Penny S.

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WOW!  I can't believe its been 7 darn months.  Man does time fly.  I just saw the surgeon for my 6 month check up.  Things were good.  I did have to up my B-12 from once a week to 3x a week.  She said to take them on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and also to add a B Complex to my vitamin ritual.  She suggested a B-50 or B-100 and I chose the B-100 for added support.  I still need to take the pepsid that was perscribe to me at the time of the surgery due to my stomach not feeling so good for the whole day if I don't.  She feels that it is because I am still very heavy and things are getting squished still.  Hmmm... go figure...  I have to have a bone density test done now too but I don't go back and see her until July now. 
She said that my progress is slow now and that I needed to up my exercise.  She still wants me to lose 100 more pounds.  I am currently at 275.  Down 155 pounds and have a BMI of 43 (extreemly obese).  I will continue to work on my journey and keep motivated.  Motivation is hard about now... I feel so sluggish but hopefully with this B-100 and B-12 boost... I am hopin it will help me with energy.
Well, until next time.... 
((((Hugs))))
Penny

I totally can't believe that it has been 6 months.  I am down 143 pounds and I am feeling great.  I am 287, BMI is 44.9 (extreemly Obese).  What a ride indeed this last year has been.  I am love, love, lovin my new found life.  I have a great mindset, depression seems to be gone, would like to have a little more energy but all-in-all, feeling really good.  I am due to have my blood work done here in just a few weeks so I will know just how I stand really soon.
I had some eye openers that have happened to me.  My hubby and I went to Las Vegas on Dec. 8-10 and I was able to fit in an airplane seat all by myself.  I didn't have to share with him.  We even put the arm rest down to lean on and still felt comfy in the seat.  Also at the Celine Dion Show that we went to, I was able to sit comfortable in the seats there too.  I actually out walked my hubby when he walks miles everyday on his job (construction).  What a "mouth on the floor" moments for me.  I also have taken my measurements every month too and usually just see them as numbers.  I looked at them and realized that I have lost 16 inches off just my waist alone.   I lost 12 off my hips.  What a mind blower.  I really did just see it as numbers.  Boy was I (and still am) shocked to death.  My weight loss has been quite weird though.  I don't lose everyday or even every week but it all works out to losing just as I should be (according to the surgeon).  She is happy with the progress so far.  I lose for a week or two and then stall for 4-6 weeks.  I won't lose anything.  Weird but true.  I just keep going and do what I gotta do.  
We got together with the family over the holidays and they haven't seen me since before the surgery sooooo, they were shocked to see my semi transformation.  It is still really different because I don't see what others see.  I try so hard but yet I let it go because I learned from being on OH that it will come to me one day and I will patiently wait.  I can't wait for that day though.  I want to see what others see.
I am in need of some new clothes.  I am running out of jeans.  I only have a few pair that I can wear now and passed on the others.  I have clothes that were passed down to me that I go through all the time.  It is like Christmas every few weeks...LOL.  Fun but running low.  I will have to go and pick some out soon.  I am going into a size 22.  I use to be a size 32 so that looks nice on paper....
I just saw a picture of two of my fellow WLS friends, Kelly and Amy B. and OMG.... they are soooooo beautiful.  Not that they weren't before (don't take me wrong) it is just that I am sitting in their shoes too and know what they are feeling.  I am so proud of them as well as each and everyone here at OH for going through what we have went through.  My hat comes off to you.  We were brave going into the unknown "New Life" so that we can become ourselves yet again.  We have been given that special chance to become whole again and feel free, healthy, and alive.  I am soooo glad I did this.  It has changed my life.
I am starting a bowling league on Tuesday night.  I can't wait.  I haven't been able to bowl in 20 years.  I got my own ball and I am ready to go.  I am doing it with my hubby and sons and also some friends.  They all have been on the league for years but I am joining them now.  I am sooo excited.  My wonderful hubby is excited too.  He dreamt of me doing it with him again and now I am.
Speaking of my hubby.  I love that man to death.  He has been my biggest, biggest supporter through all of this.  He has helped me more than he knows.  He has checked on me and has been concerned about me when I have gotten something stuck.  He is just the greatest.  I am so glad that I have him on my side during this amazing journey.  I couldn't have done it without him.  Thank you so much hon.  I love you from the bottom of my .  Muahhhhhhh....
Well, that is about it for now.... LOL.  I will let you know what I blood results say when I go in to have them done.  I hope all will be good.
Thanks for peeking in on me.
Big Hugs & Happy New Year......

