VSG Update - Almost Two Years Out from Surgery and Links

I thought that it was high time I write about my VSG surgery again! I am including links to all of my previous blog posts at the end of this post in case anyone would like to read them. I've been contacted several times over the past two years to talk about my story or to chat with friends who are considering having weight loss surgery so I feel like my previous blog posts were actually helpful to some people! Yay! That was my goal and if I can help even ONE person with any aspect of examining the pros and cons of weight loss journey and/or surgery, I'm happy I can do that! 

                               

Here's a picture of me today! Happy, more healthy, and while I feel like I could lose some more weight......and I might do that.....I am waaaaaaaay more satisfied than I have EVER been in my whole life with how I'm maintaining. I do have some frustrations and here are a few of them:

FRUSTRATIONS
- I still have to watch my weight. I knew that I would and the surgery is a tool to help you and a LIFE CHANGE. I knew that too. Sometimes though, I get mad that I still have to watch the scale, but overall, I watch it fewer times and I eat healthier so I did change my lifestyle. 
- Somehow, my eyes are STILL bigger (now much bigger) than my stomach. I still catch myself eating rapidly and sometimes eating too much. I've not thrown up, not even once, from eating, since my surgery. Most people throw up often, at least I think they might, if they overeat. When I know I've eaten too much, I hiccup a bit, feel tight in my esophagus, and feel kind of bad. Bad enough to not eat any more, but I do not feel nauseous. Well, I take that back. Twice in two years, I did feel nauseous from eating one bite too many, but I didn't push it and within minutes that went away.
- I have rediscovered "slider foods" such as chips, cake, and crackers. This is not awful, but isn't too good either because they go down TOO EASY and I can eat a lot more than I originally intended if I'm not careful.
- Drinking while eating: I still can't do this well and technically, most folks are told that you are not supposed to. If I go out after rehearsal and want to have a drink, I drink most of it BEFORE eating some of my meal and I just have to resolve to take home most of my meal.

GOOD THINGS
- I'm a size 14 which is what I was at the end of high school. I have  feeling I could be a 10 or 12, and maybe I'll want to be a 12 at some point, BUT I'M HAPPY so whatever.
- clothes are cooler and more fun to wear
- This is both good and bad......I've noticed that some of my acquaintances / friends, speak to me more, and listen more attentively to me. New people I meet, as long as they don't have the southern "Good ole' boy" syndrome, tend to look me in the eye and actually treat me like I'm present. In the past, I had many MANY incidents of (mostly men) being introduced to me and then immediately carrying on conversation with the person next to me as if I was not there. Damn shame, idiots.
- I CAN have any foods I want and so I do :-) Many folks are not able to eat certain foods.
- My hair has been able to hold curl since the surgery. It began to grow back from the hair loss I experienced so I still have many lengths overall, but it's a lot curlier!
- I don't think about my surgery or weight loss very much. I'm me and have settled into my new way of eating and I like it!

Here are PAST BLOG POSTS on my VSG SURGERY. I hope that some of these will help people. If anyone has any questions, feel free to contact me. It can be a pretty lonely place when you're researching WLS and aren't sure of many things!

1. Background, http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/03/my-weight-loss-surgery-journey-part-i.html

2. VSG Journey Part II - Insurance and Going for it! http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/03/wls-journey-part-ii-going-for-itand.html

3. VSG Journey Part III - Types of Bariatric Surgery - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/03/wls-journey-part-iii-types-of-bariatric.html

4. Part IV, Surgery Scheduled http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/03/wls-journey-iv-surgery-scheduled.html

5. My Choice for VSG Surgery: Endobariatric - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/05/my-choice-for-vsg-surgery-endobariatric.html

6. A Day and a Half - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-day-and-half.html

7. My Journey to Endobariatric - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/06/my-vsg-journey-to-endobariatric.html

