curvalicious1
Four months out
May 20, 2010
So yesterday made 4 months for me. Its been great. I've lost 61lbs so far. I was losing weight really slow for a while but the weight seems to be falling off me now. I'm ok with the slower loss though. I don't have any raised eyebrows because I didn't let anyone know I had the surgery. I'm also hoping my skin will have time to bounce back.
I've found (for now) low carbing causes slow weight loss for me( IDKY. ) I want to loose all the weight I can in my window so moderate carbs it is. I will go low carb when my weight loss changes but for now, its working like a charm. I don't really eat any sugar. Maybe a bite or two because my brain wants it. But then my desire for it fades. Its absolutely AMAZING. I was the sugar queen. Now, yuk that's too sweet! Priceless...
I eat about 80g protein a day. I've also found the more often I eat, the more weight I loose too. I take about 8 vita's a day. I hurt my leg so I haven't been working out lately.
I have went from wearing 3x scrubs to 1x scrubs. People are complementing me left and right. My husband and I went out the other night. I bought a new dress. I looked so good my husband felt bad because he thought he didn't look good enough to be with me. I had to literally give him a pep talk. He's been working out all this week...lol
The boards have been great. Everyone has been so helpful. There is so much good information on here. If you are having doubts about what surgery to get, just get the DS....lol. Ok I'm biased.
Anyway, I'm lov-lov-loving my DS. It is really giving me the post op lifestyle I was hoping it would. I look foward to what the next few months will bring.
0 comments
I've found (for now) low carbing causes slow weight loss for me( IDKY. ) I want to loose all the weight I can in my window so moderate carbs it is. I will go low carb when my weight loss changes but for now, its working like a charm. I don't really eat any sugar. Maybe a bite or two because my brain wants it. But then my desire for it fades. Its absolutely AMAZING. I was the sugar queen. Now, yuk that's too sweet! Priceless...
I eat about 80g protein a day. I've also found the more often I eat, the more weight I loose too. I take about 8 vita's a day. I hurt my leg so I haven't been working out lately.
I have went from wearing 3x scrubs to 1x scrubs. People are complementing me left and right. My husband and I went out the other night. I bought a new dress. I looked so good my husband felt bad because he thought he didn't look good enough to be with me. I had to literally give him a pep talk. He's been working out all this week...lol
The boards have been great. Everyone has been so helpful. There is so much good information on here. If you are having doubts about what surgery to get, just get the DS....lol. Ok I'm biased.
Anyway, I'm lov-lov-loving my DS. It is really giving me the post op lifestyle I was hoping it would. I look foward to what the next few months will bring.
Three Months Post Op
Apr 19, 2010
Wow! So its been three months now and what a difference. I started at 275lbs and now I'm 229lbs I feel so much better. I really don't know what size I was pre-op because I refused to by anything over a 20W. I was prob a 24W...squeezing in to my jogging pants and my extra stretch size 20's. I am now a comfy 18W. I can walk faster without being winded and tired. My weight loss has been slower than most other DSers but I'm keeping hope alive. I'm doing my recumbent bike about 3 times a week for 25 minutes. I started this to see if it would help my weight loss but its not. So I'm doing it for health reasons and hoping the weight loss will follow. A part of me is glad my weight loss is slow. My size 2 co-workers are just starting to realize I'm loosing weight.I'm a private person and I dislike others, especially for no good reason, in my business. I don't have to answer any prying questions or have anyone looking over my shoulders to see what I'm having for dinner. See there always a little lights in that tunnel...lol.
I love my DS life. I'm trying different things with my diet right now to see if it makes a difference in my weight loss. I'm adding more carbs than before and so far its working out great. I was doing 30 or less and my body was not responding well. Right now my diet is a normal diet without any low fat food. I love it. This DS thing ROCKS! My portions are on the lower side of normal and I eat often( every 3 hours). I'm not counting carbs 'right now' but I am mindful of them. Protien is first. I went out to Ruby Tuesdays the other night and had ribs, shrimp, chicken wings, and sweet potato. It was delish. Don't let me fool you though...it was all tiny portions but I was so full. My DH ate the majority of the food. Pre-DS I would have cleaned the plate, had dessert and gained at least 4lbs...lol. No dessert for me. I don't have any food intolerance. I really don't know if that is a good thing or bad thing. Actually, I take that back. Popcorn with lots of butter sends me to the bathroom the next day all day. So I can have popcorn just not loaded with butter. Learned that the hard way. My BM/s are once a day or every other day. I think the calcium slows me down. I was never one to have BMs daily but I'm happy when I do. AHHHH, the little things in life....lol
I'm appreciative of the weight I have lost. By now I would have sabatoged my diet and been on my way back up the scale. I look forward to what the next three months will bring....
