6 month Surgiversary & Issues – 05/24/11
Soooo… Yesterday was my 6 month Surgiversary!!! And today is Week 26!!
I have lost a total of almost 92lbs from my highest weight (06/07/10)… 82.5lbs from my pre-op weight (11/01/10)… and 74lbs from my surgery date (11/23/10)!! Check out my weekly weigh in info under the “My Progress” link.
It has definitely NOT been easy. Those who say weight loss surgery (WLS) is the easy way out can suck it! This is the hardest thing I have ever done. But it’s paying off. I hope it continues to go well for me. I have reached 3 of my goals so far, but I still have a few more goals I would like to reach. My next goal is to get down to my BD (“before Damian”, my 7 year old) weight.
It’s kind of weird to me that people are really noticing my weight loss. I’ve gotten many compliments. Even weirder to me is that I don’t know how to respond to these compliments when I still feel and see myself as my old (HUGE) self. I think it’s because I still have so far to go.
I’ve been getting out my old BD clothes and am shocked that not only do these things fit, but some are actually BIG!! These clothes barely even fit BD and now they’re big??
I remember around the 3 Week Post-Op mark… I was freaking out because I had hit the dreaded 3 week stall. The one that depresses you and makes you think you are the only one in the world that WLS will not work for. The stall that makes you fear you have gone through such a drastic (and SURGICAL) intervention and then 20 or so pounds is all you feel like you’re going to lose. That was so depressing. But eventually, your body gets back into losing mode. Yeah, I’ve stalled a couple more times since then. But each time I just continue to do what I’m supposed to and know that my body will respond.
On the other hand, I have gone back to some bad habits recently. As recent as not even a week ago. This is not even something I wanted to bring up because it’s shameful to admit… to myself and to the rest of the WLS community. And it has to do with drinking. I had not had much alcohol in a very long time. I’d had maybe two drinks in the past couple of YEARS. This past week, I’ve started to experiment with alcohol again. Not like I used to, but it’s still something I know I should NOT be doing!
I’ve probably had 10 drinks in the past week. Granted, I would have had 10 drinks in one day in the past. But it’s still something that I’m not proud of. Especially because I’ve been known to do completely stupid things when drunk. This is going to be what I work on for a while. I can’t turn to food for comfort, so I’m finding myself turning to alcohol. But I will find a way to control this so that I don’t ruin what I’ve worked so hard for.
Just now, I am seeing that it could actually be self sabotage. I don’t know how to handle people’s reactions and comments, much less their compliments. I am not seeing what others are seeing yet. Or maybe it’s just that I’ve hit a pretty big milestone. Or both of these combined. I don’t know!
And as few and far between as my updates have been, they will probably happen even less now. I started out trying to do an update on a weekly basis but I would just forget. I’m going to try to do a monthly update and see how that goes. I may or may not continue to do weekly weigh-ins. I’m not sure. But if I ever have anything I need to get out, I will make sure to do so here. After all, I started this blog with the sole purpose of documenting my journey for myself and no one else.
A few years down the road, hopefully I would have reached my goal weight by then, I will print all these entries out and put together a scrapbook-type of thing for myself. Sadly, this scrapbook will not have many “before” pictures of me. Being so big, I would get mad if a camera was even pointed in my direction. I still dislike the camera very much, but I take pics much more often now. I really want to look back at my journey and see where i’ve been and where I do NOT want to be again.
Numbers… so far:
Weight lost since high weight on 06/07/10 (11.5 months ago): -91.8lbs
Weight lost since pre-op on 11/01/10 (6.5 months ago): -82.5lbs
Weight lost since surgery on 11/23/10 (6 months ago): -74.0lbs
Random VSG pics and pdf’s
One type of Bougie (size 32fr), compared to pens and highlighters of various sizes. Also, pics of the portion of stomach that is removed during surgery. None of these are mine. All were found online…
Information regarding WLS and related topics…
Me after surgery and in the recovery room. And of me with my surgeon…
My 3 hospital stays:
Stay 1 –> 11/23/10 – 11/24/10 (for my VSG WLS)
Stay 2 –> 12/08/10 – 12/13/10 (for Hypokalemia/Low Potassium)
Stay 3 –> 04/10/11 – 04/17/11 (for Gallstone Pancreatitis)
Various WLS related PDF’s i’ve found online. None from my WLS center. I guess they don’t have a download available…
6 month post-op follow-up – 05/09/11
I had my 6 month post-op follow up a couple weeks early. The appt was more of a follow-up to my gallbladder removal surgery 3 weeks ago… and to get my lab results from last weeks trip to the lab, where they drew 10 vials of blood!