Penny
PS... I miss you soooo much Kelly Friend... Can't wait to get together with you.  Happy New Year honey.  2008 is going to be our year girlfriend....

http://www.obesityhelp.com/shared/flash/WeightHistoryChart/WeightHistoryChart.swf?username=LuckyPenny

WOW!  I can't believe that it has been 5 mos already.  I am down 130 pounds now and lovin it.  I NEVER thought I would ever be under 200 pounds again but I finally hit it.  I now am weighing 296 but still want to just stand on the scale and wait for the numbers to go up.  Funny but so true.  I am lovin my salads agian.  All is well with eating them.  No disagreements from the ol' veggies... LOL.  I have had a few mess ups but have never dumped (well in a way that caused me to be really sick).  I have thrown up but that has been the extent of it.  All of that has been stupid stuff on my part like I swallowed a piece of meat without chewing it up good enough, ate something to fast... etc.  I learned from each incident too.  I stay away from anything with high sugar.  I am not a person who wants to experience dumping so that is what is saving me.
I feel that the fact that I am never hungry and never full helps me out alot too.  The feeling of being satisfied all the time is an awesome thing.  I sure hope it stays like this and the hungar pangs stay way.  This will be a huge treat if I can go on like this.  That has gotten me this far to be quite honest.  I really believe this.
I am also down to a size 22/24 pants, and a 22/24 (1X) top and I never thought I would get here either.  OMG!  I am sooo thrilled with my progress thus far.  I can't even put into words.  Here is a comparison pic for reference to my progress this far:
                       
Here is a picture of my new hair do too.  I have been taking some time and concentrating on ME and I got fitted for some new bras and love having the girls up where they are suppose to be.  It added a great being about me now with having taken some good time on myself to help boost my self confidence/esteem and it is sooo helping me with my new journey.  I then got a new hair cut and OMG... what that did to the ol' booster too.  I am so loving my life right now.  I am happier than I have ever been before, I have much much more energy and just feel good about myself.

      
Until later....
Happy Holidays OH
Hugs,
Penny

I am down 120 pounds now.  50 before surgery and the rest after.  My BMI is 48 and I am no longer Super Obese.  Whew!  &  WOOHOOO!  This has been an amazing journey so far and so glad that I made this decision.  I feel healthier, I have better looking skin, I feel lighter on my feet (even though I really am), and just all-in-all feeling so much better mentally and physically.  
I am having a little issue within me (my mind) though.  I still can't see the weight loss like others can and also... the biggie is that I went through my closet and have all my old (to big now clothes) bagged and I am having a really hard time letting them go.  Is that normal?  Hmmmm.... LOL.  In some ways it feels good but the "having a hard time" part is kinda scarry and sad at the same time.  I am sure it will all work out but still.  I am bringing them to the good will in the morning so they are gone and I don't have to stew over & about them but still.... nonetheless... the mind issue is still there with them.  I do have a lot of new stuff that I have to replace them so it isn't that I don't have anything to wear or short on clothes.  I feel it may be the mind not catching up type thing.  Or a not believing the weightloss within myself so that I can let go.  I will be happy when this isn't the issue though.
Well, that is about it for now.  Thanks for checking in.
Many Hugs,
Penny

I had a wonderful friend come over a few nights ago and give me a ton of new clothes.  There were about 10 pairs of jeans and a zillion (at least... LOL) tops and shirts.    I am so excited that I won't have to go naked.  Wouldn't that be a sight.....LOL.    Thank you again Kelly.  I am sooo sorry that you are working so much and know that I am here for you okay?  I will look forward to our next meeting.  You are doing a fantabulous job and you are looking so damn hot.  Keep up the great work now.
Love ya much girlfriend.
Hugs,
Pen
PS.... Keep the clothes comin girl.  I can use all I can get... LOL

Well, I am about 13 weeks out now and I am weighing 318 pounds which means I am down about 110 pounds.  My BMI is 49 and I am no longer "super obese"  I am "extreemly obese".  WOOHOO!   I am soo excited about my journey thus far and still can't wait to see what comes next.  I haven't bought new clothes yet because I am inbetween sizes right now but can't wait to do just that.  LOL.  I do have some clothes waiting for me that I got at the clothes exchange from my local support group.  They are very nice clothes too.  My 2 girlfriends have some waiting for me too.  Hmmm.... YIPPEEEEE!!!!!
I have had one episode of getting sick but it was my fault totally.  My hubby and I had a BBQ on Labor Day weekend and when I placed a piece of meat into my mouth, I only chewed a few times and then someone came to me and asked me something and I swallowed it so that I wouldn't be talking with food in my mouth and that did it.  I was in pain for an hour and then the gag reflexes stepped in.  I gagged for 45 mins before getting sick and then when I did.. it was only about a tablespoon.  I was floored.  Then I turned around and it was like nothing happened.  WOW!  what a shocker.   Soo ... that won't be happening again anytime soon for sure...LOL.   Basically all is well and I do not ever miss food or even feel hungry or even full for that matter.  I just know right when to stop.  I see my surgeon on October 14th I believe (or somewhere around there anyway).  
Well, I will keep this updated and I will be posting pictures soon of my progress.
Until then.....
Penny

