devoneberhardt
New 1 year out pics and post hernia repair surgery.
Oct 24, 2010
Hello everyone, well I am going through all of the same pain of my open gastric bypass all over again. I am 6 days out of open hernia repair surgery, I had my whole scar opened back up to repair 1 nine inch incisional hernia caused from the gastric bypass surgery, then the other hernia was a three inch umbilical hernia caused by the first hernia.... Anyway, so now I am walking around with 2 drains hanging out of my belly and another 32 staple scar down the middle of my belly and wrapped up in a belly binder. Most of the serious pain is gone but I am still very uncomfortable still. And I also noticed that my muscle relaxers I have work better than the dilaudid they sent me home from the hospital with. Well anyway, I was really second guessing having the abdomnioplasty because of all the pain i was in wth this surgery, but I am already thinkgin well maybe it wont be that bad...lol . I will probably start working towards that goal within the next few months or so.
So I have posted some new pictures since I am a year out, but I can not figure out how to change my avatar picture, it keeps uploading a pic, but when I check my profile the picture hasn't changed, so I am confussed. If someone can help me out please let me know what I am doing wrong. And if you get a chance check out my new pics and let me know what you think.
0 comments
So I have posted some new pictures since I am a year out, but I can not figure out how to change my avatar picture, it keeps uploading a pic, but when I check my profile the picture hasn't changed, so I am confussed. If someone can help me out please let me know what I am doing wrong. And if you get a chance check out my new pics and let me know what you think.
My Hernia
Sep 21, 2010
Well I hav to go back into surgery on October 18th to have 2 hernia's repaired. I have 2 incisional hernias, the first one is about 8 inches in length and the second one is underneath the first and is about 2 inches in length. I am extremely scared to go back in the hospital and have another surgery. My surgeon said it is only an overnight proceedure, so that puts my mind at ease a little, but I am still a little scared. I was only supposed to be in the hospital for 3 days with the RNy and winded up being there almost a week because of my blood pressure not being normal. Then about 3 weeks later winded up being back in the hospital for another 5/6 days for an absess that had formed where the feeding (G-Tube) was. I have had a few complications from this surgery (the absess, these 2 hernias, a vitamin D deficiency and an Iron deficiency). I know that these are all fixable, but it worries me a little. I am very blessed that these are all that has caused me problems. I am very happy that I decided to have this surgery though. It has changed my life in so many ways. I have so much more confidence, energy, and feel so much better. My health has increased dramatically. My sugars are back to normal, and so is my blood pressure and my cholesterol. I don't have no where near as much back and joint pain as I used to and I can get around so much easier. I can play and run with my young daughter, I can wear my car seat comfortably and I look ok in my clothing. My anxiety about being in public is no where near as bad as it used to be and I don't mind doing things by myself as much now. This surgery has changed my life drastically and I would make the same decision if I had to do it all over again.
Thank you ObesityHelp.com for all the support and information you have given me about weight loss surgery. I am so greatful for this website and for the surgeon Dr. Thomas Magnuson for giving me a new life and a second chance to live. Now I can be the best mother and person I can be.
I have reached my goal weight.
Sep 17, 2010
I have reached my goal weight of 200 lbs even. I want to stay here at this weight. I don't want to loose no more at all. So now I have to learn how to maintain my weight. I have to make an appt with dietary to find out what I can do to maintain. I don't want to loose much more because then I will start looking too small. I am almost 6 foot tall and have a very large frame so too much more weight loss will make me look sick. I am in a comfortable size 14 and can wear some size 12's depending on how they are cut. I am so excited about how much I have lost. I am less than a year out of surgery and have lost a total of 170 lbs. I feel so much better about myself and my health has improved tremedously. I love feeling better and more confident about myself. I have 2 hernia's that have to be repaired on October 18th. One of them is 8 inches and the other one is 2 inches long. I am scared to go back into surgery again less than a year later but I am starting to have severe pain from this hernia so now I can no longer put it off. But after I have that done I am going to prepare to maintain this weight so I can get the extra skin removed. I have real bad loose skin on my upper thighs, lower belly and upper arms. I look good in clothes, but as soon as I take them off it is a different story.
