My Journal

WLS Home

The following entries are true and are not made up. Please respect them as if they were your own. If you have any feedback, please send me an email from the main page of this website. Thanks

Please click here to go to the most recent journal entry.

September 8, 2001
12:37AM

Well, today (9/7/01) was the day. This is the day that I began my quest to receive the most sought after Gastric Bypass Surgery (GPS). GPS is the only option that I feel I have. I have tried Atkins, Dieting, Slim-fast, Xenadrine, and even exercising. None of it works for me. This I know will. Well, when I arrived at the Doctor's office to get the referral, they made me do the dreaded task of stepping on the scale. They already had it set to 300 lbs. I step on with confidence and lost my confidence as the slider went to 320, then to 330, THEN to 340, AND THEN TO 350 lbs.!!!!! She said "whelp, that's as far as we can go". I am over 350 lbs.!!! Oh My God!! Then I went in to the office for the consultation and spoke to the doctor's assistant. She is awesome. She re-assured me not to worry about what had just happened but to just realize the fact that I am doing something about it. Then she told me that she was upset that I never scheduled a revisit after my labs a few months ago. She told me that my cholesterol was at a dangerous level of 256. She said that to even be remotely safe, I should be at a 200 or below. Adding this to my knee problems, back problems, acid reflux problems, sleep apnea problems, and my shortness of breath problems, I should have no problems getting this approved through my wonderful insurance company "Aetna". My wife also went through the process and was approved in less than a week. Well, I have to wait until November 2nd for my consult with Dr Juarez, the same Dr my wife is using. We'll see what happens. I have taken a picture today of my "Gut" and will eventually allow all to see on my website. I just pray to God that all will be perfect between now and mine and my wife's journey through weight loss. I plan to enter into this journal daily so that those who are reading this and considering the "right" choice will be able to see what exactly it will take when it comes time for them to start. I have read tons of info and plan to share all of this on my website. I am going to bed now and will "hit" this journal tomorrow. Goodnight!!!!

September 9, 2001
1:18PM

I am feeling so down on myself right now. I ate 3 Tamales and a big bowl of oatmeal with ¼ to ½ of a cup of sugar. I drank 3 cups of milk and I am looking for something else to eat. I woke up at 11:30am and consumed these items then. The worst part about it is that my 3-year-old daughter was complaining because she was hungry and I worried about myself first. Don't get me wrong, I love her dearly, but this obesity problem is turning into a nightmare. I am being inpatient for the surgery and feel like my world is going to end if I don't get it done right away. I know it's not, but I don't want to be fat anymore. I feel like crying to myself, which is not normal for me. I did setup a website this morning. It is www.100lbsoverweight.com. I plan to enter all of my journal entries there on a regular basis. That way others can see what I am experiencing as my journey continues. Well, I am going to leave for now and attempt to clean up my disaster area of a house. With obesity comes laziness and laziness permits housing to get dirty, which in turn makes you want to eat more because of depression. What a horrible cycle. Well I am leaving now. I will enter in again soon.

September 10, 2001
10:27PM

Well, another day gone by and I am still here :) . Today was a good day. I have been revealing to my friends at work about my surgery and after a brief explanation, they are in agreeance with me. I did have a downfall today and that was when I found out a dear friend has been diagnosed with diabetes. He plans to change his lifestyle so that he may be able to get rid of it. The cool thing is that he has a friend who experience WLS Weight Loss Surgery) and is living life to its fullest now. It is pretty nice to know that this surgery can make such a difference in someone's life. Especially my wife's. She is so excited because she is going to experience her WLS on November 21st. It has got me excited as well. I can't wait to see what it does to her life. Well, I can go on and on, but I will try to keep these entries as short as possible. I plan to post a picture soon so that those who don't know me can get a visual aid of what I really look like. I will write again soon!!! Good Night!!!

September 12th, 2001
11:02PM

WHAT A CRAZY TWO DAYS!!!! I am obviously not thinking too much about my condition, but rather the condition of those families and individuals in NY and Washington DC. That is awful. I pray to God that they find the people who did this against America. Well, this will remain a short entry as I am focused on our current situation. Let's all pray together for the loved ones who are at a loss because of this and let's keep a smile on our faces. We don't want those terrorists to think that they won. Let's unite and kick some American butt!!! Have a Good night!!!

September 13th, 2001
5:53PM

Well, I am home from work now and today was a good day. With the amount of attention focused on the WTC bombings, I have directed attention towards that. I am however now directing more attention towards myself. Luckily, it is not making me feel down like it has the past week, but it is still a nuisance. It is embarrassing though when you go to a restaurant and you have to ask for a table instead of a booth, just for the fact that you are afraid that you won't fit in the booth. So, you prevent this embarrassment by thinking pro-actively. Over the next few days, I am going to start to reveal my dieting and my extra curricular activities so that there can be more knowledge of who I am. I am going to leave now and pay attention to other things so that I can spend time with my family. Be back soon!!!

September 13, 2001
10:00PM

I decided to write in the journal since I remembered something that is happening to me physically. I use to have sleep apnea and was the recipient of a surgical procedure that included the removal of my tonsils, uvula (the thing that hangs in the back of your throat), polyps (spiral pieces in the nose), and extra tissue within my esophagus. The surgeon explained to me that this was a procedure that may or may not work. Well, it did. I was able to get by with 5-6 hours of sleep, and feel rested when I awoke the next morning. Unfortunately, after about 2 years, it has come back. I have recently noticed certain events that are beginning to reflect the re-coming of this disease. More specifically, Last night I awoke physically in a terrorized manner. I was not dreaming. I was not thinking about anything. But my throat was sore and dry, which led me to believe that I had stopped breathing sub-consciously, as a lot of us do during sleep, but did not begin to breathe until I was awoken in terror. This has become a regular pattern lately happening about 3 to 4 times a night and is beginning to take its toll on me physically and mentally. I can sleep for 13 hours sometimes and still be tired within hours of awaking. It is worse than it ever was. I am truly looking forward to getting this surgery to hopefully alleviate this problem as well as the obesity, but it will remain as a large focus of mine until it is not a bother anymore.
The purpose of this journal is to share with you my present life as an obese person, sharing all of the problems, issues, joys, etc of being so. I will place personal information in it to ensure that my present situation is completely understood. I also plan to enter into this journal almost daily as time permits until 1 to 2 years post operation. This is done for those who are considering this life saving procedure. Another goal of this journal is to encourage those experiencing the same lifestyle as I am in now, into getting the procedure to save their life. I also want to encourage those who are already on the road to getting the surgery done to start their own public journals as well. There is nothing like count-by-count documentation that shows the true emotion(s) and events that an individual facing this surgical procedure is going through. I am going to leave this journal now for the night. I will say that I had a sizable dinner at 9:15PM. I will begin to track exactly what I eat starting next week and will report it on a daily basis for those who are curious to see into the diet of an obese person. Have a Great Night and GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

September 15, 2001
5:32PM

Well, it is Saturday. I wasn't able to enter into my journal yesterday due to some issues that needed resolvement. Everything is ok now and here we are facing a possibility of going to war. It is definitely a different experience. I still plan to continue my journey towards WLS. I don't have much to say at this time other than I hope that all goes well with our current situations. I will write again soon.

