Excited!

Happy Monday to you all!  
I'm super excited, as I have just signed up to be a Scentsy consultant.   We sell gorgeous candle warmers and the scents to go with them.   The scents are wickless, so they are safe, and there are tons of scents to choose from!
I hope you'll check out my site - and I would LOVE for you to host an online party so you can earn some free goodies as well!  You start earning half price items and free product at only $150 in sales.   Wahoo!
Please check out my site!  Laurie's Scentsy Page   

On another note - I go back to the doctor today regarding my ulcer.   I believe we'll be discussing the options available to me and when/if I should proceed to have surgery. 
Fun stuff, I tell ya!  I will post an update tomorrow.
Have a great day! :)

Update on Ulcer, Etc.

Hi all, I'm so sorry for not posting any updates in awhile... Life has been busy, and I'm still feeling cruddy!
I went to the doctor last Wednesday, and had my endoscopy done last Friday.   The little bugger is still there and it is still inflamed, so time and patience is all I've got for it to heal..  well, time at least.. I ran out of patience with this awhile back.
During my doctor's appointment, he told me that I will likely need surgery to get rid of this thing permanently.  There are three options for me: 1) To get my RNY reversed completely, going back to my old "plumbing", 2) to switch to another WLS, such as duodenal switch or gastric sleeve, or 3) to have that part of my intestine removed.      
My choice would be #3, if that is an option once it is discussed with the surgeon.   I don't want to go to duodenal switch because I think that would make me lose a lot more weight, and I am basically at goal, of not very close to it.   The gastric sleeve or reversal are other options, but #3 is my ideal choice.  It seems like the least invasive, and the best one for me.    I will know more once I get my 2 week follow up with my GI doctor.
I am definitely improving, but I still have bouts where I can not tolerate any foods, and end up throwing up or just being in major pain for 2-3 hours.  
Anyway, I will update again when I know more, and I hope to begin blogging more soon.  This is my hellacious week at work, so life has been super busy! :(

Ulcer is Back! :-(

Sorry for the lack of posting lately...   I've been feeling like poo.  My ulcer has returned for a 3rd time.   I am only on liquids for a few days while I'm taking my medicines to try to get rid of it.  Eating food is just too painful when it passes the ulcer...  Excruciating almost!

On the upside of that, I've lost 6.5 pounds.     Yes, I know once I start eating normal foods again that the number will increase, but I need to focus on something happy, right? LOL

This is a short and sweet little post.. just wanted to keep y'all updated!
I hope to start the Thursday 13s again next week! I miss doing them!

Three Day Weekends

Wahoo! I am so excited to have a three day weekend.. It's been a rough week, and from my earlier blog posts, an exhausting week. Thanks for everyone's input on their guesses on what could be the cause. I'm sure I don't have sleep apnea. I used to have it, but that has not been an issue. Iron deficiency and/or chronic fatigue is my guess for the culprit(s). I'm taking an iron supplement, and as far as the chronic fatigue syndrome goes, it's BS b/c you can't do anything about it. It pisses me off!

On another front, I have a confession to make. I have a stubborn intestinal ulcer that doesn't want to go away (since February), and I've had 2 gastroscopes to check it out. I was supposed to have an appointment two weeks ago which I rescheduled to today, which I again rescheduled to mid June. This appointment will schedule my next gastroscope. I want to wait a little longer for several reasons: 1) Money - it will cost me another $300+ for each scope that I have.. If I can delay this one a bit, maybe it will be the last one I need. 2) Fear Factor - If the pesky ulcer is still there, my doctor is going to speak to a surgeon to possibly have that part of my intestine removed. If that happens, I'd have to go on a liquid diet for 6-8 weeks while my intestine heals, and I will probably lose a grotesque amount of weight. That scares the crap out of me. Yeah, who would have thought that a once 315 pound girl would be scared to lose weight.. hell yeah, losing another 10 pounds would rock.. but more than that, and I may look freakish! I've already been told on a few occasions that I shouldn't try to lose anymore weight.. and that's not really my goal anymore. My goal is to become FIT and have stamina, and hopefully in turn I'll have some freakin energy!!! Anyway - that's my confession for the day.