0 comments
I love my DS life. I'm trying different things with my diet right now to see if it makes a difference in my weight loss. I'm adding more carbs than before and so far its working out great. I was doing 30 or less and my body was not responding well. Right now my diet is a normal diet without any low fat food. I love it. This DS thing ROCKS! My portions are on the lower side of normal and I eat often( every 3 hours). I'm not counting carbs 'right now' but I am mindful of them. Protien is first. I went out to Ruby Tuesdays the other night and had ribs, shrimp, chicken wings, and sweet potato. It was delish. Don't let me fool you though...it was all tiny portions but I was so full. My DH ate the majority of the food. Pre-DS I would have cleaned the plate, had dessert and gained at least 4lbs...lol. No dessert for me. I don't have any food intolerance. I really don't know if that is a good thing or bad thing. Actually, I take that back. Popcorn with lots of butter sends me to the bathroom the next day all day. So I can have popcorn just not loaded with butter. Learned that the hard way. My BM/s are once a day or every other day. I think the calcium slows me down. I was never one to have BMs daily but I'm happy when I do. AHHHH, the little things in life....lol
I'm appreciative of the weight I have lost. By now I would have sabatoged my diet and been on my way back up the scale. I look forward to what the next three months will bring....
1 month surgerversiry
Feb 16, 2010
2/18/2010- So today I am 4 weeks out from my surgery. I've lost 22lbs and I'm currently in a week and a half stall. I think this is normal and I'm not really worried about it. I can tell I've lost weight but my clothes still fit the same. I only had a few things that fit because I refused to buy any new clothes so everything was tight with spandex anyway.
I feel pretty good. Over the past few weeks I've had a lot of indigestion issues. I also had these issues before surgery but now its times 100. I had to up my prilosec dosage. Its much more manageable now. I suppose to be still slowly advancing my diet from liquids to puree to soft. But I pretty much eat anything and just chew, chew, chew. I get full really fast which pissed me off when I made shrimp scampi and could only eat 4 small shrimp. It was so good....
O well this is what I signed up for. Its actually great that I can only eat so much. I do have an appetite about every 3 hours I want something to eat. I'm not one of those people that have lost their appetite. Mine is alive and well. I'm not back to work yet but I could prob go back if I needed to. I'm going to take the full 6 weeks darn it. Well that's it for now. Hopefully I'll be another 20lbs down.
Hospital stay
Jan 25, 2010
On January 19, I went in to the preop area and had my labs drawn. I also met the anesthesiologist, Dr. Roslin and the PA that works with him. I was nervous as a box of rocks. My family was able to be in the preop area with me. My DH and daughter kinda kept my mind busy. My daughter is 2 and I wasn't really sure they was going to let her in but I'm glad they did. I was in that area for about an hour. Then I walked back to the OR and got on the table. Next thing I know I'm in the recovery room looking under my gown to make sure I had the surgery. I had no pain (at first) and felt like my normal self. I was so surprised. I thought something happened and I was unable to have the surgery...lol. Doc came in and let me know my surgery was very straight forward. It took 3 hours. He took out my gallbladder and appendix. I thought he was going to do a hernia repair but he didn't see one. Anyway I was happy that things turned out ok.
By the time I got to the floor I was having pain about every two hours. Then I asked the PA about a pain pump. Then she noticed I didn't have one and it was supposed to be ordered for me but no one called the consult for the pain Doc. I wasn't upset, being a nurse I know crazy stuff happens like that all the time. So they called the pain Doc and I was very happy. That night I wasn't up to walking around but I did sit on the side of the bed a few times.
The next day I was up early because I had to do my upper GI to check for any leaks. Yeaaaaa, no leaks and I can eat ( or drink rather) Clear liquid diet for my entire stay. Ouch! I don't recall the pain of gas being like this. If any air is swallowed it hurts like hell.I never knew I swallowed air until now. Ouch.
