Christina S.
Went for my sleep study last night.. Those wires and goo that they use are horrible.. I got maybe 30 mins worth of sleep total but the tech was able to tell that I have sleep apnea.. I wont know how severe it is till I hear from the doctor..
Got my sleep study results.. I have severe sleep apnea..
Everything is on hold for now.. My husband is in the process of getting a new job.. He worked at the same company for 10 yrs and they are having a huge lay off. So now he is in the final stages of getting a new job.. Just has one more test to pass and if that goes well he will start his new job on 4-12-04.. Not sure what the new Health Insurance is that we will have but as soon as he gets the job and Im covered I will start looking into contacting the surgeon again..
Hubby starts his new job on April 12th.. Will start looking into having this surgery after we have Health insurance again! My health is getting worse.. Having a hard time getting around, head aches are back even though Im on 2 different blood pressure meds, back, knees, feet and ankles are bothering me.. I dont look forward to summer cause I dont want to be getting all the rashes under my breasts and belly "apron" and cant forget about the thigh rashes!
Well we finally have health insurance again.. So now I need to go back and start seeing my PCP and then make an appointment to see Dr Koren.. Ive been eating healthy but the weight doesnt want to come off.. Cant do much exercise cause my feet start to burn and ache if I stand on them for to long.. I really need to get this surgery, my health is going down hill by the day.. I go through depressed stages.. I didnt notice them but my hubby did and brought it to my attention right away.. There is so much more for me to write but i just dont know where to start, so I wont get into it..
Went to see my PCP today. BP is still high, told him about my depression, he gave me a scrip for Meridia BUT my perscription plan wont cover it and we cant afford to pay $125 for 30 days worth of meds.. So I called my PCP up to let him know and now Im awaiting a call back to see what med he will put me on now.. He was trying to hit 2 birds with one stone with the meridia but the perscription company didnt fall for it.. My pcp also gave me a higher dose on my BP med.. After I was done at my PCP office I stopped by Dr. Koren's office.. Made my appointment to see him, Aug 17th!! Cant Wait.. Bought some sugar free ice pops the other day and they are really good!! Also bought some lean cuisien meals, Im going to have one tonight for dinner and see how it is since hubby is working the 3-11 shift and our son is with my parents on vacation.. Hubby is nervous that the insurance company wont approve me since we have only had this new company for about 1 month.. Im going to remain hopeful and pray that things finally go our way and I will be able to have this surgery and start living my new life and enjoy doing things with my son and husband!!
Consult went great.. Dr Koren is awesome.. I felt very comfy talking to him and he made me feel like I am equal and not just a fat person talking to him.. Need to take another sleep study since I never went back and get my cpap machine.. So I need to call and make an appointment for that.. Then I need to make an appointment for my psych testing and my nutritional class and have some other testing. All in all today was a great day and Dr Koren said that our insurance is one of the best and he has a 100% approval record with them!! Im so excited!!
Later the same day.. Called Easton Hospital for my cpap study and they dont have any openings till Oct 2nd, so I called St Lukes and they got me in for this thursday the 19th.. Its been such a busy day.. When we got home from my consult and picking our son up from my parents house my 3 dogs had to go out to potty well one of them wasnt acting right and kept acting like she still had to pee even though she had already went 3 times.. Well to make a long story short she has blood in her urine and she is going to the vet in the morning.. If it isnt one thing its another that costs money.. We are pretty sure its a UTI so I need to collect her pee in a cup.. So if you see some crazy fat lady chasing her dog around with a cup in the morning you know its me.. LOL
Well I went for my cpap study last night at St Luke's.. They had me watch a video on cpap.. Hooked me up to all the wires, put the goo in my hair, tried on every mask they had and none were comfy. So I said to myself to grin and bare it and took the full face mask.. Tried to fall asleep with that one and it wasnt going to happen, it felt like it was bruising my cheeks, so I yelled for Mary Ann my nurse and she brought me the mask that just covers your nose.. It was a lot more comfy and I laid back down and tried to fall asleep.. Just as I was ready to dose off I felt like I wasnt able to breathe and felt like someone was suffocating me.. I guess she could tell someone was wrong and came in the room and asked if I was ok.. Nope Im not ok and I started to cry.. So I ended up leaving around 1:30am.. Called Dr Koren this morning and he said that I just need to go see the Pulmonary doctor and see if they can do anything for me and if not then thats ok too, I might just have to spend 1 night in the ICU after I have my surgery.. Im not thrilled about maybe having to stay in the ICU but I will do whatever I have to do to start living a healthier happy life!!
Had blood work done yesterday for H. Pylori.. I go see Dr. Miller On Monday at 8am, then on wednesday I go for my gallbladder ultrasound and chest xray at Easton Hospital.. Wednesday afternoon at 4:30 I have to be at St. Lukes to see Dr. Brau and bring my chest xrays from Easton Hospital and he is going to give me the OK hopefully to have this surgery since I cant wear a cpap mask! Tried to get a hold of Mandy today but she wasnt in so I left a voicemail, Maybe she will call me back tomorrow. Im trying to set up an appt to attend the Nutritional class this Saturday after I attend the support group meeting.. On Sept 7th I go see my PCP and I have a letter already made up for him to sign saying he feels I need to have this surgery, Im going to take the same letter to Dr. Brau too.. After that I think I will be all set for Dr. Koren to submitt for approval from the Insurance company!!
