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This will be my new mantra.  For some reason, I believe my purpose in life it to take on other's stressors while dealing with my own.  For years I have said I would like to go through just one year without and major life changing stressors.  The one thing I asked my family after I had RNY was to allow me to get through my first six months without any major events at home.  Two and a half weeks out, and it was like a self-fulling prophecy:  I came home from work early due to a low energy level.  Thank God I came home early.  The door bell rang (our door bell never rings are we are way out in the boonies and it takes a real effort to get to our home).  I was greeted at the door by our friendly local cop and four people in suits with guns out and a search warrant in hand.  I wont post much about this event here other than to say it was the culmination of a childhood prank that my 21 year old daughter allowed herself to get caught up in.  It has led to her recent arrest (immediately released), her face being all over the news, the immediate loss of the job she loved, serious court dates and implications in her life, and us retaining a very, very expensive Pittsburgh attorney who we cannot afford but don't really have a choice.

During this time my work has become extremely stressful and unfulfilling.  I'm not sure how much of the added stress has been from getting behind on work because of surgery, or how much is from the above situation sort of short-circuiting me, or how much is because I've been doing this work for 10 years and I am really, really burnt out.  I typically have one or two cases out of about 15 that I actually like going to see.  Right now, that doesn't exist.  I literally dread every appointment I go out to every day of the week.

So starting the WLS journey, I promised myself and my family I would put my full effort into this, hit the gym every chance possible, and follow my plan to a tee.  So far the plan is great.  As posted earlier, I won the contest at my gym, which means I did not miss a day for 6 weeks after starting.  Since the arrest I've been averaging 1-2 days at the gym, because the scheduling of the gym with all of the other appointments has just not been happening.  It upsets me that this is the part of my whole plan that has been slacking because I've made it a priority, and life stressors have squished that for a few weeks.  The arrest happened the day of my 3 month follow up appointment (which was really at 3 1/2 months).  It happened literally as I was running late for my appointment.  Agents called me and I had to go out and prepare my daughter for being arrested, while I had to continue to my surgeon's appointment.  I knew she would be released that day (at least I was trusting they were telling me the truth).  The appointment went well and fast (got my lab results that day which were fantastic), and raced back to get to the courthouse in time to get there as she was walking out. 

So knowing that physically I'm doing great and my love ones are healthy and I have work and my husband has work... I am blessed to be stressed.

Woke up this morning feeling terrible.  Went on to work and was going to try to skip out on supervision but went through with it anyway.  Went to the gym thinking there was no way I would finished my first day of the Level 2 (C25K) program.  Not only did I do it, but I did 15 minutes of cool down on a bike while drinking my protein drink.  Now I have a little more energy.

I have WAY too much paperwork to catch up on.  The pile seems to continue to grow since I had surgery.  It's not only work paperwork (although that is really bad at the moment), it our personal paperwork too.  That and house cleaning seems to have taken a back burner to working out.

My priority list has shifted.

Oh, and results from week 5 of the gym contest were up today:  I'm still in the lead with Jeff at 54 points.  My weigh-in is tomorrow and I am very bloated.  I have to have dropped at least 2 points from last Tues to secure my lead.  I'm not sure I've been this competitive in awhile.

Time flies, didn't realize how long it has been since I wrote here.  After week 4 results from the gym contest, I am still in the lead.  Ok, I'm tied in the lead and trying to hold my own.  The funny thing is, I am in the lead with a previous pastor of ours.  The coordinator at the gym told me he actually bulks up about 25 pounds before the contest (he was in a biggest loser gym contest last year), so he can drop quickly.  Up until now he has actually lost a little more than me overall in the competition but the gym tried to circumvent his tactics by only given credit for 2 pounds a week.  The coordinator doesn't feel he can keep it up since he dropped 17 pounds in the first week.  I can't say much, he's a good man and he does work out hard.

That said, I am starting the level 2 portion of my C25K running program next Monday and will stay there for a month.  I think I can transition to it easily, but I know I will have to push myself next week.

My NSV for the week... went to Walmart with my (21 year old daughter) yesterday.  As we were checking out, she needed to use the restroom.  I was waiting for her outside of the restroom, she looked right at me and kept walking until I called her back.  She was embarrassed but for those few seconds she did not recognize me :-)

Still stressed with work, always behind on paperwork.  I am making the gym a priority each day and other things (mainly house cleaning) are suffering.  Taking my vitamins plus a lot of Biotin.  I have notice some hair loss each day (it's noticeable to me because it's diffirent than normal loss, it comes out with the roots attached).  So far it's not been too much, but I'm told it will continue for 3 months then stop.

The diet has not been hard at all.  I'm probably actually not eating enough or frequently enough.  I tend to drink protein for breakfast or around my workout time.  Then I have 3 oz of protein twice a day and if I snack I try to make it a high protein snack.  I don't crave sweets at all.  I mostly drink water.  The weight continues to come off at a reasonable weight.  And there are new bumps in my body I don't recognize, I think they are called muscles.

Had my first Gym weigh-in from my points contest.  I have made it to the gym everyday it's been open, taken in my healthy recipes, turned in my weekly workout card, and today I had my weigh-in.  Granted, you are only allowed 1 point for every 1/2 pound lost up to 2 pounds a week... I lost 6 pounds since my last weigh-in.  Now I just need to consecutively lose 2 more each week for the next 4 weeks.  I might miss one gym day due to a trip, but we'll see what happens.

One tiny bleep with a possible bloodclot in my left lung.  In the gym and really starting to enjoy it.  It's at a local rehab center near our hospital.  It's mostly a handful of elderly people in the mornings, and doctors from the hospital in the evening, and a good mix midday.  I start a contest there next week based on a point system... point for each day of attending, point for each 1/2 pound lost, point for bringing in a healthy recipe and a point for turning in a weekly workout log.  I am also starting the C25K program the 1st of the month, and have committed myself to taking the 9 week program and making it last 9 months; hopefully getting me to the point of comfortable running a 5k on my surgiversary next May 6th.  This is the first time I actually feel (literally) like I am getting something out of a gym and a weight circuit (my butt muscles are feeling it).

I had a rough week with holding things down but it's improved.  Fish, for whatever reason, has been rough on me, so I'm mostly sticking to chicken tenderloins and ground turkey.  I did buy a bag of gluten free oatmeal and had some on a day nothing else would stay down.  It was nice to have that option.  I'm stil probably not drinking as much fluids as a should, and I'm still experimenting with various protein shakes.  Currently I use About Time protein mixed into a SF Carnation Instant Breakfast. 

I met with my Dietician last week, and had my 1 month follow up the week before.  The doctor and the NUT are both happy with my progress.  I did have to ask for blood work to be ordered to find my blood levels for vitamins and everything else.  The NUT drew up the order and I am to have it done 2 weeks prior to my next appointment at a little over 3 months out.

The weight is coming down slowly; never going up but coming down slowly.  I've had my share of life's stressors since surgery and I'm still holding my own.

Last Thursday I went to NYC with a friend for an audition for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.  Although the audtion/testing did not go as planned, we had a good time.  Most of that time was from walking.  We initially walked from our hotel (77th)  to ABC studios (66th) to check out where we were going.  We then walked back to our hotel.  At this point realized we walked 2 miles before really even getting started.  After a short nap we headed out for a 5:00 audtion.  We then decided we would hike it down to Time Squre and beyond.  Again, not realizing we were hiking as much as we were... there are just too many distractions in NYC.  From 77th down to about 36th, with side streets and several diversions, and eventually back to our hotel room around 10:30.  About half way back, the side (larger incision/dent side) started pulling and the back and hips started cramping.  After looking at a map and calculating, we now realized we had hiked 10 miles (a little less than one month out from surgery).  Although this was WAY COOL in that I was able to go 10 miles, it was probably a bit of a stupid thing to do.  I regressed a little from progress I had made.  Most of the weekend food and water was difficult to get down.  I have backed off to a mostly mush diet again and a lot of protein drinks.  And my shoulder is again screwed up, very similar to right after surgery (stressed a muscle in it).

So of course today is the day I am one month out.  I had an appointment for an assessment at my local rehab center/gym to start an exercise program.  I also signed my daughter (21) and husband up as well.  I wasn't sure how I would do with how this weekend went (sore muscles, nauseous for the first time last night, and a shoulder out).  But I went and it went well.  I'm looking at doing cardio Mon-Sat, and circuit machines Mon, Weds, and Fri.  I probably won't start the abdominal machines until the beginning of next month as I was told not until at least 6 weeks out.  Although I have been doing really well overall, I still have slight difficulty (it's a slow process) getting in and out of the car (the twist in and out), and I still have difficulty opening heavy doors like our slider.  So no twisting machines or abdominal for a few more weeks.

Moral of this story:  Eventhough you can walk 10 miles at 4 weeks out, you shouldn't do it.  Take the Subway or a Cab.

