1 Year BAND-iversary

Today's weight, 255.2 lbs, that's...you guessed it...100 lbs so far!!!

Disclaimer...School is hard.

So I know a lot of you were probably thinking that I gave up on this whole blog thing. I have been getting a lot of crap from people because I haven't put anything out here since...(shame) August. All I can say, is that I have been a busy girl with 2 jobs, school, service hours, working out and occasionally sleeping and seeing some of my friends. I also survived my first relationship in, I don't even know how long. (That's another story, for another time). And let me tell you, break-ups....are also hard. I feel like with everything I have been going through since the semester started, which was about the same time I wrote my last blog, that I have done amazingly well for myself. When I last blogged I was sitting at 87 lbs down. So in the past 4 months I have managed to lose 13 lbs while still maintaining this busy lifestyle. I am pretty proud of that. In the past, when life got hard, I turned to food. When I felt like I was losing control, I turned to food. Not anymore!

Oh, yeah....And today is my 1 year anniversary!!!!

1 year ago today, I was sitting in the waiting room at Altaview Hospital with my dad, being prepped for what was to become the most significant event in my entire life. I remembered just how calm I felt about the whole thing....I was ready, I had been through all the steps, 6 months of doctors visits, strict meal plans, psych eval, insurance questions, more insurance questions, paperwork, more paperwork...I successfully completed my 2 week pre-op diet and had actually lost 13 lbs! I have only been counting my weight loss since my surgery date, but in reality my highest starting weight came 2 weeks before my surgery  when I weighed in at 362 lbs. But on the day of my surgery, I was 355.5 lbs, so that is what I have based my weight loss off of. My dad and I sat in the pre-op room just chatting like it was any other day. I got my IV placed and they gave me a heparin shot.  As we waited  I reflected back on all the years of struggle and was content in the fact that I was going to wake up a new person ready to shed my old skin and begin a new journey that would ultimately save my life. I knew it was going to be hard, I knew it was going to be long, and I knew that it wasn't always going to be a straight shot down the mountain. (Truth be told, it has been a mother fucking ninja roller coaster bitch of a ride) But with all of that, I was perfectly ready for what lay ahead of me....

...Until the pre-op nurse came in and told me that my doctor was delayed and it was going to be a least 2 hours before they would bet me back in there.  That's when the nervousness set in. Nervous and anxious, it was starting to get to me. My dad, I think, was starting to get annoyed. I started a group text with my mom and sister who were not able to be there, but would be coming to see me later. I talked the nurse into getting an order from my doctor to give me something for my anxiety and he came back with some ativan. Um yes sir! Now things were peachy and I was goofily chatting with my mom and sister. My mom was getting annoyed with my sister and I because we were calling each other "fat" names and telling each other "fat jokes". It's always been a thing with us to use insulting humor on each other. My sister is my best friend and the person I am closest with, so it has always just been a joke. Ever since we got our surgeries, we have used "fat" jokes on each other. I think it has been a way of flipping our old lives the bird. I'm pretty sure it started that day, with her trying to get my mind off things, and we do it still to this day. My mom was getting annoyed like she always does, because she just doesn't understand us. I was feeling great in my post-anti-anxiety-med-haze.

Then one-by-one, the operating room staff came in to say their final words to me and it was off to the races.

The surgery went well, but post-op was a bitch. I had a full blown asthma attack and was hypotensive (low blood pressure), they had to give me an albuterol treatment and fluid for my blood pressure. I was in post-op for a while until they could stabilize me. All I could remember is the feeling that I couldn't breathe, was hot and dizzy, and had the most excruciating pain in my shoulders. (It was from all the CO2 they pump into your abdomen during laproscopic surgery to get all the other organs out of the way). In fact, the most intense and only real, problematic pain, during my entire recovery, was that CO2 pain. Other than that, I was actually doing quite well. It took about 2 days for that pain to completely dissipate, but I never had much surgical pain.

