Glad to hear you are home. Each day is a little bit better!

Thursday was 4 months post-op for me . . . no new weight loss this week, but I suppose I had been going along pretty well since my 3-week stall early on, so I am trying not to get discouraged. I admit that I have trouble with that, though, as I like to see the scale going down.

I did realize on Thursday that I am starting to get my life back . . . First, my husband asked me to get something at Wal*Mart and I realized there were a lot of little things throughout the store that were on my list to pick up. I went through the entire store without having to sit, without breaking out in sweat, and without having trouble breathing. I called DH when I was done and said I wasn't sure I should try the groceries -- all I really wanted was raspberries (they are what I crave more than anything and they go down easy for me). He was upset because he wouldn't have sent me to Wal*Mart if he thought I wouldn't get my raspberries, so I went to the grocery store and checked the list I keep on my smartphone and actually got everything on my list there as well. I came home and I didn't feel as wiped out as I have in the past. Then in the afternoon I took the kids to the park and walked across the footbridge a couple of times and stood for a very long time, things  I haven't really done in a while. I realized later on that while my legs were a little stiff, they weren't painful and my knee hadn't popped once. I actually took both boys to the park twice this week, and the little one to the playground without the assistance of my 12-year-old. I feel like I am doing the mommy thing the right way again :)

I go in Monday for a check-up with my GP and I need to do blood work again to check my iron and B-12. I have gotten around some of the constipation issue by reducing calcium to 1500 while increasing iron to 36 mg. I also discovered the benefit of lettuce as that seems to go right through with little digestion. I prefer that to be plugged up!

Congrats on the baby clearance and I hope you get pregnant quickly. It took us forever to have my now 12-year-old, so I know how that goes.

Hi Terry,

My husband is the state employee, but I am the one who had the surgery. There is NOT a 6-month weight with the state's Anthem's plan, and it is covered 100% . . . the wait is really going through the process with the surgery program. It took me 7 months to get my surgery from when I started the process. They hope it will take 6 so you have time to get to support groups and such. I also delayed myself a little bit because I started my appointments in July, but instead of returning to the dietician in August, I put it off until September because I have kids and wasn't sure how to manage the appointments. I saw Dr. Wolff in October and my surgery was set for 12 weeks later -- probably in part because of the holidays in the middle. I was told the wait would be 6-8 weeks, so I was pretty bummed when I was told 12 . . . but it was probably easier to do it after the holidays anyway.

Bec

I had an ok time. I started getting migraines awfully thursday evening, I think a combination of the ned/pillow and lighting in my room. I had a teeny little room, no window light just fluorescents. If I hadnt had headaches I wouldnt have felt half as bad. Stomach pain is minimal, you really dont feel the incisions. Its more of a general tugging feeling. I have had a nap here at home and woke up again with a headache, liquid tylenol helped. My only bad experience was yesterday, I am apparently very sensitive to pain meds, and they gave me a iv injection that dropped me, sudden rush of discomfort, headache, red rash, just crappy feeling. They stopped that med and gave me another, and things worked out by late night last night. Dr Toder came in friday morning and started talking to me, I was like "who are you?" I didnt have my glasses on. she took it well "Im your surgeon" i think she must have thought I was completely out to lunch. she is very nice, but very quick, too. Even so, she makes me feel like she really cares. I like that.
I am just now eating my first "meal" at home, cream of chicken. I had diet instant breakfast this morning. I am praying not to dump yet, I am just starting to feel human again.
I will also add that I was humbled and touched by my roommate. She was in because shed just had surgery on her legs, she has cancer and it is in her bones. Her leg snapped badly because of the cancer, so they out rods in both her legs. The entire time I was there, through her own obvious pain, and in surgeries she didnt choose, she cheered me on and made me laugh. she got me a healing rock shaped like a heart, prayed for me when they could get IVs in me and mine infiltrated. And I could get up and walk around, while she couldnt. I felt honored to be there with her. sounds kinda silly, but it was her that kept me going a few times. That is courage, to keep fighting the pain when you are terminally ill and you could so easily give up. we are blessed to have this surgery, the option to change our lives for the better. I hope I can use my opportunity here to do good things.