Six Months Out

Jun 07, 2010

Wow!  What an adventure so far!  It's now been about 6 months and I'm continuing to learn about my new body.  Weight loss so far is 111 pounds.  Overall, I'd have to say I've been incredibly lucky.  No real complications, no real problems except that I can't buy clothes that seem to last long enough.  It has been funny to run into people that I know who haven't seen me since the surgery who don't recognize me with a jawline and actual dimples.  I had one patient the other day whose draw literally dropped when I started talking.  She gasped and said, "Oh My God!  I didn't realize who it was until you started talking...you really look that different."  I've also had the unusual experience of being flirted with a little bit, something that hasn't happened in a very long time.  It feels nice...

I would imagine my six month experience isn't that unusual.  All that extra skin is finding interesting and unattractive places to hang, but that's an acceptable trade for feeling so good and actually having ribs again.  The hair is a little thinner, but I've still got it and I'm grateful for that.  Taking vitamins hasn't been too much of a challenge to remember EXCEPT that it is troublesome to remember to take calcium two to three times a day.  On busy days, I forget it entirely.  My energy level, endurance, and flexibility are all greatly increased.  No more getting winded just walking up the stairs at my house.  I apparently no longer snore when sleeping, so I'll probably be able to shed the CPAP soon after I can arrange a study to confirm that I no longer suffer apneic episodes.  Presuming that is confirmed, I should be able to get a 3rd class medical certificate that will allow me to get back into the cockpit and resume flying lessons.  Here's hoping!

I am pretty compliant with dietary things on most days, but I'm still learning the "one bite too many" lesson from time to time.  There just isn't much of a more miserable feeling than overfilling that pouch and then spending about an hour trying to figure out if I'm going to just throw it back up.  It doesn't happen often, but every now and again I have to learn it again.  I haven't found much that I can't eat, except my tolerance for milk and carbonation is very low.  Sadly, I don't dump if I eat sweets, so I'll just have to exert willpower so I don't get into bad habits again.  Everytime I eat more than a bite of something I know I shouldn't, I feel guilty for putting my health at risk again, so that's probably not going to be a problem.

So, that's the state of things for now.  More updates to follow in the future.
Rick

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