Anyway ,they decided to pull out my foley around 1p and I noticed I wasn't peeing adequately. I know every one is different but I was starting to get short of breath when I moved around. I asked my nurse to call the resident to let him know of my issue. They decided to do a fluid challenge ( or a bolus of fluid thru my iv.). It didn't work. I asked the nurse to ask for a diuretic. The resident was afraid to order it and I had to wait till morning rounds. I thought OK in the morning is OK, it is 3am now, so that's just a few hours.
Get this... When the team came in I let them know I need some lasix and that I was fluid overloaded and having difficulty breathing when I got up to do anything. They actually argued with me and told me I was probably dehydrated. I told them all I was an ICU nurse and I know that I need to have some lasix and this was not normal to have overly swollen legs, concentrated urine and shortness of breath. Individually yes but all together no. Doc was like well we'll do another fluid challenge and check blood gases and do a ct scan. They were thinking I had a clot in my lung. O lord these residents are insane. Why they don't want to listen to the nurse? What does a clot have to to with concentrated low amounts of urine? Get real. OK we'll do these silly test at least I will know I don't have a clot in my lungs. A few hours later all the tests were normal and the resident came in with his tail between is legs saying..."you are fluid overloaded we are going to give you some lasix". I just said .."ok. that would be great." But in my head I was saying all kinds of things. If i didn't have a strong heart I would have been done for. I was just happy I was getting my lasix. Needless to say I got anything else I asked for...lol. After peeing like a race horse, I was no longer short of breath and walking in the halls like a good patient.
Later that day pain management Doc came in to see me. I had been with out my pain pump for a few hours now. She wrote me a script for some pain meds and proceeded to tell me she doesn't take my insurance. What? Are you serious? She said some other stuff after that but it just sounded like bla bla bla after that. Do you know she came back the next day right before I was to be discharged? I really didn't want to see her and she had nothing to say to me that she didn't say before. Now I have to pay her another 200 bucks for another day. That sucks!
Anyway, I finally made it home. Went in on Tuesday and home on Friday.
0 comments
By the time I got to the floor I was having pain about every two hours. Then I asked the PA about a pain pump. Then she noticed I didn't have one and it was supposed to be ordered for me but no one called the consult for the pain Doc. I wasn't upset, being a nurse I know crazy stuff happens like that all the time. So they called the pain Doc and I was very happy. That night I wasn't up to walking around but I did sit on the side of the bed a few times.
The next day I was up early because I had to do my upper GI to check for any leaks. Yeaaaaa, no leaks and I can eat ( or drink rather) Clear liquid diet for my entire stay. Ouch! I don't recall the pain of gas being like this. If any air is swallowed it hurts like hell.I never knew I swallowed air until now. Ouch.
Anyway ,they decided to pull out my foley around 1p and I noticed I wasn't peeing adequately. I know every one is different but I was starting to get short of breath when I moved around. I asked my nurse to call the resident to let him know of my issue. They decided to do a fluid challenge ( or a bolus of fluid thru my iv.). It didn't work. I asked the nurse to ask for a diuretic. The resident was afraid to order it and I had to wait till morning rounds. I thought OK in the morning is OK, it is 3am now, so that's just a few hours.
Get this... When the team came in I let them know I need some lasix and that I was fluid overloaded and having difficulty breathing when I got up to do anything. They actually argued with me and told me I was probably dehydrated. I told them all I was an ICU nurse and I know that I need to have some lasix and this was not normal to have overly swollen legs, concentrated urine and shortness of breath. Individually yes but all together no. Doc was like well we'll do another fluid challenge and check blood gases and do a ct scan. They were thinking I had a clot in my lung. O lord these residents are insane. Why they don't want to listen to the nurse? What does a clot have to to with concentrated low amounts of urine? Get real. OK we'll do these silly test at least I will know I don't have a clot in my lungs. A few hours later all the tests were normal and the resident came in with his tail between is legs saying..."you are fluid overloaded we are going to give you some lasix". I just said .."ok. that would be great." But in my head I was saying all kinds of things. If i didn't have a strong heart I would have been done for. I was just happy I was getting my lasix. Needless to say I got anything else I asked for...lol. After peeing like a race horse, I was no longer short of breath and walking in the halls like a good patient.
