C. Walker

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Haven't updated in a while but I wiill go back and add later just wanted to let you all know  my surgery is scheduled for JULY 3RD 2013 !!!!!! GASTRIC BYPASS SURGERY =)))) 

I can't believe it is getting closer, and closer to my surgery. It hasn't been submitted to the insurance company yet, but that wont be too much longer. March 18th will be my 4 of 7 appointments and I am praying that I have lost and not gained. The dietician has worried me and said that Dr. Shin has been known to put a hold on surgery if you show that you cant lose weight. I am having an issue with water weight, and swelling in my legs, feet, and hands. I have been doing better with my diet, and counting my calories/sodium/carbs for everything that I am eating so hopefully that will show when I go back to meet with the nurse practitioner this month.

Would love for some friends to give me some positive feedback/comments on how they are doing, and feel free to comment on any of my posts for some encouragement.

So, a lot of things have been going on. I had my endoscopy, and according to the scale I had lost 8 pounds, but I don't trust the hospital scales because they were off last time. I have been doing well with watching my calorie intake, and trying to eat better as far as portion control too as that will obviously be different after surgery. I am however still retaining a lot of fluid, legs hands and feet are swelling like crazy. I am hoping that I am not drinking too much water still. I crave water, and drink a lot of it. I cut back, but then gradually increased it. I am drinking minimum 85 ounces of water a day.

Endoscopy went well, and I no longer have SEVERE Esophagitus, or any ulcers as I had them something horrible in the past. Used to be on medication but changed my diet so that things would get better on their own. I do still have a very small hiatal hernia, and Dr. Shin said it may very well resolve itself on its own after surgery (it is that small).

I am going back Monday to meet with the Nurse Practioner, and Dietician. Hoping and praying that even with this swelling, I have lost a few pounds.

I am currently a member at Anytime Fitness, and went to the gym last night to cancel my membership once my contract is up in April (have to have written notice to cancel at least 30 days prior). My Dr's office has a gym there with larger equipment and people who are in the same boat as me. I feel as if I would be more comfortable there. The Manager at the gym who is always super sweet and nice was telling me about a lady who weighed 420 pounds, lost weight down to 370 and was pursuing Gastric Bypass. She came back after surgery and said it was the worst thing she had ever done,and wished she hadn't done it. She wished she had stuck to personal training, diet and exercise. He asked me to give him at least 2 months of personal training (at no charge to me) and exercise program and see how things are at the end of two months. I am not going to let this discourage me or allow me to go against my wishes of having this surgery, if anything it will help me until my surgery to have a set exercise plan to go by, and learn how to do free weights, weight machines etc.

Anyways, Ill update soon on how my third appointment goes .. June/July will be here before you know it. I have already met my deductible (WOW), things should be smooth sailing from here. Just have to work harder to lose some weight before surgery, and make sure to document everything on my food journal.  

Well, so far everything is going VERY well. Still anxious and hoping to lose weight at my next weigh in. I have been getting all the necessary testing done to have the surgery, one of which is the endoscopy this Friday and then after that I am going to schedule a stress test, and then everything else will fall into place at my appointments unless of course something else comes up that needs to be done. I'm so glad my surgeon is taking all the precautions at making sure this surgery is going to be safe and be able to put me to sleep with no problems.

When I went to the seminar the other night, they mentioned something about Gastric Bypass patients being on the ventilator  ??? Kind had me a little scared, have any of you had to do this ? I may need to ask Dr. Shin to clarify on that when I go back next month.

Wish me luck on Friday, and Saturday will be my husband's 30th BIRTHDAY SURPRISE PARTY :) Pretty excited about that !

Hello Everyone, I'm not sure if any of you read this or not. But I like to document for myself so that I can look back and see how far I've came along in this journey and all the steps I went through to get healthy.

I do have to say, Dr. Shin's office staff (except a few of the medical assistants) have been WONDERFUL ! They call me back very quickly when I have a question or concern and never hesitate to answer any of my off the wall questions I come up with.

I did call Dr. Shin's office yesterday and left a message for the nurses station, in which Beth (who is wonderful) called me back within the hour to give me the results of my Pulmonary Function Test. She said "There are alot of big words on here, and I'm not sure what all they mean" that tends to scare you a little bit when it comes to results of things, you begin to think something is wrong.

All I remember/wrote down was "Mild Obstruction/near significant, small airway disease, and mild air trapping" At this point I was doing what everyone does when they hear something bad when it comes to medical things and google'd those keywords. NOTHING

Beth asked me if I had Asthma, I told her I didn't think so but could and not know it. She told me not to worry or freak out but to let her discuss the results with Dr. Shin and she would call me back to let me know what he said.

It came closer to 5 :00 when most Doctor's offices have already left for the day and bless her heart, Beth called me back to let me know EVERYTHING on the test was NORMAL for my body weight etc. And that the things that were "wrong" were weight related and would resolve themselves once I lose weight. So I was very thankful that she called me back to let me know for peace of mind.

I have been to numerous seminars before, but could never get through the process because insurance didn't cover it, or there was always some reason that was hindering me from going through, but I decided to go to a seminar last night (never hurts to be educated on this life long commitment right?) and there were only 4 people there due to weather but it was interesting to hear some of the other peoples questions, ones that you wouldn't have thought of yourself. I enjoyed going and found out my surgeon could do my endoscopy that needed to be done, which will save me a specialist fee and copay :) Pretty excited about that too !!

