LaBelle509

Last night was for sure the best night of my life. Last year I went to an event with my husband. I felt beautiful but yet uncomfortable the whole time. I had on a pretty dress, nice make up, a pretty smile, and my handsome husband right next to me. But yet I felt like I didn't quiet blend. This year was a different story. I walked in and own my space !!!
 
I was so happy to be in a room FULL of food but yet my attention was not on that( Nothing taste as good as skinny honey!). We spoke to other people and flirted with each other like little kids :wub: Needless to say I fell in love with the man again!
 
I felt proud of myself. When I asked my husband to take me to the dance floor, his facial expression was priceless!! Before I would have bite his head off for even suggesting it. But last night I ASKED! he loved it! we danced songs, after songs until my toes begged for mercy lol!!
 
I am grateful to God for allowing me to see this day. I went from a size 28 to a 16 and that is the best XMAS present ever...
 
1st picture: Picture of last year VS this year with my hubby
 
2nd picture: Me, Last year VS this year

Last night was for sure the best night of my life. Last year I went to an event with my husband. I felt beautiful but yet uncomfortable the whole time. I had on a pretty dress, nice make up, a pretty smile, and my handsome husband right next to me. But yet I felt like I didn't quiet blend. This year was a different story. I walked in and own my space !!!
 
I was so happy to be in a room FULL of food but yet my attention was not on that( Nothing taste as good as skinny honey!). We spoke to other people and flirted with each other like little kids :wub: Needless to say I fell in love with the man again!
 
I felt proud of myself. When I asked my husband to take me to the dance floor, his facial expression was priceless!! Before I would have bite his head off for even suggesting it. But last night I ASKED! he loved it! we danced songs, after songs until my toes begged for mercy lol!!
 
I am grateful to God for allowing me to see this day. I went from a size 28 to a 16 and that is the best XMAS present ever...
 
1st picture: Picture of last year VS this year with my hubby
 
2nd picture: Me, Last year VS this year

Last night was for sure the best night of my life. Last year I went to an event with my husband. I felt beautiful but yet uncomfortable the whole time. I had on a pretty dress, nice make up, a pretty smile, and my handsome husband right next to me. But yet I felt like I didn't quiet blend. This year was a different story. I walked in and own my space !!!
 
I was so happy to be in a room FULL of food but yet my attention was not on that( Nothing taste as good as skinny honey!). We spoke to other people and flirted with each other like little kids :wub: Needless to say I fell in love with the man again!
 
I felt proud of myself. When I asked my husband to take me to the dance floor, his facial expression was priceless!! Before I would have bite his head off for even suggesting it. But last night I ASKED! he loved it! we danced songs, after songs until my toes begged for mercy lol!!
 
I am grateful to God for allowing me to see this day. I went from a size 28 to a 16 and that is the best XMAS present ever...
 
1st picture: Picture of last year VS this year with my hubby
 
2nd picture: Me, Last year VS this year

I have a best friend.
 
We met in 5th grade & are now 25.
 
We are a match made in best friend heaven, perfectly weird complimenting personalities.
 
Since High School we have been on the journey (among others) of being fat together. We would eat constantly, joke about how fat we are. It was our thing, eating was our best social time, nothing is better than mindlessly stuffing your face while having great conversation. When we weren't eating we'd joke about how fat we were & that "tomorrow we'll get skinny" as we stuff another cheeseburger in our mouth. Sure we had our brief periods of "getting skinny", they never lasted. We'd get bored, so we'd eat. We'd get sad, so we'd eat. We'd get drunk, so we'd eat. We'd be social, so we'd eat. Everything in our life came back to food.
 
In September of this year I came to her with the idea of WLS & doing it together. We talked about how AMAZING it'd be to be skinny, but how scary it was, & what a huge life change.
 
The subject was dropped. December rolled around & it was brought up again. Maybe we could do it, a mutual friend had VSG 8 months prior & is already down 100 pounds! WE could lose a 100 pounds, if we just make the sacrifice. It was decided, WLS was what we needed, both individually & together.
 
In 2013 I will undergo the biggest change of my entire life & be lucky enough to do it WITH my best friend. I can't wait to actually see us skinny.
 