Well this weekend was pretty good.. Went to my first support group meeting and it was great.. It was good to hear from the people that already had surgery and to hear questions from other pre-ops.. Tomorrow I have to be at Dr. Millers office at 8am and after Im done taking the test I go over to Easton Hospital and meet with Mandy.. Well thats all I can write for now.. My son is home and his video just ended and its time for him to get in his jammies and head to bed.. Think Im gonna head to bed early tonight since I have to be up early for my appt tomorrow..
I saw Dr Miller and Mandy last week, Everything went well with those appointments.. Mandy asked when I would like to have my surgery and I said ASAP.. So she said after they receive the OK's from Dr Brau and Hakim that they will send in for approval and maybe by the end of Sept I will have a date!! Also saw Dr. Brau last week.. He said he will give me the OK for surgery.. He says I do need a cpap machine and that he is going to get me one that is auto set is something like that.. I will have to be on it for 2 weeks and it will record all the info and then they will know what setting I need to be on.. The lady from the supply store called and said they are out of that type of Cpap machine so my name is on the list and it should be a few weeks till I get one.. When I go in to pick it up they are going to work with me to find a mask that is semi comfy and one that I wont panic while wearing.. My son is at Hershey park today with my parents so Ive been busy cleaning and washing curtains and windows.. I have to leave soon to go to Newark airport to pick up my grandfather (Johnny).. He has been on vacation for the past 5 weeks visiting some of his family in Puerto Rico.. On the car ride home Im going to tell him that I will be having this surgery if I get approved.. See he really isnt my grandfather.. He lived with my Grandmother since before I was born, and then about 6 yrs ago they got married.. So I think of him as my grandfather cause he was the only grandfather "type" man around while I was growing up.. My real grandfather was never around.. My grandmother passed away a yr ago so now Johnny only really has my mom & dad and my family here in NJ.. So I think he will be moving to Puerto Rico to be with his brothers and sisters soon.. I just have that gut feeling.. Its going to be hard on me but I just want him to be happy.. I hate seeing him living alone and not really have anyone to talk to and fight with everyday.. See my Nan and him use to fight and yell at each other almost every hour, but I know that they loved each other very much, no matter what she use to say.. :-) Well enough of me rambling today..
Turned the Big 30 Today!!
Found out today that Dr. Koren sent in for my approval.. Hopefully we will know if I get approved by next week.. Im praying they approve me.. Thats about it for now..
Got a call from Ann from the office of Dr. Koren stating that I have been APPROVED!! Wow that was so fast.. This is like a dream come true.. We are waiting to find out when my hubby can get off from work, then I will get a date, but we are thinking Oct 5th or 7th!!
I got a date of Oct 7th!! My nerves are starting to kick in.. Getting all the little what ifs.. Wouldnt you know it my period just started and knowing me it will still be here for my surgery.. Just one more thing to deal with now! Went to Walmart today to pick up some things to take with me to the hospital.. Got my bottled water and sugar free jello, plus some tiny containers to put the jello in.. Also got a food scale and measuring cups since I didnt have them.. Then came home and cleaned my house for a good part of the day.. Washed some windows and curtains and dusted.. Cleaned the bathroom last night.. Tuesday I will give the 3 dogs a bath so they will be nice and clean since I dont think I will be able to bend over the tub for a while and bathe them.. Good thing my son is able to pretty much bathe himself I just sit in the bathroom and make sure he gets everything clean.. This sounds stupid but I made sure to tell my hubby about all the things I want done incase something goes wrong.. Im so afraid of not ever coming back home and being able to hug my little boy.. OK enough thinking like that. Everything WILL be fine!!
Well today is my big day.. Have to be at the hospital at 12:30 and go in for surgery at 2:30.. Of course I got my period so I will have to deal with that.. My nerves are doing ok now, but Im sure they will get worse as the hours tick away.. Woke up at 6am and started cleaning my house since I couldnt sleep.. Im so excited about this new change in my life but I dont look foward to the pain from the surgery.. I made small containers of SF jello so I will have that when I need it, stocked up on brooth and bottled water and my protein shakes are on the UPS truck.. Still need to pack and run to wally world to pick up a few things but Im ready to be at the hospital and start my new life!!
Pray for me that everything goes well..
