cleofet
I am 54 years old & have been bigger "then the average bear" all my life. Now the weight has become a BIG problem. The pain in my back, knees & ankles keeps me in pain most of the time. I don't sleep well at night & I am sleepy all day long, I get out of breath with the least little bit of exertion & I am miserable. I have tried so many ways to lose only to put the little bit I lose back on with an added little bit more each time. I now weigh in at 234 pounds & I am 5' 3" tall. I need to do this for me & my health (both physcial & emotional). I am nervous 
because I am not use to taking care of myself & I have had only one surgery (corpal tunnel) other then having 4 children. Any surgery makes me nervous. I will trust in God that this is the right path for me. 
10/07/07
I had my consult with Dr. Treen on 10/2/07 & all went well. The paperwork for insurance approval (BC & BS) was sent in on 10/4/07 & they think we should hear in about 2 weeks or sooner based on how things went with my husband. I weighed in at 226 & 5' 3". I was told to try to lose between 5 & 10 pounds before surgery but that the important thing was not to gain anything. This is different then my husband who had to drop 10-15 pounds because he carried all his weight in his stomach & around the liver. Anyway I have been watching what I eat & trying to walk on the tred mill for 20 to 30 minutes a day (doesn't always happen). I haven't exersiced in a long time. I have a bunch of things going on in my house that kinda distract me from taking care of myself. My 84 year old mom lives with us & is undergoing treatment for Lymphoma (cancer) & has many other real or preceived ailments. My daughter who had been seperated from her husband lives here but will be (I hope) moving out on the 15th of this month & getting back with her husband. I also have one of my other adult children still living at home. One other big thing is one of our dogs Zero (really my daughters Boston Terrier but the dog is staying with us) has gotten very friendly with our adopted from Hurricane Katrina toy poodle Brady. So we will have puppies around the end of the month. We have five small dogs right now, 3 poodle mixes of my own, Brady the adopted one and Zero (or punk as we call her) the Boston Terrier. We have a house full of people and dogs. I know that was off subject but that is MY LIFE! Talk with all you nice people later. God bless!!! 
10/24/07
I haven't posted in awhile so let me update everyone. I got a call from the doctors’ office on 10/9/07 and Karen said I was approved. 
Watching TV is hard with all the food commercials but I just close my eyes. I feel ok but last night and today I have a pretty nasty headache. I think it is because I have had canned broth that has a lot of salt in it. I am a salt addict so I didn't realize it at the time. Today I made my own chicken soup and am drinking just the broth with no salt added or soy sauce that I usually add. I hope that helps. I hate headaches. Well that is about it except it is sort of hard with my mom here because she doesn't know anything about me having WLS. She is the type of person that knows everything and has said in the past and just the other day that if I would listen to her I would lose all the weight I need to. She would flip if she found out about the surgery and never let me hear the end of it. My husband had the Lap-Band done 5/17/07 and she doesn't know he did that. We told her he was just on a diet. When I go in of Friday I am just telling her I have a doctor appointment. She goes to a group on Fridays so she won't be home most of the day. I pray that I do as well as my husband did because he was up and around pretty much the next day. Mom doesn't have any appointments until Nov. 6th so that gives me about 10 days to be able to drive. If push comes to shove I will tell her the truth and be the big girl (soon to be much slimmer) that I am. Well Friday is the first day of my new and improved life. Please keep me in your prayers. God bless all of you guys!
Well I had surgery yesterday. I feel pretty good but my stomach hurts and I am so sleepy 
. Sitting in a chair that is not to low to the floor is ok but getting out of bed is really hard. Most of the time I have to have my husband help me by pulling me up with his hand in my hand. I was on clear liquids today and full liquids tomorrow. There is so much food in my house that it is really hard seeing it all and not being able to eat some of it. My 26 year old son lives with us and so does my 84 year old mother. So there is all sort of food here. It is hard but not as hard as I thought it would me. I will keep posting as I travel along this journey. Take care and God bless everyone here.
11/11/07
17 days post-op and feeling really good. My husband and I went to the doctor on Thursday the 8th and I had lost 6 pounds since surgery (10/26/07) 
and he had lost another 1.5 pounds. I am down to 210 and my highest weigh was 234 my husband is down to 217.5 and his high was 305. He was banded on 5/17/07. You can see his profile at saints1. I have been eating pretty much everything and have not had any problem. I eat about 1/2 cup of say baked chicken and some salsa or a low carb tortila with tuna salad made with low fat mayo. and a string cheese. We went out to eat the other evening because the Knights of Columbus was having a fund raiser at Cheveys resturant. I had a side of black beans and tortilla soup. I ate the chicken out of the soup and half of the black beans. It was really good to know we can still go out to eat because that is something we both like to do. It is all about making good choices. Soon my husband and I will be able to eat pretty much to same things so we will order one dinner and split it. I intend to start walking on the tred mill again starting tomorrow but the ab lounger will have to wait. My stomach is still sore 
and I don't want to take any chances of pulling somthing. The gas pains are much better now except when I am about done eating I start to belch which is my signal to STOP. I haven't had to through up 
and I hope I never do. Well our next appointment with the doctor is the 27th of Nov. and I am scheduled to have my first fill. I am a little nervous but my husband said it isn't bad and I was in the office each time he has had his. Well that is about it for now so I will post again later. God bless all of you and take care. 
I went for my first fill on so my 23 year old daughter went with him. Now I think I may have neglected to mention that my 84 year old mother lives with us and that she is a Narcissist and demands huge amounts of attention. She argues with me about everything and is the most negative person in the world. Doom and Gloom 24/7. We have been having a lot of trouble with her and on Saturday she decided that she would tell my husband what she has been telling me in private for over a year and a half. She told him that I ignore her and that the only think I do for her is take her to the doctor (She is at one doctor or another almost every week/4 time a week for both real and imagined illnesses). She told him I am disrespectful and that I have problems because I have been seeing a therapist for the last two years. She told him I was on the computer 24 hours a day. She said she needs love and care and I don’t give it to her. She hates it here and wants to go back to 
. I am wondering if that is what’s causing the liquid and food catching in my throat. The reason I say this is that Saturday evening after her bitch session with my husband (I was standing right there the whole time) we went to a birthday party 
. I didn’t think I would even try to eat because I just knew whatever would just get stuck. I just had a glass of water. My husband said I should try something. I got one meatball, some salad and two cubes of cheese. I ate the cheese a few bites of salad and ¾ of the meatball and all was well. I was away from my mother and her complaining 
. I am calling the doctor again tomorrow and will make an apt for Tues. Even if it is stress 
I need to do something because I do not feel well. Sorry for ranting and wining. On a lighter (HA HA) note I think I have lost another 5 or 6 pounds so I am in ONEderland at least (under 200 pounds). Well I will update after I see the doctor. Please keep me in your prayers. Take care and God bless.
Merry Christmas! Well let’s see. Update: I went back to the doctor on
I don't know what it is today but I feel hungry. 
