Miss Candace

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

So now... once you have a WLS & /or revision & along with the wonderful weightloss, you begin to experience certain side effects. Say for instance dumping, GERD, hair loss and/or allergic reactions such as itching. At some point, you ask yourself, was it really worth it?!?! 
I know darn well I didnt have GERD prior to my GBS on 04. Now its not pretty...I really have to be careful about eating stuff w/tomato sauce & cant have foods that contain lots of onion, bell peper or garlic. COME ON MAN!!! IM PUERTO RICAN - those are main ingredients in like all of our dishes!
Since the GBS in 04, Ive taken many brands of both Soy & Whey proten w/ no issue. However, for some reason, after my Stomaphyx in Feb. 2012, I began itching from head to toe (literally) after taking the Bariatric Advantage Protein. While the allergic reaction didnt start right away, I think Ive built up an intolerance to it - like, after a month of this stuff, my body is saying aiight heffa, enough is enough! Perhaps its just that brand (havent tried it before the procedure in feb) & Im not 100% sure that its the protein powder - but what else could it be?!?!? Its not my body wash or detergent. Ya, could be nerves, but thats never happened before.

I made an appt w/ the allergist & talked to the NUT yesterday about my allergy issue (to either soy or whey protein). She said it was OK for me to move into the "soft foods" phase, but i like & have gotten accustomed to doing the liquid thing...
I really do want to continue what ive been doing for the past 4 weeks b/c i see me making progress. Im afraid that if i start another phase, i'll stop losing weight & Im no where near ready for that. She said i could continue on the liquids & that it was OK to try other protein powders (like egg protein).

So i guess im on the protein hunt again. I hate that... wasting money on different powders & when they dont work, having to toss them. But all in all, i still have to say that this has been worth it. I guess i just have to adjust my eating & change my habits to adapt to this new life style.

I was a little put out last week since i gained 3lbs. But i checked my daily totals & nothing had changed or increased, so i figured i was retaining water...

This weekend was the biginning of our bush wacking trail hiking season. okay okay - so i wasnt out there wacking at any bushes w/ my machete... my walking partners (son & sister) wont let me go off trail...
ANYWAYS we hit the trail & hiked up a mountain for about 1 mile. Ya, thats it - 1 mile of almost all serious incline LOL. Once we reached the semi-top we stopped & took in the georgeous views for a minute. We were going to carry on (to complete the loop), but all of a sudden my asthma kicked in  - i actually had an attack up there & we had no pumps - not even in the car. So we decided to turn back. i RARELY... NEVER have attacks, so i was totally unprepared. Once back down the mountain, i felt better & was able to push on on a lower level train w/ no hills so we got in a .5 miles. It was so beautiful up there. I packed us a nice little lunch & everything. Brought the  with us too, so she was loving it. Everything was perfect. I was a little disappointed at first that i wasnt able to go on (b/c i know i can do better than that), but when you take into consideration that this is our first time hitting the trails in a year  & we started off w/ a strenuous one - i think we did pretty good. The goal is to hit a different trail every weekend, but next time i'll be sure to bring my pump.

I showed a loss of 2lbs as of yesterday - so i guess the hike was worth it after all :)

1st Stomaphyx postop & all is well. The official count is down 6lbs. in 2 weeks. Thats a nice & safe rate of 3lbs per week.
At the first RYN postop in 04, i was down 21lbs. Thats quite a difference! I prepared myself mentally, so i knew i wouldnt have or see the same results as what i initially saw. So im not really feeling "bad" about it - im happy that im at least loosing!

Im having trouble at times, getting to 550-600 cals (when the postop diet says 800-1050). Dr said i need to get in more cals so my system doesnt go into starvation mode.

But dont be fooled. This, like the original RYN, is no joke as far as trying to comply w/ the "rules" goes. It is very difficult for me to resist that nibble of BBQ pork rib or those nibbles of taco meat. The rules say to strain soups - i dont. i eat the few pieces of carrot & celery & slivers of chicken meat in the chicken noodle soup, the slivers of this & that in cream soups. Maybe if i didnt, i'd see better results.... but i honestly dont think i can do that. Im going crazy as it is. My only saving hope is the oyster crackers i have daily. but i know im not suppose to have those either.

