Nell65

Good evening everyone! Merry Christmas to one and all. My HW-252 SW-246 Date of Surgery- 2-12-14 weighed in at 232 CW-133 I am 5'3.5 I used to wear between a 26-28 I now wear a size 4 and at 49 years old I'll take it! This journey has been no less than amazing. I was given a tool to use and I've been doing exactly what they've told me to do. I have ditched all my diabetes meds-4 insulin shots a day, metformin, byetta, glipizide, levoxyl, lisinopril, and aspirin, My blood pressure is running at 100/70 most days. My last HbA1c was just the first month off all meds back in July and it was 5.9. Next one will be at the end of January. Can't wait to see where that is. My life with the sleeve has been great-I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I won't lie and say it's been easy. It hasn't. But it's been about making the right choices and sticking to it. Have a Happy New Year! Nell

Good morning all! Been super busy-so haven't posted in a while. I've been cleaning out my late parents home to sell and it's been taking up time after work and life. I was sleeved on Feb.12,2014. I was 245lbs day of the surgery. I am now at 147lbs! Yipee! I am wearing a size 8 in clothes and very happy-I got my first pair of Levis in YEARS! I am just 5lbs away from my goal weight of where the Dr's want me to be. So happy with my choice of doing this surgery. It's meant a whole new phase of life. I went on vacation this summer and I walked during my 13 days a total of 63 miles. It felt so good walking the beach every morning, I could get used to that! Happy Sunday to all of you! Nell

Good afternoon everyone! I am happy to be down 85lbs at this point. So I went out to celebrate. I also went way out of my comfort zone-I got the tattoo I've been wanting forever! I am 20lbs from goal and couldn't be happier! So here's my NSV- Happy Friday to all of you!

Congratulations on your awesome success!!! I know Dr. Cepeda very well but it was before he was a bariatric surgeon. He is the one who had to amputate my daddys leg back in 2008 when he was still a vascular surgeon & he did such a perfect job on my daddy!!! He really is such a wonderful surgeon no matter what type of surgery he is performing! He also has great bedside manners & truly cares abt his patients & their well being!!! Thanks! Dr. Cepeda was very good about answering all my questions and he really helped ease my mind about the surgery. He is one of a kind that's for sure!

Good morning all! Does Dutchess count as close? Dr. Cepeda at Tri-State Bariatrics did my surgery for my sleeve on Feb.12, 2014. I went for my monthly follow up on Friday and was given my 75lb pin-down now 82lbs! I have had NO issues and keep asking him if he really did anything. I love how I feel and enjoying this ride so far. Although no matter what weight you are-swim suit shopping is the pits! So have a great rest of the weekend and see ya all around here!

Oh, I just discovered this app!! LOVE IT! Please add me too to your lists- NellD65. It's lonesome right now-just one friend I have is using it. Nell

Hi everyone! So far so good over here. I have no issues with anything-other than the side effects from the Iron tablets. I can say I hate them with a passion. food hasn't been a issue-I can eat all the meats, fish, chicken, pork, turkey, lean burgers. I got fresh crab a few weeks ago and thought I'd died and went to heaven. 3oz never tasted SO good. I get all my Protein and Water in daily-sometimes extra water as I carry my bottle with me when I walk and sip as I go. My SW was 245, day of surgery, Feb.12th I was 232 and today I am at 174. So I am down 71lbs . Still really haven't bought clothes- upstate NY weather hasn't been super warm yet. I am wearing 14 in jeans, down from a 24-26. Large to XL in tops. I am happy with that believe me-when I do go shopping- Old Navy is my new best friend. My next goal is to get into lingerie at Victoria's Secret! Right now I am a 40C-so when I get into 38C-I get something fun and cute! I am tied to my Fitbit-I constantly keep track of my walking. My youngest and I are going to do a Color Run in July, it's a 5k that I'll walk since I shattered the ankle 5 years ago, I can't run. Just imagine Igor shlepping along saying "coming master" to give you a picture if I tried. But we are excited about that. I walk anywhere from 2.5 to almost 5 miles daily. This week is on the low side since I am packing up my late Mother's house and getting ready for movers to get it all into storage for me. But I am counting it as exercise as I am lifting boxes and carrying stuff! Happy Wednesday to everyone!!! Nell

