joannes journey through WLS

wow - it has been a long time....

2010-03-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

.... since my last post. i guess that is because everything is going to well on my weight loss maintenance. for the last 5-6 months i have been slowing trying to eat different things and so far so good. i have put back on around 6 pounds but that doesn't freak me out. i was pretty boney before ~ but unfortunately every pound seems to go right to my hips and thighs.

i am still 100% happy about having weight loss surgery.

2009-10-06T18:35:00.000-07:00

mark it down!!! september 16th GOALLLLLL!!! yup on september 16th i reached 149 pounds, actually getting 1 pound below goal for a total loss of 176 pounds. needless to say i am totally thrilled. that was 3 weeks ago and i basically haven't changed how i am eating. i have had a little more fruit ~ enjoying grapes now that strawberries are out of season. i have also been eating more peanuts and almonds.

PRAISE GOD for this awesome blessing!!

has it really been 16 months???

2009-09-06T19:03:00.000-07:00

wow ~ i absolutely cannot believe how blessed i am! it is impossible to adequately express how thankful i am that i had this surgery.

16 months ago i would have spent my sunday afternoon doing absolutely nothing constructive. probably would have been laying around, napping, watching tv.... NOT today! after church we stopped by the grocery store and then after a light lunch i painted in the kitchen area for around 3 hours. then immediately cleaned up completely~ vaccuumed, washed the back door window, straightened up the house. then fixed dinner and right after dinner was on the treadmill for 1.5 miles.

i feel SO good! as far as my weight loss, i honestly think i have lost all my body will let me lose. since last month i lost 2 pounds but haven't lost anything for 3 weeks and in fact my weight has fluctuated back and forth with those 2 pounds. i am basically eating the same as i did while i was working hard on losing weight, with just adding more fruit and vegetables ~ no plans at all to start adding anything else ~ i am very mentally satisfied with how i am eating right now.

so my total weight loss is 173 pounds! PRAISE GOD!

15 months ago today!!!

2009-08-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

i can't believe how quickly the time has flown and how quickly the pounds have melted away ~ praise God! as of today i have lost 171 pounds! (7 pounds lost since last month) i absolutely cannot believe it. i have pretty much reached my goal ~ it was my desire to lose 175 pounds but i know that i have probably 5-10 pounds of excess skin that will only go away with plastic surgery ~ and at this point i don't see this happening because of the cost. i do not have any physical problems as a result of the excess skin, it would all be for cosmetic reasons.

i don't know that i will lose more weight because i don't want to look too gaunt and at this point i am pretty boney. and i feel very good about my appearance. i am so thrilled to know that i am at the weight i was when terry and i got married.

i don't have any plans at all to change my way of eating ~ this summer i have thoroughly enjoyed eating lots of berries. there is constantly a large bowl of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries with splenda on them in the refrigerator that we polish off almost every day! and i am eating more vegetables but still NO bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, sweets etc... unnecessary unhealthy carbs. don't need them - don't want them! those things pave the path back to obesity!

14 months ago (yesterday)

2009-07-07T19:40:00.000-07:00

what an amazing 14 months this has been ~ and i continue to be blessed! i know that i have said this a LOT over the last 14 months but i am so blessed to have had weight loss surgery. i feel that way with all my heart. the last month i have branched out a tiny bit and had more fruit - specifically strawberries and blackberries! YUM and twice we went out to a restaurant where they have peanuts in the shell and i've enjoyed eating peanuts IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT! i am fully aware of the fact that snack foods are a slippery slope and i don't want to ever start eating them at home or somewhere where i will be tempted to keep munching.

what i would LOVE to do is have a tummy tuck, get the excess skin removed from my upper arms and it would be a dream to have the excess skin removed from my inner thighs and get rid of around 10 pounds of excess skin ~ but that is very expensive and i doubt will ever happen. i lost 7 pounds this month for a total of 164 pounds lost to date WHOO HOOO!!! i am wearing size 10's and feeling extremely good and healthy. would love to take off an additional 11 pounds, although i am pretty happy with where i am right now.

13 months (a few days late)

2009-06-11T12:51:00.000-07:00

it was my plan to post on the 6th of each month - this has just been a busy month. from may 6th to june 6th i lost 6 1/2 pounds. the weight loss has certainly slowed down, but i expected that to happen the closer that i get to goal. i am also re-thinking what my goal should be.

many people who have had weight loss surgery will follow-up with plastic surgery in one form or another to remove excess skin. i didn't realize just how much that excess skin could possibly weigh and from information i have gathered, depending on how much weight you lose, this can add up to 10-15 pounds. and can also account for 1 to 2 dress sizes. so, now all i need is around $30,000 for a complete body lift - hahaha!

weight loss up to june 6th ( 13 months) is 157 pounds - WOW!

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY!!!

2009-05-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

wow, has it really been a year ago that i had my gastric by-pass surgery??? the time has flown by SOoooo fast. and i am very happy to say that the pounds have fallen away Sooooo fast too! as of today i have lost 150 and 1/2 pounds - every little bit counts :D

i honestly can't think of any profound statement or anything ~ the most important thing i would like to say is that if you are reading this blog and contemplating having weight loss surgery - i say GO FOR IT! it's the best thing (next to receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour) that i could have done for myself. getting off the weight helps me to be a better wife, mother...everything! i am SO blessed!

142 pounds in 11 months!