(If you'd like to look her up it's JPSnAZ, she a hoot)
 

I could just about say "ditto" to everything everyone else has written about their reasons and that would be my story. Here are my details:
40yrs old
Registered Nurse in Northern Virginia
266 was highest weight
262 at start of pre surgery diet
250 day of surgery 12/17/12
Surgeon: Dr. Salameh at Virginia Hospital Center
 
Surgeon/Hospital Choice: I changed both about 3 months prior to surgery because I started working at VHC and was very comfortable with their Bariatric Center of Excellence and processes. It was hard to imagine having surgery and being vulnerable to people I work with in that sense but I did a lot of research and talked to almost everyone who would be caring for me and that made all the difference. A surgery nurse told me, "surgical nurses tell no tales." This comment was huge for me - and made me so much more sure I made the right choice.
 
Pre-op Insurance Issues: I changed jobs and insurance during my journey which was a challenge. My insurance initially denied me because although I had over 8 months of a medically supervised diet - they claimed not enough of an exercise component was included. Having been a clinical case manager myself, I know that this is just a ploy and delaying tactic used by insurance companies. So I had my surgeon do a peer-to-peer review with the medical director of my insurance (Care First Blue Cross PPO). They compromised and insurance said they would approve if I did physical therapy (I have multiple sclerosis as well so this was one of my surgeons selling points). The physical therapy (although annoying and another month delay) was the best thing that could have happened to me. I met with the physical therapist who treats bariatric patients and it was amazing. He set me up with an exercise plan - and more importantly, made me feel good about myself and the journey I am taking. He even visited me post-op and gave me another pep talk. Had I known how helpful his was I would have paid out of pocket for it. I cannot wait to follow up with him in the new year (he's also really nice to look at - I'm not gonna lie)!
 
Surgery 12/17/12 - all went well. I had a significant haitial hernia which needed repair. Post op I had a lot of pain - that was a surprise. I thought I would be getting a PCA (Patient Controlled Analgesics) and did mention in my pre-op surgery appt. that I don't do well with morphine. However post op they ordered IV morphine which didn't tough my pain. Ended up getting switched to dilaudid which I got pretty much every 2-3 hours but I would have probably done better if I could have controlled it myself. Discharge was sort of a mess. My nurse was getting an admission so she did my discharge before I was ready to go. We left all of the post op instructions in the room - luckily I am a nurse and knew what to do. I only had a few hours (maybe 2) on clears before I was discharged and only one dose of oral pain meds. Looking back - this clearly was not enough. I also could not take a deep breath - couldn't get the incentive spirometer (IS) to move at all. I probably needed another night in the hospital.
 
First day home - was HORRIBLE! I had a terrible headache, could not get fluids in without severe pain, was taking pain meds more frequently than prescribed just to be able to breathe. Each breath hurt and stomach spasms on liquids really hurt. I was dehydrated and still could not make the IS move at all. Worse was I couldn't get to the phone in time to get the post-op call from the hospital so was unable to get my post-op instructions e-mailed to me (gonna suggest they ask for preferred phone number at discharge). A nurse friend came over and listened to my chest and was concerned that my breath sounds were extremely diminished on my left side as well as in both bases, She suggested the ER if it didn't improve. I also had a low grade fever:100.8. My second day was much better. I went to the mall for 4 hours and walked and also worked hard on the deep breathing. I coughed up a bunch of blackish/brownish crud and that helped as well. Fever down and no ER visit needed.
 
Day 6 - things are going well. I still hurt but am down to just about 2 doses of pain meds a day. Im getting more fluids down and about 1/3 of a protein shake for breakfast and some cream of chicken soup for dinner. I've tried a few bites of pudding but got a little nauseous - so that is going to have to wait.
 
Overall I'm extremely happy. I stopped all of my meds (except my MS disease modifying injections), and that has been pretty good. I'm very optimistic about the process. I forgot to mention the most important thing - I have an incredible boyfriend (of 15 years) who has been amazing through it all. He has cared for me and loved me unconditionally through the years, through MS, and through weightless surgery. Having this kind of support has ben the best and most important medicine.
 
