Renfairewench
A quick request & online thrifting
Dec 17, 2013
Hey all. I know that this is off topic, but I have a huge favor to ask. I'm trying to win a One Hundred dollar credit to ThredUP and I need your help. Could you please go to this post: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152461721544447&set=a.430019899446.219158.69271134446&type=1 and just LIKE my reindeer name Cookie Toe-Bells, it's next to my name. If I get enough people to "Like" my name by 8:00 p.m. tonight (Tues. 12/17) night I will win! If I win I plan on giving the credit to someone I know who is ill and w/o a husband. She has 3 kids and exists on welfare. Her kids really need some clothes and coats. She has so little money that even going to the thrift store is too expensive for her. I'd really love to be able to give this to her for Christmas.
Could you help me out please?
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Want to see more? Check out my thredUP photo album. Most dresses were under twenty dollars.
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Why I decided to revise from RNY to DS and what happened.
Feb 16, 2011
I have been asked a lot why I decided to revise from RNY to DS. Truthfully, it was because I was gaining weight. When I had my RNY in 1999 I weighed in at 430 pounds. I really didn't see any possibility of losing 300 pounds or even less than that. RNY was considered "the GOLD standard" and though I had heard about the Duodenal Switch when I asked my surgeon about it his reply was "well, it's just like a distal (now called an eRNY) gastric bypass. I trusted my surgeon and so I didn't do due diligence and I didn't research it like I had researched RNY. I just went with the RNY. So I lost 220 pounds and got to 210 and never lost more weight. My weight just stopped and that was it and where I maintained for about four years after which I started gaining weight and from years 4 to 10 I ended up gaining 92 pounds. To put that in perspective I gained about 48% of the weight that I lost. One thing that the doctor didn't tell me was that Severely Morbidly Obese people gain more like 40-50% of their excess weight loss weight back starting around the forth/fifth year post op. Actually, I was told that I might gain 10-20%. What a lie. Anyway, I wasn't happy with myself and I hated that no matter how much I dieted I still continued to gain weight. In addition to weight gain I really wanted to not dump, which I did frequently.
The following is from my own RNY to DS revision experience. It's long and it might scare you, but use this information to educate yourself in what can happen. It doesn't mean it will, but it just might. You need to count the cost of what could happen to you. I think that many people who want revisions walk around thinking that a revision is a walk in the park and for some it can be, but for many it isn't. Twenty five to thirty five percent of RNY to DS revisions suffer from gastric leaks. That is one in three or one in four people. Revisions are risky and require a skilled and vetted surgeon to perform them.
On August 10th, 2009 (Monday) I underwent revision surgery from an RNY to a DS. There were issues immediately after my surgery. My heart rate was out of control and for some reason my normally low blood pressure was in outer space. I was heavily drugged on pain medication and placed in the critical care unit following my surgery. I was given medication by a cardiology specialist which after a day did bring down my BP and heart rate to more normal levels. My husband brought up to the CCU nurse that my heart rate and BP seemed high. Though nurses had been in and out of the room no one was checking my vitals. I think were it not for my husband checking my vitals I might have had cardiac arrest. After my heart rate and BP were normalized I was sent for an upper GI the next day. I repeatedly failed the GI. The gastrograffin contrast did not exit into my stomach, but rather remained in my esophagus. The next day my bariatric surgeon, Dr. Greenbaum came to visit to me to tell me that I needed to have another operation. I knew something was wrong because I was throwing up old blood, saliva, and the gastrografin contrast. Basically, the contrast nor anything else would go down into my stomach and would remain only in my esophagus I was told and that there was an area in my stomach that had been necessarily over sewn because it was a weak spot along the old RNY staple-line. That area got very swollen and as a result the contrast from the upper GI was not going into my stomach, but rather backing up into my esophagus. The next day (Wednesday) I had a second operation. Sutures were released and my pylorus, which seemed not to be working had to be stretched. I was returned to CCU and in the end I spent 9 days there. I was moved to a regular room on a Wednesday and was to be discharged 2 days later on that Friday, but my incision got red and hot and started leaking sero-sanquenous fluid and had to be opened in two places even though I had two JP drains. My incision was packed daily and dressed. Due to the draining of my incision I was not allowed to leave the hospital until the following Wednesday making my first stay at the hospital 17 days. I came home with a PICC line, a J-tube and home health care nurses to assist with the enteral feedings and thrice daily IV antibiotics as well as dressing changes. I was not allowed to eat anything (NPO), and only allowed small amounts of water and or ice. I was not allowed to eat and allowed only small amounts of ice and water. I had been NPO the entire 17 days I was in the hospital and would continue to be NPO for a total of 55 days. The days that followed my return home the arm I had the Picc line in started to hurt like hell and by Sunday night (home only 4 days) my temperature went up to 102.6. We knew that something bad was going on so I called Dr. Greenbaum's office. His answering service connected me directly with him. He told me to pack a bag and get back to the hospital. It turned out I had a subclavian blood clot (a DVT) caused by the PICC line. The PICC Line was also superficially infected and was removed, but because I needed IV antibiotics at home I had to have another one put in my other (left) arm. I was put on Warfarin and Lovonox while in the hospital. I spent another week in the hospital and was discharged. I came home on Warfarin and again started to settle in. In total I was on blood thinners for 3 months. Four days after I got home I got a visit from the visiting nurse so she could packed and dress my wound. I went to bed later that evening my husband came up a few hours later to hook up my enteral feeding (I had a J-tube) to discover that my night shirt was soaked. He took the dressing off of my incision and discovered white viscous ick (gastric stuff) everywhere.When I raised my head to look ick would come bubbling out of a hole in my incision. Once again I called the doctor the next morning and back to the hospital I went. I ended up getting a gastric leak in the area that had been previously swollen and operated on previously. This in turn caused a fistula which was draining out of the open incision. I spent another week in the hospital again. I came home with a Wound Vacuum pump. Total time in the hospital over Aug. and September was about 27 days.
