PlicketyCat

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Just checking in again

Made it through another Alaskan winter in the wall tent. I did lose some weight again this winter, but nothing as bad as last winter. I feel ok dropping to 128, but 116 last year was way too thin. I'm glad that I finally found a combination of affordable OTC medications (that I can buy inbulk for more savings!) that keeps my tummy happy so I can eat enough during the winter here. Having a grouchy pouch when you need to consume close to 3000 calories to stay warm and active when it's -40F is not cool... I still can't get 3000 calories in everyday, but I can certainly eat more consistently and more types of food than last year.  Meat can still be a little difficult, especially canned or dehydrated/rehydrated meat like we eat out here a lot in the bush without refrigeration... but I've found that mincing/grinding/pureeing my meat into more of a "salad" makes it a lot easier on my tummy. But the cold makes you tense up, without even realizing it, and that tightens up my pouch and makes it hard to get and keep the harder/solider food down sometimes. I eat a lot of "slider" foods in the winter just to get enough calories in... soups, mashed potatoes, oatmeal, cream of wheat, scrambled egg whites, lots of cheese & yogurt, and I add powdered milk to almost everything to boost the protein. Lots of Vitamin D (50k a day) all winter when there is almost no sunlight at all, and then almost no extra Vitamin D in the summer when I'm outside working in the sun all day long.

All-in-all, still very happy that I got this surgery and am ever so grateful for all the improvements in my health and life since. Don't think any of this would be possible if I hadn't gotten "fixed".

So it's been a year since we moved out to the Alaskan Bush.  Other than getting seriously underweight this winter between the extreme cold and tummy issues keeping me from eating enough, I've done pretty well and have kept my weight range.  The most difficult thing is that I'm doing a lot of hard physical labor now and it's tough to get in enough calories to support that kind of exertion sometimes. I'm probably going to dip down again this winter, but hopefully not as low now that I have my meds sorted and shouldn't have to do as much labor out in the cold this year... 119 was just too darned skinny!  But, I guess my body thought that was the deep dip and 130's is my bounce back LOL!

At almost 3 years post-op, I still have problems with a few foods. Meat, especially poultry, is randomly not acceptable to pouchy. I've learned to peel everything that has a thin skin so I don't get the foamies, which sucks because that's where most of the good vits and mins are! Pasta and rice can only be tiny side dishes (maybe a Tbsp) if I don't want them revisiting me all night. Leafy greens can be a major issue, especially cooked, so I have to eat them raw as fresh and crispy as possible... but I think my days of big green salads are lost. I have to be careful with the amount of onions and garlic in things, especially raw; but that might be more down to my ulcer history than directly related to the surgery, the tiny tummy just makes it more noticeable.  High sulfur foods like cabbage, broc, cauliflower, egg yolks, etc can cause serious GI distress, again I think this was happening before just that it's more noticeable with tiny tummy.

But, all-in-all, I'm doing good and staying on track. I eat the majority of my calories and protein, only drinking shakes if I pouchy is grouchy or I have to cram in more to make my daily quota. I do rely on some slider foods to get in enough calories, but if I were less active and didn't need the extra calories I wouldn't need the "cheat". I'll be going in to the city for my blood work next month, so we'll see how that works out and if my regime is adequate (not always the most diligent with my vits because they tend to make me nauseated). I don't relish having to break in a new, undoubtedly overworked, doctor at that community clinic who probably has no experience with WLS patients... but I need the right blood tests, so I'll fight for them. 

And the strangest thing of all is that I'm a women's size 2 or misses size 3... that is totally bizarre. I went from kids sizes to misses 7/9 at puberty, so I've never been this size as an adult. It's actually a pain trying to find appropriate work clothes in this size... I don't think Carhartt is used to women's sizes, much less tiny women, and there are no men's sizes this small. I've resorted to getting some of their "farm" clothes in boy's sizes; but they don't quite fit the hips and waist properly... oh well, SIGH.

After getting back on the meds, I've been able to bump my weight back up to 130 and it's staying there.  Whew! Crisis Averted!