I am hoping for a good Hba1c when I have my next lab work in July. They forgot to run it when I went in March-but I was only 3 weeks post op and I'd rather see how it is after 6 months after being sleeved. I was dropped from taking 60 units of Lantus and Novalog combined, 1.8 of Victoza, 10mg of glipizide, 10mg of Lisiniopril, 2000mg a day of Metformin and 88mg of Levoxyl down now to just 1 500mg metformin-1/2 in the morning and pm, 5 mg of Lisinipril and that's it. My numbers were getting too low with the insulin-50-70's over night. My fastings now are coming down again on the metformin-90's to 120's. It's my body getting used to less weight as well as being better over all. She is sure that before I come in July, I'll have to ditch the metformin too. I hope so. At least I no longer am dealing with insulin 4 times daily. I am happy with how I feel. I no longer feel like I am dragging-that was a huge part of all those meds. I was feeling like I was in a fog with them all. I may always be type 2-but a much better managed type 2.

SW- 245 Day of surgery-232 Feb 12 2014 CW- 189 I went to my 8 week check up. I got my 50lb loss pin. I am still so motivated. I keep seeing changes and progress. Protein is my best friend. I need to go buy clothes, but not until this cold and snow stop around here! Nell

Good morning, I have decided to show my changes. Aug. 2014-I was 245lbs. April 5, 2014, I am 194. What a difference! And I took myself shopping at Old Navy-bought a size 18 skinny jean. Oh they feel so good! The dress I was wearing was a 26-28. I cleaned out my closets and drawers and got rid of 8 bags of clothes! If it ever warms up, I will go get some new things. But for now-I'll stay in the baggy sweatshirts to stay warm! Nell

Thanks for the comments! I am trying hard! I've been doing everything to the T ! Nell

My friend who'd gone through this told me to hit up the consignment shops and Goodwill. I need clothes, but with it still being cold here-I'll stay in my big sweatshirts for now. They are huge on me but at least I am warm and comfy at work-I dispatch school buses so I can wear them and jeans to work. I can't wait to do a real shopping trip. But I am holding out for warm weather!

Thank you! I appreciate the support! Nell

Good morning everyone! I have been doing really well. I did get a 10 day stall, but knew it was coming so no biggie. I still have so much energy I feel like the energizer bunny on crack. It's bad. LOL I have progressed to what my Dr says is phase 2. Soft meats and veggies. I had chicken parm without the breading the other night and I made a small tuna casserole in my 4oz ramekin with lowfat cheddar cheese baked on top. Yum! I have no issues getting all my Water and Protein shakes in-course waking up at 3:45am everyday for work helps that end as I start drinking by 4:20 on my Protein shake. But I hit my first goal today!!!! I weighed in at 199!!!!! I am SO excited!! Goodbye forever to the 200's. It's time we broke up and I am never looking back at that again. I also had to go out and get pants. I've been wearing stretchy jeans since the surgery. Well when you kids tell you that you rear is sagging worse than a teenage boys baggie pants it's time for a new pair. I had been wearing a 1x since about the 3rd week. Well tried a XL, still too big. Got a Large! They fit beautifully! I am still a bit tender to wear button jeans, so I will wait a bit on that still. Doing the happy dance here today! It was a good way to start my day by hitting my first goal! Nell

Good evening ladies! I was sleeved on Feb. 12th. Little to no pain at all-even asked my surgeon if he actually did anything. Bonus that he glued me so no staples or stitches and very tiny incisions! I get all my H20 in everyday-course I get up at 3:45am for work so I have plenty of time. I am now on pureed. I have eaten fish that way and I have tolerated scrambled eggs just fine. Same goes with egg salad. I add about 2 tbsp of pureed butternut squash for my veggie. I went out last night and had chicken marsala-chewed it to a pulp. No issues with food. I have 2 Protein shakes a day-love my Peanut Butter cookie shakes, so GOOD! I was 245lb when I started in October, lost 13 by the end of January. I was 232 the day of my surgery. I was 202 today. Course this is the week that Aunt Flo is visiting-mean old witch-so I've slowed up a bit. I am down 43lbs total-30lbs post surgery. I am pleased. I bought a FitBit on the first post op I had on Feb. 18th. I just got my 50 mile badge. Yea! As to clothes-well I am waiting. I did get a pair of elastic jeans at Wally World. Size 16-18, they are baggy. LOL But I can't wear jeans I had in waiting which is odd, but I am taking my time and waiting to see more changes first. My youngest and I signed up for the Color Run 5k in July-we are excited to go! Nell