For 60 days I wore the wound vac pump while it sucked out ick from my stomach and helped close my incision. In mid October the J-tube was removed and I was put on full liquids. The PICC line was removed at the beginning of October. I had been moved from being NPO except water to clear liquids to full liquids to actually eating. Unfortunately when I did eat anything that wasn't pudding or yogurt consistency I threw up. From October to April 10 I was moved back and forth from full liquids to soft foods. I had a lot of food intolerance. Most meats were impossible for me to eat. Most of my protein came from cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, and protein drinks.
For a total of 17 months I dealt with the now chronic gastric leak and fistula. In the end I had internal and external fistulas (5 in all). In April I was put on TPN (IV nutrition) and made to go NPO once again. This was only supposed to be for a couple of week, however, it it's turned into 6 plus months. In June I got sepsis from the tunneled PICC which was in my jugular vein and being used to infuse the TPN. That PICC was removed and a Groshong cath was inserted into my subcavian vein just above my left breast and was there from June to December. In September I underwent a Enterocutaneous Gastric plug procedure. The plug was supposed to plug up the fistula and the gastric leak, however, it the procedure failed and didn't work for me. Frankly, at this point and knowing what I know, the plug never had a chance since I had so many internal fistulas. In October I went back to the GI surgeon who I had been referred to by Dr. Greenbaum. He said that surgery was the next step, but told me that I potentially could come out of the surgery without a stomach. Even though the potential outcome could mean a total gastrectomy I decided to have surgery. December 15th, 2010 I underwent another surgery to excise out the gastric leak. While the surgeon was inside of me he discovered three additional blind fistulas. One that went from my stomach to my colon, which had to be repaired as well. The other two were tributary fistulas and were causing internal abscesses which had to be cut out. I had two external fistulas (fistulas that went from my stomach to the outside of my body) that were cut out as well. I ended up having a lot of strictures around the lower portion of my stomach that was causing poor blood flow to my lower stomach. I had a stricture around my pyloric valve that was so tight that the tip of a pen could not have penetrated it. This was why I was throwing everything up that wasn't pudding consistency. In the end I lost another 1/3 of my stomach. I sadly lost my pyloric valve and had to go back to having a pouch. Some of my intestine had to be cut out however, my intestines are still a DS configuration.
As a revision I am an anomaly, but you should know that sometimes things do not always go the way we think they will. You must count the cost of having a revision. It bears repeating; think twice, cut once.
So, in the end I have lost (this time) 145 pounds so far. I'm close to being at my goal of 150 and close to being at my surgeons goal of 140 pounds.
I'm able to eat now and rarely throw up anymore. I have no more medical appliances in my body. It's been a long year and a half and there were times when I wondered if I was going to make it to the next day, however, I'm finally at a place where I am enjoying my DS.
Peace,
Maddie
0 comments
The following is from my own RNY to DS revision experience. It's long and it might scare you, but use this information to educate yourself in what can happen. It doesn't mean it will, but it just might. You need to count the cost of what could happen to you. I think that many people who want revisions walk around thinking that a revision is a walk in the park and for some it can be, but for many it isn't. Twenty five to thirty five percent of RNY to DS revisions suffer from gastric leaks. That is one in three or one in four people. Revisions are risky and require a skilled and vetted surgeon to perform them.
