Well, it was two months yesterday since my surgery and...
I have officially lost 44 lbs
No, seriously...44 lbs.. Yeah, I know, I can't believe it either!!! Booyah!!!
I am surprisingly getting a lot more comments and questions about my weight loss. I find it kind of odd, actually. I am not sure why it is different from when I would get comments in the past when I would loose weight. I don't know...maybe it's just me. Either way, it does feel good that people notice.
The one outstanding compliment of the month came yesterday from my PT, who noticed how much easier it was for me to do some of the exercises I was doing pre-surgery. Go Me!!! (...and thanks Nan!)
I am still working on getting the monthly pictures up. I am taking them for documentation purposes, but I still cannot get the day-of-surgery ones off my old phone. Talk about frustrating!
Anyways, a week by week play by play this month is pretty boring actually, but I will do it for my friends who are still considering Gastric Bypass.
Week 5
Activity was still moderate this week. I kept trying to push myself a bit more, but I was also still so fearful of creating a hole/leakage in my new routing. Dizziness is still here and there, but no where near as bad.
I was still on soft foods (until after my "one month" appointment that came at the 6 week mark, only because of scheduling issues), which was getting REALLY boring!
Only bad - I found out, sadly, that chicken and I no longer agree. It is a strange phenomenon, but it has been reported that after surgery, some patients can no longer tolerate chicken, some beef, some fish, some have issues with other proteins, and some lucky ducks have no issues at all. I got the chicken card! It was a weird experience. It was not like the dumping syndrome that one reads about. It was literally put the bite of chicken in my mouth and start gagging until I got it out. I managed to swallow one piece, and a few minutes later, that had to evacuate too. So ok, I can no longer eat chicken. Kind of sucks, but I am extremely grateful it was not the beef card though! Dude...life without ribs, a good juicy steak...just ain't worth living!
Week 6
One month post-op appointment went fabulously well. I marked in at 36 lbs lost since surgery. Had a great talk with my PA about switching up foods and the like. The only issue I had was my incredible thirst. His solution...drink more. WELL DUH! But then how do I get eating in, because in the GP Bible (that they give you pre-op), it warns about the dangers of drinking after a meal, and recommends not drinking until 30-60 minutes afterwards. The PA says to me, "Drink, eat, wait, then drink". Sometimes, his sarcasm compells me to want to strangle him. Good thing I get his dry sense of humor.
The PA clears me to start weight lifting very slowly, and to increase my walking as I can. And he warns me of strictures. Strictures are when food gets "backed up" in your new system because it cannot be digested properly and causes a clog. The only way a bad stricture comes out is endoscopically. YEAH, not gonna try that one!!!
Only bad - still being so friggn' thirsty it ain't even funny.
Week 7
OH MY! I am here to tell you that what is called The Dumping Syndrome should be avoided at ALL costs. The definition of dumping syndrome, as defined by the Mayo Clinic, is as follows:
Dumping syndrome is a group of symptoms most likely to develop if you've had surgery to remove all or part of your stomach, or if your stomach has been surgically bypassed to help lose weight. Also called rapid gastric emptying, dumping syndrome occurs when the undigested contents of your stomach are transported or "dumped" into your small intestine too rapidly. Common symptoms include abdominal cramps and nausea.
Most people with dumping syndrome experience symptoms soon after eating. In others, symptoms may occur one to three hours after eating. In either case, symptoms can range from mild to severe.
Dumping syndrome often improves on its own without medical treatment or after adjusting your diet. In more-serious cases of dumping syndrome, you may need medication or surgery.
It was totally my fault, but one I was unaware of. It was not like I decided to eat a piece of cake, knowing I'd have a reaction to that. This was ribs with a light bbq sauce on them. The bbq sauce only had >1g of sugar, so
I thought it would be ok. I can have some small amounts of regular sugar in foods and not have a reaction. What I didn't calculate was that this was one gram for every teaspoon, and pure sugar at that. It was like I threw myself into instant shock; cold sweats, chills, shakes, need to throw up, dizziness, need to throw up, chills, sweats...did I mention the need to throw up??? Once it did finally come up, it was instant relief, although I could tell my new stomach was
not so happy with me.
Besides that experience, everything has continued to go smoothly. The journey into normal foods has been very slow, but at least I am no longer on baby food or broth for that matter. I do still find myself turning to soup and the protein shakes just to get the protein in because I still have no appetite.
Only bad- dumping. WAY bad!
Week 8
As I mentioned before, it's all trial and error. Increased my exercise level, and though I hurt still, it has definitely been worth it. Dizziness is still around.
I am still adventuring into the realm of what I can and cannot tolerate eating. The smell of chicken even makes me nauseous, but thankfully, I can enjoy tomatoes with no issue (some patients find the acid too harsh for their new stomachs). I am still turning to soup and protein shakes for when I
have to eat and/or to get my protein in.
Only bad - chicken! Ick! (...and oh, how I used to love it!!!)
******
So there is month two. Not too bad, right?!? Hey, I'm pleased...44 lbs down, how can I not be?
If you have any questions or comments for me that you would like to be confidential, please use the email button to your right, and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Otherwise, please leave your love in the comments box below.
Thank you, once again, for all the love and support y'all have shown and sent my way. Y'all are making this very east and comfortable for me, and I cannot thank you enough. I do have the greatest friends and family in the world...and a lot of them!!!
Seriously!
TinaMarie
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