Howdy all!  I've been missing for a while.  AWOL if you will.  Been out living and doing and carrying on.  I'll be 3 years out on September 8 and have been doing great.  However...............

Got a little ****y in my post-operative days.  Little full of myself.  I wanted to tell you all that I just spent 5 days in the hospital.  I went to the ER last Thursday with severe abdominal pain.   Turns out it was a bleeding peptic ulcer.  Caused by................ taking ALEVE! 

ANY AND ALL NSAIDS ARE BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD FOR GASTRIC BYPASS PATIENTS.

I didn't think anything of it.  I'm strong, I'm healthy, I'm invincible.  I'm an IDIOT!  My doctor prescribed me Tylenol or Norco for my bursitis pain.  Tylenol did squat.  Norco left me feeling like a zombed out bombie.  (Note to my idiot self -- you really can cut the damn pills in half).  Realized afterwards I haven't been feeling well lately.  A week before my ER visit I noticed my stools were getting dark.  Really dark.  Turns out there was blood in my stools.  Which is why my guts hurt so bad. 

Ulcer is no longer bleeding and is healing very quickly.  I need to be certain to NEVER take NSAIDS again, but will not have any further eating restrictions.

Another item I had gotten lax on was taking my vitimins.  I'd skip once our twice thinking "no big deal" pretty soon I was skipping all except I'd take them once or twice a week and call it good.  Let me tell you now -- NOT GOOD!  When admitted to the hospital, my hemoglobin was a 7.5 (it's supposed to be 12) and I was severely anemic.  

So.........a word for the wise from an old broad -- TAKE YOUR DAMN VITAMINS and WATCH WHAT OTHER MEDS YOU TAKE!  Treat your tummy like a fragile crystal vase and handle with care!

Miss you all -- will show my face around here more often to keep me in line!  Keep up the good work.

MoMo