8. Discharge Day! - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/06/my-vsg-journey-discharge-day.html

9. Three weeks out from surgery - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/06/vsg-journey-update-3-weeks-out-from.html

10. Experimental Eating - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/07/vsg-experimental-eating-and-eating.html

11. 10-12 weeks out - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/07/staying-on-track-life-10-11-weeks-after.html

12. 5-month update - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2013/10/vsg-5-month-update.html

13. One year later - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2014/05/vsg-one-year-after-surgery.html

14. Hair Loss - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2014/03/vsg-hair-loss-yikes.html

15. VSG - What A, I Eating - http://thewhiskeypalian.blogspot.com/2014/03/vsg-what-am-i-eating.html 

VSG - ONE YEAR AFTER SURGERY

SOOOOOOOOOOO..... it has been a WHOLE YEAR since I had VSG (Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy) surgery! WOW! I really cannot believe it. I suppose I must incorporate the "word" 
SURGIVERSARY into my vocabulary now, heh :-)
I thought that I would write this post to give some updates on my weight loss, daily living / eating, and to basically share what's in my head with regards to the whole process. At the end of the post, I'll close with some links to my previous blog posts in case you might want to read some, but don't want to search for them.  I don't really have great before and after pics, but here is a collage of some. I will try to take a good current picture soon and re-post.

A collage from the past year of pictures I like. You can see some differences!

