Heather Wooldridge

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 I'm 95 pounds down since I got out of the hospital a little over 6 months ago and I am down 175 pounds from my highest 4 or so years ago.  I am just amazed everyday at what I have been able to do and the stamina I seem to have.  My mind still hasn't caught up to my weight loss though and I feel like I don't look much different.  I get plenty of comments so I know I must.  lol  I think it will just take some time for the rest of me to adjust.  
I has a great 6 month post-op check up with my dietitian and surgeon.  They are more than happy with my steady weight loss of 2.8 pounds a week.  My labs showed my protein is a little low but my PCP had just put me on a med for protein leaking into my urine so they weren't really concerned at this point.  I know I need to really make myself eat but I have a hard time with that.  For the most part I still am not feeling hungry and the more active I am the harder it is for me to remember to eat.

 Overall I am very happy with my decision, just adjusting.  :-)

Heather

So Wednesday was my 16th week out since surgery.  I am down 59 pounds and have lost over 40 inches all over, 13.5 in my waist alone.  This are really going well.  I have more energy and I can reach for things on the ground without feeling like I was going to die.  lol  I have been so busy though that I haven't really had much time to sit down and update my profile.  I will have to add pictures soon.  I think so far the only downfall I have experienced is the loss of my amazing wardrobe.  I have fit into the same size for a very long time and I built a huge wardrobe in that time but now I am finding that things are starting to hang on me weird.  I guess all in all I can't complain, but I will miss a lot of my clothes.  I just wish I had an abundance of money that would allow me to go out and replace it all.  Oh well.    LIFE IS GOOD!

 So I had my last appointments before surgery yesterday.  I guess they have been trying to get ahold of me but I must have forgot to update them with my new number.  One of the surgery coordinators let me know that they were needing to reschedule my surgery.  I guess Dr. Wright is taking an unknown amount of time off for personal reasons.  They had wanted me to go into surgery earlier (the 16th) but since they couldn't get ahold of me until yesterday they changed it to the 21st with Dr. Kanderwal instead.  I saw the nurse and she went over all the detail for right before surgery and the day of.  I also met with anesthesia for the pre-anesthesia work up and went over everything for that.  So now the countdown begins.  I have 8 days to go and then I am going under the knife.  I have been having a hard time believing this is really happening because I have been trying for so long to no avail.  But it looks like there is no turning back now.  lol  I am really nervous but I wouldn't want to change a thing even if I could.  This has been a long time in the making and I plan to embrace it with my all.  I will just have to remind myself of that when I feel like crap post-op.  

 My surgery date is March 20th, 2012!  I have just a month to prepare and then its time to go under the knife.  I have an appointment with pre-anesthesia a week before and I have also set up the 2 week post op appointment.  Someone pinch me!  I think this is actually going to happen this time.  

 I just got a letter in the mail saying I was approved for surgery as of 2/16/12.  The bariatric center sent it out on the 9th so they approved me in just one week.    I am so excited.  I started crying for joy!  Wow....    I's so happy I just don't know what else to say...

 I went up to UWMC again on the train yesterday.  I had my last appointment needed for them to be able to submit for approval.  I am hoping they are able to submit on Monday.  Josette (sp?), the patient coordinator, told me approvals are coming back in no more than 6 weeks so this is all going to start going really fast.  I have been doing the 1000 calorie diet they put you on 3 weeks before surgery just to try to lose as much as I can before surgery.  I am also going to water aerobics 5 days a week for 1-3 hours each day.  I have been feeling so positive lately and the weather hads been nice to boot!  

I will update again when I find out more.  

This doesn't feel real yet but I don't know if it will feel real to me until I am actually on the gurney and heading to the OR.  lol  I went up to UW on the 1st and saw PT, the dietician, and a nurse practitioner.  Everything checked out and my weight was right where it needs to be. 
Now I just have to see an Internal Medicine doctor here and get signed off by them.  One that is done they will submit for approval.  At first I was hearing that approval would take 2 to 6 months but when I spoke with the coordinator there she said that the approvals have been coming back between 2 and 6 weeks. 
I am so excited!  So I guess best case senario would be mid January and worse case senario would be mid March.  Either way its not far from now and its the closest I have ever been on this long, bumpy journey.  :-)

 I had my first offcial appointment with my doctor last week.  I weighed in at 330 lbs so that will be my start point.  I will need to lose at least 16.5 pounds in the next 6 months.  I think that is very realistic though.  I go see my dietician next tuesday and then I will be seeing her twice a month.  I have to follow all these rules to the T so that I can ensure my approval for the surgery.  I have been keeping a food and exersize journal for the last few weeks to try to prepare for this but I wan't being picky about writing serving sizes.  I really need to kick it up a notch and be more diligent.  I also need to find a way to get out of my sweet cravings.  Any suggestions?  

...but I didn't realize it.  I have gone through a bunch of ups and downs and ins and outs since my last post.  I found out that I was not approved for the 6 month program back in December but that I was approved for an appointment with the dietician.  After many returned forms that were submitted andf resubmitted (after being done correctly) by my doctors office I have finally found out that I am officially approved!  What a mess.  So I guess that will put me at having the surgery sometime in the fall.  That is if there insn't some other snags that I can't forsee.  This has been such a long, gruelling process.  I have been a surgery hopeful for so long now so its hard to get my hopes up but I am trying to stay positive.

 I just found out today that I was approved to start the 6 month program that I need before I can be approved for surgery.  I really feel like things are falling into place.  I am seeing a counselor and working on a lot of my issues with food and my weight as well.  I am so excited and if my fat wouldn't bounce around I might actually stand up and do a happy dance!