Good evening everyone, I going to be 4 weeks post-op tomorrow. I feel terrific! I was given the green light last Friday for pureed foods. So far I've managed three nights on scrambled eggs and now two nights with haddock with garlic sauce-it's the Gortons baked in a bag and pureed nicely. So good! I've added a bit of butternut squash that's pureed too. I've had no issues so far with these. So let's see what you all are eating. I've been experimenting on my family with a cookbook my best friend used when she was sleeved. Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery. It has different stages, surgeries and portion sizes. It's great and the food has turned out to be very tasty-at least my hubby and kids think so! Fire away about your meals-I am loving cooking these days! Nell

Good afternoon, I am now three weeks out-down 25lbs and total of 38lbs since I had to lose some to make the insurance requirements. All my blood work that was done last Saturday came back great, except for my blood sugar. It was 185 for fasting. I took 3 units before bed as it was 169. My bariatric surgeon placed me on a sliding scale for the insulin. So my endo calls me. She's not happy with that number. She wants to add either metformin along with the insulin being bumped up and maybe long acting insulin at night. WTH? The reason I did this surgery was to get off all these darned meds. In three weeks, I am feeling better than I have in years because I am not on all those meds. I am actually sleep fully the whole night through. They were the death knell for me. I am walking-targeting 10,000 steps per day-last week I walked 18.79 miles. Not too shabby. But my numbers aren't budging on the blood sugars even after a hour on the treadmill and bringing my target heart rate up to 130. I don't get it. I am very frustrated. I don't want to go back on those meds as they all have weight gain! Then I may as well NOT have done this surgery. She says it to help me heal faster. Bull. I don't buy it at all. I just want to sit and cry. I am so sick of having type 2-that appears to never go away as others have. Anyone else in this boat? Nell

Good morning, Thank you both for the words of encouragement. I was on 15 units twice a day of Novalog, 30 Units of Lantus, 2000mg of Metformin, 10mg of Glipizide, 1.8 Victoza, 10mg Lisinopril and 88mg of Levoxyl. I had what I called the death cocktail. I was put on insulin in Feb. 2009 when I shattered my ankle-it's to help diabetics with bone growth. Well I never could get off it on my own. I do hope that I don't have to go back on any of these meds. I was so tired all the time. I now have energy again. They also gave me Levoxyl to bump up my metabolism. I didn't have a thyroid problem at all. My lab work after not taking it for almost 3 weeks last week was normal. My BS was 185 for fasting. I'd taken my 3 units that day too before the labs. It's coming down slowly. But dang, I hate giving myself needles. I just want to be normal again. Nell

I guess I am lucky in the pants department. I have been wearing sweatpants to work since I went back to work on Jan.19th. My steri strips are finally starting to fall off. Since I leave for work about 4:40am to go dispatch school buses, it's darned cold here still. Until I feel comfortable in jeans again, I will wear my sweats. My boss hasn't said a word about it.

I got the green light to start walking 9 days post op. I went straight to the gym. I have been going daily since last Friday. I logged in 13.72 miles in a week-slow start but I will take it. I average about 3.5 miles a day total.

Today I am just 10 days post op. Day of my post op appointment, I went right after to the mall and walked a total of 2 miles. I called them yesterday as I was concerned about my BS still being a bit high(at least for me). I was told I could start the treadmill. So off to Gold's I went. Got in a hour on the treadmill. I wear my FitBit-so total walking everywhere including the mall again tonight was 11, 906 steps-and the day isn't over yet! Not sure if it's all the meds I am now off of, but I have SO much energy! It's like I am the energizer bunny. Going again in the morning to do another 2 on the treadmill. It's going to have to be daily for me as I want those numbers down! Nell

Good morning, I am just 9 days post op. Up until I added the Protein shakes in-they have just 3 carbs, my BS was running from 129-159. Now I can't get them back down under 200. Even before surgery-it was never that high. I am taking a sliding scale of insulin 3-6 units. Will this ever go down? I am frustrated as insulin was the big reason I did this surgery-I want off of it! I went back to work on Wednesday-I wear a FitBit to see how much I walk during my work day-that's about 1 1/2 miles daily. Anyone else having these issues? I think I am going to switch also back to plain Water. I wonder if the Crystal Lights are adding to it too. It just doesn't make sense to me. Nell