Well where do I begin.. I had my surgery on Oct 7th.. We arrived at Easton Hospital at 12:20, supposed to be there by 12:30 so we thought great we are early, waited for my name to be called so I could go back to register. Finally at 12:40 they call my name.. 1:00 she finishes registering me and we go up to the in and out surgery waiting room where they ask who I am and then go on to say oh we called your house we have been waiting for you.. Dr. Koren was ahead and they were waiting for me in the OR already.. Ok if that wasnt enough to make the nerves go through the roof I dont know what would.. Ok so they take me back to change, they didnt have any big gowns so the lady had to find one.. She comes back and asks if Im ready and i told her I was still waiting for my gown! I wasnt about ready to walk out of that little room naked!! She brings me my gown and then takes me back to my bed in the in and out surgery wainting area.. My hubby stayed with me while they did what they had to do there.. They let me get up and go pee and then they started my IV and gave me a shot in my belly.. The belly shot didnt hurt at all.. So here comes Mandy and she has me sign all these conscent forms and before I know it they are rolling me off to the OR.. Hubby is still next to my side and Im doing ok and not sheding a tear till we get to the OR doors.. Mandy tells them to wait so my hubby could say good bye and give me a kiss.. Well the first thing that went through my head and this is it and I may never see my little blue eyed blonde haired son or my DH.. Hubby bends down to give me a kiss and I can see his eyes filling up with tears so that didnt help me any so the tears started rolling and before I knew it Im in the OR waiting room and some guy is asking me why Im cying.. Of course me being a NASCAR fan and this guy was wearing a Little D # 8 OR hat I had to just roll my eyes and smile at him and he said on no not a Jeff Gordon fan!! I knew right then that everything would be OK for some reason.. They looked in my throut and were worried about getting a tube in so they numbed it with some yucky stuff.. Rolled me into the freezing OR, told me to get onto the OR bed and they strapped me down and told me to open my mouth and he stuck something in it and then sprayed some gross stuff again and said they could get a tube in my throat.. That is about all I remember except for waking up in recovery with a wonderful nurse by myside, never did catch her name.. I know she told me it but I cant remember it.. My mouth was soooo dry and she wrapped some ice in gauge and rubbed it on my lips and tongue, it was like heaven sent!! I was out of recovery and in my room by I think 4:30 -5pm.. They rolled me into my room and my DH was there waiting for me with a huge smile.. The next few days in the hospital were rough.. I dont know what I wouldve done if my DH wasnt there cause all of the nurses were so tiny they wouldve never been able to get me up out of bed without me hurting them or them hurting me.. I was up and out of my chair that night for about an hour.. Didnt walk that night cause I didnt want to walk with that cath in my coochie.. Once the cath was out the next morning I was up and walking around.. Getting up out of bed was the worst part of it all.. My left side was the only place that hurt me, it felt like a horse kicked me in my ribs.. Dr. Koren and Mandy took me down for my leak test and everything was good, came back and was able to drink water.. They forgot to bring me my broth that night so hubby asked them for it, dang I wish he wouldnt have.. It was gross!! Mandy took my drain out later in the afternoon on Friday.. What a weird feeling that is.. Feels like a snake being pulled out of your side, not hurtful but its a very odd feeling.. Saturday morning Dr. Koren came and asked if i passed gas yet.. Nope.. I was nervous about that but he said not to worry.. So he wrote up my discharge papers and we were just waiting for Mandy to get there.. By the time she got there i was all dressed and the car was packed I was ready to get out of there!! I was out of the hospital around 9:30am and home by 10am.. Ive been home 4 days now and things have improved very much so.. I was home only about 30 mins and I passed gas.. I was never so happy to fart in my life!! So far everything Ive ate stays down and havent had any problems.. Had my first BM yesterday, hubby helped me out with cleaning up from that cause I was nervouse about twisting, but by the time I had my 3rd BM last night I was able to do it.. I just couldnt handle having anyone else wipe my butt!! I did have some milk yesterday and I think thats why I had so many BMs.. Mandy said sometimes milk will go through you..
I go in to have my staples removed at 4:15 today.. Im afraid that its going to hurt but everyone tells me it wont.. Im still tender in my biggest incision all the others itch like a @itch.. I cant wait to get weighed and see if I lost anything.. Its going to be hard to tell since no one weighed me before I went into the OR, last time I was weighed was back in Aug..
Just got home from Dr. Korens office and Ive only lost #6 so far..
Went in for my 3 week check up and Im down another 13lbs (total of 19lbs in 3 weeks).. So much has changed in 3 weeks.. Im able to walk from walmart to my house, its about 4 or 5 blocks.. Before surgery I was able to even walk up my driveway without stopping midway.. I owe my life to Dr. Koren he is a miracal worker.. I was so depressed before this surgery, I was on medicine for depression and now Im not depressed and Im starting to feel like my old self before I gained all this weight.. I even talked to my best friend on the phone today and she could tell the difference in me just from my voice..
On another note Im having a hard time getting in all my fluids, Dr. Koren said I need to try harder, so I bought some diet caffiene free pepsi and Im going to try and see how that is.. Ive been only drinking water and crystal lite.. I havent had a problem with any food. The only thing I did wrong was I either ate to fast or didnt chew a piece of chicken good and it came back up.. Im going to start walking on my treadmill more cause I want more ponds to come off!!
Well where do I start.. Took my son trick or treating and I was able to walk around with him for the full 2 hrs without being short of breathe.. I even took our big dog with us and had her pulling me around.. Im not having any problems with the food I eat except when I eat to fast or done chew very good, then it comes back up.. I cant eat dinner with my hubby and son cause they eat to fast and it makes me want to do the same.. I still have the bad habitt of cooking way to much food so we always have left overs.. Tonight Im going to make a boneless turkey breast with stuffing and taters and a veggie, I will let my son pick out the veggie..
Hubby isnt working right now, he was on probabtion at work since he was new and messed up on some paperwork so they left him go the day before my surgery.. Talk about bad timing.. So now we dont have any health insurance till he finds another job, they sent us Cobra papers in the mail but who has $600 a month to pay for health insurance!! I started a newspaper route on Friday, so we all get up and do that.. Its extra money but its a lot of wear and tear on the cars.. From the time we wake up till the time we get home it takes us about 3 hrs.. The worst part is getting my son back to bed when we get home!! Im still having trouble getting in all my fluids, I take water with me all the time and it seems like Im always drinking but its just not enough..
Im having a really hard time with meats right now.. Everything else goes down ok but it seems like no matter how well I chew any meats they get that "stuck" feeling and within a few minutes they come back up.. Right now Im just going to put myslf back on soups and not eat any meat thats in the soups.. I did have eggplant parm and shepperds pie and both went down easy and stayed down with no problems.. Right now soup broth feels the best on my pouch.. I can drink flat diet caffeine soda if Im having a hard time getting my liquids in.. Ive also started to drink a cup or two of sanka a day (of course out of my Longaberger mugs!!) I plan on stopping by Dr. Korens office next week to see if I can weigh myself, since my scale at home wont accept my weight that Im at right now.. Well thats about all for now..
