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4-Month Surgery Follow-up – LIFE IS GOOD
Monday September 5^th
Everyone I’m so sorry for slacking on getting back on the computer, updating my blog and answering emails, I just realized that the last time I updated was a week after surgery, but life is good! The last two weeks of recovery we spent in Arizona at Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Phoenix, and lots of their state parks, getting in lots of walking. During the last few months we went to Knott’s Berry Farm 4 times, and have gone on nearly every roller coaster and fast ride, its great being able to fit into the seats, having fun, and enjoying life. We had our annual Mexico deep sea fishing trip vacation in June and had a wonderful time, and brought back 120 lbs of Tuna and Dorado (next year will be better yet). It was wonderful being able to sit comfortably on the airplane seat, and it was so nice being able to walk around without getting winded and experiencing back, hip and knee pain as I had in the past. We spent last week in Las Vegas celebrating our 27^th wedding anniversary, and again we had a wonderful time, lots of walking and working out at the exercise room in the resort.  I don’t know if I mentioned that we can both wear out wedding bands, which I haven’t been able to even put on my finger for 20 years.  We had our 4 month follow-up with Kaiser on Friday August 26th, and I weighed 241 lbs with a BMI of 33.2, and blood pressure was 95/56, and have lost a total of 94 lbs since getting my referral last September 30^th and 48 lbs since surgery on April 20th. Gerry’s weighed 175 lbs with a BMI of 30, and has lost a total of 62 lbs since getting her referral last November, and 37 lbs since surgery on April 20th. We also had labs done, and everything was fine, and I’m sure this is because we both take our vitamins daily. I’m off insulin, but do still take some oral diabetic medications, but much smaller dosages, my blood sugars are normal, and my A1C was 6.4.  Neither of us is really noticing any substantial hair loss, but Gerry says she does notice a little more than usual in her brush. We’re both taking 5,000 mcg Biotin capsules from GNC, so between that and the protein we take in, perhaps the little will be all we see.  We’re both really pleased with our overall success, but I’ve had a couple stalls, but am still dropping just at a slower rate. Gerry didn’t lose as fast at first, but has just been steadily losing. I joke with her and tell her that I just wanted to let her catch up.  I’ve dropped from a tight fitting size 48/49 pant size to a comfortable fitting 39/40 pant. We’ve learned not to go buy new clothes, and have started going to thrift stores for them. Eating and getting in all our liquids and protein was a real learning experience in the early months, but we’re both doing well. If we go out for example, we’ll order ice tea, and spend about 20 to 30 minutes drinking it, then go ahead and order our meal. We’ve learned that we can order for example 6 grilled shrimp, 1 dinner salad, and 1 baked potato and split everything. We normally can’t finish the potato though. We’ve learned that as soon as you feel full you stop eating, and don’t take another bite or you’ll be miserable. Normally I don’t feel like drinking anything for about 1 to 1.5 hours after eating. We’re both hoping to be at our goal weights of 200 lbs for me, and Gerry would like to be at 140 lbs by this Christmas. We’re both feeling healthier, feel great, have more energy, and have only one regret that wish we’re done this year’s earlier.  

 
































Again, both of us again want to thank you all for your support you’ve given us on this journey, and I’m so sorry that I haven’t been on Obesity Help for awhile, but will try and update at least once a month. I’ll also be uploading a bunch of photos from over the last several months as well. Martin and Gerry Bowman

1-Week Surgery Follow-up

Thursday April 28^th:

This last week we’re been taking it easy allowing our bodies to heal, and by Thursday morning we really felt pretty good.  The first week of course was liquids only, and we did good getting in at least 80 grams of protein each day, 48 – 64 oz of liquid, and taking our vitamins.  My blood sugar readings returned to normal a couple days after I got home, and as of today I’m off insulin, and Glipizide, and my doctor has reduced my Metformin.  I’m hoping that as soon as I get released to exercise and strength training at week 3 or 4 that perhaps I’ll even be off Metformin as well.  We started walking a couple miles a day on the treadmill, but spent the afternoon Wednesday walking around the shops and stores at Toms Farms.  We saw Dr Suh at 11:30 Thursday, and explained we’re doing great.  He released us to drive, which we probably could have been anyway, as we never took the Lortab pain medication which had been prescribed as needed.  At the appointment I’d lost 13.8 lbs since our pre-op check-in, and Gerry had lost 8 lbs, and we’re both really pleased with the results so far.  We’ve also been cleared for the next stage diet which includes refried beans, cottage cheese, string and other cheeses, yogurt, and fish.  After the appointment we went out and celebrated by sharing a piece of salmon and ¼ baked potato, which tasted so good after being on a liquid diet for a week.  After our celebration lunch we drove down to Newport Beach Pier and spent the afternoon walking a couple miles up and down the beach, which was really nice.  Walking really feels much better now that I’ve lost 60 lbs total since October 2010.   

