Back for a Gastric Bypass Update!

I had my 1-year post-surgery appointments this week, and I needed to share them on the blog so that anyone who googles this stuff will know what's up.

Weight: 240lbs (at the doctor's office, fully clothed. At home, I'm 236)
Weight lost from day of surgery: 77lbs
Total pounds lost from peak weight: 99lbs

Everything's great. I've been getting fairly regular blood tests at my regular doctor to make sure I'm getting proper nutrition, so the surgeon didn't need to do a lot of tests. I've been very slightly low on vitamin D, but most everyone is in winter, so it's not all that unusual. They took a bone density scan and I'll get notified of the results on that in a couple of weeks. Not much to fear there, since I've been getting plenty of calcium.

I've had some blood pressure incidents which are most certainly not related to surgery. I've been running and finished the C25K program before Thanksgiving and I'm intending to actually run a 5K in the spring. At my latest "normal doctor" appointment, they noticed my pulse was in the 40s and tweaked my blood pressure medicine despite my insistence that a low pulse is hereditary and the running has driven it even lower. Well, the new meds didn't work and since then I've been trying different meds until just after Christmas it seems to be back to normal. I know, high BP and low pulse seems weird. My heart likes to pump hard but not very often, I guess.

I met with the nutritionist and admitted that I'm not formally documenting what I eat, but I told her my typical day's intake and she was impressed. I'm eating a bacon egg and cheese biscuit for breakfast on weekdays from the company comissary, drinking one diet soda poured over a 32-ounce cup of crushed ice (and taking all day to drink it), having a snack at 10am, lunch which is usually a sandwich at home, a snack at 3pm, and dinner which consists of 5-8oz of meat and some veggies, then a snack at night. I'm eating little to no sugar and drinking G2 or Powerade Zero after running.

I'm a little light on protein, she thinks, so she asked me to snack on protein bars instead of crackers or fruit. That's not going to be a problem, since I like the bars and they're portable.

She asked me what my goal weight is. I told her I never set one, but I wouldn't mind losing another 20 lbs, and she agreed that is a great place for me to be.

Before Thanksgiving, I went on a low-carb diet for two weeks and lost 5 lbs and kept it off afterwards, so I know I can lose weight like a normal person now.

I got some new clothes for Christmas, size 38 pants, size XLT shirts. I even got a size L shirt that fits, although I expect it to shrink when it gets washed. I'll save it for next winter.

That's the update!

If you've found my blog via google for gastric bypass, I urge you to do it if you're considering it. Just make certain that your surgeon is as good as mine is, and that his practice takes care of you after surgery to make sure you stay healthy. This has been probably the best year of my adult life.

Shutting Down For Awhile

I'm shutting down the blog for awhile. I haven't had much desire to post lately. I'll keep it up here for anyone that might want to see my gastric bypass experiences.

Everything's good, by the way. I'm stuck at 245 (I've still lost a ton of inches while staying the same weight, though), and I'm jogging, working my way up to 5K using the C25K program. Once I get to being able to run 5K, which should take another month or so, I plan on that being my baseline fitness level for the rest of my life, no matter what weight I am. I'm trying to stay off the scale except for once a week. I think I look good.

I'll start posting again whenever I think there's something worthwhile going on.

Scale Has Been Replaced

We got the replacement scale from Taylor the other day and I put it in service yesterday. It does indeed seem to be accurate. Of course, that means it reads 10 pounds higher than the one we've been using - but it agrees with the doctor's scale, so that's really good overall.

It also confirms that I'm losing weight again and the dreaded plateau has been broken.

Here's my theory on why I hit that plateau in the first place:
It's all about stretching the stomach pouch. I've been drinking soda again for awhile now, even though they warned me not to. I thought I was being careful - just sipping it slowly and taking all day to finish one bottle so that the carbonation wouldn't stretch the pouch. Apparently I wasn't being careful enough and during the plateau weeks, I noticed my appetite increasing during meals. So I fixed it - not by quitting the sodas - but by pouring my soda in a glass over ice to get rid of the carbonation, instead of drinking from the bottle. It didn't take two days before I noticed that my appetite and capacity had gone back down to post-surgery "normal", and sure enough, the weight started coming off again.