WEIGHT LOSS SO FAR: 
- I have lost 92 lbs - THAT is AMAZING! It's also pretty much - a person. I have had MUCH longer plateaus this spring and I have been eating some salty foods at times so I think it has slowed my loss a little. 
- My goal is to lose 100 lbs and I'm pretty darn close!
HOW I FEEL: 
- Lighter, but the same.
- As friends put it.....they certainly didn't take out my sense of humor.
- Grateful that I had the surgery.
- I wonder what life would have been like if I had done this earlier.
- Men still don't seem to be able to take a chance - even with the smaller me. I think my sense and sense of adventure still scares them. It's depressing really, but that's another post.
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT ALL: 
- Myself
- Being able to fit better into clothes and of course SMALLER SIZES! Woohoo!
- I feel more "feminine" and pretty whereas I used to feel lumpy
- Not looking so puffed up / heavy
- Being able to enjoy food more freely in some ways....I suppose I'm not afraid to eat various things now that I previously would have avoided or berated myself for eating
- Crossing my legs with ease, scrunching up on the couch with ease
- Not feeling hunger in the same way as I used to feel it. I can easily ignore being hungry and sometimes I do not feel hunger at all
- Grazing. I am a grazer and for me personally, I can now eat on and off throughout the day without the fear as I had before
- Takeout lasts me a few meals, that's cool! $aving $ome $$$
- I like it when people smile at me. I always have liked that, but they do it more now.
- I always took the heat ok, but now, I handle it even better.
WHAT I DON'T LIKE TOO MUCH: 
- I still assume I can eat more than I actually can and I can't sample too much of what I'm cooking or I'll fill up! Boo!
- Some evenings I eat a little too much for dinner and then have reflux, but I suppose that happens to lots of people
- Sometimes I want to gulp down a cold drink, but I can't do that. I take several tiny swallows super fast and it seems to work well enough
- Some people that I work with and even some friends treat me differently now that I am smaller. I imagine that they do not even realize that they smile at me more, talk to me or listen to me more, or actually treat me like I am "worthy" of their time or that there is a difference between now and before. This statement is in this category of what I don't like too much because I think that MANY people treat overweight people in ways that are less than nice / appropriate and often, they DON'T EVEN REALIZE IT.  In the past, I have experienced my ideas or my conversational participation being ignored because of simply being a women and/or because of being overweight. Think what you like - it was not my imagination. Ok, rant over. 
- I don't really like the fact that I still hate more than one or two flights of stairs.
WHAT I CANNOT STAND: 
- When people make assumptions. In general, I dislike this, but we all do it sometimes. People seem to automatically assume that I have more energy b/c I lost weight or that I must certainly "feel better" or even that I was unhealthy (other than the weight). I feel exactly the SAME except that the mental angst and self-loathing I carried around with me my whole life is seriously diminished and often completely gone. I've always had an extremely high level of energy and have always been very active (when I'm not intentionally being a couch potato).
- I won't call it extra skin just yet, but my shape is not too.....shapely. At least I now have a waist and the girls are still where they're supposed to be, HA!
I'VE BEEN VERY LUCKY THAT:
- I was able to do this. I chose Endobariatric in Mexico for several reasons. One is the amazing Dr. Alvarez! He was also there for me afterwards for ANYTHING and ANY questions or worries that I had or still may have. People laugh at Twitter, but for me, it was a life-saver. Another reason for going to Mexico was that my health insurance did not cover the procedure. Yet another reason was that Endobariatric kept me for a couple of days whereas certain area programs here would have released me either the same day or the following morning.
- I have a support system! My dear friend Meg (who went with me) and my dear friend Chuck have been there every step of the way and numerous friends and colleagues have been supportive and excited about my efforts and my results. My choirs, my students, and my family and friends have all been so awesome! I even found out last year after I had returned from Mexico that the cathedral had put me on its prayer list as had a few folks at St. Paul's. That means the world to me! THANK YOU!!!!  I also count YOU as my support system. If you're reading this, you are interested or you CARE and I appreciate it! :-)
- I have not thrown up even once since surgery. I almost did when I was five months out and took that ONE extra bite of steak after I'd eaten enough. I didn't get sick, but I remember feeling very ill momentarily.
- I can eat anything that I want to - rice, cereals, Jones Cream soda, broccoli, nuts & seeds, etc. Nothing gives me texture or digestion issues. Sometimes, people have either something they cannot eat or a food texture issue that bothers them. I may be slightly lactose intolerant at times and sometimes I just have a day where stuff goes through me too rapidly, but that's always been the case. I feel safe in saying that most people have those days.
- I have been able to eat my favorite salad which includes: spinach, broccoli, sunflower seeds, sometimes pine nuts, with cheddar cheese and a dot of Ranch or Caesar dressing. WHEW! This is what I eat a LOT so it makes me happy that I can still enjoy it so much!
NEW ADDICTIONS:
- Some people worry about replacing one "addiction" with another. Firstly, I do not feel that food was a true "addiction" of mine, but I could be wrong...maybe it was in some ways. It was certainly something that I fought with. I'd say that drastic and yo-yo DIETING was more of an addiction. Anyway, my new food eating addictions would be..................
HIBACHI, Doritos, & Starbucks mocha frappuccinos & I can justify all of them if you ask me :-)

THINGS I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO:
- Getting to goal eventually
- Getting some more new clothes. I've been rather slack about it because I haven't been at the same weight long enough for to justify tooooo many new clothes.
- Mission trip to India this summer!
ADVICE TO THOSE THINKING ABOUT SURGERY:
- Do your homework (I did) on the best type of surgery for you (meet with your doc) and research the heck out of the place to which you are entrusting your life and to whom you are paying your money
- Ask yourself if this is the last resort for you. You cannot undo a VSG and you will need to be sure this life choice is what you want. 
- Do NOT let people's wide-eyed stares or snarky comments hinder you from considering surgery (if you feel it's a viable option for you) or surgery at a place such as Endobariatric. This is your life we're talking about, not theirs.
- Have a support system whether it's a formal group of WLS / VSGers, family, or friends
- Do NOT think that VSG or any WLS is an "easy way out". It is not an easy way out. I mostly eat right, I exercise (not a ton, but I do what I can), and I take vitamins, but I will have to be careful to maintain and take care of myself. For me, my inability to lose weight was a severe problem - SINCE I WAS 11.  I decided that since I had lived 31 years of my life on diets and being too concerned about it, I was NOT going to live the rest of my days with the same thing. 
- Do not be afraid of seeking counseling as you prepare for WLS. Your particular program may or may not require it. I followed one local program and did some counseling, but in the end, was extremely put off by my five-min. meeting with the surgeon so after the nutrition classes and counseling, I started all over. 