Our First Real Meal Post-Op

PS: Couldn't eat all of the potato.

Again, both of us again want to thank you all for your support you’ve given us on this journey.

Martin and Gerry Bowman

Surgery Completed, Recovering Well!

I first wanted to thank everyone for your prayers and kind words of support, as it really means a lot to both of us.

Wednesday April 20^th:

We went in to Inland Valley Medical Center on Wednesday morning April 20^th at 7:30 AM, as Gerry’s surgery was scheduled for 9:30 AM, and mine 11:30 AM.  They went ahead and checked us both in, at the same time, which I was worried they might make me wait in the lobby until 9:30 AM.  Gerry was prepped and ready to go by 9:15 AM, and we spoke with our surgeon Dr David Suh who asked if we were ready, or did we have any additional questions.  We’re so happy with the selection of our surgeon; he’s really fantastic and so professional.  We learned that he does 20 VSG and RNY per week, or over 1,040 per year, and everyone including both patients and hospital staff alike speaks so highly of him.  The anesthesiologist came out and asked a lot of last minute follow-up questions about our history.  He gave her a shot in her IV to relax her, and said they’d be back in a few minutes to take her in. Of course I had to joke with her and tell her now I’d change my mind and let her have the surgery.  She knows me pretty well, and knew that I was teasing her, as we’re both very comfortable with our decision to have WLS together.  Most of the staff at the hospital said it’s very rare to see couples coming in the same day to have surgery, but supported the idea, as we’d be a good support team for each other.  Well, they took Gerry at 9:45 am, and then I got prepped and ready for surgery.   The surgeon came in and told me around 11:00 am that Gerry was in recovery, and that everything went well.  They gave me the shot to relax me about 11:45 am and rolled me towards the operating room.  I don’t even remember getting there, the next thing I remember is waking up about 2:30 pm, and seeing them taking Gerry out of recovery to our room, and seeing her waving to me.  I think I fell back to sleep for awhile, and they rolled me to the room at around 3:30 pm or so.   I know that by 6:00 pm they were advising us to get up and walk to start getting rid of the gas as soon as we felt up to it, and they would walk with us the first few times to make sure we’re doing fine.

Thursday April 21^st:

By the next morning we’d gotten up at least 4 times that night, and were making 3 complete laps around the hospital wing.  At 9:00 am Dr Suh came in to check on us, and was pleased to see how we were doing, and answered any questions we had.  The big goal for Thursday as well to walk as much as possible, but also to use the Spiral Incentive Spirometry to work our lung functions several times an hour to prevent pneumonia.  They kept checking my blood sugar and it was over 229 – 287 mg which concerned me, but with the stress of surgery, I knew that would happen.  They also removed our cathedras later in the morning, and that was uncomfortable, and was what I dreaded most.  Our friend Thursday was the pain pump, but they took us off it, and said we could have Lortab for pain, but said that the more you use it, the longer it takes to get rid of the gas, as it puts your intestines to sleep.  I didn’t use it much, but Gerry did, so she was having more gas pains than I.  My most painful area was across the belly button where they did the umbilical hernia repair.  Thursday afternoon, they gave us water to drink, in one ounce cups and told us to drink (sip) no more than one every 15 minutes.  They would count the cups to measure what we drank.  Of course we could use the restroom, but we had to use top hats and urinals to measure our output as well. Thursday evening they brought us a wonderful dinner of protein beef broth, berry protein juice, apple juice, and jello.  Later that evening we’d been able to drink enough that they went ahead and removed our IV’s bags.