Let this be a lesson to you gastric bypassers - don't drink carbonated drinks. If you fall off the wagon, pour it in a glass and over ice to minimize the bubbles.

A Warning...

A quick warning to anyone that's had a gastric bypass.

Kashi Go Lean Crunchy! Protein and Fiber Bars are delicious, high in fiber and protein, and will pass right through you like grass through a goose.

It took me two days of rushing home from work and barely making it to the bathroom before I figured this out.

The good news is that I lost a couple of extra pounds during those two days. Seriously, though - this product should be classified as a laxative. Use with caution.

Devastating News

I had my four-month appointment with the surgeon yesterday and was immediately sucker punched by the results of the scale in his office.

20 pounds higher than my bathroom scale. My expensive, digital bathroom scale that I bought specifically to be accurate just before my surgery in December.

Today, I had an appointment with my regular doctor. Same result.

So, instead of feeling good about being 239, I'm 259 and even though in reality that's not a weight gain, it is a huge emotional hit, because it sets me back to where I thought I was a month ago.

I'm trying to figure out how I can sue the scale manufacturer for emotional distress.

Anyway, I have revised the graphs on the right of the page.

This Week...

Well, I made a big effort to get back into the gym this week and was rewarded with a 2 lb weight loss. I had hit a plateau at 250. I can tell my stomach has stretched a bit, as I can eat more at a sitting now. I had better watch that, because I don't want it to stretch any further.

The new 42-inch-waist pants I bought just a couple of weeks ago are starting to be loose in the waist. I didn't expect that this soon, and I'm resolved not to buy any more clothes for awhile, so they'll just have to be cinched in with a belt.

I played hooky from band practice this week, so I got to see Idol again. Meghan is gone, as I predicted. Scott managed to save face by going the easy route in choosing Billy Joel, while Anoop showed that the kind of music he likes best is not well-suited to his abilities. I'd make a small wager that they reverse themselves this coming week, and Scott will hit the road.

I finally realized what it is about Allison Iraheta that seems familiar. She's a clone of Rachael Ray. Just listen to her speaking voice, her laugh, then look at her face and ignore the hair. It's eerie. In any case, she doesn't seem to have much of a fanbase, even though she really isn't a bad singer. I expect her to follow Scott home, unless Anoop screws up again, which is definitely possible.

It's still a heat with Adam, Kris, and Danny at the top. Matt and Lil are in the second heat, with the other three trailing. Kris has the momentum at this point.

Now a little info on what was wrong with Meghan: If she were to sing a five-note phrase, she'd sing the first note and the last note like a normal person. The second note would sound like Macy Gray. The third note would sound like Rosemary Clooney, and the fourth note would sound like a dying Canadian goose. Unfortunately for her, instead of repressing the goose note, she'd emphasize it and make everyone in earshot cringe. I think she's salvageable, but she needs a voice coach.

That's it for this week. We're heading to Raleigh for Bernie to go to a craft thing, and I'll be hanging around the mall there on Saturday unless someone wants to play disc golf.

I Found Another One

We went walking last night around the neighborhood, and I discovered that a neighbor had gastric bypass 3 years ago. We talked for almost an hour, comparing notes. Apparently, spaghetti is going to be a problem for me. Last week we had some and it got stuck ,and last night we had angel hair pasta and it got stuck. The neighbor said that he had the same problem with pasta today - 3 years after his surgery. I guess I'd better put off that trip to Italy for a few decades.

254 today, by the way. More clothes are being bagged for a big yard sale in our future. I am seriously reducing my wardrobe while I'm at it. At this rate, I'll lose 100 pounds before I see the surgeon for my second post-surgery appointment in April.

I think I have the skin sag under control at the moment. The secret is weight training targeting the muscles under the places where the sag is starting.

This Week...

I took the day off work today - and not to watch basketball, either. I fully expect my Tar Heels to lose and go home to rest before the NCAAs, so I'm not wasting my time with the ACC tournament this year.