September 16th, 2001
10:33PM

Here I am. All is well. I had a chance to spend some valuable time with my sister today. She is an awesome person. I cherish all chances that I get to spend with her. Well, starting tomorrow, I will begin to track exactly what I eat each day for an undetermined amount of time. I am doing this for myself and others. I will be specific and exact. Now to some problems. My back has really hurt today. I wish the pain would go away, but I know it is not until the WLS. I am also starting to notice my shortness of breath. When I notice, I try to hold my breath just to make sure others don't here me breathing. It is embarrassing to think that others can hear it. Another problem I am having is what some would call "Hot Flashes", except it is a constant feeling of being hot. It is about 70 degrees or even less here and I am sitting here sweating away. It is things such as this that I can't wait to lose. Well, I do have to go. I am working 8-5 now and it requires me to hit that sack a little earlier. As it stands, I will be tired tomorrow, thanks to that Sleep Apnea. Have a Great night!!!!

September 17, 2001
9:24PM

It was a Monday that cannot be forgotten. It was eventful and full of excitement, but even with the excitement, I was extremely tired. I wish that there was a "simple" solution to this Apnea problem. This site is starting to make it into the public "eye". I plan to make this site one of many useful resources available to pre-op and post-op patience. While it is centered right now in the pre-op area, post-op is soon to come. I did make a promise that I would begin to share my eating habits with the journal. I plan to do this daily and hopefully right on through weight-loss. Well, here's today's diet: This morning, I had a Pepcid complete (Acid Reflux Relief) and a large glass of milk (2%). I had some sugar free Lemonade. Then I was off to work. At work, I was distracted from my normal lunch. When all was well, I did eat some cupcakes out of a vending machine. I had 3 cans of Mountain Dew, 1 Can of Diet Pepsi, and 2 Cans of Coke. I had a Large Freschettas Pizza (14in or so). I had another Glass of Lemonade. I had about 3 Handfuls of chips with a sour cream based dip. And another large glass of milk. I think this takes care of it. This is embarrassing to me because it does seem like a lot, but I don't even think twice about eating what I did. It is a bad habit. And I thought that I didn't have enough. You will see this as this portion of the journal goes on. Well, I need to hit the sack. It is 9:35PM. I appreciate any of those who have read to this point. I hope to change the mind of someone out there who is considering this WLS option. Have a Great Night.

September 18, 2001
10:14PM

Well, another day has gone by and I was part of it. It was hectic at work as a good friend of mine and myself are working on a large project together. I am one-handed tomorrow, but will manage. Now about my food consumption today. It included the following: Large Glass of Milk, Glass of Sugar Free Lemonade, Wendy's Double Quarter Pounder with Fry's and a medium coke (I refilled it once), 3 cans of Mountain Dew (Gotta Love it), a Triple Quarter Pounder with a potato that was topped with cheese, bacon, chives, and sour cream, another Large Glass of Milk, and 2 Cans of Coke. I also had a small Halloween sized bag of M&M's. Pretty busy diet today. I had a larger amount of energy today that kept me going. I do need to start eating in the morning to get my energy levels up. Other than that, my day was pretty normal. I am tired as I always am around this time, so I am off to bed. I appreciate those who are checking in frequently. Have a Wonderful Wednesday!!! Talk to you tomorrow.

September 19, 2001
8:30PM

Well, here I am, tired as ever. This entry will be short and sweet as I am extremely tired. I went to bed last night at 11pm and woke up at 7am, 8 hours of sleep and I was tired all day. Well, I am going to bed around 9ish and waking up at 7ish. We'll see what happens. Now for my diet today: I woke up and had a bowl of grits (email me if you don't know what this is) with sugar and margarine, and a glass of milk, a Pepcid Complete, 3 Cans of Mountain Dew, a fish taco, steak burrito, a 20oz root beer with a refill, 2 cupcakes, a 32oz mountain dew, and from Taco Bell, a quesadilla, 2 tacos, and a combo burrito, and a large glass of milk. It is a pretty busy diet, but I can't help but have it. Well, I am off to bed. Have a Good Night!!!

September 20, 2001
11:03PM

Another day gone by and here we are in a world of turmoil. I am feeling a substantial amount of tiredness. I went to bed last night around 9:30pm and woke up at 7:00am. 9 1/2 hours!!! And I am tired. There is something wrong with that. I have also noticed that I am experiencing "Hot Flashes". I break out in a severe sweat and nothing cools me down except moving air. Well, I plan to go tomorrow and begin the compilation of all my medical records. It should be interesting to look back and see what I have been through. Now, to the moment of truth....my daily diet. Today started off with a bowl of grits with margarine and sugar. I had 3 cans of Mountain Dew, a can of Coke, 2 glasses of milk, no lunch (too busy), 14 hot wings, 3/4 of a medium meat lovers pizza dipped in Ranch, and 2 cups of orange soda. It is amazing looking back at what I ate today on what I would call a "meager" day. Well, I am off to bed. I am off tomorrow. Tomorrow is Pay Day!!! WooHoo!!! Well, I am off to bed. Thanks for reading this and don't forget to sign my book. Also, please email me with questions. Have a Wonderful night!!!

September 22, 2001
9:22AM

Hello Again!!! I forgot to enter in my entry yesterday, so I am going to have two entries today. This one will recap yesterday, and the one tonight will re-cap today. Yesterday was a good day except I had some severe back pains. My heart burn (Acid reflux) was worse than ever. I am going today to fill my Rx to reduce this problem. I forgot the name of it. But, Pepcid complete seems to work a little. Moving on, my diet yesterday was the following: A bowl of Grits, made the same way as above, a glass of milk, a 44oz Icee from circle K, a double cheeseburger from McDonalds, a 32oz Coke, 2 cookies (small), about 4 and a half chicken enchiladas, another glass of milk, and as I was making the enchiladas, I snack on a corn tortilla, cooked chicken, cheese, and after all was done, I had a glass of milk. I was a pretty busy eating day but didn't seem like it. Well, I am off now. My plans are to become more specific about what I eat and when I eat it. I plan to start doing this on Monday. Well, I will be writing again tonight. See you then.