Friday April 22^nd:

We’ll the next morning they came in early and took blood samples to make sure everything was normal before releasing us later in the day.  They brought us a wonderful breakfast of protein chicken broth, berry protein juice, apple juice, and jello.  We had to follow the same rules of measuring everything.  Dr Suh came in around 11:30 am and checked us out and cleared Gerry to go home, but I’d been having pain in both calf’s so he wanted to do ultrasounds to check for blood clots before giving me clearance.  They gave me another IV just to make sure I wasn’t dehydrated, and around 2:00 pm took me down for the procedure.  We’ll at 3:30 pm we got word everything was fine, and they checked us out.  They said to quit taking my lasix and potassium, and to taper off my insulin as I healed and my sugars returned to normal.

Saturday April 23^rd:

We tried sleeping in the easy chair Friday night, but both decided to try our luck with the bed about midnight.  We slept pretty much on our backs to stay comfortable, and as it’s a large post bed have something to hang onto rolling out of bed.  We decided against taking any Lortab as we wanted to get rid of the gas as quick as possible.  We walked around the house and yard quite a bit, and as they always say, walking helps with the gas, and it’s working.  We’re taking our Bariatric Advantage chewable multi-vitamin, calcium citrate, iron, B12, and vitamin C on schedule, drinking 3 protein drinks a day (80 grams total), eating diet jello, and drinking lots of water and crystal light.  Saturday morning my blood sugar was still 220 mg, but by Saturday afternoon, my blood sugars were returning to normal and were actually a rather low 63 mg.  The rest of the day it was between 94 and 120 mg.

Sunday April 24^th:

It was rather amusing laying in bed this morning and listening to each other’s abdomens noises from the gas that was working.  The pain is getting better with each passing day, although the hernia repair is what bothers me the most.  Our protein and liquids are increasing, and we’re walking slowly on the treadmill.  By the end of day, it seems like most of the gas is gone.  Another observation is that so far nothing has changed in our tastes and smells, all of our protein drinks still taste good to both of us, although the Syntrax nectars are really good, as they’re thinner.  We can’t wait to have our 1-week appointment to be cleared for driving and to go to the next stage diet, as cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, refried beans, apple sauce, tuna, pureed vegetables, and mashed potatoes sound wonderful.  Gerry’s already checking out the tofu cookbook to see what she can make.

Almost forgot, I wanted to say that we were very impressed with the hospital and staff at Inland Valley Medical Center in Murrieta CA as well, everyone was very professional, helpful, attentive, and friendly to both of us.   I would highly recommend their facility to anyone looking to have surgery.

I’ve uploaded the photos from the surgery week, so take a peek and enjoy.  

Again, both of us again want to thank you all for your support you’ve given us on this journey.

Martin and Gerry Bowman

Surgery Just 2 Days Away!

We’ll just two short days until our surgery date, so I thought I’d just post an update.  Things have been so busy lately trying to get everything done around the place that I won’t be able to do after surgery, and making sure everything is ready for our return home from the hospital.  I ordered our chewable vitamins, iron, and calcium citrate from Bariatric Advantage, and the order was delivered in less than 2 days, I was impressed.  For vitamin C and B12 we’re using the ones purchased from Costco, and our Biotin from GNC.  We also had to line up care for my 80 year old father that we care for, but everything is in place now for our recovery period. 

The last 6 months seemed like such a long time, but the last 3 weeks just flew by.  We had our appointment for a psychiatric evaluation on April 6th, which was a piece of cake.  Her name was Sharon, she was about 5’ and weighed 102 lbs, and was really nice.  Of course she covered all of the subjects she was required to ask, but also shared that she too had the RNY 3 years ago.  She said she weighed 268 lbs, and now weighed 102 lbs, life was good, and she feels great.  She was really nice to visit with, and after we were finished said that I was ready and felt I would do great.   

There was a bit of a mix-up on our paperwork with the surgeons’ office, as we were told after our surgery consultation we’d be getting instructions in the mail, and there would be labs ordered the day before the appointment for the final check in.   A week and a half had gone by, and still nothing, so I started calling and it was a good thing as I think our paperwork fell through the cracks.  Well, the calls got things on track, and everything was scheduled just in time.  We had our final labs on April 13^th and the last appointment on April 14^th with Dr Suh, where he did a final weigh in, which being on a no starch diet I’d lost another 9 lbs.  This means that my highest weight last October was 335 lbs, and my surgery weight is officially 288.8 lbs, a loss of 46.2 lbs pre-surgery, which makes me feel good.  Gerry’s highest weight last October was 237 lbs, and her surgery weight is officially 214 lbs, a loss of 23 lbs pre-surgery, which makes her feel good as well.

