DianaR
Highest Weight 248
Surgery Weight 241
Current Weight
Hello! My name is Diana. I am having surgery with Dr. Marchesini in Brazil on Nov. 1, 2005. It has taken me three years of research to get here, but I'm on my way!
October 19, 2005
Unlike many people, I was not always overweight. After my first two children were born, I was slightly overweight for a few years. I dieted down to within five pounds of my ideal weight, and was able to maintain it for a few years. Then I got pregnant with my third child, then shortly afterward, with my fourth. When my fourth child was a few months old, I noticed incredible fatigue. If I went to the grocery store, it would take me two days to recover. I started putting on weight like crazy. I had no idea what was going on. Later, my daughter came down with mono, and I figured out that I might also have had it. It took me a long time to recover. The exhaustion made me housebound, and quite a couch potato. Also, at that same period of time, I was diagnosed with PCOS. I have been steadily gaining since then.
I am tired of missing out on life, of sitting on the sidelines and watching while everyone else lives. I am tired of constant pain in my body. I am sick of high blood pressure and diabetes and GERD.
I have four kids, and I want to be able to do stuff with them. I don't want my husband to have to become my care-taker. So, ten days from now, I get on an airplane with my sis-in-law, and I fly to Brazil to start my new-and-improved healthy life. I am not looking forward to flying to a foreign country, or to have my guts rearranged, but I am willing to do what I need to in order to live more fully. So, here I step onto the rollercoaster, and am ready to take the plunge. I appreciate all prayers and good wishes! Diana
Well, I leave on Saturday for Brazil. I can’t believe it is my turn at last! I tend to be a rather shy timid person, so it took me a ton of courage just to baby-step myself to get this far! I just have to say it, I am so proud of me. I dealt with negative relatives, and mess-ups on lab tests. I organized finances, and stood up for myself. My bags are packed and I am on my way in a few days, and in six days, I will have changed my life forever.
My husband, was set against the surgery (out of fear I realize), to the point of telling me he would divorce me if I went through with it. He is now my biggest supporter, and one of Doctor M’s many fans. I realize that the hard part is still to come, but I am so ready to get this over with and get on with my life. I would love to have all the good wishes and prayers I can get for Nov 1, 4:00 PM. I just can’t wait to get back in the game, and off of the sidelines of life! Diana
Oct 31,2005
Well, I am here in Curitiba, Brazil. The flights were very long, but very uneventful. I didn’t sleep on the airplane, so I arrived tired and kind of out of it. We came directly from the Airport to the hotel, and took a nap. The hotel is very nice. Durval met us at the airport, and he is very nice also, and as we were checking in at the hotel, Dr. Marchesini came in and met us.
Then we met the other Americans who are here and went to a Brazilian Barbeque place for dinner. It was so neat. You pay one price, and they bring all these spit’s filled with meat around. There were about 10 of us, I guess. I am really bad at guessing the amounts of people in a group, but I am trying to count individual faces, and that’s what it seems like.
This morning, I go for my pre-op appointment, and then the rest of the day is pretty much free. I think that I have someone coming to fit my abdominal binder, but other than that, the day is free. I am not sure what we will do yet, some of the other ladies are going shopping, so we might go along with them.
Tomorrow is my big day! Diana
Nov 9, 2005
I am now just over one week post op. I am doing so well. I have no complications. Well, actually, I did have a very small seroma, but it only drained for a couple of days, no pain or anything. I did have quite a bit of nausea at first, even some vomiting, but by the third post op day, it was gone. I went for my check up today, and everything was great. I've lost 8 lbs in 9 days. That's a first in my life. We are enjoying seeing Brazil. We went sight seeing and I went to the dentist yesterday. So now we are just waiting to go home. Diana
My Surgery Story
Here’s my surgery story. 8:30 A.M. we pack up our hospital bags, check out of the hotel, and have them hold our big bags. We meet Karen (scheduled for surgery right before me) and Sue in the lobby, and wait for the private nurse Durval to show up to take us to the hospital. 9:00 AM, Durval shows up, with a man named Leandro, and they walk us to the hospital. They take us to our rooms, and we unpack and get settled. I also had the hospital’s computer tech guys come and set up our internet, as that was to be our major means of communication while we were there. Then we waited. After a while, Leandro came in and talked with us and kept my mind off of the surgery. At about 3:00, they come and get me into a gown that was as big as a circus tent. No kidding. At 3:30, they took me down to prep me for surgery. They pushed my bed right through the hospital lobby to take me to the operating room. On the elevator on the way down, there was a little old lady who spoke a little English. She was patting my arm and telling me not to worry, I would be fine, and soon I would be slim and pretty. It was sweet. I remember