shauna4246

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I have been neglecting my posting on this page. WOW so much has changed in my life following the surgery. There has been tons of positive things. I just keep pushing forward. Let me catch you up on my progress. Currently I am down to 163 from 230 which is 67 lbs. I would LOVE to get to 100lbs lost. I still working out at the gym and currently running a full mile on treadmill non stop. I would have NEVER thought this would happen for me. I hate running and this accomplishment t is just so awesome for me. I was doing great in the gym working out 4-5 x a week. I had to cut back and i go about 2-3 x a week now. I started aerobic which has been awesome. This is such a good workout. It's always good to switch up your workout to keep it exciting I have to admit it has been hard with son school activities and sports (he's only 5) but he keeps me busy. I have been alternating my protein intake. I have taken to ISOPURE the best. These have 40 grams of protein so i just need to drink 1 bottle to keep the min amount of protein in. I also just drink water and coffee. This is also a huge change for me. I also notice that my taste buds have changed since surgery and I have been craving lost of sweets. UGH OH those empty calories are not good. I don't regret my surgery and have enjoyed it termendously. To celebrate my 1 yr surgery anniversary I will be going to Vegas. This is going to be an awesome time and I will enjoy every minute of it minues the eating like a pig part LOL!!!

 Wow i'm 4 months post op and 45 lbs lost since surgery. I have started working out 4-5 days a week. I never thought I'd be enjoying the gym as much as i do. It has been a great way to feel good about myself. I do about 30 mins of my workout on cardio only and rest 30 on weights and toning. So i can seen an improvement in my overall toning of my skin. I'm still drinking protein as much as i can. I did suffer quite a bit of hair loss. I was worried there for a minute becasue it felt like so much. My hair has always been thick and I would always have to be getting it thinned out when i got it cut. Not anymore. I was lacking on my protein intake during that month. It's like you do get tire of protein. I have found the Atkins protein drinks to be my favorite. I try to get the ones with 10-15 grams of protein in them. So i have enough protein in my day. This has been a challege but I am gonig back on ISOPURE with the 40 grams Ready mixed drinks. So i can get back on track. I'm loving my new body and can see a huge difference in my face shape. I'm loving my sleeve!!! I do have days where i would love to just eat all the junk food i want. I've learned to eat with my sleeve. This is a complete life style change and you just don't get that huge excitement for food like i used to. I always share plates or just stick with small steak or a salad for my meals. O and chicken is also my fav. at the moment. So for anyone contemplating it stop and do it. If you're wanting a lifestyle cahnge and aren't going to complain about it then do it. I waited 2 years to finally make my decision and 4 months into it I am sooo happy i did it. 

 I'm glad to say I'm 3 months post op. This has been in incredible journey. I have lost 34 lbs totals since my 1st dr appt with dr. Gonzalez. I  feel comfortable with my weight loss and don't think i'm loosing to fast. I have noticed my hair falling out more and that has to do with my protein intake. After a couple of months of protein drinks you kinda start hating them! It's something you have to prepare yourself for. I tired all kinds of stuff but after a while you get sick and tired of protein. So i'm getting 20-30 grams of protein in a day sometimes. The Dr. suggests you get 40-80 grams of protein so as you can see i'm slacking tons. I've been getting back on track with my protein and I will be getting back on isopure soon. One thing I have been doing is walking alot which helps. I walk about 2 miles 3-5x a week. I just joined they gym and started with arms and legs weights to help tone some of my skin issues. I am down 2 sizes since surgery and my shirt sizes are from XL to L which is great. I've been able to fit into clothes I have not been able to fit in in years. I still haven't gone back to see my Dr. and when I do go back he may not want to see for waiting so long. So i do plan on going just need to find the time off from work and date to go. So emotionally it's been an easy ride for me. I do have days where I want to eat tons of greasy foods but know that the aftermath of sickness I get is soooo not worth it! So I opt for protein or salad. I would have never thought Salads would be my food of choice. I love the compliments I get from people and i feel young again. I just have a whole new outlook on life and love every minute of it. I tired of being cooped up and depressed this has given me my life back. I feel like my old self again. So I'm embracing my new journey in life. 