September 22, 2001
9:34PM

Well, another day has gone by and nothing too much new. Only 41 days left until my initial consult with Dr. Juarez. I wish that I could just sleep the time away, but I can't. I need to go to bed soon, so to the point. My diet was as follows: a glass of milk, 1 liter bottle of Mountain Dew, a double quarter pound hamburger with bacon from Wendy's, a baked potato with cheese, bacon, sour cream, and chives, a dinner from Chevy's that included a chimichanga, a hard taco, a soft taco, chips and salsa, 3 tamales, and a little amount of beans. While getting dinner I had some chips and salsa and a Pepsi that included 2 refills. With dinner, I had 1 large cup of Pepsi, and 1 large cup of orange Slice, and a large glass of milk. Well, I Gotta go. I have plans to start including times in which I consume the foods I consume. I also have plans to include more of my emotional state. We'll see as it goes. If you have any feedback for me as always, please email me at richardtims1@msn.com. Thanks a lot and have a wonderful night!!!

September 23, 2001
7:35AM

7:30 in the morning!!! I am tired, but I have to go to church. I am entering into the journal right now because of something that bothers me. There was a person on the AZWLS group through Yahoo Groups that has a PCP who doesn't give a crap about her health. She also has an Insurance company that doesn't give a crap either. I am fortunate that I don't have these problems, but I can't help but feel sorry for these individuals. It is horrible. There are so many potential recipients of this WLS that don't go though with it due to lack of consideration from either their insurance or PCP's. I can go on and on with this, but I won't. All that I ask is if you are reading this, just say a small prayer for these people that are affected by the ignorance of others. Together we can make a difference. Good Luck to all those out there with problems and especially to Annette, the individual that brought
forth this entry. Have a Good Day!!!

September 24, 2001
8:20PM

Here I am trying not to scold myself for entering in my journal last night. My wife decided to use the computer last night and I didn't want to kick her off. So, my food intake on Sunday is from memory which is pretty good. So here we go.
Sunday:
Woke up and had a large glass of milk and a Pepcid Complete. We went to church and from there we decided to go shopping. On the way home, we stopped at China Panda Express, a really good Chinese restaurant. I order a two entrée dish, with 1 and a half orders of crab angels, 2 egg rolls, an additional entrée, and a 32oz coke. From there I had another 32oz Cherry Coke. For dinner I had 3.5 enchiladas, and 3 Tamales. I then finished with 3 scoops of ice cream. Somewhere in there I had 4 mint cookies and another 2 glasses of milk.
Today:
I am starting the timeline today:
7:30AM - 5 Cookies and a Large Glass of Milk
8:45AM - 16oz of Gourmet coffee with creamer and sugar mixed in
12:30PM - Can of Mountain Dew
2:20PM - A plate from Fazolis (Italian Restaurant) that had a half order of spaghetti,
lasagna, and fettuccine alfredo.
2:45PM - Can of Coke
3:15PM - Can of Pepsi
6:15PM - 20 Ruffles chips with generous amounts of sour cream dip.
6:35PM - 30 Tortilla Chips with salsa
6:45PM - Large Glass of Milk (16oz)
8:32PM - Dinner is being thought about. I will add what dinner was tomorrow.
Well, here it is, a timeline that better depicts my habits. I called the Dr office today and checked to see if an earlier appointment was available. I wasn't but I will check again. Anyways, I am off now. I plan to start my Rx tonight since I have it now. Well, I will enter in tomorrow. Have a Good Night!!!

September 25, 2001
11:16PM

Well, here we are. My diet Today was as follows:
7:15AM - Big bowl of grits with sugar and margarine
7:25AM - Glass of Milk
9:15AM - 20oz Coffee with Creamer and sugar
11:45AM - Can of Coke
1:40PM - 2 Double Cheeseburgers
2:15PM - Can of Coke
4:00PM - Can of Pepsi
6:00PM - Can of Pepsi
7:45PM - Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburger with order of Onion Rings, some tacos, and Large Coke.
11:25PM - Ice Cream
It is pretty intense. I can already see a problem with Soda. I am going to attempt to substitute soda with water. I have done it before, but we will see. I am off to bed now and will enter in again tomorrow. Have a Good Night.

September 28, 2001
6:18AM

Well, I don't know what to say except that I have been busy, busy, busy. I have not been as faithful as I should be. Unfortunately I am not going to be sharing my diet until tonight, when I get home from work. I did want to point out something though that gave me a good feeling yesterday. As I tell people about WLS, it seems the most common reaction I get is "WHAT?". Everybody I have told has reacted this way. I told somebody yesterday and he did the same. He had brought up the fact that I should be drinking unleaded soda (diet) and that I should drink water. He also brought up the fact that most of my diet is Carbs. His solution to the problem was stop eating the carbs. I can appreciate this from him as he has the self discipline and capability of doing this. I also have the capability, but what I notice is that it never works. I told him that the WLS would work because if I force myself to eat something that makes me vomit, psychologically I will remember this and I won't eat it again. Example, 3 years ago I had some chicken nuggets from McDonalds. Oh, did I love them. Well, I got sick from them and vomited. I have tried to eat them again and I cannot do it. He then asked me why I don't use the fear of dying in the same manner. I told him that I have to have that "instant" pain and that I have been this way for 15 years plus. I haven't died yet. This is the exact mind set that obese people have. I have thought about what I am eating before I eat it, but I always tell myself, "I won't eat it next time". It is this way with everything. "I'll start that program tomorrow." Those of you in this position understand me. I always postpone things because there has never been success when I have done it in the past. Well, I am leaving for work now. I want to thank this good friend of mine for looking out for my best interests, but I still plan on getting the surgery. I will however start drinking unleaded soda and water, but not all the time. Have a wonderful day and I will enter another entry tonight.