HERE ARE THOSE BLOG LINKS I PROMISED:
There are lots of posts. I hope they will be helpful to someone out there!

- My Weight Loss Journey Part I - A Little Background
- 
- WLS Journey Part II - Going for it and Insurance
-
- WLS Journey Part III - Types of Weight Loss Surgery
- 
- WLS Journey Part IV- Surgery Scheduled
-
- My Choice for VSG Surgery: Endobariatric
-
- I ALMOST ATE MY DESK
-
- A Day and a Half...
-
- My Journey to Endobariatric
-
- My VSG Journey: Discharge Day
-
-VSG Journey Update: Three Weeks Out from Surgery
-
- VSG Experimental Eating and Eating Abroad
-
- Staying on Track: Life 10-11 Weeks Out from VSG
-
- VSG 5-Month Update
-
- VSG - Hair Loss, Yikes!
-
- VSG - What Am I Eating?

Here endeth the blog post! 

Me on the right - with my UNO Choirs after our Spring 2014 concert!

VSG Hair Loss - YIKES!

[In catching up on my blog posts from last Fall]
What can I say about VSG and hair loss.....
It happens and it STINKS.
About three months after surgery, I began to realize that the hair coming out was increasing and then it became INSANE how much would come out. In fact, I was shocked I even had that much hair. I was already taking vitamins and the VSG is NOT a surgery which is known for malnutrative events so I was hoping to avoid hair loss, but NOPE. I was told various things by several doctors and some patients who had the same surgery. They included taking "Hair, Skin, and Nails" vitamins, eating your required amount of protein, taking Biotin, and actual hair products. My personal hair loss felt extreme and raged on from August until December. Since then, it has settled a bit. I can tell I'm still losing more than I previously did, but it definitely has stabilized. Also, there is new growth which makes my head look shabby and slightly uncontrollable, but whatever....
I just wanted to wrote this post to say that I believe the hair loss is unavoidable. Your body goes through quite a shock with anesthesia, surgery, simply not eating the amount of food you could before, etc. Don't worry too much - I understand there are not any bald VSG patients unless they were bald already! :-)

Staying On Track - Life 10-11 Weeks After VSG

Update for 10-11 Weeks Out from Surgery
It only took me four weeks of being in Innsbruck, but yesterday I happened upon a store here that is similar to GNC stores back home! I was overjoyed to see it even though they didn't have all the same products. I brought my own supplements to Innsbruck: a multi-vitamin (gummies), fiber (gummies), B-12 zipmelts, Biotin, Thiamine (B1), and Calcium/D melts. (Hmm, can you tell I like gummy vitamins? HAHA!)  By the way, B-12 zipmelts are AWESOME and I highly recommend them. Any weight loss program, but especially weight loss surgery, risks B deficiency and this is an easy way to keep your vital energy levels up.

Still, I have not been getting all my protein in every day so I have been keeping a lazy eye out for protein shakes and haven't found any until I saw this store yesterday. Our free cafeteria lunches often have breading around whatever meat they prepare and while it is tasty, I cannot eat very much of it at one time so finding protein without breading is a goal of mine. Also, I love salads, BUT the majority of them have been pre-packaged, often with peppers which I cannot handle at all, and/or they are not included in our complimentary lunches. So, I have had to avoid them thus far. I am able to select fresh cucumbers and shredded carrots -  if not already vinegared and salted up. It seems to alternate every other day...

   

I suppose my preferences could be considered a bit unusual in that I like raw, uncooked, un-messed-around-with vegetables and fruits. In MY opinion, it is unusual to want to doctor up foods to the point that they either become mushy, tart, overly salty, or pepper-infused. Blech!
Anyway, this store had protein shakes and I bought some and was extremely disappointed. They taste HORRIBLE to me and are too thick. Upon opening the bottle, it even had a skin to break through which made me question the freshness and sealant and worry about food poisoning. So, foiled again on that front, but I will keep trying for the protein while I am here another 13 days.

I did buy a scale, finally, to see how well I have been keeping on track with losing. Since being in Austria, I have continued to lose slowly and have lost about 9 lbs. This makes my total 51 lbs !!!!! I've been walking everywhere and I am positive that helps. At home, my exercise consists of walking in City Parks at least twice a week. Cooler weather seems to make me want to walk the French Quarter more and hotter weather only City Park in the mornings. I used to have a treadmill and it was one of my dreams to own one, but I had troubles with motion sickness on its moving belt - in spite of the fact it was a high end Nordic Track treadmill. I had to take Bonine every single time I used it and so it fell out of use for the most part. I used to ride my bike frequently, but stopped while in Milledgeville due to the lack of sidewalks and pathways for riding in combination with being heavy and feeling awkward about it. I do plan on getting a new bike in New Orleans this Fall, but feel like I will only ride it around the park or on levees b/c of the traffic and scary neighborhoods I have to traverse. Nevertheless, I'm excited about getting back into riding and I hope to continue my journey toward a better shape! Notice that I wrote SHAPE and not HEALTH. This is because I was already in good health before I elected to have VSG surgery to aid with weight loss! :-) I like to point that out every so often because a great assumption regarding those who are overweight is that they may be very unhealthy. It is not always true!

VSG Experimental Eating and Eating While Abroad

Hello Everybody! :-)
I am writing from Innsbruck, Austria where I've just had a nice weekend after having finished teaching one week in the University of New Orleans Innsbruck program! I'll be here another five weeks!
I will write more about Innsbruck soon and add lots of pictures, but I wanted to give an update concerning my living with VSG while abroad! I must say here that I've been on solid foods now for a little over three weeks. I consider myself one of the VERY LUCKY VSGers because I really have not had any huge problems with any foods! I have also NOT thrown up anything!

The foods that have been the hardest include:
- Chicken (nuggets were fine...I assume because they're processed and softer?)
- Salad with sunflower seeds and chicken and broccoli. That's a lot of hard stuff to digest.

What?! Only two items?
Yep. That's about it.......so far!

I'm feeling pretty awesome about that because having read that some people could not ever have rice, pasta, or beef again or that it was a hard experience for them made me a little worried. I admit, I have been somewhat conservative about amounts that I am eating and also I chew it until I can chew no more. I'm sure that helps some.

Experiments

Ok, I admit this too.....while driving 10 hours to Columbia, SC one week and while driving 12 to Charleston the next week, I decided that I wanted to experiment with some foods just to see what would happen and what they would taste like.......

So, my first week on solid foods, I tried the following:

- a BK burger with bacon, no bun
- a soft serve ice cream cone
- bread with butter
- orange juice
- spinach
- baked fish with rice and broccoli
- grilled chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A

Conclusions: The burger was AWFUL. I could only eat half of it anyway. I'd found the amounts of protein online. The initial taste of the bacony burger goodness was all but destroyed by my having to chew it so dang much. I had a wonderful realization that I DIDN'T WANT IT anymore, woohoo! That was accompanied by the "what the hell do we put in our mouths?!" gasp. I tried one spoon full of rice, no issues. Same for everything else. I THINK the ice cream might have given me an upset stomach and I couldn't finish the cone anyway.

The following week, I tried:

- pizza from Andonlini's (*hey, no judging....it's the BEST)
- grits
- yoghurt with actual fruit pieces in it
- whoppers
- iced tea
- a Taco Bell taco

Now, I can hear some of you saying "OH, I get it, THIS is how she got fat in the first place....by eating crap like this" and you would be WRONG-O (that's more than just wrong).
Think what you like....as I said, these were experiments. I was going through a phase that included the following feelings, however jumbled up:

- YAY!  I can eat again! (+ I want everything)
- Oh gosh, will I ever be able to eat __________ again?
- Can I still have some things that are "bad" for me in moderation?

So, the pizza was AWESOME and I ate exactly half a slice, mostly toppings, before I was stuffed. Grits were fine and I ate about four spoonfuls. The whoppers were cool and I had five of them. Iced tea - I'm from the south so OF COURSE THAT WAS GOOD.
The taco was THE most wonderful thing I had tried so far. Why? Well, I pulled off a tiny bit of the shell and pulled out a couple of lettuce pieces, but other than that - I ATE THE WHOLE THING and that alone made me feel awesome. The rest was that it was super terrific to CRUNCH and the shell was good for that :-)

DRINKS

Ok, here is where some of us differ - not only in opinion, but in attitude. These drinks listed here are not always on VSGers' lists after surgery and for good reason: calories! Part of me just wanted to test it out to see what would happen because you read and hear so much about what people go through.

I have tried the following drinks and had NO PROBLEMS

- orange juice......If I drink too much of this, I burp the juice and that's when I know to STOP
- iced tea.....with and without sugar. I definitely like sugarfree better, as usual
- Coke on the transatlantic flight with lots of ice.....was ok, but I only took a few sips the size of which was the equivalent of sticking my tongue in (I was fearful it would go badly)
- apple juice......fine
- Wine
-Coke here in Innsbruck, no ice, just chilled. Absolutely fine

EATING WHILE IN AUSTRIA

This has been way more difficult that I previously thought so I am extra glad that I brought some items with me such as protein bars, Crystal Lite mixes, tea, Equal, granola bars, and some mini cans of soup. Yes, it made my suitcase heavy, but I am on a rather severe budget here at the moment and the food is rather expensive.
The Innsbruck program gives us a marvelous lunch every day and after the first faculty lunch together, I asked for a container to bring home leftovers and the restaurant was happy to oblige. I have since used that container several times! The first cafeteria lunch was Wiener schnitzel made of chicken (and breaded) plus French fries. So, I took a few chicken bites, tearing off the breading and then had two fries (that makes me laugh!) Since then, I've been getting goulash or spaghetti sauce over a minute amount of noodles and avoiding the other foods. They have fruits and I always get the watermelon! I also get a bottle of water with each meal.

What's the problem? Well, I know I'm not getting all my protein in and I've been too tired to think about it. I've also been too sleepy and almost running late every morning so I've been forgetting my vitamins. Ok, let me pause and actually take them NOW at 8:47 p.m. because I'm guilty again...

Ok. Whew!

So, I have only bought two meals out and I've been here nine days. That will change, but so far the food has either been free or I've been just finishing my leftovers :-)

That's about it! I will do some Innsbruck and travel posts pretty soon. Good luck to everyone out there and for those of you who have emailed, please continue to ask me questions! I'm here if you need me :-)

***** UPDATE***** I completely forgot to mention that I did not bring my scale to Austria and the Nurse's office for the Innsbruck Program does not have a scale. They recommended that I buy one, but I'm too cheap.......and so I have no idea whether or not I'm still losing, if I'm maintaining....or the unthinkable!

My VSG Journey - Discharge Day!

After two nignts in the hospital, it was time to leave Endobariatric and Piedras Negras and head back to San Antonio.

The morning of discharge, the nighttime doctor and Dr. Rosales and Dr. Alvarez came to see me as did the nurses.

I must say, they gave me everything I needed: paperwork for my doctor here, vitamin/mineral panel recommendations, pain meds, acid reflux meds, antibiotics, instructions, a copy of Dr. A's helpful VSG book, a backpack and folder in which to keep everything, and personal contacts in case there were any issues or questions.