My mom showed up at the hospital as well as my sister, and my dad left. It took me a while to recover, because I was dizzy and couldn't keep my oxygen levels up. Once I was finally able to get out of bed and try walking, I puked. So 3 hours in post-op and I was finally able to go home. It had been a long day. My sister and mom stayed the night with me at my house and took good care of me. I remembered thinking how lucky I was to have such amazing family that would drop everything to be there for me. It's hard when you are a single woman, living alone to have to rely on others for help. But my family are some of the most amazing people in the world and I am so grateful to have them.

the next day my mom took me to her house and I spent the next week recovering there with her and my dad. It was nice to be able to take the time off work to get adjusted to my new life. I will never forget the day I walked into my manager, Amy Back's office and told her that I needed to take a leave of absence. I wasn't telling anyone yet what I was doing, (with the exception of a select few) so it was hard to tell her that I needed to take some time off, right during the holidays, and that she couldn't know what it was for. All she knew was that while it was not life threatening, it was essential to my life and health. She was so wonderful to give me the time off I needed and didn't question it.

Over the next 12 months I would have many amazing successes, some set backs and failures, some jump-for-joy moments, some tears, many goals reached, and many wardrobe changes. I have gone from a size 28 to a size 18. I have been thinking about the goal I set for myself originally.... (to recap)

Weight related goals:

Lose 10% (weight 320 lbs) DONE
Lose 50 lbs (weight 305 lbs) DONE
Get under 300 lbs DONE
Lose 66 lbs (The most weight I have ever lost at one time was 65 lbs) (weight 289 lbs) DONE
Get to 265 lbs (That's what I weighed in high school) DONE
Lose half my total expected weight loss (lose 93 lbs - weight 262 lbs) DONE
Lose 25% (weight 266 lbs) DONE
Lose 100 lbs (weight 255 lbs) DONE
Get under 200 lbs
Lose 50% (weight 178 lbs)
Reach my goal weight (weight 169 lbs)

Non weight related goals:

Shop in a normal size clothing store DONE
Ride an airplane without having to use the seat belt extender DONE
Hike Fannonhorn (The hill next to Camp Pinecliff where Camp Fellowship hikes every year) WOULD HAVE DONE, BUT IT GOT RAINED OUT
Run a 5k

Yep, I have done a lot in the last 12 months. I need to start coming up with a new set of goals. It's time to start the next chapter of this journey. I can't thank all of you enough for everything you have done for me in this past year. Everyone has played a small role in helping me to get where I am. I couldn't have the motivation for success without each and every one of your cheer-leading, positive vibes, role modeling, and gentle reminders.

There are a few people I want to thank by name, but this in no way means that I am not grateful to every single one of you.

Thanks first and foremost to my skinny sissy pants, Em. You have been instrumental in this for me. Thanks for sharing in this amazing journey right along side of me. You get me like no one else does. It's amazing to have someone going through the exact same thing at the same time. I love you, you are beautiful!

Thanks mom and dad, for teaching me to be a strong independent woman and what the value of hard work is. I needed that for success. Thanks for always encouraging me to keep fighting.

Thanks to my best friend, Dusten, for being the one that has to listen to me talk about myself...all the time...You are the only one that I can ramble off to at 4 in the morning. You have been so amazing and encouraging and helpful. You never judge, even when things get tough and all I want to do is quit. You keep me focused. Your friendship means more to me that you will ever know.

Thanks to Amberlie Holley for always having the most amazing timing. She probably doesn't know this, but she has an uncanny ability to know when I am struggling and need a push of encouragement. I always get a phone call or text message at just that right moment when I am feeling down, or overwhelmed, or just plain done. Thanks for your interventions.

Thanks to my hallmates and true friends, Morgan and Christina. I can't tell you how blessed I am to have two amazing people, living right across the hall from me, helping me survive my life. I am forever grateful to have you both right there, whenever I need you. Your friendship is so important to me. I can't wait to share our bottle of champagne.  

Thanks to those who have come to me for advice on their own personal weight loss journeys. I never in a million years, thought I would be a weight loss mentor. It is humbling to say the least.

Ok, I think I have successfully made up for you not hearing from me for  4 months. Just know that I am forever grateful to have this opportunity to share my story. It has been amazing to know that I have the strength, not only to succeed in this journey, but to tell the world about it.

