Houston17

Weigh in day! WOOT! 
HW: 273
SW: 250
LW: 237.2
CW: 233.6!!!! Woot! 
A 3.6lb drop this week bringing my post surgery loss to 16.4lbs and my total loss to  39.4lbs. 
This week’s loss comes at a great time because I was a little mopey thinking I might not hit 20 lbs my first month.. NOT because I am trying to hit a magical number but because if this is the ‘best loss’ I’ll have before it starts to slow down, imagine what life will be like the further I get out. I spent  $12K when I add up travel and all that good stuff having VSG surgery. It has to work and be worth it. This week showed me that everything is fine so I can just calm my impatient ass down. 

One thing you all don't know yet is that I fall all the time. I can be walking along just fine and then BAM, I hit the ground. I've done this my whole life so I've learned how to take a fall. I also run into things and bang my head on things all the time. Again, I'm used to this. Also, I had lots of extra padding to keep me safe. Well, last night I found out that some of that padding is gone....and trust me, it HURT me to learn this.
 
I had gone over to my parents to get a cooler for my friend and her husband to use at the beach today. I cleaned it out with bleach and water.....and ruined ANOTHER shirt. Bleach and I just don't get along. Anyway, back on track. So, last night I looked inside of it and noticed that there was still some water in it. Now, you have to understand the way my counter is. It comes out to the living room to allow for extra space and a place to eat. Ok, so I was bent down (under the counter) cleaning out the water and then I decided it would be a great idea to stand up without getting out from under the counter. Well, my head found a new friend. I slammed my head on the counter so hard that I gave myself two knots, a headache and a concussion. It was right then I knew that I lost some fat in my head. I say that becasue I have hit my head on so many things over the years with out issue. I am talking counters, the open freezer door, walls (walking into them), doors. I swear, I always have some type of bruise on me but I haven't had a concussion since I don't know when.
 
My husband rolled his eyes at me when I told him how badly I was hurt. He's used to seeing me doing things like this and I am never a baby about it but for some reason last night he thought I was making it worse than it was. That was until he felt my knots. Thank you knots for telling him I am not a wimp. Then it all changed. He became so concerned. He wouldn't let me sleep and if I did, he made me sleep out in the living room so he could wake me up when he wanted to make sure I was ok. That was great until I woke up on my own only to find his sleeping on the couch (I was on the love seat). What is it with men, a remote, and a couch. I think there is a sleep button that we women don't know anything about on the remote.
 
Anyway, i am fine. Knots are much smaller today and the headache is gone. I just have to be more careful now that I'm losing my padding. It's going to suck when I fall again....I better start wearing one of those dog training suits...that should keep me safe.

When you wake up feeling cruddy or you pass by something you really want to eat. Just remember.. somedays you have to take a minute at a time and sometimes you can do an hour at a time and think to yourself... this too shall pass. That pizza I really want is not worth me eating and being fat again. That sandwich or steak looks so good ...but I don't want to bust open my sleeve. Always think.... I chose this surgery because I wanted a healthier better me. I gave up those things to find the me that I have always wanted to be. Spread the Fabulosity and Love! We all can do it! There is no reason to turn back. We have made the decision to be skinnier, healthier, sexier.....because WE DESERVE IT! No kind of Food will make me ever GO BACK to being FAT. I want to be FABULOUS!!!

Doctors appoint in Vegas went really good. I am above the norm for losing which is where I want to be. He increased the amount of protein he wants me eating and is very happy with my a1c count. He reminded me that as I get closer to goal weight I will have to work harder to lose the weight.
 
I have reached another goal 255lbs yeah, next goal is 200lbs so will increase the weight training as I can't do much cardio right now. According to the doctors I may never be able to much cardio because of the damage to my heart.
 
Had to buy new clothes to cover, every thing was falling off, down to size 18/20 tops and pants from 28's and 5x's it just amazes me at how many sizes I have gone through. I am hoping to be n 14/16's b the end of the month.
 
I am so thankful for all the changes taking place and I owe it all to God and the doctors for letting me have this surgery.
 
Well time to start a new week and new adventures. Day by Day Step by Step with Jesus is my prayer.

Don't recall who sang that song, but I'm singing it now! The other side...hooray! Past the anticipation, past the short lived pain and nausea, past the hospital and the fear and the doubt. Done. Next.
 