Now that it's spring again, I'll be back working outside in the sun which will do wonders for my Vitamin D levels, and I can reduce my supplements (they sometimes make me barfy).  Fresh produce is also available again, so I won't need that extra B supp either.  I might have to eat one more snack to compensate for the additional exercise of cutting trail and building our cabin; but might not have to since I'm not battling the cold to keep my body temp up like I had to in winter.

We'll see how it goes. I still hit the scale once a month just to keep tabs on things, and eating my seven 200 calorie meals a day has become completely routine (no need to track anymore - yay!).

Finally got in touch with my old doc in Seattle and found out what OTC meds to take for grouchy pouch since the docs up here have no clue and the prescription meds are too expensive (and not covered by MediCare - thanks!).

So, I'm taking 2 Prilosec OTC in the morning, 1 OTC Zantac 175 before lunch and another before dinner. It starting helping almost immediately. Within 3 days I could eat almost everything again, and within a week or so I could eat all my calories.

After dipping down to 119 (waaaaaay tooooooo skinny) trying to work and stay warm in the Arctic bush without being able to eat much, I'm finally climbing back up (slowly) to where everyone wants me to be. Hopefully I can maintain between 135 & 140 now that I'm on meds again.

I did luck out and find a couple of places that sell the generic versions of the OTC in bulk at a MAJOR discount, so I can get 6 months worth of both for just about the same as one month of Nexium or 2 months of Prilosec Rx. And I can still write them off as medical expenses (along with my vitamins & supplements) on my taxes. Woot!

It's a constant battle to keep my weight up living out here in the frigid Alaskan bush. You seriously burn up the calories hauling wood for hours when it's -40F outside. I managed to stabilize my weight at 131 (by eating as much as I could -- about 200 calories -- every hour and drinking high cal bevs).  But then I went and got some nasty tummy bug and couldn't keep anything down for a few days... weight plummeted to 123 (some due to dehydration). Arg - now I have to fight to get back those lbs again!

So, we've been living in Alaska for over 2 months, officially in the wall tent on our property for almost a month. I'm still a bit underweight at 129, but I've been working my ass off so I'm sure that accounts for a lot of it. Of course, that means that I've been pretty stable at 129 for almost 3 months, so maybe this is my new set point. I do think I'm a bit on the skinny side, especially now that I've put on so much muscle with bush living. Checked my Body Fat % and it was about 18.5%... that's a smidge borderline, so hopefully I'll get some more weight back over the winter when I'm not trudging around clearing trail, building things and cutting/hauling firewood all day.

Stepped on the scale this morning and OOOPs, I'm at 133.  Lord, I never thought I'd have a problem with keeping my weight UP.  After yearsof battling to keep it down, it's totally surreal. I'm hoping that after the move is done and things settle down, my puchy won't hate me so much and will allow me to eat more. I've always had a nervous stomach, but after the surgery stress totally makes normal eating nearly impossible. My doc has me taking Nexium twice a day and I'm back on the Carafate for the nausea. I'm going to need to eat a lot more once we're up in AK and I'm doing hard physical labor all day everyday. Needless to say, I won't be packing my scale in long term storage... it's going in my suitcase so I can keep an eye on things! 

I've been busting my butt around the house getting ready for our move to Alaska and haven't been paying too much attention to the scale. Well, last week I went in for my yearlies and my PCP yelled at me to stop losing weight. I was, like, "Huh?" and it turns out that I'm down below 140 again. Given my frame, she said she'd call the "food police" if I dipped below 135... and I'm heading back down there again. I think my weight is scaring her even more because I'm really starting to pack on a lot of muscle, so you'd think I'd be gaining weight, but I'm still burning off body fat. My body fat percentage was just a smidge too low (around 15%) and she says that I look it... I guess that's her way of telling me that I'm getting too boney. Sure, I briefly noticed that my size 6's were getting a little loose, but then I went about other things.

