Kary Loredo-Welch's Blog

Friday, December 19, 2008; 17 weeks Post-op

Today’s Weight 280 (59 lost post op / 120 total lost since Dec 2007)

Happy Holidays everyone!! I cannot believe it’s been almost a month since I’ve posted… I am soooo sorry about that! Things are going well. I lost a couple pounds after Thanksgiving then plateaued the last two weeks due to my period. Now that that’s behind me I am losing again and feeling great!

The support group has been GREAT and I’ve met some nice new people (if you are one of those reading my blog… hi there J ) There have been some good discussions about the excess skin after surgery, coping at work after surgery about what to say to coworkers and so much more.

Each week at Fremont Kaiser they do 12 Gastric Bypasses because they have 4 surgeons on staff. One surgeon is out on maternity leave so they are only doing 9 a week for now. They are truly an excellent team, have a great set up and have an amazing tract record!

Okay… I am still itchy… I am going with the theory that when I am burning more fat that my body is releasing the toxins. Over the past couple weeks when I was on a plateau the itching had almost stopped, but now its back in all it’s glory (even more when I think about it) and I am switching between Claritin and Zytec and using the Eucerin lotions to be able to function.

I took new photos! I was so excited that the pants on the left I had to literally force myself into before my surgery, now there is a three inch gap in the waist of them! I had really noticed the weight loss in my upper body but lately I am noticing the lower body losing more also. I hope you can see the progress made so far… I am past the half way point to my goal of 185 so keep checking in and we’ll see how I do!

Happy Holiday’s to each and every one of you! Be safe and enjoy each moment!

Hugs, Kary

December 4, 2008

Amelia’s done it again… she sung a beautiful song at a performance downtown Hayward at the “Light Up the Season” event! She sang “Volvar, Volvar” and did a beautiful job! Amelia on YouTube singing Volvar, Volvar

Amelia has joined the Mariachi Juvenil de Hayward group for a third year. She will be playing violin and singing. She is also signing and playing the piano in the Advanced Chior at Newark Junior High School. They will be having two performances this year and will be going to Disneyland to perform in the spring! She is working on learning the guitar also this year!

Amelia’s recent undertaking is to produce the Luminaria Ceremony at the Relay For Life in both Newark and Hayward. She is chosing the songs to be sung, the speakers and the music to be played.  The Newark Relay is on July 19 & 20 at the Newark Junior High School and the Hayward Relay is July 26 & 27 at Moreau Catholic High School.

Mariachi Juvenil de Hawyard First Annual Spring Dinner & Concert

Singing debut with this group singing “Cielito Lindo”

Amelia on YouTube Singing Cielito Lindo

Bowman School Spring Concert
Violin & Singing Solo
“De Colorest”

Amelia’s first public performance at Kary & Mark’s Wedding singing “I Finally Found Someone”

Last Updated on Thursday, 22 October 2009 23:10

Thursday, November 27, 2008; 14 weeks Post-op

Today’s Weight 289 (50 lost post op / 111 total lost since Dec 2007)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!! Just thought I’d check in with you to let you know how things are going. Things are going well. LOL

I went to my 3 month post op appointment last week with my surgeon and he is pleased with how things are going. I am on track with my weight loss and doing well with my stomach incisions (all healed with no problems). My next appointment is going to be at 6 months and they will run all the blood tests to check my levels (iron, thyroid, etc).

I am still itchy and the surgeon said he had another gentleman in that very day that is also 3 months out from surgery and is also itchy. We do not know why I am itchy. The dermatologist thought that it was the Whey in the protein shakes, I quit drinking those for 4 weeks and am still itchy. Then the Allergist thought I was getting too much niacin (from my vitamins and high protein foods) so I didn’t take my vitamins for two weeks, I was still itchy. I have gone back on all my vitamins and my protein shakes and deal with the itchiness.

My routine is that I shower with Eucerin shower gel each morning, then slather myself in lotion after the shower. During the day I use Eucerin calming cream if there is a specific spot that gets too itchy to bear. And I take generic Zurtec. Now that is the problem because those are 24 hour pills and they don’t last near that long for me. I have approval from the doctor to take them every 12 hours, however I find that not enough, so I’ve taken it upon myself to take one at 8 am, 2 pm and 8 pm. And now and then if I wake up at 2 am I take one then too. I’ve seen no side effects and it keeps things bearable. DO NOT take this advice for yourself unless you check with your doctor. This is a way I have chosen to handle it but it against the pharmacist’s advice to take so many pills in one day.