On August 10th, 2009 (Monday) I underwent revision surgery from an RNY to a DS. There were issues immediately after my surgery. My heart rate was out of control and for some reason my normally low blood pressure was in outer space. I was heavily drugged on pain medication and placed in the critical care unit following my surgery. I was given medication by a cardiology specialist which after a day did bring down my BP and heart rate to more normal levels. My husband brought up to the CCU nurse that my heart rate and BP seemed high. Though nurses had been in and out of the room no one was checking my vitals. I think were it not for my husband checking my vitals I might have had cardiac arrest. After my heart rate and BP were normalized I was sent for an upper GI the next day. I repeatedly failed the GI. The gastrograffin contrast did not exit into my stomach, but rather remained in my esophagus. The next day my bariatric surgeon, Dr. Greenbaum came to visit to me to tell me that I needed to have another operation. I knew something was wrong because I was throwing up old blood, saliva, and the gastrografin contrast. Basically, the contrast nor anything else would go down into my stomach and would remain only in my esophagus I was told and that there was an area in my stomach that had been necessarily over sewn because it was a weak spot along the old RNY staple-line. That area got very swollen and as a result the contrast from the upper GI was not going into my stomach, but rather backing up into my esophagus. The next day (Wednesday) I had a second operation. Sutures were released and my pylorus, which seemed not to be working had to be stretched. I was returned to CCU and in the end I spent 9 days there. I was moved to a regular room on a Wednesday and was to be discharged 2 days later on that Friday, but my incision got red and hot and started leaking sero-sanquenous fluid and had to be opened in two places even though I had two JP drains. My incision was packed daily and dressed. Due to the draining of my incision I was not allowed to leave the hospital until the following Wednesday making my first stay at the hospital 17 days. I came home with a PICC line, a J-tube and home health care nurses to assist with the enteral feedings and thrice daily IV antibiotics as well as dressing changes. I was not allowed to eat anything (NPO), and only allowed small amounts of water and or ice. I was not allowed to eat and allowed only small amounts of ice and water. I had been NPO the entire 17 days I was in the hospital and would continue to be NPO for a total of 55 days. The days that followed my return home the arm I had the Picc line in started to hurt like hell and by Sunday night (home only 4 days) my temperature went up to 102.6. We knew that something bad was going on so I called Dr. Greenbaum's office. His answering service connected me directly with him. He told me to pack a bag and get back to the hospital. It turned out I had a subclavian blood clot (a DVT) caused by the PICC line. The PICC Line was also superficially infected and was removed, but because I needed IV antibiotics at home I had to have another one put in my other (left) arm. I was put on Warfarin and Lovonox while in the hospital. I spent another week in the hospital and was discharged. I came home on Warfarin and again started to settle in. In total I was on blood thinners for 3 months. Four days after I got home I got a visit from the visiting nurse so she could packed and dress my wound. I went to bed later that evening my husband came up a few hours later to hook up my enteral feeding (I had a J-tube) to discover that my night shirt was soaked. He took the dressing off of my incision and discovered white viscous ick (gastric stuff) everywhere.When I raised my head to look ick would come bubbling out of a hole in my incision. Once again I called the doctor the next morning and back to the hospital I went. I ended up getting a gastric leak in the area that had been previously swollen and operated on previously. This in turn caused a fistula which was draining out of the open incision. I spent another week in the hospital again. I came home with a Wound Vacuum pump. Total time in the hospital over Aug. and September was about 27 days.
For 60 days I wore the wound vac pump while it sucked out ick from my stomach and helped close my incision. In mid October the J-tube was removed and I was put on full liquids. The PICC line was removed at the beginning of October. I had been moved from being NPO except water to clear liquids to full liquids to actually eating. Unfortunately when I did eat anything that wasn't pudding or yogurt consistency I threw up. From October to April 10 I was moved back and forth from full liquids to soft foods. I had a lot of food intolerance. Most meats were impossible for me to eat. Most of my protein came from cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, and protein drinks.
