Well, I was surprised to see, after a week of holiday eating, that I weigh 117 pounds.  I am still within the normal range in weight charts, but I think I'm looking a bit scrawny.    My mother spent the holidays trying to feed me and convince me to go see a metabolic specialist.   I still feel that I have a rebound in my future, based on my current eating habits, and I'm keeping a close eye on things.    I am certainly NOT body dysmorphic.   I have not convinced myself that I am a fat person or anything like that.   I know I am thin - I do not look emaciated.    I want to give this a few more months before I talk to my surgeon about going on Creon.   I am due to have labs redrawn here soon to check on my A, D and iron, and I'll know more then.  

I definitely poop more with sugar/flour, which I think has contributed to my recent weight loss.   I wonder if, as my malabsorption increases over time, if I will poop less frequently, and thus gain a bit of weight back.

I went to a formal event for New Year's Eve, and felt like Cinderella at the ball.   I wore a long black velvet skirt and a gold off-the-shoulder evening blouse, high heels and (lo and behold!) fish net stockings!!!   I felt so dainty and petite.   I danced the night away, the first time since losing weight, and had such a nice time.    I hopefully will post a picture soon.

I haven't done any updating since my one year surgiversary.    My weight seems to have stabilized between 120 and 124, and I currently weigh 120.   I am wearing a size two or an XS.   It's so strange to wake up every single morning and put on a pair of fitted waist pants, AND a belt and they zip right up and never change in how they feel around my waist.   Pretty cool, huh??   I eat an incredible amount of food, and a great variety.   My gas issues, although certainly still significant, are better than they were.  I can now eat a cookie or a small roll and not drive into the next county with the fumes.   My only real issue is sugar.   If I eat a lot of it, especially something really concentrated like jelly beans, it literally goes right through me.    I will start in with diarrhea 30 minutes or so after ingesting the culprit food, and it will keep me up all night.   

 I just had my labs redone, because my one year ones were crappy and they are still...well...crappy.     Despite trying to up my protein and adding an extra dry A & D, I'm low on all, and my zinc too.   I have been taking Repliva for my iron for three months, and my hemoglobin, although it's come up a bit, is still low.   The good news is that my PTH has come down.  Interestingly, because I'd read here on OH that DS'ers tend to be low on zinc and copper, I took the liberty of adding a few extra labs on my lab order sheet, and now know that I need to supplement the zinc.   My doc, although completely unaware of the zinc/copper thing, was impressed that I was so informed and did not admonish me for creating my own lab orders, LOL.

I am now taking 50,000 of D once a week, adding some zinc and more A, and the doctor is trying to figure out what to do about my low hemoglobin and iron.  

Despite the lab issues, I am thrilled with this DS.   I love my mobility and I literally do not hurt anywhere.  I feel like I'm 20 instead of 46.   I love wearing high heels and sharp clothes.  I love having men treat me like a dainty little thing.   To newbies, I can't stress enough the importance of getting your vitamins, protein and water in.   Even though I'm uber compliant, I still have lab issues, so make sure you get your labs monitored regularly! 

I will post some new pics on my profile tomorrow!

It's hard to believe that one year has passed.    It's been probably the most amazing year of my life.    Here's the good, the bad and the ugly on what has transpired.

The good?   I weigh 124 pounds.   124 pounds!!!!    Never in my life did I dare dream to weigh this little.   I had 145 set in my head, and even 135 seemed like a far-fetched dream.    I can run, jump, skip and do a cartwheel.  I have been renovating a house and climb up and down ladders with the greatest of ease.   I feel like Wonder Woman.  The PA and her nurse commented at my check-up on how petite and small framed I am.   They told me  that it looks like I've never been overweight a day in my life.   I now am surprised to get what I call the "I hate you cause you're thin" glare from other women.  It's that up and down kind of look that says "How DARE you be that age and that thin?"   I know - I used to give it to women myself.   If they only knew, hmmm.......It makes me feel kind of guilty sometimes.     Men rush to open doors for me, and wait on me at the paint counter.   This sounds silly, but do you know what a church key is?   One of those little metal things you use to pop open paint can lids?    I've been buying paint for many years and have never gotten one for free from the paint man.   Since I have been rehabbing this house and buying paint frequently, I've gotten four of them!!!   When I was fat, it was "Hey, buy your own woman."   More good?  I wear a size two.   Shopping is difficult up here because I rarely find anything smaller than a six, and I am swimming in the few fours I can find.   I looked at a catalog the other day and thought to myself "I am now thin enough to wear whatever I want in here!"    I don't even have a panni to hide.  

Okay....The bad?   My labs were kind of messy - I am anemic, my protein was low, my PTH was high and she is sure that based on that, my A & D are going to stink too.   I have always had really wonderful hemoglobin, so I was surprised to see this.   It probably explains why I have been getting dizzy lately.    I have been put on Repliva for the anemia, have been ordered back on protein shakes for supplementation and she's going to confer with the internist about my PTH.     My PA also is concerned that I am still losing, even though the Tanita scale shows me to be well into the "underfat" range (13.1 body fat) and after trying to analyze how many calories I need to eat, finally threw up her hands and said "Oh - just eat as much as you can!"   (Who would thunk it?)  My family members think I've gotten too thin and keep asking me when I'm going to stop.   I did stop - my body just hasn't caught up yet.   I am hopeful that with the ten or so rebound most DS'ers experience, I will be back up to 135 or so in a couple of years.

The ugly?   Definitely still skin issues.   I have noticed some rebound since the beginning of the summer though, and my PA told me that we have some rebound for up to two years.   I need to start lifting weights too.  At any rate, I will never EVER regret the day I had this surgery.   My PA feels these are all workable deficiencies and that my body is just playing "catch-up" from the very rapid weight loss.    I am going to have to be extra-extra vigilant about this, because I don't want these issues to get out of hand.    I LOVE my DS!

For my eleventh month, I'm recording a loss of seven pounds and am down to 128.   My goal was 135, and the big thing I learned this month is that just because I've set a goal, it doesn't mean my body wants to be at that goal!   I am a bit concerned about this loss, because I've been eating like there's no tomorrow and still losing.  I AM very active, and even more so lately because I have bought a house and am in the process of getting it fixed up.   My hope is that I will eventually rebound back up to 135 and stay at that goal for life.   My skin issues are pretty significant now, and even though I look good in clothes, I look pretty darn scary out of them.  I went tubing and swimming today and used the restroom at the state park.   When I walked out of the bathroom, I actually scared myself in the mirror, this skinny lady with all the saggy skin!!!   I just spent all of my money buying this house (I didn't want a mortgage) so now do not have money for plastics.   Oh well, I guess I can either take the money out of the house somewhere down the road, or just go into big-time self-acceptance mode.     I bought an entire wardrobe in a size four thinking I'd be at that weight for a while, but now all of them are getting too big, and I can't find size two's up here.   Eleven months ago, did I ever think I'd be whining about my size four's being too big?   NOOOOOO WAAYYYY!!!!  
I feel fantastic, I did a cartwheel yesterday, I can run and jump and skip.  I spent an entire day squatting, scraping paint and still have energy to go for a bike ride in the evening, and I thank God EVERY DAY for this wonderful gift!

Julie

Yup - I'm headiing out for a cruise to the Bahamas tonight, and my secret goal was to be at 135.    That is right smack in the middle of my goal range, and I knew I'd feel pretty darn happy right there.

Lo and behold, stepped on the goal this morning and I'm 135!   I just can't believe it!    I am down 133 pounds from my surgery weight and 147 pounds from my highest ever weight.    I've lost a whole me!