Dawn B.

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10/5/06 - Well, my first week Back-to-Basics went great! I stuck to it and I lost the extra weight. Monday came for week 2 and I kinda fell off the wagon, but here it is Thursday and I'm down to 132 so I can't complain. Cleaning out the bowels yesterday I'm sure helped (nothing like all protein to create constipation). I actually got into the gym yesterday and it felt so good I'm looking at going tomorrow afternoon after work. Walked today 5.5 miles with Kathi, also a great thing. In the last week I've had a root canal and a crown and I saw the gastrologist. This morning I had 9 tubes of blood drawn to test for various stuff (high iron, antibodies, etc.) to help figure out why the liver enyzmes are high. If they all come back negative - liver biopsy is the next step. I should know by the end of next week.

10/13/06 - Well, I'm still waiting for the results of the blood tests. Not thrilled that a week later I haven't heard. My sister had blood drawn Monday and we had the results by Wed. - though of course hers was for thyroid levels and maybe mine take longer to process. I actually got into the gym twice this week and walked 5.5 miles. On the treadmill I'm doing a jog/run varied program. Surprises me to no end that I'm surviving it and actually looking forward to doing. Still doesn't interest me to run non-stop, but off/on is good.

10/16/06 - Well, Dr. Reddy called with my results. One of the tests showed low protein levels and I'm having a liver biopsy probably a week from Friday. Oh joy. On a positive note, I got to the gym BEFORE work this morning and plan on going again tomorrow. Speaking of which... off to bed.

10/19/06 - My liver biopsy appt. is the 26th and Dianne, the RN in charge of my bariatric program is going to meet me and make sure they take care of me. Isn't that going over and above the call of duty!! Doing great this week on exercise. 4 of 4, even went this morning to the gym for an hour before leaving for San Francisco and the Science Conference.

10/27/06 - Well, the conference was fine. Scary location - the homeless & insane folks outnumber those that didn't fit that bill and there were few places to choose to eat from and you sure weren't going exploring to find any. The biopsy went okay yesterday. I got to the hospital at 9, got taken to the gastro unit (which was just like being in ER - curtained 'rooms') about 9:30. They took blood and put in an IV and then I sat until about 11:30 (doctor was a half hour late - surprise, surprise). I got to see my gallbladder (looked fine), the major vein that returns the blood from your legs to your heart and watched my diaphram move my liver out of the way. The biopsy part was a piece of cake. The doctor left, ordering me lunch, and I was put on my side on a towel, for what was supposed to be an hour, but turned into 2 hours because my blood pressure dropped into the 80/50s range and wouldn't come up. Lunch took 3 hours to arrive! I was sent home at about 4:15.  I'm not really sore unless I do more than I should - which doesn't take much. I have another couple of days of taking it easy and then should be back to normal. I find out the results on Nov. 6th.

9/10/06 - Well, as you can tell, it's been quite a while since I've posted. I went through about 6 weeks of the blahs and just didn't want to. I was at a seminar on my 1st year anny so couldn't weigh myself and then I was wrapped up with school getting ready to start. Here it is - 13 months post-op - and how am I doing? Okay overall. My exercise needs to increase to a regular 3-4 days a week instead of the current 1-2 days. My snacking needs to be cut back, but going back to work helped with that. In the first 2 weeks of school I lost and gained 20 lbs! I got to my all-time low of 129lbs (6 below goal) and jumped up to 142lbs (7 above goal). Now that my ankles are finally back to normal size I'm sitting at 137lbs so I need to lose about 2 real lbs I think. I'm still having liver enzyme issues - get those tested as well as tested for Hep A, B, & C on Tuesday. I had, what everyone thinks - but no proof as the subsequent sonigram was negative for stones, a gallbladder attack the middle of August that lasted about 36 hours. No stones, so just in a wait, watch, and see mode. I get occasional cramps on and off in the gallbladder area, but they only last about 20 minutes and don't hurt, just annoying.

