One Big Happy Family

I'm back!!

2011-07-31T20:08:00.000-07:00

So it's been a long time and I don't know if anyone visits this site anymore. It's been a little over 2 years since my gastric bypass and I am enjoying my new body. It's been about 19 months since Jim's gastric bypass and he is doing awesome - he goes to the gym 3 times a week and you should see the muscles popping out and I lika-lika!! :)

I am starting a new journey in life and have decided that I am going to blog about it. It's the journey of donating a kidney to my sister. It's been a few intense months with several testing phases to see if I was compatible with her. I know that it is through the many prayers said in her behalf that we are to this point where she is going to be able to get off dialysis and start enjoying her life. When I met with the surgeon he asked me if I was donating to my twin sister because we are a perfect match (yah, twins 8 years apart)! The date is set for August 23rd. I would like to THANK Jim for being by my side and supporting me on this journey - I could not do it without him. I would also like to THANK my children for supporting me too. I asked each of them how they felt about it and they are behind me 100%.

Hopefully I won't forget to get on every few days as it comes closer and describe my feelings.....

Almost one year post op!!

2010-03-23T14:15:00.001-07:00

The end of May marks one year since I've had my operation - can't believe how fast it's flown by....I went to my yearly check up early and as of today, March 23rd, I've lost 110 pounds!!! That's 10 pound over my goal!! I no, I no, I still haven't posted pictures - I'm not a picture person but I'll have Jim take some of me and post them soon. By the way, Jim has lost about 90 pounds and is looking GOOD!!!!!

Back Home From Babysitting Grandboo-boo's!!

2010-01-28T09:45:00.000-08:00

For the last 2 weeks, I've been in San Antonio, TX babysitting my grandboo-boo's while Toby and Kelli were on a get away. It was wonderful being with the boys but I will admit that I am one tired granny!!

Hears a good story about one day I had there: Lucas woke me up at 3:00am because he had a bad dream. It took about 45 mins to get him settled and back to sleep. I got back into bed and 10 mins later Kyle started screaming. I took him downstairs for a drink and found out that Daisy, the dog, crapped in her kennel so I had to put Kyle on the couch with some dry cereal and the Disney channel on so I could go out back and wash the kennel out with the hose. It was at this point that Lucas came downstairs to see what was going on so he joined his brother on the couch. So here I am at 4:00am out in the back in my jammies and it's cold and I turn on the hose and it squirts me in the face (tee hee on me!!). I get it somewhat washed out but don't know how well because the outside light is ghetto so I left the kennel outside and made Daisy lay on a blanket inside. A while later the boys and I fell asleep on the couch and about 30 mins later I woke up to an awful odor - yep, Daisy crapped again!!! This time on a big area rug so, I had to drag it outside, trying to be quiet not to wake up the boys, turn on that damn hose that squirts you no matter what and spray off the rug. I was bugged and tired so I made Daisy stay outside! About 30 mins later, she started barking and woke the boys up. It was about 5:30-6:00am at this point and I had to go outside to get her so the neighbors wouldn't get bugged. She wouldn't come in (she's a skiddish one!!) so I had to chase her around the yard which was still soggy from all the rain they've been having there - I'm really getting bugged at this point!!!!! I get back in the house and the boys are saying they are hungry and they want cereal with milk and Lucas picked out Raisin Bran. So I sit them at their little table with their own bowls of cereal and Kyle is swinging his arms and hits his bowl of cereal and it flies all over the place! At this point I was like - what the heck, it's just cereal and not crap so I put Kyle on the couch and started cleaning it up. I was on my knees by Lucas wiping it up and he had a full mouth of cereal and had to sneeze - of course, the chewed up bran and raisins landed in my hair!!!!!!!!!!!!! I started to laugh and then cry and then laugh..........got Kyle's mess cleaned up, walked over to the sink and started flicking Lucas' chewed up junk out of my hair and I hear a thump and look over at the table where Lucas had left his cereal free and clear for Kyle to walk up and fling it all over!!! So another clean up of me laughing and crying in intervals!!! Then, I had to go outside in back to get squirted by the hose so I could really clean the kennel and the rug up - that was right when the sun was coming up. I finally get that done, come back in the house to discover that Kyle had crapped his pants BIG time....Another cleaning and changing!!!!!! I love my grandbabies!!!

Update.....I've lost 101 pounds and Jim has lost 65!

XOXOXOXO
Debbs

Happy New Year

2010-01-11T08:40:00.000-08:00

Already 2010 - what the heck!!!

Quick post before I leave to go take care of my grandbabies for a couple of weeks....