Each day is better than the previous. I am up and around today, although still pampering myself and taking it easy a bit. I am still a little bit sore and cannot wait to sleep on my stomach again. That part has been difficult for me, I have to admit. I am learning about that weird feeling when I swallow. I am amused by the gurgling. I am thinking about success. I am concentrating on it. I am realizing that TV has entirely too much food on it. Every other commercial is about food! And I will need to come to terms with my love of food. That will be the work I will need to do. I always wanted to be Italian because the women go to the markets every morning and come home to create their masterpieces. They take great pride in the fresh ingredients and the love they put into it. This is a balance I will need to learn to achieve. Nothing wrong with good fresh ingredients and some creative, loving inspiration to put to them. I just need to learn to work that to my advantage. There was a time in my life where I cooked everything from scratch. I was so proud of that. Of course, I had every afternoon off and all the time in the world to do it. Yeah, those days are over
 
I found myself lying in bed this morning thinking ahead...thinking by my birthday this year, I'll be an entirely different person. So many false starts in the past that I never dreamt of thinking ahead. This weight is going to come off. I will be different. I will succeed.
 
I feel awkwardly courageous at this point. Some will try to take that away from me...say that I took the easy way out. But I will not allow it.

I was Sleeved yesterday and did GREAT! No nausea, little pain, no gas pain, only some slight pain in my left shoulder which my surgeon said is due to having the drainage tube next to my bronchial tube. Today I walked a LOT and feel GREAT. If anyone has any questions, please just ask. I am ready to share my experience.

Our church has a Food Bank that is open once a month. As the Director of the Food Bank, it's my responsibility to ensure there is enough food to provide several day's worth of meals for those who come in. Normally, we are able to receive food from a non-profit organization that provides about 50% of our food for free, however, this month, they were booked solid and were not able to assist. So i spent all day yesterday out shopping for food, and putting it in the Food Bank. Thankfully, I had a friend who went with me to help. What i wasn't really paying attention to was how very little I ate, and also how many pounds of food that I handled. Putting food in the cart, placing it on the check-out belt, then sacking it, then taking it to the truck, then taking it out of the truck, and then carrying into the Food Bank, then placing it on the shelves. It is such a tremendous blessing to be able to be involved in this ministry, that I just wasn't really paying a lot of attention to what I was doing physically, as well as the amount of food I was consuming. For my food yesterday, my intake was a cup of coffee, a slim-fast shake, a few bites of refried beans, a few bites of chicken fajita meat, and that was it!! I don't know why I didn't think more abut eating. I just wasn't hungry, and I was having such a great time being able to purchase food for those in need, that I just didn't THINK!
 
So when I got up this morning, I felt really bad. No energy, sore and achy. I decided to step on the scale, and I had lost 1.2lbs since yesterday! I don't think it's a good idea to lose that much in one day - and I would strongly recommend that no one else do it. I can tell you that it sure as heck doesn't feel good. Even though today is my 4 week "Surgiversary", I have learned that I'm not as far along the healing journey as I thought I was. I am not invincible (although some days I feel it), and that I need to pay closer attention to what I'm doing, and what I'm eating. Lesson Learned!

I have no idea why I think I can keep doing this to my body. Three weeks ago I had most of my stomach taken out and then today I had two teeth pulled (one on the left and one on the right). To be honest, I think the teeth pulling was worse than the sleeve. At least I got good drugs with the sleeve surgery. Also, I had better doctors who were nice and caring. This doctor was fast and rough and I only like that every once in a while (wink) but not in a doctor's office with a man I don't know. I figure if you voluntarily go into a place where people actually hold you down while another person does soemthing to you, you probably aren't going to enjoy it very much and if you do enjoy it, it's probably not something we should be talking about on here. Needless to say, my mouth hurts and both sides are swollen. The cold liquids feel good but the idea of trying to eat any type of pureed food right now isn't sounding to good. So, because I am not feeling very comical today I wanted to take this time to thank you all for reading my blog.
 
When I started this, I figured no one would really read it but it would give me an out to vent and talk about going through this in a funny way. It was therapy in a way. We all know that if our family members haven't been through it, they really don't understand what we're going through. That's not to say they don't try, but unless you go through it all, you can't understand the ups and downs of our emotions and our scales. That is if you even have a scale. I'm still a little ticked my husband hid mine from me. LOL
 
So, thank you. Thank you all for taking the time and reading my crazy rants. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. Thank you to all the people who leave me comments. I really look forward to reading what you have to say and I love knowing that I can make your day a little better with my words. As long as I can make someone laugh, then I've done my job. So, I will keep writing if you keep reading. Let me know if there is anything that bothers you while going through this and maybe I can write about going through the same thing.
 
Now with all that mushy stuff out of the way, I am going to go ice my face and hope that my body doesn't start turning against me. I have promised it that I won't take anything else out of it (that I know of). Hopefully that promise will keep it working for a little bit longer. But for now, I need to give it what it wants...REST!!! Tomorrow I promise to write something a little more comical and sleeve based....if my body lets me, who knows, my fingers may go on strike because of the teeth. I'll have to wait and see.

It's been 8 weeks and I feel good. Lost another 2 lbs after nothing for a week. But it is coming off and I finally think that I have done the best thing I could have done for myself. I did take the time to re-read my handbook trying to stay on track. Just because I can eat what I want doesn't mean I should. Sometimes it's good to take a step back and reevaluate how, what and when I eat. Thanks to everyone for the support it really does help.

