Update for the Summer

Sorry it's taken so long, here's the latest news on my weight loss. 

I have lost 83lbs as of 3 weeks ago. I keep forgetting to weigh myself first thing in the morning since I usually am distracted with getting Aidan ready for school and getting Emmett breakfast. By the time I get home from taking Aidan to school, I'm preoccupied with plans for the day. I am usually hungry by 8:30 so I make myself half a bagel and then eat only half of that and give the rest to Emmett, the little beggar! 

Right now I am without health insurance but have applied for Healthy Families so I hope to get into the lab soon to have my blood tested to make sure that I'm getting enough vitamins and minerals since I'm consuming such little amounts of food now. I was told that between 6-9 months I could get a general idea of how much food I will be eating at each meal for the rest of my life. At the moment, Emmett is eating more than I do. At times I feel hungry but I know it's because I've went too long without eating, and I try not to do that. I'm still working on portion size and I'm trying to mentally change my addiction to food. I've found lately I have snacked because I'm bored and for some strange reason, I've been craving chocolate, which I never did even when it was "that time of the month". My new addiction I must say is Coke Slurpees. I LOVE THEM!!!!!! I want one right now but I know it's so full of sugar and I just had dinner so it would make my stomach hurt. I bought a couple pairs of skinny jeans and already one of them has went from skinny to baggy. The other pair fits perfectly and I can't wait to buy more. All the jeans I had in my drawer from before Ken and the kids are too big and have been donated to the Goodwill. There are going to be some super stylish fat girls out there I tell ya!!! 

Some super exciting news (for me at least) I have lost weight in my feet too!!!! I bought a new pair of shoes that I've literally wanted for years.



 Here is a current photo of me. Enjoy!

April showers bring May flowers......

Down 65lbs and 4 sizes. I feel FANTASTIC and beautiful! Got my hair cut and loving it. I can't stop looking in the mirror. Had Aidan take the full body picture, too bad it's blurry but hey, he's 6.

Another Post-op

Had my 4 week post-op today. Total of 32lbs down. Blood pressure is stellar, like always, and the doctor is still happy with my weightloss. The rules have changed in the last 20 days though. Originally I was allowed soft foods at 4 weeks like steamed veggies and certain meats, well not now. This doctor wants me to wait another two weeks. Ok, I'll do as I'm told but eventually I'll have to eat real food. I am still supposed to be getting 70-80g of protein a day, but I can't seem to drink that much, never could even before the surgery, so that is what I'm going to work on now. I can incorporate a more intense workout into my routine so I'm going to try Wii Zumba and get back on my elliptical. I can pull out the kettle bells and workout the arms to try to avoid flabby, chicken neck arms too.

Like B.Hipps always said....
Pain is just weakness leaving the body.

Good/Bad news

So my wedding ring is too big for my ring finger now and I've had to start wearing it on my middle finger. Also the jeans I bought right before Thanksgiving because I couldn't stand wearing maternity pants anymore, are too big. I wore them today and they are baggy and I had to keep pulling them up. Ken told me that yesterday while walking behind me at the hospital, my once tight yoga pants were looking baggy in the butt and leg department. These are all GOOD things but eventually bad because I will have to fork out some cash for clothes that fit. I know "Poor Andrea she has to go buy a whole new wardrobe, WAAAAHHH!" I just know that the money could go to something more important than me and new clothes. Guess I'll just cross that bridge when I get to it. I ate refried beans with some shredded cheese mixed in for dinner and I can still feel the lump in my belly. It's gonna take some time to get back into foods that have some substance in them. My new diet consists of mashed avocados (not guacamole), cottage cheese, hummus, malt-o-meal, laughing cow cheese, popsicles, herbal tea, flavored water, and regular water. Maybe tomorrow I'll try mashed sweet potatoes?

2 weeks done

Today is 2 weeks 1 day post surgery and so far so good. I'm hungry most of the time but dinner time is turning out to be the hardest meal to deal with. Every meal smells AWESOME and it sucks.
I saw the bariatric surgeon today to have my post-op check up and to have my staples removed. He's very happy with my progress so far and wants me to come back in 3 weeks, guess today isn't the last time we drive north dammit. I can now add soft foods to my diet. I had pintos and cheese today, it was ok. I can also have hummus, mashed avocados, cottage cheese, and pudding......yum. Here's to 3 more weeks of squishy foods!

