Vitamins

So I got my first box of vitamins and Nascobal from the Q Pharmacy folks that had a rep at my first support group meeting last month.  It was a nice surprise to also get an iron supplement because they mentioned at support group that you'd need to pick that up separately since their multi did not have iron in it.  For $25 per month, you really can't find a better deal around.

I ordered a very cool vitamin/pill organizer off of Amazon and filled it up for the week and officially started them all yesterday.  I ended up ordering a 2nd container so that I only have to prep them twice a month.

I've only been taking all of them for barely two days but it'll be interesting to see if I feel any better, have more energy, etc. after I'm on them a while.

So here's a picture of what I'm all taking as far as vites.  I added the Biotin in since I already purchased a couple bottles.  It promotes new hair growth, nail growth, etc....but I've heard it promotes hair growth EVERYWHERE.  Maybe I should look for shaver coupons.

This is my cool ass pill organizer I got on Amazon here:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E13BVA/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

EKG Results - Follow Up

Today I had a follow up EKG with Dr. Langhorne.  Dr. Langhorne has been in practice as a cardiologist for 51 years.  He was very grandfatherly -- sweet looking, experienced, gentle.  I actually really liked him after I got over the shock of his age...until he said two things to me:

1. He referred to me as having a "large frame" (TWICE)....in reference to where the EKG stickers are placed, sometimes they are not placed in the exact right places to get a proper EKG.  So basically he admitted it was a technical issue of placement that is further complicated by my fat.
2. The doc asked me if I exercise regularly. (No)  Do I have any trouble walking.  (No)  Do I have any difficulty with taking stairs.  (Not really, unless we're talking more than two flights).  He must've noticed my quizzical expression at all of the questions because he said, "you'll need to do a stress test."...oh gawd, no.  Apparently if I was incapable of walking or stairs, I could've had done the next test chemically, somehow...Damn.  I was so prideful with being able to say that I can walk and do stairs that if I had answered differently, I could remain my lazy self and skip the treadmill altogether.

So my "stress test" is seriously stressing me out -- just another appointment, more tests (he also wants an echocardiogram, which is a sonogram of my heart walls), more sick leave to take that I barely have....more missed work.  And just another hurdle to hopefully get over and get closer to a surgery date.

So all this crap is scheduled for Tuesday, 6 May.  I have to be there at 8 AM and it'll take three hours. I seriously better not be on a damn treadmill most of that time.  Then I get to eat lunch and my echo is at 12:30 PM same day.

BTW, this is Dr. Langhorne.  Hope he's alive long enough to review my results!  ROFLMAO.

I'm going to Hell.

Age 132

EKG Results

Abnormal.

Can't say I'm not worried.....but just a teeny bit.

I'll be going to another appointment soon for a 2nd EKG and if that one is still abnormal, I may have to do a stress test.

I posted on Bariatric Bad Girls Club (it's a Facebook support group) about it and apparently I should have nothing to worry about - abnormal results are common.

Of course I also Googled it right away and if you are not warm enough or still enough, it could skew the results and make them appear abnormal.

Nutritionist Consult #5

Ashton weighed me in since Nurse Jennifer is on vacation this week.  They sent away their main scale to be recalibrated (duh), so I weighed on their back up  -- a Tanita scale.  It read 250.0.  Up 2 pounds since last month.

Two hundred and fifty pounds.  An eighth of a ton.  Halfway to three hundred.  My highest adult weight.  What's funny, if anything can be "funny" about that is that I am not really that upset about it. Because I know my life is going to change very soon.

In approximately 64 days, my journey continues with a permanent, life-long tool.  A tool that if used correctly, will help me shed 50-75% of my excess weight (in my case 50-75 lbs).

Ashton and I talked about how I did on my goals last month and created new ones for this month.  We talked more in depth about vitamins.  One of my goals for this month is to work on my organizational and planning skills for meals and snacks.  Another one is to walk a mile five times a week.

My next appointment is on Thursday, May 15th after work.  The day after will be my final writeup with Ashton, an hour long appointment in the morning where she will go over more in depth about my eating plan during each phase after surgery, as well as a review of all of the good habits I have been practicing that I will need to stick to after surgery.

Ashton told me that once the paperwork is sent to the insurance company, they will take 1-10 business days to respond and hopefully APPROVE me for surgery.  Then and only then will my surgery be scheduled, and that will likely be 2-3 weeks out from the date of approval.

Somewhere between approval and surgery date I will be attending a pre-op class and meet one last time with Dr. G.  I also will have to do a 1-2 week liquid diet (gawd please be only one week).

