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this is from myspace messages. BTW if anyone wants to link to me on myspace be my guest just please dont mention my diary. myspace is the public me, this is the private me, big difference! myspace.com/phatgrrl

----------------- Original Message ----

From: FREYA LEE

Date: Oct 17, 2007 3:26 PM

...you dont know me but i searched for anyone who mentioned experiencing roux en y and found you - wondered if you would talk to me about your experiences as i am having it very soon...

If you are up for it it would be great,


Love Freya

----------------- Original Message -----------------

From: Joey

Date: Oct 27, 2007 6:16 PM

sorry it took so long to get back to you, goin through some personal crap right now. Actually it sort of has something to do with the surgery... handling all the male attention I'm getting a year after the surg and over a hundred pounds lighter. I was big my whole life, never dated in high school, stayed with my first kiss for 7 years... havent had that many boyfriends and I made poor choices in boyfriends in the past due to my lack of experience and it looks like even though the guys I'm dating now are cuter and have more money, they are still, none the less, jerks! My self-esteem hasnt caught up with my body.

There are so many changes they dont tell you about before the surg. Start preparing yourself for the big slimdown by not judging yourself as big anymore. My problem is that sometimes I still think I'm that fat. Or rather, it's like I'm still fat in my head. Like I still test out chairs before sitting in them... I still dont like walking through crowded areas (like being at bars n clubs) cuz I feel like a wide load coming through, still prefer baggy clothes and hanging in the shadows...

ALSO, I fibbed my way through the psych eval. The bypass program I did really was against doing the surg on anyone with depression/bipolar or other mental illnesses. I figure they want only the most successful candidates possible for their stats/grants or whatever. But now that I've lost half my body weight, my glands are still producing the same amount of body chemicals as when I was big, so I'm this huge melodramatic mess! I havent had med insurance and am trying other ways (free clinics or whatever) to get back on an anti-depressant, hopefully that will level me out. As for right now, I sometimes can be a `roided out mess like the Hulk, and at other times I dont even have enough enery to roll over in bed. The mood swings feel like it did when I was pregnant!

Make sure you have decent insurance that's gonna cover the follow ups and the eventual other appts you'll need. Also you might be on tons of vitamins. My first month after surg I had anemia and scurvy (arrr matey!), then it was anemia and b-12 defs, now I finally have the iron under control my calcium is HORRIBLE. I was diagnosed with osteopenia, the step before osteoporosis. I was told to take calcium supplements, I did extra homework to get the most digestable (cuz when they cut out the duodendum you lose the part of the intestine that does the most nutrient absorbing). I was taking them every day, and not as much as the brand recommended, and I still wound up with kidney stones in both kidneys. The last bout was most serious, was in the hospital for 4 days and they had to do surg to get the stone out. Again tho, if I had insurance maybe I coulda met with a dietician and worked on this. Right now I'm too afraid to take any supplements, hoping my medicaid app is approved so I can get healthier!

It's funny, when I weighed 366 I was healthier. I might not have stayed healthy, but I was healthier than I am now. Course I'd rather be hot and half-dead than that big again so I dunno.

Do you drink? My surgeon was adamant about not drinking after the surg. That's because you can't have beer or carbonated things, and the intestines dont absorb the alcohol right. My cousin who had the surg 2 years before me still cant drink beer. I try to stick to wine these days but before I learned to like wine I would do hard liquor. Bein the party girl that I am, there has been a lot of trial and ERROR with the drinking. You dont get drunk as fast, cuz it goes right through the small tummy to the intestines where digestion is slower, so you keep drinking... and then it hits you... and then your friends get mad cuz one minute you're telling them you're going to the bathroom and 10 minutes later you're running around the parking lot taking your clothes off doing an Anna Nicole impersonation lol, but seriously, I gotta warn ya about the drinking.

It's very important to stick to the first month of the post surg diet plan, dont cheat at all. One time I woke up really thirsty and not thinking clearly I drank some water too fast and it really messed me up. You really have to plan ahead meals and ALWAYS have something to drink with you, start stocking up sales of Propel or other low-carb non carbonated fitness drinks. Stash em in the car, in the bedroom, at work etc. The same with healthy snacks. I have NEVER spent more time eating! Being at work is challenging because I cant eat or drink enough. I'm a CNA in a nursing home, so I dont always get my breaks, and they are NEVER when theyre needed. It takes me three tries to eat one meal's worth of food. For ex I'll bring soup, sandwich, apple... I eat the sandwhich first break, the soup at lunch and the apple at 2nd break. I save so much money by not being able to eat out. It's not worth it cuz you cant eat it all, and I really dont like leftovers so I just waste money eating in resteraunts.

I hope I've been helpful and havent rambled too much, but I'm open to answering any questions you have. I have 2 cousins (2003, 2004) and my mom (2001) who had the roux en y besides myself (2005) so I can ask them their opinions also, we're all at diff stages.

I hope I didnt scare you with any of this either. If I wanted to scare you I'd tell you that your hair will definitely thin and fall out and your fingernails might fall off too! But it really is worth it.

Joey

-----------------Original Messege-----------------
From: FREYA LEE

Date: Oct 30, 2007 8:39 PM

hahahha you made me really laugh with that bit about anna nicole smith ----sounds like me on an average sat night lolololol

it is a big deal isnt it - i mean people have NO IDEA,..such a drastic decision...but i agree it is hopefully worth it��!my people are really incompetant and can t seem to do anything right which doesnt give me a lot of faith in their competence but im still all for it....i have no choice...

love freya
xx

Always remember to quit while you're ahead.

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