September 29, 2001
2:31PM

Well, here we are. Another Saturday, another day. I had someone enter into my Guestbook a couple of days ago. The entry was very well written and very well accepted, but I wish this person would reveal who they are. From the words used, it appears as if this person has experienced WLS or is going to experience WLS. I would like to know this person as they are very knowledgeable sounding. Moving on, I am temporarily holding my diet as confidential until I can improve it. I wanted to make a point to myself and put it in front of me and others. As this anonymous person said, this WLS should be used as a tool and not a fix all. This is exactly what I am using it as. I have started my conditioning already by cutting out the soda and sugars. Also I plan to start eating healthier soon. Now, I have gone weeks without eating "junky" foods before and have had no success. I have instead, worsened my condition. So, even with my eating habits changing, my complete intentions are to get this WLS. I am just "preparing" myself for what's to come. I look forward to hearing from this anonymous person and hope that you can come forward. Thanks to all for viewing my website and giving me feedback. This is exactly what I have been wanting this website to do. Have a Great Day!!!!

October 4th, 2001
6:51AM

I have been a bad boy for not entering into my journal. I have been extremely busy between work, balancing home life, and still trying to enjoy myself. I have been having a problem with my neck recently. I have been getting tingly feelings in it and it is starting to bother me. Hopefully it will stop soon. My Rx for Acid Reflux is not working. My sleep apnea is beginning to take its toll. I can continue to complain, but I will choose not to. I am actually going to get a part of me fixed today. I have had for about a year now an ingrown toe nail on my big toe that has just hurt like hell. It is so sensitive that if I put a sock on, I have to be careful. I have steel toed shoes also to prevent someone from stepping on it, particularly my three year old girl Sierra. I know she means no harm, but tell my toe this after she steps on it. None the less, I am taking half of today, tomorrow, and the weekend off. I have started adding things to my "What is WLS" page. I plan to add charts and other things over the weekend. I can't wait to have a highly functional website soon. It will be awesome. Well, I have missed doing this the past five days, but I will be more on top of it. I am starting a email notification for anyone who wants to know about significant changes to this site. Please use the link on the main page. I have a lot of large upgrades coming soon. I look forward to seeing names show up on this list. Have a wonderful day!~!~!~!~!~!

October 5th, 2001
7:05AM

Hello Again!! Well, yesterday was a productive day towards surgery. A new Doctor has come into the picture to help relieve some of this overload. Her name is Dr Staerkel. She works out of Scottsdale and is fairly new at this practice, however she has participated in many WLSs. Her office staff seems to be nice and they seem like they care the world for their patients. Well, they scheduled me for an initial consult on Nov 6th. Hopefully, I will get my approval and surgery soon after that. I am going to go for now as I am being occupied by my 3 year old girl. Have a great day!!!

October 8th, 2001
12:47AM

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me. Holy Crap, I am 25 years old!!! Well, I had a great birthday and enjoyed every moment of it. I received a lot of wishes thanks to Tracy, my wife. She is awesome. I Love her soooo much. Well, I have to make this as short as possible because I am tired. I did enjoy cake tonight since after surgery it will probably be something I don't get to eat. I am taking a new medication now for Acid Reflux and it seems to be working. I have gone 2 Days without heart burn. I am also having toe surgery on Thursday. I will finally take care of my sore toe. Well, I am off to bed. Have a Great night!!!!

November 10th, 2001
12:36PM
Here we are a month later. I cannot believe that I let the website go like I have. Now I am going to stay on top of it because I have full reason to. Tracy (my wife) is just over a week away from getting surgery. We are both getting excited, but nervous about it. We know what to expect, but still fee lost about it, or at least I do. I had my preliminary appointment with my surgeon on the 6th. I brought a lot of information with me to the appointment. Because of this, she is submitting the information to the insurance company and I should hear back by the end of next week. I know that they will approve it. She also shed some light on the weight that I may be after the surgery. She said that I should be somewhere around 160 to 170. That is just amazing. That is about 50% of what I weigh now. I can't wait. I woke up today with a sore back, and tired. I went to sleep around 9pm and woke up around 11AM. Also, since my last entry, I have begun communicating with my parents, which I am thankful for. I have to thank Bin Laden for this, and for the fact that my daughter is patronized. She loves "America" songs and the American Flag. She says goodnight to it and waves it anytime an American song is played. Well I am off now. I will write again very soon. Have a Great Weekend!!!

November 11th, 2001
3:28PM

Here we are again. I received a call from the Doctor today. She was asking for a picture of me for the insurance company as well as my weight and PCP's address. She is such a cool person. I was going to use my wife's doctor but changed my mind. I later found out the Dr Staerkel was trained in the same facilities that Carnie Wilson had her surgery done. She is very thorough and doesn't leave anything unturned. Gotta love that in a Doctor, especially on the has your life in their hands. Well, I have to go find a scale that is large enough to weigh me. I have put some pictures in my pictures link. They were taken today. We'll see what happens. Have a Great Day!!

November 17th, 2001
10:07PM

Whelp, three days to go and my wife will have her surgery. She is having it the day before Thanksgiving. We are having our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. I did get my weight and I weighed in at 361.5lbs. That is a lot. I can't wait until I get to bring that number down. I am starting a support group for Staerkel's surgery patients. Those groups are amazing!!! They allow soooo much information to be spilled through them. Other than that, there is not much going on. I will check back later when I have more to say. Have a Good Night!!!

November 24th, 2001
1:14PM

I don't know how to explain my feelings or emotions right now. I have gone from small breakdowns to happiness. When we were driving to the hospital on the 21st, I was so scared that I was going to be coming home by myself. Because of this I prayed the whole way there, asking God to take care of her, and to let her enjoy her life as a reasonably weighted woman. I was also praying to make her happy. Well, when we got there, she went in to prepare for her ten o'clock surgery. We got there around 7AM. The doctor said he was ready to take her at 9AM. My stomach fell to my feet. I held back my emotions so that she did not see me. She needed me to be strong for this. The doctor said it would take about an hour, so her mom and I went to go get something to eat. It was so hard to swallow. I had a huge knot in my throat. We finished eating in about 30 minutes and went up to wait. Well, time was ticking slowly. An hour passed and I got excited. Then an hour and a half. Then an hour and 45 minutes. By this time I am a nervous wreck. Now it has been 2 HOURS!!! I had bad things going around in my head. I kept thinking, maybe they are doing CPR and keeping her alive. Maybe they are delaying the bad news in case they can turn it into good news. Finally, 2 hours and 15 minutes, we get the news that she is in recovery. The surgery was perfect. What a relief. Now we have to wait another hour and a half for surgery recovery. Well, it past and then I got to see her. She was out of it, but I didn't care. She was alive and well. Well, I stayed in the hospital with her and we finally came home last night. She is doing so good considering everything. Her meals are small, but somewhat tasty. I made them :). We are preparing for a new lifestyle in this household.