On May 18th I will be 1 year post surgery and 98 lbs lighter! WOO HOOO!!! Amazing, I can't believe it. This last year has flown by. I feel great, I look great and am so happy to no longer need a CPAP!!! That was the best thing ever I am glad I had the surgery. No complications, struggle with protein but managed to get through it. I did it. Now they say that after the 1st year it becomes harder to keep yourself on the right track, well not this girl! I am happy with myself and where I am at and where I am going. I look at life a lot different now, since surgery saved my life.
 
From a size 20-22 to a 5-6 in 11 mos, I never would have thought or even pictured myself here. 240 lbs to 142 lbs AMAZING!
 
To all of you here that either have had surgery or are contemplating it, YOU CAN SUCCEED!!! You can tackle it all 1 day at a time. Be proud of who you are, who you will continue to be and who you will become. Life is too short to stress and worry, live your life to its fullest and enjoy it!
 
GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!!!!
 
I want to thank you all for making my Facebook page so successful. I love sharing my experience as well hearing all of your stories too. We are all in this together to support one another and to be of encouragement to others!
 
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gastric-Sleeve-Sharing-My-Experience/113932348696629

Last week I went to my surgeons office an was disappointed to find out all my test results weren't sent to his office yet. He then scheduled me two weeks later (5/10/12) to come in and then we would submit to insurance. I was so bummed (and even wrote a mini rant on here last week lol).
 
Then this morning I come home from work ( I work overnights) and I get a call from unfamilar number that wasnt stored in my phone but looked somewhat familair . I didnt want to answer but I did because I was so tired and was so close to lala land.I did answer. It was my doctor telling me I was APPROVED for surgery!!!!!!!!!! I almost dropped the phone in disbelief!! He submitted it to insurance after all (on 4/26) and got the call today that I was approved. What a fast turnaround time!!
 
After I hung up I started dancing around my room. All that huffing and puffing last week for nothing!! Im happy he did submit without me knowing because now I wont have to go through the stressful waiting period.
 
I go in on friday to get my date and my protein shakes to start my two week fast. Im so happy and excited now. Thank you bcbs.

I have been a member of the Verticalsleevetalk.com forum since December 2011. I log on almost every day to see if there is new information to learn -- and there always is. In April of 2011 I learned that my insurance company (Anthem Covacare) paid for the VSG, but I would have to complete a 12 month counseling process. At that time, I really didn't know if I was going to have surgery. I found a WLS doctor near my home and made an appointment to visit and find out more information. I talked to his surgical coordinator and to the doctor in person. When I met him, I did not get a good feeling but I ignored my initial feelings and thought I was just overwhelmed with information.
 
I talked to my assigned counselor twice a month. There was a 4 week period where I dialed in to a group conference on the telephone. It wasn't until September or October that I really got serious about surgery. In December I found this forum and became a "peeper" and read for a while until I had questions and then joined.
 
I found out that a friend of mine was having the gastric bypass in December. I couldn't get a hold of her until late January and she told me about her journey. She wanted the bypass because she wanted the dumping effect. She said that she needed the reminder of what not to eat. Anyway, she told me about the doctor she went to and I had not hear much about him. Turns out he used to be partners with the doctor I had chosen -- even showed my doctor how to do the surgery lapriscopically!
 
Then in March I contacted my doctors office and asked them what else I could do to get ready for May 2, when the insurance company would be making their decision. The nurse scheduler told me to get a psyc eval and that I had to pay the $1000 to the doctor that was required before surgery. I hit the roof because I was not told this. She said the money was to pay for his fitness gym and additional appointments. They gym is not big at all. I kind of freaked on her and she scheduled me for another appointment with him since it had been a year since I had talked to him. I hung up and immediately contact my friend who had surgery in December and got the number of her doctor. I called and even the front desk girl was so helpful!!! I cancelled the appointment with the first doctor. I had my psyc eval sent to this new doctor - Dr. T. and was told to attend an orientation. Dr. T's PA did the orientation and I learned nothing new but had to go through the process. Next, I had to get an endoscopy which went very smoothly and 4 days later I met with Dr. T. I was blown away by his down-to-earth style. I was immediately drawn in by his charisma and his willingness to answer all my questions -- and believe me, I had a ton! His physician's assistant was just as informative. You could tell these guys knew each other well and have worked together for a long time!
 
Last week I finished another group session that lasted 3 Mondays. I talked to my counselor for the last time last week and on Wednesday, 5/2 she will send through my paperwork to the insurance company. The Drs. office will put through their paperwork on that day as well. I should know something by Friday, 5/4 or Monday, 5/7. I'm really scared, excited, scared, hopeful, scared, nervous!