Happier Days

Just as suddenly as the stricture and the nausea and vomitting came, they left. I feel really pretty good today. I talked to the nurse and she said it is very common to have swelling after surgery, as you heal, the stricture repairs itself. This means that I can advance my diet and start eating more normal foods. It also means that I will not have to have a second endoscopy to stretch out the opening by my new stomach. YAY. This is very happy news. I will try to post 3 and 4 week photos tomorrow.

Stricture

So a couple of days ago, the doc sent me to the hospital to have a endoscopy (scope through the mouth). They put an IV in, and I went in. The doctor had a very thick german accent and they gave me this medicine that made it feel like acid was burning it's way up the arm. then I went to sleep. I woke up less than ten minutes later, and the doctor told me in his german accent that I "Came out swinging" and hit them, so they couldn't complete the procedure. He said he could see there is a narrowing and he got the camera through, but was unable to stretch it back. I told him that I couldn't have known that I would be a mean drunk, and he just laughed and said that they would have me come back and this time it would have to be under general anesthesia.

In the meantime, I'm having a hard time keeping things down, and so I'm supposed to go in for IVs today, but I also have to work.

The Human Pin Cushion

While I was sitting in the ER last night, I joked and told my dad that if I were a super-hero, I'd be "the Human Pin Cushion." Seriously, I hate hospitals. The big irony in my life is that I have had something most of my life that required me to get regular blood draws. As a child, I had epilepsy, as an adult, horrible pregnancies. I was born, without veins. Ok, maybe not really, but they SUCK. On one of my ER visits when I was pregnant, I was poked 23 times. Last night, wasn't nearly as bad with 17 pokes.

I have a stricture. Basically, when you get gastric bypass surgery, they create a newer, smaller stomach and skip part of your bowl and reattach the new stomach higher up on the bowel. There is basically scar tissue blocking that connection.

I know, super right?

This is the most common of complications for new gastric bypass patients. It's what I expected when I went into the ER...but sucky.

I have to call my surgeon this morning to make an appointment for an endoscopy (scope through my mouth).

I'm really looking forward to that. (I hope you can sense the sarcasm there)

Philosophical

There is one thing I've learned over the last couple of weeks. It's going to sound really weird, but I've learned that it's ok to tell myself no. If everyone around me is eating greasy delicious burgers, or my mom's super delicious homemade cake, it's ok to say "No, you're not eating that." Yes, it sometimes feels unfair when all of my thin siblings are chowing down on homemade chocolate deliciousness, but that's the way it's got to be for me to lose weight and keep it off. Really not a big lesson, but for me it is.




I went back to work yesterday, and I have to admit that I was not looking forward to eating lunch with my co workers, first of all, my meal size is super tiny and I eat with a baby spoon, there was NO chance that someone wasn't going to say something about it. Brandon, this young kid I work with came up and asked "So what else did you bring?" I said "This is it." Then he continued to ask me how on earth I was going to make it through the day on that portion of food. I made it through it though...and then after lunch I made him watch a youtube video of a gastric bypass surgery...he almost barfed..so it was all worth it. Hopefully, today will be easier.

2 New Things

Well, I went to a health food store for the first time in my life and while it was a good store, I got sick of the amount of gluten free stuff they carried. There was very little carb-free. I went to the store to buy wonder-noodles that are soy based noodles that are protein based, not carb based. I came out with a package of soy fettuccine and a package of wonder-noodles that are more like soy ramen.

I tried the fettuccine tonight (the brand was House foods) added some cooked slivered carrots and some Thai peanut sauce and topped it with 2 crushed peanuts. It was delicious. I think the key to these noodles is rinsing them, drying them on a towel, boiling them, and then drying them again. At first they smelled really weird, but after all the rinsing and drying, that was alleviated.

I also bought baked chips that are made out of lentils to eat with hummus. Hopefully they are not gross, I'll keep you posted.

We want a pitcher...not a belly itcher

Oh.my.gosh. Can I just say that my surgical incisions itch SO badly!!! It's awful. They are healing well, in fact, they are just scabs now. Pretty good really, but man, so itchy (technical term) right now.

I'm kind of frustrated with my lack of weight loss. (today) I went to the gym and worked REALLY hard yesterday. I have some kind of bug, or a stricture, I'm hoping it's a flu bug. But I haven't eaten much at all today.

Breakfast
I tried to eat 2 oz of yogurt, but I ate one small bite and I instantly felt like I was going to vomit

Lunch
8 peanuts

Dinner
2 meatballs (with teryaki sauce and sesame seeds)
and 1/2 oz of veggies (1 baby carrot, 1 stem broccoli, 1 green bean cooked)

That's it. Yesterday was similar.
Hopefully I'll have lost something tomorrow.
My goal is to have lost 40 pounds before I return to work. (On Saturday)

Two Weeks

Today is exactly two weeks since my surgery. I've lost 35 pounds and I feel great. I've really struggled going to the gym this week. I didn't go Monday or Tuesday. I'm going today, I have to meet with the personal trainer again today.

I'm going to the gym with my cousin Sharla tomorrow, so hopefully that will increase my motivation level.