Jim and Debbie's weight loss info:
Jim has lost about 55 pounds (brat - losing a lot faster than I do!!!)
Debbie has lost 96 pounds (it's really slowed down for me!!!)
We are enjoying the freedom that comes with weight loss and wish we would have done this long ago.

Long time NO write

2009-11-15T23:32:00.000-08:00

Wow! Things have been busy and it's only going to get busier with the holidays...

I've lost 85 pounds so far and I'm feeling great!

2009-10-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

I've lost 70 pounds so far and I feel wonderful!!

I'm baaacckkk!

2009-09-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

I'm back from visiting my Grandboo-boo's - it was a wonderful trip! I wish I could have brought them home with me!!

For the almost 3 weeks I was there, I only lost 5 pounds! I didn't eat the way I should have and I only exercised a few times....So now my weight loss is at 60 pounds.

Update Update

2009-08-26T21:53:00.001-07:00

I'm leaving to go see my Grandbabies for about 3 weeks but before going I thought I'd announce that I have lost 55 pounds!!!

I have found if something doesn't agree with my new stomach, up it comes!! I've barfed more since the bypass than I have all the years Jim and I have been married up to that point!! Even at that, I would do it again and again because it is way worth it. For so many years of my life food was my everything - get togethers, stress, PMS, fun times and boredom to name a few. Now food means nothing to me except to give my body the energy it needs to get throughout the day - wierd grounds for me.

I can't wait to report how I do after being on vacation....Best to all of you!!

I Have a Question

2009-08-19T17:27:00.000-07:00

So many people are password protecting their blogs - how come????

HALF WAY THERE!!!

2009-08-17T22:07:00.000-07:00

I've lost 50 pounds - I have 50 more to go and I hit the goal weight I set for myself before the bypass!!!!

Before and During Photos

2009-08-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

I've had several people ask me to post pictures. Can I tell you that I HATE having my picture taken?!! Maybe it's because heavy people don't like their pictures taken?? Anyways, I'm attaching 2 pictures. The first one was taken of me at Jenilee's wedding with my sister Wendy a couple of weeks before the bypass and, the second one of me about a week ago with my sister Wendy right before going to the Heart concert while I was in Boise. I've lost about 45 pound - can you see a difference in the pictures????

The Scales

2009-08-02T21:17:00.000-07:00

I've been in Boise for the last week. Right before I went, I was at another Dr's and weighed in on his scales since he said he just had them calibrated and guess what? I weighed what my scales said and NOT what my weight Dr's scales said!!!!

Here's the question??? Do I tell my weight Dr that his scales are off???

The CURSE of the scales

2009-07-20T23:24:00.000-07:00

Okay....So I went to the Dr's last week for my 7 week check up. I weighed before going on our scales then when I weighed in on the Dr's scale there was an 8 pound difference - resulting in me weighing 8 more pounds than I thought!!! Our scales now sit in the garage (Jim won't let me throw them away!!!).

So, according to the Dr's scales, I've lost 31 pounds!! I've been loosing inches and have gone down quite a few sizes so I had to break down and go get some clothes. I wanted to see how long I could go without buying any - only lasted out 7 weeks.

I hurt my knee and haven't been able to speed walk for a few days. I go to the therapist tomorrow to see why I'm having the problems I am (all resulting from using a thighmaster I bought for a buck at a garage sale!!!). Can't wait til he says I can start up again.

2009-07-06T06:47:00.000-07:00

Ten Things I Hate

About Being Overweight

1) I wasted valuable years (I was too tired to get out and do things with my children and now they are all gone...sob-sob)

2) Never felt good

3) Too lazy to do anything

4) Wardrobe consisted of any moo-moo that would fit (and believe me, there were some uuuggglllyyy ones!!!)

5) I lived for food (now I eat food to live)

6) Badddddddd self esteem

7) Discrimination (and on top of that, try it being overweight and gray!!!)

8) Blindness (too much fat in front of my eyes to see how my overweightness was affecting others around me)

9) Literally couldn't from a standing position jump over 2 inches!!!

10) Hated to travel by plane because my thighs would always sneak over onto the other person's seat!!!!

One Month Ago......

2009-06-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

One month ago today I had my surgery and I am at minus 30 pounds!

There is one thing I really miss, with the bypass, I have to sip all fluids and I really miss being able to gulp down a tall glass of cold water.

The bypass lifestyle has been a challenge lately.... I am having a hard time eating - nothing tastes good and it bugs my stomach when I eat or drink. The only thing I've been able to handle is ice (love the ice from Sonic!).