9/22/06 - Well, the honeymoon seems to be over. After 4 months of basically maintaining, and a 2-week period of really bizare weight loss/gain, I'm holding steady at about 141 - 6 lbs over goal. I know I'm retaining water because I'm having puffy ankle/feet syndrome, but... lack of consistant exercise and BAD eating behavior I'm sure is the true problem. I had support group last night and it was a basic - what's your body look like now and basic rules again. It has helped me decide to spend the next two weeks (starting Monday - since that's my official weigh-in day) eating ONLY protien!! If it's not cottage cheese, cheese, or meat - it's not allowed. I'm hoping it will help me feel better intesting wise as well as do a little cleaning and revamp. One of things I learned last night was that the hypoglycemia I'm experiencing may be a symptom of dumping! Since our liver is triggered quicker it tends to overreact to insulin requests - therefore setting me up for a fall afterwards. Oh... seeing the gastrologist on Oct. 4th concerning the liver enzyme issue.

7/4/06 - Well, as I think back to a year ago - I was unhappy, FAT, and chomping at the bit to hear about whether I was approved by my insurance company and worried about whether I was going to get my date before leaving for my Master's graduation. Fast forward - and here I am, 124 lbs lighter and at goal - maintaining my weight w/i a 4 lb range. I rode my bike this morning to Coleman Fish Hatchery - 20 miles or so round trip and I did it!!! Feet and left ankle/thigh were cramping quite a bit, but I did it without feeling like I was pooped out - though as soon as I finished eating breakfast I CRASHED for about 30 minutes.

7/9/06 - I just got back from 1-2 hours of kayaking at Whiskeytown Lake. Very nice way to spend the evening. My traps and forearms were not happy by the end, and though I was thinking about getting into it, but at this point, the occasional free night at Whiskeytown or some such will be fine. I was able to play softball last Friday without the legs locking up. They've been sore this weekend so I'm going to go at least one more time to PT just to be sure. We'll see what Rita has to say then.

6/1/06 - Well, getting the stomach flu still helps with weightloss! I weighed 134.4 on Monday, got sick yesterday, and today the scale read 131.2! Water I know, but it's still fun to write. I'm tired of being sick though. I've been sick more in the last 4 months then I have in the last 4 years. Saw Dr. McMullin (PCP) today due to low blood pressure (sitting in the 90s/50s). With the Lopressor that's a given, but it makes me more likely to get dehydrated during hot weather. Oh goody.  My period is also coming closer and closer together and he's thinking it's related to the weightloss - all the estrogen that had been stored in the fat is now running about the body with no where to go. Again, Oh goody. On a positive note... I'm wearing WHITE jeans and they're a size 6 and my top is a small! I'm heading towards a size 4 I think in pants just because the 6 fits perfect when I try it on, but by the time I wear it for an hour, they're baggy. Very annoying as you don't know how much the cloth will stretch.

 
6/2/06 - Wow moment last night. I was looking through my "1st Year Post-Op" scrapbook and realized that by my 10 month anniversary that I have lost 88.75"!!

6/5/06 - Gained my 3 lbs back, don't mind at all as I wasn't planning to lose them in the first place. I played softball yesterday for the first time in years. I was running/sprinting all over the place and survived w/o being sore today. Yeah!! Practice was 2 hours long in high 80 degree weather. I'll need to wear my camelback next time. Lack of water was killing me. The team is made up of bariatric post-ops and our surgeons. Our first game is Friday - it should be interesting to say the least. Lisa, my ex-neighbor, is on the team and she, obviously, had the surgery as I had guessed. She hadn't recognized me - fun.

6/9/06 - I'm still yo-yoing with a few pounds - not eating well - and just about everything is making either my stomach or intestines crampy. Not a good way to go into a trip. On a great note - I'm now starting to get into size 4! Bought 2 pairs of cropped pants to wear on the trip, one a size 4 - the other a small. Me - in a size small bottom! Size 8's are now too big and a lot of size 6's are loose - my fat pants. If I tone up I'll probably be a size 4 - otherwise a 4/6 is where I'm at. 

