Well I have dropped 130 pds

Happy Holidays you all... wow what can I say, I have made such a drastic change in my life with this surgery I went threw.  I would not change it for anything in the world! I am sooo thankful for it, and greatful for how well I have done.  I still have problems eating meat, rarely eat it to be honest, but I am making it threw.. And doing a wonderful Job I think.  Since September 22nd 2010 I have dropped 89 pds... and since april 2010 i have dropped a  total of 130 pds.. I am happy about that. I got a new lease on life! My body feels better, I can walk and exercise again! I am doing things I have not ever been able to do and I am loving it. So to those of you out there straddling the fence on weither to do it or not... I say yes, absolutly do it, its worth every step!!

It has been one month since my surgery

It was a month ago yesterday that I had my surgery, and let me just start out by saying, I would never change this, even though its alot of work, I love my new lifestyle.  Thanks to Dr. Williams and all his wonderful staff over at New Life Center of Bariatrics for everything they done to give me my new life.  I have as of the 19th lost 78 pds!! That's alot of weight, 40 of it has been in the month since I had surgery.40 PDS! Yeah, like that's a toddler lost.  I also started working out a gym 3-4 days a week.  My life physically is changing for the better, better than it has ever been, and I am so thankful for this tool, this gift, this second chance on life that I am living now.  I go back to Dr. Williams on Monday, I am hoping then to find out that I have lost another 10-15 pds. I lost 12 pds in one week!! Yeah, I am totally loving this, cant eat, so what... who needs the food, I have my protein shakes, my G2 Gatorade,a Popsicle here and there, and I am getting my life back... you go ahead and swallow that big bite of cheeseburger there for me, I will take my protein shake, and continue working hard at getting into my pair of "Skinny" jeans I bought, hahaha... on top of the world here in my weight loss people. I am tickled to death with the decision I made to have this surgery. If anyone were to ask me if it was worth the risks to have it, I would tell them, YES absolutely, it is the best thing I ever done in my life!!

I have lost 14 pds, and its will not be 2 weeks till tomorrow

Yesterday was my first check up visit since surgery, and I had lost 14 pds.  The nurse said that was good, she said they expect a 10% weight loss and mine was a 14% so that I had done good.  She advanced me to stage 2 of the diet plan. My first meal was tuna/light mayo.  It took me 45-50 minutes to get down 3 tablespoons of food... but I kept it down. I am going to do everything by the book, exactly like they tell me to, because I want to loose the most weight possible. Just wanted to update my progress. I am so happy and feel great.

Got my Medical ID Bracelet today

I am not a rich person, quiet the opposite, I am dirt poor.  I had to have a medical ID bracelet, because after bariatric surgery we can not have any NSIADS or a NG Tube placed in us.  Well most commonly these bracelets are quiet expensive.  Well I went to Walgreens Website and they had one for 17.99 and it had a USB port that you plugged into any pc, and put in all of your medical information. Awesome was the first thing that came to my mind, I can afford 18 bucks, and this will allow me to put everything on it.  Well let me tell ya, it is well worth that 18 dollars, I love it, it allows you to upload a full blown medical history, and is super easy to do.   If you are like me and don't have tons of money to blow on a high price one, but know you need one, go here and get one. I got the pink one... I love it!!

Feeling better every day

Well I decided yesterday to call my nurse and see for sure that all that was wrong with me was that I was over doing it... And it was.  The incision that Dr. Williams puts in to prevent me from getting a hernia, is a very very painful incision that is sutured to my muscle.  I had been going so hard trying to do the best I could possibly do that I had worn my poor body out and I was hurting bad.  So now I am going to rest and do what I can until I heal, per my nurse. All is good today.

Its been a week today

Well, its been a week since my surgery.  Its easier than I thought it would be.  I have my own system worked out on charting my intake/output and, as everyone else will see, I have developed a what works for me day to day routine.  I had a little trouble drinking my 2 oz every 15 to start with, not because I did not want it, but I am up throughout the day from 445 am until 9-10pm daily, so it became alot more than I could handle taking in.  So for the past three days I cute it back to 1 oz every 15, and I skip some here and there, so that by the end of the night I am not hurting from so much fluid intake.  I am still using my pain meds, because my right side wound, where Dr. Williams sutured my muscle to the incision at is still extremely tender when I move, walk or bend, but the meds have slowed down quit a bit.  I am so thankful that I was giving the opportunity to do this surgery, and to be on the post op side of things.   I feel good, although energy runs out very fast, so I sleep alot, and that's ok.... I do what I can do, I walk as much as I possibly can, must fight the blood clots from forming, and I do my housework as tolerated.  I cook my hubby his meals for the AM, and my dear mother usually fixes his dinner in the PM.  I could not do this without my parents, sister, and hubby, they have all done so much to help and support me and I am so very thankful for them.  Just wanted to touch base, and give an update on how I am coming along.  I go back for my two week check up on the 4th.  I had lost 42 pounds pre op, i am excited to see what I have lost when i go back for my 2 week visit.

