Melanie (Vaughn) Walker
My Story
Nov 19, 2008
~~Starting 8-4-2001~~ My Stats: Age: 30, Height 5'5", Weight 294
8-4-01 ~~Whew! It took a little over a month to get the proper referral just to go see the surgeon my from my PCP. There was some confusion over who the surgeon contracted with my medical group is. But I finally went to my surgeon's office and met with the insurance coordinator yesterday!! I will meet Dr. Terry Sanderfer in Corona CA on August 7th! I've got the ball rolling now! I can not wait untill I am approved! I am so excited!! I am a little nerveous that my insurance is going to make me jump through hoops. I hope not! Pray that it will all go smooth for me or that the "hoops" are not too high!~~
8-11-01 ~~I met with Dr. Sanderfer on 8-7-01, he is just like I've heard. He is really nice and is very good at explaining the procedure and follow up care. He seams really down to earth and very compitent. I am very excited to have met him, I feel confident in my choice and that he is a knowledgable surgeon. I am supposed to call his office on the 17th to find out if my isurance has replied. God Bless.~~
8-14-01 ~~The waiting game is INTENSE! I have 3 more days until I can even call the doctors office to see if they have heard anything from my insurance. I don't think I can wait but I don't want to be a pest to the girls in the office! Arrgh! Oh well I guess I will have to be patient. Not my strong point :) I will update after I talk to my doctors office. God Bless.~~
9-21-01 ~~I am so frustrated!!! My primary doctor's office has submitted my paperwork 4 times, by fax and courier, to the UR Dept. of my medical group (PrimeCare of Temecula, CA) for approval. The first one was submitted on 8-16-01. I finally had to call my health insurance provider and ask them to see if they can find out what the hold up is. Three days later I am hearing that they are sending everything back to my primary doctor for me to get a physc. evaluation. It took over a month to tell us that!?! People just keep dropping the ball on my case and I am sick of it! I am basically at square one and I am so...ARRUUGHHH, frustrated! Well, I am glad I got that off my chest. I know I have to play the game and make nice nice with every one but it still sickens me that they can play these silly games. I've read so many profiles that say they got approval and had surgery all in a few weeks and I personally know people who have done just that and with my same medical group. Figure that one out. So that obviously upsets me too. Oh well, I will plug on. I will have this sergury, I will just have to continue to excercise much patience and continue to jump through their hoops untill they finally are satisfied and approve it. I could really use some prayers, especially for patience. God Bless.~~
10-24-01 ~~ O jump O O jump O <~~~That's me, jumping through hoops. It took a whole month to get an appt. to see the psychiatrist but I finally did on the 22nd and he cleared me. He says I am sane enough to make this decision. Thank God, I was sweating that one! Hahaha! (Actually, it was alot easier than I imagined it would be.) But alas, I've got no other choice but to laugh at the whole process or I will go mad. Hey, at least if I do go mad I've already been cleared by the shrink! The most surprising thing was my seurgeon's office called the very next day to let me know that they received the clearance from the psych consult and that my primary doctor's office should be submitting the info to back to my medical group's U.R. Dept. So, I could really use some prayers out there for my continued patience and for my medical group to pick up the ball and run with it already. Thank you so much for all of your prayer. God Bless~~
11-1-01 ~~Well, I have had a wonderful week! My sister-in-law and I went to our surgeon's support group on 10-30-01 and got a lot of questions answered. I have been very anxiously waiting for some news on the status of my approval. So yesterday I called my case worker at my medical group and at 5 minutes to 5pm she told me unoffically....I've been approved!!!!!!!! I am so stinking excited I can hardly contain myself! Finally! She actually called me at 8:30 this morning and told me officially that I am approved! I was so excited I called my surgeons office to try to schedule my surgery date. But alas, I must be patient just a little bit longer. I have to wait until they get the approval faxed to them, then I can schedule it! I want to go first thing in January. That way I can enjoy the holidays and start the new year off with a bang. My birthday is in January so it will be my little present to me! I am on such a high! I can't wait (but on the other hand I am a tiny bit nervous because I have never had surgery of any kind, never been in a hospital other than a volunteer, but I know that if I don't have this surgery, the surgery I would be having would be a knee replacement and open heart). Now we just have to get my sister-in-law approved and we can go in together! Well, thank you all for your prayers! They sure have helped. God Bless~~
11-14-01 ~~Well, still no surgery date scheduled, they are short handed at my doctor's office and the girls are doing their best to get everything done in a timely manner. And they are very sweet. I do feel like I am a little closer to having my surgery. My referrals were sent to my primary care doctor's office for my pre-op stuff today. Not that I amn excited about spending my next few, precious days off at various doctors offices, but it is a sacrifice that I am willing to make. Now it is looking like I will probably be scheduled sometime in late January, not early January as I was hoping for, but that is okay too. I made it through the approval process, I can make it through this!
