Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Week 2 Of Pre-Surgery Diet

So, this is week 2 of my pre-surgery liquid diet and yesterday was a bit challenging...the first week I was gung ho about the diet and this week started out with a lack of will power. Taylor & Hannah were eating donut holes and boy did they look yummy! I did sneak one, but I still lost weight, so I don't feel so bad. I had to remind myself of why I'm doing this and get back into the correct mindset..I have a mission to complete and I will not fail this! So far, I have lost nearly 10 lbs in two weeks, so that is awesome and I'm supposed to lose 12 in order to have the surgery. It's definitely do-able! I can't believe my surgery is only 3 wks away now!! My life is about to change and I am SO READY!! BRING IT!!

Friday, February 13, 2009

One Step Closer To The Prize

Today I had my EGD done and it went well. I got there on time and my sweet friend Kristy came with me so she could drive me home afterwards. She was more nervous than I was, LOL! They gave me some sedation medication which started working right away and I remember them putting the tube down my stomach, but it didn't hurt or anything and that's all I remember. I went to recovery for a half hour and then I was fine and ready to go. My surgeon's office will call if there were any problems with the biopsy, if they don't call, that means all is well. After coming home I was tired, so I took a nap. I did get a bad case of diarrhea and I'm thinking it's a reaction to the sedation medication, and a bit of a sore throat from the tube, but other than that, I'm fine. So today was one step closer to the prize!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Current Progress

So far in my wls journey I have completed all my pre-op support group meetings, met with dietician, had my psych eval and passed, met with my surgeon Dr. Bour, recieved approval from my insurance company and recieved my surgery date(March 9th), and am currently on my pre-surgery four week liquid diet. I will also be having my EGD this Friday to make sure I don't have any ulcers or a specific bacteria called pylorri. This journey so far has seemed long, but it's all falling into place the way God intended and I'm excited about all the progress I've made thus far and that my surgery is less than four weeks away! My new life is about to begin and I couldn't be happier!

My Story

My name is Caley and I'm 31 years old, married to my best friend for 5 years and a stay at home mother of two beautiful girls....and I've been overweight nearly all my life.

My weight loss surgery journey began last May when I attended Dr. Bour's seminar and knew this surgery was the answer I had been waiting for! I got the money I needed to start the program and started the pre-op support groups immediately. You're required to attend 12 pre-op support groups as part of the approval process. I learned so much valuable information during those group meetings and I also did my own research via internet. I am well aware of all the possible complications of this surgery(Gastric bypass), and have weighed the pros and cons. The pros far outweigh the cons and this surgery will save my life.

As a child, I was consistently ridiculed and made fun of because of my weight when in reality, I wasn't even that overweight and believe that if my parents would have took the time and concern to send me to a nutritionist, it could have greatly impacted my life. Unfortunately, we can't go back in time to change things, so I have to change the future for myself! The lasting emotional scars of always being the "fat kid" and always the "fat sister" still ring true in my mind every day, but I have chosen to take the power into my own hands and trust God with my life. As an adult, I always had the big butt and big thighs, but was okay with myself. Then I had children and my weight skyrocketed and years after trying for our third baby, I discovered I had hypothyroidism and that has made it even harder for me to lose weight. My lowest weight during my early adulthood was 180 and my highest weight was 298. Many people have asked me if I'm scared of having this surgery, but since the beginning, God has given me nothing but peace about the surgery and has paved the way for this to come to fruition.

During the past year or so, I have developed several co-morbidities which include infertility, joint pain, back pain, acid reflux, depression, IBS, and a few others. It has become increasingly difficult to do anything that everyone else takes for granted. Tying my shoes is a chore, doing dishes is back breaking, painting toenails-forget it, riding rollercoasters is impossible, even fitting in a normal chair is almost impossible and the fear of breaking the chair is even worse! I can't walk many steps without being out of breath and can't play with my children the way I dream of. It's time for a change, time for a new me! This blog will describe my journey to a new me..the good steps and the bad!