11 days and a new year

It's the monday before I have my staples removed. It's also New Year's Eve and I'm down 26lbs. I've been struggling with my liquid intake. I've never been one who drinks a lot of fluids of any kind so having to drink 64oz. a day has been hard. I start to get a brick feeling in my stomach after drinking just 4 or more ounces at a time but to get the full daily amount, I need to constantly be sipping. Last night I tried holding Emmett. It went good. I sat in a chair and Ken handed him to me. I miss holding and snuggling with him. After that I was sitting in the bathroom while Aidan was taking his bath and he asked for more warm water in the tub. As I was turning the water off, I felt this horrible pinching pain in my belly. It was just a second of pain but it caught me by surprise. Ken of course told me I was over doing it but I didn't think that bending to turn off the water would be considered over doing it. Today I'm going to take it easy. Other than my liquids and that second of pain, I'm doing pretty good. I do hate when Ken cooks any meal though, it smells wonderful throughout the whole house and it makes my stomach hurt. I can't wit to have something to chew.

Aftermath

So it's 3 days post surgery and I'm feeling much better. My first day/night home was horrible. I was doing awesome in the hospital. I was getting up and walking the halls, I was "eating" and keeping it down, and I wasn't having any negative side effects from the surgery....then the car ride home came. It was 2 hours of pure pain. I felt every bump, every brake, every THING! Once we got home, I was nauseous and just wanted to lay down. I slept for a little bit then woke up and tried to eat. I had a few sips of Slim Fast and it tasted real good. My stomach stopped hurting and I thought "This is going to be a breeze", but I spoke too soon. My body decided that it didn't like it and it came right back up. I waited a few more hours and tried some chicken broth. It stayed down until I tried to take my pain meds, then it too came right back up. At around 10pm, I tried two sips of water which instantly made me vomit. I was in pain and I couldn't do anything about it. We called the On Duty Nurse and all she told me was go to the ER. So once in the ER, I got to sit in pain while trying to not vomit. They took my temperature then had me sit back in the waiting room. Then they called me back and took my blood and again, back to the waiting room. Once I finally was taken to a gurney, I put on a gown and got to wait some more. All the while I haven't had any pain meds since before 11am. I'm in tears and we can hear the doctors outside the curtain saying they have no idea what to do with someone who's had bariatric surgery and they may just send us back up north. One of the doctors finally asks who did the surgery and contacts the surgeon. He instructs him to hook me up to an IV, pump fluids in me and give me pain meds. The instant they inject me with the pain meds, I'm doubled over the big, orange bowl dry heaving and shaking. I can't talk and tears are streaming down my face. I finally finish and as I lay back, they give me the nausea meds. I'm given 3 bags of fluids and end up staying until 6am. I'm home now and have finally showered and washed my hair. I'm not doing a lot of moving and I can't hold or carry Emmett so I'm mostly laying and sleeping or sipping on water or tea. I did get to feed Emmett some jar food today and he was happy to be with his mommy, but I was soon tired and napped for a good two hours afterwards. Stay tuned for more exciting updates............

The Beginning Is Upon Us

It's Tuesday night and tomorrow morning will be the last time I have food for 30 days. Of course I'll still be taking in calories, the difference will be that now they will be in liquid form only as my stomach heals from surgery. I'm not nervous, I never get nervous before surgery, but I'm just ready to get it over and done with and get to healing. I hope I have everything I will need for post surgery. I bought gallons of soup/broths, flavored waters, and herbal teas. I bought a few Jell-Os but to be honest, I HATE Jell-O. Ken put a handful of movies on the laptop for me to watch while I'm in the hospital, but I may end up sleeping the whole time. He's going to drive home Thursday night and come back up in the morning on Friday so I won't have company that night. In two weeks I will go back for a post-op follow up and the doctor will determine if I can add drinkable yogurts to my diet. I'm excited for Christmas. It will be Emmett's first Christmas and Aidan will be getting a new bike from Uncle Matt so he'll be stoked. Stay tuned for post-op updates!(If the world doesn't end of course)

Yowzer! The story unfolds.