Please pray for my sister-in-law, Shelly, to get her approvals through so that we can go for our surgeries the same day! Thank you for all your prayers. God Bless.~~
11-20-01 ~~Oh my goodness, I can't believe it! I finally GOT A DATE! Wow! It has been such a long journey. I know that other people have had an even longer wait and have had a bigger battle, but to me it has been a long time. So I found out today that they are blocking out time on January 29th for me and my sister-in-law, Shelly! I am so excited that we get to do this together! She is still in the "waiting for approval" stage but I am sure she will get the approval in time because everything else has gone quickly for her. However, please keep her in prayer just in case. Thanks. I litterally spent the entire day today getting my pre-ops done. At 8am I had blood taken, at 9am EKG, at 11:30am I had my Gall Bladder ultra sound, finally at 1pm I had breakfast/lunch and promptly went to have my chest xrays done, I came home for a hlf hour and went back to the lab at 4pm for more blood to be taken. I got home around 5:15pm. Normally I couldn't have been patient enough to sit at various Dr.s or labs, but in this case, I found it within myself! :) Next I have to concentrate on getting my disabilty benefits from work and the state so I can afford to take off the 4-6 weeks. If there wasn't pain or fatigue involved I would think of it as a well over due vacation! Well, I have rambled on long enough. I am just so excited! God Bless!~~
01-03-02 ~~Hello Everyone! Happy New Year!! I am so excited, I can't believe only 26 days until my surgery!!! My sister-in-law finally got here approval is is going to have her surgery the day after mine! Everything so far seems to be right on track, I think I have completed all of the necessary pre-op tests except for the stuff a day or so before surgery. I still have to make one more appt. with the surgeon before my surgery. The waiting is killing me! I'd go tomorrow if I could. But alas I must wait like everyone else.
I have been going through a rollercoaster of emotions lately. On one hand I can't wait! And like I said, I would go tomorrow if I could. Then on the other hand I am nervous, my insides have been a mess, I toss and turn (more than the norm). I have also been depressed and cry over the stupidest things! (I feel like I am constently PMSing, always on the verge of tears). I have never had to stay at the hospital for any thing, I have pain and other problems but I've been basically healthy, and I am scared about the IV and them cramming various tubes in places I would not consider placing such things. Is this normal?!? I cna't wait to be "on the other side" though!
Please pray for my fears to be calmed, for the LORD to comfort me and to guide my surgeons hands. Thank you and God Bless!~~
01-23-02 ~~Well, only 6 more days to go! I am so excited! Thank you so much for the prayers! I am calm and confident about the surgery again. I can't wait. I have been spending the last few days getting the things I think I will need for the hospital and after for when I return home. I think I am as prepared as I can get. All I need to finish now is my Medical Leave and Disability paperwork so I can continue to get paid.
