Melinda G.
9.5 months out
Apr 14, 2008
I can't believe that I haven't updated this thing with all of the WOW moments and challenges for the past 6 months. I guess for the most part things have been going pretty well, although I seem to have hit a wall in the weight loss at about month 9. Anyways, here are my current stats, which make me very happy...
Body Part 6/2/07 9/10/07 4/12/08 Difference
Rt. Upper Arm 18.25 18.25 15.0 3.25
Lt. Upper Arm 20.0 18.0 15.0 5.0
Chest 59.25 52.5 47.0 12.25
Waist 56.0 46.75 41.0 15.0
Hips 68.0 61.0 50.5 17.5
Rt. Thigh 33.25 27.5 26.5 6.75
Lt. Thigh 35.25 30.0 26.0 9.25
Shirt Size 4X 26-28 14-16
Jeans Size 36 28 16
Total inches lost - 69.00"
3 months out
Sep 10, 2007
I meant to be so good about writting down my experiences, but once I got to solid food and went back to work everything became very routine and there didn't seem to be a lot to say.
I am a week past my three month surgiversary and I figured this would be a good time to recheck my measurements. My weight loss has been limping along this past month and as of this morning I am at 300.8. I am so close to being in the 200s - I can't wait until my weight begins with a 2 instead of a 3.
I've had quite a few wow moments in these first 3 months. I am wearing smaller sizes and have gotten rid of many shirts, pants and bras. Thankfully my sister had sent me a bunch of clothes in the 26-28 sizes. They didn't fit when she gave them to me but pretty much weekly I am able to wear new smaller clothes that I didn't have to pay for. But if I do want to spend money on clothes I can now shop in stores again. Of course I am limited to Lane Bryant, Avenue, and Torrid, but it is great not having to shop out of a catalog any more. I truly hated that.
My mobility has increased a lot. I still am having a lot of pain in my rt. foot and ankle, but I am able to walk a lot more than I used to. I walk from the train station to work and back each day. This is only a few city blocks, but prior to my surgery I would always wait for the bus. Walking even this short distance means so much to me.
Anyway, on to the measurements:
Body Part 6/2/07 9/10/07 Difference
Rt. Upper Arm 18.25 18.25 0.0
Lt. Upper Arm 20.0 18.0 2.0
Chest 59.25 52.5 7.0
Waist 56.0 46.75 9.25
Hips 68.0 61.0 7.0
Rt. Thigh 33.25 27.5 5.75
Lt. Thigh 35.25 30.0 4.75
Shirt Size 4X 26-28
Jeans Size 36 28
Total inches lost - 35.75
I didn't loose inches in the upper arms, but I am pretty sure that I have lost fat there. It is just that the skin is so compromised from years of being stretched that it is not likely to bounce back. So there is likely an arm lift in my future. That's ok...I am still very happy with my loss of over 35 inches.
4 weeks post-op
Jul 02, 2007
At four weeks post op the weight has finally started to come off. I still am not losing at the rate of many of the posters on this site, but I lost about three pounds over the weekend which made me very happy. I am now down 24 lbs from surgery and and about 30 lbs down from my heighest weight. I am so happy that this is finally starting to work for me.
On Thursday I was able to start on the soft foods portion of the diet. I think this helped kick start the weight loss because I finally get to chew food, and I am consuming different amounts of calories each day. I am not loving the cottage cheese, but the refried beans are fantastic. Two weeks and then I get to start solid foods, very small portions. It is difficult getting all of the protein in each day, and I have yet to find a protein powder that I really like.
3 weeks post-op
Jun 25, 2007
I am three weeks post op today. It is amazing how quickly time flies, while at the same time seeming to stand still.
The hunger I was feeling when I got home from surgery pretty much disappeard by the following week when I got my drain removed, which was a relief. Dr. Oliak requires 4 weeks of liquid diet and I was afraid that I would be increadibly hungry the whole time, but thankfully that was not the case. However, when the hunger went away the weight loss went with it. Between my surgery on June 4th and my drain removal appt on June 12 I lost 13 lbs and I couldn't have been happier about that. But then the weight loss just stopped and for the next two weeks I lost and gained the same pound and a half over and over again. This has been the most frustrating thing so far because I have not cheated on this liquied diet at all. 3 protein shakes a day, sugar-free jello and popsicals, crystal light and water. That is all I have had to eat since I've been home from surgery. Many people on this site post to expect a weight loss stall around week 3, so I'm hoping that mine just came early, and that it will end early as well. When I weighed myself this morning I was down a pound, a total of 16 lbs since surgery, but we will see what the scale says tomorrow to see if it comes right back. It has just been frustrating knowing that I am doing the right things but not seeing the great results that others do. I have so much weight to loose.