Here's a picture of me with Dr. A right before I got on the van. I am so happy that I chose to come to Mexico for my surgery. Down with any naysayers and all the skeptics! I received better care here than most of the US medical experiences I have had in my whole life combined. In addition, the doctors are extremely skilled, very caring, and concerned with your well-being. They took the time out to talk to me, answer questions, make me comfortable, and explain procedures. I have also been able to ask Dr. Alvarez my questions (via Twitter as well) and he gave me quick answers and asked me how I was doing!



They signed my pillow :-) (the Endobariatric signature stomach pillow, LOL). The pillow made me laugh, but I sincerely needed the support for the two-hour return trip which was BUMPY BUMPY BUMPY!

After crossing the border, we dropped off the other patient at the Holiday Inn and then got on the road. halfway through, we stopped at a convenience store for some water. I was sipping, sipping, sipping. It seemed like I sipped constantly, but the level didn't go down that much. When we got to the La Quinta airport, we went down by the pool for some sun and rest and SIPPING WATER. Then, in the room, I took a nap. It was HOT. I checked my Weather Channel app and saw that it was 106 in Piedras Negras! Yikes! Later, in the early evening, I was feeling less nauseous so we went to the mall to walk around and I did some mini-shopping and had some apple juice!

The next morning, we had a SUPER EARLY set of flights back to NOLA, but that was ok b/c we were back by 10:30 a.m. and I was back in my apartment by around 11:30. Kudos to Meg for being such a trooper on this whole journey and for taking such great care of me. Her husband picked us up at the airport and then drove me to my car. I stopped by GNC on the way home to see what a protein bullet was and to buy an Isopure drink to try it out. Sasha kitty was so glad to see me and she was LIKE GLUE, stuck by my side for the next three days!

I slept most of Friday and tried to sip water. Tthe next day, I tried the protein bullets and they were WAAAY too sweet. I tried apple juice and that was much better, though also sweet. One week clear liquids, Ugh! I failed in attempts to get my water in and to finish the protein bullets every time I tried one. Blech! Sunday, I decided I needed to go to church....not just to be there for my job, but I really needed to be there. I also needed some fellowship and normalcy. Everyone was so nice! It helped a great deal and I was able to also attend the NOVA rehearsal that evening. That was a lot harder than church and I sat down for most of it, but I wanted to see how it was to sing! That was also hard, but I figured that it would help. In between these activities and naps, those first few days involved reading various ObesityHelp.com  forums and Sleevetalk forums, and watching several movies. I took myself to watch the new Star Trek Into Darkness movie, t'was great! "Khaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" My next post will be an update as to where I am along the path now. I leave you with another picture of my dear Sasha kitty :-) 

A Day & and Half.....

Well......ONE DAY AND A HALF to go before VSG surgery!

Yikes! I'm super excited for all the lifestyle and healthy living changes ahead, but also have a case of pre-surgery jitters. I suppose that is understandable considering general anesthesia is involved. It was awesome to be able to communicate with the doctor about antibiotics (explain my bad reaction to Cipro after the Haiti trip last summer) and anesthesia. Made me feel more confident overall.

Everyone's been extremely supportive and I truly appreciate that. I also appreciate the kind words about my posts and the prayers. I received several notes after my FB post and I am greatly moved by them. We are all in this life together!

I've lost 14 lbs on my liquid diet  so far.....which makes me think....."hmmm. do I REALLY have to go through with actual surgery?......or can I simply do a longer liquid diet etc.?"

I know the answer and it is "yes" I need to go ahead with surgery. It's a longer lasting change than a fad diet and I would know because I have tried most of them and the weight came back on....plus a few lbs. Tired of yo-yos with the same pounds. So, all hail to the new stomach...er....sleeve that I will have. I hope it's not too picky and that it will tolerate most foods and I hope my capacity will not be impossible to deal with.

