Lindsay J.

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I forced my way into a doctor's appointment last Wednesday because no one ever followed up with me after the endoscopy, except for my calls to the nursing line, so I was just eating what I could keep down and felt like I was running in place. The doctor even said I looked tired and dehydrated. He game me a prescription for a nasal spray I take weekly for B12, so hopefully that will help with my energy levels, and he said to go back to solids.

To be honest, solids scare me. After all the problems I had before with throwing up almost every time I ate, you can't really blame me. But yesterday I ate 5 small shrimp over a few hours and with some mayo they went down okay and stayed there, so that is a good start. They were previously frozen and very limp so I'm sure that played a part. Fresh shrimp might have been more of an issue.

As I mentioned in my previous post I reached a goal of getting under 250 pounds as well as losing 75 pounds by my brother's wedding, which is next week. Well, I entered my highest weight into the BMI calculator and it was 50.9, which is Super Obese, and then I entered my current weight and my BMI is 38.9, which is just regular Obese. Since the surgery I passed through Extremely Obese. Obviously I still have work to do but going from Super Obese to regular Obese is a big step that I am very happy about, especially in just 4 months.

I woke up this morning weighing exactly 250.0 with my goal of being less than 250 in my sights, so I went to my dentist appointment and then went and had fasting bloodwork done, all 21 vials of it (so many because it was 2 sets of orders, one from my PCP and one from my surgeon), came back home and before eating anything I weighed myself again and I was at 249.8 so I was able to check off one of my big goals of getting below 250 pounds!

I've been losing much more slowly because of the ulcer and not being able to eat the diet I should be at this point, but at least I'm still losing. So far my total weight loss, from my highest weight, is 75 pounds

Another good thing about losing weight, which came up again today, is that now whenever I need an IV or have bloodwork done the person doing it has been able to find the vein and get the needle in first try. This was NOT the case before the surgery, or for about a month after the surgery. It's something small but not being a human pin cushion makes a big difference for me.

My hair is still thinning but I found some protein shakes at Costco that only have 1 gram of sugar and they have 30 grams of protein, compared to Atkins shakes at 15 grams per shake, so hopefully the extra protein (I usually drink 2 shakes before I go to bed) will help slow, or stop, the hair loss. We'll just have to wait and see.

I got approved for intermittent FMLA to cover the days when I come in late because I either feel noxious or was throwing up the night before and I'm too dehydrated to function, which is awesome news... the FMLA that is, not the other parts, lol.

I'm still taking the Carafate and double dose Prevacid solutabs, which works most of the time. I've restricted my diet to cream of mushroom soup, cream of potatoe soup, Atkins shakes, string cheese and low-carb yogurt. It's a boring diet but I've found that I'm still having a problem with most solid foods (throwing up) and new foods. Hopefully over the next couple months my ulcer will heal, I'll be able to eat a more "normal" low-carb diet, I'll start losing weight again and I'll have the energy to work out with weights and all!

I know my hair has been thinning a lot lately because of all the troubles I've had with keeping food down, but I've been drinking 2 Atkins shakes a night to get in an extra 30 grams of protein to try and at least slow the loss, but just now when I was on break another rep was walking behind me and she said there was something on my back. She pulled off a round clump of hair and threw it on the ground (we were outside). I was so embarrassed, although she didn't make a big deal out of it.

I've been using Nioxin shampoo and conditioner to make sure my hair follicles don't die and it's supposed to make my hair appear thicker, which it seems to do, but this morning I was pulling handfuls of hair off my head, probably the most ever. I know it will eventually grow back but it's still a little upsetting, and in this case embarrassing.

If anyone has any other tips to try to curve my hair loss please let me know. I know most of it is using the right shampoo and conditioner as well as getting enough protein, but any other tips would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Lindsay

As you can probably guess from the title I have been having a lot of itchy skin and I'm wondering if this is normal? I'm hoping it means my skin is stretching back into place (I'm only 29 so I still have some hope) or maybe my skin is getting used to not having so much fat underneath it?

The spots that drive me crazy are mostly my hip area and the top of my thighs as well as my armpits and the top back side of my arms. It's the end of May so I don't think it's environmental, like hot showers and heat causing dry skin, and I haven't made any changes in detergents, soaps, etc. I'm used to having itchy skin under my breasts and my over-hanging stomach but there's usually a rash when it gets bad and with this there's no rash.

I make sure to get a little bit of fat every day, in forms such as cheese, macadamia nuts, mayonnaise, olive oil, etc. I try to stick to low-fat stuff but NOT no fat because I know a little is good, especially when it comes to fat-soluble nutrients, and of course I try to avoid trans fats, and all other fake fats like partially hydrogenated oils, as well as Sat Fat, and my cholesterol levels prove I'm eating the right fats, so I think I can eliminate that as a cause for my very itchy skin.

As for dehydration, I get dehydrated A LOT and have never had itchy skin like this before, so I don't think that's the cause but I need to increase my daily liquid volume anyway so I will start drinking more water.

The only new medication that matches the timeline of when the itchiness really went to the "I'm scratching my skin off" level is the Carafate, which I don't plan on stopping any time soon, so if itching is a side effect then I will just have to deal.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions please let me know.