2009-04-06T10:28:00.000-07:00

i am thrilled, happy, healthier but most of all blessed! blessed in so many ways, but since this blog is about my weight loss surgery - the blessing i am referring to here is that God allowed me to have this surgery. the last 4 weeks have been great - our family went to dallas texas for a weekend and wow ~ to fly on a plane and not feel like you are hanging over on both sides of your seat and to have around an extra 12 inches on the seatbelt - and to have energy to spare, and to sit in a seat at a sports game and fit!!! and to go shopping for ME at regular clothing stores like banana republic and j.crew and find clothing that fits!! to put on a swimming suit and get in the hot tub in the hotel rather than sitting on the side watching others!!! i give God all the thanks and all the glory!

10 months!! - happy dance!

2009-03-06T07:22:00.001-08:00

ten wonderful months ago i had weight loss surgery and my weight loss to date is 132 pounds! WHOO HOOO. i praise God that i am where i am today. it has been fun getting new clothes (so thankful for winter clearance sales) and being pleased with how i look. i don't mean that in an egotistical way, but there's a lot to say for a positive self image. i feel so much better and am able to out-last my 20 yr old daughter when it comes to "shopping till you drop"!

9 months ago today ~ weight loss surgery

2009-02-06T07:09:00.000-08:00

and what an awesome journey it has been! i thank God - probably every day - that i had this procedure done. not one regret whatsoever. what is really fun now is that i have lost enough where it is fun to go shopping for clothes and the weight loss is very noticeable. last month i was hoping to lose 125 by today - and i fell short by one pound = 124 pounds lost to date! not complaining at all though, very happy.

has it really been 8 months???

2009-01-06T09:25:00.000-08:00

i honestly cannot believe that it has been 8 months since my weight loss surgery. the time has really flown by! i am very pleased to say that i have now lost 113 pounds!!! i give God all the thanks and glory for my success. the holidays were very easy ~ didn't have any desire at all to cheat. last week i started doing a pilates routine in the morning. oh my oh my ~ at the end of that first day i was feeling muscles that i completely forgot were even there. OUCH! they suggest that you do the workout at least 3 times a week. i waited a few days before my second workout because my abdominal muscles were really sore. worked out yesterday and this morning for around a half hour each. i was going to join Curves - and i still might - but i know me and the more convenient it is to work out the more i will be inclined to stick with it. in addition to doing pilates i am back on the treadmill every evening after dinner. i am trying to pump up my exercise because i want to lose 12 pounds before february 6th! my goal is to have lost 125 pounds by then. (actually my goal is to lose it by feb 4th, my birthday!)

7 months today

2008-12-06T18:02:00.000-08:00

wow how the time has gone by - 7 months ago today i had surgery and as of today i have lost 103 pounds!!! i am so blessed and thankful that God allowed me to have weight loss surgery. i have decided to post once a month on my surgery anniversary - there really isn't very much going on, just continuing to do the same eating and exercise. i still haven't started doing a lot of exercise, just the treadmill. hopefully after the first of the year i will take the time to join

Curves. i am still fully satisfied with the foods that i am eating - it is a great feeling to know that i am eating so healthy. over thanksgiving i wasn't tempted to eat anything that i shouldn't. i made a pumpkin custard pie and my brother in law made an awesome berry pie = both of these were made with splenda and were sugar free.

wow - 6 months!!!!

2008-11-06T06:58:00.000-08:00

yep.... 6 months ago today was my weight loss surgery and what a blessing!!! i am so thankful to God for allowing me to have this procedure and as of today i have lost 92 pounds. WOW! i feel great physically and mentally. over the weekend my daughter was in town from college and we hit the mall ~ walked for hours ~ and wasn't at all struggling. went up the stairs rather than taking the little escalators with no problem. we are already planning our shopping strategy for black friday (day after thanksgiving) hahaha!

5 months ago today ...

2008-10-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

.... was my weight loss surgery

as of today - lost 81 pounds

about september

2008-09-30T07:03:00.000-07:00

today is the last day of september and this is the first month where i have experienced stalls in my weight loss. i don't want to state that i am in a pattern of slower weight loss already because i am just now in my 5th month. i have been able to count on losing at least 10 pounds each month so far and in september i lost 8 pounds. i REALLY was hoping to count on a monthly loss of 10-12 pounds for the first full year after surgery. enough complaining - my weight loss to date is 79 pounds!

feeling great!

2008-09-20T06:01:00.002-07:00

i have no idea if anyone reads my blog - but if there IS anyone reading who is contemplating weight loss surgery i say GO FOR IT!!! i am so glad that i did this! this coming wednesday, sept 22nd will have marked 5 months that i have been losing weight (began 2 weeks pre-op liquid diet) and i have lost 76.5 pounds! WOW! it's probably a year before i am at goal, but already i feel so much better.

2008-09-20T06:01:00.001-07:00

been a good week

2008-08-30T05:05:00.000-07:00

this has been a good week - lost 5 pounds. i haven't done anything different it just seems that there are weeks where the scale doesn't move, while my body is adjusting to everything and then the weight falls off. looks like i am averaging around 12-14 pounds per month now. was at alex's first soccer practice this week and saw mom's who i haven't seen since before surgery and one mom said "have you lost a LOT of weight?" and i told them about my surgery. so this is the first time that i ran into someone i knew who i haven't seen since surgery - it has been 18 1/2 weeks and 70 pounds gone!

4 months ago today ....