While i was able to give up my wine & drinking soda w/ no issue, i could only give up smoking for a week. Thats been really tough.
Im almost through the 1st phase of the postop diet plan (just 4 weeks) & my goal is to attempt to do this for another 4 weeks to increase my results & healing of my pouch.

You know... I wasnt able to post for what... 2 weeks. In that time, i stopped tracking for 6 days & gained 2 lbs. I got a first hand reminder of how this is all really connected & how critical it is to my success.
While i dont know why i gained those 2lbs (since i was "eating" the same thing -even less... maybe my system is starting to go into starvation mode - ??), i see how important it is. Needless to say, I started tracking again on the 22nd.

Well - its not a new me, its the same me, just back to trying, back to losing, back to getting healthy, back to being on track.
I think we all start off the year with big good intentions & somewhere that just falls short of what we plan.
Im no different. I always start off w/ great & grand ideas & action plans of how im going to get back on track & get back to where i was before i started regaining my weight. But somewhere along the way, life happens & its always easier to grab a western cheese burger or celebrate friday with a chicken & bacon pizza. If you think about it - thats 52 pizzas in a year. AT LEAST! lol

So this year, in a more serious effort to enable myself to get back on track - i opted for the Stomaphyx procedure. Its one of the "revisions" procedures available for RNY gastric bypass patients. Other procedures are available - however those are CONVERSTIONS. Why in the helium would i want to "convert" to a different procedure & another WLS? that is WAY more risky than having a revision. Grant it - my opinion greatly differs from others on this site with regards to the stomaphyx revision - but in the end, its my body & my decision on whats best for me. If this is going to work - its going to be up to me. Not like with the original procedure where we kinda had no choice BUT TO lose.
My goal is to get down to 180. 160 would be great, but i'll settle for 180. Im not expecting the stomaphyx to get me to 180. I am fully aware that I might only lose 20 maybe 30 lbs. but thats 20 or 30lbs closer to my goal that I couldnt achieve w/o the phyx. I bought an elliptical & plan on using it as much as possible to help me achieve my goal & maintain thereafter.

I had the Stomaphyx procedure 2/6/12 & so far (this is day 3) its been pretty good. My preop weight was 252 (down from 258 3 wks before). Feeling better every day. Body is still sore. Last night was a rough sleep, but my voice is back & my throat is no longer on fire. Since its an outpatient procedure &  they say you can go back to work the next day, Dr. Morton has kpet me out of work for a week. Which is good. I needed that time to heal b/c my body really wasnt feelign all that great right after surgery.
Ive been home since monday the 6th & I started to go a bit stir crazy & needed to get out of the bed & house, so i had my brother take me to target so we could pick up some stuff.

Found out that i need to add 4lbs to what ever comes up on my scale to get an accurate count.
kinda peeved at caloriecount.com for losing all my historical data. IDK what happened to their system, but i had to re-register & everything! grrrr

I feel much more comfortable & confident in my eats this time around. Im more knowledgeable & feel more prepared about what i need to do - what is OK to do, whereas before (with the original procedure) i was afraid to eat or drink ANYTHING right after surgery, let alone i didnt know the first thing about protein shakes or how to make um.

My "eats" are barely at 600 cals! THAT concerns me as im simply not use to eating so little cals & im not sure i can function properly. I actually felt hungry today for the first time since monday (lol). Im also trying to get in as much protein as possible & I still have a problem with distringuishing between the feelings - full - hunger - pain. With that, i am worried about popping one of these "staples". With my tolerance for pain - i could pop one & not even know it...My brother thinks i am in no danger of that since im logging everything i intake & im not eating/drinking enough to pop something. Which he is right, so that makes me feel a little better. :)
Here's to a new me.