ONE YEAR ALREADY!!!!

Today marks one year since my surgery!!!! I couldn't be happier with my life....still down loads of weight, still have the best and most supportive husband and family on the planet, and am now carrying a very healthy Baby Boy!!! Never in a million years did I think that having this surgery would impact my life so much. It has made me a better wife, a better daughter, a better sister...and overall better person. Also, without my decision to have the sleeve done, I would not have had this precious baby boy in my life. I am still so glad I decided to go through with this, and as hard as it has been (and still is to this day), I have not one regret. Life is AWESOME!!!!

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!