I am so excited, my sister-in-law says that waiting for our surgery is like waiting for Christmas, so she says it is 6 more days till Christmas! Yep, that is what it feels like, that anticipation of good things to come! Well , Hopefully I will get to update again before my surgery. Keep me in your prayers please. God Bless!~~
01-29-02 ~~Well Christmas is not what I had hoped for! I did not get to have my surgery today. :( I got to the hospital, was admitted, sent to the O.R. hold and the Dr. cmae in to go over my blood tests that I took at the hospital yesterday...and he did not like what he saw. My white blood count was high. So he ordered another panel of blood tests. They came up higher, so he said it's a no go for today and sent me home. So I am taking some antibiotics and I have to go back to the hospital Thursday for a new set of blood tests and if they show improvement , then I should be able to have my surgery on friday. I am so bummed. I mean, I am glad that they check for that and that he is only looking out for my health, but I am of course disappointed. Well, hpoefully Friday I will be doing the happy dance again. Please Pray for the LORD to heal my body. God Bless!~~
02-15-02 ~~Well, I am alive and well. My surgery was on 02-01-02 and it went well. I left the hospital on 02-05-02. I tried to update last week but my server went down and today is the first day I really have felt up to getting on the computer. The first few days after surgery I must say were so hard. I felt terrible. I do not like being drugged at all, but I could not have dealt with the pain without it. But by the second day that I was home (so on the 7th) I was completely off all pain medication. Praise God! I didn't even need Tylenol.
On the 8th I had my first Doctor visit to have my drainage tube removed and I weighed in at 284lbs. I had my second visit yesterday the 14th and I weighed in at 274.5lbs. So that is a total loss of 22.5lbs in 13 days.
I am on liquids and soft foods. The doctor told me to stay on soft foods until my next appt. on March 1st and then he'll let me know if I can introduce something else, something with texture. I miss texture. It really isn't all bad to just have soft food though because I am nauseated a bit. Like yesterday I was all day so I stuck to just liquids. But so far I have not thrown up. I hope I don't, I hate that.
Well I have rattled on enough for now. I hope all new post-ops are doing well! Take care, God Bless!~~
04-25-02 ~~Hello! It has been a long time since I have updated. The last two times I tried I had problems with my server and was not able to send my update. If it doesn't work this time I am getting a new server!
Anyway, tomorrow marks 12 weeks or 3 months)post-op. I have been cleared by my doctor to eat tomatoes! Yeah! And beef, if chewed very very well! It has been lovely! I missed tomatoes so much! I have lost 58lbs. since my surgery! I am so excited!. It has been rough because I was throwing up a lot in the begining, I was eating too fast untill I learned to slow down. Now I am not really having too many problems with throwing up or being sick to my stomach. I thought I would never loose weight again, before I had the surgery. That has all changed, I love shrinking! I will never regret this decision. But don't get me wrong, I still struggle once in a while, with wanting to just pig out and knowing that I can't, but I get over it after a few minutes.