The past few weeks have just been a whirlwind of activity so brace yourself. For the last couple of months I have been having a horrible burning sensation and sometimes a stabbing pain at my port site and after eating I would sometimes have to rush to the bathroom to get sick. If I ran my hand over the port site, I could feel it without even pressing. None of this is normal, especially for having the band for two years now.I contacted the facility that put in my lapband and after a couple attempts, I finally got to speak to someone and all they wanted to know was "What did I do?" They said they wanted to see me but it would cost me $100 and we'd go from there. Ken suggested I try our healthcare provider and see where that takes me. I promptly got an appointment to see my PC physician and once I explained to her my symptoms, she put in a referral to the bariatric department and another to radiology for an upper GI. I received a call later that day from Karen, one of the Kaiser Care Managers, wanting more information in regards to my band. After I told her what I had been experiencing, she told me to get into radiology as soon as I could and she would put a rush on my referral to bariatrics. The next day was Friday, November 30th, and boy is that the day that tried to kick my ass. I was already tired from having problems sleeping and Aidan had been having half days at school all week, and anyone who is a stay at home mom knows that those extra couple of hours everyday can be a lifesaver. Well, I was getting Emmett ready to go in the car to pick Aidan up and I went to let Newkie in from the backyard when I saw him eating something on the ground. I had put snail bait out the night before after catching the little bastards all over my sweet pepper plants, and here was Newkie eating them as a snack! I quickly put him in the office and rushed to go get Aidan. While waiting for his class to be excused I googled snail bait ingestion and found that it's fatal, especially for small dogs. As soon as I got home, I grabbed Newkie and took him to the vet. They induced vomiting then made him ingest charcoal to help absorb any left over poison. They wanted to keep him over night to monitor him so I left without my dog and $374 dollars poorer. I went home with the feeling of guilt because I was the one who put the bait out in the first place. Later that day I found out my father-in-law had had a heart attack. I knew my husband didn't know and I didn't want him to find out the same way I did, via Facebook, so I called him. If you know my husband then you know the love and respect he has for his father so you would also know that this news was like being hit by a freight truck. I just wished I didn't have to tell him over the phone. I was still worried about Newkie come late afternoon so I called to check on him and got the good news that the doctor had given the ok to pick him up!!!! He wasn't allowed any food and he was pissed about that, but he was home where he belonged. The hubby came home and as we were sitting talking about the day, my phone rang. It was the bariatric department. They had a cancelation for Saturday and wanted to know if I was available? HELL YEAH I AM!! I had expected to have to wait at least 3 weeks to see a specialist so I was pleasantly surprised to be seen so quickly. The appointment was for a Kaiser almost two hours away, but that was the only hospital that does bariatric surgery so I didn't have a choice on location unless I wanted to go back to TJ, and I didn't. So I saw the doctor and he confirmed that my port had indeed turned and it was surrounded by fluid. Right then and there he scheduled me for Jan 10th to have the band removed and the sleeve put in its place. On the way home my husband got to talk to his dad and that gave him some peace of mind that if his dad was well enough to call him, he would be ok. That night my brother started moving into our office and Aidan got sick.....I mean SICK!!! He was throwing up everywhere and every time he would calm down and relax, it would start all over again. By Sunday night he was back to his normal, hyper self. On Tuesday I got a call to schedule my upper GI for the following Thursday. I had assumed I was just supposed to go so I was surprised to get a call to make an appointment. That day, I dropped Aidan at school and headed down to meet my mom. She was more than thrilled to have the baby all to herself and couldn't wait to do some Christmas shopping with him. I got my upper GI done and they couldn't find anything wrong with the pouch, the band, the port, or the connecting tube, but since they didn't know the initial placement of the port, they couldn't determine if it had moved. By the time I was done with my appointment I saw I had missed a call from the bariatric department up north. They had an opening for an earlier date, Dec 20th, and wanted to know if I wanted it??? I knew I wanted to get the surgery over with but 5 days before Christmas???? I took it. So to recap- In a matter of 7 days I went from having a lapband that wasn't working and it was causing pain on a daily basis to having the thing pulled out and my stomach will be stapled to the size and shape of a banana, my dog got poisoned, my father in-law had a heart attack, Aidan vomited on every surface in his room, and my brother moved in with us. Can't say my life is boring for sure. Oh, and Emmett is now 6 months old, has two teeth that just came through this past week, and he weighs almost 18lbs. It's time for a nap.