2008-08-22T07:03:00.001-07:00

.... i started on my weight loss with the 2 weeks pre-surgery liquid diet. since that date i have lost 65 pounds ... yeaaa me!

loving each day

2008-08-16T05:52:00.000-07:00

i am so blessed that God led me into having weight loss surgery. every day has been great! i am thoroughly enjoying the new foods that i am eating - finding new recipes through beforeandafterhelp.com and also trying different foods at restaurants. last night we had olive garden and i got the parmesan crusted tilapia with squash and it is awesome. i have no idea what the nutritional count is for a full serving, but since i only eat less than half (NO pasta) i know that it is within what i should be having. and it is absolutely delicious!

weight loss to date 64 pounds!

3 months later ...

2008-08-10T04:37:00.000-07:00

.... and doing great. last week on august 6th marked 3 months since my surgery and my weight loss is progressing just fine. found another convenience meal that works - at saint louis bread company (panera bread) they have an asian salad with chicken and i have gotten that a couple of times without the wonton strips and with extra chicken - i remove most of the lettuce and it is a very tasty meal. friday evening we ordered carry out from olive garden and i got the parmesan crusted tilapia and it was delicious. i ate around half of the fish and some of the sauteed squash. on the 8th of august i reached 60 pounds weight loss to date!

doing fine ~

2008-07-30T06:47:00.000-07:00

can't believe how quickly the weeks are going by since i started this new way of living. 14 weeks since i started my pre-op liquids and the weight loss began! feel better all around and haven't had any discouraging moments at all -

weight loss to date 56 pounds

working through stalls

2008-07-23T04:11:00.000-07:00

during the first two months the pounds melted away really quickly. the first week lost 20 pounds. then in may i didn't even get on the scale, because i knew that with the surgery my weight would actually be up a bit from the trauma of surgery. until mid june i would lose a pound or half pound almost every other day. i was sure hoping that this rate of weight loss would continue for a long time. but, the weight loss has slowed down a bit. i am not complaining - because it is still better than prior to surgery. what has happened this month is that i will stall for a few days - or this month for a week then drop a few pounds at one time. today is wednesday and i hadn't been on the scale for 3 days and i am down 2 1/2 pounds since saturday - down 10 pounds over the last 23 days - three months ago (13 weeks) i started on my pre-surgery liquids and that is the date that i use for when my weight loss began - so - total weight loss 54 pounds!

11 weeks/or/2 months

2008-07-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

eleven weeks that i have been losing weight - 2 months ago sunday i had surgery. wow!

not much new to report - haven't tried any extraordinarily wonderful new recipes - oh except did a spinach, bacon, swiss quiche on saturday that sure was delicious. kind of falling into some easy routines regarding food items - things that work, taste good and are relatively easy to prepare. my favorite protein right now is taking one of the new whey blue raspberry "bullets" and pouring it into the lemonade crystal light - YUM. pretty hard to find though. we drove to 3 different GNC's on sunday before we found their last box. tasty and 42 g of protein! next favorite is the lean dessert whipped vanilla protein - makes a very nice treat in the evening. going through the container pretty fast though because when i start blending sarah and terry want one too :-p

after 11 weeks - 47 pounds lost

10 weeks ~~

2008-07-01T03:53:00.000-07:00

ten weeks ago today i started on my pre-op liquid diet...

eight weeks ago today i had surgery. SO glad that God led me down this path to have weight loss surgery - no regrets at all!

of course during the first weeks the weight just fell off and continued to drop pretty quickly up until around 2 weeks ago. i feel that now, while i am still losing weight it's not as rapid. there is still a LOT to go but i am pleased with my results so far.

total weight loss to date in 10 weeks = 46 pounds!

good but uneventful week

2008-06-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

don't really have a lot to report about for this week - everything is still going well - no food issues this week at all, but then i didn't try anything new. still staying away from chicken and any other dense meats. mainly ate either quiche or black bean soup or spaghini.

weight loss to date 43 pounds

new experience this week (possible TMI)

2008-06-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

this has been a very good week - with one exception - experienced "foamies" on monday night.

i've had very good success with ground round - having hamburgers, mock taco salad - even had a steak n shake burger last weekend. monday evening the kids wanted food from Red Robin and it sounded good to me too so i ordered their protein burger (carry out). this is basically a burger, no bun wrapped in lettuce. at first bite i could tell that they firmly pack their meat because it just felt more dense - after a couple of bites it stuck. new this time though i started belching a LOT. well i ended up throwing up the burger along with a LOT of foam - very strange and uncomfortable feeling.

i discovered protein pudding this week from Instone - got it at GNC - it has 20 grams protein and is very tasty - very thick rather gooey texture though, but glad to find another way of getting protein. the only other protein supplements that i have liked are isopure and the new whey bullets, so i was pleased to find this protein.

made a couple of awesome soups this week from the beforeandafterhelp.com website ~ creamy cauliflower & chicken (didn't add the chicken, used tofu instead) and my favorite so far the thick black bean soup.

weight loss to date 42 pounds - after 8 1/2 weeks

time sure has gone quickly

2008-06-14T11:29:00.001-07:00

i cannot believe that it has been almost 6 weeks since my surgery. and i feel great. have been enjoying different foods this week. because sarah and terry are on south beach we are all able to eat some of the great recipes that i have found from beforeandafterhelp.com. this week i made the cheeseburger pie - which was pretty good, i made it with 2% cheese and that cheese doesn't melt very well. the taste was good but when i make it again i am going to use regular shredded cheddar. then on thursday i made the au gratin talapia - WOW was it delicious!!!! even took some to work on friday. had a bit of broccoli too. then today we were doing a special father's day brunch for terry since he is heading to dc in the morning. made the broccoli quiche OH MY GOODNESS - it is awesome. unfortunately for me i was eating a piece of turkey bacon and not paying close attention to my chewing and i must not have chewed enough and it ended up getting stuck so i didn't get to eat more than a few bites of the quiche. speaking of things getting stuck - on monday i ate some stir fry that sarah made with chicken and the same thing happened. poo!! weight loss to date 40 pounds!!

chewing!!!