Yesterday I was feeling frustrated because my body needs energy and I'm very low on it because I haven't been able to eat. I went to the store and walked the aisles looking for something that might help. I picked up a frozen Weight Watchers cheese lasagne brought it home, cooked it and guess what? I was able to eat a third of the portion - yippee!!!! I can't believe how much better I felt after eating :)

A couple of weeks ago I bought a "Thigh Master" at a garage sale for a buck, thinking it would be good for me to work my legs and arms with it - WRONG....I didn't use it correctly. I put it between my knees and forced it and ended up ripping something in my knee and could hardly walk! I was down with that for about 5 days icing it every chance I got. Yesterday was my first day back walking - it still aches and that really bugs!!!

3 Weeks Post Op

2009-06-16T12:19:00.001-07:00

Not too long ago someone told me I took the easy way out to lose my weight. It might seem that way to a lot of you but I'm here to tell you that even though I am losing weight quickly (I'VE LOST 25 POUNDS ALREADY!!) that the changes that take place are challenging.

Re-introducing food to a thumb sized stomach is complicated - what the old stomach liked, the new stomach doesn't care for, and I've just started with very simple foods. My biggest enemy is my "old" brain pattern (does that surprise you??). Although I am pulling out of my old habits, they still linger and my mind tells me I'm hungry but my stomach says no way. You'd be surprised how ones head can play games with herself!!!

TWO WEEKS POST-OP

2009-06-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

I can't believe its been two weeks since my bypass. Things are getting better each day. A few days ago I ripped a couple of stitches which was NO fun but I have recuperated from that and I'm doing great.

Per my scales and weighing in the morning without all my clothes on, I have lost 19-1/2 pounds -- yippee!!!!

Once I really start showing the weight loss, I'll post a before picture and a present picture so you can see the progress.

I want to thank everyone whose been my support - especially my husband Jim, I COULD NOT do this without you.

FIRST POST-OP DOCTOR VISIT

2009-06-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

Today was my first Dr’s visit since the surgery and it has been one week ago today since I’ve had the operation Of course, the biggest thing I wanted to know was how much weight I've lost this first week.

I'm happy to annouce that I’ve lost 13 pounds this week!!!!!

IT'S ALL IN MY HEAD

2009-06-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow marks one week post-op for me. I have had a different experience every day with my body. I’ve learned about good days and about bad days.

One bad day started on Sunday afternoon. I took a short nap and woke up to the TV being on the food network channel thus putting me in a foul mood – I mean ffffoul!!! I took it out on Jim (you should have seen his face when I started in on him. He was in total shock at the flip of my disposition and his facial reaction was classic!!) It was during this melt down that I decided I had to get out of the house so I went for a neighborhood walk.

Walking would have been the best thing but NO, I had to choose to have my flip out the night before trash day so everyone had their trash bags out on the curbs in white see thru trash bags (what happened to the black ones??) so I could see what they had eaten from their discarded boxes, etc. I tried not to look but you know how it is….you HAVE to look. I saw old pizza boxes, Port-of-Subs sandwich wrappings, potato chip bags and diet Pepsi cans….That is when I became infuriated and fell into the “poor me, ohhhhhhh poor me” attitude.

I continued to walk in the Las Vegas heat, crying and screaming to myself inside (didn’t want my neighbors to think I was not only fat but wacko) and headed to my house so I could take a cool shower and try to calm down.

I started to cry in the shower which is a big deal for me because Debbie is not a crier. The water started to cool me down and the crying started to calm me down. I put on cool clothing and sat under the ceiling fan and called a friend of mine who had this same operation a couple of years ago. I told her I was so afraid of failing because I was still hungry after having my stomach pouch cut down to the size of my thumb and wanted to EAT!! She told me that “IT’S ALL IN YOUR HEAD DEB” and assured me that I would be okay. After I hung up with her I realized there will be good days and there will be bad days and thankfully, this bad day experience was coming to an end.

2009-05-31T10:19:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken 3 days after the operation. It shows the 6 holes that had to be made to perform the bypass. Not bad if you ask me!!

I did it!!!

2009-05-29T22:42:00.000-07:00

I'm post-op 2 days now. Things are going pretty good for me. I did have to make a run to the ER today because of abnormal bleeding but thankfully I was able to come back home. If it continues I have to call my Dr.

If I were asked what the ickiest thing about the whole experience was, I would have to say it was coming out of the anesthesic. Debbie doesn't do that well! Once I got that out of my system, I was good to go. I only had to spend one night at the hospital and during that night I was able to walk the halls a lot, and I enjoyed it.