Well, back to my emotions. I am scared to death. I fear that I will go in there and they will not be able to do my surgery. I am afraid of dying. I don't know why, but I am. I know that God will take care of me and my family either way. Because of this I am having surgery on Dec 17th at noon. That is only 3 weeks and 2 days away!!! I am trying to get in my last foods, but because of what Tracy is dealing with, I don't want to eat. It is like I lost my partner in crime. It's not fun anymore. I am still getting done as I know this will be a short feeling, but I may lose some weight. I have also decided that I am going to get it done open, where they cut you open and do the procedure. My Dr is new and I would rather her do it this way. There are less serious complications that can come out of it. And it is not like I am looking for a new wife. Tracy is mine forever as long as she wants me. Well, I am going to go for now. My emotions have calmed down by writing this entry. I will be entering a lot more in over the next few days and weeks, as I begin to prepare for my life saving surgery. Have a Great Day!!!

November 26th, 2001
11:14PM

Here we are, only three weeks left to the day. I cannot believe the moment is catching up so quickly. I am ready to do this. I did let the doctor know that I decided to get my surgery done "open". That means a big cut down my stomach. This is better than the possible complications that can occur with it being done with an instrument. My emotional state has calmed down substantially. This journal allows me to express my feelings and get them out. One of my friends said it best. They said that when I sat down to type that night, I was in a relaxed state of mind and I let it out. On Sunday, I was relaxed and was able to enjoy the day. Today, I went to work and was able to keep focus from it. So, mentally, I am prepared for this event. I have a lot of friends that are supporting me and a wonderful and understanding wife who is ready to take care of me. I am a lucky man. Well, I am off to bed. I am going to try to enter in an entry everyday now until my hospital stay. Have a Good night!!!

November 28th, 2001
7:50PM

There is nothing like what I am feeling right now.....Helplessness!!!!! I have had an up and down week this week. First, I find out that my Doctor doesn't even have a contract with my insurance company. Then I find that my insurance company declined my surgery!!! WHY? I don't understand. I am in such a horrible position. I don't know if it is the Doctor, myself, or the insurance company, but I just don't know!!!! My wife got approved, no problems!!! This is crap!!! I will fight this to the end but just in case, I have scheduled an appointment with my Wife's doctor for February. We'll see what happens. I can't describe my feelings right now!!! I was so happy that everything was going to happen and then BAMMMMM!!! At least I will be able to describe the emotions in this journal. This will help others cope with it. I am jumping to conclusions I am sure, but we will just have to wait and see. Well, I am going to go for now. If you are reading this and I haven't been approved yet, keep praying. Thanks!!!!

November 29th, 2001
6:37PM

Well, I am doing a lot better today than I was last night. It is my assumption that the doctor had the insurance company decline the surgery because she wasn't going to get paid enough. I also found out that she won't take Aetna patients anymore either. I have scheduled an appointment with Dr Juarez's office for the 24th of February. I can't wait but is seems like I stepped back 3 months!!! Oh Well, I am ready to do this. I should have just stayed with Dr Juarez's office in the first place. This will give Tracy enough time to heal from her surgery as well. I look at it this way. As long as I have it before June, I will be happy. I am sure this can be done. Well, I don't have much to say, but now we get to do this all over again. I am sure it was declined because of my doctor. But it is her loss because she now has a bad name in the field. Too bad for her. Well, I am off. Have a good night.

December 7th, 2001
5:51PM

Well, where do I start. I got in to see Dr Juarez on the 4th!!! WooHoo!!! I was so happy to get that appointment. I thought I would have to wait until February to be seen. I just have to get my paperwork into his office so that he can start the process of getting his approval. My sleep Apnea is getting worse by the day. I am more tired than ever!! I look forward to Saturday's because I get to sleep in and get a reasonable amount of sleep. I went to the Doctor's office today, in particular Dr Staerkel's and got my paperwork from her. She didn't seem to unhappy with me, but then again she may be putting on a face to maintain her professionalism. I found out that the group I belong to had her as a subscriber and I said some not so nice things about her. I wish I could take them back, but glad I was able to get them out. I plan on writing her an apology letter. Other than that, there is nothing new. I am just happy about losing about 3 months of waiting time. I had an appointment scheduled for that day and they called to confirm it, so I took it. Just luck I guess. Well, I need to get to work. I need to fix a computer. I will talk back soon.

December 7th, 2001
9:33PM

WOW!!! I accomplished a lot tonight. I decided to enhance my site a little and add better content under What is WLS? It is pretty cool. Just wanted to boast a little. See you soon. :)

December 16th, 2001
1:27PM

We get to go shopping today!!! Sounds like fun!!! My website has been on shaky ground that past couple of days, but now it is all calm. I was able to get everything uploaded perfectly. I should hear in a couple days as to when my surgery is going to be. You can bet that I will have this date on my website. I can't wait. I am in really good spirits right now and I am looking forward to Christmas. Our house that we were going to be moving into today fell through. We decided to go ahead and live Christmas here and then move into a house after the first of the year. We can't wait. The house was going to take a lot of our available finances, but since we lost it, we are able to enjoy Christmas this year even more. Well, we have to go. I will be back sometime this weekend. Have a Great Day!!!

December 19th, 2001
8:12PM

Well, I did get to go shopping on Sunday. I got My daughter's picture taken with Santa Clause and also her Christmas pictures taken. I started feeling sick in line for Santa and that was the start of my roller coaster ride through Hell. I went to the ER that night. I was vomiting explosively and could not keep anything down. They gave me some pain meds and something else that gave me extreme cotton mouth. I tried to go to work the next day on Monday, but was sent home because of my condition. I couldn't go to work on Tuesday because my headache was giving me blurred vision. I did go into the doctor and to this point no one knows what is wrong. The Doctor at the ER said that the X-rays revealed blockage in my intestine. My primary thinks it is the stomach flu. Who knows, we may never know. Well, I am starting to eat again and it seems like it is going to be ok. I still get a little weasy when I eat, but it is staying down. We will just have to watch it closely. The Dr said that he wants me to check in on Friday if it doesn't get better. I have also started having huge headaches and body aches as well as severe chest pain. We will see what happens. Sounds like fun!!! Well, I am going to enhance my site some more. I will check in with more news on my condition. Have a Good rest of the week.