As far as the weekend goes, Michelle is having a mini birthday party at a pub tonight, which will be tons of fun! Then Saturday, I am getting my hair cut and highlighted... and then John and I have a birthday party for his niece. His mom's birthday is next week too, so we'll probably celebrate that this weekend as well!

Also, my poor mom has computer issues right now, so hopefully John (who is in IT) can fix that this weekend before she goes crazy. She's a Facebook game freak, and is missing her games.. lol

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Gastroscope Update

I had another gastroscope yesterday to see if I still had an ulcer, or if it had healed up. Unfortunately, I still have one. My doctor has added Carafate back into the mix with Prevacid, and I have to go back again in a month to see if it has healed at that point. This totally sucks!
If I keep getting recurring ulcers, then I will have to have a revision done... That scares me because I'm within 10 pounds of my ultimate goal weight.. If I have to get a revision, I think it would be like getting RNY all over again. I'm going to see Dr. W tomorrow and I already have a long list of questions to ask him..
AHH!!!!

Anyway, that's what's going on with me medically... Hopefully something more positive can be said next month! :-) I'll have another update after my appointment tomorrow - whether my vitamin levels have improved, and then some answers to my other questions that I have for him!!

Beyond that, I have already been to the gym 2x this week. I had in my head that I was going to go yesterday after my nap from the gastroscope. That failed - my nap ended at 4pm. I felt SOOOO drugged up, and I usually don't after that.. ick!

When I woke up yesterday, my TV was on an infomercial - the Beachbody one for the Brazil Butt Lift... and I ordered it! OMG! LOL It actually looks like a great workout, and I'm looking forward to getting it, but shame on me for ordering from an infomercial!

I added a new box to my blog - formspring.. It's where you can ask me anything, either anonymously or not. If you have any questions - feel free to ask away! I'm basically an open book! :)

Update - Sorry So Late!

Hi all - I'm really sorry that I haven't given you all an update!

I went to the gastroenterologist last Wednesday for my appointment. He agreed with Weinstein that it sounded like an ulcer, so he scheduled me for an upper GI scope Thursday morning. I do have a medium duodenal (intestinal) ulcer, and I just need to deal with it until it heals up. I've had trouble eating off and on every day since I started feeling bad, with this past Sunday being the worst. For some reason, whenever my ulcer starts hurting really bad (after eating most foods), I get accompanying back pain. The back pain is worse than anything.. I remember the pain post surgeries for every surgery I've had, and this was by far worse. I spent all of Valentine's Day crying. I felt TERRIBLE!! The good news is though, that I haven't had that degree of back pain since, and I am able to tolerate a few more foods. So, it sounds like I'm healing, slowly but surely. I have a follow up next Wednesday, and he wants to do another scope on me in 6 weeks to make sure the ulcer has healed.

Poor John.. We've been dating for a year and two months. This Valentine's Day, he had to deal with me being a wreck, not being able to sit, lay down, or get in any comfortable position without cringing in pain... Last Valentine's Day, I had my gallbladder/intestinal hernia.. At least he didn't have to spend a fortune on taking me out to eat, since I still really can't eat much! LOL He's going to take me to the Melting Pot as soon as I'm able to hold food down though. I would feel like I'm breaking every sort of law in the land if I went before then! LOL This is my absolute favorite restaurant in the world! I also get to go to Benihana soon, b/c I got an email from them for my birthday coming up, and I get a free meal! Wahoo!

I'm down to 154 lbs. That's "NORMAL" on the BMI scale. Wow! I know that the minute I am able to eat again, it'll bounce back up, but it's nice to see that weight if only for a moment. I also keep in mind that if/when I get my extra skin removed, I'd be in the low 140's, and I am close to being too thin. I think my comfortable weight is 154-160 lbs.

