HelenaMarie83

I have been very careful to stay away from caffeine and any and all NSAIDs, and all the other no-no's. I had some dental work done and was prescribed Norco (rather than ibuprofen) for the pain. What I found was that within 15 minutes of taking half of a dose, I was doubled over with intense pain in my pouch. The pain lasts for about 30 minutes and then goes away. I talked to my doctor about it and they did an ultrasound and didn't see anything to be alarmed by. She said she couldn't understand why Norco would cause me pain because it's what she prescribes to all her Bariatric patients and I am the only one who had problems. She prescribed me Tramadol as a replacement....same result. Intense pain that leaves just as suddenly as it begins. Other wise, I'm very healthy. I'm almost to goal weight. I'm a little over a year out and I haven't had any other complications at all. Has anyone gone through this? My concern is that I just can't take pain meds at all when I am in pain. NSAIDS are out the window and the opiates CAUSE more pain.

It's not the pill size, my vitamins are waaay bigger. I've tried taking it with high protein foods. It's awful. Right now I'm waiting for my new insurance kick in so I can see a doctor, but at this point I'm just always in pain because of my dental issues.

Thanks! It's crazy the difference 7 months post-op can make! My life is completely different!

I'm doing great. I've lost 122 pounds with 37 more to go. My goal is to lose it by my surgery date, June 16th! It's been a crazy ride so far! I went from a size 22 pants to a size 8, however, the other day I got into, and bought a 4! I'm getting married at the end of the year and I'm basically waiting till June to order the dress I picked out so it won't be too big come wedding day! Progress pics, any one?

I love my fruit. Especially blueberries, bananas, and apples. If I am craving sweets, I'll pop a few blueberries and I'm good. I always make sure that I am getting in my protein and veggies first, but if I'm on my girl time and I'm hungry all day and craving cake, I will snack on small amounts of fruit throughout the day. It's better than giving in to sugar and giving myself dumping syndrome.

Edit to last post.... Just kidding, I do have a current body shot! This was taken on Monday. Life sure has changed since surgery!!

This is my before at 287 This is about 20 pounds ago, I don't have a more current full body picture This face pic is more current. Eight now I am sitting at 167. That's a 120 pound loss since April 2014!

That's crazy that you're hungry. I don't think I will ever be hungry again! I constantly feel full! I have to force myself to eat a couple bites of yogurt at mealtimes.

Scheduled for surgery on June 16th! It's starting to feel real now! Anyone else on the 16th?

I don't have liquid tylonel. I need to check that out. I probably won't see you tomorrow, my appointment is at 10:15 am. Good luck tomorrow!

One week post op today too. Still having issues with pain. I'm already out of my liquid Norco. It's impossible to get the liquids and protein down. I have no idea how I'm gonna do it. 2 sips of anything and I feel like I'm bursting. I never want to eat anything ever again! I have my first post-op appt tomorrow. Hopefully my surgeon can give me some pointers.

