Julie Lowe

Hello to everyone!!! I am so glad to find a forum/blog to be able to talk about this!!! In the beginning of 2012 I had a big birthday coming up that was affecting me emotionally. I was turning 47, I was in a marriage that was very toxic (Spouse that was an alcoholic, and not working), and i was coming to the point to where I was aware of my own mortality. Let me explain... My father passed away at the age of 57, and he well over 450 lbs. Here I was, turning 47, just 10 years younger, and I did not want to die. On top of that, I had an issue with my Husband and his drinking and lack of employment. In March 2012, I separated from my husband, and my son (who is 19) and I moved out. Two months after leaving my husband, he called me and said he was ready to get healthy. As of today, he is almost 9 months sober and we are back together. I digress.... After my Husband moved back in, and we started talking about the new journey that we were on together, we started looking into help for me. In August 2012, my Internist referred me to Dr. Sami Hamamji, with St. Joseph's Bariatric Program in Orange, CA. I was advised that I needed to go to an initial Seminar. Hubby and I went and we were excited. We wanted both of us to be healthy. Now that he was back on the right road, I needed to be as well. August 2012, I had my initial meeting with Dr. Hamamji. I was ecstatic with him. Very open and willing to answer each and every question I had. I went thru all the required necessities of acheiving insurance approval, support groups, psychiatric evaluation, and what my husband and I found to be the most important part, meeting with the Registered Dietician. I finally received insurance approval December 5th. My surgery was scheduled for December 17th. Surgery day came, and to be honest, I was not nervous or excited. I think I was resigned to the fact that I was beginning a new journey in my life. Surgery went well, no complications. I was released the next day and went home to sleep (finally) in my own bed. Christmas was very difficult. As we all know, the holidays go hand in hand with food. I am the one in my family that does all the cooking. Christmas eve, I made 2 batches of enchiladas and 4 dozen deviled eggs. Had a great time with family. Christmas day was more difficult. Now, I am back to work, and am finding that each and every day brings anew... I am wearing clothes that I had not put on in 2 years (thank goodness I kept them). The scale is my nemesis. I am finding that I am losing inches rather than pounds. But I know it will all even out in the end. Good luck to everyone on their journeys... I know that for mine, I have a healthy husband and I am working on being healthy myself!!!

I feel your pain!!!! I am 5 weeks post op and have lost 25 lbs. I am now to the point to where I cannot stomach a protein shake. There are some at Costco that are pre-made that are pretty good. My surgeon recommended the Bariatric Advantage shake powder. I am now unable to choke another one down. I make the shakes with water, then put them in little containers and freeze them. It is like having ice cream!!!