How does WLS affect gardening activities?

Denise in Ark
on 5/14/05 10:41 pm - Lavaca, AR
HI all... don't see much activity here but it'd be great to see some discussions, with spring here and all. The last official sprout of spring - the dinnerplate (hardy) hibiscus are greening up. Summer arrived here in W. central Arkansas last week - temps in the low 90s. That happens sometimes, and it doesn't always mean a hot summer. But April and May were both well under average rain amts - and that is NOT a good sign. Well, not for anybody but the water company. As for me, I'm Denise, 44 and was gung ho for WLS, but since joining this board I've gotten scared that it's just another temporary reprieve and a year out I'll still be in the diet failure trenches. New ins takes effect June 1, so every bit is in limbo till then. Since apparently it's common for ins co's to require a period of time on a diet that the dr has been watching, I guess I'll just start that anyway and get some help from Meridia for as long as it works, then when I inevitably regain, start in again with the wls. Perhaps by then something will have given way and I'll be able to have DS, which is my preferred surgery. But I have a couple of burning questions regarding WLS and its effect on our ability to garden that nobody else seems to have been able to answer. If you guys could give me some input, it'd be great. The first concerns water. When it's hot and I'm in a manic phase (working on a project obessively in every spare minute) I can go through two or three gallons of water/iced tea in an afternoon. What makes this significant is that I also never once go back inside and pee- it's all sweated out. Must be, because I have a bladder the size of a walnut. So how does this need for large volumes of water work with reduced stomach size? Does the water pretty much flush through as quickly as you drink it? I've been so thirsty I've downed 2 in a row of the big Love's cups, which probably hold about 32oz. How do you balance thirst with volume when you are in the middle of a hot, hardworking project? The second question is about stomach muscle recovery and lifting. I'm forever and always moving rocks around. They're heavy but I'm strong. I lost 90 lbs once, mostly in one summer, on fen-phen and worked like an animal on our new landscape, much of it doing rock work. It's probably what helped me rebuild the muscle I was losing along with the weight that was falling off, so I'd like to move in that vein again but don't know how long it is before that kind of heavy work is possible. Denise
Caryl Mauk
on 5/29/05 4:43 am - Manor, TX
RNY on 06/26/06 with
Hi Denise! I enjoy gardening too, though I don't seem to be quite the workhorse you are. I don't know the answer to your hydration question, but can address the other. Just had a thought. Maybe sipping constantly from a camelback while you work would meet your needs. Anyway, your abdominal muscles should recover just fine. There is much less incidence of incisional hernia with laproscopic surgery so you would want that if at all possible. Also adhere religiously to your surgeon's guidelines for lifting post-surgery. Above all, discuss your concern with your surgeon before surgery. I mainly grow herbs and native plants in my garden. I'm a bit behind on my weeding, but some of the "weeds" pass for purposeful plantings of native flowers. I've been expanding into succulents. I enjoy container plantings, especially moss-lined baskets, but in my climate the containers dry out so fast I can't keep up. The succulents are something I can keep alive in these dry places. Caryl
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