December 21st, 2001
12:29AM

What a day. I have been having headaches that hurt so bad that they are making me dizzy. I saw the doctor and he said to just take some Tylenol to help it. It is actually working. We will see what happens tomorrow. I added something new to the site today. It is a Menu Card. It allows patients to order from the smaller portion menus at restraints. It is pretty cool. Well, I have to go. See you soon!!

December 29th, 2001
8:46pm

Here we are, a little over a week later. I am feeling lots better now, I just can't regain my voice completely. The night that I went to the ER, they gave me a drug that gave me the worst cotton mouth ever!! It dried my throat out and then the voice nightmare began. Otherwise, I am doing great. Well, it is a new look. I have given this website a face lift. It is all pretty now...:). Along with the new look comes the ability to modify it from any computer with web access. So, it is pretty cool. I plan to add lot's more now that it is user friendly. I want to add different pages including a page that is just full of comments from people who have had the surgery. I also want to have a public before and after photo page just so people can see the drastic effects this surgery has on obesity. It is amazing!!! I also welcome comments from people as well. If you have any comments, please send them to me. You can click here to do so if you wish. I look forward to adding more to this wonderful site. It looks like I am off to a great start. Well, I am off for now. Talk again soon.

January 1st, 2002
9:37AM

As you can see, I did not party last night, or I would not be up at 9:37AM. I was just doing some touch up on the site. I called the insurance company to see if they would cover the expense of a full face mask for my C-PAP machine and they said they would. Now, I just have to call the doctor's office to get them to write the Rx for it. I hope it works and allows me the chance to get a restful night of sleep. I am waking up with headaches and the such now too. These headaches are the headaches from hell. My back is giving me problems again and I am beginning to get a sharp cramping pain in the middle portion of my back. Other than that, all is well. I am just waiting for the Doctor's office to submit my paperwork so that I can re-begin this process again. They should submit in the next week or two. We will just have to hang out and wait. Well, I am going. Got things to do. Happy New Year!!!

January 10th, 2002
10:03PM

WooHoo, I am approved for surgery today. I am so very happy. I have to call the doctor's office next week to get my surgery date. IT is finally coming to a close. I was a little skeptical at first that I was going to have problems, but it all came through. I have to go and get some sleep. I will write again soon.!!!

January 17th, 2002
11:42PM

Welp, I got my surgery date today!! I am finally going to make it to the other side. I have waited forever for this to come. My surgery is going to be on April 9th at 10AM. I have to be there at 8AM to check in. The doctor's office gave me a long list to do before surgery. I plan to keep myself busy with it while I am waiting for my surgery date to come. I am sooo excited. It is soooo awesome. Well, I need to go to bed as I always do after I post to my journal. I will write again soon.!!!

January 20th, 2002
10:27PM

Here we are. Another few days off of the wait. We are down to 79 days and counting. That is a little under three months. I know it will go so quick, but it is hard to think this in the beginning. Tracy, I and some people on the yahoo group AZWLS have decided to create "welcome" packages for new post-ops to welcome them to the other side. It will be real cool and real helpful I think to these people who don't really have a clue as to what they got themselves into. I will post as to it's success. I am off to bed now. I will write again soon. Talk to you later. PS, I plan to add a support page real soon that has excerpts and the such. See you soon.

January 26th, 2002
10:29PM

Hello Again!! Only 73 Days left and counting. I can't wait. I got my packet in the mail that has all of my prescriptions in it for my pre-op testing. I have to get and Upper GI, Chest X-ray, Blood work, and an EKG. I have to wait until March 9th before I can start getting all of it done. It will come so quick I am sure. Well, I got to have my first trainees on Friday. They are all so cool. I am going to get along with them so well. I took Monday off from work and plan to go to the zoo. We are going to have a family day. This surgery has been one of the best things that has ever happened to Tracy. We actually ate in a restaurant for the first time together in years. She almost shocked me to death when she said "Why don't we eat it here". I am so use to take out. She also was the one who wanted to go everywhere. Pretty soon, I won't be able to keep up with her. Well, I am going to go add some things to the site. I will write about what I add after I add it. Talk to you soon.

January 28th, 2002
9:20PM

Today was a good day. We went to the zoo as a family and had a great time. I am in lots of pain of course and Tracy on the other hand is doing great. I have a dilemma however. Tracy is getting huge amounts of energy and I am getting lesser amounts of energy. She has been doing a lot of things around the house such as dishes, cooking, etc and I feel that since it is usually me doing all of this that she thinks I am lazy now. I don't like this but what am I to do....I can't do it. Heck, I can't even carry a basket of clothes from the car without feeling out of breath. When we were at the zoo, we dropped the map on the asphalt. I had to use all my energy just to bend down and pick up the darn thing. It is almost a point of helplessness. I appreciate what Tracy is doing and I know she means well, but I also hope that she understands the position I am in. As I am sitting here, I am almost out of breath. IT is embarrassing. Well, now to a new topic. I added some cool things to the site recently including a support page and a WLS video footage page. It is pretty cool. Well, I am off for now. Wish me luck as I only have 71 days left....WooHoo. Talk to you later.

January 29th, 2002
6:43AM

I can't sleep!!! I feel like crap. I never get sick and it seems like I can never get rid of this one. I think I may have an ear infection this time. My right ear hurts really bad. I just hope that I start feeling better. I don't like this. I was up at 2AM until 3:30AM, then from 4:15AM till 5AM, then from 6AM till now. I am so tired, but I can't sleep. I will probably get some Nyquil and knock myself out. There is good news however, at least to me. It actually might snow tonight here in Phoenix. I can't believe it. It is pretty darn cool. Well, only 70 days left officially. It is coming pretty quick. I will probably check back later today. Talk to you later..

February 12th, 2002
10:08PM

Only 56 days left and I will be on the other side. I have been so busy lately. We moved into a new house this past week and we are still living out of the boxes. I went back and read the post prior to this one and realized that I still haven't shaken this bug. I have had it forever. I hope it will go away soon. We will see. Only 56 days!!! I cannot believe that it is coming to a close soon. Well, I don't have much time. I just wanted to give an update on my health. I am having severe back and leg pains. I am also seeing a shortness in breath, but to more of an extent. I will be fine through the surgery. I can't wait though until my birthday in October to see how far down I am in weight, and also to see how far Tracy is down. She is already down 50 lbs!!! WooHoo Honey!!! Well, I am off to bed now. Just wanted to post. Talk to you later.

