lrecheverry

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I was able to shower this morning for the 1st time in about 3 weeks.  It was wonderful -- clean hair, clean body.  I am a happy camper.  Woo!  I posted some pictures of the difference between pre-LBL and 3 1/2 weeks post-LBL.  I am still pretty swollen, but it is such a major improvement.  

Wow!  I didn't realize it had been so very long since I last updated.  Things have so drastically changed.  My weight has been stable since about November, I've been holding somewhere between 165 and 170 pounds.  In that time I've had four plastic surgery consults and all but three of the surgeons said that I probably wasn't going to lose much more weight, that I was carrying in excess of anywhere from 18 to 25 pounds of skin and fat around my body. 

I had a lower body lift 8 days ago on June 13 (pre LBL weight was 164) and am in the post-op healing era, which is going quite nicely.  I used Dr. David Wainwright, of the UT Physicians group.  He and his assistant, Chelsea are absolutely wonderful.   He removed over 16 pounds of skin from my belly and back areas.  

While the surgery itself isn't a walk in the park, the experience has been overwhelmingly positive.  My surgery was done at Memorial Hermann in the Medical Center and the stay was great.  The nursing staff and the residents and fellows were very caring and helpful.  My husband was impressed with the quality of care that I received while there.

I have said multiple times before and will say again that this surgery has been such a lifesaver for me.  And the reconstruction will be my life-changer.  God is so good and life is great. 

Yeah, I know.  I bite at regular updates, but it’s not a new occurrence.  Today marks my 5 month anniversary of my WLS surgery.  I have officially lost 75 pounds and over 75 inches since then, for a total of 144 pounds lost.  I’ve only got 50 more pounds to go to my personal goal weight of 140.  I only lost 8 pounds this month, but I also was on vacation for a week and didn't get my daily dose of liquids down and wasn't really careful about what I ate.  PLUS I have been working out like a fiend 3-4 times a week and I know that it builds muscle and that muscle weighs more.  As long as the inches are still coming off, I'll focus on that and not the 8 pound loss.  

My blood work gets repeated for my six-month check-up in July and we’ll see if the B12 levels have improved, but everything else was good on my last check-up.  

I feel great – better physically than I have nearly my whole adult life.  I am amazed at the changes in my body, but have a hard time actually realizing the changes in my body.  I think I have mentioned previously that whenever I look at myself, I still see the 335 pound woman.  I hope that changes.  I suffer with enough self-esteem and self-worth issues without having to battle this the rest of my life, also.

My wonderful hubs is thrilled with the changes, also.  He is amazed at the difference in my energy levels and has become a much more “hands-on” kinda guy.  He’s always touched and loved me, but sometimes nowadays he has a hard time keeping his hands to himself, which is cool with me.  LOL.  

Anyway, I’ll post my updated pics and measurements when I get them done.

Hey all!  I'm posting my 4 month pictures.  I finally broke through 200 this morning -- 199!  Woo -- Stepped on the scale three times just to make sure and then made the hubs come and look.  LOL.  Thank God for that patient, loving man.  I'll take my measurements later and put them up also.  The pics are kinda big, but I'll have to resize them later -- no time right now. 

It’s been a month since my last update.  I’m weighing 209 this morning, making a total of 57 pounds since surgery, 126 pounds from my highest weight.  My bits and parts are starting to sag, so I’m joining Curves for Women tonight to try to tone up as much as possible before the tuck and lift next year!  LOL.  I went in last week for my 3 month post-op visit and everything looks great.  My labs were good except for the B12, so I’m on twice weekly injections for now until the levels come back up in addition to the daily sublingual.  I am having hubby take my 3 month pics and I will measure myself tonight and will try to post those soon.

Pictures!  I've posted my weight loss pictures to date.

It’s been a couple of weeks since my last update.  I saw my surgeon for my 6 week check-up last Wednesday and things are great.  He released me to all foods as tolerated and any exercise I want.  He said to continue with the high protein and make good choices.  I have lost a total of 37 pounds and about 18 inches overall.  I did have to finally make an appointment to see my regular doc for some antidepressants, though.  The mood swings and general irritability have been horrible.  I know they said that this was a common thing for women who have had the WLS, I figured I wasn’t going to suffer with it (and make my family suffer by proxy).  So I have a brand new script for Wellbutrin, which I began on Saturday.  The doc said that it was short acting, so I should be able to tell a difference in a few days and I should only need it for a few months until things stabilize.  Life is good and God is great!  I have been so very blessed by having this surgery.  On a side note – another great big blessing is that we bought the house we have been renting for a while, signed the papers on Friday!  Woo!

I had my 2 week post-op visit yesterday and am doing great.  I’m down 22 pounds and really feeling good.  I’ve been cleared for all physical activity as tolerated and Dr. Ferrari said that I’m healing well.  After I lose some more of the abdominal soreness, I’d like to begin some sort of exercise besides walking and riding, but haven’t quite decided what I’d like to do.  Suggestions are always welcome.  :D

Well, I see the photos are up.  Man, do I ever look horrible in pictures.  I HATE HATE HATE the way I look on film.  LOL.  The first pic is me at my highest weight – 335 or so.  The second is somewhere in the vicinity of 240.  I was 264 the night before my surgery.

Anyway – my hospital report.  I went in for my surgery right at the crack of 8:00 am on Monday, 1/23/06.  Everything went very smoothly and I was back in my recovery room around 12:00 or so.  My two oldest children stayed home from school and were with me through the whole thing, in addition to my hubby and my mother- and grandmother-in-law.  Monday night was definitely the worse of all, since I’m allergic to morphine and the Demerol PCA was doing absolutely nothing for me.  Once I passed the leak test Tuesday morning, however, I began liquid Lortab and was good to go.  Minimal pain, mostly just soreness.

I’m now about a week and half out and I’m feeling good.  I have no pain at all, again, just soreness in certain spots.  I’m down about 16 pounds so far, but I don’t plan on weighing again until I see my surgeon for follow-up on the 8th.  The hard part – and it’s been really really tough – is the liquid diet.  I’ve turned MEAN and even though I know the liquid diet is for a good reason, I just have overwhelming urges to eat something.  I get to go to the soft/pureed foods stage on Monday, so I’m hanging in there.  LOL – I’ve had to put myself in time out a couple of times because the crankiness is just horrible and I don’t want to inflict it upon my family.

I’ve been doing my walking, getting in all my liquids and haven’t had one episode of nausea or vomiting.  Overall, life is good and I’m looking forward to the next few months of loss.

Got home yesterday - surgery went very very well.  I'll update more tomorrow when I can sit upright.  :D