I can’t believe it’s already been 8 WEEKS!!  And in 5 days, it will be two months since my surgery.  I have not been weighing myself daily (or more) like I was at first.  Sometimes it’s depressing to do so, so I stopped doing it.  But the good news is that i’m still losing weight… slowly but surely… an average of 3-4lbs per week. 

This morning I got a call from my primary care provider I saw last time.  He called me himself to let me know the results of last weeks blood draw came back normal.  I didn’t actually talk to him because I was with my dad at his appt when I got the call, so I let it go to voicemail.  When I called back I didn’t get an answer.  I wanted to ask him what the number was, but I guess I can ask at my next appt.  Just knowing that all’s well is good for now.  Sooo, I can continue to not take my gross potassium drinks. 

Oh, and just the fact that he called me himself and didn’t have one of the nurses or some other person in the office call me… is nice.  The only other time I’d seen that is with my parent’s dr’s who call them with results or for updates.  These are dr’s from Kaiser.  My dr’s are not from Kaiser but I am happy with them. 

Numbers… so far:

Weight lost since my high weight on 06/07/10 (7 months ago):        -52lbs

Weight lost since pre-op appt on 11/01/10 (10 weeks ago):              -43lbs

Weight lost since surgery day on 11/23/10 (8 weeks ago):               -35lbs

I had a primary care doctor appointment last Monday, 12/27/10.  My PCP was not in, so I saw the resident dr that was there… after waiting over an hour!  But anyway, she gave me the order for a blood test to re-check potassium level.  She said that she was not going to change or add any meds for my blood pressure yet, until my PCP received the results of the blood work.  She also told me to come back in 2 weeks to see my PCP to discuss the results and where to go from there.  When I made the appt, there weren’t any open slots with my PCP so they made it with another attending physician for today.  I was 4lbs less than on 12/06/10.

I went for the blood draw on Thursday 12/30/10.  I told the girl that they usually need to warm up my vein first so she went and got baby heel warmers to put on my hands.  They were not warm enough but I didn’t say anything.  I was called in and, sure enough, the attempt on my hand was not successful.  A few drops of blood came out and then nothing.  She moved the needle around in my vein but still nothing, so she took the needle out.  She then tried on my left arm’s inside elbow.  It worked!  I was told the lab would be closed Friday due to the New Year holiday.

This past Monday, 01/03/11, I had a follow up with my surgeon.  He wanted me to go for blood work but I told him that I’d just gone last week and was still waiting for the results.  He said to just wait for those results then.  Yay!  He also said that my being insanely cold all the time is normal because i’ve lost so much weight so quick.  Apparently I have less insulation now.  Lol.  I showed him my blue fingers/nails and he said that it’s normal, especially with the recent weather, but that if this continued even when it wasn’t cold (or like in summer) then they would check my thyroid.  I asked if I can stop the potassium liquid yet and he said no.  He wants the results of my blood test first.  He wants to see me again in about 6 weeks.  I saw the MSW, as usual, but the dietician wasn’t in that day. I lost another 4lbs.

Today, I saw my PCP again… actually I saw the attending physician because my PCP wasn’t there today either.  My blood results were not in my file, nor the computer system.  The nurse had to call the lab I went to and had the results faxed over.  My current potassium level:  3.9!!!  Normal is 3.5-5.0.  He gave me the ok to stop the potassium liquid for now and gave me the order for another round of blood work for next week.  He wants to see what my potassium level is at without my potassium supplement/medication and with only potassium from food sources.  If it’s still good, then I no longer have to take it, but if it goes down, then I’ll go back on it.  :-  He also said he’s not worried about my blood pressure because, technically, it’s no longer high.  It’s higher than he’d like it to be, but not bad.  As the weight comes off, my blood pressure will get better. I lost another 2lbs.

So, on to weight….

Numbers… so far: