Alisa D.

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Wow! So much to be thankful for :-)

Positives: My six month labs are solid - with the exception of Vitamin D - which was lower than the doc would like to see. I am starting extra supplements. The dietitian says I am doing great. I feel awesome - I am proud of my accomplishments and for knocking out those co-morbidities!

Challenges: My hair continues to fall out - but the dietitian said that by 9 months that should stop and I will see new growth.

Stats to date:

Morning of surgery weight: 293
Today's weight: 213
Total weight loss, as of this morning: 80 lbs
Inches lost in waist: 12
Inches lost in hips: 12
Total inches lost, as of this morning: 24

43 lbs to goal! 

In good health,

Alisa

The past month has given me a great opportunity to practice my patience. Slow and steady wins the race, right? Heh.

5 lbs in about 5 weeks. I am stepping up the exercise plan and pushing the water.

Positives: I bought a regular old size 16 from the Eddie Bauer store - no stretch, regular jeans. I am wearing skirts again. And, I cross my legs all of the time now. Damn, I feel great!

Challenges: My hair continues to fall out and I need to make sure I take my second dose of calcium + vit D each night.

I did eat one half of a lemon cranberry cookie at work last week - I did not dump, but my pouch was not happy - the Halloween candy is not tempting - I am too afraid I will get sick.

Stats to date:

Morning of surgery weight: 293
Today's weight: 221
Total weight loss, as of this morning: 72 lbs
Inches lost in waist: 9
Inches lost in hips: 11
Total inches lost, as of this morning: 20

51 lbs to goal!

In good health,

Alisa

Celebrating my 4 month today!

Positives: I am off of my blood pressure meds!!! All of my obesity related co-morbidities have been eliminated! No more:

High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Diabetes
Sleep apnea
Edema

I bought a pair of gap cords - no stretch - size 18 - NOT 18W - from consignment and they fit perfectly! I can comfortably cross my legs. And, I just have to share this story:

On Monday this week, I wore a ponte knit gray & black pencil skirt, crisp white button down shirt, a black cardigan, black tights and mid-calf heeled boots (regular calf width too!) to work. This was the first time in 2.5 years of working there that I have worn a skirt. I stood talking to a female co-worker with my back to the printer area. When I turned around to see who was at the printer, it was a male co-worker. He said, "Oh my God! You look fantastic. Honestly, until you turned around, I did not recognize you. Wow!" I floated around the office the rest of the day.

Challenges: My hair continues to fall out. Keeping up with a professional wardrobe that does not make me look like a bag lady has forced me to get creative. Consignment and clearance sales with bonus coupons keep me going. Some of my work shoes no longer even fit; I walk right out of them since my feet are no longer bloated. I am not really complaining about this, just saying it has been a challenge for me.

Stats to date:

Morning of surgery weight: 293
Today's weight: 226
Total weight loss, as of this morning: 67 lbs
Inches lost in waist: 9
Inches lost in hips: 10
Total inches lost, as of this morning: 19

In good health,

Alisa

Celebrated my 3 month on August 25 this week!

Positives: The weight and inches continue to come off - I have the clearance to eat things with seeds, nuts and skins - my overall cholesterol went from 225 pre-surgery to 138 - LDL went from 178 to 117 :-) I will have my full labs at 6 month appt, the lipid profile was done when I was in the hospital for the esophagitis - I am going to start some strength training and beginning yoga to build up my core - the erosions in my esophagus and pouch are healing - I am down to sizes 16W-18W and my rings are going to have to be resized - I made my family favorite lasagna recipe with zuchini instead of noodles and it was a huge hit with my boys - I brought a lot of clothes that are now too big to consignment and I am hoping to fund a few new purchases for fall with any money earned- overall, I am content and happy with my RNY.

