grandmapatti

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It has been a couple years since I have posted.  Where does the time go?  Life just keeps flying by.  

I am still working.  My job was scheduled to end, but a lady in a different part of the office took an early retirement, so I applied for and got her job, which was a permanent position.  I am still there, and probably will be until I am able to retire.

My weight has pretty much stableized (sort-of).  I had lost a total of 124 lbs, and have regained about 40.  IT is truly a struggle.   I joined the gym back in June, and for the first couple months went faithfully 5 times a week, in addition to the clog dancing.  In August we went to Montana for a couple weeks, and since returning home, I make it to the gym 2 - 3 times a week.  I have gained 2 lbs since joining the gym.  I try to keep my protein up, I park 3 blocks away from where I work, when the weather permits I go walk during lunchtime.  I'm not sure what else I can do at this point.  I'm not over eating, my portions are still small (I do not want to stretch my pouch).  Sometimes I feel like it was all a waste of time.  But I think I could be satisfied not losing any more as long as I stopped gaining.

My grandson is growing up so fast.  He will be 4 in just a few weeks, and is the delight of my life.  He is very bright, and such a happy child.  I just wish he lived closer to us.  They moved about 60 miles away last month so his parents could attend college.  We will get to have him this weekend, so I'm excited about that.

One thing I am definitely not excited about is the fact that my mom is now in end stages of cancer.  She was doing so well for so long, but now is in a very rapid decline.  She just went on Hospice care a week ago, and what a change in that short time.  I think if things continue at this rate she will be gone by Thanksgiving.   I will miss her.  I am trying to spend as much time as I can with her while she is still with us. 

Ok, I think I'm done for now.  Thanks for listening.

It has been 2 years and 2 days since my surgery.  I went from 281 lbs down to 157 lbs.  Over the past 6 months, I have gained back about 9 lbs, but am holding pretty steady there.  I just had my 2-year followup visit with my Dr, and he was quite pleased with the way things are going.  He is not concerned about the weight I have re-gained, and encouraged me to increase the amount of exercise I am doing to help bring my weight back down.  My original goal was to reach 135 lbs, but after talking with him, I believe 145 - 150 would be more realisitc.

I have been working since July, got a short-term job with the State.  The people there are great, but I'm not too excited about the work.  Call centers really are not my cup of tea.  But, its scheduled to end in June, so maybe I will get the summer off.  It was nice having a year off.  Who knows, maybe I'll get to take a year off, work for a year, take a year off...

I am starting to toy with the idea of plastic surgery.  I think I would like to get rid of a bunch of the saggy skin, and maybe get a boob job.  But I know its something that insurance probably won't cover, so I would have to come up with the cash for it.   Any ideas how to pay for it?

My little grandson just turned 2 in November.  He is so much fun.  He's such a happy little guy.  Almost never fusses, even when he's tired.  He gets to come spend the weekend with me next week.  Looking forward to seeing him again.

Guess that's all for now.  Good night.

I just had my 9-month followup visit today, and everything is going great.  I'm down to 168, bringing the total pounds lost to 113.  All my comorbidities have been resolved, the last being sleep apnea.  I had a followup sleep study about a month ago, and the result was no more apnea.  YEA!! I don't have to use the cpap machine any more!

I am still looking for work, but in the mean time I am using some of the time to be more active.  Three days a week, after dropping my son off at school, I go to the local shopping mall and walk laps.  I walk about 2 miles each time.  Plus, I have joined a clog dancing group, and go dancing every Tuesday evening, and practice at home several times a week.  Its great fun, and a good aerobic workout.  You can check out the group at www.cherrycitycloggers.com.

Guess thats all for this time.