Any hoo, I hope everyone is doing well, and to the people just learning about it, it is a life change and their are risks, but it is sooo worth it! God Bless!~~
09-21-02 ~~Hi All! Hope everything is going well. I am doing just fine, no real problems. I am able to eat a little more now. I still eat a lot of soft foods because they feelbetter in my stomach but I have been venturing out more and attempting other things. I have done pretty good with the things Ihave tried. I really like the double decker taco from Taco Bell. I can eat probably 1/3 of it at a meal. I love the pintosand cheese though with extra red sauce. I still have difficulty with chicken though. Go figure, I can eat beef jerky just fine, havebeen able to since I was three months out but not the most moist chicken on the planet. Wierd. Ihave lost 108 pounds so far. I am at 189 and in between an 18 and a 16. I can't believe I am in the teens again. Thelast time I wore a teen was when I was a teen! I look forward to shedding it all and then having by tummy tuck and my breasts lifted as well. Well, I can't wait to see the latest before and after shots, so Iam going toend here. I hope to figure out how to get some pictures on the computer and get them posted but I need to sweet talk my brother into helping me. Keep up the good work everyone and to those who are looking into the surgery, good luck. God Bless!~~
01-05-2003 ~~Well, it has been a few months since my last update. It is hard to believe I am 11 months out. I am now at 165 lbs. and I am in a size 12. That is 130+ lbs. I am so excited, I have my first pair of Levi's ever. I have never been able to wear Levi brand jeans! I am so enjoying shopping for clothes. Which is a good thing since I have to buy new clothes every month. It does get a bit expensive because I not only have to buy play clothes but business clothes as well. I love Robinson's May, they have great clothes and great clearance prices. I also love Ross. I refuse to pay more than $15 for anything until I hit my goal weight. I have always liked to shop but it was usually for shoes or household things because I always felt so un-stylish because clothing designers think all fat people should dress like old people. No I get to look trendy and my age. Health wise I am doing great. My vitamin levels were getting low because I have difficulty taking vitamins but now the doctor has me taking liquid vitamins and I am hoping my next blood test comes out better. I just took some new pictures and as soon as I get them developed I an going to try to figure out how to get my before pics and the current pics on the computer and posted on my page. Of course I have been saying that for almost a year :) Well I really will try this time. Hope everyone has a great New Year! God Bless!~~
05-04-03 ~~Hello, I finally got some before and after pictures going. I have the set on my profile page and a different set should be up soon on the before and afters. I have only lost 2 pounds since March, it is still coming off, but oh so slowly now. I still have not joined a gym or do any regular workouts and I really need to so I can get the rest of this stuff off. I am starting to look into plastic surgery for the excess skin (and sagging sisters). I am nervous about having more surgery but I don't think that any amount of exercise will help this problem. I am afraid I will get some hack job butcher or something. How do I find a qualified surgeon? I wish my insurance would pay, maybe this summer I will get more rashes and then they will consider it. Oh well, it will work out either way I am sure. Hope everyone it doing well. Good luck to the pre-ops and have patience, it is worth it! God Bless!~~
12-02-03 ~~Well, I have been a busy girl. I am now at 152lbs. and still in a size 12 but they are looser. I do now walk and do some yoga fairly regular , I am joining a gym in March when I move. I have looked into my plastic surgery options and I did find a board certified plastic surgeon in my area. Dr. Newman is very personable and he is honest and matter-of-fact. I really appreciate that. He tells it like it is. I met with him in November, I have my pre-op appointment on 12-08-03 and my surgery for my tummy tuck and breast lift are scheduled for 01-09-04. I could not get my insurance to pay regardless of the rashes, but it is going to be so worth every penny. I can't wait! I am almost as excited about this as I was the WLS.
I can't tell you how the WLS has changed my life. I feel confident and happy, I have torn down my "protective" walls that I built for many years and met the most wonderful man and we are getting married early this spring! Life couldn't possibly get any better!
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! God Bless!~~
06-19-06 ~~Wow, I got an email this week reminding me that it had been 3 years since I had updated. My gosh! Well a lot has certainly happened. I had my tummy tuck and breast lift. I love my improved boobs, the tummy tuck well I probably should have done more research and found a doctor who specializes in gastric bypass patients. I really should have had a body lift, i still have a lot of loos skin but at least it is not hanging down now. I got married in March 2004 and now we are finally pregnant after 2 years of trying. I am about 8 weeks. I had gotten down to 147ibs. right after the tummy tuck and stayed at 150 for a long time. Married life is wonderful, but I gained weight. I am back in a size 16 and am about 185lbs. Now I know I will gain with the pregnancy but I have been eating really healthy since we found out. I am determined to nourish this baby right. Then afterward I will keep up the good food and work out too. So now you know, it is definately easy to gain weight after surgery if you eat crap food. So stop it! :) Hopefully another 3 years won't go by before I update again. God Bless!~~
Photos
Insurer Info:
Health Net, Health Net HMO
I did not have any problems with Health Net. My problem was with my medical group. They took 4 weeks to say I needed a psych consult and as soon as I got that it was only a week and a half for the approval.