My Surgery is done

Hey guys!!! This past Wednesday, September 22nd, I went in for my surgery.  It was truly a very wonderful process, the staff at the hospital were the best I have ever had, my doctor was wonderful, and the experience was very peaceful, much to my surprise.  As soon as I came out of the recovery room, and woke up, I demanded to get up, I wanted to walk.  My hubby was apprehensive, because the doctor said due to the amount of muscle in my stomach, combined with the fat, and my very enlarged liver, that my surgery was very difficult, and that I might experience alot more pain than normal patients.  I was not taking a chance of lying in the bed and getting a blood clot, I wanted to walk... and walk we did, ever hour and a half to two hours.... even if I cried, even if it hurt, we walked.  Today is Monday, 5 days post op,and I will tell you this, my persistence has paid off.  I feel great. Sure I still have alot of pain, and am still on my pain meds, sure I get fatigued easily, but all in all, I do not feel like I just had a major, slightly complicated surgery.  This morning I have done two loads of laundry, changed my sheets on my bed, cooked my hubby breakfast and packed his lunch, I have emptied my dishwasher, and refilled it, and got all my charts for my intake/output started for the day.  I am pushing forward with all my might, and I feel like a new woman. yesterday we went for a walk from my house down to my mothers and fathers. there and back would be at least 1/4 a mile, maybe more.  felt good.  And I do not want food, sure I enjoy my Popsicle's, and my fruit juices, but I do not have hunger pains.  As long as I take this tool given to me, and stay strict with it, as my doctor has told me I needed to, I will go threw this with flying colors, so to speak.  I feel wonderful.  so to those of you out there that are considering this, it is painful, it does take will power, and work, and its not the easy way out by no means, but it is absolutely worth every step.  Thank you Dr Williams, and all the staff at Park West Medical Center Bariatric Unit. All of you all rock!!

I went threw the dietitian class Wednesday

Hello out there blog world, just thought I would touch base, and mention that I went threw the diet class for after surgery this past Wednesday. WOW, its amazing at the can nots.  Can not have any meds containing NSAIDS, can not have a pill bigger than a pencil eraser, ever.  Can not chew gum ever, no alcohol, which that ones OK, I do not drink, no caffeine, no soda, can not use a straw.. The list is lengthy of the things you have to do after the surgery, but to be healthy, its all totally worth it.  The first two weeks after surgery I will be strictly liquid.  After that, the dietitian upgrades you, according to your progress, first puree baby food consistence, then to  small chopped, and so forth.  My date is inching near, only 2 weeks and 5 days away... yay so excited, to begin my new life, to get my health back, to take charge.  Keep me in your prayers that all goes well.  I go this coming wed, the 8th of September, for my final visit and then to the hospital to preregister.  Will blog about all that once it has taken place.

Going to try to start an exercise program

Well, its a couple days over a month, and I will have had my surgery.  My body is in poor shape physically, but I am going to have to try to get a exercise routine in place.  I believe I am going to start out by walking, and we have a WII so I have rented a dancing game, I figured that would be a fun way to get some exercise in, and still be able to find a seat if I get to weak. 

My bestie Andi and I are working on trying to get a support group together for this area.  We are an hour away from everything, including the office where our doctors are at, so we wanted to have a group for the people here... Now we just have to find a place to have the meeting at once a month.  Sure hope we can.  Anyway, that's all that's going on right now, still on my prescription of phentermine, and still loosing good with that. I am hoping to be down as small as possible before the surgery date.  Good luck to all out there that are still trying, or have had it already, and working on the goal.

40 pounds off since my first appointment back in April

I went to my MD. yesterday, for my normal check up, due to having high bp, being diabetic, injured knee, and back, along with being overweight, I have to go to my regular doctor two or three times a month..  Yesterday when i weighed in, I had dropped 40 pds since beginning of my journey.  Of course 40 pds is a drop in the bucket, but its 40 pds off, not on. I am so please and proud of myself.  I only need to drop another 9 pounds to be down to the weight Dr. Williams wanted me to be at to be safe for the BPD surgery.  Of course I changed my mind with that one, and am having the normal gastric bypass instead, but to me, this is a big stepping stone to my weight loss that I have conquered.