All is going well Im down 31 lbs.. Wish it was more but it isnt.. Im not getting in as much walking now that it is so darn cold out.. I have a treadmill but find it easier to go out for a walk then to just walk on the treadmill and watch TV.. When Im on the treadmill my son always wants to bug me and by the time he goes to bed Im so tired that I go to sleep too.. Hubby is still looking for a job.. Not much out there in the pay rate that he is looking for.. Sometimes its like talking to a wall.. I hate not having any health insurance.. Still not doing to well with eating any meats.. So I just stick to soup and soft mushy foods.. Im doing a little better on getting in my fluids but still not as much as I should be getting in.. Well thats about all.. I go see Dr. Koren on the 25th I will update after I return from seeing him..
Well I went to see Dr. Koren on the 24th and I was down to 352 so that was 34 lbs gone for good. Today I got on the scale and Im down to 350 so 36 lbs gone for good as of today.
Thanksgiving was a good day. Spent it with my family and some cousins that came to visit my parents. Im able to do so much more, I can bend and move, wash things that were hard to wash before. Today we are going to start decorating the house for Xmas. It will be nice to do all the windows and not have to take a break and sit down after each window..
Well as of today Im down 46 lbs.. Not much to update.. Im pretty much able to hold down meats now.. Im still finding it hard to get in all of my fluids and I find it very hard to not drink right after Im done with my dinner.. Ive been working out and I can really feel it in my butt and thigh muscles!! Went shopping and looking in a full length mirror and I can really see a difference..
Well my day didnt start off to good.. My hubby, son and myself left the house around 1:30 am to deliver newspapers for the Express Times..We were almost half way done with the route and I get to Good Springs Road in Broadway, NJ. The road was still snow covered so I slow down and have my jeep in 4 wheel drive.. We are driving down the road and I go around the corner and there stands a deer in the middle of the road. Not thinking about the roads still being snowy and icy I slam on the brakes and the jeep starts to fish tail and I tried my damnest to get that damn jeep straight again but I couldnt and within a split second I knew things were going to be bad, I seen a line trees in front of me and all I could think about was not to let the trees hit the passenger back side cause thats where my son was sitting.. It wasnt like I had any control of where the Jeep was going to hit butI didnt want my son to get hurt, we went down the embankment semi airborn and my drivers side front hit a tree bounced around and the back end of the jeep hit another tree.. While this was all happening all I could think about how I was going to die and I will never be able to see my son grow up and have that 2nd child that my husband and I want so bad.. When the jeep came to a rest and I heard myself screaming I knew I was still alive and seen that my son and husband were fine.. After we made sure each other were ok we called 911 and got out of the jeep and climbed up the embankment and met a local fire fighter that just lived around the corner.. Called my parents and they came to pick us up.. Needless to say I told the Express that I will not being delivering anymore newspapers, its just not worth risking my family's lives.. I really do beleive that my Nan was watching over us this morning.. I always feel that she is with us and this just proves it since none of us got hurt.. We are not sure if the Jeep can be fixed or not.. We should know by tomorrow..
On a better note I had my appointment to see Dr. Koren today and he said that Im doing great.. Im down 70 lbs!! 72 with no clothes on at my home scale.. LOL
Well not much has changed with me.. Im pretty much able to eat anything that Im supposed too and keep it down.. Hubby finally got a job!! Its with the company he use to work at for 10 yrs.. They are starting him back at his pay rate that he was at when he left so that is great!! Only thing that I dont like is he will be working midnights.. I rally hate that but it will take me a little time to get use to being without him at night..
Found out that the Jeep is fixable so it will be a good month till we get that back then we are going to sell hubby's truck and just keep the Jeep and my Camry.. Im looking for another job, gonna try to find something that I can do from home other then selling Longaberger since I already do that on the side..
Oh and I almost for to tell everyone about the new little addition to our family!! We got a new puppy, She is an English Bulldog, red brindle in color.. She is such a sweetie.. We are thinking about breeding her when she gets older. She has very good bloodlines and a great personality..
Not much to say.. Im able to keep everything down now.. Did have 2 days with very bad pains in my lower back that went around my side to my lower tummy.. These were 2 different days after I ate eggplant.. So Im guessing that eggplant gives me very very bad gas pains.. So I wont be eating that ever again! Cant wait for Spring to get here and go outside and work in my yard.. This is the first year Im actually looking forward to it..
Over the weekend we went out looking for land in PA.. Near the Effort, Kunkletown area.. Didnt find anything we like yet.. But when spring gets here Im sure a lot more people will start listing land.. Once we find some land we like we are going to buy it and then within a few year we plan on having a new house built.. The taxes in NJ are just killing us and we have a small house and small yard.. Need to get something bigger so my son and the dogs have a yard to run around in.. We are looking to buy atleast an acre or two..
Things are going soooo good.. Im finally able to do things with my son and hubby.. I can go out and shovel the driveway, rake the yard, go for walks around the neighborhood, stand for a good amount of time without my feet bothering me.. I still have my heel spurs but they dont bother me half as much as they use too.. I can wear jeans now!!! I havent wore jeans in over 10 yrs.. I can wash areas of my body without having to lean on the wall in the shower.. Life is soooo good!!!!! Ive lost 97 Lbs so far.. I go out on my own now and dont worry about people looking funny at me cause Im walking so slow, cause I dont walk so slow anymore!!!! I cant believe how much better I feel and Ive only lost 97 Lbs.. I wonder what I will feel like once I weigh 170 Lbs!!