Change of subject… I’ve been working on my Christmas presents this year and part of them are to type up recipes and print them out, putting them in an album. I thought I’d share my healthy Thanksgiving recipe with you!

Happy Holidays everyone!! Kary

Monday, November 17, 2008; 13 weeks Post-op

Today’s Weight 291 (48 lost post op / 109 total lost since Dec 2007)

Over the past few months I’ve been asked a lot of questions about having the gastric bypass. Questions regarding the decision process, the surgery, the recovery and the commitment for the rest of your life. I have come up with this analogy and tonight I shared it at a support group. Afterwards I was asked to put it in writing and post it to share… so here it goes.

I liken the entire process the process of choosing to have a child. The first step is the decision; some people choose to never have children, some people the choice is very easy, some people postpone the idea until later in life. This is the same as making up your mind to have this surgery; for some the decision comes easy, from others it takes a lot of fact gathering, questions and thought.

Then, once you’ve decided to go ahead with the surgery it is time to start the process by finding a doctor and going through the classes. I liken this part to the ‘getting pregnant’ part in as much that some women get pregnant very easily, some have a hard time, some never get pregnant. Finding a doctor for some is simple and others have a hard time finding a doctor that is compatible with their insurance.

Once the doctor is found and the process has been started most doctors require you to lose weight prior to surgery. There is the psychiatric evaluation and let’s not forget the waiting (sometimes that’s the hardest part). This I liken this phase to being pregnant. Some women have an easy pregnancy and some have it hard. There are those that are sick all the time, some have a short length of sickness and there are those that aren’t sick at all. There are people that struggle to reach their goal weight, to get through their psychiatric evaluation or have other obstacles to overcome to get approved for surgery.

Then there is surgery day = delivery day. You can ask 10 women to tell you their story of giving birth and find you’ll get 10 different stories. My girlfriend gave birth in 2 hours on a gurney in emergency and on the other hand my beautiful daughter took 36 hours of induced labor to come into the world. Being prepared, having a good support system, having a good doctor and staying focused can make the surgery phase better. There are people that go through the surgery easily and, unfortunately, there are some that go through surgery with some struggles including a few with severe complications. Either way, you come out on the other end of surgery with your body changed and ready for something new.

After surgery you’ve made a commitment for the rest of your life just as you do when you have a child. And, as when you are making the decision to have a child you don’t know if you’ll end up with a girl or boy, whether they’ll be smart or athletic or an angel or troublemaker, but you still take the chance. You love them unconditionally, celebrating the good things and working through the bad things.

Having this surgery is a lifetime commitment and when you make the decision to change your body you do not know how it will end up for you. But it is time to now love YOURSELF unconditionally. You may not know what the future holds, however what you can do is celebrate the good things and work through the bad things.

As in pregnancy, every experience is different. And even though there are some similarities with children, every child is different and unique. So your experience with surgery, although there will be similarities with other bypass patients, your experiences will be different and unique. Always remember why you started this journey, get as much information as you can and make the best decision for YOU!

Friday, November 07, 2008; almost 12 weeks post-op;

Today’s Weight 294.5 (44.5 lost post op / 105.5 total lost since Dec 2007)

So last week I was somewhat excited but it didn’t really hit me until later in the weekend. I was putting on clothes and really found that the clothes that I have been wearing are now truly too big for me to feel comfortable in.

You see, being overweight since I was 8 years old, I’ve always been used to wearing baggy clothing. I was always more comfortable with a dress that was made like a tent and just hung on me rather than a form fitting dress that showed exactly how large I was.

So this weekend when I wore a shirt that made me feel frumpy and it was way too big, I really, really got excited. The reality hit home big time, even though I had planned this it didn’t become really real until it happened. I have now cleaned out my closet and threw away the stained and overly used clothes and have a huge pile of clothes to take to my friend this weekend. I will NEVER be that size again!!

On another matter… my itching! I went to the allergist yesterday and he didn’t think it was the Whey protein shakes, but thinks perhaps it could be the niacin in the vitamins I am taking. I got to have my protein shake back yesterday but now need to find a multi-vitamin that is lower in niacin… how hard is THAT going to be?! I am sure I’ll find something.

Yesterday however I did have two people at different times say how tired I looked. I have not been sleeping well because of the itching and last night was even worse. I tossed and turned and finally took another Zyrtec to get it under control. It helped some, usually it is bearable, last night it was really bad. I am wondering if it might be the Whey because I had two scoops after the doctor and then it was so much worse. We’ll see.

