Kind of Funny...

Austin and I's baby was concieved on my 8 month surgiversary! Exactly 8 months after I had surgery to the DAY, I became pregnant! Wierd how things work out, huh?

New Song

This one should be obvious... :D

Explanation...

...of the sappy song. I haven't given proper credit to the one person who has "helped" me through this journey the entire time, which is my late Grandma Hosford. She also had weight loss surgery decades ago, and I know of all the people in my life, she is the one who understands exactly what I went through and what I will continue to go through.

I know she is no longer alive, but I also know in my heart that she has been with me every step of the way, from my decision to go ahead with surgery, to the operation itself, to the happiness I feel right here, right now. So every word of this song is exactly what I feel for my incredible Grandma Hosford, who in a sense has changed my life forever.

I miss her so much.

8 Months Already...

Eight months ago today I was wheeled into surgery....then I had some complications for a couple months after that, and now...

...I am as happy as a pig in mud! I am down about 117 pounds now, and lovin life. I can eat literally anything and everything, just a wee bit at a time!

I was just looking at my pre-surgical "goals", and have reached all but one! I just need to join a volleyball team now and I'm all set!! I am now able to shop anywhere, able to do things without sweating like a hog, and the number one item on my list was to be happy again. I certainly obtained that goal!! I LOVE MY SLEEVE! :D

The pics are what I'm looking like these days...:)

100 POUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I got on the scale, and the angels sang as the scale read exactly 100lbs less than it did at the beginning of January!!!! I am sooooo much happier and healthier than I have ever been! I can now officially eat ANYTHING (including bread and steak!), and am having no complications whatsoever!! Life is awesome, and I LOVE MY SLEEVE!!! :)

A big thank you to friends and family that have supported me throughout the past 5 months, and an extra, extra big thank you to my wonderful husband who has always seen me as the person I am today, no matter what I weighed! :)

4 Months Already?

Yes...it sure has been! I am feeling great and am down 88lbs. Life is good! :)

Healthy as a Horse (but much smaller than one!)!

I had my 3 month check-up yesterday and I am doing superb!! While they were going over all of the pounds and inches I had lost, I was shocked...and so were they! Lots of inches gone and LOTS of pounds gone! My weight loss has far exceeded their expectations for three months out (they thought maybe around 40 or so). I am now at 77.5! GONE! FOREVER!! The best part is that all of my labs looked perfect. While I can barely eat more than I can fit in one hand, my levels of EVERYTHING have improved remarkably and are exactly where they should be! I feel much better after yesterdays appt.!! :)

BEFORE!

This is so embarassing!! This pic was just taken this past Christmas (about 4 months ago)!! Wowsers...

AFTER!!

This is not the most flattering outfit (it's just what I wore to work today!), but Austin took some shots of my at -75 pounds!

3 Months Out and 75lbs Gone FOREVER!!!

The day finally came! I got on the scale this morning and had lost EXACTLY 75 pounds!! My 3 month "surgiversary" is technically Wednesday, but I am happy to report two days early!! I cannot believe it. I carry my dog's 40lb bag of dog food and it feels SO heavy...and to think I almost carried TWO of those bags (well, the equivalant of) on my body every day!

For those who have seen me lately, you have most certainly see the "old" Katie fast returning! I am so much happier, so much healthier, and so thankful for the support I continue to get on a daily basis!! Like I have said before, this has BY FAR been the hardest thing I have ever gone through, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat. I am lovin my sleeve so much these days, and now feel bad for hating it so much while I was sick!!

As I promised, there are pictures to come!! I even found an old "before" pic that was taken at Christmas. It blew my mind to see it! I'm also going to scan my driver's liscense pic on here, as it also looks really different!!

Today is a great day...:)

Almost at the 75lb mark!

I lost another 4 pounds while in Gulf Shores (which baffles me completely due to the fact that I ate whatever I wanted AND drank way too many adult beverages at times!). That loss puts me at a loss of 71.4 pounds total so far. Like I said, I will be adding pics when I reach the 75 pound mark, although many of you have seen me and/or my other blog with the Spring Break pics, so it won't be a huge shocker.

I am really lovin my SLEEVE!! :) :) :)

Early Spring Update

Well, April is almost here, and with the first full spring month comes a new found love for life and new clothes! I am down 64 pounds, cannot wear most of my old clothes (except for the ones I kept from high school!!), and cannot wait to buy some new ones!! The only outfit I really, REALLY miss is my BCBG velour jumpsiut, which anyone who sees me even on a weekly basis has seen me wear this often! It was my favorite outfit, but is now way too big!! I still trying to wear it if possible, but even on my bloated PMS week last week it still fell off me! Oh well...I'll just get a new one (or two)! :)

I am now able to eat anything in small amounts. Restaurants are even enjoyable again. Gulf Shores should be a blast not having to worry about nausea or not being able to eat certain foods! The one and only thing that comes to mind as making me VERY sick lately is a mozzerella stick. I now know why fried foods are bad for mini-tummies! However, I can eat other fried foods, as proven by me taking bites of Austin's fried food once or twice! ;) Other than that mishap with the mozzerella stick, food has become a good thing again instead of a chore! I am confident that I will continue to loose even on vacation with food and drinks galore!

