heeeelllooo.

back at work! i missed aiden terribly! he is so friggin cute and i love him so much, i am glad to be back! so far i have been doing well, no popping of organs out of my belly! (hernias, etc) he is sleeping now, so i am catching up on some much needed blogging and emailing!

i went to see the surgeon and pyschologist at MGH for my 6 week check up on thursday of last week. i am now down 51 lbs lost. i was very surprised! i had weighed myself at home earlier in the week and i was down 49 lbs so i made the decision to not weigh myself until my appt because the scales are different and i didn't want to be discouraged. so i thought when i stepped on the scale that it would be around the same that home said a few days before, because MGH's scale seems to say i weight more. BUT NOPE!!!! so i am really encouraged by the weight loss and i am excited to see how it progresses.

i went to chicago this weekend and visisted friends that i haven't seen for about 7 years, it was like we haven't been separated! i stayed with my friend laura and her boyfriend gret and had a blast. amy and her boyfriend pepe made us dinner sat night. it was awesome! my only wish was that i could have stayed longer! thanks guys!!!

peace out for now :)

gastic bypass for diabetes

i told several people that they are still researching at MGH, but it is known to a certain point that gastric bypass will eventually rid someone off diabetes. if this interests you...read more about it in this article i saw online. http://health.yahoo.com/news/ap/diabetes_obesity_surgery.html

howdy

went to the YMCA tonight. worked my but off, hopefully literally. i was able to work up to 10 minutes on the elyptical. so far i have only been doing 10 minutes. but tonight, i pushed myself past that and jammed to the music. it's so easier listening to the music. they have little devices on all the cardio machines at the YMCA that you just plug your headphones into and they have 6 different TV's you can listen/watch. i watch/listen to the music TV.

i go to the doctor tomorrow and i will weigh in on their official scales. i haven't weighed myself in a few days, because i know that their scale is more (i think) and i don't want to get bummed out. so i will check in when i know for sure. oh, BTW i am seeing the pyschologist and the surgeon. i think i am doing pretty well. i will know for sure by tomorrow! wish me luck!

more weight

i have lost more weight. down to 47 lbs. i am scrapbooking this afternoon and having so much fun. whooohooo

im freezing

i am still cold! when i was in the hospital i was sweating all the time from the drugs, but as soon as i was off those i started feeling this strange sensation! i was cold. for those who know me well, i am ALWAYS hott! sleep in a tank top and skivvies hott! but since the surgery i am always cold. like let me use both throw blankets on the couch to keep warm. it's weird. i am not sure what it is from (weight loss, anesthesia, or something else) but it's nice to not always be hott and sweaty.

hey, i lost more weight! down to 42 pounds lost.

whooohoooo!

weight tracker.

check this webiste out for my weight tracker. shhh...don't tell anyone the exact numbers! LOL

http://www.obesityhelp.com/shared/flash/WeightHistoryChart/WeightHistoryChart.swf?username=rachaeldstewart

weight update.

this afternoon i broke down and i weighed myself...yipee! to date i have lost just shy of 40 pounds! yeah! tuesday it was four weeks. i think that's pretty friggin good! yea baby.

howdy.

so i am doing really well. staying away from the scale still! struggling to get all my fluids in, but i did good today. it's late and i am heading to bed after this episode of friends! ttyl

i saw the doctor today...

i saw the doctor. the bump under my incision is not a tumor and it's normal scar tissue!

i threw up for the first time today. i took a few bites of buffalo chicken wings and felt it after about 10 minutes. i had to exscuse myself and i went the ladies room. it was fine, and i felt fine after it happened. the only thing is that i feel a little sore in my abdomen from throwing up. i haven't used those muscles in a few weeks...

i am down to 34 lbs lost. i need to stop weighing myself at home! i got in trouble from the nutritionist. she let me know that they discourage weighing at home because the scale is just showing you your body weight. not fat loss, or water gain, or muscle increase. she doesn't like it, and i am going to stay off of it for as long as i can!

i found something online about my doctor and something that i personally like the sound of...
"It’s an operation that helps cure people of this disease which is life-threatening. People see it as some type of cosmetic surgery, when it’s not. More patients die waiting for surgery than die after surgery,” said Dr. Janey Pratt, a surgeon at the Massachusetts General Hospital Weight Center in Boston, which does about 300 gastric bypasses a year." MSNBC 12/03

also found an award she won for a grant for lap GB...
"Laparoscopic Approaches to Weight Loss SurgeryJaney Pratt, MD, MGH. The goal of this Fast Forward was to investigate different ways of performing laparoscopic bariatric surgery, and bring this procedure to MGH. This procedure has gained acceptance within the larger surgical community, and new technology has been developed which will make it easier to perform. Dr. Pratt observed techniques at three institutions: NEMC, UMass and UPMC. Phillips Schauer in Pittsburg taught Dr. Pratt the technique that she ultimately adopted. To date, Dr. Pratt has taught this procedure to eight physicians. The procedure was first performed at MGH in January 2001 and 675 patients have been treated to date with this laparoscopic procedure with more than a 1,000 patients on a waiting list. Outcomes find weight loss, quality of life, and OR time equal to open procedure, indications of wound infection and hernia has been less than open procedure."

update...

i see the doctor (just medical doctor, not surgeon) tomorrow for a checkup. i also see the nutritionist and get my next stage of eating. i know that i am still losing...but how much is the question. i am down 35 lbs on my sister's scale. i will let you know the official numbers from the docs scale! wish me luck!

my insides!

here are the pics that my surgeon took during my lap roux en Y. the top left pic shows the surgeon stitching and cutting near my colon. the top right pic shows the stapes where she made the new stomach and connected new intestines to it. the bottom left pic shows my liver, somach, and spleen. the bottom right pic shows my bloated and diseased blue gallbladder. after she took the pic of it, she removed it! it was no good! feel free to ask me any questions that i didn't answer about the pics!

happy new year's!

hellllooo everyone! happy new year's! hope everyone's new year's was good, and i am so excited and looking forward to 2008!

i went with the parents to west island, our good friends the johnsons got a year round cottage there. their son erik brought his fiancee bethany and friends chris and alma with him from CT. so the nine of us played the best card game called quiddler until our reservations! i love games! we went the the abbey grille in fall river, ma. holy smokes it was awesome! the food, atmosphere, staff...excellent! loved it! we got back just in time to see the ball drop. mom, dad, and i shared a hotel room at the hampton inn in fairhaven. it's about 7 minutes from the cottage. fun times sleeping in the same room as 2 snoring people. hey, i snore so loud myself, i could hardly wake them up and say quiet!! so i just waited till i was exhausted and fell asleep! LOL 2am!

foodwise the weekend was good! i had some fish on new year's eve, and then on new year's i tried cereal for the first time, GOOD! then lunch i had a crab roll. dinner i had some cereal with fruit. it's nice to have grains again! LOL

friday i go to see the MD and nutritionist. i am going to mention the large round bump under my large incision. it's bothering me not knowing what it is. it's either scar tissue or a hernia. i just don't want more surgery! hey, maybe they can fix the hernia when i have my plastics done in a year or two! LOL

also, i called the on-call doctor friday night because everytime i ate or drank i would get this burning pain in my pouch. dr. butsch prescribed me some liquid medicine to coat my stomach and help stop the pain! so far so good.

well, i am beat. off to bed. nighty night!