This story has a beginning, but the end is still nowhere in sight. I am the oldest of three kids. My mother is one of those breathtaking, exotic beauties that you just can't help but admire. My father was a handsome man—full of life. We were adorable children—happy and content. I looked like my Dad, but was starting to look like Mom every day. The happiness didn't last. When Dad left, depression took over and I had no one to talk to besides my siblings, who were too young to confide in. That's when my brother and sister and I discovered how comforting food was. Through the years my body grew out as well as up, and I noticed something. My brother and sister where growing up to be beautiful, slender people, and I got fat. Really fat. To this day I still don't understand how genetics can bless two siblings and curse the other, but that is my lot in life. I hated my body and as the years extended into adolescence and adulthood, the hatred toward my excess fat turned into self-loathing, which led to more weight gain and more fat, more tears, and more heartbreak. I couldn't stand the person I had become, but through years of dieting and killing myself trying to do extreme workouts and diets, I decided to just accept the perceived fact that I would always be fat, sad, and alone. It seemed the only person who truly understood my heartache was my cousin, sister, and EC (Eternal Companion,) MexicanGirl. She was going through the same thing. We loved each other, supported each other, confided in each other, and yes, ate together and got fatter together. Then it came. The worst day of my life.The day Dad died, my heart failed. The wind was taken out of my lungs and with it, my will to live. I sunk into the deepest, blackest despair. I cried every night and prayed to God that he would take me home to be with my Dad before I woke up in the morning. If it weren't for MexicanGirl, I don't think I would be alive right now writing this. When I woke up, I was bursting out of all of my clothes and I didn't recognize myself in pictures. I thought back to when I lost Dad. More than anything, I want to be a wife and a mother. I didn't see myself getting there, and even if that miracle did happen, I couldn't bear the thought of my own daughter holding my hand as I die too young and not having the heart to let go until rigor mortis set in and she has to pry her hand out of mine like I did with Dad. I knew I needed to break the cycle. I knew that if I kept going down this path, I would become a diabetic like Dad and die too early. I had to stop it. I researched more diets and exercise programs. Nothing felt right. I knew I would fail them all. Then one day at church, I heard this new girl in the pew in front of me talking to my other cousin about her upcoming marriage. I didn't know here, but I felt very strongly that I needed to introduce myself and offer to design her wedding invitations. Her name is Katie, and we quickly became friends. She told me that she was getting weight loss surgery in a few days. I was intrigued. I stewed over this new thought for a while—even did a little research and dreamed about someday being able to afford something like that. I was impressed with how quickly she was losing weight. One night, MexicanGirl and I were at Walmart and Katie called wanting to hang out. She came to Walmart. They where introduced and we stood right there in the plus-size clothing section talking about her experiences with the Gastric Sleeve. I felt something. I didn't know what, but now I know it was a glimmer of hope. I thought about it over and over. I was a woman obsesed. Finally I turned to my EC about my feelings and to my pleasant surprise, she felt the same way. We decided we were going to take serious measures to research the sleeve to see if it was right for us. We spent hours reading and watching other people's stories on YouTube. We invited Katie out for Breakfast. She brought us her Kaiser Bariatric Surgery program binder and ansered all our questions. That day, we knew. We had to do this! MexicanGirl called her doctor that day and scheduled her intro class. I was still waiting to get approved for medical insurance, but I went with her to her intro class. She was referred into the Kaiser South Sacramento Bariatric program and we went to her orientation together. We decided not to undergo the sleeve and opted for the RNY Gastric Bypass instead. Shortly after I was able to get into Kaiser and on March 26th, 2014, We met our Surgeons! MexicanGirl got Dr. Neuhouse and I got Dr. Grinberg. At my orientation, I clocked in at my highest weight ever, 287! I lost 5 pounds right away which gave me a start weight of 283. Dr. Grinberg congratulated me on my loss and told me I needed to lose 15 more pounds and get down to 268 before I could schedule a surgery date. We were given a 1200 calorie diet to follow and that day we went to Ihop for a meal of pancakes and got started. The first ten pounds came off pretty easily. We ate right, we walked, we did Turbo Jam, we attempted yoga (owie!) and tried Zumba. I moved in with MexicanGirl so we could support each other, as neither of our families understood our struggles. MexicanGirl's weight melted right off and before we knew it, she was below her pre-op goal weight. The last five pounds were murder for me. It was going so slow! One day, I gained .8 pounds on the doctor scale. I was so upset! I cried and felt like a failure, but MexicanGirl gave me the kick in the pants I needed. I called my nutritionist who told me that I was doing e everything right and to stop kicking myself over less than a pound. Two days later I was 267! As MexicanGirl was already below her goal weight, we were both able to get our surgery dates. One June 16th, 2014, we are BOTH getting the Gastric Bypass surgeries that we so desperately need! For the first time in my life, my future looks bright. I am looking forward to getting healthy. I want to run, jump, and dance. I want to go on hikes without feeling like I'm going to drop dead. I am going to meet my future husband and my body won't make me feel unworthy of him. I will have children, and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When i am old, and wise, I will greet death like and old friend, because it will be my time. My children will not bury me prematurely. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for making this available to us. I know my Daddy is looking down and me and is rooting me on! June 16th, here I come!

Awesome, who's your surgeon? I had Dr. Grinberg. He's awesome.

Had surgery yesterday. Just got discharged from the hospital and I'm leaving as soon as my ride gets here. I'm sore, and exhausted, but I'm happy.

Tomorrow. Ladies. Mutual freak out? TOMORROW!?!?!?!?!

8 am. 1st surgery of the day! I have to check in at 6:15 am!

I actually decided to start a day early just to make sure I'm aaaallll cleared out. Lol!

Today is my last week of work before surgery. I'm on full liquids today and tomorrow, then clear on Sunday. I'm hungry, but not terribly so. I'm not nervous yet. I'm actually really excited. On a side note, I had a job interview today with a company that could really start my career for me. I told them that of I were to be hired, I would need to give 2 weeks notice....(so I can heal up enough to work. lol)

Holy crap! 3 days, y'all!!!!

That's great! Don't worry about the stall. It's natural and your body is still healing. Enjoy life on the other side!

I have him too! How do you feel? Stoked!