Challenges: I started to lose my hair this week, big clumps in the shower - I am tired a lot of the time, I just started my B12 injections today, so I am hoping this will help - I continue to crush my meds and take them in applesauce - my skin is dry a lot of the time, but I have been slathering Neutrogena Sesame Oil all over once I leave the shower and I am trying to get in extra water (now this is indeed a challenge).

Stats to date:

Morning of surgery weight: 293
Today's weight: 238
Total weight loss, as of this morning: 55 lbs
Inches lost in waist: 7
Inches lost in hips: 8
Total inches lost, as of this morning: 15

In good health,

Alisa

Well, I am home from a 3 day hospital stay. Early Wednesday morning I woke up to major pressure and pain in my chest. I muscled through getting ready for work and hit the road for my 45 minute commute. As I took the first swig of my protein shake I was wracked with severe pain throughout my chest. That was it - I called the doc from the car.

As soon as I mentioned 'chest pain' (and I knew this would happen - I told the nurse on the phone as she asked me to describe the pain, 'I am going to say these words, but I do not think this has anything to do with my heart. I think I might have an ulcer or an issue with my pouch.') she was adament that I either call 911 or go directly to the ER. I told her flat out that I was not going to call 911. I committed to turning around, heading for home to meet my husband and then heading to the ER.

Everyone at Regions was great. They got me into the ER room right away and started the standard ruling out cardiac issues process. My blood tests were good except one which was elevated and indicated a possible pulminary embolism. After the chest x-ray, they did a contrast cat scan and were able to rule out any blood clots in my lungs.

So, as I suspected from the beginning, they started to focus on possible GI issues. They also would not yet rule out, completely, any cardiac issues, so they admitted me for monitoring and further diagnostic tests.

Thursday morning I saw the GI doc and they did an endoscopy. In the middle third of my esophagus, they found inflamation and major irritation - they biopsied this area. They also found no less than 10 pills lodged in the bottom of my pouch! They flushed these out of my pouch and found inflamation and major irritation there as well.

Diagnosis: Erosive Esophagitis - caused by stuck pills - yikes!

I am on a soft diet again for a few weeks - until I heal enough that the pain subsides. I am on Carafate for 6 weeks (to heal the eroded areas) and a stronger PPI for awhile. I will also be crushing my pills and taking them in applesauce for I don't know how long...I guess until I am confident that I can get pills down and completely through my system.

I am on the mend and looking forward to healing and health. Jeez, what a ride.

What a ride! Emotional and physical ups and downs for 2 months - you would think a person would be exhausted! Instead, I am full of energy and feeling great.

I have had some small 'stalls' here and there and have figured out that I cannot tolerate much more than 1-2 grams of sugar alcohols in a serving of 'whatever' (I cannot tolerate Chocolite Protein Bars or Hunt's SF Snack Pack Pudding). Some days I do not want to eat meat/poultry/fish in any form - so I turn to peanut butter, protein shakes and egg beaters for my protein.

I have been walking/running on the treadmill for 30 minutes a day 4-5 days a week. Supplements are going well - no issues there. I get in 56 - 64 ounces of water a day, plus 8 ounces of milk. Crystal Light lemonade is delish.

I am looking forward to my 3 month checkup with my NUT and surgeon's office. I am hoping for the green light on anything with seeds, nuts and skins (my surgeon's guidelines do not allow these until after 3 months). I miss almonds, strawberries and sweet corn (which is just coming into farmers markets and roadside stands here in MN). Yum!

Stats to date:

Morning of surgery weight: 293
Today's weight: 253
Total weight loss, as of this morning: 40 lbs
Inches lost in waist: 5
Inches lost in hips: 7
Total inches lost, as of this morning: 12

Measuring for inches lost has really helped to keep my spirits up when the scale seems to not want to move :-)

In good health,

Alisa

For lunch today I rolled up 2 slices of roasted deli turkey breast around some low-fat co-jack cheese slices. This is something I have tolerated quite well - until now. I took one bite and could hardly stomach getting it down. I had to throw them out because the thought of eating more of it made me gag.