8-4-01 ~~Whew! It took a little over a month to get the proper referral just to go see the surgeon my from my PCP. There was some confusion over who the surgeon contracted with my medical group is. But I finally went to my surgeon's office and met with the insurance coordinator yesterday!! I will meet Dr. Terry Sanderfer in Corona CA on August 7th! I've got the ball rolling now! I can not wait untill I am approved! I am so excited!! I am a little nerveous that my insurance is going to make me jump through hoops. I hope not! Pray that it will all go smooth for me or that the "hoops" are not too high!~~
8-11-01 ~~I met with Dr. Sanderfer on 8-7-01, he is just like I've heard. He is really nice and is very good at explaining the procedure and follow up care. He seams really down to earth and very compitent. I am very excited to have met him, I feel confident in my choice and that he is a knowledgable surgeon. I am supposed to call his office on the 17th to find out if my isurance has replied. God Bless.~~
8-14-01 ~~The waiting game is INTENSE! I have 3 more days until I can even call the doctors office to see if they have heard anything from my insurance. I don't think I can wait but I don't want to be a pest to the girls in the office! Arrgh! Oh well I guess I will have to be patient. Not my strong point :) I will update after I talk to my doctors office. God Bless.~~
9-21-01 ~~I am so frustrated!!! My primary doctor's office has submitted my paperwork 4 times, by fax and courier, to the UR Dept. of my medical group (PrimeCare of Temecula, CA) for approval. The first one was submitted on 8-16-01. I finally had to call my health insurance provider and ask them to see if they can find out what the hold up is. Three days later I am hearing that they are sending everything back to my primary doctor for me to get a physc. evaluation. It took over a month to tell us that!?! People just keep dropping the ball on my case and I am sick of it! I am basically at square one and I am so...ARRUUGHHH, frustrated! Well, I am glad I got that off my chest. I know I have to play the game and make nice nice with every one but it still sickens me that they can play these silly games. I've read so many profiles that say they got approval and had surgery all in a few weeks and I personally know people who have done just that and with my same medical group. Figure that one out. So that obviously upsets me too. Oh well, I will plug on. I will have this sergury, I will just have to continue to excercise much patience and continue to jump through their hoops untill they finally are satisfied and approve it. I could really use some prayers, especially for patience. God Bless.~~
10-24-01 ~~ O jump O O jump O <~~~That's me, jumping through hoops. It took a whole month to get an appt. to see the psychiatrist but I finally did on the 22nd and he cleared me. He says I am sane enough to make this decision. Thank God, I was sweating that one! Hahaha! (Actually, it was alot easier than I imagined it would be.) But alas, I've got no other choice but to laugh at the whole process or I will go mad. Hey, at least if I do go mad I've already been cleared by the shrink! The most surprising thing was my seurgeon's office called the very next day to let me know that they received the clearance from the psych consult and that my primary doctor's office should be submitting the info to back to my medical group's U.R. Dept. So, I could really use some prayers out there for my continued patience and for my medical group to pick up the ball and run with it already. Thank you so much for all of your prayer. God Bless~~
11-1-01 ~~Well, I have had a wonderful week! My sister-in-law and I went to our surgeon's support group on 10-30-01 and got a lot of questions answered. I have been very anxiously waiting for some news on the status of my approval. So yesterday I called my case worker at my medical group and at 5 minutes to 5pm she told me unoffically....I've been approved!!!!!!!! I am so stinking excited I can hardly contain myself! Finally! She actually called me at 8:30 this morning and told me officially that I am approved! I was so excited I called my surgeons office to try to schedule my surgery date. But alas, I must be patient just a little bit longer. I have to wait until they get the approval faxed to them, then I can schedule it! I want to go first thing in January. That way I can enjoy the holidays and start the new year off with a bang. My birthday is in January so it will be my little present to me! I am on such a high! I can't wait (but on the other hand I am a tiny bit nervous because I have never had surgery of any kind, never been in a hospital other than a volunteer, but I know that if I don't have this surgery, the surgery I would be having would be a knee replacement and open heart). Now we just have to get my sister-in-law approved and we can go in together! Well, thank you all for your prayers! They sure have helped. God Bless~~
11-14-01 ~~Well, still no surgery date scheduled, they are short handed at my doctor's office and the girls are doing their best to get everything done in a timely manner. And they are very sweet. I do feel like I am a little closer to having my surgery. My referrals were sent to my primary care doctor's office for my pre-op stuff today. Not that I amn excited about spending my next few, precious days off at various doctors offices, but it is a sacrifice that I am willing to make. Now it is looking like I will probably be scheduled sometime in late January, not early January as I was hoping for, but that is okay too. I made it through the approval process, I can make it through this!
