6 month reflection
Friday 9/9/05 was my 6 month anniversary of my gastric by-pass. I started at 315 lbs and as of this morning I weigh 205 for a total loss of 110 pounds. I have lost a total of 60+ inches all over my body. I have gone from a size 28-30/3-4 X to a size 12-14/L. I feel great and have had no complications, which is a true blessing.
I am eternally grateful to my surgeon, Dr. Adam Naaman (he is an awesome surgeon) and his staff. Throughout the whole journey they have been supportive, helpful and willing to answer any and all answers until I was satisfied and completely understood what was going on. I had a concern about my blood pressure and called their office and within an hour Julius had called me back and spent more than 15 minutes on the phone going over everything that was going on with me to make sure it wasn't something we needed to be concerned. I love his staff.
I eat pretty much anything I want. My pouch doesn't seem to have trouble with any meats, vegetables, rice or pasta. It does however object loudly to foods that are high in fats, carbs and sugar/ sugar alcohol. When I eat something that is too high in carbs I get a severe headache and feel extremely tired for 2-4 hours depending on what I ate. If I eat something that is too high in sugar or sugar alcohol I get a severe case of the dumps in the worse sense of the word. Needless to say I try to avoid these things but am human and occasionally make bad food choices.
I did not have this surgery to spend the rest of my life dieting and so I do not "diet". I eat the same foods as my family usually and we are all eating healthier. I just eat a very small amount and eat things in the order of protein, fiber, vitamins etc. I have learned to make good food choices but eat what I enjoy. I do not drink soda at all or drink anything that is caffeinated. My drinks of choice are crystal light (lemon tea and orange flavors), decaffeinated iced tea, Isopur protein drinks and water. My tastes in food changed dramatically. I now love spicy foods and things like su****urkey jerky and fruits. I have tried fast foods twice and both times it didn't sit well at all with me figure again it was the fat/carb content. I get many of my snacks and protein high foods off of bariatriceating.com. I usually eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. I learned early in my journey that when I do not eat enough my weight loss stalls so I make sure to give my body enough to know that I am not starving it. A high calorie day for me is about 900 calories. I struggle to get my liquid, vitamins and protein in each day. I think I do pretty good usually but will find out next week when I go for my check-up.
My energy is at an all time high. I can walk, run, bike and play for hours without getting tired. DJ and I go downtown sometimes in the evenings to just walk and people watch and I love it we will walk 4-6 hours and I don't feel it at all. The big thing for me is that I was never a thin person. I was always a plus size and today I weigh less than I did in high school and it is amazing. People treat you differently, Shopping for clothes is fun, and my husband can pick me up and cart me around. I am not embarrassed by my body at all. I don't like the extra skin but I do not let it keep me from wearing the clothes I want to wear. I love having my picture taken now. Going somewhere doesn't require getting dressed it requires a wardrobe selection *lol* I have always thought my mom was the tiniest thing and how cool it would be to be her size...well I am a 12-14 and she is an 8 -10. It is so cool.
Are there some drawbacks...actually yes, there are. My husband now has more clothes in our closet than I do and that is a MAJOR crime in our house. I have discovered bones that poke out and protrude in places that I never knew I had bones. This affects my sleep in that I get bruises when I lay on my side at night. I have had to get a thick cushion to put on my mattress to ease the pressure points. My tail bone is very tender and sitting for an extended period of time really, really hurts. I am cold all the time; I wear sweats and long sleeves in the house when everyone else is hot. My hair is falling out, it started last month and is still shedding like crazy... hate the thought of being bald. Are these all things I can live with and accept ABSOLUTELY. I wouldn't change it a bit.
The one thing that changed that hurts the most and confuses me the most is the loss of friends because I had my surgery. I had 2 people that I thought were really close friends. One was supportive of the surgery but the other wasn't. As I got smaller they spent less and less time with me. They made comments on the negative things about the procedure long term. Asked why I would want to change myself about how being smaller isn't going to make me like myself more... hell I love myself, I am an awesome person I did this for health reasons and for no other reason. I want to live to see my kids have kids and be rocking on the porch with DJ when we are in our 80's. Anyway as time has passed they stopped calling, emailing and when I invite them places they come up with reasons not to go. Shows how shallow some people can really be and how little friendship means to them. That is the biggest downside to my journey.
I have though also had many, many positive people things come out of this. My best friend and another close friend both had the surgery. I have been the Angel for 3 people as they began their journey and I have met so many wonderful people on here that are fast becoming good friends. Janice, Gina, Christine, Diana, Cheryl and so many more I love you all and will always be here for you as you've been here for me. I guess as they say one door closes and a new one opens.
Ok I have rambled on for long enough. I want to close by telling those that are struggling to get approval and for those that are thinking about having surgery. It is so worth the fight and the risks. I would do it again every single year if I had to because it is so amazing. Stay strong and never give up. If you need to talk, have questions or just want to vent about the struggles please email me. I will help in anyway I can, even if it is just to listen.
Jeannie
3/9/05
315-205 ->155
i just wanted to say that was an excellent post, i could write many of those things myself! i just had to buy a foam pad for my mattress, my hip bones (which i didn't even know i had!) were killing me and i wasn't sleeping well. i too am the smallest i can remember being (at least at this height, last time i weighed this much i was in jr. high and i was a little shorter) and sometimes i feel like a stranger in my own body.
congrats on your progress, and your upbeat attitude!!
Isn't this journey amazing!!!
take care
Jeannie 
Most Active
Recent Topics
