~Attention Post Ops~Info for the newbies~

Hi friends, Wanted to put a post up where the newbies could come in and read about all of us as well-so they can kind of see where we are in our journey and about us... There are so many new people on right now, that thought it would be nice for info to be in one place and they can read about us all at once? What do you think? Okay-so all of us that are vets on this board, post a little about yourself so our newbies can meet us~~ Love to all, Janet

Hi newbies~ My name is Janet, I am 39...I am married to Mike, just celebrated our 8th anniversary on the 20th. I have been with him for 10 years though. I have 2 daughters from my first marriage, they are Megan (will be 21 in May) and Stephanie who just turned 16. I have a stepson, Darrel who is going to be 13 in April and then Jon who turned 4 the end of Jan. All the kids live with us with the exception of Megan who lives on her own with her fiance (getting married in July) and she is a college student. I have been on my journey since Sept 2005-and had my surgery on November 29th 2006 in Columbia with Dr. Fearing from MO Bariatrics. I lost 44# before surgery (Lap RNY) and have lost 75# since. Total lost since Aug of 2006 is 119#..My life has changed so much, I cant even describe it. I am now doing things that I NEVER thought I would do or be able to do again...its the best feeling in the world. I have energy, I can stand for a long period of time, I can run and play with my kids and I just enjoy waking up every day and enjoying the life I have been given. I feel like I was given a second chance at a life-one I have never experienced before. This is the best time of my life and I am loving it....I went on disability in April 2006 and I want to get back to the medical field doing what I love to do....I hope to accomplish that by the fall of 2008. Its one of my major goals. Glad to meet you and hope that you will stick around so we can get to know you. Love, Janet

Hello everyone, My name is Jan and I am 66 i had surgery last year on August 14,2006, one of the best days of my life. Dr. Hornbostel in Sedalia did my Lap RNY and i have been feeling better every day since. Im a retired nurse and now i put all my energy and healing touch into raising flowers. We own some land down close to Bull Shoals lake and almost all of it is taken up with pathways and flowers. I am married to one of the greatest guys in the world, Joe. We have been married for 19 years will be 20 this coming december. I have 3 kids , 6 grandkids and now 3 great grandkids. wow. lots of pieces of me still being spread around. lol I have lost 77 pounds since surgery and gone from size 22/24 to mostly 10s and some 12s. I have about 25 more pounds to go to goal and all of my labs so far have been great. I still struggle daily to get in enough protein and enough water but that is my job, Sometimes i dont want to do it but that is beside the point , I have to so i do. Hope this answers anyones question if you are too old to have surgery. I say a loud NO if it will improve your life it isnt too late. I was to the point that i couldnt walk, or barely move to do anything until i had this surgery. I had high blood pressure and i havent taken any of that meds since surgery. I still have the arthritis and always will but it doesnt hurt to move now and the knees , well you cant repair what too much weight did to them other than surgery so that will be something i have to do soon but hanging in there for the time being with shots in the knees. Hope this helps someone good to know you all and see you on the board. Jan

Janet, what a good idea. Reading all the profiles is time-consuming and I admit I don't keep mine up to date very well. I am Lana, I'm 62 years old (don't tell anyone, OK?), married for 10 years to John who is my stable sensible rock-solid wonderful honey-love. I have a daughter, Stacy, who is 40 and a grandson, Adam, who is 12. They recently moved from Michigan to North Missouri where I'm originally from so I am in heaven only being 4 hours from them. I had Lap RYN on 12/26/06 after a six month physician supervised diet and exercise program. I lost 26 pounds before surgery and have lost 40 pounds since for a total of 66 pounds. I've gotten completely off diabetes medicine, hypertension medicine and cholesterol medicine and my labs are all normal. That's the best result of the surgery as far as I'm concerned. I've also gone from a 22 jeans to a 12-14 and that's not too bad either. Thank God for spandex. I work at Missouri State in the Dept of Health and Physical Education as administrative secretary to the Department Head. I have the best boss in the whole world and also the best co-worker. My surgery was paid by my medical insurance and it was really not hard to get approved once I did the requirements they requested. Dr. Edwards at St. John's in Springfield did my surgery and he's a wonderful surgeon. I attend Circle of Friends support group and recommend it to anyone who can get to the fire station on Battlefield on the fourth Monday at 6:30. We laugh and learn every meeting and the support is absolutely vital to success. This board is wonderful but the face to face meetings are irreplaceable. Welcome all of you to the board. Please come often, ask lots and don't be afraid. We learn from each other, this is still a new field and there is much that no one but another gastric patient can tell you. Hugs and love, Lana

