Linda_S

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Hmmm - I have a quilting blog that is related to my quilting business and I have my profile here on OH, but I haven't ever given much thought to this blog.  I know that a lot of you don't read the posts here.  Life is very busy, and if we read everything on the internet, we'd never get off the computer!  I can't promise that I'll post here all that often, but when I see a good post that I'd like to call to your attention, or if I hear of a good product or a particularly nice weight loss tip, I'll probably post it here for you to read.  I don't know if the site will send you a message letting you know there's a post here, so I could just be talking to myself , so what else is new? 

Here's a great post I saw today about remember the tool is still there, even if we're doig our best to defeat it:

www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/3895539/It-Still-Works/

Linda

Hmm - it seems it's been a really long time since I've written anything here.  Not much to report.  I've been in the stall from hell for a long time (about two and a half months total) but the scale has finally started to budge again.  I'm down nearly 80 pounds.  I have had faith that this is going to work out and I haven't been freaking out about the stall, but I have to admit that some times it is depressing,  I have been doing my best to follow my doctor's orders.  I'm very good about my supplements and my water.  I occasionally allow a few too many carbs to creep into my diet, but by and large they are unrefined carbs.  I try to get all my protein from food, but occasionally have a protein drink.  I exercise a lot.  I walk about 5 miles a day.  I work out with light weights, and exercise ball (physical therapy for my bad back), and of course, I push that quilting machine around a lot.

I've been very busy quilting,  I got a raise at work, I bought a new car, life is good.  I'd still like to lose another 30-40 pounds, but I'd have to say if I never lost another pound, life would still be great.

I'm off to a major quilt show in a week.  I have the house and cat sitter all lined up, now if the yard service would only call me back, I'd get the lawn taken care of too. 

Well, I pasted my weight tracker in here and it covered up my add post button, so I haven't been able to add a post for a while.  Life is good, the weight is coming off (although I am in a bit of a stall recently), and I feel healthier and happier than I have in years.  All I need is to get my back fixed (I have a seriously squished disc which needs trimming) and then I should be feeling great.  I'm looking forward to the holidays with my family and will be going on the OH Celebration Cruise in January.  I can hardly wait for that.  It will be so fun, and it will be nice to get out of the cold and damp for a romp in the Bahamas for a few days.

I always used to laugh about the Hobbits' meal schedule -- first breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, supper, dinner, etc.  Now I seem to have become a hobbit, but cakes and ale are not on my diet.  I still can only eat about a 1/2 cup at a time, although if it's soup, I can eat about a cup.  So I have to eat often.  Sometimes I worry a bit that I might be grazing, but I do have periods between meals where I'm doing nothing but sipping water!  LOL  Ah, the life of a weight loss surgery patient. 

I am having trouble with my back again.  I did make good on that promise to try running and the results were not good.  I guess I injured my spine badly enough when I fell in May to have things be a bit precarious in my back.  The day after I ran, I could not pick up my left leg to put my pants on, or to drive my car (I have a standard transmission), so I went to see the neurosurgeon.  I had been told by a neurologist that, if the spinal injections I received didn't work, I could go in and have a piece of disc shaved off and the pressure on my nerve path would go away.  Well, when I talked to the neurosurgeon, she wanted to put rods and pins in my back.  She said I have scoliosis, degenerative disc disease, arthritis, and the sciatica.  Now, at 53 years old, I know I'm no spring chicken, but I'm not exactly a geezer either.  So yesterday I went to physical therapy.  Oh my!  I have a very HOT physical therapist, but I do believe he's married.  Not that it would matter, because he's working on a fat old lady, but it does put a spring in a girl's step.  Actually, it is a bit embarrassing to have a good looking man working on your body.  I just kind of stare at the wall and try to pretend he isn't there while he's torturing me.  I'll continue on with this as long as I can stand it and pray that I avoid the pins and rods in my back.  I'm too young for that stuff.  The pain is manageable now.  Last week it threatened to send me into the upper stratosphere, but I think I'm gonna live now!