2008-06-07T07:29:00.000-07:00

this week i finally progressed to being able to eat real food that requires chewing!! oh happy days! still having the fage yogurt for breakfast because it is good and easy and can pick up at the store by my office (eat breakfast at work) for lunch i have been making little roll-ups with the buttig type ham (no sugar added meats!) and spreading happy cow on the meat and rolling up. i make two of them using 3 slices of meat with each one. i have a little knife and a little fork and take little bites and chew chew chew. on wednesday evening i had albacore tuna and i am not sure what happened but after eating about half of it it felt like it stuck trying to enter my stomach. i tried belching it up, tried throwing it up - tried chewing some ice - finally after around a half hour it passed. i think i'm going to stay away from tuna for a while. yesterday was the BEST!! had the grilled shrimp from outback with their dipping sauce, which was yummy. today i'm down two more pounds - so the shrimp and sauce were okay!! today i am going to make a cheeseburger quiche for lunch - recipe from the weight loss board beforeandafterhelp.com

weight loss to date 36 pounds

4 weeks ago ~~~

2008-06-03T04:16:00.000-07:00

~~~ i had my weight loss surgery. goodness how quickly the time has gone by! and today i actually get to chew - I'm excited about that ~ it has been 6 weeks of liquids and then purees and soups. i am going to wait until dinner time, so that i am at home when i eat something. just planning on doing some deli type meat (buttig) ham with happy cow cheese spread on it then rolled. the meats are generally moist and should go well.

i haven't posted a lot lately, because everything has been pretty basic, nothing special happening. not having any more pains or anything. haven't had any emotional issues connected to eating or anything. doing very well physically and mentally.

weight loss to date 33 pounds in 6 weeks.

pain gone!

2008-05-24T09:26:00.001-07:00

well, as of thursday i do not have any of the pain in my lower left abdomen. (looks like the dr knows what he is talking about - a week ago thursday was my 1st post-op dr appt and he said that the pain should be gone in a week!) i have experimented with a couple of different food items - made an awesome pot of potato soup early in the week that i have been having for lunch and dinner all week. for breakfast having yogurt during the week. this morning i did an egg over easy and ate around half of it. still staying between 1/4 & 1/2 cup per meal. getting in all the protein and water is still a challenge i am probably averaging 60g protein a day but probably only half of the water that i need. something that i ate yesterday didn't like me though, because i had diarrhea during the night - was up around 3 times. last night for dinner i had 1/4 cup blended vegetable soup and not quite 1/4 c cottage cheese. weird.

working full time went very well this week. glad that my energy level is up because i was drowning in all the work that was pilling up - pleased to basically leave friday with my desk cleared - only bringing home a couple of hrs of work.

been a very good week

it was a good week

2008-05-17T15:25:00.000-07:00

i'm glad that i went back to work on monday - it wasn't too bad when i left around noon and at the beginning of the week i would come home and nap or just rest in the afternoon. although i didn't get tons of work accomplished, i think if i would have taken the week off i would have felt worse heading back to the office full time this coming monday.

i am still struggling to get in all my protein and liquids in - some proteins just taste gross and as far as getting in 64 oz water - i just am not a bit drinker. i am now on 2nd level "foods" which basically is creamy or very soft mushy stuff - 1/4 to 1/2 cup serving. this week wed, thurs & fri at work i would have around 1/2 fage yogurt with some vanilla flavoring and a package of splenda - YUMMY. then for lunch and dinner tues wed i would do a casserole (HA) of around 2 tbsp of ricotta cheese spread into a tiny ramekin spread a tsp of tomato sauce on that then top with mozzarella - nuke for around 25 seconds - very good. i have also had some cream of wheat. today for lunch i tried adding some potato flakes to 1/4 cup of beef broth and it tasted good, but felt a little heavy in my stomach.

i would say that it was a good week. on thursday i was able to have my staples and drain removed, so that was wonderful.

back to work - PART TIME!

2008-05-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

because of the nature of the work i do it just sits there whenever i am gone - no one to take over, so i decided from the beginning to only take of the week of surgery and go back to work as soon as possible. so, this morning, 6 days post-op i was back in the office for a few hours. it was good to be back, everyone was so great stopping by to see how i was doing. i parked on the street, because i couldn't do the parking garage and the president of the agency even went down and plugged my meter for me! thankfully there was a manageable amount of work waiting for me, so it wasn't overwhelming. i must say though by 11:30 i was pretty tired and left at noon.

this afternoon i was pretty bummed out because the doctors office called and rescheduled my appointment from tuesday to thursday. i was REALLY looking forward to getting the drain and staples removed - the drain is extremely uncomfortable/painful. all my other incisions are healing very well and not sore at all.

i haven't gotten on the scale since the day of surgery, so i have no idea how much i have lost this week.

friday was a good day

2008-05-10T07:10:00.000-07:00

i can tell an improvement in the pain today - mainly in the process of getting up out of a chair. it still hurts quite a bit but it isn't unbearable. i didn't take any pain medicine until bedtime. i am having difficulty getting in all the liquids and protein - should have 64 oz liquid and 60g protein. the WLS did the math and if i drink 1 ounce every 20 minutes i should get in enough during my waking hours. i was trying to keep track but really came short. all i drank was isopure and i probably got in a total of 17 ounces. i did have 2 ounces of coffee - YUM! didn't have any problems w my pouch and the coffee. i think if i could do more of the continual sipsipsipping i would do better than having to wait and drink every 20 minutes.

having a lot of gurgling in my intestines and passing some gas but haven't had a bowel movement yet.