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The Gym
Dec 16, 2009
Well I started the gym yesterday and went yesterday and today. Both days for 30 mins. I enjoyed it too. Just wanted to mark that down in my journal.
2 comments
4 1/2 weeks post op.
Nov 29, 2009
Well I am just checking in,I got on the scale this morning and it said 317 lbs. I am down to 317 lbs from 370 after a weight gain while in the hospital of 17 lbs during week 3. I can't believe my progress, that is a total of 53 lbs in a little over a month. I don't see a major difference in the way I look except in my face. I have been wearing sweats because of the comfort level, so I am not sure about size's if I went down any or not. I need to try on some of me jeans from pre op and find out I guess. I have a follow up with my primary Doctor on the first and then on the eleventh with the surgeons office. I feel week sometimes, not sure as to why I am eating as much as I can, getting in fluids and protein and all supplements, every now and again I may miss one dose of calcium, but I am getting better at remembering, it is hard to remember to take it 3 times a day. That is my new goal to remember to take calcium 3 times a day.
1 comment
My week in the hospital
Nov 22, 2009
Well it all started Sunday, I was out and started to get these terrible pains in my belly above where my G tube was, to the point where I could barely move, so I went home and went to bed. All night I tossed and turned in terrible pain, when I got up Monday,There was a knot under my skin the size of a tennis ball so I called the surgeons office and they told me it was probably scar tissue to rub it and put a heating pad on it. So I do this and a few hours pass, and the pain got worse to where I could barely move and the knot seemed to have gotten bigger, so I call the surgeons office back again and tell them I need to see someone today, or I was going to the ER. Well they told me I could come straight in, so I did and it was a good thing that I did. When the Nurse practitioner and surgeon on call checked it, they said it was either a fluid pocket or a hernia that I had to have a CT scan to be on the safe side. Well they told me to go to the ER. I go around to the ER and it was an absesed that had started to form in the tract where they pulled out the G tube. They admitted me into the hosptial and I was there from Monday 11/16/09 until Saturday 11/21/09. I was hooked up to IV anitbiotics, pain meds and had 3 different CT scans while I was there, it started to leak and ooze out of the hole where the Tube was taken out of, so they opened that hole up some more and packed it. So now I have a hole in my side that I have to pack 3 times a day for the next week. I am home and on pill antiobiotics. I feel a lot better, but I was scared at first because I did not want to have to get another surgery, even though it would not have been as major as the Bypass, it would have still been surgery. But I am home, no surgery and the infection is going away with just a drain and some antibiotics. Thank God. I hope that this is the only complication that I have. I am 4 weeks out and seem to be doing good so far.
3 comments
Traumatic Experience
Nov 12, 2009
Well I had that annoying G tube removed today and Thank God it is out, but was an awful experience. The nurse practitioner came in and told me to take a deep breath, I take one then she tells me to take another and hold, so she goes to rip this think out of my side and this terrible pain goes shooting through my body. It hurts so bad that I scream out loud. Then all of a sudden I get light headed, see starts and sparkles and say to her " I think I am going to" and the next think I know her and a nurse are standing over me saying "Take deep breaths" WTH, I asked if it was going to hurt and her response was Just a bit of discomfort. Yeah OK. Then she is going to tell me that this happens all the time. People actually pass out from having this tube removed. I can't believe that they don't warn you or something. Anyway I just had to write this down so that I remember this one.
1 comment
You know you had WLS if.........
Nov 09, 2009
I must thank Yvonne McCarthy for this, she posted it earlier on the Main Board, but I wanted a copy................
You know you've had WLS if....
"I have a date" does not mean your going out.
You have baby food in the house and no baby.
