tina0226
1. 09/02 I have scheduled my siminar and psy. evaluation :)
Then after that I will make an appointment with the DR.
2. 04/23/03 I got my date!!! August 19 2003! I was so excited I started to cry. This was so quick and easy ... less then one week!
3. 07/24/03 Just got my surgery packet today from Dr. Zahn ... talk about confusing. I will have to call his office tomorrow to find out exactly what to do. I think they forgot my teaching day too!
4. 07/31/03 Had all my pre-op testing done! Yum Yum. Everything went as good as it can be. Everyone said all the x-rays etc. looked great. I go see Dr. Zahn 08/18/03 and will know more info. My teaching day is Tuesday 08/12/03. I can't wait to be on the loosing side.
5. 08/22/03 I am home!!! I had to stay an extra night due to back pain which was caused because Dr. Zahn had to tilt my rib cage. Other then that my surgery went great. It was delayed 4 hours but I guess that is to be expected. I am at home recovering with low pain. I eat exactly what I am told although I am never hungry! AMAZING.
6. 08/25/03 Getting better everyday. I weighed myselft today and lost 6.5 pounds! :) Drinking all the water is very hard, but today I did better. Thanks again for all your support.
7. 09/02/03 Just wanted to update my profile! I have lost 15 pounds and doing great. No complaints. My scar is healing good.
8. 09/09/03 Can't believe it has been 3 weeks! How time flies. I have lost 20.5 pounds and have no problems.
9. 09/20/03 I have lost 25.5 pounds and am one month post op. I have had no trouble with any foods that I have tried. Life is good!
10. 10/07/03 Today is week 7 ... can you believe that? I have lost 33 pounds and am feeling great. Wishing the weight would come off faster but I will take what I can get!
11. 10/19/03 Today is officially 2 months!! How time flies. I have lost 40 pounds and I couldn't be happier. It is nice to have clothes that are to big for a change!
12. 11/07/03 I am down 46 pounds now. Still trying to eat what Dr. Zahn tells me but it is hard cause I am never hungry! However I am so happy and I can really see a difference in my size!
13. 11/19/03 Today I am down 52.5 pounds ... AMAZING! My only regret is waiting so long to get this surgery ... my life has already changed. My 3 month blood test came out low in Iron and B12 ... so today I will start on medication. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
14. 12/04/03 I am down 57 pounds ... I have been taking my iron and B12 medication so hopefully my next blood work will be ok. Other then that everything is great!
15. 12/19/03 WOW how time flies ... today marks month number 4 and I am down 65 pounds (forever). I go see Dr. Zahn on Monday ... we shall see how that goes.
16. 12/23/03 I saw Dr. Zahn yesterday ... he was very happy with my progress. He did give me a B12 shot which I can already feel the difference.
17. 01/19/04 Today is 5 months, how time flies when you are having fun! I have lost 72.5 pounds and I feel like I have been given a new outlook on life.
18. 02/04/04 I am now down 76.5 pounds. My weight loss is slowing down but as long and I am not gaining weight I am happy. I have started to walk between 1-2 miles daily and the best thing is my A1C is 4.1!!!!!
19. 02/19/04 6 months and I am down 80.5 pounds. My blood results this time came back good so I am happy about that. Life is great!
20. 02/26/04 Today is my 26th B-day! I couldn't be happier, I jumped on the scale today and I am down 81.5 pounds. My weight hasn't been this low since 11th grade! YIPPEEEEEEE :)
21. 03/19/04 7 months .. down 85.5 .. 5 pound loss this month!
22. 04/19/04 8 months .. down 89.5 .. 4 pound loss this month.. slower then I expected but I have been lifting weights and walking near 4 miles a day. I am now wearing a size 12/14.
23. 05/08/04 After gaining 3 pounds I have finally got that off plus another pound. I have been doing a lot of excerise and I think that I gained due to muscle being heavier then fat. I go see Dr. Zahn Monday so I will update with what he says at my visit.
23. 05/19/04 9 months .. down 91.5 .. 2 pound loss this month .. wish it was more but everyone tells me this is normal. I can't complain I have a wonderful life and have met some really great WLS people. Dr. Zahn revised my goal to 145 pounds which is so much better then 129.