Hi Everyone: My name is Barbara and I am 57. I had my RNY on April 22, 2003 in Sedalia with Dr. Hornbostel. I was forced to retire after 18 years of being an Account Manager for a Public Water supply District. I live on a 40 acre farm (rent an additional 140 acres) where we raise 60 head of cattle. I have been married to my best friend as of April 21 for 40 years. We have one son and 4 grandkids. Two girls and two boys, 15,14,13 and 6 years old. I have lost a total of 130 lbs. Went from size 26 to an 8. It has been the best thing I have ever done. I did have complications at 2 years out. I had what they call a Johnsons hernia. It is an internal hernia of your small intestine. More of that on my journal if you are interested. I am pleased to introduce myself and would be more than willing to answer any and all questions. Please don't be afraid to ask.

Hello my name is Melissa or Mel as everyone calls me. I had Lap Sleeve on April 24th of 2006 with Dr. Scott in Columbia. When I started my journey in Sept 2005 I weighted in at 498lbs and had a BMI of 85.5. I was home bound on oxygen 24/7 (4 units), Had C.O.P.D., Sleep apena, slept in a hospital bed, and took 4 diabetic pills and 2 shot a day. Since then I have gotten rid of the hospital bed, I now sleep in my DH's arms at night. I dont have sleep apena, I am totally off all diabetic medications. The only thing I take on a daily basis is my Lipitor and vitimins. I am 37 will be 38 next month. Married 8 years to my soul mate!!!! Trying to have a family of our own. I weighed on Wed of last week and I am down to 270 and my BMI is 46.3. Still have a ways to go but I am totaly happy with who I am right now. I have lost a total of 228lbs. That is gone FOREVER and I will NEVER let RETURN!!!! I feel more alive then I have in years, sexy, attractive, energetic. I love shopping now cause I can fit things at Wal Mart and it isnt the biggest size there. I use to wear 34/36W bottoms 5X tops. Now I can fit into 24W Jeans 1x cotton bottoms, 22/24W tops. I am 20lb to my goal and will be a year out in April. So glad to see so many newbie on the board. As you can see we all come from different walks of life. But try to be here for one another. Please keep posting and let us know how your doing. And feel free to any questions. God Bless Mel

Hi everyone, I have been a member of this board for quite sometime during my long battle to make this surgery happen for myself. Currently I am 5 weeks 4 days post-op and have lost 44lbs.(02/04/07) I have been blessed with 3 children(+1 furry one) - Dante-16(boy),Dacian-13(boy)and Nyeama-12(girl) and one little beagle/heeler mix -Damien.(boy) He has one blue eye and one brown-he's a site. I also have been blessed with the best life partner I could ever find. We've been together for 3 & 1/2 years. The supprort from my family has made my journey so much better. I had my surgery in Tulsa Ok. with Dr.Luis Gorospe. He is an excellent doctor with over 30years of bariatric experience. He has performed several thousand WLS's and is really caring of our special needs. I have had insurance exclusion issues which brought me to support Missour Senate bill 97. In fact,I spoke in front of the Missouri Senate last year to try to help the bill get passed. It was defeated but has been proposed again so write your senators!! The post-op part of my journey has been an adjustment. Like Jan said, it is a struggle to get in the water and protien you need.You just have to keep trying and dont feel defeated . If anyone has any questions please feel free to contact me. I would love to help anyone I possibly can. God bless you all, Dannielle

Hi newbies, My name is Brenda. I had WLS 18 months ago. I have lost 150 lbs. Been this weight now for 3 months. So for those of you who wonder "what happens , do I keep losing weight?" the body knows & you will stop losing. I'm happy with this wt. I started at 305 . I have followed everything that Dr Scott has told me to do. I take my vit. eat my protein, drink my H2O, and yes I exercize. but not as much as I should, it seems that slowed down as I got closer to this wt. I have had 0 problems. I feel like I am a poster child & I thank GOD for this WLS. I am having a mini face lift in 2 weeks. It's called a lifelift. and it's done without being put to sleep. I don't want to be put under if I can help it. the doc will wse a local (like a dentist) and I will be awake but not feel a thing. they will give me a pill to calm me but thats better than being put to sleep. God bless you on your journey. He's a mighty God & He loves you.