So Anyways, Just a little update on how things are going. I am going to get the scope done, then I'm having a stress test after that. Everything so far is going great, and I'm being more conscious of what I'm eating and trying to make my doctor proud when I go back and show some weight loss. :) :) :)

Well, I went in yesterday with an open mind that I was hoping to lose weight because of the changes that I had made on my own to my diet. Apparently, drinking TOO much water worked against me. I gained 3.5 pounds in a month. I'm a little aggravated about that, but the Nurse Practitioner was very sweet and told me not to worry ( I was worried the insurance would deny me for surgery), that everything would be okay and she will start monitoring this issue to see if it is my body retaining fluid which it seems to be just by looking at my legs (swelling). So, this is a new month, and I am on a 2400 calorie diet to start out and that # will get smaller as we get a little farther in the process. At this point she does not want me to stress about Carbs, Fat, Sodium etc she just wants me to watch my calorie intake and see where that takes me.

As for the Pulmonary Function Test, that was interesting but not as bad as I thought it would be. I was a little nervous that I wouldn't pass it just because I get short winded so easy now but she said everything appeared to be normal, and they would have a Pulmonologist read it.

*GOOD THING* My EKG and Labs came back better than we expected, and I may not have to have a stress test now. I was happy to know that things that were an issue once before had gotten better but my Thyroid is at 6.210 and should be (0.358 - 3.740) so that is an issue that we are currently looking at. Also my Vitamin D was pretty low and they prescribed some medication for that.

** At this point, I am currently at my heaviest weight, to my knowledge ! :( NOT LOOKING BACK ONLY FORWARD !!!!!

So, Tomorrow I will be going to have a Pulmonary Function Test Done and to see how much weight I've lost just by changing my diet on my own. I am meeting tomorrow with my Dr's NP to discuss diet, and some things that they found on my lab work (Low Thyroid which I knew about, Low Vitamin B12 and Low Vitamin D). Everything Else (Glucose, Triglycerides, Good & Bad Cholesterol was all good). I am going to my family doctor to get my blood pressure medication and my thyroid medication, then to have a Pulmonary Function Test (Have any of you had this?) and then to my Bariatric Surgeon for the first official appointment of my 6 month diet. I am anxious to see the scale actually, and see how much weight I may have lost since changing the way I am eating and drinking lots of water daily. I hope I am at least down 10 pounds. After carrying a 10 pound bag of potatoes in the grocery store the other day, 10 pounds of fat is in a whole new perspective. I completely cut out pop, and drink nothing but water. I may have a few sips every now and then but it will not be hard at all to give up the sips and strictly water. If I have to do it after surgery, now is the perfect time to start and already be ready and have one less thing to worry about in the end.

Anyways, I look forward to updating you all tomorrow or next day on how things went. I am also going to have my husband take pictures of me :( :( :( EEEEKKK with just bra and panties from side to side / front & back that way I have something to look back at and say WOW .. I have come a long way even if it is just 1, 2, 5, or 10 pounds.

I often sit back and think about reasons why I feel that I am ready for this drastic change.

1) I want children

2) I want to be able to go on an airplane without having to pay for 2 seats

3) I want to be able to go to a restaurant and not be stared at, or feel comfortable in booth seating.

4) I want to be able to go to and enjoy concert, amusement park, and stadium seating.

5) To be able to get into the bathtub, and have water on both sides of you.

6) Not having to worry about my hands, feet, and legs swelling so bad. (This issue has gotten better since getting rid of soda pop)

7) Go in a Tanning Bed without worrying about weight restrictions

8) Go up a flight of stairs without being out of breath or feeling like I'm going to die.

9) Purchase a ring without having to have it sized (very silly I know)

As you can see, the list goes on and on and I am so ready for a lifestyle change. Both of my parents have also had this surgery and our 10+ years out and have had HUGE success with this surgery. As for the "Support Group" aspect, they have my back and my husband is all for this, and supports me in every way possible. He knows how bad it bothers me to go to a baby shower, or see someone pregnant when my biggest thing has always been wanting to be a mother and be healthy while pregnant and actually see a baby bump and of course healthier all together.

Feel free to look me up on Facebook, or add me as a friend. I love to meet new people and share success stories, or get feedback :)

So, I started out with seeing Dr. Shin for my consultation on December 4th, 2012. Everything went great and I really like him as a Dr. The only thing I hated was seeing that HORRIBLE number on the scales but that is all about to change. That will hopefully be the last time I ever see that number EVER AGAIN on a scale. I will be following up with Dr. Shin and his Dietician etc on January 16th, 2013. Although I have not been given an exact diet or calorie amount. I decided to grab the bull by the horns and start eating better (portion control & eliminating soda). So far it has been easier than I thought giving up soda, and replacing it with water. Every now and then I get that craving especially for Root Beer, so I will just eat a piece of Root Beer candy to satisfy that taste. I will be posting very soon how much weight I have lost in the month and follow up to let you guys know how I am doing, and how the process is going :)

If all goes well and I get cardiac clearance, Dr. Shin said my surgery will likely be in June/July !!!! I AM SOOOOOO EXCITED :) :)