowels. I am preparing myself now for the stay at my moms house. I will be at her house for at least a week or two because it is just me and my son at my house. His father does not have a car so my father will be taking my son to school. I really appreciate that I am getting support from friends and family members. I can't wait to be recovered so that I can find a job and continue part 2 of my life.

My sister has also been very helpful throughout this journey. She has been there to fufill my every beck and call. She keeps calling me today and asking if I have a grocery list. She is being a pest because she is on the ball with things, as usual. Tomorrow, I will be at my mom's house and I will be doing a bowel prep, I am able to drink liquids all day but nothing after midnight. I have a lot of things to bring in the house I have brought enough things to spend a couple of weeks there. I got my grades I got a B and a C, that was okay I really was not into school this semester. I am all done with school for now I will check into the Master's program in the fall after I heal up from my surgery. I know that I am babbling but I just had a lot of things on my mind. I get teary eyed every time I think of what I have done to myself. How could I let things get this bad? But this thought will soon be gone from my mind as my new self emerges. I will let you all know what is up when I return home from surgery. Talk to yall later on the losing side.




9-9-04
Hi All,
I was not able to have my surgery on 9-2 because my aunt passed away on 9-1 and I needed to be there for my mother and my cousins. I had already finished my bowel prep and had taken my nightly bath. I was so undecided as to what to do. I wanted so badly to think that this was all a bad dream. Because my aunt was not even that sick, so we thought. She had had a fever of 104 but she had gotten over that. She was in the hospital but this was for a women who was only 62 and was up and about and laughing and talking with the family just before her passing, which was about 10:30 pm from a massive heart attack. My family and I left Chicago to go to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for the services and I am just returning home as I am typing this. I am having my surgery on 9-13. Please keep me in your prayers. The hospital seemed to be very understanding and allowed me to reschedule. Still can't wait to be on the losing side. Talk to you all later.




Hi All!! I am successfully on the losing side. I have just returned home. I stayed with my mom for a week and a half to get help while I was still a little sore. It is great to be home. I had my surgery on 9/13. My surgery took 4 hours and I was out of the hospital in three days. The nurses in the hospital took verygood careof me. The surgery was not as painful as I thought it was going to be, either that or I have a high tolerance for pain. I went to the doctor for an ultrasound on my leg because they said that it could be a blood clot but it was not. At that appointment they took out my JP drain and weighed me. I had lost 14 pounds in a week. I go back to the doctor this week to see what the verdict is and I will be able to better monitor things after I get to 299, I will be able to use the home scale.



10/03/04
Once again here I am. I am so happy to have had this surgery. People around me say that they can see that I am losing but I can not see as much as they say that I have lost. I can see that I may have lost in my fingers, ankles, wrists, and feet. These are wonderful places but I just cannot wait to get in a different size clothing. To change the subject a little, I went to a restaurant on yesterday. Red Robin, I had been there several times before but today was different. I was able to eat only 4 spoons of my tortilla soup, I was sad but I quickly got over it. I think that one reason that I was able to eat so little was because I had been drinking water before the food was brought out. Next time, I will know not to do that. I started back doing hair on Friday it was fine I just sat down every chance that I could. I could only do 2 heads but that was better than nothing. I am also back in the stores, one of my passions is shopping. It does not matter what store, I can stay in Walmart for 3 to 4 hours easily. I walk up and down every aisle and I find great deals doing this. Today it was Target, I also love that store. I have had a long day and I will talk to you all sooon......




10/14/04
Hi All,
I am now weghing 299 lbs. and my BMI is 48.3. I am so excited to be losing the weight. It is now time for me to look for a job. I am looking for so me type of employment before the holidays. My eatings habits are something like this
b- Isopure strawberry shake
s-sick of string cheese
l-Dannon light yogurt
s-sugar free jello
d-3-4 grilled shrimp, or grilled chicken, or chili, or something else
s-rolled up piece of turkey deli meat and a slice of cheese
I drink lots of water, I don't like it as much as I used to but it is tolerable. I buy propel which is the flavored water, I also buy vitamin water it is good if you can't take regular water. You can buy both of the waters at your local grocery store. It seems like a lot of food because I am not hungry at all. But I am committed to win this battle, so I know that I have to eat. I will get back to you all later but if anyone has questions, please feel free to email me anytime.

K	Keen
E	Extreme
I	Insane
S	Special
H	Happy
A	Astounding

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10/20/04
Hi All,
I just changed my name to Lil Mama on the board due to the google search. I don't want my business all out in the sreet. I don't mind my WLS family knowing but some people may be trying to use the information negatively. Anyways, I have lost a total of 35 lbs. I think this is great, it is just that I have seen this size within the last year. I guess that I am anxious I am ready to see the size of my clothing change drastically. I know that it will not be that long, I just have to be patient. I got on the treadmill today for 20 minutes, that was just the beginning. There will be more to come after I get warmed up. Well I am getting sleepy, I better go to sleep before my son is late getting to school tomorrow. Talk to you all soon.