My weight was right on target with my weight on my scale at home. I lost 23lbs since my last appt in February (the 14th). And I hit the goal I had set for myself! My blood pressure was good too (100/60). My goal for my next appt in 3 months is to lose 22 more pounds. Ideally, I would like more than that, but I’ll stick to 22lbs for now.
I saw Elizabeth, the medical student, first. We went over all my stats. Then the LCSW (medical social worker). Then my dr came in (who I secretly refer to as “Dr. Hottie”), with the other dr and the medical student again. We all talked about what i’ve gone through and how i’m doing now. Was relieved to hear that it’s highly unlikely that I would get pancreatitis again in the future. My pancreatitis was caused by gallstones, and since my gallbladder has now been removed, it’s nearly impossible to get it again. He checked my incisions and said they all looked good.
Dr. Hottie wants me to go back in three months for a 9 month follow-up and more lab work (!) Then he let me know he would be moving out of state. 😦 I will need to see the new dr, who’ll be starting in July when my dr leaves. That was a shock to me. I’ve had two other drs leave but it didn’t hit me like this time.
The first of my drs to leave was a resident. His residency ended and he moved to Arizona last July (2010). This was the dr who was right on board with me regarding the WLS. He requested the initial consult with the bariatric surgeon repeatedly for me. And he referred me to be tested for sleep apnea as well
The second dr to leave was the director of the sleep disorders center, who also moved out of state (Minnesota, I think?) when the center closed last January (2010). This was the dr who diagnosed me with severe sleep aprea and restless legs syndrome.
But now this dr…. Dr. Hottie, of all people! Someone who’s operated on me… not once, but twice. Someone I feel a strange attachment to, probably because I really, truly feel like he saved my life… twice. I literally have tears in my eyes as I type this. I simply told him thank you for everything, knowing that thank you would never be enough for what he’s done for me. I asked him if we could take a picture and he said of course. He joked with me about putting it up on YouTube and I told him it was going up on my Facebook and Twitter and…
But anyway…the nutritionist then came in and I had several questions for her.
1) How many calories should I be eating now? I told her i’m still at around 800 calories a day and the manual I was given pre-op says I should be at between 1000-1200 by now! Part of it is that I still really can’t eat much, but also it’s that i’m sooooo scared to either stop losing weight or worse… gain it back! She said as long as i’m not feeling hungry and I focus on my 60 grams of protein a day, then I should be ok and 800 a day would be ok.
2) Are children’s sour gummy multivitamins ok to take, since i’m not feeling the BA chewables anymore? She would rather I stick to the bariatric ones, but if not then it’s better than nothing. Or to alternate between them. The children’s ones do not have the minerals that the bariatric ones do.
3) When will caffeine, soda and alcohol be ok to drink? Caffeine is ok. Soda is not, simply because the carbonation in it will make me feel uncomfortable. Dr. Hottie had already told me last time that soda would NOT stretch my pouch but would make me uncomfortable. Alcohol is ok in moderation. She reminded me that alcohol is just empty calories, which I know. It’s not like i’m planning on replacing food with tequila (Patron, I miss you!).
A research student then came in to ask me some questions. It was really quick and then he left.
They gave me my copy of lab results. 4 pages worth of tests they did with those 10 vials of blood they drew last week! And ALL tests came back excellent! YAY! Even my Potassium, which I’ve had trouble with.
I went over to the appt scheduler’s desk but she wasn’t able to make my follow-up appt. They don’t have the new dr’s schedule yet. She told me to call in about a month and a half and make the appt at that time. Honestly, I’m kind of scared of seeing a new dr. though. :-
Numbers… so far:
Weight lost since my high weight on 06/07/10 (11 months ago): -88lbs
Weight lost since pre-op appt on 11/01/10 (6 months ago): -79lbs
Weight lost since surgery day on 11/23/10 (5.5 months ago): -70lbs
mozmonq 