Kristen H.

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I cannot believe that it has been over a year since my last post here. So much has happened!

I April, I left US Bariatric Orlando because my compensation structure was brutally slashed. With gas and tolls, I just couldn't afford to go to work anymore, never mind pay my bills. I reluctantly tendered my resignation and went to work for a laser hair removal company that promised the moon and stars ... but of course didn't deliver. And despite being their #6 sales person in the US (out of 220+) I was laid off before Christmas. So the good news is that I am available!  :)

2008 has been a rough year for me health wise. In January I had a mini stroke due to a cyst on my pineal gland in my brain. Follow up indicates that all should be well, but I need to have it scanned every 6 - 12 months to be certain. Add that to my thyroid scan, I guess. In November (two weeks before I was laid off) I was admitted to ORMC for chest pain. The chest CT showed that I had bilateral pleural effusion - why? I have an appointment with my pulmonologist, but what they also found was a "spot" on my liver. I had that scanned as well, and it is a hemangioma or benign cyst. Whew.

I have gained exactly 20 pounds since January 2008 - why? I have been tracking my habits and was stunned to see that I am missing more vits than I am taking; dehydrated; no exercise; drinking with meals, eating crap and sugar - in short, EVERYTHING that I shouldn't be doing. I know that I have been depressed since January 2008 when everything at work started tanking. I am resolving to use this "employment downtime" to get back to my pouch rules. Writing everything down here is a critical firs step. 

Did you ever have a time when no matter what you said, it just wasn't what someone wanted to hear? And you got slammed? I wonder if I was ever that defensive as a pre-op/early post-op.

Probably.

Well, today I had my pre-op appointment for my mastoplexy and augmentation! Just two more weeks to go. Everything is paid, I have my scrips, and Dr. Soto saw the picture that I hope to look like post-surgery. I am really starting to look forward to it now.

I also enjoyed seeing the pre-op process at another surgical office. I saw a few things that would really work well here at US Bariatric Orlando. I am always on the lookout for ways to make the patient experience as stress-free (and even as enjoyable) as possible.

Things are going well for me, bariatric-wise. I was getting off the protein train a little bit, so to speak. I am back on board, full steam ahead! My weight is stable, still losing inches though. Trying to work on my arms a little bit more. I don't have "Angel's Wings," thank goodness. All muscle, but they could stand a little more. Drinking enough is always a challenge for me, though. I wonder if that will ever change permanently?

Well, I finally am pulling the trigger on plastic surgery! Since I don't have a lot of vacation stored, I am going to have a breast lift and augmentation on July 20th. After my two year anniversary at work in November, I'll have my abdominoplasty and lower body lift. I am really looking forward to having my pooch removed!

Dr. Armando Soto in Celebration, aka "The Breast Man," is doing my breast lift and augmentation. I have been trying to find magazine pictures of my dream breasts, but so far I am not having any luck. All that I know is that I want them done. After gaining and losing so many times, the girls have definitely headed south!

Having plastic surgery feels odd, like some twisted vanity trip. I have to keep reminding myself that having weight loss surgery was necessary for my health, and now looking great is necessary for my improved life.

Today - finally - I had an appointment with an ENT for my ears. Of course, it was found that I have significant hearing loss in my left ear, and some in my right. Looks noise related (couldn't be those 148 Grateful Dead concerts, could it?) Also, the SCUBA diving, skydiving...all of the different atmospheres. Well, the news is that I have to have an MRI of my head to rule out a tumor on my otic nerve. I'll tell you, sometimes it seems as though no one will rest until they find something wrong with my noggin and have to shave my head!! Well, the first step is complete. WHEN the MRI comes back as clear, I can go on a medication that will resolve the incessant tinnitus. Really, I am hoping that, without the tinnitus, my hearing will improve if not be normal.

Work is busier than ever, and I am loving it. Sometimes I wonder if I was as defensive as some when I was a pre-op. I am starting to notice how those obese people around me are being treated. No wonder some have such a chip to penetrate. Why is it still okay for people to discriminate against the obese? So as we remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., today, I am reminded that we as a society have a way to go yet.

And it starts with me, one person at a time.

The results are in - clear CT scan! Dr. Kim asked if there was anything in my head. :) Well, it's as normal as it was before, anyway! I'm betting that it is labyrinthitis.