Well I had a great Halloween with my son, my friends and their kids. We went trick or treating and to my suprise the kids got tired faster than I did. The weight is falling off it just seems to have been at a stand still for the last two weeks. I am not worried because 38 lbs is a lot to lose in 5 weeks. I just hope that it will pick up soon. It is time for me to pick up some sort of workout routine. I am still losing lots of inches but the numbers have just slowed down. I want to do water aerobics but it will be difficult to find a place that offers it at a time where I will be able to attend. I have afew places in mind but I am going to get out there and check them out. I just wanted to stop in and say hello and to let anyone post ops who read my profile know that it is great on the losing side. See you all here soon. I also wanted to let youall know that it was not hard for me not to eat the candy because I am not acandy freak. I love potato chips,, I seem to be having a slight problem with those, but I will have to learn to control myself. Don't forget to get out and vote. Talk to you all a little later.





11/02/04
Hi wls family,
I finally have a face on my profile. I went to visit a health club today that has water aerobics and I think that I will join. They offer it 5 days a week, this is a change to what I am used to . At the club I used to go to they only offered it twice a week and that was not good for me. I am going to join on Monday today is Tuesday election day. I am sitting here on eggshells waiting for the results. However, we will not talk about politics because that is such a controversial subject. I will holla back when I lose some more weight or just need to vent.



11/10/04
Hi All,
Yesterday I went to the doctor and I got blood tests done. Everything seems to be going great. I will find out about the tests later. I went to the health club today and got started with my program. I did the treadmill for 30 mins, the elliptical machine for 10 and did crunches. Tomorrow my son is out of school so we will go skating. I will continue to do my exercise next week. I am going to try to stay off the scales. I know that it is going to be hard, to do everything that I am supposed to be doing. But I also know that it would have been even harder if I was not given this tool. Talk to you all soon.

 

11/28/04
What's up?
Thanksgiving was great. Didn't eat that much, but was satisified with the amount. Someone totaled my car on last Sunday and I have been very busy since then. Looking for another car and going to the chiropractor almost daily. I had stopped drinking my shakes for about a week and now I have started back. I was etting tired of them. So much is going on, I got my new SUV yesterday it is a Mitsuibishi, Endeavor. It was a Godsend. Well gotta go clean my house. Will talk to you all later.

 

12/27/04
I know it has been a while but I am back. I went on a four day cruise to the Bahamas on the 12-16th and it was great, a little chilly in Florida but other than that it was a great trip. It warmed up once we got to Freeport and Nassau. I had to scramble to get ready for Christmas because I had not done any shopping before I left for the trip. My son had a great Christmas and that is all that matters to me. We were able to do a lot of playing because I had so much more energy. This surgery is one of the greatest things that I have ever done. I did not have any problems eating on the cruise. With all the food that was readily avaible, I was able to get in a lot of my protein but I stopped eating as soon as I felt full. I also brought my protein shakes along in a baggie and was able to drink that when I felt as though I had not had enough protein. It seems that I lost more in those days than I had when I was at home. Probably because I was constantly on the move we booked three excursions(snorkeling w/stingrays, snorkeling, and going to the zoo). We also were doing a lot of walking because the boat was so big. I just wanted to update and let you all know what I have been doing. I have not been on the web at all not even lurking. I hope that everyone is doing fine, and if any of you are interested in having the surgery, and have any questions that maybe I can help you with then it will be my pleasure. Please contact me and I will try to be of assistance.
Talk to you all later.

 

2/26/05
Hi all,
I know that it has been a while but I have been looking for a job. I have not been successful so I here I am back on the boards. It seems that I have not lost any weight in a while but I am sure that I have. I am able to eat a little more which is making me able to get my protein in with food. I have still been taking my shakes but just not as much as I had been. I will be posting pictures soon.

 

4-17-05
Hi All,
I know that it has been a while. I am finally in the century club. I have lost 101lbs. It feels great, still looking for a job, but I have been subbing. I have started water aerobics and have been doing pilates. I always thought that pilates was a joke, but I am here to tell you that it is not. It is also very hard, it does work if you work it. I did not know that you could burn fat with the routines. I have never sweated so much in my life. With pilates you are working the small muscles in your body. It felt as though someone had been kicking me in the stomach. I have been seeing results so I know that it is working. I have also been taking my protein shakes and I take the choclate unjury and it is great. I think that it gives me gas. But it is not a big deal, this surgery is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I would not change anything. Shopping has been great, although I have really just been shoe shopping, because I don't want to waste a lot of money. I have been picking up a few things at DOTS( which is a very cheap store) that has cute stuff. I don't know if any of you all have been noticing this but being in a small world people treat you a little differently. I have been getting free stuff at the stores, and I have also been getting a lot of attention, everywhere. Guys who are wtih ther women are always looking and checking me out as soon as they can get a chance to look. It is very flattering, but in a way it makes me feel uncomfortable because I am not used to the attention. I just wanted to reach out because I had not been active on the site for a while but I will talk more to you all very soon.

 

10/20/04
I am just continuing from my last post about how you get treated differently. I went to Jiffy Lube to get my oil changed in my truck. The guy told me that the oil that I needed for my car was more than I intended to spend. I told him that I wanted him to pay for the difference and he said tht he would see what he could do. So he gave me the oil for the price of the one that I wanted and he also gave me a filter and something to flush the oil off of my motor. I just thought that was great. Just wantedto give an example. The pictures are not as accurate as they should have been but I am even smaller now. Those pictures were taken in February.

 

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