Carla R.

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I have now past my three year anniversary of August 25th post op.  There has been a whole lot of water under that bridge since then. I had no problems whatsoever the 1st 18 or so months after my surgery because I was the perfect and I do mean perfect patient. Then... it seemed like the damn broke and my health went to Hell in a hand cart. I was told before surgery that I probably would not be a diabetic any longer after I reached my goal weight. I am now on a insulin pump after running blood sugars up in the 400 -500 range for weeks. I never had any problems with food getting stuck, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, gas or any of those horrible problems for the 1st 18 months. Now, I am nauseated constantly, live on 2 different nausea prescriptions, still can not tolerate meat of any kind, can barely tolerate protein drinks and that's only sometimes and I stay severly constipated to the point that I have to take 2 prescriptions for that plus Miralax and sometimes a Correctol added in. I mostly have to survive on carbohydrates along with easy to digest vegetables and fruits and I always try to eat them in their fresh state rather than canned or frozen. Suger free jello makes a nice snack as does sugar free popsicles, anything to get as much liguid in as possible. I still have never had anything carbonated, with sugar or, caffiene. I have always stayed true to those three things because I did not want my pouch to strech out.  And true to form, when I had my last Endoscopy, my Gastoenterologist said that my pouch was still tiny just like someone who had just had surgery. I guess that's one good thing I've accomplished. I am able to tolerate nuts and seeds as in almonds, peanuts and sunflower seeds and I also eat legumes as often as my belly will allow. But that's pretty much all I can tolerate in the diet department. I have developed all kinds of body ailments from lots of tooth decay, to bone loss on bone density tests, I'm shorter now than I was before my surgery. Fibromyalgia is worse, not better, as I was told it would be. Arthritis is also worse. And now I am having all kinds of bladder problems. I also have many adhesions in my abdominal and pelvic floor(this is from many abdominal surgeries including Gastric bypass and gallbladder after bypass) that I am now in physical therapy for and it is a very painful type of therapy. So... After all I went through, after doing everything right, right by the book, loosing even past my goal weight of 130lbs., all the way down to 117lbs. with absolutely NO problems at all for 18 months... then... I don't know what happened. Many of my doctors say malnutrition, some say well, the surgery did not cause it, but it did not help it. I've gotten every kind of answer in the world. But, am I happy with the ultimate outcome... NO, I AM NOT.  I did not want to go through all I went through and end up weighing 150 lbs. But, that's what I weigh, and it's what I have weighed for the past 6 months, so I guess this is where I'm going to level out. That is unless God performs a miracle (and I pray every day that he will. Yes, I'm selfish) and I start to loose weight again. It seems like a long shot for me at this point though, because of this insulin pump that I now must be on to live. Everyone knows that insulin makes you fat. That's a medical fact. So that's my story.

I had gotten an e-mail from the President or originator of this website asking me to update my blog since people who were contemplating surgery or just recently having surgery would have a broader data base to review. I hope this will help someone out there make a consious decision about their future. I guess your final question to me would be, "would you have the surgery again if you could do it over" Yes, I probably would. Who would have known that my body would have gotten so sick, that I would not have been able to eat the strict diet that post Gastric Bypass patients MUST eat to keep their weight on target. How could the Doctors have known that years of Diabetes had already done it's damage on every major organ in my body way before my surgery was ever a thought. The nerve damage was already so bad in my back, legs and arms that I was never able to exercise like I was told I must do, and I truly wanted to. How was any body to know what lay before me just two short years after my surgery. I will NEVER blame my Gastric Bypass surgeon for any of this. She was a wonderful doctor and surgeon and I still to this day love her dearly. Nor do I blame any of my doctors for anything that has happened to me. Life happens when you least expect it. All my life, I would fall asleep and see myself in my dsreams as a thin beautiful girl only to wake up and find the same old me fat, tired and so unhappy. But through my Gastric Bypass, my dream became reality. I was that thin beautiful girl. If only for 18 months, it was worth a life time for me. But listen to me very closely! Just because you get skinny... doesn't mean you are going to stay skinny! THIS SURGERY CAN NOT, AND WILL NOT, FIX THAT. YOU HAVE TO FIX THAT AND KEEP FIXING THAT EVERY DAY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!

