4 weeks post gastric bypass

Wow.  I'm down 14 lbs, and have lost 2 inches off my hips/waist.


High Weight       338 lbs (best estimate)
Program Start     311
Surgery Weight  272
Current Weight   258 lbs
Measurements

Hips    53'
Waist  44'
Bust    46' (no change...woot woot!)



I'm still working really really hard to get in 700-900 calories a day. Most days I wouldn't come close without a protein shake.  I'm just not hungry, and even my thirst cues aren't very good.  I make sure I get at least 4 cups of water/fluids in, but it should be closer to 8.  

Only one episode of dumping syndrome so far - Bran Buds got me!  weird, yes, but that's me lol

my clothes are certainly letting me know they're too big - but I'm not getting newish until they pretty much fall off of me :)

I've been very very lucky -no complications, no stomach issues, everything is sitting well - except coffee *sob*  I'll try again next week.

2 weeks post op

Still doing pretty good.

I want to murder my neighbours - they've put up Christmas decorations that flap in the wind - which means they hit the metal railings on our balconies, and "BONNNNNGGGGGG" all fucking  night long. Does no one have any common sense any more??

Weight today was 263.  I'm down 9lbs since surgery.  I know that's good, but I want it to be MORE dammit! lol

I'm down almost 50lbs since my first appt in July, which is pretty amazing.  My weight then was 311.

I can't imagine in April when I'm down almost 100lbs from that 311 - it's going to be great! :D :D

Exercise is still very very light.  I find that I'm dizzier than I expected, but I'll adjust and move on. it's not like exercise will do much right now - I'm averaging 700-800 calories a day, and that's only because I have a protein shake with 200 calories in it.  This is normal, and I'll be able to up those calories in a couple of weeks.

What I wasn't expecting: wicked constipation!  Get your fibre in somehow, folks! It'll save you grief in the long run!

It's been 5 days since...

I had surgery on Nov 22.  Everything went very well.
I had some issues with pain management, so I didn't leave the hospital until the 23rd in the evening.  My shoulder felt like it was on fire for two days - not unexpected, but wow did that HURT.

I'm already on pureed foods - had mashed potatoes today. It was lovely lol
still working on getting my protein in - but I'm using protein powder in a boost to help with that. 

I'm avoiding getting on the scale, because I don't want to get obsessed with it. 

I have to be very careful that I don't overdo it - I'm feeling pretty darned good right now! 

'twas the night before surgery....

and all through the house, Mystre was zipping around like a demented mouse LMAO

I'm squirrelly and excited and running around like a loon :P

some stats before I go in:

High Weight       338 lbs
Current Weight   272 lbs

Measurements

Hips    55'
Waist  46'
Bust    46'


I'm off to the losers bench :D :D :D

Boost day 13 and pre-operative appt

Well, I've got about 36 hours to surgery, and I'm surprisingly calm right now.

Had my pre-op appointment today.  Nothing I didn't expect - got the paperwork done, confirmed dates and times, got my last bit of bloodwork done.  So, I go to the Victoria hospital at 7am on the 22nd, and surgery is at 9. 

I told them about my SCDS, and they are going to try to get me a private room. Best part? I have insurance that will cover the cost! (woot woot!)  I should be in about 24 hours, barring strange complications.

It's been a crazy ride...and crazy fast.  4 weeks from the go ahead to surgery.


I tell you - I'm pretty sick of boost lol  It's pretty bland and causes wicked constipation!  I've managed amazingly too - no food... except one shrimp.  We were out for supper, and I grabbed one and popped it in.  It was good...but I was pretty upset with myself when I realized what I had done.   Luckily, it was just a steamed one - so I'm good. 

Boost day 8

I'm half way there!

it's been interesting.  Day 5 of boost was horrible.  I was dizzy, nauseated, exhausted, you name it - I had it.  I also had a bit of conjunctivitis, but that I think was caused by the weather change from warmish to cold.

I noticed on Day 7 my breath could kill a boar at 100 paces.  gross, but nothing gets rid of it.  It's from the extreme low calories, and will resolve once I'm starting to eat real food again.  I'll survive, because it's worth it!