being wheeled through the lobby and an old man standing there waving to me as I went by. In the operating room, they had me scoot onto the table. Then they tried to get an IV going. Well, I have very hard to find veins, and I hadn’t had anything by mouth since the night before, including liquids. It took them six tries. It was horrible. Then, they sent the sweetest young man in just to keep me company while they got ready. He spoke very good English. I remember the anesthesiologist wanting to talk to me, and just jokingly, he asked me if I spoke German. He was very surprised when I answered him that, yes, I spoke a little. So we had a short conversation in German, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up from surgery. I was very nauseous, and started vomiting up some blood. It was awful. They took me to recovery, where I continued to heave. They started giving me something for nausea, and soon I was feeling a little better. I don’t remember being taken back to my room, but I do remember when I got there, I was vomiting again. The nurses were very kind. I spent the rest of the day battling nausea and pain. The first day post op, I remember wishing someone would shoot me and put me out of my misery, but then I quickly started to get better. I was up and walking the halls more, but that night, my legs started to tremor uncontrollably. It was really kind of scary, and the nurses didn’t understand what we were saying, so we had them call Durval even though it was very late. The physical therapist came in and did some exercises with my legs, but nothing really seemed to help. By the second day, I was up and on the computer, and walking the halls, etc. I was sent for my leak test, and passed it, so I got some delicious Jell-O and broth that night. By the third post op day, I was bored, and doing so well, that they released me from the hospital. I walked from the hospital back to the hotel. Then I pretty much rested for the rest of the day. The next day, it was rest, and then we attended a wedding vow renewal on the roof of the hotel. It was some fellow Americans (Tom and Robin) who were celebrating their wedding anniversary while they were here. It was a beautiful ceremony, and I admit that I teared up once or twice, but I pretended that it was from the sun. I was able to stay at the party for about ½ hour before I was too worn out and had to go back to the room. From then on, I rested, and did some sight seeing, and visited Karen who was still in the hospital, etc. We leave in a couple of days, so I will update after I am back home again.
Dec 18, 2005
6 1/2 weeks since surgery weight 208 BMI 38
I am doing very well food-wise. I can eat just about anything, except bread. Bread just feels stuck and painful, so I avoid it. I still have problems with cold liquids. They feel stuck and hurt, too. Warm stuff goes down just fine, though, so I am getting in plenty of fluids in the form of herbal teas. Of course if I eat the cookies, etc. I get killer gas. For the most part, I avoid them. But not always!
I think I am kind of a slow loser. I am only down about 35 lbs. in almost seven weeks. The scale seems to stall for a while, then go down for a while, then stall again. But, my diabetes is also gone, my high bloodpressure is gone, and I can now cross my legs!Oh, and my BMI is no longer in the morbidly obese catagory, I am simply obese. My kids tell me I look like a normal mom now, not a big mom.
Here is a list of the suppliments I am currently using. I use the centrum chewables vitamins and calcium citrate that I buy at costco (they are huge, but I am doing better at swallowing them).I have also started taking allergy A&D by Twinlab that I ordered through amazon.com. Oh and an iron suppliment, I was already borderline anemic before surgery.
My biggest problem is my energy level. I am still tired a lot of the time. I keep waiting for it to get better, but so far it hasn't. It is so hard to keep up with the bare minimums, let alone Christmas! Thankfully my husband is taking care of most of it this year. I will soon attach a picture my husband took of me yesterday. He wanted to prove to me that I was indeed smaller. I don't think my brain has caught up to my body yet, and I just don't see it. I can tell in the way my clothes fit (or rather don't fit)though.
Well, take care, Diana
Jan 8, 2006
Boo Yah, I’m back in the game! What game? Life of course. My family all enjoy the outdoors. They are avid backpackers, snowshoers etc. and I used to be, too. But these last four years, I have been unable to go. It was just too hard physically. So every time they would go, I would put on my happy face, and pretend that I was happy just helping them pack their gear and sending them off without me. Well, this weekend, I went snowshoeing! Now granted, it was a very short trip, just kind of a shake down for new equipment, but it felt so great. It has been ages since I have been walking through a mountain meadow, breaking a trail through the new untouched snow. Ages since I could fit into any outdoor gear! I wore a jacket that I was unable to zip up 91/2 weeks ago with a thermal top and two fleece jackets under it,( hey, I get real cold!) and still had a little room left. I also wore my husband’s waterproof pants with a pair of fleece pants under them. Nine and a half weeks ago, I outweighed him by many pounds even though he is pretty near a foot taller than me. There was no way I could even get his pants on!