Holy Crap I suck!

It's been over a year but at least I have a reason to be MIA for so long.......A new baby.

I have taken two steps back with my weight loss and now it's time to get back on track. I'm happy to announce that I didn't gain nearly as much with this pregnancy compared to my first, but still with any weight gain, you have to get over the negative feelings and get your head on straight and push forward. My new moto is going to be "LET'S DO THIS!"

Remember....... pain is just weakness leaving your body

Update

Well it's been two weeks and two days since I had my tonsils and uvula removed. Still have some pain but at least I'm off the Vicodin. Lost 20lbs the first week since all I was consuming was water and 4tsp of pudding every 5 hours so I could take my pain meds. Now that I'm eating again, I've gained 3lbs back. I'm going to assume it's water weight since I'm still eating little amounts of soft(er) foods. Water is still my drink of choice since it helps to rid the back of my throat of the spit that I can't seem to swallow on it's own.

I tried swimming today and found that trying to hold my breath to go under the water was still painful so maybe next week. I'm also looking forward to getting back to working out and even bought myself two new 5lbs kettlebells for when I can start, again, maybe next week.

April 2011

I don't know why I'm so horrible at posting on my blog, maybe it's because I sit all day at a computer and try to avoid sitting at mine at home...that is until Plants vs. Zombies sucks me in!


Well I'm going on week 6 with my personal trainer, Brandon. I haven't lost any weight and I go back and forth on if I've lost inches. A few articles of clothing feel that they're too big but then I put on my jeans and say "WTF". I know jeans tend to be tightest right after washing and drying but come on already. I've been putting off all cardio outside of the gym and I want to blame work and stress and feeling tired ALL THE TIME. I've been seeing the chiropractor again to hopefully help me sleep better and relieve some of my aches and pains, but I still feel like I'm tossing and turning all night.....again maybe due to stress at work.

I'm eating 6 meals a day. Each around 200 calories for a total of 1200 cal a day. I have a hard time between eating my snacks and eating my meals, I just get those lovely hunger pangs about 30min before I get to eat again. I have to be careful cause if I let myself get too hungry, I tend to take too big of bites and I don't chew enough then my food gets stuck and it comes back up.





On a much more bitter note.................................

My birthday is next week and after having to cancel our Disneyland trip due to no money, I've decided I'm sick of having my birthday suck and just want it to be over with. I don't want to go out to dinner and pretend that I'm ok with feeling that everyone sees it as just another day, just another dinner. Out of 33 birthdays, I can only remember having 4 parties, 2 of which I felt like I had forced on my mom. I never get what I want, maybe it's because I don't speak up but FUCK ME, maybe if you figure out what I'm interested in, you'd know what to buy me. Let's try this for a change, let's not talk about you and what's going on in your life and maybe ask me a few questions and actually care what the answers will be. A present should be something that I wouldn't normally buy myself, so keep that in mind when you're looking at new socks for me. If you just don't know and you're giving yourself an aneurysm over it, I'm not against gift cards or good ol'fashioned money.


Was this blog too harsh??? I really don't care right now. Why shouldn't I speak up when it comes to my "real" feelings. I've kept it bottled up for 33 years, so I need something to change and I learned a long time ago that if I want something changed, I'm the only one I can count on to make that happen. What sucks now is if I do get a party for my birthday, I'm going to always feel that it's because I bitched about not having one and it's not because someone actually gives a shit.....again 33 years of crappy, half assed birthdays is evidence of that. I don't want anyone to feel that I've never been thankful for the "Happy Birthdays" or the gifts I have gotten, but sometimes actions speak louder than words.

March 2011

Started training with Brandon yesterday. It felt good to be back in the gym and getting something done. As each day passes, it seems like it's getting easier and easier to live life to it's fullest. What the hell does that mean you say???? Well, I used to have to schedule gym time and that time always felt rushed to me. Now that I'm back at work, and have been for well over a year now, we have the funds for me to be selfish and pay someone again to help me get the most out of my gym time. Aidan is older now and is in school so I have my afternoons free to do as I please. The parking situation at home has been made easier for me now that I am in the garage again and losing 45lbs makes it easier to workout.