Well I went to see my surgeon on the 15th and all is well.  I have hit the 90 pound loss mark but go up and down daily as my body is still catching up.  She said I don't need to see her for two months now and should be down about 30 more pounds then.  I am starting to feel the difference but not all the time.  I am down only one pant size from a 30/32 to a 26/28.  I did think with that big of a loss that I would be down more than just one size but thats okay.  I do know that one day it will change bigtime and I can't wait for that.  I am all good with my progress so far.  I feel so lucky to not have had many problems thus far.  As a matter of fact... I really haven't had any problems except for the reheating/microwave issue and that won't happen again anytime soon anyways... LOL.  I like my food fresh anyway.   One downer about my journey so far (which is nothing really and in all due time things will change) is that I would like to broaden my horizons when it comes to food.  I would just love to have a salad for one.  I know I have only a few (a bit more than a few but...) more months to go for that but I just feel board with what I am eating now.  I feel deep down inside that I have a different relationship with food.  I don't see things the way I use to.  I eat to feed my body instead of feeding my taste buds and emotions and all the other things that came up when eating so this does help with the bordum of the food too but sometimes... it gets the best of me and I really want something that I can't have right now such as a salad.  I never have cravings or want sweets.  It always seems to be stuff that I can have but later on in this new journey. Which is a great thing.   It will just take time as I will continue waiting...
Well this is about it for now.  Nothing really exciting to report.  All is going extreemly well for now.  I will check back soon and give more updates and things arrise.
Thanks for peekin
(((Hugs)))

Well, I am down 85 pounds and my BMI is 54.  I am at a standstill now and have been for about 3 weeks (since I had the Vena Caval Filter removed).  I do believe that I am losing in inches though.  Slowly but I can sure tell it.  I now do not have to worry about where I sit.  I don't have to ask to be seated at a table when I go into a resturant, I don't have to worry about going to the movies and sitting in the seats that the arms don't raise up, I can cross my arms in front of my chest etc.  The little things are soo exciting.  I know I have to up my exercise a bit.  I am now able to get in all my protien and water in and for that, I am so happy.  I am now able to have more energy too.  I was worried for a while about the energy.  I was having to nap everyday at about 1:30 pm.  Once it got close to that time..... I needed a rest for sure.  I notice now that I don't do that anymore but could use a bit more energy.  I  think once I get going with exercise, that might change.  I haven't been doing exercise because I haven't been getting in all my water and didn't want to get dehydrated from it.  Now that I can get it in... I am going back to swimming and walking.  I can't wait.
I found out a couple of weeks ago that I can not heat anything up in the microwave and I can not have any leftovers either.  It makes my pouch hurt really bad for hours.  It usually lasts about 4-5 hours when I do this.  I won't do it again for a really long time now that I know this.  I have read on the boards that others have gone through this too.  All was fine until one day I did it and WHAM!  I heated something up the day before and nothing happened.  In fact, I have heated stuff up in the microwave since I came home from the hospital and it was all fine.  Oh well, at least I know not to do it.  Hopefully it will pass so this won't be a problem for life.  That could be yuck... LOL.
Well, this is all to report for now.  I do see Dr. Foster tomorrow @ 1:30 and will report if anything should come up.
Until then.....
(((Hugs))))
Pen

I am down 80 pounds total   & it has been 1 month since I had my RNY WLS.
I lost 50 pounds before surgery,
Went on a liquid diet for 1 week before surgery,
so the 30 pounds left over includes the liquid diet too.

On July 24th I had the Vena Cava Filter removed.  I had it done in the OR and so glad that I did.  I wasn't put out but I was sidated so I went in and out of conscienceness.  He had a hard time grabbing the filter to remove it and had to go through the groin area too.  I have stitches in both areas. (the neck at the collar bone & the groin).  My neck has been sore though.  The muscles tighten up very quickly and need to be rested.  It seems as thought the back of the neck seems to tighten up too.  Maybe that is from being in the same position for so long, I don't know but that is my idea of it.   I need a really, really good message.  BELIEVE ME.... LOL.  And I will be taking care of that soon.   You can count on that for sure.
Dr. Baumann said that the filters want to tilt towards the wall in the vein and most times it can be difficult to get out.  Each one of the prongs (about 6 of them) have like little crochet hooks on them and that is what grabs to walls so that it doesn't slip up the vein.  It is all so interesting to me.  He showed me one while I was in my pre-op with him in his office. He is such an awesome Dr.  I love him to death and did I mention to you that he is cute too?  Yep, he is.... LOL.  I have the stitches removed on Monday.
I am sooo glad that I have a different experience with both of my surgeries so that I can now try to block out the bad experience I had at Seton Med. Ctr. back in 2001 with my gallbaldder removal.  When I was being put under, I stopped breathing before I was actually out and that petrified me so bad that I put my body through so much trama when getting ready for this surgery.  If I have to have surgery again, I will make damn sure that my Dr. works out of this hospital or I will look for another.  Mills-Peninsula was the bestest and recommend it HIGHLY! 
Thanks again for checking in on me and my journey thus far.  It is an amazing journey and can't wait to see and live through more.
((((Hugs))))
Penny