One Year Out!

It has been over a year since my first surgery date, and only a year and 4 days since I was discharged from the hospital and really began to lose weight like I should have right after the surgery. As of today I have officially lost 82 pounds.

My strength is coming back and I am getting closer to doing almost all the things that I had done prior to the surgery. I did speak with my bariatric doctor about still having pain and issues in my side and how long it is taking to fully heal. He informed me that I need to still be careful not to lift things that are too heavy or I could herniate my side. The best way I could describe what he told me is that where my fistula was that it closed partially by mending with my side and that is why I have sensitivity right there close to my skin. He also informed me to be more aware that I need to be careful of my food choices in case it will increase my chances of having a bowel instruction due to the fact the way my fistula healed.

I am thankful to know this information in advance so I can do what is needed in my diet to prevent these things from happening the best way I can. 

Life is looking good and I feel much healthier than I did a year ago and most of all I feel happier with myself and my diabetes has been non existence since I was released from the hospital.

Kidney Stone update

Well, here is it May 18th and I am still having issues with those blasted kidney stones. It has put a bit of a damper on me being able to exercise and do things as they begin acting up so easily. I finally get to see the Urologist this coming Friday, May 23rd and I hoping it will not be too much longer after that I am to return to have something more done about it.

This past week has been one where I have had to use my pain medicine and the bladder medicine as well as taking antibiotics to prevent bladder or kidney infection.

As for my weight, I have hit a stand still and I stuck at 158-163 pounds, It just goes up and down. I know what I need to get it moving again and that is exercise, but not feeling very well has prevented me from doing what I need to do, not only in exercising for weight loss, but also just getting things done around the house. I can feel it within my body that I am not as healthy as I was before I had the gastric bypass surgery. I am hoping after the Kidney stone issue is taken care of that I will begin to feel normal like I did before the surgery.

Lately I have been questioning if I made the right decision, yes, I am thinner, yes, my blood sugar is in control and I am not longer diabetic since it is in remission, but I wonder, did I extend my life or shorten it with constant other health problems. I guess only time will tell.

Kidney Stones

Sorry for the long delay in posting. It wasn't but a few days after we returned home from Hawaii that I began to have episodes with Kidney stones and then ended up in the hospital for 4 nights.

I have yet to pass the large stone, but I am thankful for the pain to have dissappeared. I read that this surgery can cause kidney stones for some people. I really hope I am not one of those people.

My weight loss is continuing to drop off at a much slower rate, but still losing none the less. I am more than 60% of the way to my goal weight now, and I look forward to finally reaching my goal.

Home From Hawaii

Well, I am back home from Hawaii and happy to be so. Most people think of Hawaii as a land of paradise, maybe it is at a local hotel resort where you do not go out onto the island and see the real Hawaii.

Anyhow, after getting sick while there, I am still getting over this awful cold I caught now. I thought for sure I would have gained a lot of weight while there since we ate out at almost every meal for 12 days. Luckily when I arrived home I had actually dropped 1.4 pounds. What a surprise.

Now, I just need to get back into my daily routine and keep working on my weight loss. I still have 49.4 pounds to go to reach my goal. It is getting so close I can almost touch it. I cannot slow down now!

My Hair is Growing Back In!

Well, I must say, I am quite surprised to know that my hair is growing back in already. I had read where it can take up to 9 months post-op before your hair will stop falling out and begin growing back.

It dawned on me the other day that my hair was no longer falling out, and it hasn't been for the past month when I really think about it. Then, I noticed all these little hairs sticking up everywhere on my head. Yikes, my hair look hideous! It is poking through all the very thin hair that is left and I look ridiculous. I look like a bald man with a bad comb-over (ugh!).

So, I went and got my hair cut. Thank goodness I have a wonderful hair stylist from New York who can cut my hair. She was surprised to see how much my hair has grown in since the middle of December when I went to have her cut it while it was falling out. She was also surprised to see that I was looking so much thinner as well. In fact, today I weighed in at 166.2.  It can only get better from here!