It's 2012 already, man how time fly's. Well, I must say that 2011 was a very hard year for me. I have developed severe nausea after never having it before. I can only eat a minimal selection of foods, and most of that is carbs because they are easy to digest. My gasrtroenterologist says that this condition is not caused by my Gastric Bypass, but that the bypass did not help it any. It is called  Gastroperesis. My stomach does not digest my food properly. so... in view of all of this, I have put on 10 lbs. over this last year. 

Now I tell you friends, I did not go through all this red tape just to be fat again. So I am back on my food tracker, counting calories, fats, and proteins and playing hard ball again. It is very hard, and I am craving those sugars and carbs like an alcoholic off of whiskey for 3 days. It's almost unbearable at times. But I'm gonna just get down on my knees and pray for God to help me when it gets that bad. I know he will Never leave me or forsake me. So I ask you to pray for my willpower to be strong, and my cravings to be weak and that I will continue to lean on my strong tower, Christ our Lord.             

I never realized it had been so long since I wrote on OH until and old friend Who is having surgery on April 13th ( Everyone please pray for Joyce) mentioned it to me. As I explained to her, when you reach goal weight and you feel so much better with all that energy and stamina, you are just going, going all the time. I just simply don't take the time to sit and journal like I need to. I'd like to once again thank OH members for being there for me through all my journey, and it has been a successful journey. I started at 225 and I now weigh 117. I lost all my weight in 9 months (which Dr. Weaver said was too fast) but I didn't do anything special to loose any faster, only mind my Dr's orders to the tee. And yes, it was very hard. But I didn't have daily nausea, food getting blocked or many of the horrible stomach problems or nightmarish things that Gastric Bypass patients talk about. I did have some, but they were never bad at least not bad enough that I still remember them.  I worked very hard to do what my doctor said do, and I can see now why they tell you those things, because they work. I have friends who have had this same surgery, who have not followed Dr's orders as directed, and have not faired as well as I have. So, here I am, 1 year and seven months post surgery, and life is so sweet. My husband calls me skinny, I wear a size 8, and I feel better than I did in my twenties and that's at 54 years young. Thank you God for Modern Day Miracles, and my miracle maker Dr. Virginia Weaver.

Today is 7 weeks post surgery and I have lost 40 lbs. I can't tell you how grateful I am for this miracle. I'm already feeling so much better and have started walking longer distances than I ever have before. I'm still having some problems with food getting stuck and nausea and vomiting but it is getting better. I use my papaya enzyme and it works very well. Last Sunday was my Son's 26th birthday celebration and each year on his birthday he wants me to make him a from scratch cheesecake. So I sat there at the Mexican restaurant and ate some beans while everyone else feasted on wonderful meals and cheesecake. But you know what, I didn't miss it one tiny bit. I am so happy with my new life and my weight loss that food just doesn't mean that much to me anymore. I really am not hungry when I do eat, I just know that I must get in my protein and all the other things my body still needs. At my 6 week checkup, they told me that I was not eating enough protein, so I have really been trying hard to take in more protein at each meal. And never would have dreamed that a doctor would tell me I wasn't eating enough, but sure as the world that's what the dietitian said. Man talking about a difference......It just gets better all the time.

Tomorrow will be six weeks post op. (RNY) I had my surgery on 8/25/09. I have lost 37 lbs. and 25 inches.
If you had told me I would be loosing this fast before my surgery I would never have believed it. My blood sugars are down from the two to three hundreds to between 80 and 120. I sure do feel much better already.I already have two lawn bags full of 22, 24, 26 sizes and 3x sizes. That will make a nice yard sale next spring. Hmmmm, wonder what size I will be next Spring? I can't wait.