I've lost 20 lbs since my week prior to surgery diet. Im not gonna lie and say the pounds don't count - they do so very very very much - but the way I feel right now cannot be measured in pounds. I'm trying to keep that in mind when I have what I know will be a battle with the scale in the weeks to come.
 
Cheers to you all!

Last night was for sure the best night of my life. Last year I went to an event with my husband. I felt beautiful but yet uncomfortable the whole time. I had on a pretty dress, nice make up, a pretty smile, and my handsome husband right next to me. But yet I felt like I didn't quiet blend. This year was a different story. I walked in and own my space !!!
 
I was so happy to be in a room FULL of food but yet my attention was not on that( Nothing taste as good as skinny honey!). We spoke to other people and flirted with each other like little kids :wub: Needless to say I fell in love with the man again!
 
I felt proud of myself. When I asked my husband to take me to the dance floor, his facial expression was priceless!! Before I would have bite his head off for even suggesting it. But last night I ASKED! he loved it! we danced songs, after songs until my toes begged for mercy lol!!
 
I am grateful to God for allowing me to see this day. I went from a size 28 to a 16 and that is the best XMAS present ever...
 
1st picture: Picture of last year VS this year with my hubby
 
2nd picture: Me, Last year VS this year

I have read so many posts and blogs about stalls. I promised myself not to panic when I got to that point. I have been stuck at 277.3lbs for a solid two weeks. I know it's not because I did something wrong, or because the sleeve is not working. After being on this site for so long, I know it is a natural/normal part of the journey. I stayed off the scale and kept my eating and exercise routine the same. But this morning I got on the scale. I gained ONE pound!! 278.4 The sight of the number took my breath away, and the taste of disappointment stayed with me all day. So I came home and took a picture so I could remind myself that I am doing ok. I needed to put my demons to sleep and realized this is all part of the journey. I am not failing. The sleeve is not failing. Life is beautiful and victory is mine

I GOT APPROVED THIS MORNING!!!!!!!
WOOOT WOOOOT!!!!
 
TOMORROW AFTER MY CLASSES I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH MY DOCTOR TO FIND OUT WHEN THE DATE IS!!!
 
IM SOOOOOOOOOOOO FREAKING EXCITED!
 
THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!
 
KEEP ME UPDATED WITH YOUR JOURNEY & BE MY FRIEND!! <3

IT HAS BEEN FIVE MONTHS SINCE MY LIFE CHANGED!!
 
I walked in this morning wearing a new outfit. Complete chaos lol!!!! My "friend" started acting up again. Ever since my surgery, she started a crazy eating pattern and exercise day and night it seems like. She sat there and said NOTHING.
 
Once the other coworkers walked away, we started discussing the day and plans for the weekend. She found a new cool place and was thinking of going there Saturday night. I said awesome and then she said this: this is going to be fun, although I am not sure of "this" new you. You are no longer the beautiful SAFE friend. WTF?!?
I smiled and said " what you mean to say is, I am no longer the fat friend and you have seen nothing yet cupcake"
 
This is fuel for me. I am determine to be the beautiful, skinny, unsafe friend. Her and others that think like her, have no idea what's coming
P.S I learned today (from my NUT) it is important to keep my calories up above 600 calories. For my body to process protein properly and boost weight loss, my caloric intake have to be at a good level. From 600 to 800 but no higher than 1000 with exercise of course.

I was kinda worried how today was gonna go, but thank God it all worked out. My SIL made her famous cream cheese ball and I just put some on a stalk of celery instead of cracker. Turkey and a tossed salad for dinner, and I planned on a sliver of pumpkin pie but our Aunt brought a pumpkin pie trifle and it was all sugar free. I only had a half a cup of it. Just enough to enjoy but not too much. I am so glad I survived, and when everyone else was stuffed and actually hurting, I was content. Now I know I can do this! Thank you Jesus!