The same day we went to the Inland Valley Medical Center did a pre-check in with the hospital.  There were some other last minute things we wanted to do, such as taking some last minute before photos, and take updated measurements.  Our camera broke the day of the pre-check in, so I had to go buy another camera, and I’m learning how to use it.  I’ll upload some photos tomorrow; of course I had to take a picture of our “last supper” this evening, as tomorrow is a liquid only day.  So tomorrow is just protein drinks, broth, water, and crystal light.  At 5:00 PM we’re to drink the Magnesium Citrate to flush us out, and stay within proximity of a restroom.  Later in the evening we have to take showers and scrub our entire body from chin to toe with Hibiclens skin cleanser to kill all of the bacteria on our body, and repeat this in the morning before leaving for the hospital.  We can’t have anything after midnight, and then only take my blood pressure medicine with a sip of water Tuesday morning.   Tuesday morning we have to take all of our medicines we take with us for them to confirm dosages we take, and need to be at the hospital at 7:30 AM for Gerry’s surgery at 9:30 AM, and then I get prepped and go into surgery at 11:30 AM.  

Both of us are really at ease with our decision to have the RNY and with the surgeon selected.  It’s hard to believe in just two short days our lives will change forever, and we will be starting the next stage of our journey to a happier and healthier life together.  We’re very thankful to so many people for the opportunity to have WLS, Kaiser had a lot of requirements for approval, but I wouldn’t change a thing.  We learned last week at our support group that our Options class teacher Marianna Gabriel was leaving Kaiser Corona, and going back to practice outpatient services in Kaiser Irvine.  We’re all really going to miss her and the support she provided to everyone. 

In addition, both of us again want to thank you all for your support you’ve given us on this journey.  Please say a prayer for us Wednesday morning for a safe uneventful surgery, and a speedy recovery.

Martin

We Have Our Surgery Date! 

We’ll the last 3 weeks seemed like forever, but we used the time wisely, have been stocking up on a wide variety of proteins, buying things that we’ll need post-op, getting things done around the place that I won’t be able to do right after surgery, and filling out all the forms 30 pages in all for the surgeons office.  I really want to thank ALL of you that have been so supporting during the last 6 months. Your support, comments, suggestions, recommendations, and recipes are appreciated so much.   I also want to especially thank Lucyfan1980 for the suggestions on expediting the process while we were waiting for our insurance approval.  By attending the surgeons Bariatric Seminar, Patient Education class, and pre-op and post-op support group meetings which were all prerequisites for getting a surgery date scheduled, it probably cut a month off of our wait.  I learned at the Kaiser pre-op support group meeting last week that Dr Suh had renegotiated his contract with Kaiser to include the VSG, whereas before he only did the RNY for Kaiser.  The contract is set to go into effect the last week of April.  Previously, if you had Kaiser and wanted the VSG, you had to go to Pacific Bariatric in San Diego, or Kaiser in Harbor City.  I called the Kaiser case manager, and Dr Suh’s office to confirm this before discussing the option with my wife.  As mentioned in earlier blogs, the RNY is the best choice for me, as it will put my diabetes in remission.  I felt that my wife Gerry on the other hand would be a good candidate for either surgery, so we studied both even more the last several days to help decide.  Eventually, she decided that it would be best to go with whichever one Dr Suh felt would be the best. My wife Gerry and I had our consultation with our surgeon Dr. David Suh today, and he and his staff at Crown Bariatric are all really nice.   We arrived for the appointment 45 minutes early, as I didn’t want to be late for the planning of our new birthday.  At first we turned in all of our forms, went over and signed more forms, they were really surprised to see we had all of our prerequisites completed and out of the way.  Said we’d probably get our surgery date after seeing the surgeon.  We watched a 30 minute video, weighed in, and waited about 10 minutes to see Dr Suh. He went over both of our medical histories, asked us both a lot of questions, asked which surgeries we wanted to have done, and agreed with our decisions.  He then did a pelvic examination on both of us, paying close attention to my “little alien” umbilical hernia.  He said Gerry would be a good candidate for any of the surgeries Lap Band, VSG, or RNY, but recommended the RNY as it had the best long term results.  He supported the fact that we’re doing this together, and said this will give us the best results in losing and maintaining.  He went over a list of 20 questions I’d prepared, and answered each of them thoroughly.  If anyone is interested I can do a blog with the questions and answers.  After we told him both of our adult children were living at home and could help us through recovery, he said he could do both surgeries the same day.  He asked who wants to go first, and I looked at Gerry and said ladies first.  Another reason is that I have an umbilical hernia he will be repairing, so my surgery will take longer.  He said we did have two more steps to take before having surgery, and that was to set up an appointment for a psychiatric evaluation, (which we already have scheduled next Wednesday April 6^th) and there will be one more appointment on April 14th, where he do a weigh in (and you better not gain an ounce), will order some last minute labs to check blood counts (to rule out infections), and then the same day we go to the Inland Valley Medical Center and do a pre-check in with the hospital.  He said for the rest of your life, no crackers, chips, pretzels, cakes, high calorie deserts and cookies, ice cream, and carbonated sodas or beverages.  He also said, from today until surgery, “NO Starches” such as potatoes, rice, pasta, breads, crackers, tortillas, chips and pretzels, or fast foods.  He wants our livers to shrink as much as possible before surgery.  Lastly, he wrote us both prescriptions for Prilosec to reduce stomach acid, and told us to pickup Magnesium Citrate to take the night before surgery to flush us out.  His surgery nurse Lisa came in and made sure we had scheduled our psych appointment, went over things one more time, and gave us our surgery dates of April 20^th at 7:00 AM, and 9:00 AM.  We both are so happy and excited that in just three short weeks we will be starting the next stage of our journey to a happier and healthier life together.  Both of us again want to thank you all for your support you’ve given us on this journey.  We’re both doing the Happy Dance tonight.
 