My system has gotten used to the low calories - I feel almost human today.  I'm a bit tired, but nothing I can't handle. 

I got my appointment for the PreSurgery Assessment Clinic.  It's on Monday - which is perfect.

Boost Day 3

Well, it's getting better. 
not nearly as much of a headache as yesterday, so I'm pretty happy.  The "OMG I'M HUNGRY" cramping has stopped too - which is nice.  11 days to go.

it's not been difficult so far to have just boost, coffee and tea - I've even been cooking for the boys no problem.  Simple stuff, but they say it's tasty lol 

Not much to report other than that.

Boost day 2

Now, they warned us that we'd have a headache from the liquid diet. I was expecting one, because I always have a headache.

I was not expecting migraine level headache!  of course, it could be from the weather too - so I'm not 100% blaming it on the liquid diet, but wow.

and to add insult to injury, my new upstairs neighbour is a jerk.  Since she moved in, it's been non stop noise.  I can handle some noise - expecting perfect silence is silly.
however, expecting some consideration for your downstairs neighbours who might not get up at 8am is not unreasonable.  The bangs, thumps, crashes - it sounds like she's renovating the freaking place. Ugh.

Boost started Nov 8

The first day - not so bad.  Not really all that hungry, but the boost is pretty flavourless and meh.  I've got some extracts to zip it up a bit, so I should be okay.

Time is flying for sure!

Surgery date is November 22, 2017

I repeat  Nov 22, 2017.
HOLY SHIT

What am I doing?????

*breathing*
I got a surgeon's appointment on Oct 31 - they had a cancellation.  This was the fastest surgical consult I've ever had.

Doc: you've jumped through all the hoops - you only have to do 2 weeks of boost.  Let's do this. Any questions?

Me: asked a few minor questions, off I went to scheduling.

Scheduler: We have Nov 22 - how's that...

me: *OMG OMG* sure..sounds good to me....

So - in one week, I got cleared for surgery, had the diet preparation class, pre-op surgical consult and scheduling, and my pre-op physical and blood work.

I start boost on Nov 8th, surgery is Nov 22. I have to be at the hospital at 7am.

This is fast...but I'm ready... I think....

Oct 26, 2017 update

OMG OMG OMG OMG

*cough*
Yeah. I'm cleared to head toward surgery.  They told me that less than 40% go forward at appt 2.. but I've been working really really hard at this. I've lost over 11kg since July 17th, and I'm in a 2x. I just had to buy a new winter coat because the one I had was comically big (think little kid in mom's coat).


Time is going to FLY now - I have a diet class tomorrow, a  pre-op physical on the 2nd of November along with an EKG and chest X-ray, and I should be seeing the surgeon in 2ish weeks.  My date could be as early as first week of December...
remember to breathe...whew....

Oct 16, 2017 - Thoughts on Gastric Bypass

Well, I'm at the point where I'm starting to wonder "should I REALLY do this? what if I can't find medication that works for my dermatologic skin?"

It's freaking me out a bit - but I'm told that's normal. 
I'm also going through things and saying "well, I won't be able to do this any more" - it's really strange.  Knowing that I'll never be able to go to a buffet again, or anything like that. It's not like I go very often anyway, but still... NEVER? EEEEK!

I've also noticed that I've lost a fair bit of weight since I started the walking and lower calorie "diet" they gave me.  I'm at about 20lbs so far - since July 17.  I think that's pretty good and it does make me start to think "maybe I can do this on my own"....then I remember that I've been on diets for over 30 years now, and they all start like this - lose about 20-25lbs and then they just stop.  No matter what I do, except starvation calories, the weight doesn't change. 
so, I'm going to do this - and I really hope that in 10 days I get to post that "I'm going forward!" instead of "another three months wait". I know 3 months isn't very long, but I just want this done.

Gastric Bypass update - Oct 1, 2017

Well, it's only 25 days until my 3 month follow up.
I've been doing everything they asked (and then some!)

My weight is actually going down.