"I'm a loser" is a good thing.
All of your silverware says Gerber.
A wooden spoon isn't just for cooking.
"Welcome to the other side" doesn't include death.
New clothes fall off in a week.
You get excited about hand me downs.
The scale at Wal-Mart no longer says "one at a time please".
Going bald and getting wrinkles is a good thing.
"Just water for me please".
Hitting the "Century Mark" is actually a good thing.
You can be touched by an angel and still not be considered crazy.
Whjen your rear end no longer looks like a mudslide.
When you get excited that your incision was "only 6 inches".
When the word lap has nothing to do with a strip club.
Other women are calling you "bitch" behind your back.
When you are glared at in the plus size department because you don't "belong there".
When you really don't have a thing to wear.
You have to prove you are the person on the drivers licence.
You start being in the pictures not behind the camera.
You want to hug everyone fat and hand them your surgeons card.
You are never parted from a bottle of water
When you order a doggy bag at the same time as your meal.
Being too small for your britches.
When the only way your nipples are where they belong is to roll them up, position them with your bra and secure with a ponytail holder.
When you go pick up your child at school and all the other kids say WOW you're mom is hot.
When you got to the mall a take the first available space instead of circling 20 minutes for one closer to the door.
You truly are a "cheap date".
When one drink makes you flipping floozy!
When you run to the door and don't hear a flapping sound.
You flip your shirt to show complete strangers your scar
Vitamins feel like a meal.
You go from a 56DDDD to 32AAA in a year and didn't have a breast reduction.
You've just lost 100 lbs and run into a high school friend who asks "did you change your hair?"
You can cross your legs... both of them
Instead of a Wonder Bra you need a Wonder Where They Went Bra
When your obsession from food turns to your scale
They no longer call 911 for the Jaws of life to extricate you from a turnstile.
No more velcro shoes
"Checking for leaks" no longer includes your panties
When your stairmaster is no longer used for drying yur fine washables
You mother says "You don't eat enough"
When your doctor looks you in the eye and says "I know you will have sucess with this."
Having sex your husband complains that your hip bones are poking him.
You can wear corderoy pants without igniting a fire
When you wave and your upper arms wave back
You safety pin your underwear
Someone phones and thinks you husband is sneaking around with some skinny mistress
Cannot blame the cat for shedding
Cancel your Lane Bryant Credit Card
3 Lean Cuisines a week and thats your total grocery purchase
The kids wonder what happened to the cake and cookie god..did he die???
1 comment
You know you've had WLS if....
"I have a date" does not mean your going out.
You have baby food in the house and no baby.
"I'm a loser" is a good thing.
All of your silverware says Gerber.
A wooden spoon isn't just for cooking.
"Welcome to the other side" doesn't include death.
New clothes fall off in a week.
You get excited about hand me downs.
The scale at Wal-Mart no longer says "one at a time please".
Going bald and getting wrinkles is a good thing.
"Just water for me please".
Hitting the "Century Mark" is actually a good thing.
You can be touched by an angel and still not be considered crazy.
Whjen your rear end no longer looks like a mudslide.
When you get excited that your incision was "only 6 inches".
When the word lap has nothing to do with a strip club.
Other women are calling you "bitch" behind your back.
When you are glared at in the plus size department because you don't "belong there".
When you really don't have a thing to wear.
You have to prove you are the person on the drivers licence.
You start being in the pictures not behind the camera.
You want to hug everyone fat and hand them your surgeons card.
You are never parted from a bottle of water
When you order a doggy bag at the same time as your meal.
Being too small for your britches.
When the only way your nipples are where they belong is to roll them up, position them with your bra and secure with a ponytail holder.
When you go pick up your child at school and all the other kids say WOW you're mom is hot.
When you got to the mall a take the first available space instead of circling 20 minutes for one closer to the door.
You truly are a "cheap date".
When one drink makes you flipping floozy!
