tania85

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Hello to my OH Family.. I know it has been a while but just wanted to let you know I am officially 100 pds down. I am now weighig 204.3...THANK YOU JESUS!!! I also want to thank all of you have encouraged to me to go on with my journey no matter how hard it has been. When I feel like having that chocolate cake, Doritos, or ice cream I try to think of all the success stories I had read when I started this whole thing to keep me positive and motivated. It really helps to know that I am not in this alone and that there are others who can relate to what I feel. It also makes me feel better to be able to look in the mirror and see a new person looking back at me. I am having fun getting to know this new person. Don't get me wrong I am still the same person but I have added on to who I was. I have more self confidence, and energy, and I look at life in a new light. I am such an advocate for this surgery. I know there are some people who want to have this surgery for all the wrong reasons, however there are also others who just want a second chance at life. In my situation I was 305 pds at 20 years of age.. I had tried almost every diet you could think of  and nothing kept the weight off permanently. Gastric bypass was my last option and it has worked and will continue to work because I am determined to work my tool. To all of  you who are looking into gastric bypass make sure you do a lot of research and most importantly  know that this is NOT A QUICK FIX! This surgery takes a lot of hard work and determination and can be quite stressfull. However if you are up to the challenge and are ready to change your life for the better then really consider this surgery. To those of you who have already chosen gastric bypass as your second chance, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND WORK THE HELL OUT OF YOUR TOOL! It'll definitely pay off. I still have a lot of work to do before I reach my goal but I know I'll get there someday. Good luck and God Bless to all of you!

Hello my OH family,

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. I've been very busy- I have moved to a new town, got a promotion at work (which I love), and recently had my gallbladder taken out. Well, I had been having abdomen pain for the last two weeks. I wasn't able to eat or drink anything and have it stay down. So I'm sure you can guess what happened next, I was admitted to the hospital for dehydration on March 29th. They took out my gallbladder on April 2nd and I was discharged on the April 3rd. I feel much, much better now that the pain is gone. My recovery is going well, but I still have not gone back to work. I'm definitely not complaining just bored at home with nothing to do. Anyway my other news is that I am four months out and down 80 pds. I have posted some new pics of me and my family from Easter. I hope everyone can enjoy them! I am so psyched and can't even explain what it feels like. I am very proud of my success and still have more work to do. I will say that if you work hard there is no limit to the results that you see. I thank God everyday for helping me come to the decision to change my life with gastric bypass and for giving me the strength and willpower to fight my demons-FOOD!!!! I will tell anyone out there who has any doubts about this surgery that it works and when you have such a great surgeon as I did you can go far. Dr. Bell is truly a blessing to all his patients, there aren't enough ways for me to thank him for his patience, support, and kindness. His staff is awesome as well, I couldn't ask for a better group of people to work with. Well that's all for now. THANK YOU to everyone who has sent me such sweet messages, I apologize for not getting a chance to post sooner! I will try not to let so much time go by next time around. Talk to y'all soon and Much Love!!!!

Hello Y'all. I want to first take time out to thank each and everyone of you for your support and beautiful words of encouragement. This website is truly a blessing to have. When I'm feeling down I can just come to this page and read all the kind things you all wrote and I know that I'm not alone. It's amazing how it boosts my morale and self esteem. So thank you again to all of you! 

Alrighty then, so surgery went awesome. I am officially on the losing side . I have lost 16 pds so far- on the day of surgery I weighed in at 305 and I currently weigh 289. Not much but I'll take it. I have my post -op appt with Dr. Bell on December 12, which I am very excited about. I wonder how much more I will lose by then. I have been walking everyday and try to push myself to do more each day. Sometimes I can do more and sometimes I can't- either way I just give myself credit for getting out there. My hospital stay was alright, all I can say is that the worst part is getting off the stretcher from the recovery room to getting on your hospital bed in your assigned room. That was the most painful part for me  but shortly after I was given the PCA pump and forgot about the pain. I fell asleep and woke up around 2:30 the next morning and was in a little pain but I just pressed the button for more medicine and it became tolerable. When I say tolerable I mean that most of the pain is gone but you are in a little bit of discomfort, which really is not that bad. I even got up and walked up the hall of the hospital the same night. It wasn't because I felt 100% but because I wan't to start moving around as soon as possible. Also Jane in Dr. Bell's office, the nurse who had the sugery done, told me that was the best thing I could've done for myself. I must admit I do agree because I felt a little better because I had accomplished something. I didn't walk very far the first time but it made me want to push a little further the next time I did walk. I kept doing this everytime I walked and eventually I walked the whole hall and was very proud of myself and so was Dr. Bell. He said he liked that I was pushing myself to do more and more each day. I'm not saying run a marathon the day after surgery just learn to push yourself a little bit each day and you will be fine. You'll start to notice everyday gets better and you start to have more energy. You are not going to leave the hospital feeling 100% but you will definitely feel better than you did when you first came out of surgery. Each day you get a bit better and can move and do more than you could the day before. That is the best high because you slowly start feeling some accomplishment. I don't feel my best, however I'm getting there day by day. I am scheduled to go back to work on December 11 and I'm not going to kill myself but each day I plan to push a little harder. What else can I do? So anyway I want to thank everyone again for all their support and until next time -May God Bless You All! 