For a total of 17 months I dealt with the now chronic gastric leak and fistula. In the end I had internal and external fistulas (5 in all). In April I was put on TPN (IV nutrition) and made to go NPO once again. This was only supposed to be for a couple of week, however, it it's turned into 6 plus months. In June I got sepsis from the tunneled PICC which was in my jugular vein and being used to infuse the TPN. That PICC was removed and a Groshong cath was inserted into my subcavian vein just above my left breast and was there from June to December. In September I underwent a Enterocutaneous Gastric plug procedure. The plug was supposed to plug up the fistula and the gastric leak, however, it the procedure failed and didn't work for me. Frankly, at this point and knowing what I know, the plug never had a chance since I had so many internal fistulas. In October I went back to the GI surgeon who I had been referred to by Dr. Greenbaum. He said that surgery was the next step, but told me that I potentially could come out of the surgery without a stomach. Even though the potential outcome could mean a total gastrectomy I decided to have surgery. December 15th, 2010 I underwent another surgery to excise out the gastric leak. While the surgeon was inside of me he discovered three additional blind fistulas. One that went from my stomach to my colon, which had to be repaired as well. The other two were tributary fistulas and were causing internal abscesses which had to be cut out. I had two external fistulas (fistulas that went from my stomach to the outside of my body) that were cut out as well. I ended up having a lot of strictures around the lower portion of my stomach that was causing poor blood flow to my lower stomach. I had a stricture around my pyloric valve that was so tight that the tip of a pen could not have penetrated it. This was why I was throwing everything up that wasn't pudding consistency. In the end I lost another 1/3 of my stomach. I sadly lost my pyloric valve and had to go back to having a pouch. Some of my intestine had to be cut out however, my intestines are still a DS configuration.
As a revision I am an anomaly, but you should know that sometimes things do not always go the way we think they will. You must count the cost of having a revision. It bears repeating; think twice, cut once.
So, in the end I have lost (this time) 145 pounds so far. I'm close to being at my goal of 150 and close to being at my surgeons goal of 140 pounds.
I'm able to eat now and rarely throw up anymore. I have no more medical appliances in my body. It's been a long year and a half and there were times when I wondered if I was going to make it to the next day, however, I'm finally at a place where I am enjoying my DS.
Peace,
Maddie
Fistula stuff - CT Scan
Nov 19, 2010
I went on vacation last week. It's the first time in seven years that I have known my husband that I have been on vacation without him. I must admit, I rather liked it. Of course it helped that I had some pretty cool friends to stay with and in general just had a really good time.
I left on a Tuesday from Philly airport. Normally I would have flown out of Newark airport, but I had an appointment with the Gastro surgeon (Dr. Matt Kirkland) early that morning so instead of driving from Philly to Newark I just flew out of Philly. The appointment with Kirkland was pretty standard and not much was really done. I wasn't draining and hadn't been draining for about 2 weeks prior to the visit. Of course Dr. Kirkland hoped that my fistula and leak were healed, but having been through this before I didn't really think it was. I felt fine until Thursday when someone picked me up off the floor (which totally surprised me, because when have I EVER been light enough to pick up off the floor? I mean, not since I was like 3 years old!) in surprise of seeing me. His rather large belly smashed into my belly and I noticed some tenderness. I knew then that I was going to be getting another collection and getting all sore and icky feeling again. By Sunday I was feeling pretty horrible. I left the activities of the faire at noon and headed back to the trailer to lie down. I slept for nearly 6 hours. Bret and Kathleen, the great folks I was staying with, came and said that they would be playing a gig in this Irish Pub that I love and asked if I wanted to come. I was still feeling pretty horrible and as much as I wanted to go I decided that it would be better for me to just relax in bed. Rachael, Kathleen's daughter, put in a DVD for me and I settled in to watch it. I fell asleep about forty minutes into the movie. It was 8:00 p.m. I solidly slept until 8:00 a.m. the next morning. I woke to more pain, swelling and lots of tenderness, but I pushed on and went to the farewell breakfast. During breakfast my fistula broke open and I began to drain copious amounts of ick. I've been less than hungry since last Saturday and keeping my protein above 50 grams has been tough. I haven't been hungry and drinking was tough because once the fistula opened up anything I drank came leaking out too. What a mess.
So today I had a CT scan that Dr. Kirkland ordered. I had to drink contrast and had to have contrast pushed though a peripherial IV. I viewed the scans but I can't make heads or tails out of them. My guess is that the reading doctor will be able to see more than I can because all I can make out are my kidneys and some of my bowel. I'll be sending the CD results to Dr. Kirkland tomorrow. I assume that I'll hear from him sometime the following week with a surgery plan.
No, I really don't want surgery, but 15 months of chronic leaking, swelling, pain and so forth is more than enough. I mean, I have to wonder if this thing would EVER heal on it's own or not. I have serious doubts that it would.
One good thing that has come out of all of this though is that I weigh 176 pounds and have just 26 more pounds to lose to get to my 150 goal. I can barely beleive it! I'm wearing size 14 jeans and medium tops, though sometimes large depending on the cut. I did have to buy a new winter coat this year because the one I got last year is too big.
Well, I'm off to get some cleaning done.