It's not like I've been trying to lose more weight or get smaller or anything; it's just that I'm packing, hauling boxes, painting, lugging furniture around the house, up and down stairs and ladders all day. I'm eating about 1400 calories a day -- seven 200 calorie meals -- but my PCP wants me to try adding 400-600 more!  Eeeeek - I have no idea how I'm going to manage that since pouchy still only allows me around a 1/2c per meal and I'm already eating every two hours now. I mean I do have to drink too, so if I add another 2-3 meals I'm barely going to have enough time since I barf if I drink right after I eat (have to wait at least 30 minutes). I started drinking juice, which should give me at least 300 more calories.

Boy howdy! I never thought I'd ever need to eat MORE because I was getting too SKINNY!  I think this is going to be a constant battle once we start our Alaska Adventure. Guess I better pack my scale where it's handy!

My 18 mo labs were good, which is surprising considering how sick I was this winter. My D was a little low, of course, but I'm back on track with that again... seems I can blink and get low D sometimes! Still maintaining 140 +/- so all my docs are happy, and so am I.

Still having some problems with certain foods, but I'm learning my way around them. It's a good thing that I found local farmers who ethically raise their animals free-range or pastured because I've learned that I need to eat meat on the rare side in order not to give myself the foamies. Don't think I'd trust the conventional grocery store stuff not to make me sick, not with all the E. Coli and Salmonella recalls they've been having lately. I like being able to know the farmer and butcher, to see how the animal is raised and slaughtered... it really puts my mind at ease knowing the animal is healthy, raised on a clean farm, not dosed with hormones or antibiotics, and processed with care at a clean local facility.

I haven't posted in a while since I've been busy getting ready for our move to Alaska and starting up our homestead. It's amazing how much time and energy completely changing your life can take!  Ironic that radically simplifying your life takes so much planning and strategy to do right.

I'm still maintaining around 140. My PCP got a little worried when I started getting close to 135 and threatened to put me on TPN fluids if I lost anymore. So I've been really careful to keep my calories above 1200 a day (closer to 1600 if I'm doing a lot of physical activity). Luckily, I'm able to eat again now that I'm back on the Nexium. Looks like I'm going to be one of those people who have to take a PPI forever. Oh well, my stomach was a mess before surgery, so that's nothing new... at least I'm healthy now!

I'm a member of an Organic CSA and get a bin of organic produce every week. It's been a bit of a challenge finding recipes for some of the veggies that I can eat, but it's been kind of fun. It would probably be much easier if I tolerated leafy greens a little better (they give me the foamies) and I didn't have a few food aversions (eggplant - yuck!!).  I definitely feel better eating organic and hubby is happy that I'm finally cooking again. The first year after surgery just smelling food could make me feel sick, so it's nice to be able have some fun in the kitchen again. Thank goodness I don't dump on fat anymore because a lot of the recipes I've found to make the more "icky" veggies tolerable have lots of butter, cream and cheese in them... but oh well, it helps keep the protein and calories high enough for maintenance.

I'm still keeping my carbs fairly low because I feel horrible when I overindulge. Having gluten allergy/sensitivity makes it a bit easier not to munch on bread and pasta, but finding gluten-free varieties for the occasional treat has been interesting. It's nearly impossible to find any packaged foods or things in restaurants that don't have wheat or gluten in them so eating fresh from home is beginning to be my best option. I'm not too worried about that because I never really was one to eat out a lot or go in for microwave dinners, but sometimes you just don't feel like cooking ya know?!

But overall, I'm really happy that I had my RNY and my PS. I reached goal in my first year, and am still maintaining 6 months afterwards. I feel sooooooo much better and do soooooo much more now. Sometimes it's hard to remember that I can easily walk a few miles, or don't have to squeeze into seats or down aisles anymore, or can buy "real" clothes now. The other day after we bought our pickup truck someone said it was funny seeing such a "tiny" woman getting in and out of such a huge truck.... wow -- I'm TINY. It's hard to wrap my brain around :)

Only two months or so before the big move... eeek!  Hopefully we'll be able to get the cabin built and the gardens going so we can get our livestock and be mostly self-sufficient soon.