Here's to the next 12 months....I can't wait to see what they have in store for me!


Here is a recap of the last year...

Bikini Body? Probably Not. Happy body? You bet!

Todays Weight: 268.4. That's 87 lbs. So the last few months have been getting increasingly harder to shed those pounds. It's getting to the point that I can't just rely on my diet and mild physical activity. It's time to get serious about fitness. You know I have been talking a lot about hiking. I am so excited I have found this wonderful outdoor activity that I love to do, but I know with my crazy life, its not always possible to get out to do it. I'm still going to commit myself to getting out there as much as I can. I even bought myself some kick ass hiking shoes!

But I know I need something feasible to get me through most days when I just cant get out there. Thanks to my good friend Bylly, for introducing me to the "Bikini Body Mommy 90 day challenge". Now I know I'm not a mommy, and I also know I'm not going to be "bikini body ready" in 90 days, but I just did day 1 of the workout and holy hell, it is intense and I feel really good after completing it. So for those of you who don't know what the BBMC is, check out her facebook page/youtube. She is starting a new challenge in a couple of weeks, but I decided I would jump on her old youtube videos and start with the old challenge while I wait. It is less than 20 minutes each day of high intensity training and day 1 was only 8 minutes and I'm dying, but loving it.

 I am excited to try this out and see where it takes me. Like I said, I'm still planning on hiking, biking, and hitting the weight room at my condo as much as I can, but at least now I know I can have something on hand for when I just cant get out there. I would love it if there where others out there that want to do it with me? (I know Bylly will be)

On a completely side note, I am in need of some new recipes. I get to the point where the same things all the time just aren't cutting it. I love to see what others out there are coming up with for good, healthy meal options. Mind you, I dont eat any red meat (including pork) and some chicken, if it is too dry is hard too. I also cant eat most breads, sticky rice, or super cheesy things. But if you have any great meal ideas for me, I would love you to share some of your recipes. You can post them to my facebook, email me at sachki80@gmail.com or text them to me. Thanks everyone!

bringing it home.....

8 months, 270 lbs, that's 85 lbs so far. Ok so I have been getting a lot of crap from people because I haven't posted since April. Life just gets in the way sometimes, ya know? I have been so busy over the past 4 months. I decided to go back to school, to get my bachelors degree in nursing. That has really taken up a lot of my spare time. It has also made it significantly harder to stay up with being active. I know I should never make excuses for not exercising, but once I started with classes, that was my life. I still feel like I have made some good progress though. I have lost 16 lbs since I last blogged in April. And this includes the 10 lbs I gained while I was in Peru, and then had to lose again. So technically you could say I lost 26 lbs. Oh yeah, I went to Peru!

So Peru was pretty much amazing. I went on a humanitarian mission with the Hope Alliance to distribute glasses to the people of northern Peru. It was the most rewarding experience. I had so much fun. I got to meet some really cool people and share some wonderful experiences. I saw lots of cool places and tried lots of yummy food. Yeah....the food....Ok so this is the deal. Because I was traveling internationally, and specifically to a place that is less developed than the US, I had to have all the saline taken out of my band before I went. (For those of you who are confused, my band is connected to a small port implanted under my abdominal wall that can be accessed with a needle. I can have saline injected into the band to make it tighter or looser depending on how I'm doing. Well even though the band will cause restriction on its own, the saline helps constrict it even more, giving me that "full" feeling) It's a precaution because if I were to have have any trouble with my band, say, something got stuck, there would be trouble finding a medical professional who would know how to access my port and treat me. Therefore, I had all the saline removed. Now, my appetite was still much less than it ever was before the band, but I had no trouble eating anything and I could eat more than I was used to when the band was full of saline. Hence the gaining 10 lbs while I was there. The food was really good, most of the time. Its funny because I even got really sick while I was there and lost of lot fluid but even with being sick, I still managed to gain weight, which proves that it is much easier to put on weight that it is to take if off.