6/27/06 - Wow... long time since I've posted here. It's been a busy month with the Grand Canyon trip and camping. The trip was FANTASTIC! I was able to go into the Canyon, walk all over, and rock climbed - all without any issues! How cool is that. What was even neater was I matched the physical looks of the other lead teachers and such - a definite first. As I thought might happen, finding protein at each meal was a challenge sometimes, but since I brought some with me - all was good.

Camping was also fun - though I forgot my meds so ended up going cold-turkey off the Lopressor and Elavil. Sleep has not been good - but I have more energy overall already. The PVCs are annoying as hell, but I see my PCP tomorrow so we'll see what he says. I wasn't expecting to have so many issues post-op due to the weightloss. Losing weight was supposed to make me healthier and feel better and at the moment it seems to be causing more issues than I had. Pissing me off actually, as well as making me feel like I'm becoming a hypercondriac. Yeesh.

Oh - softball front... first game - first fly ball I run to get - I pulled my quads! Oh the pain... At first I thought I had just gotten cramped up - but 2 1/2 weeks later I've now gone to 3 PTs and have at least 2 more to go.

5/5/06 - Well, I didn't hit my weight goal of 135lbs for my birthday, but it's my fault. I have been really struggling with eating junk, mostly sweets, 24/7. I need to get my head re-wired or else the rest of my life is going to continue to be a yo-yo existence and I sure as heck don't want to go back to that. I'm in my 5 lb. window I'd be content and happy to spend the rest of my life - 135-140. I've been sitting most of this week at 140.2 and that means I'm at the top, which isn't good. Of course, did I stop snacking? No... but the bad food is gone and I'm not going to buy any more. Played tennis today for the first time in over 10 years. That was fun. Tomorrow is my Glamour Shots sitting - I was looking at the ones I took when I was going through my divorce. I look very similiar. I'm hoping they can get in my tattoo. That will make for a very specific time frame for me.

5/13/06 - Okay, confession first, then celebration. I had fallen into the snacking mode and my weight loss had slowed way down, then two weeks ago I gained a pound - but was still within my 5 lb window I want to stay in for the rest of my life. Then last week I gained another by Sat. and by Monday 2 more for a new weight of 142! 2 lbs over my limit. Needless to say, REALITY WAKE-UP CALL!!! So, I went and bought Slim Fast Optima for breakfasts and focused on NOT snacking.

drum roll please.....

AS OF TODAY - I'M AT 135.6 - I even checked later in the day and I'm still at that weight!! Yeah!!

5/24/06 - Been a quiet month overall, hence not a lot of posts. I went and had my 'glamor' shot taken on May 6th. I just was able to pick up the picture and here it is....

4/2/06 - Well, this month has started off with a bang. Yesterday I was woken up with a phone call telling me my dad had a stroke. Then I stepped on the scale and lost the 3 lbs I had gained due to exercising, so I'm back down to 141lbs - 6 to go for goal. Went mall walking with Kathy and bought 2 pairs of pants & 4 shirts for less than $40 bucks!  They were size 6 & 8, smalls and mediums! Very cool. Then I got news that Connie's husband "doesn't love her anymore." All this by 1 pm! Talk about a roller coaster. My dad is doing okay with slight improvement from yesterday so that's good. Tracy & I are heading down on Sat. for a week.

4/7/06 - Well, we ended up heading down to my Dad's Monday. I managed to get my week's teaching plans done, yearbook finished, and out the door, so life is good as far as that all goes. We have been driving 4 hours a day to go from the hospital back to my brothers. Today the weather and such allowed us to come up to my dad's, and after an hour shoveling snow, we're all snug in the house relaxing which is very nice. They finally started my dad on coumadin so he should be able to come home Sunday or Monday. I'm managing to get in my exercise which makes me really happy. Monday was just a 20 min. walk, Wed. a 70 min walk, and today, an hour of shoveling snow. I'll get the same tomorrow as I need to finish the drive way and stairs so it's cleared for my dad.