I did do one face plant into the powdery soft snow, though, and couldn’t quite get myself out again! My DH literally had to pick me up and set me back on my feet! It’s a good thing he is so strong, as I am still heavy! Oh, and I found the perfect outdoor food for me, smoked salmon. It just so happened that Friday I had smoked a salmon, and cooked it too long. It was just like salmon jerky, so tasty! I did have issues with water though. I still get stomach pains from drinking anything cold, and the water in my pack got very, very cold. I think I got kind of dehydrated because of it.
Thanks Dr. M, for such a wonderful day. Without you it wouldn’t have happened. And thanks to everyone here who made me believe it was possible for ME to get back in the game.
Diana
Sat, Jan 14,2006
Current weight 199
I woke up and got on the scale, and it said 199! I am officially under 200 lbs! It's absolutely One-derful! 45 lbs lost
Feb 17th, 2006
Weight 187, BMI 34.2
I am now 3 months 2 weeks post-op. I am down 54 lbs since surgery, 61 lbs from my highest weight one month before surgery. I have lost half of my extra weight exactly. Let's see, I can now cross my legs,sit on the floor and play marbles with my son, walk faster than my kids, instead of them waiting for me. I can do housework and then have enough energy to go shopping afterwards. I got my hair cut short since it was shedding so badly, and I really like it that way. I am amazed at how much easier even the little things are getting. Like walking down a flight of stairs, or reaching across the car to unlock a door for someone. I am actually starting to feel like myself again instead of someone trapped in a shell.
Diana
March 16, 2006
cw 180
well, I've been stuck at this weight for a few weeks. But I have been losing inches! I went shopping yesterday, and bought two pairs of pants, one a size 14, and one a size medium. Both from the regular department, not the plus sizes! It felt so great to shop in the regular department, there were so many more choices. The funny thing was I held up those pants, and thought there is no way my tushie was going to fit in those pants. Actually, first I got an extra large off of the rack, and then I got a large, and then I had to go back and get the medium.
My friend here is having the DS surgery on April 10th! I am so excited for her. And scared. I would hate it if anything happened to her. I'm sure she will be fine, but there is always the chance that something could go wrong......
I am almost 7 months out now, I am in a size 12 now, and some
10's and size medium shirts. I went shopping yesterday, and
walked right to the plus sized racks, pulling off 2X shirts. It took
a woman standing there giving me funny looks to make me realize that I was in the wrong section! Force of habit can be pretty strong!The funny thing is, when I look in the mirror, I still see the 2X sized
girl. But if I look at a picture, I see someone regular sized. I
heard of that happening to people, but I never thought it would
happen to me. I don't know why I thought I would be immune to it???
I thought I had decent self-esteem pre-op and that would protect me from all head games. Guess what? It didn't. In fact, the loose skin in some ways makes me more self concious than the extra "padding" did. Also, people are starting to call me "small". And I have noticed that in my mind, small = weak,powerless. So I have had to make a concious effort to affirm in myself that small can equal strong.
Otherwise, I find myself trying to sabotage my self by eating junk.
Ok, I guess that will end my venting of all of the head games in my
life! Sorry for making you listen to it, but it is very theraputic
just to write it!
Diana
PS., I am overweight, No longer OBESE!!!!!!
It’s July, and I am 8 ½ months out from surgery. Let’s see, I am almost to 100 lbs lost. (5 more pounds to go) The rate of weight loss has definitely slowed down. I guess that is a good thing, because I am only 23 lbs to my goal weight. Still I was hoping to be near goal on my birthday next month. I am wearing a size medium now, size 8 tops.
What is going on in my life? Well, my oldest two kids are out the door and living on their own, leaving me with two left at home. It seems so quiet now! We just got back from vacation. While we were gone, I got on my mother in law’s scale, and it said 148, which would have put me at the -100 mark, but when I got home, my scale was not so generous. I am doing things that I never thought I would be doing, such as tomorrow, I start a motorcycle class! They assure me that with no prior experience, they can have me riding safely by the end of the course. I also spent an afternoon with my dad riding quads and getting muddy. It was great fun! I recently took my kids to the local swim park, and actually played with them in the water. My saggy skin is still embarrassing, but not as much as the fat was. On our recent car trip, I discovered that I could sit cross-legged in my seat, the one I barely used to fit in. I had room for a pillow, and my jumbo sized purse beside me in the seat. On a sad note, we recently had to put our 13 year old dog to sleep. It was one of the hardest decisions that I have had to make. He was injured and they couldn’t do anything to help him, not even give him pain meds because of his kidney and liver problems. We miss him terribly.
I am enjoying the summer this year, the heat is actually enjoyable!