Please pray for my sister-in-law, Shelly, to get her approvals through so that we can go for our surgeries the same day! Thank you for all your prayers. God Bless.~~
11-20-01 ~~Oh my goodness, I can't believe it! I finally GOT A DATE! Wow! It has been such a long journey. I know that other people have had an even longer wait and have had a bigger battle, but to me it has been a long time. So I found out today that they are blocking out time on January 29th for me and my sister-in-law, Shelly! I am so excited that we get to do this together! She is still in the "waiting for approval" stage but I am sure she will get the approval in time because everything else has gone quickly for her. However, please keep her in prayer just in case. Thanks. I litterally spent the entire day today getting my pre-ops done. At 8am I had blood taken, at 9am EKG, at 11:30am I had my Gall Bladder ultra sound, finally at 1pm I had breakfast/lunch and promptly went to have my chest xrays done, I came home for a hlf hour and went back to the lab at 4pm for more blood to be taken. I got home around 5:15pm. Normally I couldn't have been patient enough to sit at various Dr.s or labs, but in this case, I found it within myself! :) Next I have to concentrate on getting my disabilty benefits from work and the state so I can afford to take off the 4-6 weeks. If there wasn't pain or fatigue involved I would think of it as a well over due vacation! Well, I have rambled on long enough. I am just so excited! God Bless!~~
01-03-02 ~~Hello Everyone! Happy New Year!! I am so excited, I can't believe only 26 days until my surgery!!! My sister-in-law finally got here approval is is going to have her surgery the day after mine! Everything so far seems to be right on track, I think I have completed all of the necessary pre-op tests except for the stuff a day or so before surgery. I still have to make one more appt. with the surgeon before my surgery. The waiting is killing me! I'd go tomorrow if I could. But alas I must wait like everyone else.
I have been going through a rollercoaster of emotions lately. On one hand I can't wait! And like I said, I would go tomorrow if I could. Then on the other hand I am nervous, my insides have been a mess, I toss and turn (more than the norm). I have also been depressed and cry over the stupidest things! (I feel like I am constently PMSing, always on the verge of tears). I have never had to stay at the hospital for any thing, I have pain and other problems but I've been basically healthy, and I am scared about the IV and them cramming various tubes in places I would not consider placing such things. Is this normal?!? I cna't wait to be "on the other side" though!
Please pray for my fears to be calmed, for the LORD to comfort me and to guide my surgeons hands. Thank you and God Bless!~~
01-23-02 ~~Well, only 6 more days to go! I am so excited! Thank you so much for the prayers! I am calm and confident about the surgery again. I can't wait. I have been spending the last few days getting the things I think I will need for the hospital and after for when I return home. I think I am as prepared as I can get. All I need to finish now is my Medical Leave and Disability paperwork so I can continue to get paid.