5 DAYS!!!!!

This story has a beginning, but the end is still nowhere in sight. I am the oldest of three kids. My mother is one of those breathtaking, exotic beauties that you just can't help but admire. My father was a handsome man—full of life. We were adorable children—happy and content. I looked like my Dad, but was starting to look like Mom every day. The happiness didn't last. When Dad left, depression took over and I had no one to talk to besides my siblings, who were too young to confide in. That's when my brother and sister and I discovered how comforting food was. Through the years my body grew out as well as up, and I noticed something. My brother and sister where growing up to be beautiful, slender people, and I got fat. Really fat. To this day I still don't understand how genetics can bless two siblings and curse the other, but that is my lot in life. I hated my body and as the years extended into adolescence and adulthood, the hatred toward my excess fat turned into self-loathing, which led to more weight gain and more fat, more tears, and more heartbreak. I couldn't stand the person I had become, but through years of dieting and killing myself trying to do extreme workouts and diets, I decided to just accept the perceived fact that I would always be fat, sad, and alone. It seemed the only person who truly understood my heartache was my cousin, sister, and EC (Eternal Companion,) MexicanGirl. She was going through the same thing. We loved each other, supported each other, confided in each other, and yes, ate together and got fatter together. Then it came. The worst day of my life.The day Dad died, my heart failed. The wind was taken out of my lungs and with it, my will to live. I sunk into the deepest, blackest despair. I cried every night and prayed to God that he would take me home to be with my Dad before I woke up in the morning. If it weren't for MexicanGirl, I don't think I would be alive right now writing this. When I woke up, I was bursting out of all of my clothes and I didn't recognize myself in pictures. I thought back to when I lost Dad. More than anything, I want to be a wife and a mother. I didn't see myself getting there, and even if that miracle did happen, I couldn't bear the thought of my own daughter holding my hand as I die too young and not having the heart to let go until rigor mortis set in and she has to pry her hand out of mine like I did with Dad. I knew I needed to break the cycle. I knew that if I kept going down this path, I would become a diabetic like Dad and die too early. I had to stop it. I researched more diets and exercise programs. Nothing felt right. I knew I would fail them all. Then one day at church, I heard this new girl in the pew in front of me talking to my other cousin about her upcoming marriage. I didn't know here, but I felt very strongly that I needed to introduce myself and offer to design her wedding invitations. Her name is Katie, and we quickly became friends. She told me that she was getting weight loss surgery in a few days. I was intrigued. I stewed over this new thought for a while—even did a little research and dreamed about someday being able to afford something like that. I was impressed with how quickly she was losing weight. One night, MexicanGirl and I were at Walmart and Katie called wanting to hang out. She came to Walmart. They where introduced and we stood right there in the plus-size clothing section talking about her experiences with the Gastric Sleeve. I felt something. I didn't know what, but now I know it was a glimmer of hope. I thought about it over and over. I was a woman obsesed. Finally I turned to my EC about my feelings and to my pleasant surprise, she felt the same way. We decided we were going to take serious measures to research the sleeve to see if it was right for us. We spent hours reading and watching other people's stories on YouTube. We invited Katie out for Breakfast. She brought us her Kaiser Bariatric Surgery program binder and ansered all our questions. That day, we knew. We had to do this! MexicanGirl called her doctor that day and scheduled her intro class. I was still waiting to get approved for medical insurance, but I went with her to her intro class. She was referred into the Kaiser South Sacramento Bariatric program and we went to her orientation together. We decided not to undergo the sleeve and opted for the RNY Gastric Bypass instead. Shortly after I was able to get into Kaiser and on March 26th, 2014, We met our Surgeons! MexicanGirl got Dr. Neuhouse and I got Dr. Grinberg. At my orientation, I clocked in at my highest weight ever, 287! I lost 5 pounds right away which gave me a start weight of 283. Dr. Grinberg congratulated me on my loss and told me I needed to lose 15 more pounds and get down to 268 before I could schedule a surgery date. We were given a 1200 calorie diet to follow and that day we went to Ihop for a meal of pancakes and got started. The first ten pounds came off pretty easily. We ate right, we walked, we did Turbo Jam, we attempted yoga (owie!) and tried Zumba. I moved in with MexicanGirl so we could support each other, as neither of our families understood our struggles. MexicanGirl's weight melted right off and before we knew it, she was below her pre-op goal weight. The last five pounds were murder for me. It was going so slow! One day, I gained .8 pounds on the doctor scale. I was so upset! I cried and felt like a failure, but MexicanGirl gave me the kick in the pants I needed. I called my nutritionist who told me that I was doing e everything right and to stop kicking myself over less than a pound. Two days later I was 267! As MexicanGirl was already below her goal weight, we were both able to get our surgery dates. One June 16th, 2014, we are BOTH getting the Gastric Bypass surgeries that we so desperately need! For the first time in my life, my future looks bright. I am looking forward to getting healthy. I want to run, jump, and dance. I want to go on hikes without feeling like I'm going to drop dead. I am going to meet my future husband and my body won't make me feel unworthy of him. I will have children, and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When i am old, and wise, I will greet death like and old friend, because it will be my time. My children will not bury me prematurely. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for making this available to us. I know my Daddy is looking down and me and is rooting me on! June 16th, here I come!

I'm so blessed to have her and to have this option do that I can have a chance at a new life!

Thanks for your kind words! We felt sick all day yesterday. This morning I finally felt good. I had a beautifully balanced Breakfast and the difference is astounding. I have energy, I feel good. I'm at work with a pep in my step. I know part of that is from my new found confidence in my ability to change my life. I feel like a bench mark in my new attitude towards food has been reached.