Well, I spoke too soon. I have to have a CT scan tomorrow. I have been out of work all week with a stabbing pain in my skull. No relief. Finally went to the ER, got a prescription sedative and non-NSAID pain reliever. My family has a history of stroke, migraines and brain aneurysms (thanks, Mom!) so the CT scan is the necessary next step. Wanna bet it is all related to my left ear?

On a positive note, it looks as though I am a bone marrow match for someone! Stay tuned...!

Happy New Year! I am currently laid up with a cold, also with the predictable blocked eustacian tube. Gotta love vertigo. So it is just safer to lie in bed and type. Thank goodness for spell check, because the Antivert is making me loopy! I'm going to call an ENT tomorrow. Looks like I am finally going to break down and get a tube inserted. Today I had a real WOW! moment. I went to look for some more scrubs to wear for work. Many people at work, co-workers and patients alike - have told me that I needed smaller scrubs. Of course, I didn't believe them, as I am wearing Large petites. Imagine my surprise when I tried on Medium petites, and they fit! Not only did they fit, but fit well - not tight at all. It was a moment that is still so surreal to me. I am still hanging steady at 152 (27.8 BMI), but apparently I am still getting smaller even though the scale is not moving. Again.

Today we had a blood drive at work. Dr. Kim was asking that all available donors donate again. He has a friend who has terminal cancer and needs a bone marrow transplant. This reminded me of my own pledge, two years ago, to become a bone marrow donor. When my father lay dying, he needed a bone marrow transplant and couldn't have one. At the time, it was weeks before my bariatric surgery and I was not a candidate. Now I am.

Dr. Kim always said that bariatric patients shouldn't give blood. This is mostly due to the fact that we (gastric bypass patients) are on the low end of normal in respect to our iron levels. But, I was told that I could donate marrow.

Marrow is a substance found inside bones. It resembles blood and contains stem cells, which produce red blood cells, white blood cells and other blood components important for fighting infection, carrying oxygen and helping to control bleeding.

Stem cells, the cells that transplant patients need to make new healthy marrow, usually live in bone marrow, but are also released, in small numbers, into the circulating (peripheral) blood. There are several treatments that will dramatically increase the release of stem cells into the circulating blood so that enough stem cells for transplant can be collected directly from the bloodstream.

At the blood drive, I found out that I could not donate marrow unless I donated blood! My iron was good enough for donation, but I was told that I would feel weak and even have a headache for the rest of the day if I donated. It wasn't a difficult decision. What was a few hours of discomfort compared with potentially saving someone's life? And if I wasn't a match for Dr. Kim's friend, maybe I would be a match for someone else - it didn't matter who.

As I lay back on the guerney, periodically squeezing a mass of tape, I thought of my father. I thought of things like, what if someone had donated for him? Would he still be with us? I thought of the fact that as many as three babies could be transfused with this one gift. Yes, giving blood is one of the best gifts you can give to another human being

Finally, my cheeks were swabbed for the Bone Marrow Registry and I was on my way. Yes, I felt lousy physically, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Every year, thousands of adults and children need bone marrow transplants; a procedure which may be their only chance for survival. Although some patients with aplastic anemia, leukemia or other cancers have a genetically matched family member who can donate, about 70 percent do not. These patients' lives depend on finding an unrelated individual with a compatible tissue type, often within their own ethnic group, who is willing to donate marrow. For more information on how you can be a bone marrow donor, visit http://www.marrow.org.

Today I stopped taking Phentermine. I was on a low dose for three weeks to help me to control my grazing habits. I am happy to write that I have again lost the nine pounds that I gained early in November. Today I didn't have any desire to eat and eat - it was marvelous, just like my days as a new preop! I woke up this morning with a horrendous migraine (a side effect of another med that I stopped today) so it was a sick day for me. Thank goodness we didn't have patients today, but it stressed me nonetheless because I love my job and our patients. I slept all day and relaxed. I guess that I really needed it, because it is 9:30PM and I am ready to go to sleep again.

More than just a significant military battle in world history, the events at Pear Harbor awakened the local military and civilian residents to the character of war. At the moment bombs began to fall, 2,390 men and women were instantly engaged into the depths of the human condition. On this 65th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, I pray for all of the men and women in uniform - past, present and future.