Thanks,
Lindsay

I saw my surgeon 5/15, as I said before, and he thought I had an ulcer and a stricture so they scheduled me for an endoscopy (my 1st ever) on 5/22 which verified the ulcer but they found there was NO stricture, which is obviously a good thing. On my 5/15 appointment they gave me Carafate (that's the one I'm supposed to take 4 times a day), which has worked wonders. It's like a miracle drug. I have not thrown up once since I started taking it. The only problem I've been having with it is all the restrictions on when to take it. You're supposed to take it 2-3 hours after a meal, at least 1 hour before a meal, at least 1 hour before, and one hour after, any vitamins or supplements, etc. And yet somehow I'm supposed to fit in 4 servings a day. Pretty soon I'm going to have to use an hourly calendar to keep track of when I can eat, drink, take supplements and meds... but at least I'm feeling better and holding down food!

Now that I'm eating again I need to start tracking my intake again. I use www.LiveStrong.com because they seem to have the best list of foods available, plus it's really easy to add one in, or verify the accuracy of some of the listings by providing links to nutritional information online. It's all available through the "Daily Plate" section of the site. Two other things that you may find useful are the water tracker on the upper right side of the Daily Plate where you can enter how many cups of water you've had throughout the day as well as an exercise tracker so you can measure calories burned.

Anyway, since today is the Sunday before Memorial Day I'm the only person who came in on time for the 7AM shift, so I have to get back to work. TTYL!

I haven't been doing well again. Every time I would get sick I would think, "Did I eat too much?" "Did I eat too fast?" "Did I drink too soon after eating?" The list goes on and on. I have been throwing up since week 2, I was re-hospitalized in week 3 because of severe pain that was never explained, or successfully treated, and because of the stress, I started smoking again.

I originally had an appointment with the APRN today but I called a couple days ago because I had gotten to the point where I almost threw up after drinking half an Atkins shake and the only thing that prevented me from throwing up was massaging my stomach, at which point I assumed I had a stricture. So after telling the RN on duty all my symptoms she suggested I come in that day to see the APRN, then she called back and said the APRN thought I should see the surgeon, and I had my appointment today. I told him 3 symptoms, burping a lot after eating, followed by throwing up foam and then throwing up food, and he said, "You have an ulcer and a stricture. Did you start smoking again?" I answered truthfully. He gave me all the lectures he had, and for good reason. I knew the risks. I chose to smoke to deal with my stress and pain, probably because I can no longer turn to food for comfort, and I've eliminated all other addictions from my life, like gambling and drinking.

So I go for an endoscopy next Friday and hopefully they can fix it then. I'm worried about the anesthesia because I don't usually react well to it. My surgeon also gave me a new prescription that I have to take 4 times a day that will coat my stomach and he doubled my Prevacid prescription. I'm just glad I don't have to be admitted to the hospital again. I actually packed a bag that I brought with me to the appointment just in case. So I obviously need to quit smoking again, for good.

On another note, I had my first shot of Depo Provera 2 weeks ago today, on the 2nd day of my period, and I still have my period. That makes today the 16th day of having my period, in a row. I am so ready for it to stop!

I have been feeling much better this week. The last time I threw up was Saturday and I have been able to get more fluids in every day and trying new foods without all the side effects I had before. I feel like I've turned a corner. My energy level is increasing so now I feel like the gym is a definite possibility instead of something I'm too tired to even think about.

My weight hasn't budged in over a week, in fact when I lost 4 pounds in 1 day I gained back all 4 pounds and now have re-lost 2 pounds, and that's over about a week and a half, but I'm okay with that. I'm more hydrated now that I'm not throwing up all the time so I'm bound to gain some water weight.

Last night I made some chicken salad, which I haven't had yet, with some all-natural chicken, Hellman's Real Mayo and a little soy sauce. I'm still afraid of re-trying mustard but if I'm accepting new foods as well as I have been maybe next week I will try it again. Tonight I'll probably have a couple more ounces of the chicken salad with some American cheese.

Time to go home now, I'll try to update within another week.

~Lindsay

I've been sick all week. I missed work on Sunday, as stated in my previous post, but I've also thrown up every day since then, one time while I was at work. If it wasn't for Crystal Light and skim milk I wouldn't be getting any liquids or protein. I feel like I need to start the post-op diet from the beginning again. Maybe I tried too many new foods too soon.

Also, my hair is falling out in clumps and my part is definitely getting wider by the day. I'm glad I started using the Nioxin before the surgery so that I at least know the hair will grow back. I had to switch to Stage 4 of the line because I've passed Stage 3. Maybe the Stage 4 shampoo will help. I know the reason it's falling out is that I'm not getting enough protein but when I try to add more to my diet I get sick. Even the Atkins shakes are making me noxious, at best. Tonight it's what made me start puking in the first place. I don't like loading up on skim milk because of the carbs but I've got to get in some protein somehow.

Tomorrow I'm getting my first gum deep cleaning, or whatever it's called. I expect to be in pain so SF popsicles will definitely be on tomorrow's menu.

I'll try to post again tomorrow, depending on how I'm feeling, of course.

~Lindsay