I am so excited, my sister-in-law says that waiting for our surgery is like waiting for Christmas, so she says it is 6 more days till Christmas! Yep, that is what it feels like, that anticipation of good things to come! Well , Hopefully I will get to update again before my surgery. Keep me in your prayers please. God Bless!~~
01-29-02 ~~Well Christmas is not what I had hoped for! I did not get to have my surgery today. :( I got to the hospital, was admitted, sent to the O.R. hold and the Dr. cmae in to go over my blood tests that I took at the hospital yesterday...and he did not like what he saw. My white blood count was high. So he ordered another panel of blood tests. They came up higher, so he said it's a no go for today and sent me home. So I am taking some antibiotics and I have to go back to the hospital Thursday for a new set of blood tests and if they show improvement , then I should be able to have my surgery on friday. I am so bummed. I mean, I am glad that they check for that and that he is only looking out for my health, but I am of course disappointed. Well, hpoefully Friday I will be doing the happy dance again. Please Pray for the LORD to heal my body. God Bless!~~
02-15-02 ~~Well, I am alive and well. My surgery was on 02-01-02 and it went well. I left the hospital on 02-05-02. I tried to update last week but my server went down and today is the first day I really have felt up to getting on the computer. The first few days after surgery I must say were so hard. I felt terrible. I do not like being drugged at all, but I could not have dealt with the pain without it. But by the second day that I was home (so on the 7th) I was completely off all pain medication. Praise God! I didn't even need Tylenol.
On the 8th I had my first Doctor visit to have my drainage tube removed and I weighed in at 284lbs. I had my second visit yesterday the 14th and I weighed in at 274.5lbs. So that is a total loss of 22.5lbs in 13 days.
I am on liquids and soft foods. The doctor told me to stay on soft foods until my next appt. on March 1st and then he'll let me know if I can introduce something else, something with texture. I miss texture. It really isn't all bad to just have soft food though because I am nauseated a bit. Like yesterday I was all day so I stuck to just liquids. But so far I have not thrown up. I hope I don't, I hate that.
Well I have rattled on enough for now. I hope all new post-ops are doing well! Take care, God Bless!~~
04-25-02 ~~Hello! It has been a long time since I have updated. The last two times I tried I had problems with my server and was not able to send my update. If it doesn't work this time I am getting a new server!
Anyway, tomorrow marks 12 weeks or 3 months)post-op. I have been cleared by my doctor to eat tomatoes! Yeah! And beef, if chewed very very well! It has been lovely! I missed tomatoes so much! I have lost 58lbs. since my surgery! I am so excited!. It has been rough because I was throwing up a lot in the begining, I was eating too fast untill I learned to slow down. Now I am not really having too many problems with throwing up or being sick to my stomach. I thought I would never loose weight again, before I had the surgery. That has all changed, I love shrinking! I will never regret this decision. But don't get me wrong, I still struggle once in a while, with wanting to just pig out and knowing that I can't, but I get over it after a few minutes.
Any hoo, I hope everyone is doing well, and to the people just learning about it, it is a life change and their are risks, but it is sooo worth it! God Bless!~~
09-21-02 ~~Hi All! Hope everything is going well. I am doing just fine, no real problems. I am able to eat a little more now. I still eat a lot of soft foods because they feelbetter in my stomach but I have been venturing out more and attempting other things. I have done pretty good with the things Ihave tried. I really like the double decker taco from Taco Bell. I can eat probably 1/3 of it at a meal. I love the pintosand cheese though with extra red sauce. I still have difficulty with chicken though. Go figure, I can eat beef jerky just fine, havebeen able to since I was three months out but not the most moist chicken on the planet. Wierd. Ihave lost 108 pounds so far. I am at 189 and in between an 18 and a 16. I can't believe I am in the teens again. Thelast time I wore a teen was when I was a teen! I look forward to shedding it all and then having by tummy tuck and my breasts lifted as well. Well, I can't wait to see the latest before and after shots, so Iam going toend here. I hope to figure out how to get some pictures on the computer and get them posted but I need to sweet talk my brother into helping me. Keep up the good work everyone and to those who are looking into the surgery, good luck. God Bless!~~