I started the 800 cal diet early

I decided that today I would start the 800 calorie diet I had spoke of in a earlier post.  I went with special K shakes and bars though, instead of the NLBC supplements to start with, because this way is cheaper.  Not as healthy as Dr. Boyce's supplements, but its more affordable for me right now.  I was able to get the correct amount of shakes/bars for the day that the centers diet plan calls for, with only 60 extra calories a day in it, using the special K brand.  I am hoping I can stay on it until surgery date, in efforts to drop extra weight before the surgery.  Keep me in your prayers that I can do this.

As the days tick by

Time to have my surgery is going to be here before I know it.  I am trying to get myself mentally ready for my life change.  No sugar, fine we do not eat it anyway, No soda, OK we do not drink that much either so giving it up will not be a problem. It is going to be odd not to be overweight though.  I have been big my entire life, from toddler up throughout the years, so actually loosing the weight, and being healthy and fit, believe it or not, its a big pill to swallow.  I do not know what to think, how its going to feel.  Its things that are silly I know, but it is all part of the anticipation and excitement of this second chance at life.  To me, that's exactly what this is, see my life as I know it now is a poor excuse for one.  Sure I have things that others may not, I have a wonderful set of loving caring parents, a absolutely terrific husband, I have a home, a wonderful little pug puppy that steals my heart daily, but the things most of you have at my age, I have lost.  I have lost the ability to walk, to run, to go to amusement parks with my family, or to the pool to swim.  I have lost all these things due to my weight problems, and my back and knee problems that have been brought on from my knee.

 I honestly can not imagine what life is going to be like.  I have my mind set that the two week no food diet will be totally doable, and that I will make it threw that without any problems. I have to get my mind thinking that, because if I do not, then I am going to be suffering those two weeks, and I do not want to go into this suffering. I am going to start replacing meals with protein shakes now, that way when it gets time to have to do it full blast, it will not be that difficult.

 My friend and I are trying to check into getting a support group started here in our community for the people here that have had, or are thinking of having the weight loss surgery, because we feel like we deserve to have a group to attend to, and we do not want to have to drive for an hour and a half to get to it.  Hope the office can help us get that going.

 So far the diet pills are still really helping me control my appetite, I fill up way faster, and stay full alot longer, so that has to be helping me to drop so weight now. 

I got my information packet in the mail today.

My hubby always checks the mail everyday, cause our mail box is all the way down at the bottom of our extremely long drive way, and I can not walk that far right now, so when he came in he handed me the mail, like every other day.  But today, I received my paper work for my preop appointments, and instructions for surgery.


  First of all, I will have to attend a 4 hour class on nutrition, which I personally think is awesome, and it asked that I bring my support with me.  Just be coincidence its on a Wednesday, which is my hubby's day off.  Yay, my support gets to go!!  It also states that I will need to purchase a started kit, that consists of vitamins, protein supplement, 6 shakes, 6 pudding shakes, and a box of meal replacement bars.  Its 100.00.  At first I thought, OMG that is soo expensive, but then I got to adding it all up individually, because you can order your supplies off the website   individually. It would be about the same price, if you ordered it individually, as it is getting the starter kit.  I also saw that I will have to be on a 2 week program of strictly protein shakes/ bars. I will need approximately 8 boxes of bars, and 28 shakes.  I have heard these things taste horrible.  We shall see. I will be looking at approximately 145-160 dollars for this.  I am thankful that my insurance pays for the entire weight loss program fee though, because that alone is 3000.00 dollars and most insurances only pay half of this.  Strictly medicare does not cover it at all, but I have humana gold plus as my secondary insurance, and it covered it all.

  My two week diet will be as followed

Breakfast 

• 
  
  1 new life supplement shake or bar               
• 
  
   2 tbsp. benefiber mixed with a non- calorie beverage (aka Crystal light, water, decaf tea)

Morning Snack  

• New Life Supplement Shake

Lunch 

•   New life supplement bar

Afternoon Snack 

• New Life Supplement Shake

Dinner

•   New Life Supplement Shake OR Bar
• 2 TBSP Benefiber mixed into a non-calorie- drink

Evening Snack

• New Life Supplement Nutrition Bar

So needless to say I am going to be hungry, lol.  Plus we will be on our vacation during this time.  This will really test my strength, everyone else having seafood, ice cream, sodas and yummy stuff, and I will not allowed to have any of those, but since I have been on this 1200 calorie diet since April, maybe this will not affect me to much.  I will update again when I get new information.

