Tag Archives: Bariatric Surgery

Getting Ready for The Big Day!

Good evening!

So tomorrow is the big day; my sweetie is having his gastric bypass surgery in the morning at 11 am. He has worked so hard to get to where he is now. He has gone to every appointment, made every goal, documented and reported everything that was required of him, and lost the necessary amount of weight required of him to get this surgery scheduled, not to mention making it through the last two weeks of his liquid diet!! As of this morning, he has lost a total of 61 pounds within the last 4 months. I am just so dazzled by how easy he has made this whole process look!! If I could just perform half as well as he has done when it is my turn, that would be AMAZING!!! I really couldn’t be prouder of him!!! HE TRULY IS MY HERO!!! 😉

He is doing really well this evening; he is remarkably calm and just ready to get in there and just get the surgery done, so he can get onto the other side, and keep on keeping on with his journey to get fit and healthy!!

I will be making sure to keep posting updates over the next few days! I know he is going to do great. He is in very good hands, not only his surgical team that will be working on him, but also I know that God is going to be in that operating room guiding all of the hands that are going to be taking care of my love, as well as with him throughout his two-day hospital stay!! I know that everything is just going to go swimmingly, and I will make sure to keep all of you posted!!! We really do appreciate all of the prayers, and well wishes from all of our friends and family!!!

With that said, I will make sure to post again really soon!!

Here is to a FABULOUS evening!! ;-)

 If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!

The Good With the Bad!

Good evening!

Well, I realize that it is late, and I should really be going to bed, but my sweetie and I have just returned from first playing with the girls outside, and then walking the girls back to the house, and then my sweetie and I heading out for a nice evening walk ourselves!

Before I tell you our walk, I want to tell you about our good news, and our bad news. Bad news first. Jason and I have gotten our final surgery dates today, which is good news, however, Jason’s date is 2 weeks later than he had originally thought so he is a little bummed about it. My date however, has been pushed out by a month!!! ACK!!! When I first found out, it ALMOST caused me to want to quit, but of course, my super-supportive husband came to my rescue, and I am NOT backing out now!!! 😉

So, for the good news. Well, Jason has made his surgery goal weight!! YEAH!! WHOO! HOO!!! I am soooo EXTREMELY PROUD OF HIM!!!! and for those of you keeping track means that he has lost 4 pounds this past week! AMAZING!!! Whatta man!! 😉 I did not make my goal weight this week, but I am only one pound away from my goal weight, so I will HAPPILY TAKE THAT!!! YEAH ME!!! LOL!! 😉

Getting back to our walk! While we were walking, my sweetie and I took turns saying out loud one goal that we hope to be able to achieve post surgery. With my sweetie’s permission, here are a couple of examples of things we came up with…

ME: I want to be able to touch my toes with my knees unbent

HIM: I want to be able to breathe while tying my shoes

ME: I want to ride the rides at a carnival and not have to worry that the lock won’t latch

HIM: I want to see that

ME: I want to be able to run a mile

HIM: I want to see someone from my past who made fun of me, and make them eat their words

ME: I want to see that

HIM: I want to be able to take a bike trip. A long one!

ME: Me too!

HIM: I want to go to a water park and not get stuck down a water slide

ME: I want to be able to keep up with my niece while swimming

HIM: I want to be able to buy tall clothes without having to buy big and tall clothes

ME:  I want to be able to sit Indian-style in a movie theater seat

So, there you have it! I really am so thankful to be going through this journey with my sweetie!! I would never have made it this far without his love and support!!

I have said it before, but I will say it again, life is really good!!

Here is to a FABULOUS evening!! ;-)

 If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!

What a Difference a Day Makes!

Good evening!

I was on such a high yesterday afternoon! Nothing could stop me! I was the QUEEN OF THE WORLD!!!

Well, it has been about 24 hours later, and I have gotten a blow off of my invincibility pedestal! As you may already know, my sweetie and I are going through the process to have bariatric surgery done; we are both wanting to get the gastric bypass, him in July, and me in August.

Anyway, I got my lab results back this afternoon, and I have to tell you, I am still in a little bit of shock, and not sure what to make of it all.

So, what I found out was:

It looks like I am now going to have a sleep study to see if I have sleep apnea since my overnight oxygen levels dropped to 81%. 90% – 100% is normal. DARN – I was hoping to somehow avoid having to sleep at the hospital while having people watch you!! (Did I mention that I work at the hospital???)

