It was my 1 year Anniversary on 2/6

I want to say Happy Anniversary to all my Feb 2007 Gastric Bypass Buddies!! It is hard to believe that 1 year has passed by already isn't it?? I have lost 103 lbs in the past year and a grand total of 171 lbs--I have 79 lbs to go to goal and the weight loss has slowed down alot and i am having trouble with fluid retention--Because i have kidney disease and my kidneys are not doing so well. I am still on insulin--tho not as much as i was a year ago--and keep praying that i will be off of it soon--My diabetes is under control--so is my cholesterol--Bp is up and down.. Alot of meds were taken away and now in the past few months my docs have added more so i am taking alot of meds once again.. I still have a Vit C deficeiency and am taking 4 citracal citrate chews per day and 1 vit D pill per week.. I go for my blood work at the end of this month--so I will see if i am doing better.. I have no regrets about having the Weight Loss surgery at all--I feel better in alot of ways and am going to Physical Therapy 3 times per week and am able to walk alot more and am happy about that--still need the wheel chair sometimes tho--but there is a saying I keep telling myself it goes like this--"I MAY NOT BE EXACTLY WHERE I WANT TO BE RIGHT NOW--BUT I SURE AM GLAD THAT I AM NOT WHERE I USED TO BE." Amen to that--I am sure glad that i am not 448 lbs still..Thank God for this surgery.. May God Bless you all always on your Weight Loss Journey wherever you may be. SUSIE Smith from PA

Hi Susie, I was impressed by your blog and even went to your site and read all about you. I'm new on this site and am enjoying reading what everyone has to say. I really can associate with you though it seems more than anyone else that I have read on. Your weight and mine were very similiar. My highest weight was 468. I lost about 35 pounds on my own and then at consultation with the surgeon I was at 433. Then he had me lose 50 prior to surgery, which somehow I managed to do and got down to 380 on my surgery day. Now I'm at 252. I feel blessed to have gotten this far along but really want to get to a weight that has a "1" in front of it. I will take anything in that range. The last few months have been tough though. I got news in 11-07 that I had thyroid cancer and since have had it removed. I still have to go through the radiation and have been very stressed. I've been eating emotionally and not dieting at all. I've only managed to lose 20 pounds since I found out about the cancer in Nov. I'm pretty dissapointed in myself for letting it get to me like this. But I will keep trying to plug along. I just wanted to let you know how much I can identify with you and that I'm proud to see how for you have come. Keep up the good work and if you ever need support please feel free to contact me!!!! Best Wishes, Leslie

Thank you so much Leslie for emailing me--that is nice of you--yes we do have alot in common hey! I also was 380 on my surgery day 2/6/07! i started out at 448--and lost 68lbs before surgery--ad now i am down 115 lbs since surgery a total of 183 lbs-- Boy you are doing better than me!! I still have 67 lbs to my goal of 198 as i am tall and that is a good weight for me my prime doc thinks.. And i like you just want to have a weight that has a 1 in the front of it!! I have a slow thyroid and take Synthroid 125mcg--I am sorry to hear that you had cancer and had to have your thyroid out--I pray that you are cancer free now.. I also have diabetic complications and I battle Fluid retention from my kidney disease so it makes it hard as i can gain 10-15 lbs overnight in fluid--gets so frustrating sometimes.. i will add you to my friends list OK Add me too and we can help each other and encourage one another.. God Bless SUSIE Smith from PA ps--where did you have your surgery?? I had mine in Danville PA at the Geisinger Medical Center--I am a little upset as my surgeon left and went back to NJ where he used to be--But i am thankful that he was here for a few yrs and did my surgery as he is one of the best--i had open RNY by Dr Peter Benotti talk later

Wow...You were 380 on surgery day too. I knew we were in the ball park together but that's on the same plate!!! So, your on synthroid too huh. I've been on that since I have had the thyroid removed. Starting tomorrow I will be on something called Cytomel which is a short acting thyroid hormone and will be on that for 30 days. Then I go off everything for 2 weeks and on a no iodine diet. Then I will be admitted into the hospital for 2-3 days for radioactive iodine therapy. Hopefully that will kill all remaining thyroid tissue. My lymph nodes will have to be watched carefully cuz they do have cancer in them too but were not sure if it's a lot or just a trace at this point. I'm hoping to lose a bunch of weight on the no iodine diet cuz it's so restrictive but ya never know with me it could go the other way! I'm sorry to hear about your kidney disease. I lost my brother who was only 35 to renal failure. He was also a brittle diabetic. I can completely sympathize with what your going through. Are you on dialysis or a transplant list?? The doctor who performed my surgery was John Penning's with Surgical Bariatrics NW in Post Falls, ID. I live in Spokane, WA. Like you do about your surgeon I think he's the absolute best. His abilities along with great support staff made it a very good experience for both me and my husband. We both had RNY on the same day and had it done laproscopically! Our recovery time was about 3 weeks. We were doing pretty good after about 2 weeks but stayed home the extra week to try to formulated a regime with our new eating schedule. Well, talk at ya later! It's been really nice talking to you! Leslie

Hi, Susie and Leslie, It was my one year on 2/8, my son's 25th birthday. In many ways, it was mine, too. I went from 230 to 120 in that year. Wow, what a new life. I have done very well, no complications. I discovered a very large cycst in one breast and three in the other that it appears I've had for years but it wasn't detected. Luckily, its harmless but gave me quite a scare until I had the round of second opinions. Being overweight masks a lot of what ails us. Katie

Hi Katie....Wow you have done very well with your bypass...BIG CONGRATS!! Well, I totally agree that it makes all the difference in the world. As you probably read in my messages. If I hadn't lost all the weight I did they I wouldn't have detected the mass in my throat and been able to treat my thyroid cancer....A real miracle! I have a little further to go than you...My original weight being 468 I feel very accomplished to be at 248 but my real goal is to get down to 168 which will be a 300 pound total loss. But regardless of what you start out at it feels huge to get where you want to be, huh! You must just be tiny tiny now. I wish!!! Thank goodness that your breast lump was benign. Again a miracle!

I think the biggest thing I find now that I'm what society thinks is a 'normal' weight, is that people do treat you differently. Its a sad state of affairs, but true nonetheless. I'm so happy 60 Minutes came out with the story recently that weight loss surgery also prevents many cancers in bariatric patients, so the good news about cancer is on our side!

I completely agree that society treats you differently. People in general are so much nicer to me now that I've lost weight and men actually look me in the eye. It's really nice but sad that it took losing weight to get respect, that's not how it should work! I am glad to hear that cancer is less provolent in people that have had gastric bypass. Someone needs to throw us a bone. Weve been through a lot trying to get our lives in order and having an advantage as far as something nasty like cancer would be nice. Too bad society thinks that low 100's is the norm. I guess I will never be normal but will still hold my head high. But still congrats again on your amazing transformation. You should be soooo proud!