Since coming back from Peru, I have lost all the weight I put on (I was actually down to an 84 lb weight loss on July 5th, which was the day I left for Peru)and a big contributor to that was that when I got back, I started having the saline put back into my band. You cant replace it all at once, because the opening would just close off completely and I wouldnt be able to swallow anything at all, including liquids. So we put it back in a little at a time, faster than it was put in originally. I had a total of 7mls in there before I left. I got 3 mls put back in when I got home, and another 3mls will be put in tomorrow, so we can go faster this time, but it will still take some time to get back to where I was.

Another big contributor to my success has also been Camp Fellowship. Most of you know I am a part of this wonderful camp where I am one of the counselor directors. We run a summer Christian camp every July. Camp has always been a special place for me. It helps to remind myself who I am and what I want out of life. It renews my spirit and drive and puts me back together when I feel broken. Bring it home. This place has been a part of my life for 24 years now, and I couldn't imagine my life without it. When I got up there it was this instant refresh. I felt this instant pull to get my life back in order. I felt slightly broken from all the craziness the summer brought. Trying to do an entire semester of school in 5 weeks, while also traveling to a foreign country. All while having to worry about my health and weight loss. It has been an overwhelming summer, to say the least. But as soon as I got to camp, I knew I was home, and I knew what I needed to do. (It may sound crazy to those of you who have never had the joy of experiencing camp. It is indescribable, almost, to anyone who has never been there, but trust me, this place is magical.)I found a new drive to get back to where I was, and I had the love an support of so many people who have always just loved me unconditionally, and were there to help push me back to where I needed to be. I have known this girl, Emily, since we were 10 years old. We started out at this camp together as scared little campers, and now 24 years later we are still running things together. We have always been friends, but there have been times where we haven't been super close. Not because of anything we did, but just because life takes you way from the people you love sometimes. Emily and I came together at camp this year and I feel like for the first time in a long time, we are closer to each other than we have ever been. We shared some pretty intense and real moments during that week at camp and found a common bond that is driving us. I love this woman so much and I am so happy she is in my life. She is helping to push me so hard right now. I hope I can be the same strength for her that she needs.

Also, I have found a huge passion for hiking. Another thing that Emily has encouraged me to do. I am always looking for hiking partners, so if anyone is interested, hit me up. I am going to need that push again when school starts back up. Anyway, as you can see, a lot has happened since we last talked. I have fallen a few times and had to find the strength to get back up, but I am stronger than ever these days, and nothing is going to stop me now. I had a goal originally set out to lose 100 lbs by the time I left for Peru. Sometimes we set goal that just aren't attainable. That's ok. The point is that I am making goals and I am working hard towards them always. I didn't make that goal, but I have a new goal, that I think it is more realistic. I want to lose 100 lbs before I hit my 1 year mark. 1 year will be December 12th. That's 4 months from now. I have 4 months to lose 15 lbs. Let see if I can do it. But I need everyone's help. Because I have said it before, I can't do this alone. My sweet friend Steph said to me recently that every time she sees me, I look different. She said she always wants to tell me how good I look, but didn't know if it was overkill or if I didn't always want people to talk about it. I told her that I always want the encouragement. I'm not saying this because I need people to go out of their way to compliment me. I have become such a strong person over these past 8 months, I don't feel like I need that anymore to feel special, but every time I hear someone tell me that I look good, or that Im doing great, it just sends a little fire into my heart. That little spark of energy I need to keep going. Please dont ever feel bad or awkward about wanting to ask me questions or talk to me about it. I will always be open to sharing anything you want to know. Even if you just want to know what the "magic number" is as Melissa said to me once. Thank you all for continuing to support me on my journey. I am loving my life and where I am right now. A huge thanks to everyone that has continued to push me. Oh and my awesome sister Emily has lost over 90 lbs. She is my inspiration always. Love you sissy!