The little things that make you wonder about the surgery

I have dreamed for the past two nights that I am going to die while in the hospital after I have the surgery. I know its just my mind living out my fears in my dreams but it still scares me. Some other things that go threw my mind are things that I should not even think about, because its part of what got me to the terrible condition I am in today, but I will never be able to have bread/carbs again, or so I was told in the support group meetings, have not met the dietician yet, so this is still hearsay until the dietician tells me for certain. I can do without sweets, I have splenda, I can do without soda, I have for months, that stuff does not bother me, but the thoughts of never having another piece of lite bread scares me, lol. I love bread, but from what I hear if you eat it after the surgery it makes you violently ill to your stomach, and I have a very sensitive stomach now,I can not even imagine it after the surgery. Stuff like that really worries me, I am afraid of blood clots, which is the number 1 complication after the surgery, and of all the other risks, but that's only natural, anyone will fear the unknown. I just have to stay strong, think positive, and move forward!!!

The things I look forward to doing once I loose this weight

You know, people take for granted the little stuff, like crossing their legs, setting in a booth at a restaurant, riding rides at an amusement park, buying clothes because you like them, not because they are the size you need, walking threw a store, wearing your seat belt in a car, being able to exercise, tying your own shoes, getting dressed alone, or even bathing on your own. all of these things, at one time or another in my life, I have not been able to do. I look forward to us going out to a place to eat, and not having to ask for a table instead of a booth, being able to go to a concert and not pray that I can fit in the seat. Simple things like this are things that smaller people take for granted. Now I am sure some people are saying to themselves right now, well stop feeding your pie hole and you wouldn't be that way. Well your wrong there. I have been over weight since birth,not by choice, but by medical need. I have severe asthma, and have to and always had to use steroids to breath, so I could live. Do you think I would want to be in this shape if I could help it. Absolutely not. Do you think I would have taken the steroids if I could have lived without them, NO!! This is the life I was dealt, and I lived it the best I could. No regrets, just the way it is. I personally do not care if you think this or that, it does not matter to me, the ones whom love me, their opinion of me is all I need. But I wanted to throw that out there for all the ignorant ass wipes that think that every fat person is fat cause they eat to much, its not always the case, so do not judge others... Always know that the little jokes and shit you do to people whom are different than you, it comes back to you, cause Karma is a bitch my friend, plain and simple. Take these words with you if you do not take anything else from this, Do not think that because you are smaller than me, that you are better than me, do not think that because someone is disabled in some way, that you are better than them, because on judgement day, when we all stand before the Lord on his throne, and we all will!!! We all will be the same in his eyes, either a saved soul with your name in the lambs book of life, or a sinner sent to the pits of hell to burn for eternity. Do you think the Lord will care if I was a size 28 and you were a size 2?? No, he will not, he will care about whom of us there have taken him as our savior, it is not for us to judge others, so stop doing it!!! God hears the mean remarks you make to others when you do it, and you, and you alone will answer to him for those things on the day of judgement!!

How to go about it all questions

Ok so alot of people have asked me questions like, " well how did you get started with it?" and " will insurance pay for it?" So I figured this would be the easiest way to explain it, put it in a blog, and you can read it for yourself and see what you need to do.

1. The first thing you need to do is discuss it with you PCP (Primary Care Physician) and see what they say, if they believe your a valid candidate and such.

2. Contact your insurance and ask about bariatric weight loss surgery coverage,and what criteria you have to meet before it will be covered.

3. Find a weight loss surgeon you can trust and that is covered by your insurance.

My deal was that of course with my weight I was a candidate, and since I am disabled, and partially because of my weight was I awarded my disability, my PCP had all the documents in line for me to be proven to be a valid candidate. I still had to contact my secondary insurance though to see if they covered it, and to get their criteria out of the way. Fortunately medicare will only allow you to go to a center of excellence, and that along with the referral from my dear friend Andrea, I found Dr. Williams at New Life Center for Bariatrics. I then contacted their office, where they told me what criteria they required before being seen as a patient. Your first step to the process is to go to a seminar that one of the doctors holds. Its free of charge, and they go over all the information that you really want to know about. Luckily the one I attended was held by my physician that is going to preform my surgery, Dr. Williams.

Next step is to attend a support group meeting, and the kind ladies at the desk gave me a schedule and helped me pick one out to attend. Then you will need to feel out the packet of information that you get from the seminar, call the office, and make your first appointment. I was so scared that first day, because if your fat you know what I mean when I say, oh great here's another person that's going to look down on me because I am fat, but they are not like that at Dr. Williams' office. They treat you like a person, and never judge you, so I really felt comfortable.