I can only tell you what I've learned so far.  At my first informational meeting I met the other surgeon at Hope Bariatrics, and when I asked him the question, he stated, "I'm assuming you have a gastro guy, ask them."  I was really annoyed by this.  I got more answers from the nutritionist and my surgeon later.  But his initial answer almost made me back out of surgery.  Mainly because I was hospitalized in early 2009 with incredible stomach pains and was really "out of it" for several days in the hospital.  Before leaving the hospital (after days of one test after the other), the doc came in and told me "you're a medical mystery, we're just going to treat you for IBS), and gave me 4 scripts.  I left to go on a cruise with my sisters the following week, not really getting sick much, but I was also low carbing through the cruise and after.  About a week after the cruise (3 weeks from hospitalization), I got a call from the gastro's office saying, "It's not bad, but we need you to come in.  You have celiac disease."  I followed up, and bascially they handed me a little brochure on Celiac and a diet.  When I asked the doc (head of this fairly big gastro/endo place) why he did not check for Celiac when I was in the hospital.  He stated, "fat people don't get Celiac."  I'm not kidding.  Needless to say, I never went back, and they never asked me to come back.. they were content to give me this brochure on Celiac and not see me again.  Oh, the way they caught it... a random pathologist going through my tests and biopsies happen to catch it in the lab.. the test for Celiac was never ordered at that time.  The endo place did have me go in and have the blood test after the fact just to confirm it was Celiac, and the blood test was positive (after I had been off wheat for 2 weeks at that point because of low carbing).

So this has led to more than two years of a Celiac diet, a lot of online connections, lots of reading, and taking control of my diet.  The one problem I have had, everyone I know that has been diagnosed with Celiac and went gluten free, had an intial big weight loss.  Not me.  I stayed completely the same.  And when I chose to use gluten free products, I would gain weight quickly (any rice products).. so I fiddled a lot with going completely grain free over the past year.  Although I felt better, I still didn't lose.

So I started researching Celiac and Bypass.  There's not a whole lot of information out there as you can probably see, and the docs have not been that helpful.  The good part is my doc had no heistation to do the surgery on me.  From talking to people (not any valid research), just what I've gotten over the past year.... Bypass will help Celiac in most cases, stay the same in some, and can get worse in some.  So those were odds I was willing to take.  I won't even think about testing this theory until I'm at least a year out from surgery.

So I'm about 2 1/2 weeks out of surgery, and down 16 pounds.  My recovery has went really well.  I've had absolutely no nausea and/or vomitting.  The one thing I've notice that is a huge advantage we have.... I gave up bread 2 years ago and really don't miss it.  Others that go through bypass struggle over the bread issue, most can never eat it again because it gets stuck.  I also gave up pop/soda entirely at the start of my 8 month pre diet.  I don't miss that either.  These are two of the biggest hurdles I see people strugging with from bypass, and I've already got those out of my system and head.

The things I have had to keep in my mind.... One, you can't have broth in the hospital.  I took my own GF stock to the hospital.  I let everyone know, and they even had signs on my tray that said, "no broth".  Two, some of the follow up diet is not within our realm.... during the soft foods stage they tend to push oatmeal and cream of wheat.. which are out.  Three, I had to work with the nutritionist on finding GF vitamins.  I use Bariatric Advantage chewables, which are all GF.  They run $119 for a 3-month supply.  This is something that I will have to take for the rest of my life.  I figured I could handle $40 a month.

I am just starting back on some regular foods.  You basically have to eat protein first, and in my opinion, there is not room for much else after.  So, sans the oatmeal and cream of wheat, the post diet is mostly gluten free anyway.  I have yet to even feel hungry since the surgery.  I just follow the plan of when and how I'm supposed to eat.

Feel free to write me with any questions.

--Fran

Today is one of the low energy days.  I slept in until 8.  I really don't have any daytime appointments today; just after school appointments.  I could be cleaning house or working on paperwork, but I'm sitting her surfing OH and FB.  I really think OH has become my new cross addiction and I'm not sure that's a bad thing. 

I'm not at a stage where I can start exercising yet.  Today is payday, so part of this pay will go towards me starting a fitness program that my Bariatric center helps pay for.  They pay half the assessment fee -fifty-  and then I believe the cost of the program is -twenty-five- a month.  It is at a local rehab center/gym near our local hospital (not where I had surgery).  I am actually looking forward to starting the program because it'll be nice just to have a new "me" thing to do. 

Also, my Baby Bullet came in.  It's at the office.  I'll pick it up when I get my check today.  The doc said I should be ready to start on foods this Friday, but I am a little hesitant.  I think the Baby Bullet will come in handy for some time. 

I need to do something about some clothes soon.  No, things haven't gotten big already, but with upcoming surgery I was determined to not buy any new clothes this past year.  Most of pants have buttons and/or zippers and I have not been able to wear these because of my incisions.  I went to the hospital in a pair of jeans and could not close them because of the gas and incisions.  So I have one pair of pants that have an elastic top that I've been wearing every day and washing out frequently.  I only have 3 different acceptable tops to go with these for work.