 The real miracle of my journey is that two of my friends have already started their paperwork to have surgery just from watching my success. Maybe I should have been in sales, HA! The tummy problems that I was having are all but gone, so life is truly sweet these days. I am so thankful to God for my Dr. Weaver, and how he gave her the knowledge and wisdom to perform this miracle surgery. Not to mention that she is a real angel, has a wonderful bedside manor and really loves and is concerned about all of her patients. I will continue to sing her praises as long as I live for I feel she helped me have a fuller life and a much longer one, God willing.

My day today was not really a good one. I had my protein shake for breakfast, drank it very slowly and thought I was doing fine until I finished that last bit. Then I became very sick to my stomach had to pull off the side of the road and throw up. Shortly after that my stomach started hurting really bad again and I barely made it to a bathroom. Yep it was the big D and I don't mean Dallas. The whole rest of today I have felt pretty bad, and have had really bad gas pains.  I switched to lactose free milk, but so far that has not made a difference. So I guess that I am off of milk for now. I tried the unflavored protein powder in some Crystal Light and did fine with that. I also got sick a few days ago on a hard boiled egg. So I guess my problem area is going to be dairy products.

I've also noticed that if I don't eat super slow, All my food gets stuck at about my breastbone area. And the worst I ever experienced with that is the time I took a drink of water thinking it would help it go down. Boy that was a huge mistake, It hurt more than ever then and I ended up throwing it up to get relief. I did so wonderful right after my surgery, to be having these problems now but I guess each person is different. It is still not something that I can't bear, and would still have the surgery again in a heartbeat. Being fat is more miserable than anything I have experienced yet. Looking for a better day tomorrow.

Today has been a tough day. My breakfast did not stay down, my lunch gave me diarrhea, So for supper I ate a banana with a teaspoon of peanut butter and that suited my stomach very well. I have found that every time I eat I must take the Papaya Enzyme or my food will inevitably get stuck right about my breast bone. I also found out that I was lactose intolerant. So figuring out these two problem area's have helped alot. Today at church, I wore the first pair of regular dressy shoes that I have worn in 2 years. I had been in orthopedic shoes for a long time. It felt so strange to walk in heels again.

Also, today I put away my first batch of clothes that are now TOO BIG  Made me feel like a million bucks! I also went into the attic and retrieved some clothes that I haven't worn in years, and guess what, they fit now.( Thank goodness I stick to the classics) Life just couldn't be any better for me. I'm now enjoying the happiest days of my life. Thank you Lord for giving me this Miracle.

Today has been a tired day. I'm still not able to get in 75 gr. of protein or 8 glasses of liquids.  However the good news is I have lost 26.5 lbs. After 1 week of doing perfect, I developed an infection in one of my incision sites. I ended up in the emergency room, with a whopper load of antibiotics running through me. They would not touch the wound, but told me to see Dr. Weaver the very next day. Dr. Weaver had to open up the wound and clean it out (OUCH), and then she packed it with surgical gauze, but I must say as soon as she finished, the horrible pain was gone thank God. So I am still walking around with a hole in my stomach packed with gauze. I will return to Dr. Weaver on Tuesday the 8th to have all my staples removed and hopefully after that I will feel much better.
God is so wonderful to me, and I praise his name that it wasn't more serious than it was.

Well, I am now nine days post op. and have lost from 225 to 199.5. It still amazes me every time that I stand on the scales.
I am happy, happy to finally go below that 200lb. mark. People are saying that they can already see the weight loss. Just makes it worth all that I've been through for the past year.

Hello everyone
Today I am 1 week post op. I am doing so wonderful that I cant believe it. I have had absolutely NO problems of any kind. If I weren't still a little sore, I wouldn't even know I had surgery. God has truly blessed me through this journey and I am confident that the rest of my journey will be as easy  as my surgery was. I was at a church bazaar 4 days post op, and at church  worship and Sunday school 5 days post op. I will back in our church kitchen tomorrow preparing our Wednesday night meal. They all said they would be short staffed the next few weeks because I would be out due to my surgery. But I fooled them, I won't miss one week away from my post because God has been so good to me with this healing process. My mission is working in our church kitchen, so whenever I'm there...I'm deliriously HAPPY.
Have a great day,
Carla