Martin
PS: I'll make sure to update our stats, and upload some photos just before surgery.
Here is a photo of some of the items we've purchased getting ready for the weeks and months ahead.  We didn't purchase all of our vitamins yet, as we wanted our surgeons approval first.  We'd selected both Opurity and Bariatric Advantage products, and he was good with both.  We're actually going to purchase both, just in case our tastes change, and we don't like one of them afterwards.

Four Weeks:

Well, two weeks turned into four weeks, but finally on Saturday March 5^th, my wife and I both received our official approval letters from Kaiser that our referral had been issued to the surgeon of our choice Dr David Suh of Crown Bariatric.   The letter was dated February 28^th, and said we should hear something from Crown within three weeks.  Well as it took a week to get the letter, that means another two weeks.  I called Crown today, but they hadn’t received the letter yet, so I’ll wait another couple days and call them again.  What I did find out is that there scheduling surgeries now for March 31^st, so all goes well we should be scheduled within a few days of that.  I’m not sure they’ll schedule us for surgery on the same day, but if they do that would be fine as we have two adult children at home that will be able to assist us as needed.  We’re both so excited that the wait is coming to an end shortly, and we can join you all on the loser’s bench soon.   We have a deep sea fishing trip in Mexico coming up in late June, so we should be fully healed, on regular foods by then, have lost a substantial amount of weight, and feel so much better this year.  It’s going to be wonderful to not have hip, back, and joint pain from taking long walks.  In addition, I can’t wait to set comfortably in the airline seat without being cramped and crowding the person next to me. I’ll probably skip the ATV rides through the Mexico deserts this year, but maybe next year put it back on my list of things to do.

I still have a few things to do before surgery, such as buying a two months supply of the vitamins I’ve selected from two sources just in case after the surgery our tastes change and we can’t stand one of them.  We’ve already stocked up on a variety of proteins just in case our tastes change as well.  We have our digital food scale, and several other things on the hospital list, so I think we’re ready.  I’m trying to finish up some home projects such as an engine job, and steering box on my son’s truck, repair a brush mower, overhaul a carburetor on my tractor, and get a 55 Chevy I’m restoring finished.  I also need to get some castor bean tree stumps pulled out, and make a dump run.  There’s always something that needs done, but some things might just have to wait until after I recover.

Something interesting that happened last week at work is the City is having a Get Fit Challenge which started Wednesday February 23^rd.  There is a weigh in and additional ones every two weeks for a 12 week period.  I felt that even if I don’t have my surgery by then, at least I’ll keep working hard towards my goal, and perhaps lose a couple lbs a week.  If I am lucky enough to have my surgery early April, then I’ll really have a tool to help me, and will probably lose 8 - 10 lbs a week.  Each week those with a loss are entered into a drawing for $25 to $50 gift cards and whoever loses the most in the 12 weeks gets an I-Pod Touch.  Getting a prize isn’t what I’m doing this for, my prize is to put my diabetes in remission, lose weight, get and stay healthy, extend my life 10 to 20 years, and enjoy my retirement and perhaps grand kids someday.