Gastric Bypass update - Sept 16, 2017

I decided to consolidate my summer, and give an update for all things that are happening here. :)


Gastric bypass process has been interesting.  I saw the kinesiologist on July 4, 2017 and she made it sound like I had to get 10k steps per day, as well as 300 minutes of exercise a week, to be even considered for the program.  I found out later, that's the ideal - not the requirement.  The requirement is 150 minutes of exercise a week.

I met with the nurse, dietician and counsellor on July 17, 2017.  The nurse was good - I told her about my disability, and also told her it was okay to "nod and smile" if she didn't know what it was.  I'm sure she looked it up after I left, which is fine.  What it means is that I may not consistently get 300 minutes of exercise a week, but that I'll try my darndest and do stuff that I can do.

For those new, and who don't want to go through the previous whiny crap on my blog - I have superior canal dehiscence syndrome
http://vestibular.org/superior-canal-dehiscence-scd
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superior_canal_dehiscence

I've had two surgeries to try to correct it, and both have failed.  I am pretty much permanently disabled, because my surgeon is not willing to do a revision - he feels it would do more harm than good.  I have a very thin skull (make your own joke here) and my temporal bones are like swiss cheese.  The likelihood of a new hole forming are high, even with surgery to fix the ones I have.

I've had a lot of counselling for this, and I've pretty much accepted that I'll be like this for the rest of my life - barring a new surgical technique to fix the issue.

The counsellor asked me about my disability, and if I thought that gastric bypass would fix it.  I laughed and said "no, I know it won't. The only thing it will do is make it less painful when I fall".  She was good with me going into the program.

The dietician...was horrible.  When I went to orientation, I remember them saying "we're not the food police" .... well, this dietician certainly was.  She picked apart my food journal, said "wow, that's a LOT of calories", and basically made me feel like a huge pig.   For the record, my calories were about 2000 a day, because that's what myfitnesspal had set it at.  I left that session practically in tears, and wondering why the hell I even bothered to try this.

I also signed up for the 3 craving change classes.  Those were fun, but I didn't really learn anything I didn't know - but it was a good refresher.  One thing I made sure I did was talk with the ladies running the classes about my dietician.  I was in tears when I talked with them.  I didn't care - I wanted to know why they kept saying that the classes/appointments were a "safe place", yet the dietician I saw was certainly judgemental.  They were shocked, to say the least, when I told them what had happened.  And when I said that I had written about my experience in my WLS group, and someone said "oh, you must have had Phyllis" and that others had had this experience, well... they were mortified.  They made sure that I WASN'T seeing Phyllis in my follow up in October, and I wasn't. 
I don't know what they did after that, but I'm glad I said something instead of letting it fester and take me off track. 

I also found out that I'm not supposed to be losing weight on the calorie level they gave me.  I have lost about 15 lbs since July, which I'm happy with.  I'm still going to do the surgery, because what usually happens is I lose about 20lbs, then everything just stops.  No matter how much I exercise or lower calories, the weight doesn't come off.  There's something wrong with my metabolism, and that's why I'm doing the bypass.

My next follow up is Oct 26th, and I expect to get the go ahead to see the surgeon.  I could have surgery by Christmas...>EEEEEEK!

June 2, 2017

Well, it's been awhile. Mainly because not much has changed since September.

Except - I'm on the way to gastric bypass.  I've tried every diet out there, and as always - they stop working after about 15 to 20lbs.  So, here we go. The last resort.

I had my first appointment on May 24, 2017 - which was basically orientation. It was 'here's what happens, here's how it works, here's what you need to do to get into the program, etc'. They gave us a paperwork package that had to be returned within 30 days.

I'm so ready for this - so I filled out the paperwork right away.

There is usually a 6 month delay from appt to surgery booking, but sometimes it can be done at 3 months. That will be me, if I can possibly do it.

I've already started exercising 30mins a day - which is a general walk right now.
I am taking VitD and B12, and multivitamins.  I'll need to get calcium and iron, but that's after surgery.
My tough thing will be getting in the 6 cups of water, I think.  I shall persevere :)


My first 4 hour appointment is July 17, 2017.