I am pre-diabetic. Hrmph! I honestly didn’t see that coming, but with the diet and exercise I am doing, I am sure that will be manageable, and hopefully after the surgery, a complete non-issue.

And finally, and most shockingly I found out that have hyperthyroidism.

WHAT???? How can that be???

One of the common side effects of hyperthyroidism is unexplained weight loss!

Uhmmm…I WISH!!!

No, I have not experienced that symptom AT ALL!!! The most common symptom that has hit me really hard is anxiety, which I guess is caused by your system running faster than it is supposed to! That would also explain the racing heartbeat, flushed face, and overall distaste for any heat of any kind (because my body is already running a little hot).

Yes, I said it – “I’m HOT!”

Not to mention moodiness, inability to sleep, and my hair falling out! LOVELY! (Sarcasm!)

So, as I deal with the fact that I am getting older, whether I like it or not, and the fact that I knew that if I didn’t take care of my health at some point, I would be taking care of my sickness, like it or not, my sweetie is taking me out to watch a play this evening; A Streetcar Named Desire. I am pretty excited about that, since I have never even seen the movie before, and I hear that this story is a classic!! and having a moment of fun, is just what the doctor ordered!! Thanks love!! 😉

I will keep you posted!!

Here is to a FUN  & PEACEFUL evening!! ;-)

 If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!

Quick as Lightning!

Good evening!

This is going to be a crazy short post! I know that I have been MIA, and very sporadic in my postings for the past few weeks, but I thought I would just quickly stop in and give everyone an update on what’s going on in my life now!

I am in week 2 of my Brave Girl Soul Restoration class, and I am sooooo LOVING it!! Melody Ross and the whole Brave Girl Club crew has done a FABULOUS job at putting together a seriously LIFE-CHANGING class! If I could afford it, I would gift this class to EVERY SINGLE WOMAN I KNOW!!! Seriously!!

I have also been creating a lot of art! Art for my new office space, art for the sake of getting art pieces done, and even one special piece of art for a VERY SPECIAL person in my life!! Eh-Hem, it is her birthday today!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRRRRL!!! 😉

Anyway, I discovered that the hardest part of getting her piece created was not in the deciding what I wanted to create for her, but it was actually getting it into the mail. This will be my first original that won’t live at my house!! DID YOU HEAR ME???? These pieces are like my children!!! Sooooo, long story short, I got it in the mail late, but it is TOTALLY on it’s way!! I hope she LOVES it!! 😉

What else? Oh yeah – this one is a biggie!! This week was my official start of my bariatric program, which means I am now on the path to getting gastric bypass surgery! Scary, but soooo exciting!!! My provider guestimates that I will lose about 1 third of my entire body weight, which BTW will make me weigh about what I weighed at age 12 – REALLY!!! I have to lose 16 lbs before surgery, which sounds very doable, and I have a minor hernia that I wasn’t aware of, so they will fix that during surgery too. So, I am running around getting all sorts of tests, labs, and procedures done, and it looks like my surgery is tentatively going to be in August (you have to be in the program for a minimum of three months)!!! Please keep your fingers crossed!

OH – and Jason, who is 2 weeks into the process further than I am, found out that he has lost 16 pounds in 2 weeks!!! THAT IS AMAZING!!! Keep up the great work, Love!! I am so very proud of you!!!

I will keep you posted on both of our journeys!!!! 😉

Here is to a FABULOUS evening!! ;-)

 If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!

Here I Am!

Good morning!

I know it has been a while since I have last posted, but here I am!

Things have been moving vey quickly around here, and we have been very busy!! Right now my husband and I are over on the Oregon coast. We have been here for the past 2 days. We have been visiting with our adopted grandparents before they go out of town for a couple of weeks. I the meantime, my hubby and I Are going to take their 3 dogs and babysit, while they are out of town! All 5 of us, my sweetie, the three dogs and myself are all heading back home today, as I have to be back at work tomorrow.

I said things have been moving rather quickly around here, and they really have! My hubby and I had made the decision to have Bariatric gastric bypass surgery, but we needed to wait to get everything rolling until we were able to pre-pay for the surgeries. Well, we did that earlier this month and my sweetie has had a bug-a-jillion appointments to get anything and everything scanned, measured, checked, swabbed, scoped, etc, etc, etc. The way that we have this worked out is that my sweetie will have his surgery first, July 3rd, and then I will have my surgery about a month later. So, my crazy schedule won’t start until after the 23rd of this month, which is when my initial appointment is.