Maddie out
(ILAMYM)
0 comments
I left on a Tuesday from Philly airport. Normally I would have flown out of Newark airport, but I had an appointment with the Gastro surgeon (Dr. Matt Kirkland) early that morning so instead of driving from Philly to Newark I just flew out of Philly. The appointment with Kirkland was pretty standard and not much was really done. I wasn't draining and hadn't been draining for about 2 weeks prior to the visit. Of course Dr. Kirkland hoped that my fistula and leak were healed, but having been through this before I didn't really think it was. I felt fine until Thursday when someone picked me up off the floor (which totally surprised me, because when have I EVER been light enough to pick up off the floor? I mean, not since I was like 3 years old!) in surprise of seeing me. His rather large belly smashed into my belly and I noticed some tenderness. I knew then that I was going to be getting another collection and getting all sore and icky feeling again. By Sunday I was feeling pretty horrible. I left the activities of the faire at noon and headed back to the trailer to lie down. I slept for nearly 6 hours. Bret and Kathleen, the great folks I was staying with, came and said that they would be playing a gig in this Irish Pub that I love and asked if I wanted to come. I was still feeling pretty horrible and as much as I wanted to go I decided that it would be better for me to just relax in bed. Rachael, Kathleen's daughter, put in a DVD for me and I settled in to watch it. I fell asleep about forty minutes into the movie. It was 8:00 p.m. I solidly slept until 8:00 a.m. the next morning. I woke to more pain, swelling and lots of tenderness, but I pushed on and went to the farewell breakfast. During breakfast my fistula broke open and I began to drain copious amounts of ick. I've been less than hungry since last Saturday and keeping my protein above 50 grams has been tough. I haven't been hungry and drinking was tough because once the fistula opened up anything I drank came leaking out too. What a mess.
So today I had a CT scan that Dr. Kirkland ordered. I had to drink contrast and had to have contrast pushed though a peripherial IV. I viewed the scans but I can't make heads or tails out of them. My guess is that the reading doctor will be able to see more than I can because all I can make out are my kidneys and some of my bowel. I'll be sending the CD results to Dr. Kirkland tomorrow. I assume that I'll hear from him sometime the following week with a surgery plan.
No, I really don't want surgery, but 15 months of chronic leaking, swelling, pain and so forth is more than enough. I mean, I have to wonder if this thing would EVER heal on it's own or not. I have serious doubts that it would.
One good thing that has come out of all of this though is that I weigh 176 pounds and have just 26 more pounds to lose to get to my 150 goal. I can barely beleive it! I'm wearing size 14 jeans and medium tops, though sometimes large depending on the cut. I did have to buy a new winter coat this year because the one I got last year is too big.
Well, I'm off to get some cleaning done.
Maddie out
(ILAMYM)
So close - So far
Nov 02, 2010
Over the last several weeks of doing TPN and eating/drinking I had gained three pounds. Now, that might not seem much in the long run, but a pound a week is pretty significant for me. Normally, my weight will fluctuate anywhere between 1-5 pounds on any given day, but this weight gained seemed different to me because during the week I never dropped back down. It stubbornly seemed to hold on.
I mentioned the gain to my home health care dietitian and she agreed that my ability to get 100 plus grams of protein in a day might be the cause of the weight gain and as such that my TPN would be reduced to 3 days a week. So on the days I infuse I'm getting approx. 750 calories, which are fully absorbed because they go into my blood stream, and 70 some grams of protein. I still try to do 100 grams of protein on the days I infuse.
I've been feeling like I lost weight and on the days that no one needs to know my weight I stay off the scale. My personal official day for weighing in is on a Wed. I used to do Mondays, which was my surgery day, but it seems like all my weigh in with Dr. Greenbaum are either on a Wed. or a Friday so that is why I use Wednesday. It also seems to be a good day for me because it's mid week especially because it's away from the weekend foolishness.
So this morning I came downstairs, it being my weigh in day and all and stepped on the scale to see that I'd lost the gained weight and then some. I'm down to 180. Just one pound from being in the 170's. I can scarcely believe it. I'm also just 30 pounds from my 150 goal weight. It seems so close, yet so far. I am hoping that my body will allow me to continue to drop to get to that 140-150 mark, or hell even lower since I know that there is a little bounce back. Dr. Greenbaum has my goal at 140. It seems pretty far away and sometimes I wonder if it's even doable. I chose 150. It was an arbitrary number that I just pulled out of my head. Actually it was two pounds more than one half of what I used to weigh. It sounded like a good number and I just stuck with it. I'm hoping to get to that goal. I'd like to be there like by the end of November, but that's just foolishness, however, March would be good. I'm going to try very hard to stay the course and be compliant.
Life is good.
