- Username: mittenfarm
- Location: County Line, MI, USA
- Member Since: 5/24/2007
- BMI: 22.8
- Post Op
- Surgery Type: DS (10/19/07)
- Surgeon: Paul Kemmeter
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Surgeon TestimonialPaul KemmeterCan't say enough about Dr. Kemmeter and the staff at Grand Health Partners in Grand Rapids, MI. He is such a great person and an excellent surgeon and very thorough in everything. The Bariatric program at GHP is very structured and complete. All aspects of care are done there as well as all testing. They have their own nutritionists, exercise physiologist, psych evals, and all foods needed for pre- and post-op. They do all their own endoscopy, sleep studies, gall bladder scans, etc. They have a very strong emphasis on after-care and are not there just to do your surgery and then let you go. rnI would definitely rate Dr. K as a 10 out of 10! mittenfarm's JourneyClick Here To View
Describe your behavioral and emotional battle with weight control before learning about bariatric surgery.Endless diets over the last 40 years. I can lose weight but cannot keep it off. I had finally gotten to the point of not even being able to make myself diet anymore because I knew I would fail at some point. I had thought about bariatric surgery for years and finally decided to do it. |
Hi, my name is Wanda and I am 56 years old. I had the duodenal switch in October 2007. I have successfully lost all of my weight and am at goal. Now I am working on maintaining a healthy weight and making sure I keep my lab work in a good range and take all my supplements as needed to do that. I am married with 4 children, and work in a 95 bed Neonatal ICU as an RN. My hubby and I have a 250 acre farm and he plays at raising sheep(he's insane) besides his job in town. I have blogged my entire journey so far, so feel free to read up on all I've been through over the past 4+ years. It has definitely been a life-changing experience for me, but in a very good way for the most part.
March 18, 2012 on March 18, 2012 12:00 am
Wow, haven't been on here since last July! Thought maybe an update might be in order. I am doing very well from all standpoints and hopefully have conquered all my DS associated issues and finally have a handle on this thing at 4 1/2 years out! Still on Actigall, which seems to keep all my liver/bile duct issues at bay and my liver enzymes were normal last fall for the first time in a couple of years. I quit coming on here because I was tired of obsessing about everything associated with WLS and just wanted to move on to a normal life, which I have done. My weight has stabilized at 150 to 155 lbs which puts me right in the middle of normal BMI. Take my vitamins quite religiously with only a few missed doses here and there. Bone density has been a problem, but had a Reclast infusion in January and will do this yearly which I hope will help, as calcium absorption is such a problem for us. Over consumption of it doesn't necessarily help calcium levels and bone density, it just gets secreted out the kidneys and causes stones. Been there, done that and don't care to repeat it! Have not been ill since last July when I had a nasty campylobacter intestinal infection that came from Lord knows where. No food issues as long as I stay away from much of anything with flour in it. I can eat flour, but get horrible gas which I hate dealing with , so try to behave myself!
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July 1, 2011 on June 30, 2011 10:19 pm
Wow, has it been a long time since I last blogged on here! Just rarely spend any time here any more. I am healthy and doing well and no longer wish to be defined by this surgery and to have it and all it's little quirks occupy and define my life. I feel "normal" now, so am trying to live as normally as I can and that involves putting this whole WLS persona to rest. I still am religious about all my vitamins and eating healthy and exercising(most of the time). But the rest of me has moved on and I am happy with that. I have not even been going to the support group meeting at my surgeon's office because they always seem geared toward those early on, which is fine, and I like to be supportive of the newbies, but going involves too much travel time and gas $$, and I don't feel I get much help for myself, nor do I feel I need any right now. So I will check back in on occasion when I have nothing else to do, but I am going to go on and enjoy my new fat free life!
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March 31, 2011 on March 31, 2011 7:01 am
Just about missed doing a March blog! I seem to be losing interest in spending much time on this site any more, and have been trying to figure that one out. I think I have been thin for so long now that I finally feel like a "normal" person and am not obsessing about this whole process 24 hours a day. I am still very vigilant about vitamins and follow my labs very closely. Try to make sure I eat enough protein every day. I no longer do any shakes or bars or protein supplements of any kind. I eat all of my protein. Lots of meat, cheese, and nuts. Try to stay away from carbs as much as possible, but I do eat oatmeal and whole grain breads daily, with the occasional cookie or Krispy Kreme donut thrown in! I eat a lot of veggies and at least 2 fresh fruits daily. Another thing I have noticed is that I no longer have any gas issues. Last fall I had a bout of severe colitis/diarrhea that landed me in the hospital for 12 days with a boatload of antibiotics and Flagyl. Ever since then I have had no more gas! The only other thing I am wondering if it could be is the Actigall I have been taking since about that same time. I no longer have a gall bladder(taken out at the time of my DS) but have had liver/bile duct issues since having it removed. Since starting the Actigall I have only had one incident and feel 100% better than I ever did. I don't even get gas with eating carbs any more. So it was either the antibiotics or the Actigall, but I am happy with it!