1 Watermellon + 1 Gallon of milk + 5 bags of sugar + a 19 inch flat screen tv

Day 125, 285.8 lbs, that's 69.2 lbs so far. I am sorry I haven't blogged in a while. When I first decided to blog about my journey, I promised myself that I would stay up to date with my blogging, even if the stuff that was going on wasn't positive. Well as you can see, I haven't blogged in exactly 3 weeks. That's because I haven't lost anything in 3 weeks. It has been a rough 3 weeks and I would like to say that it is 100% related to hitting a plateau, but while that might be partially true, I also haven't been making the best decisions with my diet. The thing with this Lap-Band is, yes my somach capacity is reduced and it acts like an appetite suppressant, but I still have to make healthy eating choices and if I'm eating crap, I am still not going to lose weight. Now it's not like I have gone off the deep end and just been eating whatever the hell I feel like, but I haven't been making all the right choices. snacking and drinking the froo-froo coffees. Popcorn. Wonderful, amazing, life-altering, popcorn. So I decided this week was "Kick my butt back into gear week". I started to change up my work-out routine, I am only drinking plain coffee with splenda and skim milk, and I have layed off the popcorn. (although I will tell you this right now, I will never give up popcorn completely because I love it too much and I truly believe that when you deprive yourself of every joy in your life you will begin to resent it. I dont' ever want to hate my journey.) With that being said, everything in moderation. Anyway, so I have been kicking butt this week and I am proud to say I have jumped over the hump. I have also met my next goal: Lose 66 lbs (The most weight I have every lost during any attemp to lose weight) Go me! I am still so happy with my decision to take this step and go on this journey and I believe that I can accomplish this. I have added a new goal to my list. This is a big one, and I am going to have to work really hard to accomplish it. It's the first one I have set that has the potential to not get met, but I am going to try my hardest to accomplish it. I want to lose at total of 100 lbs by July 5th. This is the day I leave for Peru. That means I will need to lose 30 more lbs in a little less than 3 months. Which would be a 100 lb weight loss in exactly 7 months. I know its a big one, but I am really going to try to make it happen. I need evryone's support and encouragement though. I am going to Peru on a humanitatian mission with the Hope Alliance. I am so excited but we are going to be doing a lot of standing, walking and even hiking and how great would it be to be able to do all of those things 100 lbs lighter? So, please help keep me in check. Thank you to everyone that has been there for me during this and encouraged me and loved me. Thank you for all the kind words and praise. Thank you for sticking by me and pushing me every day. I couldn't do this without you. And just to clarify, my weight loss is roughly that of 1 watermelon + 1 gallon of milk + 5 bags of sugar + a 19 inch flat screen tv. Can you even imagine carrying that much extra weight around on you every day?

Dress up time

Day 104, 292.8 lbs, that's 63 lbs so far

I had this really amazing, "ah ha" moment today.  I just got back from a weekend in St. George with the family.  It was so nice and warm down there so I decided to pack clothes for warmer weather.  However, all my clothes are too big right now, which is like, "boo hoo", I know, but do you realize how hard its going to be to have to continually buy new clothes every time I drop a few sizes?  But it has gotten to the point were I cant "fudge" wearing a lot of the clothes I own, because they are just too big.  It was really apparent down in St. George because I pulled out some clothes that I haven't worn since last season and even they were too big.

Anyway, so I had the day off today and after getting my hair done (which, by the way, I'm loving) and visiting the doctor's to find out I was 2 lbs lighter after a weekend vacation, I decided to hit the mall and find some spring/summer clothes.