UPDATE: Recieved a call today from the surgeons office that our consultation is on March 31st, and will probably be scheduled for surgery the 2nd or 3rd week of April.  We're so happy!



Martin

Two Weeks:

We had our Pre-Op Education with Crown Bariatric at Southwest Bariatric Center in Murrieta last Thursday February 3^rd, and it was informative.  We got to meet with several of their staff; The Physical Therapist discussed exercising after WLS and what to expect.  One of the head Nurses named April was there (really nice) went over what to expect when we arrived and while we’re there, and their Nutritionist named Terry went over diet and vitamin regimens.  I found this last part very interesting to hear how different everyone’s views are of what the requirement is.  Everything my research has shown said not to use Flintstone Complete vitamins, and they say taking 2 of them, or Centrums would be fine, just that they needed to be a chewable.   In contradiction to what the ASMBS recommends, they said Calcium Carbonate like Tums is fine, just that we need to take 2,000 mg rather than 1,500 mg of Calcium Citrate.   They also recommended taking 1,000 mg a day of vitamin C to promote healing, and 300 to 3,000mcg of Biotin to minimize hair loss.  I think that I’ll go with my initial research on vitamins and calcium and go with the ASMBS recommendations, but bump up the vitamin C to 1,000 mg a day, and maybe the Biotin from 600 to 1,200 mg a day.

My wife was done with all she had to do on January 28^th the day of our appointment with the Preventive Medicine (PM) doctor.  I had everything except my ultrasound done, as it had to be scheduled, but it’s now done as of February 3^rd.  I called the same day and told them I had everything done and asked when I should expect to hear my referral has been issued.  They told me it normally takes 2 or 3 weeks.  I’d been watching my labs on kp.org and didn’t see my stool sample results listed, so I called the PM nurse Friday and wanted to know if they’d been lost, or did they receive the results?  They said they had come in, and it looks like everything is in, and I should hear something within 2 or 3 weeks.  I also voiced my concern about the umbilical hernia I’ve discovered I have, as I thought that would be something they would be looking for in the ultrasound, but the technician said that’s not something that will really show up in an ultrasound.  I just wanted to make sure it gets taken care of at the same time of the surgery, and that I don’t finally get my surgeon referral and then be told, that I’ll have to go have the hernia taken care of first, and then come back for the RNY.  At this point what I think I’m going to do is call them every 2 days, even if they keep telling me 2 weeks.  This all reminds me of one of my favorite comedy love story movies, The Money Pit with Tom Hanks and Shelly Long, where he keeps asking the contractor that’s rebuilding their house when they will be finished, and he keeps telling them 2 weeks, 2 weeks, 2 weeks.  Well I guess another 2 weeks isn’t too long, but then the surgeon’s office will probably tell me 2 weeks, and when I actually get my consultation with the surgeon, he’ll probably tell me 2 weeks as well.

Well, as with other WLS patients, we’re use to waiting, and what’s another 2 weeks at this point.  I’ll make sure to update my blog, you guessed it “IN 2 WEEKS” 

Martin

Quick Update:

 

Well, this week has been fun, and we’ve had some progress towards getting our surgery.  On Monday January 24^th we attended a MANDATORY 2-hour Bariatric Seminar in Murrieta, which is required by Crown Bariatric.  It gave us a chance to meet Dr. David Suh, and ask him lots of questions.  I had already done research on him, checked his credentials, and it was an honor to meet him, and we were very impressed.  Most of my questions were already answered through my research, and he answered many more during his presentation.  I did ask how many RNY surgeries he performs a year, and he said around 450.  I asked about the National Averages of 1 in 200 RNY patients die from complications each year, although it really depends upon the surgeon’s experience, and the center.  I asked what his mortality rate is, and he said 1 in 2,000 which was comforting.  I should have asked what number he was currently serving, but thought that would be disrespectful, and he might not find it funny.  He also brought up the fact that Crown Bariatric and Inland Valley Medical Center is a ASMBS Certified Center of Excellence.  In the end, I’m hoping Dr Suh will be our surgeon.

 

On Friday January 28^th we had our group/individual appointment with Dr Osano at Kaiser Preventive Medicine, and she was really nice to speak with, answered lots of questions for the group, and then went over our charts and additional tests and procedures with us.  She congratulated us for our successes in weight loss to date, my wife was 15 lbs, and mine was 34.5 lbs.  We had fasted thinking we might need to do additional labs, and in fact we did.  We left her office and went and had blood work, stool samples, EKG, and chest x-rays.  My wife is now done, so we called and let Dr Osano know so she can process her referral.  We got emails that our labs were in that night, and we went on-line and checked them, and everything looks normal.  I was happy to see my cholesterol was at 112, and my HGBA1C reading is now down to 6.4 which is nearing a normal reading.  I still have to have an abdominal ultra-sound done because they want to check for gallstones, and an umbilical hernia, but had to schedule an appointment for it next Wednesday.  

 

So this week we have the following scheduled:

1.    Wednesday morning, February 2^nd, Abdominal Ultra-Sound.

2.    Wednesday evening, Kaiser Pre-Surgery Support Group meeting.

3.    Thursday afternoon, February 3^rd, MANDATORY 2-hour Bariatric Pre-Op Education class, which is required by Crown Bariatric.

 

We’re hoping by next week Kaiser will have approved and issued a surgeon referral to Crown Bariatric, we’ll have a date to officially meet Dr. Suh again, and get a surgery date.  We’ve heard that Dr. Suh will order a Psych Exam somewhere over in Rancho Cucamonga, but I hear it’s a quick appointment, so hopefully can be scheduled quickly.

 

We’re both very excited, and can’t wait to join you all on the loser’s bench very soon.

 

Martin

Everyone,

Over the last several months I’ve been doing research preparing myself and my wife for having weight loss surgery (WLS).  For my wife and I feel we’re very fortunate to have Kaiser Permanente health insurance, and to qualify for WLS you must attend a 12 week Options class to help prepare you for the life changes that come with WLS.  This time has proven invaluable as it allowed me the time to do additional research on my own.  Part of this research was on the specific WLS types, and to make an educated decision on which surgery would be the best for both of us.  Many of you are going through these same information searches, and learning what’s best for your situation, and most have already had your surgery.  Many of my OH Friends have shared not only their experiences, but which protein drinks and vitamins their using as well.  Two OH Friends have their own web sites; Andrea U. with Vitagarten http://wlsvitagarten.com that has lots of vitamin information, and Pam T. with Blog Journey to a Healthier Life   http://www.pamtremble.blogspot.com with lots of nutrition information and recipes.

Another very important part of this research was on Protein Drinks and Vitamins which play a critical part of a WLS patient’s daily diet and exercise regime for the rest of your life.   I’ve prepared an Excel spreadsheet with many workbooks which 8 cover powdered and pre-mixed protein drinks, and protein deserts and nectars.  All of these proteins are sorted by the cost per serving, so you can see which is cheapest, but make sure to look at the calorie, fats, sugars, and protein content as well.  Remember you want no more than 3 grams fat per 100 calories, and at least 20 - 30 grams of protein per serving.  Remember, you will need to take in 70 to 100 grams of protein per day.   Here are a couple screen shots:

Powder Protein Drinks:

 

Pre-Mix:

There are also 9 work books for regular multi-vitamins and WLS specific chewable vitamins, iron, and calcium.  Make sure to pay close attention to the RDA value which is for a normal person, and not for a WLS patient.   When you get to the Optimized and WLS specific vitamin workbooks you will see a column for RDA for WLS patients recommended amounts from the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) Daily Vitamin Recommendations (RNY 200% of Regular Adult RDA for Multivitamins).  Each of the vitamins listed will show the RDA based upon a regular person, so if it a malabsorption type surgery such as a RNY, it should be close to 200%.  There are also 6 workbooks for My Choice for RNY and My Choice for VSG WLS vitamins.  These are very important and I’ve programmed the formulas to calculate taking the vitamins and minerals listed, how close to the 100% of the ASMBS RDA for the specific WLS, how many of each chewable or sublingual you will need to take each day, and what the daily costs will be.  If you’re a Kaiser patient, Bariatric Advantage offers a 17% discount if you enter a discount code when ordering, so I’ve added 2 work books to reflect this discount as well.  Also, remember that your 8 or 10 vitamins and minerals will have to be taken throughout the day, as iron and calcium have to be taken at least 2 hours apart.  You will actually have to establish a vitamin and supplements schedule similar to the one listed below:

Here are some screen shots from the Vitamins workbooks:

RNY Specific:

 

VSG Specific:

 

Calcium:

  

 

Iron:

 

My Choice for RNY:

 

My Choice for VSG:

 

There is also a workbook for all of the protein products from Vitalady http://www.vitalady.com as they have such a large variety of products and flavors, and even offer most in smaller sample sizes to try them out. This workbook is sorted by name and not price as the others are.