So I am one month post op. I have done well considering i thought i would be having a harder time. I guess when your mentally really for the challange it makes it easier. I do have to admit that I started eating solid foods earlier than I was supposed to. Of course I can't eat any where near what I'm used to. I know which foods will never feel right for me. I don't get the same enjoyment of going out to eat or being at a family event with food everywhere. I see food like a burden now. I have tons more energy and I find myself doing more. I'm  not as tired or have the draggy feeling like I used to. To date I have lost 26 lbs since March 19th (Start of my 2 week diet) and since surgery 16lbs. So I can't complain. I think next month I should be able to start exercising and lifting weight to start toning up. I have been walking 2 miles 5x a week. This week has been hard since I have been busy and with rain lately I haven't been outside. So I gotta invest in a treadmill soon. I have alot of things going on in my life with parties and graduations that I don't have time to make working out a priority. I have a workout buddy (sister) who is great about motivating me and getting me out on the track when i don't feel like going and I do the same for her. So it works. She's a teacher so she's also busy this month. I have not compliants about my sleeve. I love it and has been one of the best things I have done in my life. IDK why I waited to so  long to get this done. So I haven't yet been back to my dr since my procedure due to work and financial it's been hard to get away. I feel great though and hope to see him in my 2nd month.

So I survived my surgery!  That is huge accomplishment.

I'm proud of myself for surviving during my pre-op diet. That was the hardest 2 weeks ever!!!! I ended up losing 10 lbs total which was a great accomplishment but I was hoping for 15-20. So I can't complain any lbs lost is great. I will just give a run down of my days before my surgery to get caught up.

I flew to Dallas Love Field Airport on 4/4 ready for my journey. I meant to pack light but ended up not. I didn't use but one outfit I packed and 1 pair of pajamas. So for anyone new going to surgery please really pack light. I would suggest that if you can fit your stuff in the other person's luggage even better. You won't be able to really carry anything after surgery so the less you pack the easier it is for your companion. I went to my pre-op appointment with Dr. Gonzalez and we did the weigh in at 3:30 paid my fee of 2k and headed on my way to start my cleanse with the Magnesium Citrate. I stayed at the Hyatt near Forest Park Medical center and let me tell you I was shocked at the hotel design and price. I was able to get a special price of 89.99 a night (only stayed one night) and it was a nice hotel. I went down stairs to the lobby and had my last meal of chicken broth. I was able to watter down my magnesium with some water and was able to hold it down better. This really cleans out your system I lost 2lbs prior to surgery.

 I arrived at Forest Park Medical Center at 5:00 am and after payment and other paperwork I was moved back to pre-op area. I was laying in bed praying my rosary and didn't get far when i had nurses in and out of my area. They all asked the same questions but all needed for thier own area of practice. about 30-45 minutes later my sister was able to come back and speak with me. This was nice she was able to keep my mind off things. I really wasn't nervous though the process I was just wanting everything to hurry up!! We were able to chate for about 1 hour before Dr Gonzalez arrived at 7:30 to let me know he arrived and would be ready shortly. I remember talking with the anesstheologist and him giving me shot and i said bye to my sister and that was it. I woke up in my room.

I dont remember the exact time I woke up  but from what I gather my surgery lasted about 1-2 hours. I just remember being in my room and It was a fancy room. Forest Park Medical Center has VIP suites available in thier hosptial and it is worth the extra money to spend. I didn't know I had until my sister mentioned it to me when I was waking up. Once I was up I within like 15-20 minutes threw up. This was a horrible feeling and you use all your stomach muscles and it was NOT pleseant. Once I threw up a couple of times they came in to give me pain medication of Demoral and i threw up again. I was dry heaving and was throughing up blood and black stuff. This part was the worst and i DID NOT enjoy it. This was a horrible experience. I was given my pain medication only 2 times and I knew that is what was making me sick. I'm not really sure if this particular medication is what they use to put me under but it was a horrible reaction i had later on. I remember somone asking me about feeling neasuas and i just said I dont want any more pain medication its making me sick and I sent that nurse away. They gave me a patch that fit behind my ear that worked wonders on my Neasuea. Then they switched me to Hydrocodone and i was feeling much better. I believe I was in this dry heaving for about 1 hour. I wasn't throwing up the whole hour but I was in and out of sleeping and waking up to  throw up. I know my sister was worried about me she did tell me I was pale and was making sure she was on top of meds. I laughed cause she was one asking for my pain meds more than me! Finally when i had a chance i told her NO MORE PAIN MEDS! I just had to get my point across that this pain med isn't helping me but making feel worse. So nurses appreciated that I was so vocal and straight forward with my requests.