When you run to the door and don't hear a flapping sound.
You flip your shirt to show complete strangers your scar
Vitamins feel like a meal.
You go from a 56DDDD to 32AAA in a year and didn't have a breast reduction.
You've just lost 100 lbs and run into a high school friend who asks "did you change your hair?"
You can cross your legs... both of them
Instead of a Wonder Bra you need a Wonder Where They Went Bra
When your obsession from food turns to your scale
They no longer call 911 for the Jaws of life to extricate you from a turnstile.
No more velcro shoes
"Checking for leaks" no longer includes your panties
When your stairmaster is no longer used for drying yur fine washables
You mother says "You don't eat enough"
When your doctor looks you in the eye and says "I know you will have sucess with this."
Having sex your husband complains that your hip bones are poking him.
You can wear corderoy pants without igniting a fire
When you wave and your upper arms wave back
You safety pin your underwear
Someone phones and thinks you husband is sneaking around with some skinny mistress
Cannot blame the cat for shedding
Cancel your Lane Bryant Credit Card
3 Lean Cuisines a week and thats your total grocery purchase
The kids wonder what happened to the cake and cookie god..did he die???
12 days post op
Nov 03, 2009
Well I made it through surgery and am doing just fine. I still hurt a little bit but nothing that I can't handle. The day that I went into surgery I was 370 lbs. Today I weighed 353, so I am down 17 lbs. I guess that is good for 12 days. I go for post op tomorrow with the surgeon. I hope that he takes the "G" tube (feeding tube) out. It is getting on my nerves. I will also be glad to get the staples out they are getting sore and irritated by rubbing on the stomach band. I am trying to get all of my liquids and protein in. I am doing a pretty good job most of the time. I have had a few issues a day or two, but for the most part get all of it in. It takes me about an hour to drink one of my protein shakes in the morning and before this I used to gulp liquid down, I am a drinker, I loved drinking soda, juice, water, it didn't matter, now I can only sip sip sip. It is hard getting used to. I also want a PEPSI so bad. I was a Pepsi addict, I drank at least one a day before surgery and now I am craving it bad. Crystal light just don't take the place of a good cold Pepsi. But I feel good about it because I have not even thought about cheating, that is not an option. Anyway, just wanted to check in gotta go.
2 comments
Only 3 days left to go!!!
Oct 20, 2009
Well, Here I am up at quarter after midnight and mopping floors, packing my bag and my toddlers bag for this weekend. I want to make sure everything is done and I don't forget anything. I am not really nervous yet or scared, just anxious. I want this over with, so I can start to exercise again and start loosing weight. I joined a gym and really like it there. I am going to meet with the personal trainer after I get clearance to start back again from the Surgeon, to get a personalized routine going. I am real excited about my new life. I am a very optimistic person and I hope that I am as prepared as I feel I am. My daughters father thinks that it may be a mistake. He is scared that I am not ready for this. I think it isn't that I am not ready I think he feels that Maybe I am going to change some kind of way. I don't know, he knew me when I was smaller and I was the same person then. (For those who don't know I went from 185 to 365 in less than 1 1/2 years). I am still going to be the funny acting person I have always been, just with a better self image. OK, so maybe I will be a little more funny acting than I am now.............. Who knows. I spoke to my therapist and she is really excited for me. She can't wait to start seeing me after surgery. She wants to go back to seeing me every other week instead of once a month like before. I guess she also knows something that I don't............... I know that it is going to be a mental challenge as well as a physical one. I am up for it. I am a very strong willed person who has overcome a lot of things, now I am going to overcome obesity. I am just going to add it to the list of many. Well I need to get the clothes out of the dryer and fold them before they get wrinkled. Love all and I may write again before Friday, If not those one the losers bench save me some room.
0 comments
About Me
Baltimore, MD
Location
27.9
BMI
Surgery
10/23/2009
Surgery Date
Apr 03, 2009
Member Since
