3.5 Months Post Op

Wow - I can't believe the last time I posted anything was November. Oh well. I can't tell you when the next time I post anything will be. I get busy with work and when I come home, I'm not so eager to get on the computer. The last few days have been really nice around here.

I had surgery on December 15, 2009. The surgery I chose was the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG). Basically, a good portion of my stomach (80%+/-) was removed and now I'm left with a banana (or sleeve) shaped stomach. I'm glad I chose this particular surgery because it didn't involve any cutting or re-routing of the intestines like the other surgical options. I didn't have to worry about dumping syndrome or terrible malabsorption either. So, for me, it was a good choice. I really didn't want to do surgery at all quite honestly, but I finally had a heart to heart with myself and admitted that I needed the help. The surgery is my tool that helps me. The day of surgery, I weighed 376. Right now, according to my scale I weigh 304. I'm down 72 lbs since December and I'm not complaining.

I will be honest, for the month or so following surgery, I dealt with some pretty tough emotional ups and downs - actually mostly downs. A co-worker of mine passed away that same week from a heart attack. He was a year younger than me. I took that pretty hard and I believe it may be a contributing factor to the emotional rollercoaster that ensued. I started fearing that I would die and fearing death, etc. It was tough. Thankfully, I got through. Now I'm doing so much better. I'm thankful for each day and hope that this surgery will allow me a chance at a longer life.

One of the pitfalls of surgery that I'm dealing with is hairloss. My hair was thinning to begin with, but it seems to have gotten a little worse. I'm told this is common and that it's important that I keep getting my protein in. I'm doing my best.

Oh and my knee pain (the trigger for my surgery decision) has subsided. I hope it doesn't return either. I'm sure the weight loss is a big relief on the knees.

I could probably go on and on, but I'll stop here for now. I'm not sure if anyone sees this or not anymore.

If so - thanks for looking out for me.

Have a wonderful day!

♥ Dottie