24. 06/19/04 10 months .. down 92 pounds .. 1/2 pound loss this month. This month has been a strange month regarding my weight. I started out by gaining 3 pounds then I lost 7 pounds and then gained 3 1/2 pounds. I think this last gain is due to water weight .. the joys of being a woman. I have been having trouble with my sugar level, rather then before surgery being to high it is now to low. Trying to get that regulated and having a hard time. I feel sick at least 1-2 times a week but I know in time it will get better. My doctor said that my body hasn't caught up with my weigh loss and is still thinking I am large.
25. 06/21/04 Got on the scale this morning and I have lost 2 pounds ... thank God is was water weight!
26. 07/01/04 Down 96 pounds as of today. Hoping to make it to 100 pounds by August 19 for my 1 year anniversary.
27. 07/19/04 11 months ... down 99 pounds ... 7 pound loss this month. The scale has been moving between one pound so I know it is just a matter of days and I will be at 100 pounds!
28. 08/09/04 This has been a rough month but I finally can say I made it to 100 pounds, actually 100.5!!!! I would like to lose about 10-20 more.
29. 08/27/04 WOW! I can't believe it has been just over one year! For anyone looking into this surgery ... go for it! This has been the best thing I have done for my life and my future. I am down 102 pounds ... I would like to lose about 10 more although if I stayed this way forever I would be happy.
30. 10/14/04 A lot has changed in my life. I got layed off from my job in Arizona but was lucky enough to be able to transfer and keep my job. So now I am living in Greenwood, Indiana! I am staying between 1-2 pounds and am glad that during the stress of moving I did not gain 10 pounds. Still working on the last 10 pounds. I guess the last few pounds are going to be the hardest. As soon as I get settled I will start going to the gym a few times a week and I am sure that will help. Would eventually like to get my extra skin from my tummy removed but that will take a lot of time as I am sure my insurance will not cover that, I am just glad they covered my surgery ... I would have never been able to afford it myself. I can finally say I feel like a "normal" person! This has been the best thing I could have ever done for myself and my family.
31. 11/16/04 No weight change this month but as long as I am not gaining weight I am happy staying the same. My doctor gave me a referral for plastic surgery, however I must be 18 months post op before they will operate on my tummy. Guess I'll just wait to see what happens, I figure the worse the insurance can do is say no and I'll start saving my money!
32. 01/02/05 Again no weight changes this month ... but I am happy to be right where I am. This has really changed my life and I would recommend surgery to anyone looking for a better life. My doctor reminded me before surgery this is only "tool" and it is up to me to use it wisely. So far I think I am doing good with the use of my "tool". My iron is still very low, so my PCP has given me an iron prescription and will retest my blood in 4 weeks ... if my results are not better he will send me to a specialist.
33. 02/03/05 WOW! Alot has happened this last week. Wednedsay night I was rushed to the hospital and they discovered I had an obstruction early Thursday morning. I went in for emergency surgery and came out with 8 inches of my intenstines removed and a 9 inch scar on my stomach. According to the doctor I am very lucky to be alive ... had it ruptured I would have died. I am also lucky to not have a colonoscopy bag as most people would have, he said one inch lower and I would have been out of luck. I guess my intenstines wrapped around some built up scar tissue which only happens in less then 1% of people, lucky me!! I am just so glad to be alive and am home doing the best I can. The best part of all of this is I have lost 6 pounds, now lets just hope I can keep it off!
34. 02/28/05 Just wanted to update and let anyone who reads this know that I am doing ok. Saw the doctor who did my surgery today and he said that everything is healing ok and it will just take time for my body to adjust to having less intenstines. I will go back to work March 10th, I enjoyed the time off but sure could use some more, but then again couldn't we all! I only gained 1 pound since I have been out of the hospital so I am happy about that. I had to reschedule my PS appointment for April 22nd ... keep your fingers crossed that my insurance will approve it!
35. 05/23/05 Nothing much has changed. I went for my TT appointment and am just waiting for insurance approval. I should know in a few weeks. Keeping my fingers crossed!