Finally got our Jeep back and ended up selling my hubbys pick-up.. Car insurance on 3 cars was just to much and the 3 of us couldnt ride in the truck cause it was so small so thats why we sold it and kept the jeep.. Plus the Jeep is a 4x4.. I finally figured out how to add my own pics to my profile so Ive been working on that.. Now if I could just figure out how to make a chart for my weight loss I would be happy.. LOL
WooHoo Lost 100 Pounds And Im Only 5 Months And 2 Weeks Out Of Surgery!!!!!!!
Went to see Dr. Koren on Tuesday.. Everything is going well.. My blood pressure was normal for the first time!! I asked him how long we need to wait till hubby and I start trying to have another baby and he said we can start now!! But we are going to wait till around my birthday in Sept.. Waiting for a few reasons.. One of them is so I can lose even more weight and be even healthier for the pregnancy.. :-) Im happy to say that as of this morning Im down 113 pounds (with no clothes on) This is truley an amazing tool!!!
Well Im happy to say that Ive lost 130 lbs as of this morning and over 100 inches!! Its amazing the things I can do now that I couldnt do 8 months ago.. Yesterday we went to pick up our son at my parents house.. Well I went swimming for 4 hours non -stop.. I was swimming from one end of the pool to the other and its a pretty big in ground pool.. Just wish it was an indoor pool, my back and shoulders are burnt!! I wont go swimming in just a bathing suit.. I never would even as a kid, I always had to wear a shirt or a pair of shorts over the bathing suit.. Well yesterday I wore my bathing suit and a pair of mens XL boxers!! Yes you read that right XL.. I still cant believe it.. My thighs use to be way to big to even fit in to a pair of boxers..
Now that warmer weather is here Im trying to get in even more water.. We buy the Walmart flavored water by the cases!! I love that stuff but I will only drink the black cherry.. Been wanting some iced tea now that the warm weather is here but I wont drink it cause I use to live off of it.. Gave that up a week before my surgery.. I do have a diet caff free pepsi a few times a week.. i can drink it flat or not, not much at a time tho.. I can not drink Milk.. It makes me dump for some reason.. It usually will come back up and I feel real tired after I have a small cup so I just dont drink it anymore.. Other then that I cant eat rice or pork.. Everything else goes down good and stays down..
Another thing that made me feel good was we were selling a fish tank and someone came to look at it and it was my OB/GYN that delievered my son.. Well Dr. Mann couldnt believe how much weight I lost.. He wasnt to happy with me cause I havent been going to get my yearly, but I just hate having those done.. I know we all do but........... LOL Well he bought the fishtank and he was asking me who did my surgery.. Told him Dr. K did it and he just couldnt stop saying how great of a lap surgeon Dr. K is.. He said that he even scrubbed in and watched Dr. K do a surgery!! Told Dr. Mann that hubby are going to start trying for another baby soon, I think he said he has 6 KIDS now!! I think I would go crazy.. LOL Also found out that one of the Doctors in the OB/GYN office moved away.. Dr. Zarconi, she was awesome!! She was with me when I lost our first baby and was a very caring doctor.. Kinda made me upset to find out that she moved..
Well I got a job!! Its nothing special just something to help out with some of our bills.. My friend is the boss of the McDonalds in the Clinton Walmart store.. He hired me and Im working roughly 3-9:30pm 4 days a week and 1-9:30 on sunday nights.. This will change once the normal lady comes back from family leave, then I will switch to 1pm-6pm, this way hubby will still be able to go in for over time at his job.. So for 2-3 weeks he will be not able to take any over time :-( But im doing this to help my friend out and then he is going to give me the hours I want.. This way someone will be home with Jonathan all the time.. When I came home from work tonight I got on the scale and weighed 252, I couldnt believe it.. I lost 3 pounds in once day!! Think it has to do with all the sweating Im doing while Im there.. One thing my family was worried about with me taking this job was me being around the food.. How was I going to deal with it.. Well Im happy to ay the food doesnt bother me at all.. What I do notice bothers me is how much some people order.. Some bigger people come in there and really order alot and sit down and eat it all.. It really makes me think back at how much I use to order and it.. Like tonight I had 1/4 of a piece of grill chicken and the other boss looked at me like is that all your going to eat and I had to explain to him about my surgery.. Then he understood.. Before that earlier in the day the other boss not the friend was showing me how to make a sundae, well he offered to me after we made it.. I just told him no and it felt sooooo good to not want that ice cream!!
I did bring home a salad and I will have some of it for lunch tomorrow and give the rest to my hubby for part of his dinner.. Well its almost midnight and Im so beat.. I need to buy one of those foot baths that massage your feet!!! They ache so bad, poor things are not use to standing for 8.5 hrs!
LIFE IS GOOD!!