i slept around 4 hours in bed then moved to the recliner - will be glad when it is comfortable to sleep on my side.

home on thursday ~

2008-05-09T06:34:00.000-07:00

yesterday i was able to come home and it certainly is nice to be here! i cannot complain at all though about the care at DePaul - the people there are awesome. after my surgery my cardiologist put me in the intensive care step down area and i had the best nurses - they were great. since getting home i have pretty much just rested. twice i got on the treadmill for around 10-15 minutes at an extremely slow pace. i have continued to take my pain meds, because i am still having a lot of discomfort in my abdominal area. this morning i had 60 cc's of coffee! what a treat! i am drinking out of the little medicine cups from the hospital, three of these an hour. my drink of choice is isopure blue raspberry - i Love it!

surgery day!

2008-05-06T19:03:00.000-07:00

Hello! This is Sarah, JoAnne's daughter. I am posting for my mom since she is unable to, due to her surgery today.

All went well--they left home round 5:30ish, and her surgery began at 8am. I arrived at the hospital around 9, and several crossword puzzles later (and 45 minutes), the surgeon came out and told us her surgery went smoothly. She was moved to a step-down room, and a couple hours later we were allowed to see her. Because of her previous heart palpitations during anesthesia, the anesthesiologist doubled her dosage. Since he did that, she was extremely groggy from noon until around 2:30 when we left. We came back around 5pm, and she was still extremely wiped out. She really couldn't stay awake for more than 30 seconds. We were required to leave at 6:00 so that the nurses could rotate shifts. When we returned, my mom's sister, Donna, was in the waiting room waiting to be allowed in the area. We were allowed to go in and see Mom, and she was sitting up and was a lot more awake. She was able to hold a conversation without falling in and out of sleep. There were five of us in the room with her, so I think that wore her out because she started seeming tired again when we were there a few minutes. (I think it was my 10-year-old brother talking so much :] ) My Aunt Donna left, and soon after my dad and brother left. Once they left, she seemed a lot less affected and more aware. I left soon after, and the nurse was going to take her for a walk soon. When I got home, I received a text saying that they walked two laps around the floor. She said it felt good getting up, which is definitely a good thing. I will post more tomorrow after I see her and such. Keep her in your prayers!!

Sarah

tomorrow is the day...

2008-05-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

... AND i am ready. my surgery time has been bumped up from 9am till 7:30 - which i guess is okay, will have to be at the hospital by 5:30. this was such a crazy busy day today at the office that i didn't even have time to think about tomorrow. until today i was having moments of nervousness regarding my surgery and this morning i had a wonderful quiet time with God and all day long i have just felt encouraged. i know that God has led me to this time and i know that tomorrow will be a great day!

has been a busy week

2008-05-03T07:36:00.000-07:00

between fighting this cold or whatever it was along with a huge pile of work that kept building each day along with getting all my hospital admissions and everything completed i am just now having a few minutes to update.

feel MUCH better. sore throat completely gone. but still have an occasional deep cough ~ i certainly pray that this is completely gone by tuesday, i have no desire to cough after surgery.

liquid pre-op diet has been fine. i discovered that i can have clear broth, so have enjoyed that for lunch and dinner. imagine you never thought just how delicious green bean juice is have you?? the other night i was making dinner for terry and needed to add a little salt to the green beans and took a taste of the bean juice to see it if was enough - oh how delicious that little sip tasted - HONESTLY!

my weight loss seems to have stablized for the remainder of the week. i'm sure all the initial rapid weight loss was as a result of losing water weight.

seems like i have lists and lists for my lists of things to do before surgery, things needed to buy and lists for who needs to do what for alex. but everything is coming together very well.

it is strange where i am mentally. i think there is a part of me that has not realized that this is really going to happen. it is not my nature to be pessimistic. maybe this is a situation where i have thought about by-pass surgery for so many years that it is difficult to believe that i am really doing this. reality will certainly come to be in a few days though.

tuesday is a better day!

2008-04-29T08:06:00.000-07:00

oh my goodness i feel so much better today. last night swallowing was absolutely horrible and i thought my head was going to explode from pressure. today i can swallow and all head pressure is gone. GREAT antibiotic that the dr. sent out ~ it should be ~ the retail price of this medicine Levaquin is $135.99 for FIVE tablets!! (so thankful for insurance)

yesterday had Labrada for breakfast (should call it brunch, because i drink it at work and it lasts around 2 hours) then for dinner something new, cytosport tangerine, which was tasty. most days the two protein drinks i drink have 80 total grams of protein, so i generally don't have a protein drink at lunch, but work on getting in liquids. i find that the protein drinks are really filling and in fact have a tendency to give me a bit of indigestion.

weight loss after 7 days on pre-op liquids: 21 pounds!

doing well on liquid pre-op

2008-04-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

... but have a horrible cold - even have pink eye. i hope my dr. calls in some powerful meds to kick this in the butt before my surgery! i seriously do not want to be coughing next tuesday!!

sunday i had a new protein drink - the cinnamon dessert protein added to the chai tea latte. that was really tasty. i might make it with more water next time as it was pretty thick. but it had a very good taste. my total intake for sunday was 515 calories (not counting a ton of sugar free throat lozenges), 14 fats (zero trans fats) 23 carbs and 75g protein.

total pounds lost to date 18!

5 days on pre-op liquids

2008-04-27T06:33:00.000-07:00