Once I was better and not throwing up. I was able to get out of bed and start walking. This is where a HUGE improvement came in. My Dr. and staff stressed to me the importance of walking and getting used to training for a marathon because that is what will make a huge difference in how you recover. They were right! This part was my relief once I was able to start walking I was healing my body. I just felt better but I would also get tired. I slept alot during my first night in the hosptial. My incisions were sore but to compare my overall pain it was at a 5. I think having a c-section in my opinion is way more painful than this surgery.

Next morning I was off to take my liquid test. The meds you drink for the test doesn't taste all that bad to me. I was cleared no leaks and I had a walk back to my room which was a far walk. Once the clear liquids came in i had chicken broth and water/crystal lights/ isopure. I didn't really feel like drinking anything but water. Your not allowed anything day of your surgery so your mouth is dry. To be able to drink water this helped alot. I was only able to drink a lil bit at a time. You are given a log to document every 15 minutes that you sipped your 3 ounces. I did suck on ice chips and this helped with the dry mouth feeling. So i spent all day on friday sipping walking. I was able to change into my PJ and shower this day. This helped me feel comfortable walking around so i wasn't worried my fanny would be hanging out! I did my hair and put light make up on and was ready to start working my runway ( Hopsital hallways) LOL. They were actually seeing how well I was doing and wanted to send me home on Friday. I was surprised but since I had already purchased my plane tickets i was scheduled to leave on saturday by 6:00.

Saturday was the same routine they did more blood work and saw my potatissum was low and that medication they gave me was NASTY. I woud dilute it with juice water anything and it would take me an hour or more to drink the whole thing. I had to take it 2 x a day. I wish we were able to take a pill it would be so much easier. So I stayed at the hospital and started my Period! Ugh horrible timing. This put a horrible damper on my day.

Overall my experience of just the surgery is not bad at all. Beside the fact I had that throwing up episode everything else went great. I'm almost a week out and I'm still sore but it's tolerable. I haven' able to get my liquids in the way I'm supposed to but Im workign on it.

Well i did ok this weekend. I actually went to El Paso to have a quick two day trip with sisters. We had  a good trip. I realized how much harder it is to be out of town and not eating! I live in a small town so the temptation is limited go to a big city and all you see along the freeway you have tons of seating spots. So i did cheat :( and ate 3 wings at BBW and some fries. O well u live and u learn so I'm back on track. I have a couple of more days before I have to leave for my surgery. I didn't meet my 15lb goal lost but I did make the 10 lb mark. I hope by Wednesday when it's my final official pre-op check in. I may have lost the other 5 lbs. We will see.... So I will keep updated until my surgery date as it gets closer. I am just feeling overwhelmed with getting my son situated with grandma so they can both have a stress free 3-4 days. I'm not really nervous about the surgery just yet. It's monday and I'm super busy at work and it's helping me keep my mind off of things.

Yesterday was my  birthday! Yes, I turned the "Dirty 30" and it was like any other day! Thank god i didn't want a big deal and since i'm on my liquid diet its no biggie anyway. I didn't get to enjoy a cake, a meal or a party with drinks. I'm not bitter about it I think next year for my 31st birthday it'll be alot better. 

I have lost 7 lbs my first week of liquid diet. I am hoping to get down to 15 lbs lost before surgery. I have notice that when I exercise I am able to curve my craving to eat food. I have also up'd my protein and water intake so this shoudl help me i think. I just haven't lost any weight since Saturday. IDK if this is normal or not.  I am up to 3 miles a day and hope to stay that way until my surgery date.