M-out
(ILAMYM)
0 comments
I mentioned the gain to my home health care dietitian and she agreed that my ability to get 100 plus grams of protein in a day might be the cause of the weight gain and as such that my TPN would be reduced to 3 days a week. So on the days I infuse I'm getting approx. 750 calories, which are fully absorbed because they go into my blood stream, and 70 some grams of protein. I still try to do 100 grams of protein on the days I infuse.
I've been feeling like I lost weight and on the days that no one needs to know my weight I stay off the scale. My personal official day for weighing in is on a Wed. I used to do Mondays, which was my surgery day, but it seems like all my weigh in with Dr. Greenbaum are either on a Wed. or a Friday so that is why I use Wednesday. It also seems to be a good day for me because it's mid week especially because it's away from the weekend foolishness.
So this morning I came downstairs, it being my weigh in day and all and stepped on the scale to see that I'd lost the gained weight and then some. I'm down to 180. Just one pound from being in the 170's. I can scarcely believe it. I'm also just 30 pounds from my 150 goal weight. It seems so close, yet so far. I am hoping that my body will allow me to continue to drop to get to that 140-150 mark, or hell even lower since I know that there is a little bounce back. Dr. Greenbaum has my goal at 140. It seems pretty far away and sometimes I wonder if it's even doable. I chose 150. It was an arbitrary number that I just pulled out of my head. Actually it was two pounds more than one half of what I used to weigh. It sounded like a good number and I just stuck with it. I'm hoping to get to that goal. I'd like to be there like by the end of November, but that's just foolishness, however, March would be good. I'm going to try very hard to stay the course and be compliant.
Life is good.
M-out
(ILAMYM)
Gastric leak / fistula and fistula plug procedure failure
Oct 30, 2010
Well, the fistula plug that I had put in last month was a failure. About two and a half weeks after it was put in it started leaking again only it was leaking whenever I drank anything. I was very unhappy and upset, especially given that I was scheduled to have my catheter removed on November 3rd. I spoke to Dr. Greenbaum about the TPN and said that I didn't want to go back to being NPO again and I didn't want to go back to infusing 1200 mls of TPN every day. I explained to him that bowel rest and TPN has not helped in closing the fistula and that I don't see how being on it all the time would make much difference. Add to that I'm able to get in over 100 grams of protein in a day. Yes, I have to work at that and sometimes I feel like I'm never going to get the daily goal. Currently I'm infusing 4 days a week, but I'm not losing any weight. In fact I have gained 3 pounds. I know that isn't a lot, but for me 3 leads into 4 leads to 8 leads to OMG what the hell have I done! If my body knows anything, it knows how to gain and hold onto weight. Dr. Greenbaum agreed that eating soft foods and drinking was probably not going to make much difference and that I do need the additional nutrition so I will remain on TPN until I meet with the gastro surgeon.
Yup, I'm going to have to have surgery, again. I'm pretty certain it's going to be open and I am dreading it, but it must be done to finally rid myself of this leak and fistula. If it does that I will be happy. I feel like I am imprisoned by this chronic condition. I haven't met with the surgeon to talk about it yet though, but I think that what will happen is that the surgeon will excise out the fistula tract and cut out the hole in my stomach and sew it back together there by allowing new healing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed this will finally take care of things.
As for eating, well things are getting a bit easier. Last November though February when I was allowed to eat (off and on) I basically threw up everything that I ate. I've pretty much been sticking with soft foods and those mostly have been going well. Occasionally I've been surprisingly able to eat nuts too, but not more than a handful or so. Princess (my stomach) seems to be OK with Prime Rib and beef tenderloin, but not regular steak. Chicken and hamburger are very iffy. Most of the time it makes me feel like I have eaten cement and bricks. Pork is completely out. Pasta mostly doesn't agree with me either. Fish is good and scallops seem to work pretty well for me too. I can eat 2 or 3 of them. I'm still only eating a couple of bites and I'm done. For the most part I have to graze all day long which is a new concept for me. I find it exhausting sometimes. Most of the time I'm not even hungry so eating seems rather silly for me, but I have to in order to get to 100 grams of protein. Most of that comes from protein drinks. I'd be hard pressed to eat 100 grams of protein from food.
As for the good in all of this I now wear a size 12 or 14 jeans, a small to medium top. I've been looking for a coat and have been trying on size large which seems to fit pretty well. I used to wear a size 26. I'm 33 pounds from my goal which I'm hoping to get to before June 11.
That's all for now.
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Yup, I'm going to have to have surgery, again. I'm pretty certain it's going to be open and I am dreading it, but it must be done to finally rid myself of this leak and fistula. If it does that I will be happy. I feel like I am imprisoned by this chronic condition. I haven't met with the surgeon to talk about it yet though, but I think that what will happen is that the surgeon will excise out the fistula tract and cut out the hole in my stomach and sew it back together there by allowing new healing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed this will finally take care of things.