Many things have happened since the last time I posted so I guess I'll just start at the beginning. So first off I went to my Pre -Op meeting on Oct. 25. It basically was just to inform me of how I was supposed to be eating after surgery. My mother and my boyfriend came along with me and both were very supportive. This was the last step I had to complete before the doctor's office would submit my information to the insurance.The next day I called Dr. Nadzam's office to ask when my case would be sent to Anthem. I was then informed that the lady, Jessie Moore, who handles this was on vaction until the 27th of October. I called again on October 30 and was told that my case was submitted to the insurance. Well that's when the nerves kicked in. So I called  Anthem to make sure they received it, and they did. I said to myself I would NOT call again until Friday. The next day I went to work and ran into a lady who works for Yale New Haven Hospital just like I do. I had not seen this lady in a long time and almost didn't recognize her. SHE LOOKED ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!!!! I asked her what she had done and she told me that she had Lap. Roux & Y. I told her I was trying to have the same exact surgery. When I asked what doctor she went to she told me Dr. Bell. Now I had done some research on Dr.Bell and wanted him as well because he is the most requested bariatric surgeon at Yale. Yet he also had a 3-6 month waiting list. I just didn't want to wait that long so I went to Dr. Nadzam @ St. Raphael's Hospital. She also told me that St. Raphael's it out of network and I will have to pay a good portion of my surgery out of pocket if I go through them. Yet, if I go through Yale Hospital because I work for them the surgery would be paid 100% through the insurance. The lady I ran into that day left her job with me at Yale Temple Radiology and now works for Dr. Bell who did her surgery. Dr. Bell works for Yale Hospital as well, so her surgery was approved because she still is a Yale employee. So needless to say I have switched to Dr. Bell and I have been very impressed so far. Meanwhile, Friday rolled around and I called Anthem that morning. The lady who answered was very, very kind and helpful. She had to put me on hold and when she returned to the phone, about 15 minutes later, she gave me wonderful news. I AM APPROVED. I was ecstatic I thanked the lady like 500 times before I hung up and called all my family and friends to tell them the GOOD NEWS. Now I'm waiting for Dr. Bell's office to call me with a date and schedule my pre-op testing appointments. Thank you to everyone for their good words, support, and prayers. Well that's all I have for now - until next time. God Bless! 

Drumroll Please !!!!!!!!!!!  Just kidding. So I went today to my urinalysis for ketosis and I PASSED. "Talk about smiling from ear to ear" is what the medical assistant said to me about the good news. I couldn't help it I was just so happy. Anyway, I also went to the support group meeting at St. Raphael's Hospital. It was cool beacuse I was able to hear others tell their personal stories. It was awesome to find out that there are other people who share the same fears, interests, and comments as I. The next step in process is to submit my information to my insurance company for approval. I just hope they approve it.  I'm sure they will so lets keep the faith flowing abundantly. May everyone on this website say a prayer for me and for eachother and I will return the favor. Until the next time, God Bless!   

Well.... today went by too slow for me! I couldn't wait to get home take my shoes off, take a shower, and RELAX!!! I hope those of you who read the poem I posted liked it. If not, oh well! (lol) Well today was day 4 of my ketosis diet and I must say I am impressed with my willpower. At work today there were lots of goodies b/c it was National Boss 's Day but I managed to stay far away. It's like whenever I say I'm going on a diet everyone decides to make everything in their kitchens and bring it in. However, I did very well and I must say this diet SUCKS. I have managed to lose 9pds, though. Not much but it is something. Today, I called Dr. Nadzam's office to tell them that the medical assistant, Geneva, messed up when she scheduled the day of my urinalysis. Since the diet lasts 5 days and on the 6th day is when you have the urine test I had to reschedule. I started ketosis on Friday the 13th and had to reschedule from Tuesday (tomm.) at 9:00am to Wednesday at 9:30am. Much better now. Even though I haven't cheated, I still think what if I dont pass. We shall see on Tuesday. On Wednesday night I have to go to a support group that will be at St. Raphael's Hospital. My attendance at this meeting is a prerequisite for the surgery. I am anxious to go and listen to others tell their stories and also to meet others pending surgery such as myself. Now don't get me wrong I'm not really alone in this because my best friend Mariluz will be there as well. I'm just a little further than her, she meets with the nutrisionist on Wednesday at 4. After this she will start ketosois- Good luck Mari! She and I work together so she's my support and I am hers-I like it this way. I don't know anyone in the world that I'd rather share this experience with more than her. She's a good friend. Well, let me go and make my sweetie and I something to eat before it gets to late. I will post again tommorow. Adios Amigos!