Anna Banana

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Last posting I was talking about going to see Dr. DiNick for a tummy tuck. Well, for personal reasons, I decided against him and never did end up going to a consulation for him. I instead chose Dr. Hing out of Barix. I am very pleased and satisfied by my decision. Dr. Hing is the best surgeon, of any kind, that I have ever met in my entire life.

I got 2 of the 3 drains out at 7 days, and the third drain came out at 10 days. My next appointment is in just over a week to get my stitches taken out. My incisions are healing fabulously, with one tiny exception: just below my belly button a little spot is draining fluids. I'm hoping this stops soon as it's so very annoying!

Dr. Hing's nurse told me that many people don't see the loss (the total weight of the skin and fat cut out during surgery) for a long time, but I've been fortunate there. Dr. Hing cut out 4.5 pounds, and I've already lost 10 pounds since surgery day. Yay!

I'm very very happy with my results so far. Obviously, I'm still swelled up and it will be a while until the swelling goes away. But my overall shape is so very curvy and beautiful. Recovery has been harder and longer than I thought it would be, but I've got at least two more weeks off work so I'm taking things slowly.

Dr. Hing, I love you!!  =)

Today I've lost 100.5 pounds since my consultation at Barix. Does that qualify me for the Century Club? Or does that only happen when I've lost 100 pounds POST-surgery? Hmm. Regardless, I feel great!

Like a post in the April 2007 surgery board, I still see a fat person in my mind's eye when I look at myself. I can physically see that I'm thin, but my brain hasn't caught up to it yet. I am wearing a size 10 pants, but when I pick that size off a rack at a store, I absolutely cannot believe I fit into it.

I'm hoping to be able to have a tummy tuck to get rid of my drooping panus sometime in the future. I think that after I'm a year out, I'll go for a consultation at Barix for Dr. DiNick to see what he says, and what my insurance says about coverage.

Today I weigh 169 pounds. I started this journey at 262 pounds. I have lost almost 100 pounds!! I knew I had that much to lose and then some, but it doesn't seem real right now that I'm almost in the century club. I have 24 more pounds to lose before I'm at goal. YAY!!! (I wonder how long that will take? LOL)

Also, I never thought I'd think this either, but I'm really getting tired of people calling me "Skinny Minnie", "Skinny", and all those other names that are meant to be flattering. I think this is happening to many of us. We were glad for the attention for the first few months, as it meant people were noticing our transformations. But now it seems that I no longer want to be the fat girl who did good and lost weight. I want to be a normal person again. When will people let up on the skinny comments? When will I be known for who I am and not what I've done? It's refreshing to meet strangers, who know nothing about my past and judge me for what they currently see and know.

I am currently planning a trip to my favorite place on earth, Walt Disney World, for September 2008. I am very excited, as I will be skinnier than I've ever been in my past 16 trips =)

I'm proud of my husband too, who has quit smoking due to Chantix. He's not on a major self-improvement kick, but he's slowly turning himself around. He loves to cook meals for me and pack them in little containers for me to take to work, etc. He's been SOOOO supportive of me. I sure do love him!

The one thing I would say I did not expect from this surgery is the disappearance of my libido. I remember telling my husband that when I got all skinny, nothing would keep me off him. ;)

Instead, 75 pounds lighter, I have *zero* interest in sex. This has been going on for months and he's sad and upset, to say the least. I am trying my darnedest to explain that it's not him, it's me.

Have any of the rest of you lost your sex drive? I wonder when it will come back, because I miss it!!

Yesterday I woke up to ONEderland! 53 more pounds until I hit goal. The weight is coming off, slowly but surely. 

First, the positive: Today I am just over 2 pounds from ONEderland
I am soooo excited I can barely contain myself!

Negative: I am so sick of food that I could cry. I hate eating! Never thought I'd say that in a million years. Eating is such a chore now and there's no enjoyment. Plus, having to eat every 2-3 hours is tedious. Seems like everytime I turn around it's time to eat AGAIN. Sigh... I wish I never had to eat again.


One of these days I will upload a real photo of myself.

I had my PATs on March 27. I was there just a bit over 3 hours. All in all it was actually *almost* fun! I got really excited after talking to the nutritionist and the nurse and doctor.

The next day however, I got a call. Janessa from Barix wanted to reschedule my surgery :( It got changed from the 4th to the 10th. So instead of one more sleep, I have 7 more sleeps.

I'm still excited though.

I plan to go to the OH support group for Ann Arbor/Chelsea on Friday and meet some of you mugs ;)

Hmm, it seems that the squeaky wheel does get the grease sometimes! Jenessa called me around 4pm today to schedule my surgery!

Pre-op is on March 27 and Surgery is on April 4. I am so excited and nervous!

Crystal H is having her surgery on the same day, at the same place, by the same surgeon! How cool is that?!

I can't stop putting exclamation points at the end of my sentences! LOL

WHEEEEEE!!!

OK, it's now been looooong 3 weeks since my insurance was approved. What is taking so long? On Friday, March 16, I called Cindy at Dr. Kam's office again under the guise of verifying what she'd told me. She said, "You have your surgery date, right?"

Nope.

"I wonder what's taking Jenessa so long!? You're totally ready for this and there shouldn't be anything holding your scheduling up. Hang on, let me call her." I sit on hold for a few moments. "Anna? I couldn't reach Jenessa. You should call her, here is her number...."

 I couldn't reach Jenessa either. I had to leave a message. Sigh...What is taking so long? I'm starting to get stressed out :-(

I called Barix today to find out what my status is. It seems that Dr. Kam has reviewed all my paperwork and has signed off on my chart, but said chart has yet to make it to financials and scheduling. *sigh*

The lady I spoke with today said I should have a surgery date by the end of next week at the very latest. Boy am I bummed! She completely understood though, being a patient counselor. She's been through this part of it herself. She knows that waiting is the hardest part. I read a lot of posts on here saying "before you know it, you'll have a date!" Well, I sure hope it happens that way for me!

I had a dream over the weekend. The clinic called me and said that my pre-op testing was scheduled for March 15 and my surgery was scheduled for March 30. If only that could come true ;)