As for eating, well things are getting a bit easier. Last November though February when I was allowed to eat (off and on) I basically threw up everything that I ate. I've pretty much been sticking with soft foods and those mostly have been going well. Occasionally I've been surprisingly able to eat nuts too, but not more than a handful or so. Princess (my stomach) seems to be OK with Prime Rib and beef tenderloin, but not regular steak. Chicken and hamburger are very iffy. Most of the time it makes me feel like I have eaten cement and bricks. Pork is completely out. Pasta mostly doesn't agree with me either. Fish is good and scallops seem to work pretty well for me too. I can eat 2 or 3 of them. I'm still only eating a couple of bites and I'm done. For the most part I have to graze all day long which is a new concept for me. I find it exhausting sometimes. Most of the time I'm not even hungry so eating seems rather silly for me, but I have to in order to get to 100 grams of protein. Most of that comes from protein drinks. I'd be hard pressed to eat 100 grams of protein from food.
As for the good in all of this I now wear a size 12 or 14 jeans, a small to medium top. I've been looking for a coat and have been trying on size large which seems to fit pretty well. I used to wear a size 26. I'm 33 pounds from my goal which I'm hoping to get to before June 11.
That's all for now.
Finally!
Mar 23, 2010
I am once again losing weight after what I can only describe as a very frustrating five week plateau. Yeah, I know, what's five weeks right? Well, when you know how much you are eating and not losing weight it is very defeating and for me started to once again make me feel somewhat as a failure. I know I am not, but it's often hard to get out of that thought mode. Anyway, I kept plugging through and FINALLY lost ONE HUNDRED POUNDS....AGAIN! Having been 430 pounds at one time losing the first hundred was pretty cool, but losing the second hundred was really cool. I suppose and hope that eventually I will be able to say that in all I have lost 250 pounds, maybe more, but I'm not counting chickens yet, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I can get to goal or beyond.
As of today I'm down 101 pounds and am just two pounds from being 199. I have not been in the one hundred and somethings since I was about 19 or 20 so this is very exciting for me. I'm hoping that by June, the next time I see my father and sister (I am so getting a picture of her and my dad with me!) on Father's day I will be down to 180 or less. I'm going to work hard to get there too.
So, if you are on a plateau just hang tough. I know it's hard, but you will start losing weight again.
Maddie out
(ILAMYM)
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As of today I'm down 101 pounds and am just two pounds from being 199. I have not been in the one hundred and somethings since I was about 19 or 20 so this is very exciting for me. I'm hoping that by June, the next time I see my father and sister (I am so getting a picture of her and my dad with me!) on Father's day I will be down to 180 or less. I'm going to work hard to get there too.
So, if you are on a plateau just hang tough. I know it's hard, but you will start losing weight again.
Maddie out
(ILAMYM)
No 20 pound weight loss this month.
Feb 23, 2010
After having a stellar 20 pound weight loss month last month (a rareity) I knew going into February that it was unlikely I would have a repeat of last month. I quite literally slid from the 220's to 210 in like a week and a half. That was crazy, but exciting because it meant I was just 11 pounds from being out of the 200's and getting to that 199 mark. As I expected I got my period which made me gain 3 pounds. I seemed to crave carbs at every turn and more than normal gave into eating them. With my period over I lost those three pounds, but this month I think I have lost maybe 4 pounds in total. I'm back to not feeling well when I eat which is somewhat frustrating since during my period I had little issues with that. I actually thought I had turned a corner. I am continuing to throw up and this month has been a tough one. Five times I've spontaneously hurled with last night being the most recent spontaneous eviction. I find that eating at night is more irritating to Princess than during the day so I think I'm going to have to take that into account and adjust my eating. I'm eating a bit too fast too which I'm sure isn't helping the hurling. At least once the offending food is evicted I do feel better, most of the time.
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The carb demon
Feb 12, 2010
Yesterday I made Ah Ha Macaroni and cheese for my stepdaughter, but also for me as well. I used Dreamfields pasta in place of regular pasta. I was going to use califlower, but I was begged not to by the daughter so I didn't. Well, the mac and cheese was really good, but truthfully I think I like the mac & cheese recipe off the back of the ronzoni box. I couldn't eat much of the mac & cheese and managed throughout the day to finish about 1/3 of a cup of it. The pasta felt like it was blowing up in my stomach, but later I really didn't like the noxious farts I got that continued to this morning. If that isn't a detterent I don't know what is. I barely could stand the smell, I don't know how my husband handled it. Maybe he didn't say anything because he farts all the time where as I hardly ever do and when I do it's almost always from the carb beast.