I'll post a picture when I reach 75 pounds lost (only 11 more to go!), I promise!! Thanks again for all the continued support! :)

2 Months Already

Down 61 pounds total, and cannot believe that it has been 2 months since surgery. What a ride it's been. I'm a little over half way already. :D Can't complain about that!

7 Weeks Already...

Wow...time sure flies when you can't eat a whole lot! I am doing much better thses days, back to eating a little bit and no longer have the nausea (for the most part). I am down 58lbs. and have been stuck here at 58 for a while now. WLS patients call this an infamous "stall", and I didn't really have on until now. It sucks not seeing the scale move daily anymore! At least every other day! Well, I have a lot to be happy about with the nausea gone, and Gulf Shores to look forward to (we leave 3 weeks from TOMORROW!). I plan on buying a few clothing items before we leave, but buying most of them down there (gotta love that Tanger Outlet Mall!) I had an appt. Monday at MMPC and they were very happy with my loss so far. I am in the higher percentage of loss (can't remember what), so I'm happy with that. Back to work, although only eating a few hundred calories a day makes me very, VERY tired while I'm there! I usually crash around lunch time (11:30). I have been sleeping about 10 hours a night and napping after work. I think Austin is getting sick of this routine, but I can't help it, and hopefully it's only temporary! Well, that's about it for now, I'll re-post (with some pics too!) when I break this damn stall. I'll post pics at my 60 pound mark. Two pounds to go...

Finally...some R-E-L-I-E-F!!!

As long as I take my meds on time, I am beginning to get some huge relief from the nausea!! YAY!!! Thank God for Reglan...

As of this morning, I am down exactly 54 pounds and am able to eat tiny bits of food at a time. Things are really looking up for me!! Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers...they worked!

5 week update

Oii...another bout in the hospital. I had a three day "vacation" at Blodgett, and was just released not long ago (woo hoo!). They may have found a resolution to my issues while I was there, though, as they found I have Thrush which was spreading down into my esophogus, and they found that Reglan actually works to control my nausea. I do feel better, but am now cautiously waiting to make sure the PILL for works as opposed to the IV form. I can say now, though, that I am feeling better, so at this point, not too many complaints...:)

I am not even going to think about the scale for a few days, as I am very puffy and bloated from three days of IV fluids! So no new loss to report this week.

One Month Update

OK...deep breath...

The past week has been horrible. I am on several meds for nausea; Phenergan, Zofran, Levsin, Prevacid and now have to take Pepcid complete, which are finally starting to work a bit. At this point, a little bit of relief means a lot. I was in the ER on Tuesday night for fluids (very dehydrated) and back in the hospital for an endoscopy this morning (a camera went down my throat into my tummy to see if they could find a reason for my nausea). The good news: no stricture like they thought (where my stomach would have healed way too tight), and the bad news: still have the nausea. The surgeon did find some irritation on my stomach, which is being biopsied. He said it may be bacteria that casues an ulcer. He told Austin that it may just be taking me months to get rid of the nausea now that I am eating actual foods. This aparently happens to very few people. Lucky me... Can't eat or drink very much at all, consuming less than 100 calories a day (and that's only when I can get juice down). Hopefully this will all be a distant memory soon.

On a lighter note, the drugs were so good during my scope that I saw a beautiful Lion Fish (????) and came home to watch Dora the Explorer (????). Don't know where that behavior from...oh yeah, the awesome drugs!

I am down 48 pounds form January 4th. I'll post again soon.

2 week update

I want food...enough said.

One week update!

Well, I am still alive! :) It hasn't been easy, but every day gets better and better. I am down 18.5 since surgery, 30lbs total from my highest weight. WOO HOO! I am going back to work tomorrow part time, and full time on Monday. I am so ready to leave this house! I have not stepped outside since Friday when I came home from the hospital!!

The hardest part of this whole thing has not been the pain, but the "head hunger". I don't feel physical hunger, as I can take a few sips of water and be STUFFED! It is rather intense cravings, and I am ONLY allowed to drink clear fluids. That has been so much harder than I thought! Next week, I will be able to drink full liquids, followed by "mushies". I am so excited for the mushies!! In five weeks, I will be able to eat anything I want, just MUCH less than usual! It takes six full weeks for my new mini-tummy to heal completely, hence all the liquids and soft foods. This is by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but I now realize that if I can get through this, I can get through anything!!