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Guess what I just did today? I went and got my motorcycle endorsement on my license. Let me go back a bit though….. I have always wanted to know how to ride a motorcycle but have never learned before. Well, this weekend, I took a course called Basic Rider Training. It was actually like 10 hrs of classroom training, and 9 hours of range time. I didn’t really know how I was going to do, since I was the only one in the class who had never ridden before. But, by the end of the class, I was riding well enough to pass the test! That is something that I never could have done before surgery. I would have never had the stamina to sit in the July sun, with full motorcycle gear on (jeans, long sleeves, gloves, helmet) let alone do the physical work needed to learn to ride. My instructors were awesome! It was hard, but so much fun.
Aug 14, 2006 current weight 147
I have reached the -100 lb mark at last! Actually, I reached it last week. I have been doing a lot of thinking lately. When I started out on this journey,I didn’t have any goal weight or anything. I wanted to relax and enjoy the journey, not be focused on any one number. I just wanted to be healthy. I never asked my surgeon or doctor for a goal weight, or for how much they thought I would lose, because it didn’t matter. I wonder when I started changing in that respect. For a while, I was so focused on the numbers, going crazy getting on the scale every day. I was chatting with my sister a week ago, and she asked me why I was so obsessed by a number? I am wearing a size 8 now. Does it really matter if I lose that last 14 lbs or so to get to my “goal” number? Why does that number matter so much? Because at that number, I am no longer considered overweight, but “normal”. But why does some chart get to decide when I am happy with my body? Actually, I think I am pretty normal right now. I mean, I actually bought myself a bikini a couple of weeks ago. So here I am, trying to get over my obsession with numbers, and learn to just live my life, happy with where I am at. Which is what I set out to do in the first place. So, here’s to getting back to basics!
Oct. 3, 2006
CW 140
11 months out now, and doing well. Getting ready to travel to NY to visit my daughter in a week or so, and getting my hair done in a couple of days. If it turns out well, maybe I will add a picture! Not much else going on here, we are still remodeling our house, going full swing on that. Still wearing size 8's but tried on some 6's at the store the other day, and they fit. Did my 9 month lab work a little late, and everything but my protein was good. Protein was just a little low, so I will have to work on that. But anyways, my Doc said "STOP LOSING WEIGHT NOW!" Well, I am still 13 lbs above my personal goal, (130) but he says he doesn't want me below 138. Well, I guess no one bothered to explain to this man that there is not exactly an off switch! But I have been trying to slow things down a bit, and it seems to be working, since I have only lost 4 lbs in the last 6 weeks. I learned the hard way not to try to slow it down by adding too much sugar and carbs! Boy was I sick for a while. I have been trying to add more protein, and just more volume of food, and that seems to be effective. Well, gotta go, I'm really needing a cup of coffee right now! Hello, my name is Diana, and I am a coffee addict.........................
Oct. 24th 1 week and 1 day until my 1 year anniversary, and I am at my Doc's goal. He doesn't want me to go any lower than this, but I still want to lose another 8 lbs. BMI is now ~NORMAL~! Wearing a size 6 in pants, small or extra small shirt.
Recently went to NY to visit with my daughter, walked all over the place and kept up the whole time. It was great!
Jan 3, 2007 Current weight, 128
My DS surgery has given me back my life, and my personality. I don’t know how to describe it, other than I was so held down by my weight, that I stopped living, and now, I am a very active and feisty person, full of life and fun.
I am hoping that my weight stabilizes now, I don’t really want to get any smaller. I had no idea that I was such a small person underneath all of that fat! I am actually having to shop in the children’s department now, most women’s clothes are too big! I used to have problems finding clothes that were big enough, now I have problems finding stuff small enough! Its actually a nice problem to have.
I am wearing a size 4 jeans, would probably be a 2 or 0 if I got the excess skin on my tummy removed. The skin is not that bad, though, it actually shrank back incredibly. I only wish that my turkey-gobble neck would shrink, but looking at the pictures of my relatives, they all have that going on. Oh well. I am wearing an x-small top still, or sometimes a child's large. I have been having a problem with anemia, but have been taking major doses of iron, and am starting to feel better. I am not due for blood work for a while, though, so I don't know if the numbers are actually climbing.
We had a nice Christmas, with all of the kids home.
TTFN Diana
3/9/2007
I got down to a size 2 jeans, but only for a little while. I really wanted to maintain in a size four, so I worked hard to get back up in weight a little. I am now solidly back into my 4's. Up four pounds from my lowest of 124. Which was an interesting thing, when I hit 124, I was at exactly half of my highest weight. I'm at 128 now, and quite happy there. When I was down to 124, I didn't feel so good. I was tired all the time, and, well, lets just say my hormones started getting messed up. And my whole body ached all the time like I had the flu or something. It's amazing what four pounds has done. I have much more energy, and no longer ache all the time. Too bad there is not a cruise control button, so that I could stay exactly here forever, without having to work at it!
