teressaftmer

Hello everyone! I started my weight loss journey last summer with the Options program and Kaiser. I had wanted to do bypass many years ago but they only took people with major health issues. So I gave up and tried to do it on my own. When I initially got pregnant 4 years ago I weighed 299 and because of constant throwing up I was down to about 275 when I gave birth. Finally at my six week check up I was down to 252. I kept most of that off while I was breastfeeding, but as soon as I stopped 60 pounds came on very fast. One of my co-workers said that they were offering the program again and making it more readily available to people who didn't have major health issues. I signed up and started my journey. At the beginning of the program I weighed 318 (I'm 5'9") and lost 17 pounds in 3 months. I saw the surgeon in December and was scheduled for surgery on Jan. 13, 2011. The day of my surgery I weighed in at 296. The surgery went great. I didn't have much pain and was only on pain meds for 2 days. I started walking immediately and did pretty good while I recovered at home. The worst of it has been trying to find a decent Protein shake, but I'm resolved that there will never be a decent one and I will just have to endure the gross tasting ones for a while longer. I finally found something that seems to be ok and that I can manage to get down during the day. It's whey Protein powder from GNC. So now I'm almost 5 weeks out and am down to 269 (100 pounds away from my goal). I did have some nausea for a bit there and not sure what caused it but it was mostly in the mornings. Since then I've tried to drink some hot tea first thing and it seems to help a lot. The absolute worst part of this whole thing was the emotional attachment I had with food. The commercials on tv were the worst and I kept feeling like I would never get to eat again. That has subsided for the most part and I'm enjoying all the little victories. I walk 30 minutes everyday at work with my friend. We have set times and it works out wonderfully. I think that has helped to contribute to a lot of my success. When I first had the surgery I compared it to when I had LASIK a few years ago. I had PRK which take a few months to heal from and you can't see perfectly right away. At the beginning I kept thinking why did I do this, I should have just stayed with my contacts. But as the days went along I could see more and more clearly and finally at about 3 months my vision was crystal clear. Now I tell everyone it was worth every penny I paid and more. I think the same thing about this surgery. The first few days and weeks I kept thinking what I have I gotten myself into. But as the days progress it gets a little easier and I know in no time at all I'll be telling everyone it was worth suffering through every food commercial on tv. Well I wish everyone great success and look forward to talking to you.

sleeve 4 me, thanks. I'm just going to finish up the Options class and work hard at losing weight now. Maybe the nurse is just trying to encourage everyone, but instead of using a positive way it's more of a negative way.

Do you know anyone that has been turned down because they did not lose their 10% before surgery? I'm 6 weeks in to the Options class and found out yesterday that the bariatric nurse is saying that the surgeon won't even consider us even if we are 1 pound away from our 10%. This was really discouraging to me.