One thing that I didn't expect is how bored I would be staying home from work. I had decided to take the full 6 weeks off work because I want to be on regular foods before putting myself back into the work environment. Also, I will be having surgery on July 11th, and didn't see the point in going back to work for a week between surgeries. Anyway, I thought that it would be great having all of this time at home, but there is nothing to do. I don't want to go shopping because I am on reduced pay, I am not motivated to go out and exercise, I never want to clean, and tv and books are boring to me. Oh well...
back from surgery and feeling pretty good
Jun 09, 2007
too many days have passes since my last post for me to get everything down here. So here are a few highlights that might help other people.
Sunday, June 3rd - Was really stupid and had a large, high calorie, high fat dinner. No one to blame but myself, but the urge to eat was stronger then I was. Anyway, stopped eating at 5:30 and immediately knew having that meal was absolutely the wrong thing to do. I should have made myself throw up, but instead I just drank lots and lots of water, trying to flush it out. No such luck, no BM prior to surgery.
Monday, June 4th - Surgery day. Got to the hospital early, trying to finalize the paperwork for being out of work. Not too much waiting, and in general I'd recommend Chapman Medical in Orange for WLS to anyone. However, when I woke up from surgery I hurt like a SOB. For some reason the amount of pain was totally unexpected. I had read many of the blogs on this site, and no-one had mentioned the amount of pain. I got pain meds every 5 minutes for the first hour, and then I was able to self administer pain meds every 8 minutes after that.
Got out of surgery at about 2. At 6 I tried to get up to walk around...didn't work. I felt nauseous and couldn't get up. My parents came to visit and I had to ask them to leave because I felt overexerted from talking, and again felt nauseous. But I asked my husband to stay with me as long as he could, even though I basically just fell asleep.
The doctors were able to tell that I had eaten something I shouldn't have the night before, but luckily it didn't cause any complications with my surgery. I would strongly suggest against people doing what I did.
The nurse came and woke me up at 10, and got me up and out of bed and walking. I only did a couple of laps around the hospital floor, but it was good to be out of bed.
Tuesday, June 5 - I saw the physical therapist for the first time. She got me up and walking. After that the catheter was removed, so I also got out of bed several times each day to use the restroom. Every time I got up to pee I also walked around the hospital floor. Going to the bathroom the first couple of days was a challenge. It hurt to sit, hurt to stand, and hurt to bend over. I had also been on my period so it was extra fun to clean all that up. Anyway, for anyone reading this who is so large that some contortion is required for personal hygeine, this is a lot worse after surgery. You may need to request help, or bring some kind of mechanical assistance.
Wednesday - June 6 - The physical therapist had me walking up and down a few stairs, and then lifting weights for upper body strength. That felt good, but wiped me out. A lot of sleeping...
Thursday, June 7 - Left the hospital. I was able to get out of bed, to the bathroom, and take a walk by my self (just had to be willing to unplug the IV...which is ok because it goes to battery power). By the time my husband came to check on me (10 am) I was mostly dressed and packed. Got home about 1 and immediately took a nap. The liquid pain killer tastes like crap, but does the trick.
Friday, June 8 - I woke up hungry today. I was able to eat an entire shake in about an hour. Plain water seems to disagree with me, but I recommend the sugar-free popsicals and chicken broth. I tried to walk around the house every few hours, but I don't want to get dressed and leave the house for a longer walk. I have been in sweats since getting home from the hospital, mostly because the drain really creeps me out and I want to avoid dealing with it for as long as possible.
I had a lot of discharge in the drain today. I emptied it at least 3 times and each time it had 50+ ml of fluid. Totally gross, and I worry that there is too much fluid floating around in my abdomen, or that I won't be able to have the drain removed on Tueday as scheduled.
Saturday, June 9 - woke up hungry again. I worry that maybe the connection between my new stomach and the intestine is too big, and things are draining out of the pouch more quickly then they should. If it keeps up like this I may transition from the 3/day shakes to the 5/day shakes. The other good news is that I had my first BM today and it didn't hurt. I was so afraid that it would be agonizing, but it wasn't at all.
More good news...the drain has a lot less fluid in it today!
Surgery is two days away
Jun 02, 2007
Thanks to everyone who sent very kind words of encouragment to me through this site. People who are so sweet and thoughtful of others are such a blessing, and I appreciate it so much.
Now for the not so fun part....Beginning measurements. I am taking these myself so hopefully they will be somewhat accurate.
rt. upper arm - 18.25"
lt. upper arm - 20.00"
chest - 59.25"
waist - 56"
hips - 68"
rt thigh - 33.25"
lt. thigh - 35.25"
Shirt size - 4x
Jeans size - 36
The only good thing to say after doing that is that starting monday these numbers are going to start shrinking.
No longer a lurker
May 27, 2007
Things to do
1. Take and post before photo (not looking forward to this one)
2. Take and post before measurements
3. Figure out the whole 'ticker' thing
Upcoming events
1. Memorial Day - My dr. doesn't have me on a liquid diet, but this weekend has already been so bad for me, and I know that tomorrow will be very challenging.
2. Office Day - my day-long dr appointment to finalize everything for my surgery. This will be the day after Memorial Day, another reason to be really good tomorrow.
3. Surgery on June 4th.