Well we just got home from 2 nights of camping.. Its been over 5 yrs since we last went.. We had such a good time.. We walked around, did some fishing and hiking.. I was scared that I wouldnt be able to hike up the mountain after we went down it but my hubby said yes you can do it and I did it.. I was also carrying up a bucket full of 130 pond snails for our koi ponds.. I had to take a few breaks cause it was pretty steep and I had those cheap white $3 walmart shoes on.. LOL I had no idea that when we left the camp site to go fishing at the pond that it would be down a very long trail and down a very big hill!! We couldve drove the car there but I wanted to walk.. I even got up every morning and took our bulldog for a walk around the campground before the rest of my family got up.. The last time we went camping I ached so bad from laying on the air mattress and not having enough support for my weight.. Well this time I was fine.. Nothing bothered me, well except for the few bug bites!! LOL
Im down 140 pounds!! I do notice that I bruise very easy now.. I have a few bruises on my legs and dont even know how I got them.. My collar bones are noticable for the first time in many years!! My family now has a hard time keepping up with me.. Its so nice having to wait for them and not having to have them wait for me all the time!!I went from not being able to wear jeans to being into a size 22W now.. Im now in a loose size 2x shirt from a very tight 30/32 4x.. I need hubby to measure me again, last time he measured I lost over 100 inches!! My thighs are really looking gross but I can deal with that, anything is better then being the way I was before!!
Hope everyone else is doing GREAT!!
Took some new pictures today.. Im down to 243 Pounds!! Thats 143 lost forever!!
Picture Of Me & My Son "July 2005"
07-24-05
I have my appointment with Dr. K this Friday the 29th but I think Im going to have to call the office tomorrow and see if they can fit me in sooner.. Tuesday I took the hot tub cover off and that sucker is heavy, well anyway wednesday night I woke up to potty went to get up out of bed and had a pain in my left side.. Near where the biggest incision was.. I didnt think much of it and went back to sleep.. Still had pain when I woke up and still have it now, but yesterday morning while taking a shower I noticed a knot type lump under my skin.. So I think I have a hernia!! While I was feeling around I also felt another knot so I might have more then one.. They hurt but I can live with the pain for now cause I dont want to disturb Dr. K on the weekend.. He deserves his time off!!
On another note the scale hasnt moved much this week, Ive been losing and gaining the same 2 pounds.. Seems like Im retaining some water cause my ankles were a little tight feeling..
I dont really know how I got a hernia if I do have one.. Ive lifted the hot tub cover off a zillion times before.. Im wondering if it can be from my tummy being so darn saggy now? Hmm makes ya wonder..
07-30-05
Went to see Dr.Koren yesterday. Everything is good.. The knot I feel on my left side is a knot he put in with some rope during my surgery.. I guess I just pulled a muscle cause I dont have any more pain on my left side!! Ive been having some pain on my right side and it seems I have a fatty cyst there and its right over my gallbladder, so Im not really sure where the pain is coming from, he just told me if it gets worse to let him know.. Other then that everything is great!! Ive lost a total of 149 pounds as of this morning!!
08-02-05
As of Today Ive Lost 150 Pounds!!!!!!!
09-01-05
Well Im down 161 pounds as of this morning. Been having some problems with my period.. It was late last month, then it came lasted 10 days and went away for about 13 days and came back again. But when it came back it was a nightmare!! I knew it was here before I went to bed, took care of everything and went to bed around 11pm, woke up at 1am in a pool of blood.. Long story short I went to see my ob/gyn on tuesday and he thinks with the rapid weight loss that all the estrogen that was stored in my fat cells and that is what is making me bleed so heavy and often.. Lucky me!! He did send me for some blood work, I still have to go for an ultrsound and he is going to do a tissue test in a few weeks..
Other then that everything else is going great..
My son starts Kindergarten on Sept 6th.. Its going to be one of the hardest days of my life.. Just the thought of leaving my son with a total stranger drives me crazy!! But I will get over it and I know that everything will be fine..
9-27-05
Went to go see Dr. Koren today. Everything is going well. I just need to get in more fiber! By my scale at home I weigh in at 216.4 pounds!! Thats 170 pounds lost so far and Im not even a year out yet!!
10-26-05
Where do I begin?? Last friday Oct 21st my hubby got laid off from his job. Today I had to go see my OB/GYN cause I started having heavy bleeding and started passing blood clots. Long story short IM 7 WEEKS PREGNANT and my doctors feels that I was pregnant with TWINS and I lost one and that is what caused the heavy bleeding and the blood clots. She sent me to Warren Hospital for blood work and an Ultra Sound. Got a few pictures of the little one and the heart rate is 125 BPS.
Im scared shitless cause before we had our son we went through a miscarriage and Im having the same syptoms then that Im having now except the Twins theory.
Im still bleeding heavy, but she said as long as their is a heartrate then everything is ok.
All I can do is pray and hope that everything will be ok with this little baby and that my hubby will get a job real soon. We are going to have to pay the high rates of Cobra insurance, which I have no clue on how we are going to do it with all the other bills we have.
I have to call Dr. Korens office in the morning and let them know and see if there is anything else he might want me to do and how much food intake I should have now.
Oh and I got a job working at Shoprite in the Deli which I was supposed to go to today but had to call out and I wont be able to go to work till I stop bleeding so I dont think they will be holding onto my job and waiting for me! Oh well such is life, They say God only gives you as much as you can handle, Well between huby getting laid off, the shock of finding out Im pregnant when I had no clue, then hearing it was probably Twins and the bleeding and me not being able to go to my new job I dont know how much more I can handle so I hope he understands this!!
Please pray for my little baby.
11-01-05
Well so far everything is still the same. Im still spotting but its not bright red anymore. I go every 48 hrs for bloodwork to make sure my levels dont drop. Im on progesterone 100mg 3x a day. Right now everything is in gods hands and all we can do is pray.
