Missvickie
I feel like an episode of House, MD
Jun 02, 2007
Bottom line? My spleen is enlarged, my liver is enlarged, my hematocrit is way too low (though up from February) and no one can figure out why, other than that I'm not absorbing the iron I'm taking in very well. I've been anemic for years, even way prior to WLS, but became moreso afterward. We all assumed it was because of the menstrual bleeding I was doing, but apparently not so. I'm no longer bleeding thanks to a fancypants uterine ablation but.... still anemic.
My WLS doc referred me to an amazing hematologist and many tests later, we're pretty much back where we started. She ruled out all the truly awful nasties like cancer and feels that I'm anemic because I'm not absorbing iron well. So she's giving me a month of being SUPER good with my iron (even better than I was, which was pretty darn good), retesting me weekly (because, you know, I have blood to spare, right?) and then consider IV iron. In the meantime I'm being advised to eat lots of high iron foods like red meat which fortunately, I tolerate very well.
The other news is that I saw my Sarcoidosis doc and he thinks my Sarcoidosis may be in, or going into, remission. He wants me to have some lung function tests done but he thinks I'm doing very well, and doesn't know what to make of the liver and spleen -- other than it's unlikely to be related to Sarcoidosis.
Best news? I feel great. I went on a marvelous vacation, got to see again and meet for the first time some amazing women that I met online who I adore. My only regret is that some of our friends couldn't make it, but they were sorely missed. I had a lovely drive from Oregon to California with a very sweet friend, hung with really fabulous folks, and then drove back up. It made me even more excited to move out of Alaska in the next two years. I had absolutely NO fatigue and was able to even drive 14 hours one day -- not bad for an old lady with anemia, eh? ;)
I want to work on being better with my eating and some folks on the WLS graduates board are trying a pouch resetting time out. I'd love to do that but I worry that I won't get enough iron dietarily so I'll stick with what I'm doing now -- don't want to throw too many monkey wrenches into my messed up system -- but I really want to try it. Maybe this fall, after my hernia surgery?
Oh, yeah, speaking of which... my hernia is a monster. I can't wait to get that bad boy fixed. We're waiting on my hematocrit to work its way up, and my insurance company to get the weights they need and then hopefully I can get both done this fall. *fingers crossed and all that jazz*
Family-wise, I miss my baby. She's on a trip with her grandparents to the Lower 48 and she's only been gone 24 hours and already it feels like weeks. I'm glad she's having a good time, though.
Overall, life is still good, but these health bumps are tedious. I'm just glad that I feel good and that work is going so well. I love what I do -- who couldn't love help bringing life into the world? -- and I can't imagine doing anything else. I'm just glad that having WLS has given me the energy and physical ability to do what I love. For that I'm forever grateful and these health related bumps are merely annoyances in the grand scheme of things.
Still, though, you think Gregory House is available? He's a real cutie pie and I think he'd find my case interesting.
Toodles for now, but I'll update when I know more. Oh and I have pictures which I'll try and post this week.
xxxooo,
Vickie
My WLS doc referred me to an amazing hematologist and many tests later, we're pretty much back where we started. She ruled out all the truly awful nasties like cancer and feels that I'm anemic because I'm not absorbing iron well. So she's giving me a month of being SUPER good with my iron (even better than I was, which was pretty darn good), retesting me weekly (because, you know, I have blood to spare, right?) and then consider IV iron. In the meantime I'm being advised to eat lots of high iron foods like red meat which fortunately, I tolerate very well.
The other news is that I saw my Sarcoidosis doc and he thinks my Sarcoidosis may be in, or going into, remission. He wants me to have some lung function tests done but he thinks I'm doing very well, and doesn't know what to make of the liver and spleen -- other than it's unlikely to be related to Sarcoidosis.
Best news? I feel great. I went on a marvelous vacation, got to see again and meet for the first time some amazing women that I met online who I adore. My only regret is that some of our friends couldn't make it, but they were sorely missed. I had a lovely drive from Oregon to California with a very sweet friend, hung with really fabulous folks, and then drove back up. It made me even more excited to move out of Alaska in the next two years. I had absolutely NO fatigue and was able to even drive 14 hours one day -- not bad for an old lady with anemia, eh? ;)
I want to work on being better with my eating and some folks on the WLS graduates board are trying a pouch resetting time out. I'd love to do that but I worry that I won't get enough iron dietarily so I'll stick with what I'm doing now -- don't want to throw too many monkey wrenches into my messed up system -- but I really want to try it. Maybe this fall, after my hernia surgery?
Oh, yeah, speaking of which... my hernia is a monster. I can't wait to get that bad boy fixed. We're waiting on my hematocrit to work its way up, and my insurance company to get the weights they need and then hopefully I can get both done this fall. *fingers crossed and all that jazz*
Family-wise, I miss my baby. She's on a trip with her grandparents to the Lower 48 and she's only been gone 24 hours and already it feels like weeks. I'm glad she's having a good time, though.
Overall, life is still good, but these health bumps are tedious. I'm just glad that I feel good and that work is going so well. I love what I do -- who couldn't love help bringing life into the world? -- and I can't imagine doing anything else. I'm just glad that having WLS has given me the energy and physical ability to do what I love. For that I'm forever grateful and these health related bumps are merely annoyances in the grand scheme of things.