It is true, one isn't hungry after bariatric surgery so. I have to be conscientious about eating all three meals and eating each meal in a 25 min. time frame. I never dreamed I could stretch out eating 1/4 cup of jello like that!! I'm not on regular food yet - won't be for a few weeks. But, I can have egg drop soup and Jim went and got me some tonight and all I could tell you is that IT WAS DIVINE!

TOMORROW IS ALMOST HERE

2009-05-26T05:29:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow at this time I will be in the car with Jim driving to the hospital - I can't believe that I'm almost there!!

A neighbor of mine came over the other night and commented on how calm I am about having the operation. I started thinking about it and you know what, I am calm! I know it will be hard for the first few months but I won't know of the emotional side of it until I deal with it. Kinda reminds me of labor/delivery - friends could tell me their experiences but I really didn't understand until I went through it!

I'm hoping and praying that taking this path in my life I will become healthy and then be able to help others that go through the same trials that I have.

Life is good!

2009-05-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

I'm looking forward to having

my moo-moo burning party!!!!!

Pre-op Appointment

2009-05-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

Went in for my pre-op today. Found out that they had to move my surgery date by one day so now I am going in on Wed. May 29th and the surgery will be about 8:00am. Here's what my eating schedule will be like for the first year:

1-2 days after bypass - Clear Liquids (water, sugar free jello, sugar free popsicles, broth..)

2-14 days after bypass - Thick Liquids (Egg drop soup, sugar free yogurt, sugar free puding, tomato juice, protein shakes..)

15-30-60 days after bypass - Soft Solids (Scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, mozzarella sticks, greek yogurt, soft tofu....)

After that, up to a year - 3 meals a day consisting of 4oz. of food at each meal - meat and veggies. Sip 64oz. of water throughout the day.

After a year, gradually add other healthy foods.

People keep asking me if I am scared. Answer - not really. I am so determined to do something about my weight - having to go to the extreme of bypass, I am going to do everything I'm asked to do so that I can be successful.

....I'm looking forward to having a moo-moo burning party!!!!

One week from today is the BIG day

2009-05-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

Finally.....weddings are out of the way and I have been okayed by our insurance to get my gastric bypass. The big day is a week from today - May 26th. I go in early in the morning and have to spend the night. Keep posted after this because I am going to post my progression!!

2009-01-21T17:41:00.000-08:00

2-1/2 year old Lucas

6 month old Kyle

I LOVE BEING A GRANDMA!!!!!

SURGERY UPDATE

2009-01-21T17:35:00.000-08:00

I went in for my final Dr appointment. Had my blood work done, ekg's and other tests. Last step of the appointment was to go to the front desk and schedule my surgery date. Thats when I found out that my insurance changed their rules as of Jan 1, 2009 and now all lap-band patients have to have 6 consecutive months (instead of 3) of dr visits!!! I was shocked and I looked around trying to find hidden cameras because I thought someone was playing a mean joke on me!! So now I have another 3 months to wait - bugged!!!

Final Doctor's appointment on Thursday 1/15/09

2009-01-13T23:47:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd let you know that I have my final Dr's appointment for weight control on Thursday and then I should know my surgery date. I will be tracking my weight loss adventures on this blog with pictures (yikes!!!)

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-22T16:32:00.001-08:00

May you have the best Christmas ever!!
XOXOXO
Debbs

2008-10-29T23:31:00.000-07:00

Here's my sweet Grandboo-boos! I miss
them so much!!

Big Debbie.....Little Debbie

2008-10-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

Guess what? I'm going to have lap band surgery!!!! Yep, this mama is TIRED of wearing moo-moo's!! The only thing that bugs me is that I'm afraid the clothing industry will fall apart before I can shed the moo-moos!!!!!!

2008-08-08T23:28:00.000-07:00

2008-08-08T23:21:00.000-07:00

2008-08-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

2nd Post

2008-08-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

After my sweet niece told me to get it together and continue blogging, I thought I'd add a 2nd post. I still don't understand how to do all this so I haven't tried until now.

As long as I am working on the "2nd's", I want to share that I am a Grandma for the 2nd time!! I have a new Grandson and he is precious! I spent a month and a half in San Antonio with Kelli, Grandmothering myself crazy!! Lucas is 2 years-old and is a great joy in my life. Kyle is a little over a month and a half and has added to that joy in my life - a feeling that only Grandma's know :). I look forward to all the little Grandbabies that will join our family!

So there you have it on my 2nds!! I will try and figure out how to download pictures but don't count on it being very soon.

Lovies.....

Blogging for Dummies

2008-03-01T11:26:00.000-08:00

Does anyone really read from my page? Better yet, is anyone really interested in what I have to say? And once I say what I want to say, how do they get to my site? Oh the rigors of being an old woman!!!!