I am so thankful for a skilled surgeon and for this wonderful surgery.  I am now down a total of 46 pounds, just 7.5 weeks after surgery.  From a size 20 to a size 14.  I can walk distances again.  Actually, I'm starting to think about running! I really do feel that well.  I have a lot more energy than I've had in years.  Every now and then I get really tired, but my surgeon says it's because I don't eat enough.  HAH!  Did any of us ever think we would hear a doctor say that?  I can tell you, I never thought I'd see the day.  Buying new clothes, flirting, dating, having fun -- life is wonderful.  I am such a happy woman!

Linda

I made it to the loser's bench!  I cannot believe how wonderful I feel.  A bit tired, but just wonderful.  Have you ever noticed, after surgery, that you feel so much more alive?  I've had a few big surgeries before (hysterectomy being the biggest), and I'm not sure if it's just that you have time to stop and smell the roses, or if it's that you're so glad you made it through alive that brings on this feeling.  I've been going out for walks and it seems the world is so alive.  I notice all the different flowers in my neighbors' yards, I notice the flight of a bird as it passes me and I am so awed by it, I love the feel of the wind on my face, and the moon -- my God, the MOON!  The moon has been full the past few days and I purposefully go out for a bit of a walk when it gets dark, just so I can look at that lovely moon. 

I guess I should feel lucky to be alive.  While I had a terrific surgeon, and I do believe OHSU is a great place, I had such a comedy of errors occur during my hospital stay that I could not wait to get out of there!  At times, I did think they were trying to kill me.  Below is an account of all my mishaps:

One of the things they make very clear to you before surgery is that you must wear these leggings that pump air around your legs to prevent blood clots. I had them on going into surgery, and they were on when I woke up, except that the machine that powered the air was no longer there. I got to my room at about 1:30, and it took until after 5:00 for them to finally bring me a machine.  In the meanwhile, in my drug-induced haze, I was certain I was going to die from a blood clot. :-o Then, I told the nurse that there was something wrong with my bed. It seemed to be breathing and it was really making my back hurt. All I got was, "well, yes, hospital beds can be uncomfortable." Some of you know that I blew a couple of discs out in my back shortly before Memorial Day and am only just recovering from an injection into my spine to relieve the pain. Surgery was Tuesday morning and, by Wednesday morning, I was in the chair in my room and absolutely refused to get back into the bed. Thank goodness, my CNA (Lupita, bless her!) checked the bed out and found that it was indeed breathing -- it was an ICU bed for comatose patients to keep them from getting bed sores. They are known to be extremely uncomfortable for people who are conscious! So, Wednesday morning, they start me on liquids. I had chicken broth, grape juice, and sugar free jello. A short time later I began to get one of the worst
headaches of my life. My eyes just burned. I thought maybe it was just too much pain medication or maybe the fact that my back was killing me. Lunch came - same stuff. I ate a little more. Someone on my roommate's side of the curtain backed into my table and I was soon wearing my lunch. They brought me a washcloth, towels, and a clean gown, and of course, the gown had no ties!! Are you all expecting the keystone cops to come running in? I certainly did. Anyway, that cut lunch short and my headache continued to get worse.  My neighbor's visitors included her daughter-in-law who brought her screaming toddler with her. Folks - please do not bring screaming children to a hospital!! I was so tired, had such a headache, and a backache, and I thought I would go right round the bend! Dinner arrived and this time we had beef broth, apple juice, and jello.  After a bit of that, my head began to explode, my throat got sore, and when I went into the bathroom I noticed that I was breaking out in hives. I called the nurse and asked her to check if the broth contained soy protein. She brought the box back. Yep, there it was. The same stuff that was listed next to Morphine, Demerol, and Versed on that bright band around my wrist!! I needed two huge syringes of IV benadryl to calm all that down. I crawled into my new bed and managed to sleep a little. In the morning, I got skim milk (thank goodness I could read the carton), tea, and some custard. I had to have them confirm with the kitchen that there was no soy in the custard. Once it was determined I could keep that stuff down, I was
released to go home. Thank God! I really think the nurses were trying to kill me!

So, surgery went great and I survived a couple of attempts on my life. Since I've been home, everything is great. I'm just very sleepy and full!

As I said above -- I really do believe that OHSU is a great place.  My surgeon visited me three times and I was only there for two and a half days.  His assistant, a doctor who helped with the surgery, also came by at least three times.  Then there were the medical students.  They visited often and they were very attentive to everything I had to say.  They weren't in much of a position to help me, but did get the nurse for me a few times.  I had absolutely no complications from the surgery.  I would recommend the place to anyone.