Also, my sister Lisa wanted me to clarify that in a previous post when she said she didn't lose weight, she wasn't being snotty, but was being funny. I didn't mean it to sound snotty...but anyways, she has sense of humor that is odd, but hilarious (check out her blog at www.carolinahushpuppies.blogspot.com)

I'm going to support group later tonight. I'm carpooling with a lady that I met on the forum provided by my doctor. She lives close by and had surgery the week before me.
I'm really excited about the support group. They had a contest for patients who had hit their goal weight and 3 people got a complete makeover. I think it will be really inspiring.

The easy way out

I've heard this statement a dozen times this week from people who are less than educated and I would like to share my thoughts on it. "You took the easy way out" or "Well, I could lose 100 pounds if I had surgery too." I did not take the easy way out. Having gastric bypass doesn't magically make you lose weight. I don't consume unlimited calories and have the weight just fall off. I eat on average 100 calories per day. I work out at least 4 days a week. So I have 1. reduced my caloric intake 2. Increased my physical activity. I've done the same things I would have had to do if I had chosen "the right way" The surgery is a tool that allows me to fill satisfied with the small amounts of food that I am eating. Major abdominal surgery is not easy. Statements like that really irritate me. Just had to get the RAWR out.

At the bottom of the entire blog I posted a youtube video by my surgeon talking about gastic bypass surgery in case anyone is interested.

week 2 photos

Ok, so this is my week 2 photo. In this photo, it finally looks to me like I've lost 30 pounds.

Big Day

Ok, this is probably going to sound dumb to many people, but today was huge. I got to eat chicken. I mean baked chicken, not chicken out of a can. I didn't realize this, but I love chicken. I haven't been able to eat any meat that doesn't come out of a can or a deli meat package. I had been reading on the blog of my surgeon and a girl who had surgery one day before me was saying that she ate chicken and refried beans at a Mexican food restaurant. I called and talked to the Doctor, and it's officially ok as long as the bites are very small and the chicken is tender and has lots of sauce on it. I made terryaki chicken and vegetables today.


With this, I feel like I will be able to handle all of this for two more weeks until I am able to eat off of a much larger food list.

The hardest thing about gastric bypass

You've seen the foods I can eat. I'm pretty limited right now. Many people have asked me how I do it, and I will admit, it is hard. But, that is not the hardest part of having gastric bypass. There are LOTS of rules that I have to follow. Many surgeons don't require it, but at Rocky Mountain associated physicians, they do. They are the top surgeons in the state with the highest success rate, so that says something. One of the rules is that prior to eating you can't have anything to drink 30 minutes before or after you eat. I have always loved to drink while I eat, and for me, this has been the hardest part of the whole adventure.



I was never a soda girl. As a patient who has had gastric bypass surgery, I will never be able to drink carbonation or caffeine again. (the carbonation stretches your stomach out again) Neither of those are big deals to me, because I never drank them, but I love lemonade and my fruit juices and smoothies.

Also, I'm already getting sick of the foods that I am allowed to eat. Which isn't good because I have 3 months and 3 weeks more of eating what is on the list. LOL. I think when this is all over, I will never eat yogurt or cottage cheese again...and possibly deli meat. It will be worth it, I know that, and that is what keeps me going on. I lost another 2 pounds today which puts me at 32 pounds lost. It seems like the weight loss is slowing down a bit. I guess I can't expect to lose 120 pounds a month, but man, that would sure be nice.

30..still

Well, I'm holding steady at 30 pounds. I was frustrated with my lack of weight loss in the last day or so. I've had a couple of days where I just didn't lose anything. I complained about it to my mom. Later that night, my mom, my sister and I were all sitting around talking and my mom told her that I was mad I didn't lose anything today. Lisa stopped and looked at me and then said "Well, I didn't lose anything today either." She's a stick, so she doesn't really have anything to lose, but it really helped to put things in perspective. I've lost 30 pounds in 1 week. That really is pretty good.
I made carb free bread last night and we used it to make pizza. I will say this. It is nothing compared to regular bread. I can't eat regular bread, so it was delicious. The kids even ate it, but they did complain a little.
I missed going to the gym yesterday, but I made it back again today. I remember when I lost a bunch of weight about 8 years ago, I got to the point that I really loved going to the gym. I wish that I could get to that point again. It's probably because my mom went with me during that time frame. I go by myself now, and it is not nearly as fun. Eh, it's ok though. It's essential to losing the weight, so I'll do it until I like it.

Foods I can eat

I thought people might be interested in the foods that I can eat. It started out for 3 days with broth and jello, after that, I added yogurt cottage cheese and soup. This is now the list of foods that I can eat for the next 4 months.


I eat 1.5 ounces of protein and .5 ounces of vegetables 3 meals a day.