I am happy to have my hair growing back and this is the hairstyle I chose and I think Brittany made me look great! Now, I am not embarrassed for people to look at my head.

Happy Valentine's Day! - Half way to goal.

As of today I am down 64.8 pounds with only 52.8 pounds to go to reach my goal weight.

To my pleasant surprise this morning, I pulled out a pair of smaller jeans I had in the closet and they fit. I can wear a size 14 now. I haven't been able to fit into a 14 again. The only bad news, the zipper was broke on the jeans so I had to toss them. Oh well, on to smaller sizes soon enough.

Another real surprise to me was when I picked up a shirt for the summer yesterday at the local Target store. I debated between getting a large and a medium. I finally tossed the medium into the shopping cart expecting it would be skin tight and I will need to slim down a bit more, but by summer I should be wear it. Well, when I came home and tried it on out of curiosity to see how tight it is and about how much more I will need to lose to fit the shirt properly, I was amazed it actually fit.

Here is a picture my 7 year old took of me with it on. She isn't the best photographer, and of course the tag is still on it.You can still see a pouch where my belly is still large, but after all the swelling I am surprised it is down that small.

On a bright note, my hair has stopped falling out and is beginning to grow back and I am using my treadmill everyday and it is going well.

Finally weighed in at 169 pounds

I have finally weighed in at 169.6 pounds today. I am very happy with the weight loss. I did not expect to have lost anything this week. I have been walking at least 20 minutes a day on my treadmill and after the first couple of days, I put on 2 pounds. I assumed it was due to building back some muscle and I did not expect to lose back down for a couple more weeks.

If feels good psychologically to weigh 169.6 even though my weight loss for the week was only .6 ounces. It does something to you mentally when you break each 10 pound marker. I look much better in my clothes now, but I am a long way from wearing any kind of bathing suit. I tried one on last week in preparations of going Hawaii next month, but when I saw how awful I looked in it, I made the decision to buy some capri type spandex work out pants and a spandex tank top to wear at the beach and in the water instead. This way I can still be out in the water in my daughter and not scare off all the people on the beach. On the bright side, by covering up, I will not have to worry about getting a spray tan to cover up how white I have gotten over the years.

Purchased a Treadmill Today!

I am officially 5 months and a few days post-op. I still have some physical restrictions, but I am anxious and motivated to get moving. Since I am still limited to exercising based on my injuries and pain, I purchased a treadmill so I can at least began walking every day in an effort to get back into physical shape, as well as, get the pounds coming off again.

Today my weight was 170.4. I have been sitting here and bouncing up a pound or two now for last couple of weeks. I WANT THAT LAST .05 OUNCES TO GO SO I CAN SAY . . . I am finally in the 160's.

It is now 34 days until we fly to Hawaii for 12 days and I hope to drop at least 10 pounds. That means I need to keep my goal at 2 pounds a week for the next 5 weeks.

Wish me luck.

It’s Official, I have finally lost 62 pounds!

Fives month post-op and I am finally down 62 pounds today. I am very happy to finally break the 50 pound weight loss mark, but I still have 55.6 pounds to go to reach my goal.

I have switched up my diet and added back into it a daily protein shake in order to get the scale to move again, and BINGO, it did. I will continue with the shakes for a while and see how far it will take my weight loss.

It is apparent that I am still not able to do any intense exercising in the next month and therefore my weight loss is slower than normal. I am hoping that my side will be healed soon so I can go back to my normal very physical lifestyle.

Until that time, I will continue life, one day at a time.

Keeping my eyes fixed on full recovery.

As I am getting thinner I have noticed that sleeping again on my sides is becoming a problem as it did when I first tried to sleep on my sides. It is true the extreme soreness is finally gone, but it is still sore in the deep tissue. Now that I am thinning around my abdomen I can feel my ribs again when I poke my body with my finger. The problem now is I do not have the fat support to protect my side when I lay on it. Not to mention my belly still sags as it did immediately following my C-section. I was hopeful that I would not need a tummy tuck, but the C-section is so saggy that it appears I will need to have it done at a later point to support my muscles and abdomen again.

