7 months Post Op - Happy New Year!

I left 142 lbs behind in 2024 and I feel amazing! I’m just over 7 months post op and I’m down 96 lbs since surgery day. I’m so proud of all the progress I made in 2024 and I cannot wait to see what progress 2025 brings.

I had a lot of victories on and off the scale and I’m proud of all of them, big and small. The best victory of all though is just how much better I feel. I’m healthier, happier and more confident. There’s no better feeling than that.

I’m so blessed and I couldn’t have done this without the support of my family and friends.

Happy New Year everyone! May 2025 be our best year yet!!

Almost 5 Months Post - Op

I'm a little over a week away from being 5 months post - op. I did my weekly weigh in on Sunday. I weighed in at 310 lbs. I haven't seen those numbers n my scale since my very early twenties. I am down a total of 68 lbs. since surgery day and a grand total of 112 lbs. since January. 

I attended my future sister-in-law's bridal shower the weekend before last and since I was wearing the same Torrid dress I previously wore as a tunic, I figured it was time for another comparison photo. Here you have before I began my weight loss journey, 3 weeks post op (May 2024) and 4.5 months post op (Sept. 2024) The difference is insane to me!

I also went dress shopping for my brother's wedding last week. I haven't shopped for a formal dress since my senior prom 23 years ago. In January, I was wearing a women's plus size 30/32. The dress I got for the wedding is a women's plus size 24! I was so surprised!

 

4 months Post Op

I feel really badly that I haven't updated this blog since I had surgery. Mostly because I prefer to blog from a PC versus my smartphone. I have kept my Facebook page and TikTok updated with photos, videos and stats. 

I am 3 days away from being 4 month post op. I currently weigh 317 lbs. I'm 61 lbs. down from surgery day and a total of 105 lbs. since January. I feel amazing! My a1c was checked on August 8th and came back at 5.4 I am no longer in diabetic range and haven't taken any kind of medication for my blood sugar since before surgery.

I am currently sitting on my couch with my laptop lap desk on my lap while I type this post, something that wasn't possible for me to do when 2024 began. My belly no longer smushes against the stearing wheel and I no longer have to avoid chairs with arms because they no longer dig into my hips. These non scale victories are worth just as much as seeing the number on the scale going down, if not more. Even the rough times are worth it - when I've eaten a bite or 2 more than I should have and feel awful for a couple hours afterward.

I'm incredibly proud of my progress so far and cannot wait to see where else this journey leads me to.

Surgery Day

I had to be here at the hospital at 7 a.m. I got here a little early and was weighed (378 lbs! 4 lbs down from last week) and taken to a room to undress, gown and get prepped. I was scheduled for the OR at 9:30 a.m. In true fashion, the OR was a little bit behind and then when the anesthesia team came to get me, my I.V. decided not to work 😭 I am typically very easy to stick and nurses usually compliment me for how good my veins are. Not today. I'm sure not being allowed to eat or drink after midnight (I went to bed at around 10 p.m. last night) didn't help the situation. Once they finally got an I.V. placed and gave me some relax medicine in it, I was wheeled into the OR.

I got onto the OR table and they placed a mask over my face and nose for a few moments. Then the anesthesia nurse came over to hold the mask on my face to give it a tighter seal and told me to take deep breaths. That's the last thing I remember before coming to in recovery. I remember seeing my surgeon in recovery briefly and he told me everything went great. I felt a bit rough and sore and was having a hard time getting comfortable but I knew it was from the air they used to inflate my abdomen for the laparoscopic procedure. Everyone I talked to before today warned me of the discomfort this would cause and that the best thing to do would be to get up and walk around as soon as possible. I couldn't wait to get up to my room and get dressed in my comfy clothes and slippers so I could walk the halls. After all, I was pretty sure that I had just heard my surgeon tell the recovery nurse to remove the foley.

I get upstairs to my room and when my nurse came in, the first thing I asked about was getting dressed so I could walk the halls. She tells me I have to stay in bed for an hour and have my vitals monitored before I could walk. Then she discovered the foley and I ask her if she could please go ahead and take it out. She tells me she will find out. I don't see her again until the hour of monitoring my vitals ended and at that time she tells me the foley has to stay in to monitor my output and that I'll have to walk the halls with it. I was so upset! I don't know if this nurse was just overwhelmed or loaded down with patients today but she left me hanging waiting for pain medicine and some ice chips, neither of which she ever brought. I didn't get them until shift change.

My night nurse has been amazing. She immediately got me some pain medicine since I had been waiting for almost 2 hours. I then asked her of the foley could be removed and if we could just monitor my output with a hat. She explained that she needed a physician order to remove the foley but that she would call my surgeon to see if she could get one. My surgeon said he gave the order in recovery and was a little upset I still had the foley, so needless to say it got removed. I finally got to put my comfy clothes and slippers on and I walked two laps of the unit.

I'm sore, but I honestly feel a lot better than I anticipated. I'm so excited to begin this epic journey!