Well, the good news is that I have passed the 100 lb mark as of July 29.  I am now down to 179, a total of 102 lbs lost.   I am in a size 14/16, and have a hard time shopping for clothes because I can't seem to decide which section I belong in.  I am so used to going to the plus size section that thats where I usually go first.  Then I remember that I'm not a plus size anymore, and have to find the right section.  But I'm at that in-between place where nothing really fits very well.  My husband agreed that as a reward for hitting the 100 lb mark, that I could get one brand new outfit.  My problem has been finding one that (a) I like and (b) it fits.  Oh, well.  If that's my worst problem, then I am in great shape.

The bad news is that I got fired from my job yesterday.  Someone made a horrible accusation against me, and the boss chose to believe them over me, and let me go after 7 + years of faithful service.  So now I am starting over in the job search process, something I haven't had to do in a long time.  If anyone has any tips or pointers I would appreciate them very much. 

Guess that's all for this time.  My sewing machine is calling my name.

I had my 6-month post op visit this past week, and things are going very well.  I am down to 183, which is a total of 98 lbs lost (I was hoping for 100, but thats ok).  All my labs came back good, except for the iron again.  It is higher now than it was last time.  He decided to hold off on the referral, and instead have me take 2 different type of vitamins.  One day I am to take a regular Centrum chewable vitamin, the next day a  Centrum Silver chewable.  I guess the Silver ones have less iron in them.  And if that doesn't do enough, I will have to switch entirely to the Silver.  And if THAT doesn't work, then I will get the referral.

My son gave me a hug this morning, and was in awe that he can wrap his arms around me and grasp his elbows behind my back.  Before, all he could do was to grasp his wrists.   The dr's office gave me a copy of my before photos, and when I showed them to my son, he couldn't believe those were really me.  He said he didn't remember me being that big.

My husband agreed that for my reward for losing 100 lbs, I get to go buy a NEW outfit.  I have been getting most of my clothes from goodwill and other second hand stores, so I thought that would be a nice reward.  I told him it wouldn't be too expensive, because I don't want to put a lot of money into something that I won't be able to wear for very long.  I am currently in a size 16, down from a 26/28. 

Well, I can't think of anything else to say, so I guess that's all for now.

Well, as of Saturday morning, May 10, 2008, I no longer weigh 200+ lbs.  I am down to 199, a weight I haven't seen in over 16 years.  That puts me at a total weight loss so far of 82 lbs.

Some days I have trouble seeing any difference when I look in the mirror, probably because I see myself every day, and change is so gradual.  But when I need a moment of "wow", all I need to do is look at my driver license photo.  Boy, was my face fat!!  Not any more.  I have A chin, not 3 chins.   And I like that a lot.

Well, its been 3 months since surgery, and I'm down 38 lbs (actually 78, because I lost 40 prior to surgery).  I am only 4 lbs away from being under 200, a weight I haven't seen in over 15 years.  I have gone from a size 26/28 down to an 18/20.  And I have a neck again, not just all chin.  And for the first time since I have known him, I weigh less than my husband!  My next big goal is to weigh less than my 16 year old son. 


I still have trouble with water, and other clear liquids like crystal light and s/f koolaid.  But my butt doesn't hurt nearly as much as it did.  I got a different chair at work, and that made a world of difference.  

At my 3-month checkup, my dr. told me that my liver functions are all now normal (I didn't kow they weren't before).  Also, I have been anemic for YEARS, and on iron supplements.  He had me stop taking them before surgery, and now he tells me that my iron reserves are a little too high.  Me?  High iron levels?  You gotta be kidding!  So, now they will be checking on that every time I go in.  And if they get much higher, I wll be getting a referral to a hematologist to figure out how to bring it down.  This is a problem I never in a million years would have thought I would have.    

I guess thats all for now.  Don't know what else to say.  My next appointment is in July, so if I don't update before then, I will at that time. 

Well, it's been a month since surgery, and so far I have lost 15 lbs.  Perhaps I am being unrealistic in my expectations, but I keep thinking it should be coming off faster than that.  But still, 15 lbs in one month I guess is pretty good.