So I get to my favorite store, Torrid, at the Fashion Place mall, and I start looking around.  I pick out a couple of cute summer dresses and since I would normally walk in and go right for the size 4 or 5, (they do these weird sizes there to make you not feel so bad about yourself.  A 5 would be a size 28 and a 4 would be a size 26.), I decided to pick up all the dresses in size 3.  I got to the dressing room and started to put the first dress on.  As I was putting on the dress, the sales associate came by and asked if I was doing ok.  I was standing there in awe as the size 3 dress I just put on, was way too big.  I said to him, "Um, I think I need a smaller size."  That was the first time in 10 years I have ever said that while trying on clothes.  He exchanged the dresses I grabbed for size 2s (size 22) and I put the first one on.  It fit me perfectly.  Right there, staring at myself in the mirror, I started to cry. I was so overcome with emotion. I was really wearing a size I haven't worn in 10 years. The sales associate came by again and asked how the 2s were working out for me and I opened the door with tears in my eyes and just stared at him.  I'm sure, in that moment he thought I was crazy, but then I just blurted out to him that I never thought I would ever be a 22 again and I have lost 63 lbs and I am so excited.  He just hugged me and told me way to go.  I was so proud of myself in that moment.  Then he was like, "I'll be right back."  A few moments later he is throwing dresses over the door that he found that he thinks I will look great in.  I was just laughing.  He was so cute and excited for me too.  He made me come out and model every dress I tried on. I even found a dress in a size 20 that fit me. It was the best shopping experience of my life.  In that moment, I saw in myself, what everyone has been telling me they could see in me. 

I ended up buying way too much stuff.  And I know that I am just going to grow out of all of it and have to go get more stuff, but that moment felt so good, I wanted to have that motivation every time I put on clothes and looked in the mirror.  I want that daily reminder that I can do this.

I snapped photos of some of the stuff I bought while I was in the dressing room.  It was too good of a photo op to pass up.  

Good Riddance

Day 84, 299 lbs (YEAH THAT'S RIGHT) That's 56 lbs so far

Good-bye 300s. I have never been so glad to see the number 2 in my life. I have now blasted through weight goals #3 Lose 50 lbs and #4 Get under 300 lbs. The funny things is, I actually got to goal #4 on day 77, but then I hit a small snag in the road.

So last Monday I was working at the hospital. I had not been feeling great that day. Didn't sleep well before my shift, had heart burn all day and some lower back pain.  As I was getting ready for work, I noticed that I had some mild pain in my left chest/lung when I would take deep breaths.  Now I kind of blew it off thinking I just needed to pass gas, but as I was driving into work I also developed a mild cough and started thinking I was getting pneumonia.  The pain with breathing was increasing and there have been a few people in the RTU who were diagnosed with pneumonia.  I was talking to Dusten on the way to work and I was telling him how I felt. I told him, "If Stacey got me sick, I'm going to kill her."

When I got to work, I still felt the pain but I didn't have time to think about it, because we were busy.  As the night progressed though, the pain was getting worse. I couldn't take a deep breath without feeling this crushing feeling in my chest and everyone at work was starting to get worried.  I had Stacey and Dr. Polhill listen to me.  I wasn't wheezing and I wasn't decreased but now the pain was so bad that I was avoiding taking deep breaths at all. The shallow breathing was making me lightheaded.  Dr. Polhill suggested that I talk to the adult emergency medicine resident that was working in the ED that night. We went over to talk to her and tell her my symptoms.  She and Dr. Bolte were listening to me and after telling them of my recent lap-band surgery, they began to get worried that I was having a PE (pulmonary embolism) essentially a blood clot in the lungs, developed from having surgery.  My symptoms seemed to fit. I wasn't so sure, since it had been over 2 months since my surgery, but no one wanted to take the chance. They decided I needed to be checked in and treated. God help me.

Nurse Steve started hooking me up to monitors and threw me oxygen. So not how I had planned my night going.  They decided to put an IV in me and get an EKG before having me go to an adult hospital. They wanted to wheel me over to the U of U hospital but I asked to go to an IHC hospital for insurance purposes. Dr. Bolte told me he was going to have me ambulanced to LDS Hospital.  Like hell you are.  I'm not paying a $700 ambulance bill to go 5 minutes away. Meanwhile, Stacey, who was charging that night decided to call Dusten to come pick me up and take me to LDS. The RTU scrambled to take over my patients so I could be treated.  They are amazing wonderful people. Nurse Melissa placed and IV and Tech Lacey got an EKG. It showed an inverted T wave which, is non-specific, but could be a sign of PE. Great. I became the evening show in the ED. Everyone kept coming by and looking through the window at the RTU nurse that had to be admitted.  Seriously though, everyone was so wonderful and helpful and comforting.  I couldn't ask for a better group of people to work with, and I know for a fact, if I ever need medical care again, I would take a PCH ED RN over anyone.  They are amazing at what they do.

