I'm an MGBer from August 05

Hi... I'm still lost in this site after months. Have I just found my littermates from August 05... I just posted my three month update but wanted to share it with this group. I'd love to hear other updates as well... hugs Kim Below I have shared my weightloss over the past three months, but first I want to share how my experience has been. I had struggled with obesity for most of my adult life. Prior to that, I was thin. I was involved in a MVA in 1990 and sustained back injuries. Since I had already had a Herrington Rod for Scholiosis and Kyphosis as a child, my back had already caused some troubles. I was no longer able to exercise, due to the pain and started to gain weight. Over several years, I had gained an extra 100 pounds. I also started to experience depression after my MVA, and, in 1997 stopped working. My depression is managed with antidepressants and light therapy. I consider myself a "retired" nurse. Having lost weight has allowed me to become more physically active and this has helped my mood tremendously. I probably have one of the more complicated mental health histories in the WLS group. I had a number of "problems" that did not fit into the "are you a good candidate" criteria. Depression, previous drug abuse, history of Bulimia... you're probably wondering how I managed to ge through? Well... Dr. D. in Bay City did not want to do my surgery and it was suggested that I see Dr. Dasher in NC. After getting approval from my personal psychiatrist and my local sports medicine doctor, I was given to go ahead. My husband was initally against WLS, but eventually came around to be supportive yet hesitant. (he has lived through all of my "mental health problems"... and was worried about how I would handle this physical and psychological crisis. I had my surgery on August 18, 2005 in North Carolina with Dr. Dasher. I have no memory of even being in recovery, and I first remember waking up in my room some time later. That first evening I was plagued with nausea and started to vomit. The jello and gatorade were too sweet and left me feeling ill. I asked for the bariatric coctail, and once administered felt much better. I did not sleep very well in hospital at all. The pain was really minimal and I did not really need the patient controlled analgesia (PCA) pump, but used it three times in the night hoping to get comfortable and fall asleep. It did not work. I really did not sleep well until I returned to the Sault at 7 days post-op. After reading about people going off to Walmart shopping the day after surgery, (and choosing to focus on this and not on the contacts that shared a more difficult recovery with me) I booked us into a cottage that did not have indoor plumbing. We had to use the public restroom and showers 100 yards away. Well... I did go shopping the day after surgery (was tired and felt yucky and did not enjoy it), and I did sit in the canoe for an hour or two on my second day post-op (thinking the whole time, I really want to lie down...lol). I also had the runs by the second day and spent a lot of time trudging up and back from the restrooms. My recommendation is: comfortable hotel with nice bathroom! I have had nausea off and on since surgery. Some periods have been pretty uncomfortable, but it's often not too bad. I'm not sure now if I'm having trouble with particular foods, or maybe the amounts. I know if I put too much in, it just comes right back out. If I am careful to eat only a few bites, not drink when I'm eating, and remain seating for a while after eating I seem to be OK now. But... I really have no appetite, eat very little and drink a lot of juices (fruit and V8). I take all of my supplements and drink protein drinks daily. One of my biggest concerns, and my husband's was around prior eating habits. I ate when I was sad, bored, angry, tired, happy, you name it, it was an excuse to eat. I'm pretty early in my post-op period, but I already know, there is not enough room in my pouch to eat for any reason other than hunger. I don't get the same kind of full feeling that I had before surgery, my tummy basically sends a clear message... "swallow once more and it's coming back up". Since I am worried about mal-absorbing and getting enough nutrients, the healthy stuff goes down first... and then there is no room for anything else. It's really important for me to ask myself "why are you standing with your head in the fridge?". It's usually not hunger that brings me there, and when I recognize that it's easier to walk away. Fortunately, I really have not had the cravings that I had before surgery. I have tried a few bites of my old foods ie) cheescake, cheeseburger, poutine... but none of it was really enjoyable, some things make me vomit, and I just plain don't feel good. I am so thankful that these foods did not agree with me, or I'm afraid I'd still be eating them now. I guess that suggests stay away from the "bad foods" cause if you tolerate them you'll eat them!!!!!!!!! WARNING - high calorie, high fat, low nutrient foods are not going to help you reach your goal of HEALTH! My problems pre-op included back pain, some stress incontinence, skin rashes under my fat folds, severe restless legs syndrome, swelling in my legs and feet. It's too soon to tell how these problems will be affected, but my back felt a little better even with the loss of 20 +pounds, and improves daily. The stress incontinence has been resolved and I no longer experience swelling of my legs and feet. I have even noticed the rings on my fingers are starting to spin. At one point I was treated for an H-Pylori infection for symptoms of gnawing pain in my stomach... this has been resolved. I had several bouts of severe nausea and vomiting during the first few weeks. On a few occasions I vomited what looked to me to be bile. I find that if I eat slowly, and do not put any fluids down there with my food, I digest better. I also do not lie down too soon after eating. Most importantly, I must rest for a while after eating. If I do any bending or quick moving it seems to upset my stomach. Now here's the part that excites me! Aug. 18 242 Surgery in High Point, NC height 5' 7" BMI 37.9 Aug. 25 236 6 pounds Sept 01 225 11 pounds Sept 08 225 0 Sept 15 218 7 pounds Sept 22 213 5 pounds Sept 29 212 1 pound Oct 13 203 9 pounds Oct 20 202 1 pound Oct 30 196 6 pounds Nov 8 195 1 pound Nov 18 188 7 pounds BMI 29.4 total 54 pounds According to the CDC I have gone obese to overweight! My next goal is to be normal!!!!! I think my weight loss has been about average, but I think for someone who only has 100 pounds to loose it's been fabulous. I can't really take any credit for the weight loss though, it's just happened. I have to thank Dr. Dasher for that! When the time comes that I can tolerate any foods... I will have to struggle to eat properly. So far my nausea and lack of appetite have been a blessing. Now, if I loose too much weight... I'll have to reconsider that one. I feel very healthy today. I have plenty of energy, my sex-drive is returning, and I don't mind getting dressed anymore. This surgery has been a gift! I am especially thankful to the members of WLS support groups who have shared so much with me along the way. Your stories have inspired me, warned me and comforted me... and I thank you!