Later that day pain management Doc came in to see me. I had been with out my pain pump for a few hours now. She wrote me a script for some pain meds and proceeded to tell me she doesn't take my insurance. What? Are you serious? She said some other stuff after that but it just sounded like bla bla bla after that. Do you know she came back the next day right before I was to be discharged? I really didn't want to see her and she had nothing to say to me that she didn't say before. Now I have to pay her another 200 bucks for another day. That sucks!
Anyway, I finally made it home. Went in on Tuesday and home on Friday.
Insurance approval
Dec 29, 2009
Woohoo! I was approved today. Although it was like pulling teeth to stay in contact with the insurance coordinator, BCBS called me today to tell me I was approved. I guess my calling got on the poor girls nerves. She's so busy but I had to make sure I was in the forefront and did not fall into the stack of papers on her desk. Next step is to see the surgeon again and find out what type of preop testing I have to get done. I actually have everything done because I was with a different surgical center but I know every surgeon requires different things. I just hope it doesn't take a long time to get this done. I really want my surgery in Jan. I actually started in Oct and was done with everything (Pulmonologist, sleep study, pfts, abd ultrasound, endoscopy, stress test, and echo) in Nov. then changed docs in Dec. But I'm definitely excited that this insurance hurdle is done, On to the next one.
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About Me
Dec 29, 2009
I am a 32 year old female mother of 1. I am 5'6 and 270lbs. I have struggled with my weight since I was 14 years old. I am from the south and African American where men actually liked women who were "thick" so I never had the pressure of being thin. When I was 19 I was married and found myself at 230lbs. A couple years later I read about the Atkins diet and lost about 80lbs. I loved being 150lbs. I joined Ballys and kept the weight off with working out 6days a week and dieting if i gained 10-15 lbs. Sometimes I would workout 2 times a day. Wish I had that drive today. At 30 I was on another diet because I was 175lbs. The weight had snuck up on me and was harder than ever to come off. A few weeks later I found out I was pregnant. I stopped working out because I had a miscarriage in the past and I didn't know what caused it. I started gaining weight like crazy. I gained all the way to 265lbs. Over the past 2 years I have been struggling to take this weight off. I had lost 50 lbs by the end of this summer and something snapped and I've gained it all back plus 5.
I looked at the lap band a year ago and thought I should really try in my own...again. By the time I researched the band it was a no go. Too much of a risk of not loosing all my weight. So decided to have the RNY. When I mentioned to the first obesity clinic I wanted the RNY everyone in the group looked at me as if I'd grown a second head. Everyone was having the lap band done. I continued to research the RNY and it had its pluses and minuses but I was bothered by the amount of regain many patients were having. I really felt like I would be one of these people. Several times I was on the revision board and many wanted a revision of their RNY. Many suggested the DS. I really thought the DS was for bmi over 50 so I didn't bother. After doing much research. My insurance company will cover the DS. When I read about the DS I knew this was the one for me. I could have a normal eating experience with my family, my meat won't get stuck, and I can even have some fat in my diet. WHY IS THIS DS SUCH A SECRET?
So decided with the DS and of course my first doc didn't do DS although her profile says she does. Its good though I was uncomfortable there anyway. My new doctor is Dr. Roslin at Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC. He seems to be a great doctor and very confident. I am excited and nervous for what is to come but I embrace it and pray everything will work out wonderfully.
0 comments
I looked at the lap band a year ago and thought I should really try in my own...again. By the time I researched the band it was a no go. Too much of a risk of not loosing all my weight. So decided to have the RNY. When I mentioned to the first obesity clinic I wanted the RNY everyone in the group looked at me as if I'd grown a second head. Everyone was having the lap band done. I continued to research the RNY and it had its pluses and minuses but I was bothered by the amount of regain many patients were having. I really felt like I would be one of these people. Several times I was on the revision board and many wanted a revision of their RNY. Many suggested the DS. I really thought the DS was for bmi over 50 so I didn't bother. After doing much research. My insurance company will cover the DS. When I read about the DS I knew this was the one for me. I could have a normal eating experience with my family, my meat won't get stuck, and I can even have some fat in my diet. WHY IS THIS DS SUCH A SECRET?
So decided with the DS and of course my first doc didn't do DS although her profile says she does. Its good though I was uncomfortable there anyway. My new doctor is Dr. Roslin at Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC. He seems to be a great doctor and very confident. I am excited and nervous for what is to come but I embrace it and pray everything will work out wonderfully.