 

If you would like a copy of the Protein Drink and Vitamin spreadsheet, email me at [email protected], I’ll attach and email you a copy for your review.

Remember, WLS is a major life changing event, and you must be prepared to commit to this for the rest of your life.   If you don’t follow the requirements, your health will deteriorate, you will probably experience some hair loss anyway, but without your supplements and proper protein it will probably be much worse.  I hope sharing my research will help you with your journey to a healthier life for you and your family.

Martin

Quick Update:

Well, I wasn’t going to update until after the appointment on January 28^th, but there have been some things going on so I thought I’d just give a quick update.

Some of my OH Friends that have Kaiser as well suggested calling in to see if we can get in quicker, but even more important on my mind was to make sure there was nothing else that I could be doing, or needed to do.  Well I called and they said there was nothing else I really needed to do before the appointment on the 28^th, but they said I didn’t really have to do anything, but they highly recommended I sign up for the weekly pre-op surgery support group classes.  I read that as being it could delay the process if I don’t so I started going every Wednesday night.  I asked if there were any labs or procedures that they wanted done before the 28^th, and they said no the doctor would order any additional ones at that time.  I found out that Kaiser would be sending us to either Dr David Suh out of Crown Bariatric in Corona for RNY, and probably Dr. George Zorn, Eugene Rumsey, or Laurence Tanaka at Pacific Bariatric in San Diego if VSG, so I’ve been researching all I can find on these surgeons and clinics.  So far I really feel comfortable with what I’ve read about Dr Suh, plus his office is only 10 miles away.  What I don’t know is will he do VSG for Kaiser Patients.  I don’t know why they would send people all the way to San Diego when his web page says he does VSG’s.  I learned from another OH Friend yesterday that just recently had her surgery with Dr Suh it was a very good experience.  She suggested that there were some additional steps I should be doing to expedite the process;

1.  Contact Crown Bariatric and sign up for a MANDATORY 2-hour Bariatric Seminar, which we’re now scheduled for in Murrieta on January 24^th.

2.  Contact Crown Bariatric and sign up for a MANDATORY 2-hour Bariatric Pre-Op Education class, which we’re now scheduled for in Murrieta on February 3^rd.

3.  Contact Kaiser Preventive Medicine and sign up for a MANDATORY 2-hour Bariatric Post-Op Support Group class, which is held on the 2^nd Thursday of each month at the Van Buren office in Riverside.  We’re now scheduled for the next one on February 10^rd.

I would like to thank all of my OH Friends that have provided me such excellent advice that I’m hoping will expedite us getting a surgery date.

 

Couple other things, after reading an earlier post (Seattle Maui) Brenda had mentioned her alien as being a hernia.  I discovered I have an alien as well near my belly button which has been there for about 6 months or so (probably from pulling in that 150 lb Stripped Marlin), it hasn’t caused me any pain, and I never knew it was reason for alarm.  We’ll I’ll be bringing it to my doctors attention, as it’ll need to be corrected during the surgery.  Maybe it’ll be a good little alien, and get my surgery date expedited.   I could only hope it would, and not delay the surgery instead.  My weight is doing ok, holding its own for now, but hopefully will be able to drop another 5 or 10 lbs before surgery.   I’m trying to put the finishing touches on my Vitamin research and make my final selection, and have really found some good advice on a couple of my OH Friends sites Pam Tremble (Pam T.), and Andrea U. Vitagarten, and of course the ASMBS Nutritional and Vitamin Guidelines.  I’ve learned so much in studying these, and I just need to finalize the four chewable choices (Bariatric Advantage, Opurity, Celebrate, and Centrum) I’m leading towards and after reviewing each, add the additional Calcium Citrate, B12, and heme iron that might not be included. 
  

Next update will be after our Preventive Maintenance Doctor appointment on January 28^th.    

 

Martin