Dusten arrived and we left for LDS.  Ok, I have always believed that I am the luckiest girl alive to have Dusten as my BFF, but nothing solidified that fact more, than when he drops everything to come up to the hospital.  He is so wonderful and I am so grateful to have him in my life.

We get checked in at LDS. Melissa called ahead and gave report, so they were expecting me and knew what was going on.  it is now 1 am and they proceeded, over the next 4 hours, to perform every test know to man, to rule out PE.  Blood tests, chest x-ray and a freaking CT scan with contrast. (Yeah, I have totally met my deductible for the year, in February) The Doctor there was amazing and so comforting and kind.  The nurse, seemed like she was a few crayons short of a full pack. Then came the Dilaudid. Oh yeah. Insert drunk face here. That stuff made me happy. It seriously dulled the pain. Dusten was just laughing at me when it would hit my system and I would stop mid sentence and just smile.

Everything before the CT scan came back normal, then the CT results came back. The doctor came in and said there was no evidence of PE, but did I know I had gallstones?  Hehe, what? had no idea. Dusten starts laughing. He made a smart ass comment on the way to the hospital that, "I bet it's your gallbladder." At least I thought he was being a smart ass.  Come to find out, that's really what he thought. Go Dusten, you diagnosed me! They of course had to get an ultrasound to confirm, but yep, gallstones and I guess bad enough that it was recommended I get it taken out asap. We were discharged around 5 am and Dusten took me to get meds and then home. Again, why am I so lucky to have him as my best friend?

The next day I made an appointment to see my surgeon.  The same one that did my lap-band. Geez, why didnt he just take it out while he was in there the first time.  He was, however, amazing enough to fit me into the schedule the very next day so less than 48 hours after being diagnosed, I was having my gallbladder out.

My sister, who is also the most amazing person ever, took me to my doctors appointment, stayed the night with me, took me to my surgery and stayed with me until my mom got home from work to take care of me. She took such good care of me and I am so grateful she was there for me.  Again, how did I get so lucky to have so many amazing people in my life.

The surgery went very smoothy, and I am feeling really good today.  I am returning to work tomorrow night, so wish me luck.

As I was saying earlier, on the morning of my surgery, I weighed myself and I was 299 lbs. Yeah, but then I had surgery and with it, tons of swelling, and water retention, so it took me a week, but I am back where I was, and I am so excited because I got to say good-bye and good riddance to not only my gallbladder, this week, but also 56 lbs of a life I used to live. A life I will never see again!

Spring cleaning

I had to add a little something positive along with my last post. Today marks the 2 month mark since my surgery.  I can't believe I have made it this far.  I have really been noticing how a lot of my clothing, especially my jeans have been starting to get too big to wear. can we say yay? So I decided I needed to go through my closet and get rid of stuff I can no longer wear. 

I have had this crazy obsession with saving jeans.  Even when I have gotten too big for them over the years I would hide them away in my closet because I always said, "If I ever lose weight, I don't want to have to buy more jeans."  I have always been made fun of by my mom and sister and certain friends because they just take up so much space.  Well who is laughing now?

I broke in to all my jeans and discovered that (minus the 5 pairs I threw aways because they had irreparable damage to them) I have 35 pairs of jeans in my closet. 6 different sizes.  The best part about it....I am getting rid of 2 sizes because they are too big.  That's right, I have dropped 2 pant sizes! WOOHOO!

The other great thing about this is, my sister is 2 sizes smaller than me to begin with, and also shrinking, so she is giving me all her jeans that she cant wear anymore, and I am giving her the stack of jeans that I have in her size.  Jeans are so expensive anyway and they last forever, so it is nice to not have to go buy new ones every time we drop a size. I had to take a picture because it was just so comical.

It was very liberating to get rid of so many items that were no longer a part of me.  I got rid of old jeans, scrubs, even bras. Yup, my boobs are shrinking haha. I know I have a setback to deal with, but I am feeling pretty good about where I am right now.