I’m doing my 12 week post-op a day early.  Why?  Because I had an appt with my surgeon today. 

I was running late today and didn’t get there until 3:10pm and my appt was at 3.  They didn’t call me in until 3:35.  :-  The first thing that gets done is the weighing in.  I was shocked… SHOCKED!  I weighed 20lbs less than at my last appt last month on Jan 3.  I was expecting to weigh at least 4lbs more than I actually did. 

So then we go back to the room and my blood pressure’s taken and it’s normal.  Yay.  She went out to get the measuring tape to take my measurements and then the psych came.  After the psych, the nutritionist came in. 

TMI WARNING:  Gonna talk about BM’s now.  You are now warned!  –>  I told the nutritionist about the stomach ache i’ve had since Thursday.  Told her I’d been vomiting – 3 days in a row – immediately after eating, and it didn’t matter what I ate because it made me puke.  This was just before the stomach ache began.  Also, I hadn’t had a bm in days.  Both of which, I believed to be the cause of my stomach ache.  She agreed and told me to not only increase my fiber intake, both with supplements like Benefiber and food, but also to drink more water.  Fiber alone will constipate you more.  Makes sense and I’ll remember this.  She also said to drink about 4oz of reduced sugar prune juice in the mornings.

I also mentioned raw food, because it’s something that has become of interest to me recently.  She said it would be ok, as long as I supplement with protein shakes.  Although I need less now, I still need protein.  My goal is now 50-60 grams of protein a day.  It used to be 60-80. 

My dr then came in.  I warned him that I had a list of questions to ask him and he sat down and listened and answered.  I didn’t feel rushed or anything.  Among my list of questions were:

1) The condition of my liver during surgery – He said all patients getting wls have a fatty liver, but if he saw something notable or strange, he would have made note of it and sent a sample for closer examination, which he didn’t.  Fatty liver loses fat, as the person does.

2) How often to do blood work?  Every 3 months for the first year, and then yearly.

3) Gastric Plication vs Sleeve?  Similar but plication is even newer than sleeve and long term research not available.  Said it’s something of interest to surgeons and that is in clinical studies.

4) Sleeve revision – to DS or RNY?  Revision at this hospital from a sleeve would be to RNY, NOT DS as I’d thought.  He said the stomach/sleeve would be cut and the intestines then rerouted as a normal RNY is. 

5) Foamies?  He said they’re caused by high carb foods.  Yes they happen after I eat.  Yes, after he told me this I realized it was after I had eaten a tortilla or rice.  :-  Lesson learned.

6) Dumping?  He said it happens with the sleeve too!  NOT just RNY as I’d thought.

7) Soda?  Will NOT rupture sleeve, but will make you feel bloated and probably stretch it. 

8) Raw/Vegan diet?  Definitely better than a fast food diet.  Make sure to supplement with protein shakes if needed.

9) Colonics?  WHY??  Apparently the colon can handle it all on its own. 

10) Stomach pics – I showed him pics of a stomach that had been resected.  It was inflated, I’m assuming for the leak test, and it looked like chorizo.  Lol.  I told him this was the kind of pic I wanted of my own resected stomach.  But oh well. 

He asked for the results of my last potassium check.  It was 4.0!!!  Without liquid potassium supplements!  And, the nurse never did come back in to take my measurements. 

I also showed him one of my ear tubes – a 1/2″ size one.  I asked him if this was approximately how narrow my new stomach/sleeve is and he said yes.  1/2″ is about 12.5mm.  The french bougie used was a 32, which means it was slightly less than 11mm (32mm circumference, divided by Pi… and Pi is approximately 3.14), therefore, a tiny bit smaller than my 1/2″ ear tube.  WOW!  I showed him the 7/8″ ones I currently have in my lobes and he said my stomach is definitely narrower than that!   

1/2″ (12.5mm)  vs.  7/8″ (22mm)

My next appt with him is in about 3 months and I was given the blood order to go get done about a week before the appt.  My goal is to lose 20 more pounds by then.  Doable?  I hope so!!