i have now completed 5 days on pre-op liquids. yesterday i didn't get very much in protein wise. first i put some of the "flavorless" whey protein in a zero power-aid and it isn't flavorless. it wasn't horrible, but you could certainly tell something had been added to the power-aid. maybe i will try adding this to a beverage that has more flavor, which will cover up the "flavorless" HA protein. anyway i probably got 40g. protein in yesterday. didn't have anything at all in the afternoon or last night because we were moving sarah's stuff home from college (she comes home wednesday - HAPPY momma) and by the time i got home the cold i have really took over and i felt like poop so i ended up sleeping, coughing, sucking throat lozenges all night long. not going to church today because i will only be annoying to anyone i sit near with all my coughing and germs. going to get hold of the doctor first thing tomorrow, because i certainly don't want to have this cough when i have surgery.

total weight loss to date 16 pounds ~

3 days on liquid diet

2008-04-25T07:39:00.001-07:00

... and i must say that it has been okay ... not great... but okay. this morning before leaving for work i poured a labrada chocolate ice cream protein into a bowl and put it in the freezer - gonna have ice cream for dinner tonight! oh yeah.

yesterday i had whey gourmet arctic cappuccino frappe for breakfast and labrada vanilla ice cream protein for dinner then a little later a half bottle of blueberry isopure. yesterday's totals are: 600 calories, 16 fats (zero trans fats) 17 carbs and 102g protein. oh i also had around 4 sugar free throat lozenges and 1 sugar free pop cycle - not sure of calories/carbs but can't be very much.

total pounds lost TO DATE: 11 !! that's in 3 days woo hoo. i realize that the bulk of that is probably water weight, but hey that's 11 pounds off of my old bones!

where i am mentally

2008-04-24T07:33:00.001-07:00

since the pre-op diet is self imposed and not required by my surgeon i must be honest in saying that watching all the burger commercials on tv last night really made me stop and think. but i am thankful to God that HE has control of my willpower right now and all i did was give those thoughts back to HIM and i realized that i am doing the right thing. it hasn't been difficult at all fixing meals for terry and alex or being around all the junk food in the house. although when sarah gets back home i know she wants to get started on south beach, so it will be a good idea to purge a lot of that junk for everyone's benefit.

i also know that i need to see this as preparation for the surgery and that anything that i do now will help the actual process and recovery time. i am so thankful to God for the way He has changed my thinking about food and the perspective He is giving to me!

results of day 2 liquid diet

2008-04-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

yesterday i pretty much had the same as my first day as far as the labrada protein for breakfast and dinner. i need to switch it up a little though because last night i wasn't enjoying the thickness of the shake as much as i did the first day. so, right after drinking the labrada chocolate ice cream protein i poured almost half of the isopure blueberry in a glass over ice and it was just what i needed to get that thick milky feeling out of my mouth and settle my stomach. (lots of belching with the labrada protein) i guess you could call that cleansing your palate.

yesterdays totals: 100 g protein, 600 calories, 0 trans fats (18 total fats) 18 carbs. and about the same amount of water, probably around 42 ounces of just water. this is really difficult for me to get more water in.

as of this morning i have lost a total of 5 pounds

day 1 liquid diet results

2008-04-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

made it through day one and it really wasn't a problem at all. when i needed to chew i just grabbed some gum a couple of times. i had labrada vanilla ice cream drink in the morning and labrada chocolate ice cream drink for dinner. and a LOT of water - seems like a lot, but i still didn't get in all that i should be drinking. probably had around 46 ounces of water. my other totals were: 80 g protein; 520 calories; 0 trans fats but total fats 18g;18 carbs. oh and i lost 4 pounds!

A Grand Plan

2008-04-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

i absolutely love it when my daily devotion is right on target for what is going on in my life!! what a blessing to hear from God this way. as mentioned in my previous post for today this is the first day of my liquid pre-op diet and i have to share what God wrote just for me today!

"i will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; i will guide you with my eye." psalm 32:8 "God has plans for your life that are far grander than you can imagine. but He won't force you to follow His will; to the contrary, He has given you free will, the ability to make choices and decisions on your own. the most important decision of your life is, of course, your commitment to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour... be patient, keep praying and keep seeking His will for your life. when you do, you'll be amazed at the marvelous things that an all-powerful, all knowing God can do."

pre-op diet day one

2008-04-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

dr. scott did not put me on the pre-op liquid diet, but i decided to do this on my own in order to put me in better shape for surgery. taking off a few pounds before surgery and to shrink my liver. this morning i started my bariatric vitamins too. for breakfast i am having a labrada vanilla ice cream protein shake - tastes pretty good too. filled a nalgene bottle with ice and added the protein.

melting pot ~~ yum!

2008-04-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

last night we had an awesome dinner at the melting pot ~ was one of two "last suppers". tonight terry and i are taking alex somewhere. it's interesting, when you are thinking about eating basically your last BIG meal and possibly eating someplace for the last time it's really hard to decide. today i have been thinking way too much about what to have for lunch too ~

hmm, maybe i am getting to a perfect place mentally where good isn't really that significant.

wouldn't that be wonderful!

ordered LOTS of protein supplements

2008-04-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