This pre-op diet really sucks. For those of you who are not there yet just  menatally, emotionally prepare yourself for this journey. When you have to start your liquid diet i'm sure you are thinking you want to eat all you can because you won't be able to eat like this again. I know I did. I had some issues where I just ate just to eat because i knew this may be the last time I can eat like this. So once you have to get on the liquid diet make sure that you cut down on what you eat I know it'll make it alot easier for you when you start your liquid diet. Just know when you are on your liquid diet your body is going thru a withdrawl from all the bad stuff. It's crazy how much control food can have over you. I have tried tons of ways to get over this hump but only thing I can do is suck it up. This is just a bad process of this whole deal. I've read that people had a low carb or just a 3-5 day liquid diet. I got 2 WEEKS! I keep reading and reading and finding ways around this thing but there isn't. It's really up you but your  DR to decide this and since he doesn't want me to eat for 2 weeks that is what i'm going to have to do.

What can i say I'm having a horrible time at the moment. It sucks to sit in front of other people who are can eat whatever. It sucks that you aren't magically skinny overnight. It sucks that I can't be the weight I was in HS but i  know that soon i will get there. I was watching my 600 lb life on TLC and that really motivated me to in shape. I know I'm not 600lbs but IDK i feel like where I am now I feel like a 600lb person. So i have a real challenge this weekend I will be driving to EL Paso to see Kevin Hart (comedian) luckily it'll only be one day and I will be back overnight. So Ijust gota stay away from food!

I started my pre op diet yesterday and it was hard! I did great and did not cheat. I must say today for lunch at work some coworkers had McDonalds and I literally felt like crying. This has been extremely hard. I just wanted to reach over and eat. I keep reading on other peoples blogs and posts that their pre-op diet was only 1-2 days! that would have been an awesome thing if i could do that. I do understand the reason behind the 2 week diet and my liver shrinking. 

! I just got keep pushing through. My birthday is on 3/26 and I'm not going to be able to enjoy a cake a meal! Yes, I realized this when i planned for my surgery. This is going to be my reminder of why Im doing this surgery. It'll be hard and all but i know i'm doing this to make me healthy in my 30's. So all in all  I'm not disappointed about my decision. I keep drinking and drinking my problems away with some protein. 

Today is my first day of cutting down on food and preparing my self for next 2 weeks liquid diet. I started this morning and drank 1/2 a protein shake Atkins-Banana Strawberry kind at it was good. For lunch I ate 2 beef (thin) patties and 1 slice of cheese. I've been drinking water all day and so far I'm OK. I've resisted the urge to eat outside of protein. So far I'm proud of myself. I purchased a case of ISO PURE which I should be getting soon. It was cheaper on line than at the store-go figure. So I think for supper it's broth's and protein drink for me. I found some really great reading material on sleeve/gastric manual provided by my hospital: Forest Park Medical Center. I keep reading it to refresh my memory and educate my family on the procedure. I have given my sister the awesome job of taking care of me after surgery. I hope she keeps me strong and gets me to not give into the pain LOL. I think she will do a great job. As kids she was the older sister who never let me quit or be scared she would patronize me until i did it. I worry for my son who is only 4 (about to be 5) how he will adjust to me eating less and in pain. I know I will have days of despair and crying for choosing this option. I also know what a great blessing this will be. My adjustment will come and I'm gaining strength by praying my rosary weekly! My prayer is: "Dear LORD help me as I embark on this wonderful journey in my life!"

So my surgery date is approved and now I'm still getting mentally and emotionally ready for the journey. I'm excited but nervous at the same time of course like most people. I have been waiting for over a year and now the moment is here. I will keep posting up until my surgery date. I have a struggle getting someone to tag along for the surgery. It's a lot to drag someone for 3-4 days away from work. I know someone will get the days off and fly with me to Dallas. I know in the end it will all work out. Wish me luck and my journey that is beginning!! I'm excited for this new chapter in my life.