I still have sharp pains on my insides in the general area where my rny broke loose and leaked. It still hurts to take a deep breath and my incisions are still rather deep pink and purple.

One thing that has changed about me since having the surgery is realizing how short life can be. I was awake one moment telling the nurse inserting my pic line that I wasn’t feeling quite right to seeing all black and white lights that then begin to spin and then I was code blue. Not breathing, no heat beat, my life was over in a flash until I recall hearing music in my head and my mind feeling so peaceful and relaxed. I wasn’t aware of my surroundings or feeling any pain, I felt a jerk and someone pulling my arms and calling my name. Then it all became real when I opened my eyes and I fell back against the bed, my head was forced up and a doctor was holding an oxygen mask on me, the room was full of doctors and nurses out into the hallway. As the doctor began to ask me questions and they did an x-ray and continued oxygen, I was happy to hear I was a code blue full resuscitate.

Yes, I was alive to see another day, but I was changed. With the crucial immediate healing behind me and working towards full recovery I have more of an urgency to want to complete my bucket list.  I have always put things off that I really wanted to do for another day. I would make a sacrifice so others could have more, but I don’t want to be on my death bed someday full of regret for all the things I never did that I always wanted to do. 

This new year my husband and I will strive to get our business off the ground so the rewards will eventually pay off and I can knock off the items on my bucket list one at a time.

Feeling Tired.

I have been feeling tired the past two days. I am unsure if it is that I am not sleeping enough or eating enough protein. I still have not followed through with my labs that the doctor gave me the slip for in November, but I am uncertain where I placed it. I thought I had put it folded it and put it in my purse, but it was not there. I may have to look through the glove compartment of the car to see if may I put it in there so I can go have those labs done. I need to know if I am deficient in any of my vitamins.

My memory is slowly getting better from  my death experience, but it is still not what it was prior to this incident. I am looking at it from a positive aspect and that is, it is getting better so in the long run it can only get better and return to it's former state.

I am encouraged to keep losing weight and finally be thin again.

58 pounds lost, 59 to go!

Today when I weighed myself I was pleasantly surprised: I weighed 174.6, a weight loss of 58 pounds since the day I went to Mexico to have surgery. I did not expect to drop any more weight this week since I usually only lose one to two pounds per week. It is so early in the week to have already lost 2 pounds. I only hope I can maintain this weight today throughout the rest of the week so my Friday weekly weigh in which I keep my weekly totals will still reflect this.

I am more determined this new year to do many more things than I had previously. I have never been one to make resolutions, but this year was the first and I intended to accomplish the goals I have set for this year.

Good luck to all my followers and readers to keep up the good work in accomplishing the goals you have set for yourself in this new year.

New Year, New Me!

Out with the fat old Robyn, In with the thin Robyn. That is my motto for 2014. This year will not be another year that I was unsuccessful at dieting and exercising to lose weight, this year, I will lose the rest of the weight and I will be thinner, and happier, and healthier.

I look forward to doing all the things I used to do before I developed diabetes and gained all the weight.

I am looking forward now to going to Hawaii in March and seeing if my shoulders are still achy all the time. Since I have moved here I have had problems, but I assumed it was due to gaining weight, until I left for vacation and the pain went away and only returned when I arrived back home.

This will be a good little test to discover it is truly the gravitational pull and barometric pressure here or if I need to make an appointment with a surgeon and have my shoulders operated on. It isn't easy to exercise when you cannot raise you arms above your head or you wake up at night in pain because you moved and it hurts. If surgery is what it takes to help me also get to the new me, then surgery it is.

This picture was taken on New Years Eve. Weight loss to 12/31/2013  -  45 pounds!