I have been having a lot of trouble getting enough fluids, because water gives me a stomachache.  I try to drink other things, but some days its just hard.  Lately I have been trying to drink milk a lot (1%).  I figured I could maybe get my liquids and protein at the same time.  I also do ok with herbal teas and sugar free hot chocolate.  

On a brighter note, I am able to wear a shirt that is size XL instead of 2X or 3X.  It has been 15 years since I have been this small.  And I can now fit my wedding ring on my middle finger.  I think I will have to put it away pretty soon, until my weight stableizes.  Then I can have it resized.  I only want to have to do that once.  On the down side, my butt sure hurts.  Apparently I am losing all my padding, and when I sit too long its hard to get up.   That's something no one ever warned me about before I got so fat.

They're promising us 60 degree weather for this weekend, so maybe I can get out and do some walking.  It has been so cold and wet lately that I haven't been too interested in going out.  I usually end up at the mall, or walking the aisles at Walmart, and end up spending money I shouldn't.

So, I guess that's all for now.  Not much else to tell this time.

Well, I did it.  I am now five days post-op, and to be perfectly honest, I sometimes ask myself "What have I done?!"  The surgery itself went well, absolutely no complications.  I woke up in recovery quite confused, though, because during the surgery, I had a dream that my surgery was for next week.  So it took me a few minutes to figure out what I was doing in the hospital.  My sister went with me to the hospital, and stayed right with me until they took me into surgery.  She was planning on being in my room when I came out of recovery, but after they gave her the room number, they decided to put me in a different room.  So she ended up waiting for over an hour in the wrong room.  There were a lot of things that went wrong care-wise that first night, but the next morning my bariatric nurse talked to the nurse-manager, and things were much better for the next couple days.  My bariatric nurse told me that its quite common to gain as much as 10 lbs during the hospital stay, due to the iv fluids and such, but when they weighed me just prior to discharge I had gained only 2.  I was quite happy with that.

My first night at home was the worst.  I think it was becasue I went too long without eating anything.  I arrived home around 1:30 pm, had a small snack, and took a nap in the recliner.  The nap ended up being close to 5 hours.  Then when I did try to eat something, I was rocked by waves of nausea.  I ended up bent over the kitchen sink holding a pillow between me and the countertop.  After 3 or 4 failed attempts to throw up, the heaving finally stopped.  But oh, the pain.  I was ready right then to have my husband take me back to the hospital.  

Fortunately, things are much better now.  I keep a water bottle on the night stand, and first thing in the morning before I get up, I take a couple sips, just so there is SOMETHING in my stomach.  I try to drink at least one ounce every 15 minutes, but don't always succeed.   My husband is always encouraging (nagging?) me to walk more, and I am trying.  

I am so looking forward to my postop appointment, to have the drains and staples removed.  I think when I get home from that I will spend about three hours in the shower to make up for lost time.

This last week has been ... interesting.  I have been on liquids only since Monday, feel like I am starving 90 % of the time, and this morning when I got  on the scales, I had gained a pound since yesterday.  How can that be??  I'm only taking in about 600 calories a day, getting lots of protein, and drinking water until I feel like my teeth are floating.  It was very disheartening, to say the least.  At least the sound of the shower drowned out the sound of my tears.  But the day progressed, and I was able to get through.  I had my final weigh-in midmorning today, and according to THEIR scales, I had actually lost about 4 lbs since my pre-op on the 2nd.  So that made the day a little better.    But I really, really miss chewing!

I am looking forward to tomorrow, because I get to babysit my new grandson all day.  I don't get to see him nearly often enough.  He is such a sweet baby.  So happy all the time.  He always has a big smile for me.

On Sunday I  have to go on clear liquids only, and then nothing at all, not even water, after midnight Sunday night.  I am scheduled in the OR at 10:45 am.  I have to be there, checked in, by 8:30.  My wonderful sister is going to take me, and she will be my photojournalist.  I will be doing a scrapbook of this journey I am undertaking, and maybe someday my story may help or inspire someone else.