36. 06/01/05 GREAT NEWS! My tummy tuck got approved ... I am so excited. I will have surgery sometime this fall.
37. 06/27/05 Tummy Tuck scheduled for 08-25-05 ... can't wait. I have been bouncing back and forth with about 5 pounds ... need to get back on track!
38. 08/07/05 Ok for the big news first ... I got married July 23rd! My pre-op's are scheduled for the 17th ... can't wait to have this skin removed. A little nervous but I think that is expected with any surgery. It will be interesting to see what size I go down to.
39. 08/28/05 I am at home recovering from my tummy tuck. The doctor removed between 20-25 pounds of skin and fat. YUCK! I have two drains and no belly button. I can't stand up straight yet but am feeling better every day.
40. 09/01/05 Everything is great and I am healing nicely. Doing much better then the doctor expected. I weighed in today at 163 and am hoping to lose another 10 pounds from the TT surgery. I would like to be inbetween 150 - 160, which for me is a 12 to 14 in clothes prior to my TT so we'll see if that changes. I got to see my new flat tummy at the doctor this week, it is great. I have been "fat" my whole life so this is the first time I have ever had a flat tummy that I can remember ... I feel like part of me is missing but trust me I'm not looking for it to ever come back! My bone density test came back low in my hip area so my PCP will recheck me again in 1 year and if worse will order me special medication. I just have to make sure I take all my pills each day that I am suppose to, I am not good at taking medication but I made a promise to myself that I will put them on the counter daily and not go to bed until they are all gone.
41. 09/27/05 Went to PS again today ... he is happy with my progress ... I am too! I can finally wear most of my size 12's and size 14's are a little big but I can still wear them. I need to have my left knee operated on again (nothing to do with gastric bypass ... had this trouble since 2nd grade) ... so I will be doing that Oct. 20 ... just hope that I am able to keep up my walking like I am suppose to do. Still weigh between 160-163 ... hope to get in the 150's ... guess time will tell. I can't expect the weight to come off over night as it didn't get there over night.
42. 01/02/06 Things are going great. I wear either a size 10 or 12 depending on the style. I still weigh between 160-163, guess that is where my body wants me to be.
43. 05/08/06 It's been a long time since I've updated this page, sorry! To be honest not much has changed. My weight has been moving up and down but mainly that is my fault for eating bad things. I stay between 165-170 depending on the time of month ... I have been trying to ride my bike 10-15 minutes at least 5 times a week and I normally ride about 4 1/2 miles each time. My husband is going to get a Vasectomy Reversal hopefully by the end of summer and is also trying to get approval for gastric bypass ... wish us both luck.
44. 08/13/06 Sorry it has been so long between postings. I am almost 3 years out and still maintaining around 165. I recently had another emergency surgery on July 30, 2006. I had the same stomach pains as I did in Jan. 2005. I went to the ER and sure enough I had another bowel obstruction. This one did not appear to be as bad as last time since they did not remove any of my intenstines. The doctor said I had excessive amount of scar tissue build up and it was causing my intenstines to kink and twist. He removed the scar tissue and undid all the kinks and twists. The only thing that bothers me is there is nothing I can do to prevent this. I am just afraid that this will continue to happen. On the positive side my husband did get his reversal and he goes the end of this month to see if it worked. He has also started his 6 months supervised diet for gastric bypass .... Life is going good ... and I am happy to be maintaining my weight loss ... can't believe it has been 3 years, seems like a dream somedays!
45. 11/26/06 Nothing has really changed. Still between 165-170. Life is good. One thing I will say is this has been the best thing I could have done not only for myself but my family. Like most people say I would do it again in a heart beat! I've had my up's and down's but in the long run I am a much healthier person and happier with a better self esteem!
46. 04/23/08 ... 5 years ago yesterday I got my approval ... wow how time flies. Somedays it feels like yesterday and other days it feels like it really was 5 years ago. Everything is still going good. I have gained about 15 pounds from my lowest but from what everyone else and my doctors say that is about normal. My husband and I have started going to the gym so we can get in shape and get toned up ... but mainly to help us stay healthy. It is so easy to slip back into old ways ... so I always remind my self how life was before GB and how great it is now ... that helps a ton!