The last few days the carb demon has been stalking me and I have given into it. I ate Cheese-its, cheese puffs, chocolate, pasta and all sorts of nonsense. Protein took a back seat. PMSing doesn't help either, but how much of that can I blame on my poor choices? Princess seems to be OK with carb, but of course she is...lol. Oh, and the bad thing about all of this carb feasting I have been doing? I've gained 2 pounds. Ok, it might be water weight gain from my period, but who knows. I really want to get out of the 200's and I'm not ging in the right direction weight wise. I'm determined to get back on the right track. This morning I made an omlet, but unfortunately Princess isn't liking it very much, but that is just too bad. We are going to Sams Club today and I'm going to be buying those small mini mozzarella balls since they go down really easily. I'm hoping by Wednesday to have lost the two gained pounds and maybe one extra. That is only going to happen if I get back on track.
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The last few days the carb demon has been stalking me and I have given into it. I ate Cheese-its, cheese puffs, chocolate, pasta and all sorts of nonsense. Protein took a back seat. PMSing doesn't help either, but how much of that can I blame on my poor choices? Princess seems to be OK with carb, but of course she is...lol. Oh, and the bad thing about all of this carb feasting I have been doing? I've gained 2 pounds. Ok, it might be water weight gain from my period, but who knows. I really want to get out of the 200's and I'm not ging in the right direction weight wise. I'm determined to get back on the right track. This morning I made an omlet, but unfortunately Princess isn't liking it very much, but that is just too bad. We are going to Sams Club today and I'm going to be buying those small mini mozzarella balls since they go down really easily. I'm hoping by Wednesday to have lost the two gained pounds and maybe one extra. That is only going to happen if I get back on track.
Ah Ha Macaroni and Cheese (yummy)
Feb 10, 2010
Ah Ha! Macaroni and Cheese
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Ingredients
- 2/3 lb elbow macaroni
- 4 eggs
- 1/3 cup Velveeta cheese, cubed
- 1/4 lb butter, melted
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 1 1/3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 2/3 cup sharp white cheddar cheese, grated (extra sharp)
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1/3 cup asiago cheese, grated
- 1/3 cup gruyere cheese, grated
- 1/3 cup monterey jack cheese, grated
- 1/3 cup muenster cheese, grated
- 1/16 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 tablespoon black pepper
Directions
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Preheat the oven to 325°F
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until still slightly al dente, about 10 minutes.
- Drain and set aside to keep warm.Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until frothy.
- Combine the Velveeta, butter, and two cups of the half-and-half in a large bowl.
- Add the warm macaroni, tossing until the cheese has melted and the mixture is smooth. Add the remaining half-and-half, three cups of the sharp yellow cheddar cheese, the remaining grated cheeses, and salt and pepper, tossing until completely combined.
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Pour the mixture into a 9 x 13-inch casserole or baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes.
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Sprinkle with the remaining one cup of sharp yellow cheddar cheese and bake until golden brown on top, about 30 minutes more.
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Serve hot.
| Nutrition Facts | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Serving Size 1 (364g = 1.583 cups) Recipe makes 4 servings The following items or measurements are not included below: |
||
| Calories 1026 | ||
| Calories from Fat 592 | (57%) | |
| Amount Per Serving | %DV | |
| Total Fat 65.8g | 101% | |
| Saturated Fat 39.2g | 196% | |
| Monounsaturated Fat 18.8g | ||
| Polyunsaturated Fat 3.1g | ||
| Trans Fat 0.0g | ||
| Cholesterol 394mg | 131% | |
| Sodium 835mg | 34% | |
| Potassium 452mg | 12% | |
| Total Carbohydrate 63.9g | 21% | |
| Dietary Fiber 2.6g | 10% | |
| Sugars 2.6g | ||
| Protein 44.4g | 88% | |
I can only dain to dream
Feb 05, 2010
I have lost ninety pounds. I've pretty much lost all the weight I had gained and am back to my RNY maintenance weight. I'm two pounds from being at the weight I was when I met my husband six years ago. Well, actually I was somewhere between 210 and 215 at the time but I am just saying 210. And more excitingly I'm 13 pounds from being ONE NINETY NINE!!! OMG, I so cannot wait to see ONE hundred and something on the scale. It's a goal I have had since I got my RNY in 1999 and I never made it, but now I'm thinking I will make it and maybe even make my goal of 150. I mean, I'm like 60 pounds from my goal. It seems closer than ever. I am looking forward to the next six months and I hope that my weight loss continues as steadily as it is now, but that's a pretty tall order. Ideally I would like to be at goal by August, before faire, and maybe a little lower in the coming months. Could I get to 130 or 140?
I can only dain to dream.
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I can only dain to dream.
