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One year post op appt. today with Dr. Paya.

All labs good.

I was released, to return in one year.

Mantain and lose a little more weight if desired...he called me a total success thus far. :)

<180 pounds baby!

New pix in my profile. the "officials" from his office.

Thanks to Crystal, Shelly, and of course Dr. Paya for their expertise.

Please look me up in Facebook or MySpace. I tend to me more active there.

I haven't been online in a very long while. I am sorry. I now weigh 192 lbs and I feel fantastic! I take my vitamins every day.

For those looking into WLS (weight loss surgery) and are befuddled over the vitamin issue, here is what I do:

On month three post op, I asked my surgeon, the handsome Dr. Mark Paya, if I could take conventional vitamins. I was concerned about the size of the "horse pills". He said yes and the anastamosis (the opening of the pouch to the jejunum) was about 2.5 cm wide and could easily accomidate a typical vitamin pill.

Here is my regimen of supplementation: In the early morning, I have my coffee with two rounded tablespoons of "Benefiber" mixed in. Benefiber (or its generic) is tasteless and colorless, and keeps things moving. We all need our fiber, and low carbers (which is what the WLS post-op diet basically is) do NOT get enough of this important colon sweep.

Before lunch sometime, I take two 630 mg calcium citrate tablets with D. Nothing special. The tabs we buy at Costco or Sams Club. The bottle will last over 6 months.
At bedtime I chew an chewable iron supplement that contains 29 mg ferrous ferumate. I learned from my preop classes that this type of iron (vs. ferrous sulfate) is better absorbed. I tolerate the chewable. Ferrous ferumate is available in most pharmacies in capsule form, but it tend to "come up" on me, and the iron/liver flavor makes me gag. bariatricadvantage has the chewable iron I prefer.

Once that is chewed and my teeth are brushed, I take a "One-A-Day" women-over-50 multivitamin. I used to take Sam's Club general multi, but decided that 1) I can afford the brand name and 2) I am menopausal and need the additional support.

It is important to take ALL supplements after WLS. No excuses. I have a coworker who is not doing well, and she is generally not compliant with her vitamins. Her surgeon wants to do a revision (read: reversal) of her surgery. :( One can get sick pretty quickly when not complying with the doctor's orders, which includes irreversable maladies and death. 

TAKE YOUR VITAMINS!

This morning DH, DD and I took Fargo the wonderdog to Central Bark so he could go run with his peeps.

There is a soccer field between the parking lot and the dog park. On the way back to the car, Fargo and I jogged back to the car. I was not winded when I got there.

Mind you, I can probably walk faster than I run, but it was interesting, me having both feet off the ground at one time.

When I hit a half mile, another of my goals will be attained. I reached goal #1 when I weighed less than the hub.

I "only" have 41 lbs before I reach my first goal of 170.

This tool is frikking amazing. I am pretty much at the weight I was on my wedding day.

Being Thanksgiving and all, I guess I am pretty thankful.

:)

I have worked for the same medical group for 16 years and at the same site for 5 years. There are hundreds (thousands?) of women whose mammograms I do year after year.

Some patients prefer I not do their mammogram. That is fine. A note is written and I pass the exam to the other tech.

Friday morning, I greeted a patient at the front office and asked her to follow me down the hall. I noticed a note: "Patient wants Amy to do her," attached to the paperwork. I told the patient Amy resigned last month, but there was another tech if she preferred someone else to do her mammo. She shrugged and said, "No. You are fine."

I brought her into the room and did the study with little incident. I asked her if she knew Amy personally. She said no. Since she wasn't volunteering information, I chose not to push it.

It was after she left that I figured it out...she did not recognize me from last year! She thought I was someone else!

LOL!

Yesterday was my 5 month surgiversary. YAY!

Yesterday I weighed 70 lbs less than 5 months before. YAY!

I have a random thought that I welcome "newbies" to read:

This is something I have learned in the last 5 months. When one's stomach growls, it is not because you are hungry. It is because your stomach is growling. Growling stomachs are the action of the intestinal tract doing it's job....to move food, water, coffee, etc, peristaltically to and through your colon. The faster we realize the growling stomach as NOT being hunger, the better off we all are.

(: Thank you. :)

There is a controversy going on in my psyche at the moment. It is the more-than-often complaint by early-outs, like me, that we are "not full".
I am beginning to understand that to be "not full" is NOT the same thing as being hungry. To be "not full" will often mean "not hungry, but not stuffed". 

Before surgery, I would eat until full. Satiated. Stuffed. I had two  gastronomic feelings: Hungry or full. No in-between. Someone would ask,"Wanna get a bite to eat?" and I would either reply, "Sure. I am hungry," or "No, I am stuffed."

Recently I have encountered something new, a little bit scary, and I have realized that "normal people" (people who have not had to have their stomachs surgically "removed" to attain/maintain a healthy weight) have this sensation. It is the sensation of simply not being hungry. This is not to be confused with being full (formerly, stuffed). It is simply the absence of hunger pangs.

I find this....(thinking)....refreshing.

Don't you?

According to Weight Commander, the best weight log software out there, I have lost a whopping .08 lbs in the past 7 days.

For WEEKS I had been dropping over 3 lbs a week.

It is definately time for a stall. My first stall was 3 weeks post-op, which I learned was very normal. That was at 20 lbs down.

I was expecting a stall at 250 lbs. but it didn't happen. Now, hugging 240, it is finally happening.

Protein first. Veggies. Fruit. Keep the starches and breads to under 3 servings/day, and cut the fat. That is the program.

I fit comfortably in no-elastic-waist size 24 pants. 1X knit tops, or size 22 non-knit. All good.

No worries. Pre-op at this point I would start slacking off. Lose hope. Gain weight. No more.

Damn. That feels goooood!

I weighed in today and the scale read (drumroll, please) 242.0!

That is FIFTY NINE FRIKKING POUNDS never NEVER to return!



Thank you very much.

Saw Dr. Paya today.

The nutritionist assigned to me was ill, so they asked if I would reschedule. I told them no. My labs were already in and they were stellar, so I figure I am doing a good job. Dr. Paya was not concerned.

My sugars are normal. My A1C is 5.5. My cholesterol is under 200 for the very first time! All mineral counts were OK. I am healthy as a horse...AND...

I no longer qualify for WLS! I have a BMI under 40 (38.8) and I have no co-morbidities! I told Dr. Paya this and he said, "Yep. That is why we do what we do!"

:)