John and I went to see the Lightning Thief movie yesterday since I was too ill to see it on V-Day. I liked it a lot, but he hated it. The difference? He read the books, and I did not. LOL

I hope everyone is braving the crazy weather that Mother Nature has brought on.. All of you East Coasters, please bundle up! It's unseasonably cold here too, but we won't go there.. It'd just make you all pissed off! LOL

I've been enjoying catching up on TV a bit.. and watching the Olympics. I love all of the wonderful stories that all of the athletes have, and the Canadian who won the first Gold Medal for his country made me cry.. He was so sweet, and I am so glad that the no Gold drought was broken for Canada. I LOVE Canada.. I've been there once and I would love to go again.. such a beautiful country with so many beautiful people! :) I loved watching the speed skating and seeing Apolo Ohno win again too! Wahoo!!

Anyway - I'll end this now because I am obviously rambling!
Take care, all of you! I will write again soon!
xoxo

Gallstones, Hernias, Surgery, OH MY!

Hello ladies and gents,
I am back from the hospital! Thanks to everyone for your well wishes, and thanks to Jil for keeping you all updated!
As I had posted last week, I've been having a lot of stomach aches. Apparently, you shouldn't dismiss that as gas! I called Dr. W on Tuesday afternoon to make an appointment, and of course he was booked solid. I just asked his nurse if he could try to fit me in, and she asked what was wrong, and then called Dr. W, who instructed me to go to the emergency room immediately! I started panicking, and was still at work, so I had to go tell my boss that I might not be in the next day, and then went home to grab a few things. My friend Michelle picked me up at home, and took me to the hospital. They ran lots of labwork on me, and followed my surgeons testing protocol to see what's wrong. After my CATscan, it was revealed that I had gallstones. I was admitted, and then finally got my room around 1:30 AM.
Wednesday morning, Dr. W came in to see me, and asked me to describe all my pain (shooting pains feeling like gas, lasting about 4-10 hours after eating in my 3 worst occasions, constant full feeling, no pain relief from gas x, etc.).. he then pushed on my stomach in a few places, and some hurt.. he then said that I was the proud owner of a hernia! A GI Doctor then came to see me, and I told the same story, and he told me the same thing. Basically, the pain I described can be one of three things - gallbladder (check!), hernia (check!), or an ulcer (thankfully, not!). I then got a HIDA scan, and it revealed that my gallbladder was not inflamed at the moment, so the culprit of the pain was the hernia. While I was in the HIDA scan, Dr. J came to visit me. He's another surgeon that does RNY/Lap Band, etc. He told me that I was going to have surgery at 5pm to fix my hernia and to remove the gallbladder.. it wasn't bothering me now, and as I needed to have the hernia repaired, they might as well remove the gallbladder. While I was finding all of this out, I was still in the HIDA Scan, where I could not move. What a way to find out you're going under the knife in just 3 short hours!!
As soon as I got back to my room, I lost it.. I started crying, freaking out.. I know it's a normal surgery, but the whole hernia thing really freaked me out. I know they can get really bad, and I know if I hadn't gone to the doctor, that I would be in much worse shape, and who knows what could have happend! I just had everything running through my mind at that moment and was panicking again! I called several people and got the chain going so everyone would find out. I got to see my mom and Michelle as I was getting rolled into the operating room, and when I got out, I got to see them as well as Jil and my boyfriend John! :) My mom hadn't gotten to meet John yet, so what great circumstances to, right? LOL
Everything went well with the surgery. I had a lot of scar tissue from my RNY, which is to be expected. The one risk that I was most nervous about (strangulated intestines) was the one I got.. Go figure! The surgery was about two longer than he told me it would be. I ended up getting to my room around 10 pm, when I went in around 5.
Here it is, Sunday morning.. and I'm feeling pretty good, but I am sore. Yesterday I was in a lot of pain, mostly gas pain. My stomach is still quite swollen, and I am about to meet my boyfriend's family, and wondering what the heck I'm going to wear that isn't going to kill my incisions.. lol I get to go back to work on Wednesday (WHOO HOO!)
Sorry for the rambling with everything.. I'm not a great writer, and just say things as I think them! :-P I hope everyone is well, and thanks again for all of the well wishes!
Hugs to all!
Laurie