My final goal is 185, strong and healthy. I am almost close to 285 and will celebrate again when I get there, this first 100 pounds came off pretty well, so I’ll keep everyone updated with the 109.5 I have to go!

Kary

Friday, October 31, 2008; almost 11 weeks post-op; 298.5!!!

(40.5 lost post op / 101.5 total lost since Dec 2007)

Whew hew!!! I broke through the 300 mark!! Funny how the first thing I though when I saw the scale was “What happened to 300 & 299?” LOL… funny how we hold onto things and I realize that’s how I felt when I was gaining weight also… I’d be 284 one day and two weeks later I was 309… I like it this way better!!!

I know this is the most excitement you’ve heard in a long time from me, I have to admit that lately I’ve been pretty down. The weight is coming off but it is very slow an I’ve been pretty down in the dumps. I had thought I was supposed to get all kinds of energy by this point and it just hasn’t come for me. I can do something physical for about 2 hours then I need to sit and rest for a bit till I get up again, but I do get up and that is the important part.

If you read my earlier post you’d have read about the doctor thinking I am allergic to Whey and thus I have quit drinking the Whey based protein shakes. For a few days I tried eating my protein, however I am supposed to get 75 grams per day and there has not been a day that I could eat enough food to get past 50 grams. My energy has been low and I’ve been pretty grumpy (to say the least).

I did try some Soy based protein shakes but they mix with milk, have more volume (Soy – 1 scoop with 1 c. milk vs. Whey- 1 scoop with 4 oz water) and of course with that said they are less protein in a scoop with more calories. Bottom line, they taste NASTY to me. They are thick and shake like and I’ve never been able to handle that.

Mark (my hubby) thought perhaps it was the OsTrim beef and ostrich sticks I’ve been eating so I am even off of those (90 calories and 14 grams of protein). Soooo I am working on getting in my protein and waiting to go see an Allergist and narrow down the allergy… we’ll see.

Happy Halloween to each and everyone of you! Hugs, Kary

Tuesday, October 28, 2008; 10 weeks post-op; 301 (38 lbs lost post op / 99 total lost)

Times flies when you’re having fun!! Things are going well… as you can see I am down a couple more pounds, my goal was to break the 300 mark be the end of the month and I just may do that if I am careful… I have till Friday!!

I had to go to a Dermatologist last week because my itching has become difficult to deal with. At home I use Eucerin Body Wash in the shower, then slather myself in lotion. In between showers I use the lotion and Benidryl cream on the terrible spots. The doctored ordered a blood test and found that my EOSINOPHILS is elevated, thus officially saying that it is an allergy. Now for the $100 question… What am I allergic too?? Heck who knows??

I’ve quit drinking the Whey based protein shakes and am trying to eat more of the protein. I also got Soy based protein shakes and I HATE them… they are nasty for me. Sooo I’ve been low on energy and a bit grumpy because of the lack of protein. I did find Zyrtec and the doc says that I can take it morning and night, so that seems to take the edge off the itching but makes me a little sleepy. The Dermatologist is referring me to the an Allergist so we can try to figure out what it might be, in the mean time I am drinking the shakes I barely get down and trying to eat more protein.

I have lost a couple clothes sizes (down to a 2x top) and that feels really, really good. Some clothes I have been wearing forever and I just throw them in the trash. I find that my closet is filled with clothes that ‘almost fit’ so I haven’t spent much money on new things, except for new bras, that is going to be the biggest expense.

Working out at the gym takes effort, mostly due to being to tired to get up in the morning. I did go swimming after work yesterday and it felt really good. I am going back to swimming twice a week and walking on the treadmill at home twice a week, no matter what… more will come as the weight comes off.

I’ve missed the last two support groups. On the tenth we got the apartment next door and started moving the things from our ‘extra’ apartment upstairs (a 2 bdr) to the new downstairs apartment that is right next door (1 bdr). By the time we were done moving things I was running too late for the meeting. Then last week I had a Creative Memories workshop to go. I can really feel it when I don’t go to the support groups and check in with the others. I’ll be more diligent in not scheduling other things on those two night a month.

Alrighty then… that’s it for now, I am planning on taking some photos this week and I’ll post them so you can see how I am doing (if it’s noticeable in the pictures). Hope all is well with you and I’ll touch base again soon.