2 weeks ago I had surgery on my tailbone area. I refer to it as a buttcrackectomy! I have had a lot of tailbone issues since losing so much weight and had developed a pilonidal cyst that would flare up every now and then for the past 2 years or so. My PCP sent me to a surgeon and she removed the cyst as well as the skin of my upper butt crack which was so thin she could see the bone through it. Stitched my buns back together and is hoping that will provide me with more padding over the tailbone. So I now have a new butt crack! Actually, it is still all stitched up, which is miserable for anything but standing up. I don't sleep well at night yet and am still relying on pain pills, especially at night. Never get surgery on something you have to sit on! She wants to leave the stitches in for at least 3 to4 weeks as she is afraid it may separate if it is not completely healed. She did not offer any guarantees that this would fix everything, but felt she needed to do something about the thin skin in that area or it was just going to break down, especially as I get older. Kind of a bedsore waiting to happen, I guess. So I'm kind of stuck home as riding in the car is not much fun either at this point. But I am getting a lot of reading done!
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February 7, 2011 on February 7, 2011 5:18 am
Time for a Feb. post, I guess. Not much to report, as I am caught in the winter in MI doldrums!! Should get out my cross-country skis and get my butt moving, but I am very unmotivated to do anythng lately. The treadmill is also collecting dust. On the medical front, had a bad time over the weekend with bile duct issues again and think I may have had another stone blocking things. I think it passed, but now I am dealing with the aftermath of a very irritated liver and duct system, which basically means that I am OK as long as I don't eat for the next few days. If I eat, I get diarrhea and gas, no matter what I eat, and mild spasms of the bile duct. I remember this happening before when I was having so much trouble with this, so I know it will get better over the next couple of days if I take it easy with food. My hubby has to do clear liquids today for a colonoscopy prep, so I told him I would join him in those dietary delights! Thought I was past these problems as I have been feeling so much better since they started me back on Actigall, but apparently I will never be out of the woods with this. My OB/GYN started me on hormone replacement about a month ago, and I am feeling much better from a female standpoint, but I think it has also greatly increased my appetite! I'm not hungry, but want to eat constantly, so have to battle this as well. I've gained about 5 lbs. in the past month, which is OK, as I was really too thin, but don't want it to continue upwards any further. Of course, it would probably help if I would get my scrawny ass in gear and exercise! And problem #3....I have to see a surgeon next Thursday because I have a problematic recurring pilonidal cyst on my tailbone. My tailbone bothers me so much since I have lost so much weight, and it constantly irritates at the base, causing these flare-ups, I guess. I'm hoping they can do something about the tailbone as well as remove the cyst.
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January 2, 2011 on January 2, 2011 5:33 am
Well, it is the new year and time for an update. Too busy with a lot of not nice stuff in Dec. to do this. I was really hoping for a good Christmas this year as last year was awful, but it was not to be. I have recovered well from my colitis that put me in the hospital for 12 days in Nov., but my FIL became very ill with CHF after Thanksgiving and passed away rather suddenly from cardiac arrest on Dec. 20th. So a funeral 2 days before Christmas and then having to live with my MIL who cannot be alone due to falling. And all the endless phone calls and paperwork that accompany dying! Never realized how complicated it is...dying is actually the easy part! Finally got her moved in temporarily with her also elderly sister until we can get all their financial stuff figured out and get her in assisted living to the tune of $3500/month. She is 92 years old and generally in good shape other than her balance issues, so we think this will be the best answer to her needs. My hubby is their only child, so it really falls on me to deal with all this, and I am at the end of my mental rope at this point. Note to anyone reading this....do NOT have only one child! But I am finally, as of yesterday, back in my own house and my own bed, and now have access to a computer and DirectTV, so life is a lot better again! I would not do well as an Amish person!
As far as my health goes, I have recovered from my awful colitis/diarrhea episode and have my strength back again, so now I need to get my sorry butt back on the treadmill and get back in shape. I have done NOTHING for the past 6 weeks or more due to illness and the incidents following in December, and I can tell. Much as I hate to exercise, I feel better when I do. On a bright note, my gastroenterologist has put me back on Actigal and it seems to have solved a lot of my GI issues, especially the gas and bloating. I had started to have mild bile duct spasms again off and on since summer. I had not associated the increased gassiness with this, but now I think that had a lot to do with it. I did have a rather uncomfortable "attack" at work the other night, but that was the first one in a long time. And it was followed by a lot of gas and intestinal miseries over the next 12 hours, which always happens after one of these attacks. I think I had missed my actigal that afternoon as my med taking really fell by the wayside over the holidays due to my very upset lifestyle schedule. So I am hoping that now that my life is somewhat back on track, I can keep this under control. My New Year resolution this year is to stay out of the hospital! I have some lab work due in January to check my liver function as well as some vitamin levels so we'll see where that all lands.
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My Story
I am new to OH but love it!! It was reccomended by the surgeon's office here in Grand Rapids, MI. I have been wanting to have weight loss surgery for many years, but my husband's ins. wouldn't cover it. So I switched jobs and picked up my own coverage and hope to get this done yet this year! I have been overweight/obese all my life especially worse last 20 years since having children. I always managed to deal with it by forcing myself to stay as active as possible for a fat lady!! But as I am now past the age of 50 I find it more and more difficult to live with and the joint pain is getting worse. So, here I go into the WLS world. I need to lose about 200 lbs. so this is going to be life changing(I hope) I so appreciate all the info on the message boards from all who have been through all the stages of WLS. It has been very helpful to me in making an informed decision as to my surgery.
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