Still, though, you think Gregory House is available? He's a real cutie pie and I think he'd find my case interesting.
Toodles for now, but I'll update when I know more. Oh and I have pictures which I'll try and post this week.
xxxooo,
Vickie
Life is Good
Apr 23, 2007
Oh sure, we all have frustrations, and right now I'm about to trade in my dogs on more obedient models, but what can you do? It's spring, and the mud is just so damn tempting to them. They don't care that they've tracked mud in for the umpteenth time in one day, or that as much as I love my new Dyson I don't want to use it several times a day. They're just dogs, and do as dogs do. Just as teens do what teens do, and moms do what moms do.
Food-wise, there are days when I wish that my surgery "hurt" a little more in terms of what I cannot eat. Because I don't have a ring in my stoma, and because I don't have a teeny tiny pouch, I almost never get sick or really get any pain if I overdo it. This is good, because I haven't experienced the misery that many folks have. But I also sometimes wish I had it to keep me on the straight and narrow. And dumping? Only happens when I drink sweet things like milkshakes or frappuccinos. I can have some chocolate and some sweets, and as long as I don't go hog wild, I'm okay. But I can still eat pizza, I can eat sushi, I can even eat Cup O' Noodles though that's a rare thing and only when I'm stuck at work, starving, with nothing to eat. The amounts I can eat vary from just several bites to an entire bagel (I managed that last night without even THINKING about it, ate an entire toasted bagel with cream cheese and berry preserves).
I'm convinced that if I had more discomfort I'd be thinner, but is that what I really want. I think it is, but is it truly? I figure if it was, I'd be better with my diet. And truthfully I do like where I am now because I still recognize me as me, even though others who haven't seen me in years don't recognize me at ALL. And hey, a size 14 is nothing to feel badly about. I'm smaller than I was in high school, over 20 years ago. How many of us can say that? ;)
I am very proud of myself where exercise is concerned. I work out nearly every day, doing cardio (30-40 or more minutes on the treadmill at a rapid walk with a pretty steep incline) every day and weights every other day. I've gotten a LOT stronger, more flexible, and I like my body more than I ever have. I actually, as weird as it sounds, miss it when I don't work out and I've found that I'm trying less and less to find excuses to get out of it. I'll never be one of those truly athletic women who runs, jogs, rides a bike for "fun" but at least I know that I can fit exercise into my day every day and that it's doing good for my body.
It's funny. When people meet me they cannot believe that I was over 300 pounds, and when I show them my driver's license photo they think I'm putting them on. They just refuse to believe that it's me. I don't feel that I look THAT different now, but I suppose I do.
I have the sweetest husband on the planet. He has been nothing but a constant cheerleader, even though I know that some of the changes I've made have no doubt made him a little insecure. He loved and adored me at 300 pounds, and he loves and adores me now. My weight, for him, is a non issue, other than how it makes me feel. How many women can say that?
Food-wise, there are days when I wish that my surgery "hurt" a little more in terms of what I cannot eat. Because I don't have a ring in my stoma, and because I don't have a teeny tiny pouch, I almost never get sick or really get any pain if I overdo it. This is good, because I haven't experienced the misery that many folks have. But I also sometimes wish I had it to keep me on the straight and narrow. And dumping? Only happens when I drink sweet things like milkshakes or frappuccinos. I can have some chocolate and some sweets, and as long as I don't go hog wild, I'm okay. But I can still eat pizza, I can eat sushi, I can even eat Cup O' Noodles though that's a rare thing and only when I'm stuck at work, starving, with nothing to eat. The amounts I can eat vary from just several bites to an entire bagel (I managed that last night without even THINKING about it, ate an entire toasted bagel with cream cheese and berry preserves).
I'm convinced that if I had more discomfort I'd be thinner, but is that what I really want. I think it is, but is it truly? I figure if it was, I'd be better with my diet. And truthfully I do like where I am now because I still recognize me as me, even though others who haven't seen me in years don't recognize me at ALL. And hey, a size 14 is nothing to feel badly about. I'm smaller than I was in high school, over 20 years ago. How many of us can say that? ;)
I am very proud of myself where exercise is concerned. I work out nearly every day, doing cardio (30-40 or more minutes on the treadmill at a rapid walk with a pretty steep incline) every day and weights every other day. I've gotten a LOT stronger, more flexible, and I like my body more than I ever have. I actually, as weird as it sounds, miss it when I don't work out and I've found that I'm trying less and less to find excuses to get out of it. I'll never be one of those truly athletic women who runs, jogs, rides a bike for "fun" but at least I know that I can fit exercise into my day every day and that it's doing good for my body.
It's funny. When people meet me they cannot believe that I was over 300 pounds, and when I show them my driver's license photo they think I'm putting them on. They just refuse to believe that it's me. I don't feel that I look THAT different now, but I suppose I do.
I have the sweetest husband on the planet. He has been nothing but a constant cheerleader, even though I know that some of the changes I've made have no doubt made him a little insecure. He loved and adored me at 300 pounds, and he loves and adores me now. My weight, for him, is a non issue, other than how it makes me feel. How many women can say that?
