Photos
I'm Not In Any Photos Yet.
Before & AfterThere are currently no before and after photos for this member. See these instructions if you wish to submit your own Before & After photos.
Goals
73 People in progress, 24 People achieved this |
2 People in progress, 2 People achieved this |
117 People in progress, 32 People achieved this |
4 People in progress, 1 Person achieved this |
87 People in progress, 61 People achieved this |
|
Surgeon TestimonialCynthia Long M.D.I love Dr Long! So much so that I followed her to Baltimore and would probably want to continue aftercare with her no matter where she'd work! :)
My first impression was that she's very skilled & detailed. Her plan was easy to follow and she gave all new patients a binder that explained the process step by step She made things clear at surgery & right after, which assuaged some worries I had early on. I had no complications from my surgery. My positive opinion on Dr Long has not changed over time. However, I feel that she could have better staff at Sinai - they did not make for a smooth transition from her private practice to working at Sinai and I have had some problems in them relaying messages & communicating. Future patients should know that Dr Long is an employee of Sinai, which already had an established bariatric program. If a future patient does not feel comfortable with any aspect of Sinai's program, they need to weigh that carefully and discuss their concerns. For example, I decided to return to my original nutritionist instead of continuing aftercare with the nutritionist at Sinai; their plan did not coincide with what worked for my body, but it may work better for other people.
I've heard alot of stories of surgeons either having good competence but bad bedside manner - Dr Long has good skills on both, which is a hard find. One cannot base their success on a program or a surgeon, so it is important for potential patients to know the great majority of the work & success will be the patient's, but it is extremely important to have a supportive & understanding surgeon. I have nothing but good things to say about Dr Long! nfarris79's JourneyClick Here To View
Describe your behavioral and emotional battle with weight control before learning about bariatric surgery.I had been overweight and obese for most of my childhood and all of my adult life. I had begun to consider weight loss surgery in my 20s but had neither the insurance coverage nor emotional resources to pursue the surgery at that time. I had been on diets since age 12, had struggled with binge eating, unhealthy eating concepts, and even a brief brush with bulimia until I failed my last diet (Weight Watchers) at age 30. I got married in a size 22 wedding dress, was profoundly unhappy with my body image, and had been a success in so many other areas of my life - except the one that was most visible and representative to others! |
Last day of freedom on April 29, 2011 8:06 am
Ugh, tomorrow I go back to work officially. I've been working this week on paperwork so it's not like I've been just sitting on my butt. So trying to rest a bit more today and do well on the protein intake. I got 90gm yesterday, amazingly. We had a 2 hour support group last night and it was a bit much, sitting for so long. But WAY more interesting than the preop groups! I think I'll be back, maybe not weekly but at least regularly.
The hubby is back to work and feeling better today. Amazing how prednisone turns people around.
I picked up my eldest cat today - she only weighs 9 lbs - and she decided to give me a big long scratch with her hind claws straight down my sternum. Amazing how the only declawed cat we have gives us more scratches than the other 2. So in addition to looking like I lost a fight with Wolverine on my abdomen, now I have a 5 inch scratch on my chest. I look like I had cardiac, not gastric, bypass. Well, will be swabbing on the neosporin to get that one rid. Planning on wearing dresses for the next few days (because I can't wear my nightgowns to see clients. Bummer.) so I'm hoping the necklines are high enough that no one asks to see my sutures.... Not that you'd imagine people would be so indelicate, but ya never know.
I didn't wake up too early to watch the royal wedding but did wake up early enough to see the after-wedding stuff. I LOVE Kate's dress!!! That is the most beautiful lace I've ever seen. I can imagine it'll be copied ad nauseum, which is a great change from the friggen sleeveless dresses..... I wore a lace dress with a sheer lace bolero at our wedding 2 years ago. It was alot like my Nana's dress and I just love when brides cover their arms, especially in religious ceremonies. It just adds a touch of class. (and hides the arm flab). Just my opinion....
Be the first to leave a comment.
Support not very supportive on April 27, 2011 1:41 pm
So that caretaking tendency that most women have sometimes bites us in the butt. I've been a bit too focused on how my DH's health is that I kinda crashed today. Slept for 2 hours this afternoon after trying to do some greek yogurt w/ s/f jelly and that didn't very much agree with me so I slept the yuckies off. I'm trying not to be too worried about his IBD but worry tends to be a vicious cycle with UC. So..... gotta suck it up and be there for him, when he's the sicker of us two. Even when my guts are screaming AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!! PAY ATTENTION TO MEEEEEEE!!!!!!
Rant over.
1 comment | Leave a comment.