March 23rd, 2002
11:03AM

WOW, where do I start. First I have been so busy the past month that I don't even know what happen to it. We are down to just 17 days. I cannot believe that it is so close. I go on Tuesday to get my upper GI, which isn't the funnest, as well as my chest X-Ray. I am just now starting to get the nervous, anxious, scared, and excited feelings. The ones that actually interfere with you daily activities. Before I know it, it will be all over. I plan on getting some things added to the site. It will be a surprise. But they are cool. Other than that, I am doing great and feel great. I did video myself sleeping the other night. It is quite disturbing. I, at one point, stopped breathing for about a minute. I didn't even wake up. I also woke up a couple of nights ago and could not even breathe. It was very scary. Hopefully surgery will help that. I know Tracy has stopped snoring, so we will see. Speaking of Tracy, she has lost 65 pounds. She hit a very large plateau, and finally came off of it. Well, I need to go. I will try to write everyday now as the countdown continues. Bye for now.

March 27th, 2002
6:28AM

Here we are, only 13 days away. I got my Upper GI done yesterday and let me tell you that was not the prettiest stuff. They also did my chest X-ray. All I have to do now is get blood work done and an EKG done. Then everything will be done that needs to be before surgery. I am feeling anxious about the whole thing now which is normal, but I am also excited to get this over with. It has been too long to wait for this. I just wanted to drop a quick update. I have to get ready to go to work. Talk to ya later.

April 5th, 2002
10:11PM

Well, I am getting ready to go to bed. I cannot believe that surgery is just 4 days away. I am getting scared about having the surgery, but know that I need to do it for my sake, my wife's sake, and my daughter's sake. I know I will do fine. Well, I am going to go now, there is not much I can say. Talk to you later.

April 8th, 2002
7:05PM

Well, today was interesting, the day before my surgery. I received a call from the doctor's office this morning. They hadn't received any of my results from the Upper GI test, my blood work, or the EKG. Why wait until the last day to realize this. Well, we got all of the results back to them by 1pm. Then they called me at 6pm or so, but I wasn't able to get to the phone. I noticed the numbers on caller ID. Hopefully everything is OK for tomorrow. I am going to be taking my fleets around 9:30 or so. I just enjoyed my last bite of real food. Only 13 hours before I go to the hospital. Wish me luck. Good night.

April 8th, 2002
1:46AM

Yuck!!! I took fleets at 9:30PM to clean out my system. It was the grossest stuff I have tasted, but it works. I have been in the bathroom all night. It should stop by now, but it hasn't. I am really nervous that I am doing this for nothing since the doctor's office called after their normal hours. We will see tomorrow. I am going to try to get rest. Only 6.5 hours to go.

April 9th, 2002
6:28AM

Well, I am getting ready to go to the hospital. I am a nervous wreck. I am also scared to death. The fleets is STILL working. Hopefully this will stop. I can't imagine having a fleets experience while I am in the hospital bed. Well, I gotta go. Talk to you after surgery.

April 9th, 2002
8:09AM

Well, I am at the hospital. I found out why they called me. The hospital canceled my surgery for today. I guess when St Lukes stopped taking Aetna, Aetna cancelled the approval for the surgery instead of transferring it to Good Samaritan. They say it should be ok, but I can be admitted until it is. Tracy went out to call the doctor's office. I hope that this doesn't hurt anything. We'll see.

April 9th, 2002
9:30AM

All is well. I am admitted and I am now sitting in the triage area. I am butt naked in a gown. They took my blood pressure and it is extremely high. I am a nervous wreck, scared to death, I want Tracy to come back, but they aren't letting her yet. They will though. Well, I will see you on the other side. nite nite :).

April 9th, 2002
3:32PM

The surgery is done. I am so out of it. They told me I had to use the incentive sperometer. I don't want to but I had to. It hurts so bad. I am having problems with my oxygen levels so I am on full oxygen. They don't want me to take the mask off. My mouth is so dry. I want something to drink so bad, but they said I can't. So I settled for a wet wash cloth. My tongue feels like sand paper. They won't let me use chap stick because of the petroleum in it. I guess it could hurt me because of the oxygen. This sucks. I am still in the recovery area and they are waiting for a private room to open up. I am too sleepy to care. nite nite :).

April 9th, 2002
10:32PM

I got out of bed tonight and sat up for a little while. My butt really hurts from the bed so it felt good to be up. The bed is really cool. It literally dumps you out of it. Tracy had to pull herself out of bed. I just got off the phone with my dad. He was just checking on me. Tracy had also called. She couldn't stay at the hospital because she couldn't get comfortable. The nurse got mad at me because I was talking on the phone for so long (10 minutes). The reason is the my oxygen is so bad that even a minute off of it makes it dip below 84%. So, I got off the phone, got back in bed, and went to sleep. Aaaahhhh....Morphine...

April 10th, 2002
7:22PM

Well, I have had some visitors. They are so nice to have. My mom came today with my grandpa. It was nice to see him. He is getting so old, so to see him up and about was kind of nice. Today was a blur, but I do remember the God awful upper GI. They make you drink this chalky stuff. Granted, it was nice to drink, but it hurt too. They took the tube from my nose and I got to drink my first drink. I never thought water would taste so good. They also brought a tray of food in. I ate two bites of Jell-O and that was it for me. It was good though. Well, they say that I will probably be here until Friday. We will see. Good bye for now.

April 11th, 2002
8:00PM

I cannot believe what happen today. First, I wanted some milk. They gave me milk right away, but as I was drinking it, it didn't taste to good. Tracy looked at it and it was expired as of March 25th!!! then, they gave me a tray of food with Jell-O on it. I took a couple of bites of it and noticed a sweet taste to it. I told Tracy that I thought it was not sugar free and that it was regular Jell-O. I took one more bite and then had the nurse come in. Well, sure enough, it was. I began getting stomach cramps which led to dumping. I am pretty upset and so is Tracy. I had a visitor that came tonight even and I wasn't able to see him because I was stuck on the toilet. Hopefully it will go away.

April 12th, 2002
3:08AM

Here I am on the toilet for the 6th time at least. I crapped my bed. I feel so awful and embarrassed. I can't believe this is happening. If I do not feel better by morning, I am not going home. The nurse is so nice though. She has been making me fresh iced tea each night. It tastes so good. Well, I am going back to sleep.

