REUNION THREAD
Hi Debbie
Good to hear from you. I must be confused. I thought you always lived in Slidell. I can relate to the desire to downsize. My hubby says he wants that too but can never get rid of anything. I think we need a smaller house and a huge storage unit.
You have definitely been on a roller coaster ride. I understand the devastation a cancer diagnosis can bring. The fear and the uncertainty. My sister had an advanced stage rare breast cancer about 3 years ago. She survived but is still dealing with some of the side effects of the chemo. Having family steal money from family is something I can only imagine. Anger and disappointment come to mind. I wish you and George the best and also your mother. I remember my dad dealing with dementia and you are right, the long term memory stays intact while the short term disappears. You can see the decades leave the memory. By the time my father died he was living back in the 40's. It's harder on the caregivers.
Best of luck to you
Thanks Linda
I remember your sister fighting cancer. Hope those bad side effects leave her soon. George still has limited energy and lots of stomach trouble. After being the patient many, many times during our marriage, I can truly say it's easier being the patient. Not that George is a bad patient, it's the worry and picking up the slack that you do as caregiver that totally wears you down.
Debbie,
I don't know how I missed your post. I am so happy that the primary care physician found the cancer before it spread. I hate that it was there but thank the powers that be for a good doctor who diagnosed it and got him treatment.
I say this all the time about WLS, the good thing about the tool is it's there and it still works...we all know what we are doing to gain the weight and it usually involves tricking the pouch...one lady a few years ago wrote that I cannot eat sweets unless I eat a few bites here and there and over time, she tricked her pouch enough with those few bites here and there and that tricking cost her a huge regain. I am the same way...I can eat my weight in crackers and they seem harmless but if I am not careful, I can eat a package of them and that is a lot of calories. LOL...so I try to avoid any food that won't make me feel full...and I still use the little plate and little spoon. I know it's silly but with that little plate, I don't get too much food. You would think by now I would have trained myself to eat only a tablespoon of this or that but nope, I need the little plate. Crutches that's what I need.
I am so glad you are back and hope you continue to post. We so need our ladies with experience with WLS and weight gain...we are a village, aren't we?
Good Morning Everyone!
I hope that everyone that is able will check in here today. I love to hear the stories of how you are, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I hope that we will have some back and forth chatter too.
I am post RNY by almost 8 years. After surgery I lost 125 pounds but did not reach goal. I was never very disciplined about it, and that lack of effort showed. Even so, 125 pounds is a whole person,so my life was drastically better. In the years that followed I regained about thirty pounds. One thing that I am proud and happy about right now is that since we started using this board as a positive source of motivation and sisterhood, I have lost almost 15 of the regained pounds. And I feel energized but not at all deprived. For the first time in many years I have hope that I can get lower than my post surgical low.
As far as my life goes, I retired from speech therapy two years ago. I was scared that I would lose my identity and not have enough money. Both were not true. Life is not perfect, but I have so much to be thankful about. Our house has been paid off for a few years and the house across the street came up for sale a year ago so we bought it with my daughter to have her across the street and in a nicer neighborhood and house. She along with a roommate handle the payment and living expenses and we do the maintenance and bigger stuff as things come up. We take the tax write off because we have the higher income. And Laura has a pool so I have already been swimming this year. She is my only child and we are very close. I am not sure if I will ever have a grandchild though. I have to let her handle that part. I do know that I would be a great Grandma!
I have been very active since retirement with art type classes, card making, jewelry, etc. I also do some volunteer tutoring each week at my home. I have a greenhouse and a garden and I make sweet little fairy gardens for friends.
Last year I did have an RNY complication that put me into the hospital for a week. I had a bowel obstruction that was caused by scar tissue from the RNY. That was a long two weeks as I spent a week throwing up every thing I ate or drank and a week having the doctors flail about trying different things to fix it. Finally they got a weight loss surgeon who did surgery in the middle of the night to fix the problem. If this happens to you get a weight loss surgeon as soon as possible. I trusted that the doctors could handle me but I think that the whole experience was very dangerous and not handled well until the end. After a number of weeks of recovery I felt so good.
That's my story so far. What is yours?
Julia
Hey Julia
I know you are enjoying your retirement. I am not a crafty person. I enjoy crafts but never know what to do with it all. I used to do ceramics and I know people got to where they were afraid to open gifts from me. One can only use so many salt and pepper shakers or celery dishes.
Congrats on your weight loss. Mine is going much slower than yours. Kudos !!!
Hello? Now I have to be approved by a moderator. Will it never end?
Almost everyone is on Facebook which seems to take over my life.
A 34 pound regain. Retirement (actually a layoff but great severance), judge Judy three times a day and Law and Order marathons, I've taken a part time job. Starbucks daily. Joe passed a year ago