Today it starts on April 26, 2011 7:48 am
I resume my relationship with foods today. Our re-introduction hasn't been too bad. I started at 10:30a with my concoction of ground turkey, gravy from thankgsgiving and chicken broth. All blended together with an immersion handblender and frozen for the past month. It defrosted kinda funky, almost like freezing it broke down the particles even more. But, despite appearances, it smelled & tasted GOOD!! I added quite a bit of thyme & garlic in the prep, so it smelled like thanksgiving in a tiny bowl. Literally tiny. I bought these little glass bowls that have a max capacity of 2oz. So perfect for this! I got it down without any problems. I followed it up with a tiny spoonful of mashed potatoes, which I'd also prepared with chicken broth and froze a month ago. That was not worth the effort. I'll probably just throw it away - real potatoes obviously don't freeze very well. But, very pleased on the meat concoction. Also pleased on how easily I got it all down. So, that's about 14gm protein that went down without a struggle. The protein drink of 30gm was not so friendly this morning, but was afraid I wouldn't get all my protein in on pureed foods. Yeah, fear unfounded. I'll be eating this stuff all day.
Can't wait to have some tea though! This 30/30 rule is gonna be hard but necessary to do or I'll never meet my goals (I almost said "meat" my goals.... ha ha ha!)
Hopefully I'll find the motivation to get back to work.... I have a 2 inch thick stack of paperwork to work on. Ugh! Dreading Saturday but hopefully having food in my system again will give me the motivation for seeing clients again. Back to reality....
Also a bit worried about DH and the cat. Princess didn't want to take her meds this morning so threw them up. Gave them to her again, she threw it up again. I think she just didn't wanna. Almost like she had a case of the foamies..... And DH seems to be having a flare-up. Again. Um, aren't I supposed to be the sick one? Fortunately I've been feeling better so have been trying to take care of him. And nagging him to call his GI dr. And STOP FRIGGEN STRESSING! Think us RNY-bariatric people are the only ones who do things against their own health? Try having UC and being a worry-wart. That's the definition of causing your own medical condition..... Ok, gotta stop ranting and start being productive at home.
Be the first to leave a comment.
Making the most of head hunger on April 23, 2011 3:04 pm
Happy Easter everyone!
I'm still recovering from Thursday where I pushed myself WAY too far and tried to put too much into the day. Oh well, lesson learned. I have a bit of pain near my biggest incision/drain site on my lower left side, kinda like a nagging muscle pain. It's a little better now after resting most of the day and seems to feel better when I put pressure on it when I'm walking around. Sitting, I feel no pain anywhere. I've been sleeping better, even on my sides! I'm meeting liquid & protein goals for the past few days, but had just no will to try any semi-solids like jello or pudding, even though my surgeon ok'd them. Here's where Food Network comes in - - -
For those who have been dealing with nausea at the thought of getting more protein or liquids in their mouth, I've discovered that head hunger can be your friend! I've been watching Food Network & Travel Channel (which really should just be called Food In Places channel) today and feel that it actually helps me not feel so turned off by food. Some stuff looks absolutely great and when I start to feel that way, I have another cup of Unjury chicken broth or a few more sips of crystal light. Still quite detached from a real hunger feeling and watching food porn isn't making me crazy but just facilitating me getting the protein & liquids in. Who'da thunk it??
Be the first to leave a comment.
Full & done on April 22, 2011 9:28 am
So the new feeling of full just hit me. It's almost like a stretched feeling across my rib cage at boob-level. I guess I really need to follow the 30-30 rule if I'm ever going to get this protein pudding down. Don't get me wrong, it's really dang yummy! I mixed chocolate fudge s/f pudding with my Cytomax chocolate protein powder and made with organic lactose free milk, and added a bit of cocoa to make it less sweet. It's SOOOOO good. But about 3 spoonfuls into it, I realized my old habit of downing a cup of pudding in 5 min is going to die hard and die quick. It's a good thing to listen to your body....
Which is what I didn't do yesterday. I tried to pack in entirely too much and had some frustration (e.g. went to 2 pharmacies to fill this script for yet another yeast infection - I'm running out of orafices to be infected - and no one heard of this cream!). SO I sat in the CVS parking lot and bawled out of frustration & pain. Went to pick up my husband and just cried the whole way home. I'm not wanting to stress him out more with the UC but I just really can't control my emotions at times. It really started out as a good day but being the overachiever, I pushed myself too far and too long. So today I'm taking it easy, riding the forum and just minimal goals - get my nutrients & do some laundry.
I made the decision to restart my practice on Saturday April 30. I did the first step by emailng most of the clients to let them know. Maybe Monday I'll get on calling the rest.... Just really don't feel like talking and being "on" for anyone right now.
Be the first to leave a comment.
|
Archive
Tags
|
|
Waiting for Approval
Send Message
Member Card
Block Member
Comment by 
Comment by 
Comment by 