yesterday i placed my first order with bariatriceating.com = hope everything is as good as people say it is. although my doctor didn't put me on a pre-op diet i have decided to do the 2 weeks liquids anyway. it will shrink my liver and just put me in better shape for surgery, building up my protein and vitamins. over the next 6 days we are going to go to all the restaurants that are either my favorites or places i have always wanted to go to!!

insurance approval - again

2008-04-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

just called blue cross blue shield and on 4/11 the approval determination was made for the procedure at depaul! so, now it's just three weeks away - eeek!

cardiologist approval

2008-04-05T08:14:00.000-07:00

thursday afternoon teresa (nurse) received all the necessary approvals and reports (stress test, ekgs, echocardiagram, 2 heart monitors) from dr. nanda.

insurance update

2008-04-05T08:07:00.000-07:00

earlier in the week i found out that depaul had to resubmit my paperwork for insurance approval. because of the "sent to india" issue the first time around i was pretty much prepared for this taking a month for approval. which is not an issue since my surgery isn't until may 6th. wednesday teresa (nurse) said that they sent everything on march 26th. thursday i called blue cross blue shield mainly to confirm that the paperwork would go through the same processing. (very interesting that she had never heard about documents going to india, nor had her supervisor) she checked my status in the system and saw that in fact the SSM DePaul documents were scanned into the system on March 30th!!

wednesday all day class at DePaul

2008-04-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

on wednesday i was a part of a "class" of 6 people who are ready for surgery at our weight loss center. it was very informative ~ nurse got everyones stats; met with doctor; the nurse spoke for around 45 minutes; we watched a recording by dr. scott explaining the process a little more in depth explaining the risks involved in weight loss surgery; there was a personal trainer who came in and talked about the importance of establishing a good workout program; then we each met with the nurse to turn in additional paperwork given to us that morning and she set up our surgery date. since i am waiting for my daughter to come home from college i took tuesday may 6th! we then went down into the hospital and had a pulmonary test, ekg, chest r-rays, and last they took 8 tubes of blood for a complete blood work-up. (i think that since the beginning of this year i have given that hospital probably a gallon of my blood! :-)

another insurance approval pending

2008-03-31T12:27:00.001-07:00

just found out that DePaul had to send in a new letter requesting insurance approval. i didn't ask a lot of questions of the nurse at DePaul (theresa) will ask more questions on wednesday. i am to still attend the full day class and they will set up a surgery date.

cardiologist giving clearance

2008-03-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

yesterday had the appointment with my cardiologist and he is going to give me clearance to proceed with the surgery. on sunday evening, when i was doing my blood pressure i knew that my heart was beating pretty fast (no idea why because it was a relaxing day) and my heart rate was at 132 beats - NOT good. so, he put me on a holter heart monitor for a 24 hour recording to see if my heart is having any irregular rhythms that i am not sensing.

when discussing the surgery he said that he will write up instructions for the doctor doing my procedure regarding my heart.

scheduled for pre-op class!

2008-03-20T10:00:00.001-07:00

on wednesday, april 2nd i spend the entire day at DePaul Weight Loss Institute (be there at 7am). there will be approximately 9 other people doing the same. there will be group meetings with the doctor, nurse, nutritionist, exercise guru. then one on one with the doctor where he will determine if any additional testing is necessary. and last thing one on one with nurse for scheduling surgery.

i still have to get clearance with my cardiologist and that meeting is this coming tuesday morning.

DePaul Seminar

2008-03-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

last night i went to a seminar (required) out at DePaul. i was VERY impressed with the entire staff ~ very well polished and informed, yet not stuffy. turned in all my paperwork to my nurse, teresa miller, so hopefully things will progress quickly. i am still a bit concerned over the fact that i do not have the 5 year doctors weight history. this is something that they mentioned a number of times. since i already have insurance approval hopefully this will not cause any delays. also, it seems that my cardiologist, dr. nanda is a major influence at DePaul, so if there are any "issues" about me not having that 5 year information, he will be able to overcome any problems in that regard. my appointment with dr. nanda is march 25th. because of my heart problems he has to give written clearance on me being able to have the procedure.

after the session i spoke briefly with teresa miller and she said that getting the insurance approval transferred over to DePaul is no big deal at all and should be handled with just a phone call. she said that they should be able to get me in for one of their april initial classes and then surgery some time in may!!!

file being transferred

2008-03-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

yesterday i received a phone call from new start to schedule the appointment with my surgeon. i informed them of the change in plans and how my file needs to be sent to DePaul. she was very nice and it didn't seem to be a big deal at all. she asked for the names and phone numbers of who she needs to call - whew - i was a bit concerned that it would be complicated.

today i read through all the documents and completed all the forms for DePaul Weight Loss Institute. will take everything with me thursday evening when i go out there for the seminar.

things are moving along.....

New Start or DePaul Weight Loss Institute

2008-03-06T12:29:00.000-08:00

as a result of my heart acting up during the colonoscopy on friday my primary care physician wants me to see if there is any way that i could be accepted for weight loss surgery at DePaul. this is actually where i originally wanted to go for the surgery however i didn't meet their required 5 year doctors reported weight history. the doctor feels that DePaul would be better should there be any cardiac issues during the procedure. after explaining everything to the person on the phone at DePaul and letting them know that i have received insurance approval they are sending out the necessary paperwork to submit for consideration. i will also need to have a letter of clearance from my cardiologist, Dr. Nanda before being accepted - i have an appointment with him on march 25th.