I only lost 8 pounds this month but I guess that is ok since Im pregnant and all. Im having a really hard time getting my fluids in right now. Everything makes me feel like Im going to throw up even drinking. I was like this with my son too so Im pretty sure it has to do with the pregnancy and not anything else. I think it has a lot to do with my nerves too!
11-06-05
Well I had to go to the ER on Friday night. I started to bleed heavy again and passed some pretty big blood clots. Had another ultrasound done and everything is fine with the baby. The heartrate is up to 152 bps and he/she is growing well. Me on the other hand Im not doing well at all. Everything and anything makes me sick! Im having a VERY hard time getting in 20 ounces of fluids a day. The only things Im eating is runny soup and crackers with some peanut butter on them. They seem to be the only 2 things I can keep down right now. Im trying to stay with only liquid things since Ive been having day/night morning sickness and been throwing up a few times a day and I know that Ive made my pouch and insides very unhappy with the throwing up.
Im on bedrest so I havent been walking or able to do any exercise. Heck the only time my OB wants me out of bed is to potty and to eat.
Right now its 6:30 at night and Ive only drank 24 ounces of fluid and ate a small bowl of chicken soup, more broth then anything. I have to call my OB tomorrow and make an appt for a check up since thats what they told me to do at the ER Friday night. I really wish this OB worked with Easton hospital but he doesnt, he is with Warren hospital. My old OB moved to south NJ so I figured I would just go with one that was close to my house.
My husband and I have made the decision that if all goes well with this baby then we will be giving away our 2 cocker spaniels. We have 4 dogs now and the 2 cockers are the ones that require the most attention from me/us. They have to be groomed every few weeks, plus the one isnt too good with small children, she rather just be left alone then be bugged by a little kid. She sometimes gets snippy with Jonathan still. Its going to break my heart having to give them away and it will also break Jonathans heart too since they were his first dogs. But we have to do what is best for our family and I think that finding them a new home hopefully together is for the best.
11-24-06
Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving.
The baby is still hanging in and doing well.. Im 11 weeks pregnant and still having brownish discharge.. So far Ive had 5 ultra sounds and everything looks good, they just cant figure out what is causeing this discharge.. When I first found out I was pregnant 4 weeks ago I weighed in at 210 pounds at the doctors office, as of this morning Im weighing in at 196 pounds.. Im having a hard time with me pre-natal vitamins.. I have to call Dr. K and talk to him or Mandy and see if maybe a childrens vitamin would be ok to take till the baby is born.. The vitamins the OB gave me leave a yucky taste and I burp up that taste for a long time..
Im still on bed rest so I havent even been able to walk on my treadmill.. All I do is lay in bed and watch TV.. I feel like Im going to lose my mind.. But I will do it for as long as the OB says I have to for the well being of the baby.. Im having a hard time with morning/all day sickness.. I had it for a good 4-6 months with my son.. Im hoping that it stops soon cause its killing me this time.. I dont eat much or drink cause everything just makes me sick..
Today is going to be a rough day for me.. Not the food but having to deal with smelling all the food that my Mom makes.. I just dont want to get sick with all of my cousins and family there.. They dont know that Im pregnant yet.. Heck most of them havint seen me since last Thanksgiving and I was only almost 2 months out from my surgery then.. So they will be shocked at how much weight Ive lost!!
It still amazes me that Ive lost 190 pounds in a little over a year!!
This Thanksgiving Im thanksfull for my family, friends, this pregnancy, and for Dr K and Mandy.. If it wasnt for Dr K and Mandy who knows if I would even be here today..
12-7-05
Well I went to see my OB/GYN yesterday and everything is going good with the baby.. They changed my due date from the 14th of June to the 4th of June.. They did all the good pap smears and breast exams and ended up finding a lump in my left breast so now I have to go have an ultrasound done of my boob.. Im also going to see a high risk OB Dec 19th due to all the problems Ive had the Doc just wants to make sure everything is ok.. Im very nervous about my breast.. My birth mother had cancer in her left breast.. Im hoping its just a fatty cyst!! My blood pressure was high when they checked it yesterday so that is another thing I have to worry about now.. I think the up in my BP was due to me not eatting right this last week, we ate out a lot since I wasnt feeling well enough to cook and the food may of had to much salt so I upped my water..
We also no longer have family health insurance since my hubby was laid off a few days before we found out I was pregnant.. We got the cobra paperwork in the mail over the weekend and they want $980.00 a month.. Well we cant afford to pay that so I had to call for some assistance and Im now on medicaide and so is my son.. The insurance we have now only covers Doctors in NJ so untill my hubby finds a job I wont be able to go see Dr. K.. Good thing Im not due to see him till April/May.. So hopefully my hubby will have a job by then and that insurance will let me see him..
01-23-06
Well where do I begin!! We found out on Friday that we are having a healthy little GIRL!!!! I went for the sono on my breast and they couldnt even find the lump so that is a good thing.. Ive lost a total of 200 pounds now.. My blood pressure was up a little at my last OB appt so they have me coming in every 2 weeks now so they can keep an eye on it.. The high risk Ob said she feels that since Im no longer having any pregnancy problems (bleeding) that I no longer have to see her so thats a good thing.. My OB does want me to start gaining some weight though.. Which is very hard for me to do!!Not that I dont want too, its just that its hard for me to eat all the time so I do gain weight.. He is a little concerned since I lost 6 pounds in 2 weeks.. So far since we found out that I was pregnant Ive lost 24 pounds so that is why the OB is worried.. Ive been holding steady at 186 for a week now so hopefully he will be happy when I go back to see him on the 31st..