Right now, we are both early excited, and I can’t speak for him, but I am also really scared. The funny thing is, is that I am not scared for the surgery, I am scared to meet the skinny me! I have no idea what she looks like, how she will feel, what she does, or if I am even going to get along with her. In all honesty, I am sooooooo excited to meet her!! I know she has been in here forever!!! I also realize that the is going to be a kind of mourning period for my old self. Crazy right? This fat suit that I have been wearing (figuratively) has really been a protective barrier that has given me all sorts of excuses why I didn’t have to do something’s, and it really has been a way for me to hide behind a lot of things in my life. Even talking about it right now, I really can’t wait to meet the new me!!!

Anyway, I have also been keeping very busy with my Brave Girls’ Club Soul Restoration I class. Matter of fact, I am just in the final week of class I, and will be starting class II next week. I am so thankful that I have stumbled across this life-changing class, and I am so excited to see what more I learn during class II.

Just to keep things interesting, we have also had a bunch of company! My sister, and her husband spent the week with us last week, which was a lot of fun, and then another one of sisters and her family are coming up for part of the weekend, tomorrow!! I can’ wait to see them!!!! Yeah!

Well, I am going to grab my camera and head out to go get some pics of the coast on this lovely spring day, here in Oregon!

Here’s too a FABULOUS day!!!
~Christina 😉

If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!

Big Decisions Being Made!

Good evening!

You know, I have come to believe that you can change your life by making one single solitary decision.

Today was a day like that. My hubby and I had a very important meeting this morning. This meeting is a meeting where a life changing decisions was made. I am very hesitant to say what that decision is, right now. I feel like I still want to let this decision sink in, but I am going to bit the bullet and just get it out there. My husband and I met at a bariatric clinic and we have started the process to get approval for a gastric-bypass.

OK, there. It’s out there.

I have come to a point in my life where I have decided that my weight is beyond a minor niggling problem. It is something that I have decided that I need to some major action to get it under control so that I can move on, and get on with living my real life!!

I know this is a really big step, something that I have been looking at and researching for a really long time. As I was sitting in the doctor’s office this morning, I had this AWESOME sense of peace wash over me, that I KNEW that I was doing the right thing. Even as I say it again now, I KNOW that this is the perfect step for me!!

I am very excited about this journey that my sweetie and I are embarking on together, and I will make sure to keep all of you posted on what twists and turns our journey will take!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!!! 😉

A Chunky Dunker’s Information Session!

Good evening!

Well, as you may be able to tell by now that we did not have a typical Chunky Dunker’s session this evening. Instead, my sweetie and I went to a 2 hour bariatric surgery information session down at the hospital. The physicians and staff of the bariatric clinic told us all about the differences between lap band and the different kind of gastric bypass surgeries, all of the risks, preperations, pre- and after care!! It was very informative!

I am not sure how I feel about it for myself yet, but I know that Jason is close to making up his mind and I am more than happy to support him in whatever decision he makes. As for myself, I will keep you posted! 😉

I am tired, it is getting late, and I have a lot to think about this evening, so I am going to cut this post short, and say G’night!

Have a FABULOUS evening!!! ;-)

Thank Goodness It Is Friday!

Good evening!
This Friday just could not get here any faster! But here it is, and I am just soooo thankful for a weekend off!!

Today, I unintentionally gave myself a little jolt, and that was because, out of the blue, I signed myself and my sweetie up for a gastric-bypass informational session with our local bariatric office. I am not sure exactly what I was thinking, but it has really made me do a lot of thinking since I have gotten off of work this evening!

The whole idea of gastric bypass, or lap band surgery for me is terrifying! Letting myself get cut open, on purpose, and then having my insides permanently re-arranged just so I can get skinny! Is that just the vain-est thing you have ever heard??? THEN on the other hand, Jason and I talked about it over dinner this evening, and I kind of got excited about having a real life again. You know hiking, playing, jogging, fitting into amusement park rides, fitting comfortably in an airplane seat, being able to cross my legs, touch my toes, or shop in the regular section in a regular department store, being able to keep up with our neice and nephews when we are playing, etc. It is enough to make me seriously consider having the procedure done!

Hmmm..what do you guys think? I would really LOVE to hear your thoughts on this.

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