Hey guys! I know it’s been a while since I’ve updated but life was insane/I wasn’t in a great head space, which granted is probably when I should have been blogging the most. However I’m back, doing better mentally and it feels good to be chatting away to all of you reading this. Let’s catch up!
Non-weight loss related: My job offered me a full time position, I absolutely accepted! So now I split my time between administration work and purchasing. I’m really enjoying it and it makes my days fly by. Although I think the biggest challenge is finding/figuring out that work/life balance.
LR and I are back together, like all relationships there is stuff to work on. I know for me personally I have to work on my communication and stop holding everything in. But he makes my heart and soul so very happy. We just seem to fit. Plus he pushes me to be a better person and want to be a better woman.
Non-scale victories: I bought size 12 jeans (and they fit)! TWELVE. My tops are running about a size 10. Who am I?! Clothes are weird though. I still go to the biggest size and there are definitely days where I still feel/think I’m still 400 pounds. Also on a side note, I’m semi-dreading the hot weather because I’m so embarrassed by my upper arms – I swear one day they’re going to suffocate me in my sleep.
Signed up to run my first 5k. Like legit run. Okay well maybe wog? (walk/jog) I just don’t want to come in last. I know it’s probably a stupid goal but let’s be real, I’m still over 200 pounds there’s no way I’m doing this thing in like 15-20 minutes. I just don’t want to be last. LR and I went running after work last week Tuesday and oh man did I get inside my own head. I can literally walk for miles and feel amazing…running nope.I thought I’d be able to run farther than I actually could. So very frustrated with myself. After some tears and anger with myself and LR talking some sense into me and he kept lovingly pushing me I kept going.
Weight-lossy stuff: Now with my schedule I’ve started weighing in on Sunday mornings, I’ll definitely get back into the rhythm of blogging about it regularly. I’ll get to my weigh-in for today in a bit.
March 16th, all day at work I felt just super off, my stomach felt heavy, I felt gross, tired, just weird. I got home from work, ate maybe 1/4 cup of food but then went and laid in bed. I was having this horrific pain in my stomach that went straight through my body to my back. Around 9:30pm I finally decided to eat a little something, unfortunately it didn’t stay down and neither did any of the water I tried to sip. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t get comfortable and apparently I looked terrible. I emailed my bosses around 5am on the 17th letting them know I was going to contact my doctor’s office as soon as they opened at 8am and was hoping to be in later because I was fairly sure I had an ulcer.
8am hit, I was on the phone calling my gastric bypass surgeon’s office, talked with the amazing nurse that asked a bunch of questions, took notes on all of my symptoms, said that she would call Dr. White, my surgeon, since he was in surgeries all day and once she head back from him would call me back. Around noon I was about to keep down some chicken noodle soup and the nurse called me around 1pm. The doctor wanted me to go to the Toledo Hospital for a CT scan. Listen, I tried to get out of going. I attempted reasoning with the nurse, I kept down soup! She said just go get checked out, as soon as we hang up I’m calling the hospital and telling them you’re on the way. Drats.
My mom came with me as I went into the ER, telling them Dr. White had me coming in for a CT scan. I saw the actual emergency room doctor once and very briefly once he heard my reasoning for being there. I had blood work done, was given some meds to help calm down my stomach, had the CT scan and about 30-40 minutes later Dr. White popped in (between surgeries) saying there was some air in my abdomen, but he was 99% sure it was an internal hernia. He wanted to do a laparoscopic procedure to see if that is what is was and if it was he’d fix it while he was in there; and that he’d see me in the operating room.
Wait, what? I had a stomach ache? What just happened? I was hooked up to an IV (apparently I was a bit dehydrated) and moved up to the pre-op waiting area. My mom waited with me, my sister came immediately from work, LR drove from work through freezing rain to be there too. I called/texted my bosses letting them know I was having emergency hernia surgery that night but that’s really all I knew at that point. Crazy right? The surgery before mine ran long and since I was literally the last patient in pre-op they moved me to the recovery area to wait. So my mom and sister went to the surgery waiting room while LR hung out with me and helped keep me calm. It was probably around 8:30pm when I was wheeled into the operating room. They asked if I was given any relaxation medication, no. Do you…YES!!…want some? That’s the last thing I remember until waking up in recovery.
Nurse: How do you feel? Me: Like I’ve been kicked by a horse. Nurse: Well let’s get you some meds for that!! I vaguely remember them asking if I wanted my husband (LR, also not my husband lol) then I was in my hospital room with my family. Once I was settled in my mom and sister went home home LR stayed with me that night. Dr White was right, I had an internal hernia, he was able to repair it and I felt SO much better, other than the horrible gas pains along my collar bones.
Apparently an internal hernia can be pretty common after losing so much weight and if that’s my only “complication” 2 years out I’ll happily accept it. I was discharged Saturday afternoon with no restrictions other than “taking it easy on my diet.” I went back to work on Monday, definitely felt fatigued most of that week and really now I’m starting to feel “normal.”
Honestly though I feel super lucky and blessed that I have such an amazing surgeon, nurse, team, family, friends, and boyfriend that listened to my concerns and took such great care of me. Here’s the point of this super lengthy post – Listen to your body friends. If something doesn’t feel right get it checked out immediately. Don’t overlook the small things even if you’re starting to feel better.
Now onto the weigh in:
April 2, 2017
Current weight: 225.8
Goals: Gym 5 x a week and/or workouts in the park
Track food/water
Measure everything and meal prep as much as possible
Prepare for this 5k (which is May 20) as much as I possibly can
The Great Battle 