I think I'm going to hit a Good Will or Sal Army store to try to pic up some random big t-shirt and pants for working out.  I'm determined to not buy anything new for some time.

I think Saturday morning will definitely be house cleaning time and paperwork catch (both work and personal).

So it's 10 days out, and I have to make plans for my husband birthday (May 16th).  I felt bad, because he was so there for me at the hospital and the days after, and he put up with a lot of crap from me.  And now his birthday is the following week, and I have had no time, energy or means to shop.. I've only been allowed to drive for a few days. 

Fortunately while surfing on Sunday, I found Cirque du Soleil is in town (Pittsburgh).  We have been to two previous Cirques, one at Disney, and one in Vegas.  We have abolutely loved them.  So to surprise him (which is nearly impossible to do), I bought Cirque tickets online Sunday for a show on Tuesday night. 

I also wanted to plan a nice dinner out for him.  This is a real challenge right now as I've started purees a few days ago.  I looked through every restaurant's menus in the Strip District (near the Cirque tent), and found one:  Cioppinos.  I did something I really, really didn't think I could accomplish at this stage of the game.  I found a restaurant that had tuna tartar on their appetizer menu, and was mostly a nice steak restaurant.  It was a very quaint, very nice restaurant.  There was a little oddness in pushing my water to the side (I'm sure they were required to have it on the table because it was kind of a little thing they did of pouring water out of a chilled water bottle).  My husband then ordered an appetizer, a salad, a steak, and two sides.  And I ordered my Tuna Tartara, for my entree.  I think the waiter became uncomfortable.  He first brought out the bread and put it next to me... so I moved it over to my husbands side.  This part is a normal thing for me already because of my Celiac history.  The water guy kept coming around not knowing what to do with me... I have a feeling he really wanted to put my glass back by me.  We were at a 4 seat table so  I had pushed it all the way over to the other end.  Then when they did bring my food, it had a salad and crustinis on the side, so I removed the crusitinis and put them on my husband's bread plate, and pushed the salad way off to the side.  I could very much tell I frustrated the waiter.  Then we spent about an hour eating our main courses.  I think it was about 3 oz of tuna tartar, which is nearly solid protein.  It was absolutely wonderful.  I also had about one teaspoon of my husbands cheddar mash potatoes which were so good.  I nearly finished the tuna.  What was amazing is my husband slowed down to eat, for the first time in his life, and spent most of an hour eating with me. 

The show was really good. Admittedly, this was the least favorites of the Cirques we've seen. This one was Totem, a sort of Indian, primitive themed show.  We really, really enjoyed the first half.  The second half was somewhat boring, which is hard to accomplish for a Cirque.  I think it might have been because of the droning drums throughout the entire second half.  We still really enjoyed our night out, and I accomplished going out for a really nice dinner, and seeing a really nice show only 10 days out.

--Fran

I was hesitant to start purees this early, but the doc gave me the go ahead for this Friday.  Yesterday, I ate a scrambled egg for breakfast (scrabbled with extra milk and Spike seasoning and a little cheese melted in), and made into a mush.  I did finished the entire egg and it was one of the best tasting eggs of my life.

I spent the day with my daughter running a lot of errands.  And I even managed to do some house cleaning today.  I had a lot of buzzing energy and wonder if this is from the surgery, the diet, or the start of vitamins.  That said, I drove for the fist time today.  It is a little difficult getting in and out of the car; the having to twist in part.  Also, for whater reason, turns seem to bother my abdomen even more that bumps.

So yes, I started my vitamins, and yes they are huge.  I don't mind them though.  The are almost a treat and when sucked on instead of just chewed the remind me of Ice Breakers.

After a huge amount of grocery shopping, we came home and I made dinner for myself.  A concoction of a spoon full of low fat refried beans, a couple chunks of canned chicken, and some shredded cheese.  I microwaved this for a mixed and really beat it with a fork.  Then I added a spoonful of fat free sour cream and really whipped it.  Again, I managed to eat the whole thing... about two ounces.

Not wanting to jinx myself, but so far nothing has made me sick to my stomach.  I take my time and eat very little bites.

Today I made another similar scrambled egg for breakfast.  I had a scoop of fast free small curd cottage cheese with a little sugar free blueberry preserves on top.  I chew these things excessively since my food processor is not here yet and might not be here until next Thursday.

The diet buzz... got up at 3:30 a.m. today because I could not sleep.  I read up on my gastric bypass forums, went outside for awhile, and walked around the house some.

It's been a good morning so far.