Another piece of info Ashton confirmed is that Dr. G only does surgeries on Mondays and Tuesdays.  I don't know why but I have the expected surgery date of 6/17 in my head.  I can't explain it, but I just have a feeling.  I'm counting on it, I guess.

When I went to check out, Hope asked if I had a chest x-ray done yet.  I thought I had checked off all the boxes, but I must've missed the chest x-ray, so I got that taken care of today, too.

That is all for now.  Still can't believe how fast time flies.  I'll be on the surgery table before I know it.

That makes me very happy.

My 1st Support Group

Tonight was support group night and Rich accompanied me.  It was pretty cool.

Other than several pre- and post-op attendees, Jennifer the Nurse and Ashton my Nutritionist were there along with a guest, Ryan, who informed us about a new FDA approved B-12 nasal mist called Nascoball.

I also met a girl named Leticia who had the sleeve done two months ago.

Leticia is already 47 lbs. down.

I asked her for her number so I could keep in touch with her between meetings.  And I told her about my favorite Facebook group for bariatric support.

One of the post-op ladies, Laura, told her story.  She works at Navy Fed - I recognized her husband right away.  I found that we had a few similarities which was inspirational.

She said that every day she woke up she was tired.  She was tired all day at work and after work she just crashed on the couch and didn't want to do anything.  Now she is over 120 lbs. down (after a year) and once she decompresses for a little time after work, she's like "what can we do around the house?  lets do some gardening, run errands, etc etc"....so needless to say she has a lot of energy to do things she never felt like doing.

Pretty cool.  I'll head back next month and every month after.

Interesting!

My mom sent me my "school records" book that she kept on me from K-12th grade.

Each page in the book has a bunch of stuff to fill in each year to keep track of my growth and the opposite side of that is a space for a school picture which is also a folder that holds my report cards, awards, and anything else significant.

The reason I wanted it is because every year we recorded my height and weight.  

Tonight I looked up my stats at age 8, 11, 13, and 18 just to see if by general standards, I was in a normal range for my age/height/weight.

At age 8, I had a BMI of 16.9.

At age 11, it was 19.5.

At age 13, it was 21.5.

At age 18, it was 23.5.

At all four ages I was considered in a "healthy range".  It was interesting that it continued to increase rather than staying steady.

Why is it that I always felt chubby my entire childhood?  Even my daddy nicknamed me "Chubbs" at some point as a small girl, but I don't remember feeling bad because of that, I saw it as a term of endearment honestly.

Maybe other school kids made me feel different than everyone else and I just grew to believe it myself.  

Funny to see that when I graduated high school in 1995, I weighed around 155 lbs, which is well within my ideal range that I want to get down to.

Ugh. Feeling Fat.

It sucks carrying this much weight.  I am only a few pounds from my highest weight in my adult life.  Hell...my ENTIRE life and I am feeling every ounce of it.  My wedding rings are too tight -- I can't wear them without discomfort.  My underwear I wear the most is so uncomfortable.  I'm lucky I still have two work pants that I can wear.  I am bored with my closet.  I feel like I'm not good enough to wear all of my gorgeous heels.

I remember when I was down to 202 (Nov 2011 or so).  Feeling sexy even though I still had lots of fat.  I rocked stilettos, had a waistline, was wearing size large tops and 14 bottoms.  I looked forward to planning outfits each morning.  I took time to groom myself, took pride in my appearance.  Loved the attention from people that hadn't seen me in a while.  Then I gained it all back.  Just like the other dozen times I've tried to lose weight and keep it off.

That's why this tool -- my sleeve -- will be a godsend.  I need something to help me -- permanently...for life.   I will have to use it to my advantage -- it won't do all the work for me.  I will be committed.  I will be different.  I will eat well.  I will get all my protein in....I will drink all my water.  I will avoid carbonated drinks, alcohol, and non-nutritious foods for a very long time....I can't say I will never have an Oreo again (I will), but in the beginning, I am going to be the star pupil.  I will surprise myself.  I will be a success story.

If I have calculated correctly, at the latest, my surgery date will be about 17 June or so, and that's being generous.  That's 75 days from today.  Yes, I have a counter on my cell phone.  (I also have a counter for Cape San Blas trip - 17 days, and Ireland - 172 days).

So I am taking it day by day.  Looking forward to getting ONE more appointment behind me.  April 14th can't come fast enough.  May 15th, May 16th, waiting to hear back about insurance approval, getting a surgery date....surgery day....then....then my journey continues.  The hard part.  The best part.  The rest of my life.  Being healthier, feeling better, looking better, living fully, being happy.

That's all I want.