Proteins
Deli meat
Canned turkey
canned chicken
canned tuna
cottage cheese
lowfat/low cal yogurt
eggs
tofu
cheese in any form
string cheese
refried beans with cheese

Vegetables
Tomatoes
Green Beans
Yams
Beets
Carrots
Peas
Squash
Tomato juice

Soups
(all juice must be removed before eating, eat around noodles, corn or potatoes)
Bean
Lentil
Chicken vegetable
turkey vegetable
minestrone
bean with bacon
tomato soup
pea soup
beef

Condiments
Mustard
ketchup
low fat mayo
low fat yogurt
sour cream
margarine/butter
salsa
lime juice
lemon juice
salad dressing
vinegar
tartar sauce
cream cheese
salt
pepper
spices

Trainer

So I met with the trainer, and he basically said what I'm doing right now is the best thing until I can lift weight. I've been doing the elliptical machine. He encouraged me to push a little harder, to increase resistance etc. Yeah. that killed me. I didn't go to the gym yesterday, but yesterday was my first day home at my house. So...my goal today is to go again. I found out today that I will be returning to work on the 15th (next week). Sigh. That went WAY too quickly. Also I've worked up to the required 64 ounces of water and have drank that for the last 3 days. It's really hard to drink that much when your stomach is the size of your thumb, so for me, that's quite an accomplishment. Tonight I'm going to try to make flourless protein bread with ricotta cheese, yogurt, eggs, cream of tartar and yogurt. I'll let you know how that goes.

mistake

Apparently I misread the scale, or reversed numbers...sigh. Oh, well. 28 pounds in a week is still pretty good. I went to the gym again yesterday and ave an appointment with a personal trainer today. We'll see how that goes.

Gym=good

Ok, so I wasn't really sure how much the 137 calories burned at the gym would do...but when I woke up this morning and weighed in, I had lost 18 pounds in one day...a total of 40 pounds. So, it appears that I will be going to the gym again today!

I went to this emotional support group offered by Rocky Mountain Associated physicians. Overall it was pretty good. I did learn 1 big thing. If you cheat and eat treats...it kicks you out of the fast paced weightloss mode and makes it hard to loose weight again. That's enough to ensure I never eat sweets or carbs again!!!

DAY 6

Today was a much much better day. I got some new running shoes and took them for a spin at the gym...ok, maybe not a spin, that's just fun to say. I only made it 15 minutes on a lower level on the elliptical machine. I only burned 137 calories. That may not sound like a big deal, but when you consider I've eaten that many calories in two days, it sounds a lot more significant. I'm happy with it.

For the super exciting news, I've lost just over 20 pounds in 5 days and my knee pain is now gone. I don't mean improved, or slightly better. GONE.

I still have back pain, but my hip pain has also improved. I don't know if the back pain will ever be completely gone. I was in a rollover car accident at 18, and was a CNA at 22. That's asking a lot. Who knows maybe the next 20 will alleviate some of that. My diabetes is also gone. So for me, it's already worth it.

For those of you reading thinking that I was kidding about the number of calories I eat in a day...I'm serious. It's been about 75 calories per day.
What I ate today

Breakfast:
2 oz (2 of those medicine cups you use for kids medicine) of low fat/low cal yogurt
(25 calories)

Lunch
1 1/2 ounces of tomato soup with less than 1/2 tsp of cheese melted on top
(35 calories)

Dinner
1 oz baked yam
1 slice super thinly sliced ham (deli meat) with skinny cow creamy blue cheese spread on it and rolled up...and cut into bite sized pieces. (cut up it fit into my 1 oz medicine cup) 35 calories

Until today, I've only been able to be on clear liquids and yogurts...and soups with no chunks. I can't tell you how delicious that single slice of deli meat with cheese on it tasted. I guess it's perspective. I used to crave chocolate and sweets...ok I still do kinda, but it's amazing how good that tasted. It's kind of sad, I bought a "bariatric surgery cookbook" and inside one of the recipes was to put cheese or cream cheese on a piece of deli meat. I laughed and said to my mom "How depressing is that? they can't come up with something better?"
That's what I get for making fun! :)

Bad day

Well, today has been my first really bad day. I mean BAD. Now this is a little graphic so stop reading now if you're squeamish. Well, actually NOW. Since the surgery, I haven't been able to...well, go number 2. That's as delicately as I can put it. So, I figure pain meds can do that, so in my genius, I decided to quit taking the pain medicine and see if that fixed the problem. Well, there's only one problem. I didn't realize how well those pain meds work!!! Oh.my.gosh. ouch. I've decided to try and be more active. I've had a gym membership for an entire year...well actually 9 months. I've been 3 times. So tomorrow, pain or not, I'm going to the gym. It may only be for 15 minutes, but I'm going...and hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!!!!

3 Days-14 pounds lost

Well, today is the first time in about 3 days that I've set foot on a scale...and I had lost about 14 pounds in those three days. I'll take it!!! I haven't really felt hunger yet, I have had the head hunger where you feel really dizzy, luckily I was able to start proteins like yogurt and cheese today. That has really helped and I'm feeling better, though I'm still kind of weak. I am having trouble uploading photos, but I will try to get some before pics up this week.

I've drank mostly jello and water, so I'm thankful to be able to have some food with a little more flavor and texture. So far the hardest thing has been to get down the vitamins that I have to take daily.