Thank you all once again for everything!! I couldn't have done this without the overwhelming support I have recieved!

I am officially sleeved! :)

I am sleeved! Surgery went great aside from some very low oxygen when they tryed to wake me up. The first night was very painful with gas pains and nausea and pain form the incisions. But, today I just have pain from the incision where they removed my stomach. The hospital staff was wonderful and made my stay as pleasant as possible. I have many wonderful guests stop by (thank you to all who called, stopped by, sent flowers, thought/prayed for me!). I am soooo glad to be home! My house smells like a floral shop!!

For the next few days, my routine will consist of sipping (cannot drink more than an ounce per hour), walking around my house (I look like an 80 year old lady when I walk), and resting, then repeat! Boring, but Sex and the City is on right now so I'm happy! :)

I am going to take some more pain meds and take a nap right now, but I'll write later!

Less than 24 hours now!!

I am getting N-E-R-V-O-U-S!!! But anxious and excited all at the same time. I will celebrate this day each year as a "Surgiversary". After all, it is the most life changing day of my life thus far! So plan on a big bash on January 23rd, 2009!

Thanks again for all of the support, and I will post ASAP after surgery.

Here I go....

Had my final pre-op visit today

I got labs done (my least favorite part of all of this...there is so much BLOODWORK!!), met w/ Dr. Foote's PA and got weighed. I had to prove to them that I am "dedicated" and could loose weight this first week. Well, I lost 9lbs in the first pre-op week. I will fully admit that I wasn't 100% faithful to this diet, but I did my best and they were very happy with that loss, so I am too.

I found out that my surgery is scheduled for 9:30 with a 7:30 arrival time on Wednesday. Five more days...:) YIKES!

Much harder than I thought, BUT...

...I got on the scale this morning and am officially 6.5lbs. lighter than I was whan I began this pre-op 3 days ago (I started on Wednesday)! OK...I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I'm gonna be honest about this diet. While I try to put on the "I'm doing great!" front, that's a big fat lie. This is much, MUCH harder than I could've imagined, and I even prepared myself for the worst. Well, it's worse than that, but I have to do this, which is my sole motivation to keep going...I do not want to croak on the operating table!

Only 11 days until surgery, so 11 more days of this crap!! I CAN DO THIS!

So Long, Food...

...at least for a good month or so! Today I had my 4 hour long appointment with a group that is having surgery the same week I am (the same day in some cases). It was very informative, and they went over everything from the pre-op diet to the week after surgery. Needless to say, I have been very well informed of what to expect, right down to what elevators to take up to surgery in the hospital!

Now comes the first hard part...the part I have been dreading as much as the surgery...the PRE-OP DIET!! This consists of 800 calories a day (yes, 800!) to shrink and empty the stomach and to de-fat the liver, making the surgeon's job easier. I had to special order these products from MMPC. They pack these supplements, which are mostly liquid, full of protein so that I won't be famished, but will be very tired from the lack of sugar and carbs. So, this is what I consider Phase I of my journey...getting through these next two weeks on this diet! Then comes the surgery, then 2 weeks of solid liquids, then "mushies"...I'll just update as I get to each phase!

Oh yeah, and by the way, my surgery is two weeks from today!!!!!!! And thank you all soooooo much for the encouragement, thoughts and prayers! You guys are the best! :)

Here I Go...

Well, here goes nothing. I'll make it as short as I can. I began researching WLS (weight loss surgery) in October of 2007. Now after several appointments, over a dozen vials of blood, insurance approval for a $30,000 procedure and many medical tests performed, I am having a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG) on January 23rd, 2008. While I have always been "me", I haven't been "me" for years. Those of you that know me well know this about me. I may seem happy, bubbly and confident on the outside, but that is the complete opposite of how I actually feel in the body I have grown into. I want to have that happiness back. After years and dozens of try-and-fail attempts at every diet under the sun, in addition to poor eating habits, Hosford genes and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, here I am at the weight I am. I am ready to change now.

I will post here often, as I will be using it as a place to "vent" over my journey. If you want to know more info on the VSG, leave a comment and I'll send you some. I have some great links.

Many people see WLS as a easy way out of obesity, and I will admit I was one of those people. I am here to say that it is the polar opposite. It will be very, very hard, starting 2 weeks before surgery with an all liquid, gross diet. Then POOF! 85% of my stomach will be cut right out of my body. Then 4 weeks of liquids to ensure the staples don't leak while my new tummy heals, then soft foods for weeks, then watch what I eat every day, then a certain amout of protein and water are required each day...the list goes on and on. I say bring on the challenge, I am ready.

I hope to show you along the way that this is anything but easy...