01-05-2003 ~~Well, it has been a few months since my last update. It is hard to believe I am 11 months out. I am now at 165 lbs. and I am in a size 12. That is 130+ lbs. I am so excited, I have my first pair of Levi's ever. I have never been able to wear Levi brand jeans! I am so enjoying shopping for clothes. Which is a good thing since I have to buy new clothes every month. It does get a bit expensive because I not only have to buy play clothes but business clothes as well. I love Robinson's May, they have great clothes and great clearance prices. I also love Ross. I refuse to pay more than $15 for anything until I hit my goal weight. I have always liked to shop but it was usually for shoes or household things because I always felt so un-stylish because clothing designers think all fat people should dress like old people. No I get to look trendy and my age. Health wise I am doing great. My vitamin levels were getting low because I have difficulty taking vitamins but now the doctor has me taking liquid vitamins and I am hoping my next blood test comes out better. I just took some new pictures and as soon as I get them developed I an going to try to figure out how to get my before pics and the current pics on the computer and posted on my page. Of course I have been saying that for almost a year :) Well I really will try this time. Hope everyone has a great New Year! God Bless!~~
05-04-03 ~~Hello, I finally got some before and after pictures going. I have the set on my profile page and a different set should be up soon on the before and afters. I have only lost 2 pounds since March, it is still coming off, but oh so slowly now. I still have not joined a gym or do any regular workouts and I really need to so I can get the rest of this stuff off. I am starting to look into plastic surgery for the excess skin (and sagging sisters). I am nervous about having more surgery but I don't think that any amount of exercise will help this problem. I am afraid I will get some hack job butcher or something. How do I find a qualified surgeon? I wish my insurance would pay, maybe this summer I will get more rashes and then they will consider it. Oh well, it will work out either way I am sure. Hope everyone it doing well. Good luck to the pre-ops and have patience, it is worth it! God Bless!~~
12-02-03 ~~Well, I have been a busy girl. I am now at 152lbs. and still in a size 12 but they are looser. I do now walk and do some yoga fairly regular , I am joining a gym in March when I move. I have looked into my plastic surgery options and I did find a board certified plastic surgeon in my area. Dr. Newman is very personable and he is honest and matter-of-fact. I really appreciate that. He tells it like it is. I met with him in November, I have my pre-op appointment on 12-08-03 and my surgery for my tummy tuck and breast lift are scheduled for 01-09-04. I could not get my insurance to pay regardless of the rashes, but it is going to be so worth every penny. I can't wait! I am almost as excited about this as I was the WLS.
I can't tell you how the WLS has changed my life. I feel confident and happy, I have torn down my "protective" walls that I built for many years and met the most wonderful man and we are getting married early this spring! Life couldn't possibly get any better!
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! God Bless!~~
06-19-06 ~~Wow, I got an email this week reminding me that it had been 3 years since I had updated. My gosh! Well a lot has certainly happened. I had my tummy tuck and breast lift. I love my improved boobs, the tummy tuck well I probably should have done more research and found a doctor who specializes in gastric bypass patients. I really should have had a body lift, i still have a lot of loos skin but at least it is not hanging down now. I got married in March 2004 and now we are finally pregnant after 2 years of trying. I am about 8 weeks. I had gotten down to 147ibs. right after the tummy tuck and stayed at 150 for a long time. Married life is wonderful, but I gained weight. I am back in a size 16 and am about 185lbs. Now I know I will gain with the pregnancy but I have been eating really healthy since we found out. I am determined to nourish this baby right. Then afterward I will keep up the good food and work out too. So now you know, it is definately easy to gain weight after surgery if you eat crap food. So stop it! :) Hopefully another 3 years won't go by before I update again. God Bless!~~
Photos
 In the picture on the left I am at 297 #, The one on the right I'm at 160#. 35# from goal! |
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Insurer Info:
Health Net, Health Net HMO
I did not have any problems with Health Net. My problem was with my medical group. They took 4 weeks to say I needed a psych consult and as soon as I got that it was only a week and a half for the approval.