I skinned a few apple slices and ate them with 2 Tbsp of Skippy Natural peanut butter. Much better.

On another subject, I have my wonderful Aunt Flo for a visit (2nd time now since surgery). Yesterday and today, I have taken 2 Midol (the acetaminophen formula - each cut in half) every 6 hours. They have brought me relief from headache and cramping pain. Last month I decided not to take the Midol since it has caffeine and a mild diuretic in it - I just suffered through the pain since I was only about 2 weeks out from surgery. But, not this month. I am back to work now and I need to be able to function.

Just thought I would share since pre-surgery I used to pop ibuprofen like candy to ease the pain and I am completely surprised that the Midol with acetaminophen is actually working. Aunt Flo is still a bitch, don't get me wrong; probably the worst in recent memory, but I am getting some relief.

I am feeling good! Just stepped on the scale and could not believe I had dropped another 6 lbs! 37 lbs in 6 weeks. Wow.

We spent the 4th of July weekend with family at my parents lake home in WI. We had a blast - lots of laughing, swimming, fireworks, card playing and relaxing. I stayed away from any food prep and simply focused on making my simple meals while everyone else ate the normal holiday fare. I did not feel deprived! I thought I might...but I managed.

I did throw up, for the first time since surgery, on Saturday afternoon. We were out on the lake swimming and I had an afternoon snack of 1 beef stick and 1 piece of string cheese. This is a snack I have had several times over the past few weeks. Within 5 minutes of finishing, I had the foamies big time and had to retch over the side of the pontoon - twice. I felt much better once I threw up. I think I may have eaten too fast? Or, the snack just hit me wrong that day. I did not feel well when we got back to the house and had major loose stools. Then, I napped for an hour and felt much better. But, it kind of wiped me out. Needless to say, it will be awhile before I have a beef stick or string cheese again.

Oh Yeah! And, according to the BMI calculator, I am no longer Extremely Obese. I am simply Obese :-)

Now, onwards to the 2 month post op mark :-)

My husband and I met friends for dinner last night. We ate at Sunsets, a higher end restaurant near our home. Yesterday morning, I researched their menu online and picked out a few options that would work for me. We had a great time - good conversation and laughter. 2 of our friends were visiting from DC and it was so good to see them. Our other friends (there were 6 of us) are building a new house and it was fun to see plans and talk about their picks for fixtures and finishes. So, what did I eat?

I ordered ice water with lime as my beverage. I had a few sips of that right away, then stopped sipping well before our food came.

My husband ordered an entree and a side spinach bacon salad that I had picked as something I wanted to try. I ordered the appetizer chicken flatbread - with basil pesto, chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes and cheese.

When the spinach salad arrived, I took 1/4 cup of it - spinach leaves, some bacon pieces and several slices of the hard boiled egg and drizzled a very small amount of the vinagrette dressing over the top. I cut it up small and ate that to start my meal. It was delicious and sat very well in my pouch.

When my flatbread came, I ate the toppings off of 2 of the squares (I added a few extra pieces of chicken from other squares to ensure I got enough protein) and left the flatbread. I shared the remaining squares with my friends and took a few pieces home to my boys. It worked great and again, sat very well in my pouch.

So, whoo hoo! I passed my first post-op restaurant dining experience with flying colors! Whew!

I am feeling much better today. Pain is minimal...just managing some nausea still. The doc had me double my Pepcid dose. I am going to play around with my vitamin and medication schedule to see if that helps as well. Also adding more water and walking to see if that might make a difference.

Other than the past few days, things have been smooth! I am slowly introducing more foods into my diet. I just ordered some items from Netrition and Glenny's - per recommendations from The World According to Eggface. I love her.

I am down 27 lbs in one month. I can't believe it. Historically, the most I have ever lost in one month was 12 lbs. It will be fun to be measured again too. I think they do that again when I go in for my 3 month post op.

Anyhoo...I am making progress and doing fine.

In good health,

Alisa