received insurance approval

2008-03-06T12:19:00.001-08:00

on monday i called blue cross blue shield and i have received insurance approval for weight loss surgery!! praise God! now the official letter of approval has to be received by New Start before anything further can take place.

been quite an eventful week

2008-03-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

last friday, the 29th i had a colonoscopy. and during the procedure my heart rate escalated to twice the normal rate and became very irregular. as a result i ended up spending the night and most of saturday in the hospital for tests and observation. they did 3 or 4 EKG's and an echocardiogram took a LOT of blood and there wasn't anything abnormal about my heart. this is called heart arrhythmia and if not treated properly could cause blood clots and/or stroke. eeeek! so i am now on a beta blocker for my heart along with my blood pressure medicine. GOOD news, my colon is in good shape, they removed a polyp but it isn't cancerous.

scanned???

2008-02-28T09:36:00.000-08:00

wow this is really getting to be a joke - called this morning and was told that the paperwork was in fact scanned 2/22 - wonder what i will hear the next time i call? i contacted new start to let them know that i was getting mixed information and requested that someone from new start call to see if they are able to obtain any other details.

NOT scanned ??

2008-02-26T09:47:00.000-08:00

just called to see if there was a determination on my paperwork and the person i spoke with said that she isn't even seeing anything scanned in the system. looks like we are back in the world of the unknown - better known as a walk of faith. i am still very disappointed though after last week feeling relieved thinking that everything had made it to the mystical world of india and was in the blue cross blue shield system.

Trusting His Timing

2008-02-22T11:27:00.000-08:00

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time." 1 Peter 5:6 NKJV

"God has created a world that unfolds according to His own timetable, not ours...thank goodness! We mortals might make a terrible mess of things. God does not.

God's plan does not always happen in the way that we would like or at the time of our own choosing. Our task - as believing Christians who trust in a benevolent all-knowing Father is to wait patiently for God to reveal Himself. And reveal Himself He will. Always. But until God's perfect plan is made known, we must walk in faith and never lose hope. And we must continue to trust Him. Always." "Dear Lord, Your wisdom is infinite, and the timing of Your heavenly plan is perfect. You have a plan for my life that is grander than I can imagine. When I am impatient, remind me that You are never early or late. You are always on time. Father, so let me trust in you."

finally scanned!!

2008-02-22T11:22:00.000-08:00

heard this morning that my documents have been scanned and are in the "system". seems like forever although its just been a little over 2 weeks. now one of the physicians has to review the file to make a determination as to whether they will cover the surgery. they say to allow up to 2 weeks for this decision.

INDIA?????

2008-02-21T09:02:00.001-08:00

after calling probably a dozen or more times to check my paperwork progress i found out this morning that blue cross blue shield fed sends the paperwork all the way to INDIA to be scanned into the "system" ~ unbelievable

hiccup in paperwork to insurance company

2008-02-05T10:28:00.000-08:00

not necessarily bad news, just news. today when i contacted my insurance company to see if they had any updated information i learned that they don't accept faxed copies of the paperwork. (my paperwork was originally faxed last wednesday) so.... i contacted pamela at new start and she said that she found out the same information yesterday. so... yesterday she sent a hard copy of the paperwork to the insurance company.

accepted by surgeon

2008-01-31T08:25:00.000-08:00

just learned that yesterday my file was accepted by the surgeon and that all my paperwork was faxed to the insurance company yesterday (wednesday january 30th). insurance approval can take up to 3 weeks however many times people hear within a week or two.

file complete

2008-01-24T12:03:00.000-08:00

just spoke with New Start and all my paperwork is complete, they received the letter from dr. becker with the psych evaluation. on tuesday 1/29 he will be in the New Start offices to review files (she said that there are a number for him to review) hopefully he will have time to do my file. then after his review they will do a letter and fax all the information to the insurance company. this should take place no later than thursday 1/31. the review by the insurance company could take up to three weeks.

paperwork submitted

2008-01-23T09:24:00.000-08:00

yesterday (tuesday january 22rd) i dropped off my paperwork at New Start. hopefully they will receive the psychiatrists report/letter either tuesday or wednesday.

in the beginning ...

2008-01-21T20:17:00.000-08:00

after years of struggling with my weight - around 30 years of ups and downs i have taken serious steps toward having weight loss surgery. i've thought about it for a number of years but this time is different - it just feels that God is opening the doors for me to proceed with surgery. in december i found a new primary care physician and have been going through a number of physicals. it was discovered that i have high blood pressure and that my thyroid is a little out of sync so i am on medication to hopefully balance these two things out. since my thyroid was running slow hopefully the medication will assist in me being able to metabolize foods quicker.

now - about the weight loss surgery. i have found New Start in saint louis as the bariatric center for my surgery. i have received a number of good references regarding this center and it has received the honor of being a center of excellence. they have received my primary care physicians letter of recommendation, tomorrow i am dropping off my paperwork on my way to work and the psychiatrist should have his letter in tomorrow too.