Sunday, July 25, 2010

New Pics

Allen (my brother, for those who don't know) asked me to take some new pictures. I havn't taken any for a few weeks because the changes are much more subtle at this point. I have been losing a lot in my upper thighs and upper arms, but not as much from my stomach. Last night I went to my mother in law's house with Aaron to use the hot tub. I actually LOVED how I looked in a bathing suit. Sure, I have saggy skin on my upper thighs, arms and my stomach, but I look so much more healthy. That was a great feeling...

Anyway, here are the newest pics. Thanks for asking, Allen!




Thursday, July 22, 2010

Feeling Better

I am feeling much better lately. I do not take any blood pressure meds anymore, I think that was probably part of the problem with the dizziness. I still have dizzy spells every once in a while, but it is no more than one a day. And my blood pressure has stayed normal, which is FABULOUS. I also have not been using my C-PAP machine anymore (for sleep apnea.) I probably need to do a sleep study to be sure, but Aaron says I have not been snoring and waking him up, nor have I been waking up multiple times through the night.

I go back to work on Monday and will be giving my two week notice. I am going to start watching my God son's at their house. I will be making more money and it will be salary so we will know what I will get every month. It is a great opportunity financially, plus I will get to see my god sons every day! haha The only down side is I will have to drive 45 minutes each way as opposed to my current 15 minute drive. But, overall it is worth it. Plus, in the future when we do have a baby I will be able to take my baby with me to work everyday at no cost. That is just about the best alternative to being a stay-at-home mom that I Can think of!

I am now weighing 242.0lb, which is 74lb overall. Hopefully I will be out of the 240s soon!! I am finally able to get in some exercise since I am not having all the dizzy spells, so I am hoping the weight loss will pick up along with the exercise. I had to go shopping to get some new clothes for work (they changed the dress code while I was out, so I had no tops!)It was so cool to be able to shop in the regular ladies section and purchase XXL and have it fit. I mean, it is still an extra EXTRA large, but it is in regular clothing sizes. So, YAY!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

sorry I havn't updated.... I have been struggling with some depression issues.


Like I have said before, I have been struggling with dehydration. The dizziness was becoming so hard to deal with and I just got so down. I went to the Dr on Monday because I couldn't take it anymore. She didn't think the dizziness had anything to do with the surgery or dehydration... she said I have vertigo. It is possible I was also suffering from Protein deficiency, because I have many of the symptoms (one of which is change in mood/depression). All my blood work to check for dehydration came back clean (I was on the low end of everything but still in normal ranges.) She gave me some pills that are supposed to help... just basically motion sickness pills. I havn't taken one yet.

Since then I have been focusing on making sure I get more protein than needed and keep drinking my water. Today I have only had a couple small dizzy spells, so that is great. Hopefully it continues to get better because I was really really down. that wasn't the only thing adding to my depression feelings, though... I have been feeling really lonely. I have had ONE friend come to see me and only one other even call to see how I am doing. (see now I start to cry...) It just makes me feel like my friends don't care... Of course, at church people come to me and ask how I Am feeling, but that is not the same as going out of their way to check on me, make sure I am doing ok and seeing if Aaron and I need help with anything. Maybe it shouldn't be a big deal, but honestly my feelings are hurt. Anyway... moving on...

I also talked with my Dr about my blood pressure because I was still having really low dips at times. I am supposed to just keep checking my blood pressure and not take my pill if it is ob the low end of normal. Aaron and I are hoping I will be able to just wean off them in the next week or so. I am only taking two now (I was taking 6) and my BP is staying within normal ranges w/o the pills. Two less pills to take is such a great thing! My Dr said my body is likely still getting used to being at such a lower weight, so I will have times my BP drops too low and times when I blood sugar gets too low as well, so I will have to be patient with it.

I am eating really well now. I am loving my eggs (egg salad, hard boiled, omelets, etc), made some tuna salad as well that is yummy. I give myself a spoonful of peanut butter every now and then to add some extra protein. That's really yummy! I made some chicken in the crock pot (with cream of chicken soup) and that was really yummy. I made some mashed pots and peas to go along with it, mostly for Aaron, but I had a couple bits as well. It felt like a REAL meal! haha


I didn't take a picture this week... I just didn't feel like it. But, I am weighing in at 246lb which is 70lb lost.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

This past weekend I traveled down south to visit my family so I didn't have a chance to do my Monday update...

I am still struggling daily with dehydration. I am getting as much water in as I can, but I still can't seem to catch up. I think part of the problem is I have been having only wet/runny BMs since surgery. I don't know if that is because I am on a "full liquid" diet or if there is something else to it. I just try to rest up as much as I can and keep drinking fluid.

I have my two week follow up with the surgeon last Friday that went well. He checked out my belly button. I had been told last Monday (by the on-call bariatric nurse) to close it back up with steri strips, then when it started draining a different on-call nurse said to take off the strips, pack it with gauze and change the dressing 3 times a day, and then when he saw it he said I didn't need to pack it at all... just cover it with a gauze pad or band aide when I am wearing clothes I don't want to get drainage fluid on. Otherwise I have been keeping it uncovered and clean. It seems to be getting better, so that is really good.

My Surgeon was not happy the on-call nurse had told me to stop taking my blood pressure meds (my blood pressure was really low last week due to dehydration and probably also the rapid weight loss making my dose too high) because the particular blood pressure med I am on can cause rebound hypertension and possible serious cardiac episodes if stopped abruptly. So, he put me on half the dose I was on and said to follow my blood pressure and meds with my PCP from here on. My blood pressure has been normal.

I wasn't able to move on to the next stage diet on Friday like I was supposed to since I hadn't eaten for three days. I was trying to get in as much water as I could, so I focused on water and protein drinks only. I do not feel hungry so it didn't really bother me not to eat. Don't get me wrong, I do have cravings for solid food, but I don't actually feel hunger. I continued with the "full liquid" diet through the long weekend and yesterday had my first "real" meal of 1 egg, 1/2 slice 2% fat cheddar cheese, and 1 deli thin slice of chicken meat (1/6th of a serving) with a dash of salt and pepper. I was able to eat about half of that, the dogs were blessed with the rest- hehehe!

I organized my closet yesterday. I made a HUGE pile of more clothes to take to the Salvation Army and organized what I have that fits me (or will fit me). I put on some size 20 pants I figured would be tight on me, but they fit PERFECTLY I am wearing those same pants in my my weekly picture. I am almost 65 pounds down, weigh 251.2 lb. and am wearing a size 20/22 (from a size 26+). Even though I do not have make-up on and my hair isn't really done in these pics, they are my FAVORITE... This is the first pic where you can actually see my shirt come IN where my big tummy used to be! My big pouch on top is now smaller than the bottom one- YAY! I hate that top pouch SOOOOOO much!









PS- If anyone has size 20, 18 or 16 clothes they are no longer in need of I am MORE than willing to take them off your hands