Kim, Wow, you've gone through alot in your life. Congratulations on getting past everything & moving in the right direction. I was overweight from about 5th grade on. Severely obese for about the past 15 years. I stayed in the 180's through most of high school. Which for my 5"4'frame isn't that great, but man oh man, I can't wait to get back to that point now. I've had alot of life changing events over the past 15 years that have really proved that I was a big time stress eater. In 1990 at the age of 23 I moved away from my family in NY to Wisconsin with my boyfriend. In 1992 we were married. I became pregnant with twins due in April of 93. 11 days prior to the birth of my twins, my wonderful beautiful Mother passed away which was very unexpected. Because of my pregnancy, I was not able to travel to NY for the final arrangements. 6 weeks after the birth of my twins, the swing one of the girls was in which was brand new, was faulty, broke & caused a skull fracture. Thank God, she got through it fine with no mental for physical problems. Shortly after that, I found out I was pregnant again & gave birth to my 3rd little girl 10 1/2 months after the birth of my twins. Mix all that together plus work full time, have a new marriage with a husband that works nights & you get STRESS STRESS STRESS. In 1996, I decided I could not take being away from my family any longer & moved my family back to NY. By this time I was 272 lbs. I had gained 60 lbs since 1994. Once back in NY, I finally had to face the death of my Mother. This was such a tough time in my life. I still can't believe she's gone. Over the next few years I had tried many many weight loss plans with my sister, although with financial difficulties I could never keep up with them. I finally got to 291 & told my Dr. I needed to try something else. That is when I first talked about wls. He suggested I try something for depression first. I went on lexapro from Aug 2004 - Feb 2005. It seemed to help, but I was very forgetfull & didn't like that, so I got off them. I also felt there was a light at the end of the tunnel as I had decided wls was my answer. In January 2005 I began my process with Dr. Howard Simon in Syracuse & thank God every day that I did. My surgery was August 15th & has been a success. My sister also had the surgery just before me (June 28th)... We started a support group in our area & all is going great. For most of September I got sick alot but that was entirely my own fault. Not chewing good enough & not waiting between bites. Guess have 3 babies under the age of 1 causes you to get into the habit of shoveling food when you have the chance. Since then, I've learned to sllloooooowwwww down. I think all of us have similar histories that brought us to this point in our lives. It's such a journey. At least we all know that now we can turn to each other because we're all going through this together. My current stats 291 January--beginning of wls journey 284 morning of surgery 08/15/05 225 today --- 59 lbs since surgery -- 64 total Thanks for sharing Tammy

Thanks so much for sharing your story Tammy. You have really met a lot of challenges head on! I wish you continued success in your weight loss and pursuit of a healthier life. Thanks again... hugs Kim

Thank you for sharing your story with us! Isn't it amazing that even though not all stoies are the "same" per say, the are all so similar in nature to why we choose to have this surgery. I was worried about getting approved by my phsychatrist since I had had a peretty bad mental breakdown when my son went to prison two years ago and wound up in the coo-coo farm for a couple of weeks. But faithfully went to my phsy apts and took my meds for depression/bipolar. I was on SO many meds getting out of the hosptial though that for three months, It was like I was in a fog so I weaned back to the bare minimum much to my Dr's suprise. I promised her if I saw red flags, I'd be right back into her office to get my meds adjusted...... haven't had to so far for a whole year My Psych actually had the surgery herself, and it was through her mentioning it that got me started on my path of research. She was SO supportive of me for "taking charge and care of ME" instead of everyone else in mylife. Her psych eval gave me flynig colors to have the surgery. Other than the first few weeks of "post surgery blues" I'm doing just fine... depressed in a "normal" way that I WANT to BUY cute clothes and just can't afford it.... but anyone else would feel the same way too lol. I can tolorate most foods in a moderate amount. Though I stay away from chicken which NEVER goes down smoothly. And that 1/2 piece of pepperoni pizza I at at my grandsons bday party let me know "Too greesy for the tummy" real quick lol. I'm starting to exersize and that's making me feel much better. Though I fall WAY short of getting all my water in. I'm doing great with my vits and protiene shakes though. Now.... saggy skin and a developing skin rash on my inner thighs is the height of my problem at the moment arg!