Benefits of Bariatric Surgery 

This most recent Sunday’s worship focused on listening.  Listening to the voice of God, to His direction, to His plan~So, I took a few moments of introspection and counted my post-weight loss surgery blessings as I HEAR them.  I am sooooo grateful for this renewed opportunity I have been given and can hardly comprehend the transformation from a year ago.  So here goes…

• My sensitivity to heat and sun is gone=more beach time with my kids
• Increased endurance=hour long walks with my hubby at 5am
• No more adult acne=the healthiest skin, hair and nails I have ever had
• Greater range of voice in song=joyful Sunday morning hymn singing
• No more migraines=no more daily use of ibuprofen
• Decreased depression=lower dosing of anti-depressant=fewer sexual side effects and weight gain issues
• Clearer mental focus=better productivity at home, at work and in my volunteer capacity
• My OCD is under control=good news for EVERYONE
• Diabetes sent into remission within 60 days of surgery=no more pokes.  None. Nada.  No more insulin and no more weight gain!
• All cholesterol levels and liver enzymes are normal=decreased risk of cardiac complications
• Not one double-digit item in my closet=tiny clothes and tiny shoes that I adore and that I feel pretty in
• A complete family transition to whole, clean eating (and living)=a smaller eco footprint, lower grocery bill and a healthier existance overall
• And finally, drum-roll, please…The greatest gift of all:  A fully functioning “full button”=eating like a normal person instead of a trucker with a tapeworm

There are still a few things I need to make peace with.  105.5# lost in less than nine months is a lot to wrap your head around.  I am, in varying ways, a different person.  So, I have the list of things for which I must LISTEN for a message of comfort and guidance:

• I have reactive hyperglycemia.  No one warned me of this and I wasn’t expecting it, but it is now a part of my life.  Just like a diabetic, I must always be watchful and prepared for an emergency.
• I have an astounding amount of hanging skin.  Simply astounding.  It’s everywhere, from my arms to the bottom of my feet.  Plastic surgery is a dream away along with several thousand dollars, so somehow I just have to deal.
• My body image is suffering.  I am a size 4/6, with a BMI of 24.4, normal in almost every way but STILL FEEL FAT!  Really?  It’s crazy and I might need counseling.
• I am 40 pounds lighter than my 12 year-old daughter.  That hurts both of us.  I think when I was heavy, she felt like we were kindred spirits in heaviness.  Now, not so much.  I don’t want her to end up in my shoes twenty years down the road.  It worries me.

So, as the journey continues, I will keep my ears open.  I know the road ahead of me is long and arduous and I will need all the help I can get!

96 pounds are lost.  12 more to go.  Seven months tomorrow marks the anniversary of my RNY.  

I have lost very fast, exceeding the medical professionals’ expectations.  I managed to keep all my hair but have an insane amount of loose skin.  Short sleeves are a daunting proposition.  I will always have to wear boy short bottoms at the beach.  I should be strength-training to maintain my muscle mass but can’t find time beyond my daily hour of aerobic activity.

My bra size has shrunk to a 34B and could actually be a 34A.  I don’t have too many curves—but am built more like my 15 year old son!  J

I have reactive hypoglycemia that catches me off guard if I don’t eat often through the day.  I am still learning to cope with that and to be prepared.  You would think after 6 years with Type II diabetes, I would learn.

One of my best friends and co-worker said a week or two ago that I have the same head with a REALLY different body.  Yup.

I don’t recognize myself anymore.  I am a girl in size 5/6 with bones sticking out in places I didn’t even know they were!  It’s very strange.  I am small.  I worry because at my goal weight, I will weigh 37 pounds less than my 12 year old daughter.  We can’t share clothes anymore.  My husband outweighs me now by 50 pounds.  Those roles were always reversed.  People tell me it is time to STOP losing weight.  I am skinny.  Some think too skinny.  I have to point out the fat around my middle that I hope is part of the last 12 pounds to go so that they stop criticizing me…

So, the anxiety mounts.  If you figure out BMI’s from where I am now (26) to where I want to be (23.9), there is potential for that slippery slope to underweight if my loss continues much after goal.  I have been one of those lucky ones that has not had a fluctuation since I started this process.  No ups.  Just downs.  So, the time is nearing for me to begin maintaining my loss.  Problem is, I really don’t care to eat.  I am not generally an emotional eater, so I have been able to focus on good food in reasonable amounts.  I am never hungry.  I eat to live.  Thus, I must plan for hyper-vigilance to make sure I eat enough.    Can you believe it?  I have to plan to eat enough.

My goal is 144.  I will go as low as 134.  I want to plan for plastics in the next year, specifically my abdomen and arms and hope to lose a few more pounds of SKIN then.

This is all uncharted territory for me.  I never imagined results like this and am exceedingly thankful for all of the benefits of my RNY.  I am just struggling to wrap my head around the new me, with the new body and the new set of physical needs.  I know that I am in the right place, though, and feel blessed by the OH community and all the support each and every one of you offers.  

It will all be okay…