HAPPY WITH MY PROGRESS!!! I used to run away from the camera....not lately lol!! Love the camera better than the scale :wub:

HAPPY WITH MY PROGRESS!!! I used to run away from the camera....not lately lol!! Love the camera better than the scale :wub:

HAPPY WITH MY PROGRESS!!! I used to run away from the camera....not lately lol!! Love the camera better than the scale :wub:

HAPPY WITH MY PROGRESS!!! I used to run away from the camera....not lately lol!! Love the camera better than the scale :wub:

HAPPY WITH MY PROGRESS!!! I used to run away from the camera....not lately lol!! Love the camera better than the scale :wub:

HAPPY WITH MY PROGRESS!!! I used to run away from the camera....not lately lol!! Love the camera better than the scale :wub:

HAPPY WITH MY PROGRESS!!! I used to run away from the camera....not lately lol!! Love the camera better than the scale :wub:

HAPPY WITH MY PROGRESS!!! I used to run away from the camera....not lately lol!! Love the camera better than the scale :wub:

Hello Sleever Family!
 
Today I attended my paternal grandmothers funeral in Arkansas. While this was a sad occassion, you must know that my granny was 77 years old - married to my Papa for 60 years - had 6 boys and 1 girl - and 74 grand, great grand and great great grand children! Needless to say, most of the church was filled with family. We had a grand celebration of her life!
 
During the 4.5 hour drive, I sipped on juice, water, and protein shakes. And since I was sleeved a little over a week ago, I ensured that I stopped to stretch and move around at least every two hours....(during my preop class, the nurse told a story of a lady that died from blood clots because she took an 8 hour trip shortly after surgery and only stopped once).
 
Where does the cornbread dressing come in.....HONEY CHILD!!!! Now you all know that there is one thing that you simply cannot resist when you are at grandma's house! I went into the kitchen with my cousins and there it was....cornbread freaking dressing. I debated on whether or not to take a chance but I knew that grandma had my back. I took the serving spoon and scooped out a small portion into a paper cup. Those were the best four teaspoons I have had of food in a long time. I chewed and savored but was sure not to gulp and overdo it. Nothing happened because I was not hungry, I just had to taste that cornbread dressing that was made with love by my Aunt.
 
During the 4.5 hour drive back home to Texas, I sipped on juice, water, and protein shakes.....back to reality!
 
Until next time.....peace and blessings from my family to yours! Good night!

So Since I had a giant lost in October, I knew a big stall was sure to come!! I decided not to ruin the happy feeling by beginning to obsess over not losing for the next weeks or so. I have been around too long not to know what was coming lol!!
 
I gave the scale to my mom and will not get it back until 11/22. Until then, I am going to continue eating well, resting, exercising, live life and take plenty of pictures
 
I find it to be more pleasurably anyway

My little reward for losing 85 lbs!! 1ct diamond pendant... just a little somethin' from the hubby
Now, I did want to reward myself at the -100 lbs mark, but who am I to tell the man no?!
 
THANK YOU SLEEVE!!!
 
What was some of your rewards for reaching a goal?

Today I could not stop smiling I am so HAPPY I got the sleeve done!! I know that I get frustrated when the scale does not move. But the truth is, I am still losing. I went from wearing a size 28W to a 22W WHAT A JOY!!!!
 
I am going to stay away from the blasted scale and LIVE LIFE AGAIN!! I went to an event today. I walked in the room and for the first time, I did not scan the room to see if I was the biggest on there. I walked in, took a seat and didn't worry about my butt not fitting in it. or worst, breaking it. The last time i went, I stood the entire time, fearing that I was going to embarrass myself.... I AM FREE!!!!

So Since I had a giant lost in October, I knew a big stall was sure to come!! I decided not to ruin the happy feeling by beginning to obsess over not losing for the next weeks or so. I have been around too long not to know what was coming lol!!
 
I gave the scale to my mom and will not get it back until 11/22. Until then, I am going to continue eating well, resting, exercising, live life and take plenty of pictures
 
I find it to be more pleasurably anyway

My little reward for losing 85 lbs!! 1ct diamond pendant... just a little somethin' from the hubby
Now, I did want to reward myself at the -100 lbs mark, but who am I to tell the man no?!
 
THANK YOU SLEEVE!!!
 
What was some of your rewards for reaching a goal?

My little reward for losing 85 lbs!! 1ct diamond pendant... just a little somethin' from the hubby
Now, I did want to reward myself at the -100 lbs mark, but who am I to tell the man no?!
 
THANK YOU SLEEVE!!!
 
What was some of your rewards for reaching a goal?