Hugs, Kary

Saturday, October 11, 2008; 7 weeks post-op; 308 (31 lbs lost post op / 92 total lost)

Hey there everyone… it’s been way too long since I’ve posted, I am very sorry and I promise that I will post weekly no matter what.

I am feeling well… I hit a plateau for a couple weeks and that bummed me out but I was told that around 6 weeks it would happen so I just got through it.

Thursday I went for my “6 week post-op” and received a clean bill of health. I had to meet with both the nutritionist and doctor. I had to bring in a food log and had been documenting everything I had been eating for the past week. I am averaging 600-800 calories a day.

My routine is to drink a protein shake first thing in the morning (2 scoops) and I rotate flavors. I use what is called Syntrex Nectar and I rotate flavors (Fuzzy Navel, Strawberry Kiwi, Roadside Lemonade). They mix with water and aren’t clumpy and taste nice and fruity. Then I also have Champion Nutrition Pure Whey in the flavor of Cocoa-Mochaccino in case I have a craving for iced coffee! Each of them are sugar free and 23 grams of protein per scoop. So if I drink two scoops in the morning then I start off with 46 grams of protein. During the day as I eat things I keep track of the protein and then if night I haven’t gotten to my 80 gram goal then I have another scoop.

There is a website www.vitalady.com that has ‘samples’ you can buy of protein shake. I have to admit, if you are looking to cut back on calories this is a great way to go to replace a meal.

Hmm… what else… my hubby hugged me the other day and said ‘I think you feel smaller” hehehe… it was the first real time he’s said anything without me asking. I have gone down a shirt size and am throwing away all the old shirts that I’ve worn for years. I am feeling good. My knees aren’t hurting and I’ve adjusted to not being able to take Aleve. I did try liquid Tylenol but it was pretty harsh on my stomach so I got ‘Rapid Release Gels” and those seem to work very well.

My mood… I did get a bit depressed a couple weeks ago and got on what I call my ‘pitty pot’. It is very mental and I need to just kick myself out of it. I also joined the gym and have been going swimming twice a week along with getting on the treadmill and doing some free weight (for the arms mostly). THAT helps my moods, energy level and weight loss.

Oh oh… another food thing!! OSTRIM They are like ‘Slim Jims” but made from beef and ostrich! They are only 80 calories and have 14 grams of protein!! They are GREAT to throw in your bag. I cannot eat an entire stick at one time… I eat about half then save it for later. They are tasty too!! I like the original flavor but they have different kinds. I bought it first at the Vitamin Shoppe then found them by the box at 24 hour fitness. There are 10 in a box and cost $20, so $2 each but worth every penny!

Hmm… so have I made up for the lost time… lol… this is a long posting. I am doing great and am happy that I had the surgery. The family has fallen into a routine, Marks lost a few pounds and Amelia eats healthier when she is with us.

The doctor gave me a goal of 203 but I gave him ‘the look’ and said ‘if I am that close to the line the scale WILL say one-something-something!!” My personal goal is a healthy and strong 185 by December of 2009!

Hugs, Kary

Monday, September 22, 2008; 5 weeks post-op; 314 (25 lbs lost post op / 86 total lost)

Good morning everyone. Sorry I haven’t been posting lately. Things are going well, I can’t seem to get my energy back fully, it comes in bursts. I saw a pattern of good day, bad day, good day, bad day… and realized I was doing it to myself. On a good day I was overdoing myself so that next day I was sore and tired. So I am trying harder to pace myself so that I break the pattern and have okay days every single day!

Eating is going well, I learned a hard lesson last week not chewing well enough and I’ve been very careful. I do have to say that I am pushing myself a bit more with the food and need to be careful with the calorie intake vs. calories burned. It seems any work I do (ie cleaning the kitchen floor yesterday) really knocks me out, I sweat and get exhausted, but after drinking and resting for a ½ hour then I am good to go again for the next project.

This week I am determined to get on the treadmill at least once a day, I need to really get moving and keep moving. I am thinking about joining the gym but it’s sooo dang expensive, for now I think the treadmill and my workout video will be enough.

I have to say, I am showing signs of hanging skin. My chin was the first thing I saw in the mirror Saturday. A little weird wrinkling… but let me say that we have a family history of the chin thing so that didn’t bother me much, but I can see it in my arms too… another motivation to get myself off my butt and moving.

So with that said… I am off to clean the pool. Hugs, Kary