Feb 2011

Sorry I've been MIA, I feel like I've had so much going on lately that finding time to sit down to write in my blog been a challenge (so I'm at work and trying to quickly get it in today).

I'm down 45lbs as of about a week and a half ago. I still haven't gotten into the gym and everyday I give myself a guilt trip because of it. I can only imagine how much faster I'd lose if I took the time to go, but again I need to make the time. I have started seeing my chiropractor once a week instead of twice for that very reason. I am happy to report that I have more energy lately than I've had in years. I want to take Newkie for longer walks, even if every 2ft he wants to stop and sniff around. I think I will be asking for a Beach Cruiser for my Birthday and a bike rack for my car so I can go to the lake on Fridays and enjoy some alone time.

I am losing inches and have went down three and a half sizes so far. Right now I'm between sizes which makes shopping for much needed items like pants, difficult, either they're too baggy or too tight. Why don't I wait until I lose more you ask? The close I have are getting too big and they are falling off. I'm not going on shopping sprees, just buying stuff so I don't have to walk around naked. When we moved to the condo, I went through all of my clothes and pulled out everything that was too small and put them in bags that, I thought, Ken had taken to the Goodwill. Well luckily he didn't so I've started pulling some of the jeans out and am finding I'm able to wear them again!!! I did have to buy quite a few new pairs of panties though, my older, bigger ones were falling down ALL THE TIME! I was always pulling them up, how sexy is that?!

I need some healthy recipes that are fairly easy to make. Anybody have anything that is their "GO TO" meal when they are short on time but still want low fat, carbs, and or calories?

40lbs gone!!!

It's been almost 3 months since my Lapband surgery and I'm proud to report that as of this morning, I have lost a total of 40lbs!!!!!!! I felt like I had been stuck at 37lbs FOREVER and I was getting worried that with the holidays and all the yum-tastic food around, I would gain a few but I guess with the amount of food I'm eating, even the extra cookies and pies didn't screw me up.

I am a little worried today after having my glue come off in the shower. It hasn't even been 2 weeks since my revision and I know that the doctor had said it should take 3 weeks to heal and that's when I'd see the glue come off. I had been using New-Skin and even more super glue to keep it on the last few days but I guess it didn't help after all.

December 17th

So I went in for my port revision yesterday. It went a lot faster than the initial Lapband surgery but then again, I was the only one scheduled for surgery too. They took X-rays to see just how my port was flipped so they could determine the best way to correct it and keep it from happening again. At about 11am I went in for the 30min procedure. Everything went very smoothly and once I was coherent, the doctor came by to explain what he found. The pocket that had been created for my port had filled up with fluid, which it was supposed to, but my body didn't absorb the fluid like it should have and it caused the sutures to give way and then my port flipped. To prevent it from happening again, they removed 10cc of fluid and this time to attach the port, they used staples that are located on the back side of the port. Why didn't they just do that in the first place you ask??? Well, there is one negative to doing that and it's this: once I lose 75-80% of the weight I'm going to lose, you may be able to see the port under my skin. I can always have it moved deeper into the muscle but I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I also found out that I'm the 3rd patient with the Johnson & Johnson band that had their port flip. I'm just that lucky!

I was up and moving around by 12:30-1:00pm and ready for my fill. He started with 4cc but ended up only adding 2cc. My band is a 14cc band but the average patient only gets about 8-8.5cc total. I'll see how well I do with this fill and see if I need another a few months down the road.

So now I'm home and on my way to a full recovery. My stomach hurts like a bitch, I feel bloated, and I'm wrapped like I broke my ribs. They wanted to keep pressure on my port to keep the fluid build up to a minimum this time. I can "unwrap" my self at 9am and take a shower to wash all the orange off my belly.

Thanksgiving Food

Can you believe that I lost a pound even after all the yum-tastic food we had on Thanksgiving?!!!!! That brings me to a total of 36lbs lost. I was very happy to see I lost the 5 pounds that I gained back during my flu shot episode as well.

