6 Week Post Op Checkup

Met with my surgeon last week for my 6 week checkup. He said I am doing well, wants me to kick up the exercising. I haven't done anything other than walking yet. I have pretty bad lower back pain and I am so afraid of hurting myself. I have an appt with my PC on Monday about my back-hoping she sends me to a chiropracter or something. My back constantly feels like I need to crack it, and when I press/rub on the right side of my spine I feel something sort of floating/moving when I press on it.

He said I can stop the Vit C, Vit D and Calcium..just need to stay on the Multi Vitamin and B12, don't need to take iron either. I am going to get some Biotin..hoping that will help with any hair loss I may get..none yet. I told him about the constipation and taking MOM, and he said he would prefer me to only take MOM if absolutely needed. He wants me to take some daily fiber instead (Metamucil etc).

I also realized that when the NUT gave me my info about Stage 4/Stage 5 plans that the food list within it is just a COMMON FOODS list (with portion examples/protein amounts).

For the past 2 weeks I was limiting myself to only the foods on the list. DOH!

Another thing I need to get more info about is Carbs on Stage 5...my NUT didn't give me a Carb # to stay under...just says "Fruits & Vegs and carbs are ok now. Limited # of complex carbs each day"...ok...what does limited mean?? I need a number dammit! I did get a calorie # goal for Stage 5..she said 800 cal per day for the first year. I suppose I can simply use the calories as a guide...but still..maybe I'm being too needy?

Eating slowly is still a work in progress, but doing great on getting my protein in and fluids as well. Just need to concentrate on eating slower still. Chewing things very well, its just the time between bites that I am struggling with...very odd concept to me..I was always a shoveler.

Only 2 more pounds until I am under to "100 lbs to go" mark! Its odd...seeing the "# of lbs to lose" going down has a more positive impact on me than seeing the "# of lbs lost" going up.

You might consider an orthopedist and physical therapy instead of a chiropractor.  A lot of times a chiro will "adjust" your back, but not do anything to teach you how to maintain that, so you need to go back for more adjustments.  Physical therapy can leave you with lifelong skills to strengthen your back and give you relief.  

Did you have lab work?  What were your numbers for Calcium?  Why does your surgeon disagree with the ASMBS recommendation that says we need 1500mg of Calcium for life?  Did you have a DEXA scan?  (We leech calcium from our bones if we don't get enough, so you can't tell from blood work, only a bone scan.)  What were your iron and ferritin levels?  (It's best to get your lab results and track them yourself in a spreadsheet.  Lots of times docs tell us things are "fine" but don't notice any bad trends.)

That's great that you can expand your diet a bit.  My NUT only gave me a protein goal and a portion goal.  When it comes to fruits and veggies, since I eat my protein first at meals, I'm not worried about eating too many carbs.  I can only ever have a bite or three at a meal of non-protein stuff.  

I won't have lab work done until my 6 month check up, so it wasn't based on numbers, it was based on his plan/methods. Said he would only have me take calcium if I were older (I'm 42) and he only recommends iron for young (under 25) women. I've never had an anemia issue. All my prior bloodwork has only ever shown a Vit D deficiency, so I am going to keep taking that.

As for disagreeing with ASMBS, not sure on that one, but he is a member. Every doctor has their own set of internal guidelines, just like every doctor has their own eating plans (3 meals per day vs 3 meals plus 3 snacks). I'm not going to sweat his interpretation on calcium supplements right now. Bigger fish to fry ...or broil..