Here is my itinerary for the trip to Endobariatric in Piedras Negras, Mexico:

- Flights to San Antonio, shuttle to La Quinta hotel where Rosy, the driver will pick us up.
- Two-hour drive to Eagle Pass, TX where we'll send one night
- Tuesday: morning pickup, cross border, meet Dr. Alvarez, do tests, have SURGERY
- Be in recovery (we're hoping, LOL) and then will probably be walking and sleeping
- Wednesday: at the hospital, leak test, may graduate to ice chips, REST
- Thursday: discharge, Rosy drives us back to Eagle Pass, spend night
- Friday: Flights back to New Orleans and alternate between resting and walking
- Saturday: REST / WALK / sip on water
- Sunday: I am hoping to be back at the church on Sunday, but we shall see......

Wish me luck! :-)

WLS Journey Part II - Going for It.....and Insurance Land

I decided in May 2011 that I really wanted to go for it.

I had decided this before, many years ago, but did not make any moves because it was prohibitively expensive. Now, in the middle of my career, I realized it might yet be a real possibility. So, I attended a Bariatric Seminar at a local hospital. They were very nice and it was informative. I was shocked at how many people were there. There were some for whom I realized this surgery would be a life-saving event. I kept the information, but did not follow up with them right away because of the high cost.

Summer came and went. I read Mindful Eating by Jan Bays. I tried new meals. I walked City Park like a fiend. I traveled to Brasil and walked holes into my shoes, literally. I had to throw them away. I hiked around Igacu Falls on both the Brazilian and Argentine borders. I read blog after blog. I drank a bazillion gallons of water! I read articles and websites. Then, in the fall, I started talking more about it with friends from far and near who have had various weight loss surgeries. I learned lots of practical things related to surgery and recovery that I hope to work through with the same sucess they have found.

Two of the blogs I like are:
The Incredible Shrinking Girl http://incredibleshrinkinggirl.com/ and
Living After Weight Loss Surgery http://livingafterwls.blogspot.com/
I have found HUNDREDS of blogs about people's personal journey with WLS. I thought to myself: "Why not?!"

In February 2012, after tossing it around forever.....I made the second part of the decision to have weight loss surgery (WLS). Want to know what that part is? It's commitment. When I say this, I mean commitment in the sense of a deep, abiding, personal dedication to the preparation, process, and life afterwards. It is a work in progress, but I know I can do it!

Some of my close friends who have had weight loss surgery have helped me - a LOT and I am eternally grateful to them. I will need their encouragement and that of my other friends through the coming months.

From December 2011 to February 2012, I exhausted my health insurance options, making tons of calls, filing petitions, and learning that no matter what, none of the insurances offered would cover bariatric surgery - even with medical letters of necessity and references. It was recommended to me by a very nice man at the national office of one of the agencies, that I try the Head's Up program with the state Office of Group Benefits. I filed the application online to be chosen by lottery for elective bariatric surgery which would be 100% covered. All of the people with whom I interacted (phone screening, random questions from me, letter-writers) have been SO NICE and VERY helpful, but it's been over a year and I haven't been chosen. The dates of the program and the numbers of surgeries have been changed and I wish the very best to those chosen, but I won't wait any longer than this May.

The next step for me was to attend bariatric surgery nutrition classes (again, as I have done so in the past) and choose a surgeon. I don't know why I thought I should do this because the surgery package was about $17,000 (which I didn't have and was unwilling to borrow). I ended up completing the courses, meeting with other prospective patients, choosing a surgeon, paying $350 out of pocket to speak with the surgeon one-to-one, and then walking away upset, terrified, and angry. Why? Well, the surgeon gave me nine (9) NINE minutes of his time and in fact, he was sifting a stack of papers and not making eye contact. I felt as if I was wasting his time and he did not volunteer much info, rather, he answered when I asked a question and after the nine minutes stopped.

Lucky for me, I was simultaneously doing research on another surgeon and reading blogs

In my next post, I will describe the type of WLS I'm having and how I found my surgeon!