I am so very excited.  Only two more sleeps, then I'll take a little nap and wake up with a little pouch to put only good food in.  I think I am so prepared for this.  I have read three books on weight loss surgery, I've read as much as I can on the internet, and I even lived with a RNY bypass patient for a while (great experience surgery-wise, but otherwise, it sucked).  I've got my vitamins and calcium, my protein powders, some organic soups, Koolaid and Splenda (turns out Crystal Light gives me migraines), my tiny containers to put everything in, Gas-X strips, stool softener, MOM, some gauze and paper tape, etc.  I have my bag packed for the hospital.  Chapstick, slippers, clean undies, tooth brush, etc.  I will also have my sister bring my Ipod, my computer, and my cell phone to me.  I realize they are not really safe in the hospital, but I want to block out the hospital noises at night so I can get some sleep.  Also am making a big email list tonight so I can let everyone know in one fell swoop that I am doing just fine.  I'll also drag that dang CPAP machine with me.  I'm still fighting with it.  If I want a decent night's sleep, I can't really use it, but I have been trying to the best of my ability because my surgeon wants me to use it.  Ooops!  I have to go clean it and soak the hose.  See y'all on the loser's bench!

Linda

I am so excited.  I think I have everything ready, and I still have two weeks to go.  I have my hospital bag half packed, I've got lots of things all set up.  Lots of boxes of sf jello and sf/ff jello pudding, protein powders, vitamins, calcium, stool softeners, milk of magnesia, personal care products, etc.  I am so excited about this.  My raging appetite is making it difficult to lose more weight pre-op, but I'm managing.  I WILL have more weight off so the surgery can go as smoothly as possible.  I am managing to also sneak a treat in here and there, but I make sure I do some additional exercise to compensate for the bad calories, plus I include the item in my calorie count for the day so I don't go over.  I am going to be as successful at this as possible.  I will not fail!!

Linda

Ah, what a mixture of emotions are running through me at this time.  I almost feel as though it's going to be Christmas in July, and I get health for a present!  What a gift.  I am so looking forward to not having an appetite -- at least for a while.  I've been working hard at losing as much as I can pre-op and it is really hard.  I do so well all day, only to find that I am ragingly hungry (or at least I THINK I am) at night.  I find if I floss and brush at about 8:00, I won't eat anything after that, but it is a struggle.

On the personal front, I posted that I threw my live-in boyfriend out of the house and changed the locks.  His stuff is still not out of my yard and his mail keeps arriving in my mailbox, so he is not totally out of my life yet.  Then, yesterday, I decided to clean up my old computer that he was using so that I could give it to my sister.  O-M-G!!!  You cannot imagine the smut and filth that I found there. I am just appalled that someone that I once thought I loved could be such a disgusting pig.  I was just sickened by what I saw -- and I saw very little as I hastened to delete it as fast as I could.

I have found someone new and we are taking things very slowly.  I am very happy about that.  I won't make the mistake of not knowing someone well before I let him into my life again.  What a way to learn a lesson!

So - it's on to a new life of love, health, and happiness.  What a burden I will be leaving behind at the end of the month!

Linda

Well, things certainly have changed since I first started coming to this site.  I have a date for surgery -- not till July 24th, but I'm looking at it as I have a super surgeon who will take good care of me and he is worth waiting for.  I have some good friends who will take me up to Portland and stay with me.  My family will also be there. 

I met a man here on OH who I thought was the man of my dreams.  He came to visit me in March and was absolutely wonderful.  We planned for the future, he promised to take care of me, and I was oh so happy.  Well, he moved in with me in April and things went south rapidly.  His ugly temper surfaced and I soon found that while I was at work he was visiting strip clubs and other houses of ill repute.  As if this were not bad enough, he lied to me about it.  I can tolerate a lot of things, but I cannot tolerate lying.  The other stuff made me physically sick.  SO, the relationship is over.  I'm happy to say I'm not heartbroken.  I guess I went into it with my eyes open far enough to realize it wouldn't be heaven every day.

So, onward I go.  I've begun exercising (including push-ups, which I can actually do!) and I'm determined to be the healthiest, sexiest woman I can be.  My life will begin again.