Hello there. My name is Jenn (you may know me from my personal blog, 
Lately I’m surprised every time I catch a full-length glimpse of myself. It just hasn’t sunk in that I really am that narrow. I always blame the mirror — maybe it’s skewed or warped somehow. But it isn’t. I’ve lost enough weight that I not only look decent, I look narrow. It’s crazy!
Does that seatbelt cover look a little funky to you? It should — it’s held together with super glue. That’s the third time it has been glued together, by the way. Yes, my weight was so bad that my hips and thighs were too wide for my ’02 Kia Spectra’s driver seat, and the pressure on the seatbelt was so great that I snapped off the plastic cover that fits around the connector thingy. I was literally too wide at 331 lbs., and even at 300 lbs., and still at 260 lbs. I last super-glued the cover in place when I was around 225 lbs., and from that point onwards (or should I say downwards) I haven’t been wide enough to put any further pressure on it.
A related NSV: having seat “overage” on either side of me!
P.S. 192.6 lbs. today!
Any post-op gastric bypass patient has a love/hate (but mostly hate) relationship with sugar. Without a normal-sized stomach and that three feet of small intestine, we wind up dumping on more than minute amounts of sugar. The amount of sugar in a muffin or donut, or even half of a smoothie, for example, is more than enough to make most of us dump. The solution? Stay the hell away from sugar. This is easier said than done, but for the most part I do stay away from sugar, and resist all but the most irresistible of cravings (always harder than normal when I’m PMSing and craving nothing more than chocolate-dipped Midol).
Well, I recently tried SUSTA, which is an all-natural sweetener that can be used in place of regular sugar, and I would highly recommend it! It’s a little finer and softer in consistency than standard refined sugar, and tends to leave behind a sweet aftertaste (noticeable only if you drink right after consuming it), but those “disadvantages” are definitely worth being able to enjoy a sweetened ice tea, a bit of sugar on your Cheerios, or even low-fat chocolate chip cookies (yes, I baked with SUSTA and the cookies turned out perfect) without the fear or actuality of dumping!
You can read my full review on SUSTA at In My Bag.
I love this recent photo of my husband and I, because it’s the first photo we’ve ever had where he weighs more than I do! He’s only ten pounds heavier than me, which isn’t much, but it’s most definitely a start. And as I lose more weight and hopefully tone up a bit, there will be more than just ten mere pounds between us.
P.S. Weighing less than my husband is an official NSV of mine. I’m so happy to have accomplished it! ♥
I had a PET scan this morning to get a definitive answer about my gallbladder. Of course, due to liability issues and such, I knew that the nice tech that set up the PET scan (positioned me on the bed, started an IV, put on a movie, even fetched me warm blankets since it was so chilly in the testing room) wasn’t allowed to share any of the results or even her unprofessional, “off the record” opinion of them (since heaven forbid the actual medical professional give a differing opinion and I decide to up and sue the poor tech, or the hospital she works for), so I didn’t bother to ask. Besides, I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t security video camera in place to ensure that caring nurses and techs don’t say anything one way or the other about the results, so yeah… mum’s definitely the word!
In any case, I can expect my surgeon to have a he results of the test by the end of the day, so they should be hearing from me soon after. When I met with my surgeon’s assistant last month, she was realistic — I’ll need surgery in order to solve the painful gallbladder problem, especially since the pain is a result of a buildup of stones or sludge — either of which can lead to further issues, including pancreas problems or even a gallbladder rupture. Not fun.
I had another super painful attack yesterday morning. It was so bad that I doubled the dose of Percocet just to cope. So as you can imagine, I am very much looking forward to getting a surgery date scheduled!
Have I written about my gallbladder issues? Oh yes… I did. Well, since then I had two attacks about two weeks apart, three more attacks about a week apart, and then three IN A SINGLE DAY, and several warning pains and pangs yesterday, and a few more right now. In short, it’s my gallbladder, but what’s holding me up from getting surgery is the proof the insurance company wants in order to cover the surgery. The ultrasound showed no stones, but hinted at sludge buildup. I had a CT scan a few weeks ago which showed that my gallbladder is working only “moderately”, whatever that means. So on Tuesday I have a visit with a doctor in a lab coat for some more spiffy tests. I have been instructed to eat a super-fatty meal tomorrow night, I guess in order to kick my gallbladder into overdrive and show it in all its icky, non-working, pain-causing glory on these tests I’ll be having done Tuesday morning.
Wish me luck… I’m tired of worrying about the attacks, and I’m especially tired of having them. The pain is crippling. 
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