Most insurances require that you have completed a 6 month medically supervised diet plan, if not with your PCP, then with the center you choose for your surgery.
I had already done this, but because of my size, Dr. Williams still wanted me to loose 45-60 pds if I could before the surgery. No one ever told me this before I began the weight loss surgery journey, but your liver gets fat along with the rest of you, when you are obese. And, if you are not currently loosing weight before the surgery, then it might be to large for the Dr. to move around to get to your stomach, so you have to begin loosing before surgery. Its similar to the Liver of an alcoholic, even if your like me, and never drink!!

You also might have to see specialist to get a clearance for surgery, before they will submit your forms to insurance for approval. I had to see a cardiologist, pulmonologist, and a Neurologist, as well as a Psychiatrist, all before I could be approved for surgery. Then the office will submit your paper work, and get your approval. If your insurance covers it, Dr. Williams and the staff at NLBC will get you approved most generally. They know the steps to take, and my approval came back within a week of Jennifer, the insurance lady, submitting it.

You will be assigned a coordinator that will work with you from this point on, shes the one that calls you to tell you if you have been approved. The office I go to has three, Melissa, Donna, and Stephanie, all of whom are a delight to be around, and treat you with the utmost respect. My coordinator is Stephanie, and she is the one that let me know I had been approved, and scheduled my next set of appointments and my surgery. I will update more on things, as I go along.

My first post about my weight issues.

Hello everyone out there in Internet land. I am about to set forth on a new journey in my life, one which will hopefully change it for the better, and I have decided I want to share it with others out there that might be thinking of doing the same thing. So here it goes, here is the beginning of my story.

I have always been a overweight person, its a life I have become accustomed to. Not one I like,per say, but one I have because use to. I have always been the fat kid, the fat girl, the fat woman, the fat person. That's me, its who I am, who I have always been. I have always been the one everyone looks at, everyone laughs at, points and makes fun of, yeah.. me again. But it has got to where it does not effect me anymore. I have heard from people who claim to love me say, " you know you would be so beautiful, if you were were not big." I want to say, well you would be so much more enjoyable to be around if you were not shallow!!" But I do not, I just agree and go on.

I haven't ever felt sorry for myself, or wished I was someone else, this has just always been me, but back in 2003, while cleaning my home that my then fiance and I shared, I slipped and fell in bleach, resulting in a very injured leg/knee, and no insurance to get it fixed. I was black and blue from the tip of my toe, to the top of my thigh. This is when my weight became a health issue. I could no longer bathe by myself,my fiance had to do it for me, I could not dress myself, get to the bathroom by myself, I could not even drive. Thank the Lord for the man I now call my husband, being there for me, I would have had to have gone into a facility if he had not taken care of me.

A few years pasted, and so did the pain with the knee. I had moved to Oklahoma, we got married, and then moved back to Tennessee. We started working taking care of the mentally disabled, and I feel in love with my career. For the first time ever I was doing something that meant something to someone, and I loved it. We decided to get our CNA license, and began working at a Nursing Home in town to do so. We went to several different nursing facilities in a few years, because my big heart could not stand the abuse we were seeing in the ones we were at, and we would leave. The last one done my health in for me though, I fell lifting a patient, and landed back on that knee. That's where the real issues came to play. Now I could no longer work. I could hardly walk, and what then was a bad issue of obesity turned into where I am today.

Now I am at the point where weight loss surgery is my only option. I have to loose the weight, or I will die. I have been told that by several doctors. This is my only way out, my only chance to make it. So here we are, a few days away from the biggest day of my life.

I began this journey wanting the "quick fix" the biggest surgery they have, to get the most weight loss. I wanted this because I am considered super morbidly obese, and its the only one that will guarantee that I would loose it all in one surgery. But that is not what God's plan was obviously. The doctor told me my heart was to weak to do that particular surgery, known as a "BPD" in one operation, like most people have it. With my asthma and my heart,I would have to get it done in two operations for him to feel safe doing it, but he had to try to get the insurance to agree to that. Well the insurance would not allow that to happen, and since I had fear of that particular surgery, and since the Dr. did not feel comfortable doing it in one procedure I decided to go with the gastric bypass with the roux-en-y. I think this will be the safest way.

I am just a few weeks away from my surgery day, which is September 22, 2010. I am scared and excited. I have been on a 1200 cal. medically supervised diet plan from Dr. Williams since April, and have lost some weight already, close to 30 pds. He recently put me on phentermine to take until surgery, and that seems to be helping as well.

I feel like this is the best thing I can do for myself, at this point, and I will update this, for myself as well as anyone else whom might want to read it, as I go along. I feel like this is going to be a long, interesting journey, and I can not wait to see where it leads.