03-26-06
Well on Friday March 24th Katelyn Elizabeth Smith was born.. I went in to have my BP checked and it was pretty high.. I also told the OB about a yellow discharge I was having.. He did an exam and found out that I had an infection.. Sent me to St Lukes and by the time of 4pm I was 3-4 centimeters dialated and by 9pm I was 7 cm.. So there was no turning back.. They did do an amino after I arrived and found out that the infection was also in tge fluid around the baby.. We got the results back from the amino just as he was checking me and found out I was 7cm.. So they rushed me to the OR (she was breech) and did a C-section.. At 9:38pm on March 24th, 2006 Katelyn Elizabeth Smith was born.. She was rushed to the NICU and is doing pretty well for only being 28 weeks.. She weighed in at 2lb 5oz and 14" long.. She has the longest little fingers Ive ever seen.. Right now she is only on a cpap and has an IV and the light for jundice.. Im still at St Lukes and I hope I can go home tomorrow.. I have a drain cause I had a few bleeders when they were putting my uterus back together.. I feel like my life is falling apart but I know everything is in Gods hands and will work out for the best.. Im pumping and my milk is starting to come in.. We are hoping to start giving her some breast milk in a few days.. They are saying if all goes well she should be home by her due date or sooner.. I will be posting a picture when I get home..
04-25-06
Katelyn is doing very well.. She is 1 month old already!! Her weight is up to 3lbs 6oz already.. She is still on the cpap but they keep switching her between the cpap and nasal canulas.. We are hoping that she will just be on the nasal canulas soon.. Easter night I ended up in the ER.. I had the worst pains ever in my lower tummy and back.. They did blood work and a cat scan and could only see swollen intestines.. So I have an appt with Dr. K on wednesday to see if he can figure out what is going on since the pain comes just about everytime after I eat..
Here is a link to pictures of Katelyn.. Not sure if it will work or not.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0YYtWTZuxYuSg
06-06-06
Well Katelyn is finally home.. She came home on May 22nd.. Her weight as of last week is up to 6lbs!!Im still pumping/breastfeeding but its starting to become overwelming.. She has to eat ever 3 hrs and with each feeding she has medicine I have to give her so I get up 20 mins early to get the meds ready and her milk then feed her and pump after I get her back to bed so Im getting about 1hr and a half of sleep between each feeding.. Katelyn is on 1/8 of a liter of oxygen around the clock.. We have an apnea monitor for her but only have to use it at night..
So far Ive lost 234lbs.. This just blows my mind.. I feel wonderful and dont look half bad either.. LOL.. My family is a little worried about me still losing weight they say Im getting to thin.. I need to update my picture on here.. I do have a lot of extra skin on my arms and my thighs, my belly hangs but I could live with it but my legs are bugging me..
Im now a minivan driving momma!! We just couldnt handle 2 kids in my camry with all the baby stuff so we traded the camry in last week.. Im still trying to get use to driving this minivan.. It feels huge to me.. Well thats about it for now..
01-24-07
Wow long time no update.. Katie is doing great she is 10 months old today and weighs close to 19 lbs.. Me, Im doing good.. Had my tubes tied in Nov and Ive been holding steady with my weight.. I had my yearly with my OB last week and found out that I have a prolapsed uterus so I need to have a hysterectomy now.. They say its from being so heavy for so long..
On to a good note, Im going to see Dr. Wahhab a plastic surgeon on Feb 27th about having a tummy tuck.. I sure hope we can get it covered by my insurance.
Well thats about it for now.
My Weight Chart
| Date | Weight | Pounds Lost | Total Pounds Lost | BMI |
| 08-17-04 Thru 10-07-04 | 386 | N/A | N/A | 68.4 |
| 10-14-04 | 380 | 6 | 6 | 67.3 |
| 10-27-04 | 367 | 13 | 19 | 65 |
| 11-14-04 | 355 | 12 | 31 | 62.8 |
| 11-24-04 | 350 | 5 | 36 | 61.9 |
| 12-15-04 | 339 | 11 | 47 | 60 |
| 12-22-04 | 335 | 4 | 51 | 59.3 |
| 12-29-04 | 330 | 5 | 56 | 58.4 |
| 01-07-05 | 326 | 4 | 60 | 57.7 |
| 01-16-05 | 321 | 5 | 65 | 56.8 |
| 01-25-05 | 316 | 5 | 70 | 55.9 |
| 02-27-05 | 298 | 18 | 88 | 52.7 |
| 03-25-05 | 286 | 12 | 100 | 50.6 |
| 04-28-05 | 273 | 13 | 113 | 48.3 |
| 05-28-05 | 261 | 12 | 125 | 46.2 |
| 06-28-05 | 248 | 13 | 138 | 43.9 |
| 07-30-05 | 237 | 11 | 149 | 42.0 |
| 09-01-05 | 225 | 12 | 161 | 39.9 |
| 10-01-05 | 215 | 10 | 171 | 38.0 |
| 11-01-05 | 207 | 8 | 179 | 36.7 |
| 12-01-05 | 195 | 12 | 191 | 34.5 |
| 01-01-06 | 190 | 5 | 196 | 33.6 |
| 02-01-06 | 185 | 5 | 201 | 32.8 |
| 04-01-06 | 171 | 14 | 215 | 30.3 |
| 06-06-06 | 152 | 19 | 234 | 26.9 |
| Date#26 | W#26 | PL#26 | TPL#26 | BMI#26 |
| Date#27 | W#27 | PL#27 | TPL#27 | BMI#27 |
