julianajjar
WELCOME TO MY PAGE & THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!
New Year 2007
(a)Hello my new found friends. Happy New Year!
(b) I'm so very grateful to My Almighty Father that I'm here and that I'm down 50lbs, healthy, full of energy, that I feel and think I look great, that all seven of my kids are doing well and that everything with school, work and my home are working for me (instead agianst me)
(c)However I'm a bit worried that I am not losing enough weight fast enough (<-- just wondering am I on track for losing weight). Just seems like everyone else is losing so much faster than I.
(d)My current BMI is now 40 from 46 (whew, thank God for that). I'm loosing all my boobs and butt...LOL. But I'm glad that it is going.
(e)Went shopping for new bras...cuz old ones keep riding up my back.
(f)Went out on the town with the girls and had 3 guys ask me for my number (I loved every minute of it...it lasted about 1)
(g)Currently wondering what to do about my sagging arms (if you know...pls let me in on the secret).
(h)Able to exercise for an hour a day without becoming short of breath...looking forward to excersing an hour twice a day starting Tuesday!
November 2006...Month after surgery
(a) 41lbs lighter;
(b) No pain, no diarrhea, lots of energy, and never hungry;
(c) Taking lost of vitamins and meds;
(d) Getting use to and accepting such small (freaky) sized portions;
(e) Learning just how important it is to eat slowly (wow that hurts!),
(f) Eating Thanksgiving dinner in 3 days (one plate-week of food)
(g) Enjoying life and cant seem to get out of the front of this mirror and away from the scale;
(h) Looking forward to the 50lb mark;
October 10th, 2006...Day of the Surgery @ 5a.m.
(a) Small sip of water to take meds;(b) Cook breakfast for the family;
(c) Arrival and sign in was easy (I was the first one at the Surgery Department)
(d) Another weigh in (276lbs-lost some more weight)
(e) Signed consent paperwork and chatted to the surgeon prior to the surgery (I think he could tell that we were all nervous)
(f) Nurse prepares me for the surgery (changing clothes, checking heart rate, etc.)
(g) Make it in to the actual surgery room at 6:58 a.m / wake-up in recovery at 7:00 p.m;
(h) Surgery done laparoscopic and I was capable of sitting in upward in a chair 3 hours after waking up in recovery;
(i) No pain, no food, no water for 24 hours (easier than it sounds)
September 2006 Days prior to the surgery:
(a) Children, family and friends became exceedingly apprehensive about me and surgery;
(b) Fear of the unknown strikes ME;
(c) Very hard to realistically prepare a will and prepare my children, home and husband should the most horrible occur;
(d) Pre-operation diet (shakes-which I was on prior to the mandatory 2 weeks) has taken its toll- I want something else;
(e) Set in place my transportation to/from the hospital and my support during and after the operation;
(f) My nights are restless;
(g) Pack my bags and pictures;
(h) LOTS OF PRAYING;
March 2006 The Pre-Operation Testing Component-not a lengthy process
(a) A psychological evaluation by the psychologist that was knowledgeable about the before and after effect on a person due to the gastric bypass surgery and eating disorders;
(b) Pulmonary function testing because I have asthma;
(c) Sleep study to see if I have a sleep apnea (also because I snored! HaHa)
(d) Cardiology evaluation;
(e) Pulmonary evaluation;
(f) GI tract evaluation;
New Year 2006 Trying to get an approval and making time for the surgery.
(a) Getting a referral to the see a surgeon was not a problem;
(b) But it seemed just as hard/long as making the decision to have the surgery to get an approval to have the surgery;
(c) Surgery was schedule twice however my insurance was cancelled 2 weeks prior to the first time and transferred to another proxy prior to a month and half for the second date;
(d) Hard time explaining to my boss (who really didn’t think I was big enough to have such a surgery) why I needed the time off for the surgery and time to recover.
Fall of 2005 Getting the support, help and understanding of what the surgery consisted of and how to go about it:
(a) Lots of research on the pros and cons of the Gastric Bypass Surgery and type of meds needed after the surgery;
(b) Conference with my primary physician on whether I was/was not a candidate for the surgery (I was-BMI at 44 and 278lbs)
(c) Seeing the nutritionist, specialist for my asthma, and counselor concerning my self esteem;
(d) Discussing the surgery with my family, kids (7 of them) and friends- consisted of a waving of approvals and disapprovals over the following year.
November 2005 Meeting and researching my referred Bariatic Surgeon:
(a) Primary care physician and I discussed where we would feel I would get the best care prior and post-op of the surgery;
(b) Scheduling to see the surgeon (Dr. Sandeep Malhotra @ LIJ-NorthShore, NY) was quick,
(c) The surgeon, his staff and his office depicted professionalism, understanding and a genuine concern for people’s health;
(d) Discussing with the surgeon my current health problems and concerns;
(e) Used the following sites to research my surgeon (in addition to asking him) qualification and degrees, experience, the hospital/patient procedures and rules and any poor reviews from past patients - http://www.healthgrades.com, http://www.northshorelij.com, http://www.ahrq.gov and http://www.knowx.com--(A few others that I paid a few bucks for the search).
Spring of 2005: Prompts to Deciding To Have the Surgery@ 280lbs
(a) Unable to walk from my bedroom to the living room without becoming so short of breath;
(b) Such a hard time cleaning my home properly;
(c) Unresponsiveness to my inhaler;
(d) Constant discomfort in my back and with my knees;
(e) Continuous weight loss and gain ranged from 10 to 40lbs each time;
(f) Dislike of looking at myself in the mirror and taking pictures.