Today I plan on hitting the gym after work. My schedule is open from 3:00 - 4:30+ today so it's the perfect time to go in and get my sweat on. Tomorrow I have my second appointment with the chiropractor, which I'm looking forward to now that I know what's causing the sharp pain in my upper left & right butt cheeks. I hope our insurance covers it, we pay an arm and a leg for it so it better. Whatever bone is located below your lower back and connects your tail bone to your hip is what's messed up on me. Mine is popped out and is causing my right hip and upper thigh to be numb and makes my right leg 2" shorter than my left. It will take some time to get it back to where it should be, but I can't live with this pain in my ass (no joke) and it hurts to sit for long periods of time and that's a problem when it comes to my job.

I'm going to ask for a fill when I go in for my port flip on December 17th. I've noticed that I'm not staying full as long as I was before so that's a sign that I need to change something.

First Fill

I went to have my first fill today only to find out that my port had flipped. I guess this happen in every 1 out of 200 patients. They tried to flip it back with a needle, but no such luck. The only way to correct it is to surgically flip it and use different, stronger sutures that are guaranteed not to let it move again. I'm scheduled to go back in on December 17th. On the plus side, he said I'm doing really well with no fill so I may not even need one but we still have to get the port corrected. He had me drink that chalky, gritty white crap while he watched it move through my band via an X-ray. It's moving at a very good pace and he seemed happy when we left. I also found out that all the "liquids" I've been eating are now banned. No apple sauce, yogurt, or oatmeal. I need to chew whatever I eat, including snacks.

He didn't weigh me in but it looks like I gained 5lbs over night so not sure if it's due to the extra water I was drinking to keep myself hydrated while running a fever for 2 days so I'll weigh myself again in a couple days.

1 month 8 days

BEFORE

I've been on solids for a few weeks now and I've found out there are a few foods that I'm not into anymore.

#1. Coffee. Yup that's right the one thing I didn't think I could ever live without has made the top of my least desired food items. I've tried a few cups and I'm just not feeling it anymore. The flavor isn't bad, I just don't want it.

#2. Raw Almonds. I still love them but they hurt like a son of a bitch.

#3. Cottage Cheese. It just doesn't taste good so why eat it?

#4. Milk. I can't get past the smell of it. It always smells sour, even when I went and bought a brand new gallon of it because I thought the previous gallon was bad. I've poured out two half gallons so far, now I ask Ken to smell it before I dump it.

#5. Carne Asada Fries. I thought for sure this would be the one thing that I just couldn't wait to have once I could eat solids again but even when I've had the chance to get them, I choose something else. Maybe deep down inside I don't think I will be able to stop at half a cup so I've made myself just not want them? If so, it was nice while it lasted you greasy, carb filled bastard but it's time you find someone else to make fat(ter).


Now cheese on the other hand, anything but cottage cheese that is, is still on my "Most Wanted" list.

No weight change. That's good but also not so good at the same time. I need to get my ass into the gym but I find that I've had too much going on after work and before picking up Aidan so I haven't went. I did get my new FitBit so I can track my calories burned again.


AFTER

Day 28

It's starting to get easier to dish out portions for myself so I don't waste as much food but right now I'm not even worrying about what I throw away. Ken, Aidan, and I went to Chili's for dinner last weekend and I ordered the chicken tacos. It came with 3 tacos, rice, and beans. I ate 1 taco. That's it, just one taco. I tried a small bite of the rice but it wasn't very tasty and the beans just aren't something I usually like so they were just decoration in my eyes. I did box up my other 2 tacos but to be honest, I'm not going to want to eat a soggy taco so they will end up in the trash before Halloween.

I really have to start eating my lunch and not do anything else during. I was at work the other day and I was doing some internet browsing while I ate my lunch (half a turkey sandwich on wheat with a slice of cheese no mayo no mustard)and when I was done, my stomach hurt and I felt like I might be sick. It passed after a few hours but all I could think was I had no clue how big my bites were and if I was chewing enough. Maybe I'll start bringing a lawn chair and I'll set up shop in the back and enjoy some sunshine while I eat...plus I can work on tanning these ghostly white legs of mine. BOOOOOOOO!!!

I'm still trying to sell my costume, but no takers. I did buy a new costume ($12.99 for the dress) so I won't have to go to the party in my Birthday suit.


No weight change this entry