4/11/06 - Dad is coming home today. He is too sensitive to coumadin so they have decided to have him go back to Plavix. He just had to wait for the case worker to show up to coordinate everything so he can come home. Traci started a post of the top 10 things we've been able to do post-op. Here are mine.

1. Learning karate - something that didn't even interest me before.

2. Getting a tattoo

3. Wearing a size 6 (even had a pair of size 4 jeans fit!) when I was shooting for a size 10.

4. Having folks being surprised when I say I'm not at goal yet.

5. Actually starting to get tired of people (who see me all the time) acting so surprised at how much weight I've lost.

6. Shoveling snow for 2 hours and only feeling good about how it looked, not feeling like I was going to die.

7. Being disappointed that my walk only took a half hour.

8. Missing exercising.

9. Being content with just 1 bite of cheesecake.

10. Being happy enough with myself that I don't care if no one wants to date me.

3/1/06 - Well, I've had a low-grade temp. for the last week and a half and after going through a dose of Zithromax and getting worse - oh how the throat hurts - I saw Dr. McMullin this afternoon. Diagnosis - viral infection. At least it seems to have nothing to do with the tattoo or my 'blockage' so I can live with that. On a positive note - today is my 7th month anny. I'm down a total of 112 lbs. I have 11 to go. I lost another 8.75" and I'm now fitting into size 8 pants. Those in the picture I just bought last night.

3/6/06 - I have found a new way to lose weight - get sick! I finally couldn't do it anymore and stayed home from work on Friday and today. Fever seems to have lost the battle - or at least more than winning so it was a good decision I think to stay home one more day. Kathy is in surgery probably as I type. I pray that it goes great for her. She wrote me on Friday that her insurance company gave everyone a scare by saying that it reversed their approval. After phone calls were made, they messed up and all was fine. I think it was God's way of solidifying her mind that she was making the right decision. She wrote this morning as she couldn't sleep anymore and she was very calm, which made her family calm. I'm off to see her Tuesday, though I may try and call her today just to check on her.

3/12/06 - Well, I'm still sick, but feeling better. The low-grade fever comes and goes and I'm just congested so I think I may actually try the gym tomorrow. I went today to Mervyn's to try on a pair of Levi 501s as I've decided that's the first pair of jeans I'm buying when I hit goal. I fit PERFECTLY into 31/32 (size 8) and I'm very excited. I didn't buy them as I have 7ish lbs to go and I'm broke. As a test I tried on a pair of size 6 pants and they fit - though they pulled a bit in the front. I also tried on swimsuits and the pictures are of a Speedo size 8! I'm flabbergasted at how small my backend is. I've NEVER had that small of one in my entire life.

3/18/06 - Confession they say is good for the soul. Well, I hope so. For the last month I've been sick - low grade temp, etc. and I have been not following the program. I've not exercised, even this week when I could have, and I've been snacking, mostly chocolate, but other stuff as well. To add insult to injury I haven't been drinking as much water as I should be. This month's Support Meeting topic is "What do you want?" Basically, what was the point and am I going to make the choices I need to get what my goal was. So, what do I want? The goals were to get off the blood pressure meds (done), get to a size 10 (done - pushing a 6), get to 135 lbs (not done -but close), be healthier (debatable), start dating (actually - since I like me more - I don't care about the dating anymore - NICE benefit), be more active consistantly (not done), and KEEP WEIGHT OFF (scared to death that won't happen). I've helped 3 people cross the threshold to starting the process - one has had her surgery and the others have just started the journey. I'd like to continue that support structure. Anyway... I've made it the last 2 days w/o snacking and all water in. I'm really concentrating on eating mostly protein - to try and get my body back into the higher metabolism and to kinda cleanse out all the junk I've thrown into it. I did find out that there isn't ANYTHING, including gum & caramel that I can't have, BUT until I get my eating & water back under control I'm not going there. Here's to getting what I want!

3/20/06 - Yesterday I had GREAT day! I got all my water in and walked the river trail w/ 15-minute miles. The only low note was my blood pressure was really low 92/54. Left a msg w/ my doctor's nurse since I'm having changing position dizziness and palpitations to see if he wants to see me.