April 12th, 2002
6:28AM

I did it again, just not as bad. I crapped the bed. I am not going to sleep anymore. I have decided to sit in the chair for awhile with a towel under my butt. I do feel better. We will see as the day progresses.

April 12th, 2002
1:45PM

I am going home. I feel a lot better. I have control over my bowel movements now. I am even able to wipe myself. I can't wait to get home. It will be nice to get out of this place.

April 12th, 2002
3:30PM

Well, I am home now. Tracy ran up to the drug store to get my pain medication. It is so nice to be home. I am tired and am going to go to sleep for awhile.

April 12th, 2002
11:17PM

Well, I am in a lot of pain. I have this bump that is developing on my stomach. It really hurts. I think I am going to call the doctor tomorrow. I am really tired and am going to go back to sleep.

April 13th, 2002
7:13PM

Well, I called the doctor and he said to try some Rolaids and Pepcid and to call him tomorrow if it is not better. It really hurts. Tracy went to go get them. Hopefully it works. I have been super tired the past few days. It is amazing what a nice cool house can do to you when you are tired. It is nice. Well, I will write again soon.

April 14th, 2002
11:51PM

Well, it did not go down or stop hurting. I have an appointment on Friday to see what is wrong. Some people from the group are saying it is a hernia. It looks like on, feels like one, so maybe it is. We looked it up on the internet and found that it takes a small surgery to fix it. That is fine with me, just fix it. Well, I am tired and I am off to bed. Good night.

April 19th, 2002
10:36PM

Well, it is not a hernia. The doctor says the when they were sewing me up, the sides would not line up, so they had to remove some tissue, which in turn caused some swelling. That is good news, but not as good as the 36 pounds I lost!!! I could not believe it. I was so happy. Well, I feel good today. I am off to bed though to take a nap. I am exhausted. We went everywhere today.

April 30th, 2002
11:50AM

Well, here I am. I hit a plateau the past few days and finally came off of it. I got all the way back up to 336 after being at 330. Well, in the past few days I have dropped to 328. I am feeling good, just lacking a little energy. I see the doctor on Friday for a checkup on that bump. It is still there and still hurts. Hopefully everything is ok with it. We'll see on Friday. Well, I just wanted to check in. This surgery is amazing and I love what it is doing for me. I hope it continues as I am sure it will. Talk to you later..

May 3rd, 2002
11:33PM

Well, I went to the doctor today. It seems that I may have a hernia as originally thought. He stuck a very large needle in my stomach to attempt to drain out any built up fluids, and was unsuccessful. He told me that I have to go back Monday to see the Doctor himself about it. He didn't want to stick the needle to far into my stomach as it could cause serious damage if it is a hernia. A hernia is where the abdominal wall is no longer holding your intestinal parts, and is allowing your intestinal parts to reach the surfacial layer of tissue. I am in extreme pain especially when I cough, sneeze, blow my nose, or even go to the bathroom. I hope that this can be fixed soon as I am sure it will. We will see. I will post again. I am at 326 pounds!!! 44 pounds Gone!!! WooHoo!!! See you later.

May 4th, 2002
10:46PM

Well, I just made another appearance change on my website. It is actually pretty cool. All you have to do is look at the color of your scroll bars. They are not gray anymore, they match the website, unless you have an old copy of explorer. Today is a pretty good day. I am in pain, and had an experience that hurt really bad. I sneezed, and felt the worst pain. This pain was worse than the surgery itself. Well, I am better now that I have taken some pain meds. I just wanted to post. I am enjoying the building of this website even more now. I learn things every day. I am off to bed. Talk to you later.

May 6th, 2002
2:54PM

Well, no hernia, so the doctor says. He is not very sure right now. He wants to see me in his office on the 24th. He put me out of work until then to see if he can get it to get better. We will see what happens on that day. Well, I got some chores to do. Just wanted to post.

May 19th, 2002
4:14AM

Good Morning, or should I say goodnight. I am off to bed but wanted to post something in my journal. I am feeling pretty good, especially since I lost 56 pounds!!! I added some new pics to my site here to show the difference. I was also able to submit my site to search engines tonight. It was pretty easy. Besides that, all is well. We are taking a family vacation on Monday to San Diego. We have never been on a vacation as a family before, but hopefully we won't be able to say that next week. Our car broke down and we need to get it fixed tomorrow. Besides that, nothing new. I still have the problem with my stomach. It still hurts and I am on pain meds to help it. I see the doctor on Friday. Hopefully he releases me to work because frankly, I am bored out of my mind. We will see on Friday what happens. Well, I am off to bed. Good night.

May 25th, 2002
2:15PM

Well, it is exactly 7 years since I graduated. It is amazing. I went to the doctor yesterday and finally got released to go back to work. I go back on Tuesday. I am glad it has finally come. He also re-confirmed that the lump on my stomach is not a hernia. I have lost 63 pounds as of today and I am feeling great (sounds like a slim-fast commercial). Well, I wanted to post into the journal today since it has been awhile. Oh, we also took a trip to Sea world this past week. I am going to post some pictures on the site later tonight or tomorrow. Well, I am off for now. Talk to you later.

May 26th, 2002
11:09AM

Well, another day has passed. Last night, a WLS patient passed away due to complications with the surgery. This is a risk that WLS patients take when getting the procedure. He had a blockage that was caused by the swelling of the pouch area. When he tried to eat or drink, it caused him to vomit. Well, all of the vomiting caused his pouch to open and leak inside of him. This is usually very fatal. He went into emergency surgery and was sent to an icu. There he had a temperature of 108+ which is high enough to cause brain damage. His kidneys and liver began shutting down. The doctor's were able to bring his temperature below 101 and raised hope for his survival, but by then it was too late. My thoughts and prayers are with him, his family, and his friends. I hope that GOD has dealt him a different hand of cards as I am sure he is in heaven. RIP Dave (Mule).

August 7th, 2002
8:01pm

Wow, time sure does fly. I have lost 107 pounds and have totally regained my life back. This surgery is completely amazing. I feel so much healthier and have so much more energy. I only need 3 hours of sleep. I am also lucky in that most of my skin is retracting back to normal. My diet is normal except for sugar. There is none. As far as food, I only eat small portions still. An average day consists of an easy lunch, usually a side item such as potatoes, and then dinner which is a meat, a veggie and a potato product. That is about it. I drink iced tea and milk. I will also try to get some fruit in the morning as well as protein items. Milk is a mainstay. Well, I just wanted to post an entry. Talk to you later.