No, I'm just tired. This started with daylight savings time, which forced all of us on this half of the USA to lose an hour of sleep to reset our clocks ahead an hour. I have been sleepy and lethargic all week. I noticed on Wednesday that I seem to revive for about an hour after a meal, and that alarms me a little, because it means I'm burning the food I eat immediately for energy and not utilizing stored fat for energy. I'm guessing that I'm eating too many carbs and not enough protein, though I've been drinking my protein drinks like usual. I still have a tiny bit of nausea when I eat something heavy, so eating meat is not as easy as I would like.

Anyway, today's vacation will consist of shopping for smaller pants, getting a passport photo taken so I can send it off for renewal, lunch at Mama Fu's, and then going to see a matinee of Watchmen.

I weighed in at 258 today. Pants size is now 42, and XL shirts now fit comfortably. Aside from the energy problem, I feel healthy.

This weekend's activities

We're going to Wilmington (the beach, for you non-NC natives) for a birthday party. The first domino in a stack of 40th birthdays has fallen, and all my buddies from high school and college will shortly be having them. Mine's in August, but by then I'm sure I'll be tired of parties with black balloons.

Anyway, the weather should be great, as Monday's snow has all melted and the temperature should be near 80 degrees on Saturday and Sunday.

I'm down to 262, if you notice on the tracker at the right. Very shortly, I'll be entering the 250-range, which was the first point I said I would be satisfied with back when this all started. Of course, I'm not satisfied at all yet, and I hereby renounce those statements.

I'm losing all the fat on my arms and the skin around my triceps is flapping. I'm concentrating on that area in the gym and I think it's getting better. The stuff I've been reading says that weight training will get rid of the fat that clings to the loose skin and allow it to tighten up, so that's the goal. Lots of pull-downs, tricep dips, and butterfly exercises.

I'm eating pretty much whatever I want now, and my portion size fluctuates from "tiny" to "oh my god, did I just eat all of that?". Obviously, some things are going down better than others. Today's un-diet was a ham biscuit for breakfast which took a couple of hours to finish, a quarter of a french dip sandwich for lunch, and a tiny bit of spaghetti with a piece of garlic bread for dinner, followed by a little sugar-free ice cream at 9pm. Dinner took awhile to go down for some reason when logic would dictate that it would be the easiest thing I ate all day. There is still no rhyme or reason to what foods agree with me or not.

So here I am, almost 90 days post-surgery. This is still the second-best decision I've ever made.

Irresistible Force vs. Immovable Object

I've often suspected that there are two armies of angels fighting to influence the events of my life. The results are that I always have extremely good or extremely bad luck, and very little of the ordinary. Current events seem to point this out the back-and-forth between the two armies.

1. Bernie gets laid off of her job. That's not really bad luck, but it's a starting point.

2. To compensate, the guardian angels give us a nice tax return check, a rebate check, a refund from Lowes when the gas logs I bought in December went on sale 50% off, and several other little monetary windfalls in the couple of weeks following.

3. The evil angels can't allow such blatant tampering from the other side. They cause a water pipe under my sink upstairs to burst, flooding my bedroom and bathroom and causing a waterfall from the ceiling downstairs. The deductible on the insurance wipes out the tax return. The plumber bill wipes out the rebate and the refund.

4. Bernie finds out she got overcharged for groceries at Trader Joe's and gets her money back. A small victory for the guardian angels.

5. Bernie vacuums the downstairs carpet after the drying machines are taken out. The vacuum sucks up a piece of plaster and breaks and dies, smelling of smoke. Evil scores a three-pointer.

6. As I look online for a new vacuum (over $100), I notice a review mentions the symptoms of a broken belt. Aha! I take a screwdriver to the vacuum and that's indeed what is wrong with the vacuum cleaner! I find the belt on amazon for $4. Take that, evil angels!

7. The forces of evil strike back in a small way - shipping is $8, twice as much as the belt itself. So Bernie adds a bottle of Dermalogica for $20 to get free shipping. Stalemate?

Another Week, Another 5 Pounds

I really have no idea whether I should be doing the happy dance or be worried. I lost another 5 pounds in a week, and now weigh in at 265. This kind of loss is probably atypical for gastric bypass patients.

I feel great, I'm eating fine, I'm getting all my vitamins and protein, and I'm working out regularly.

Maybe very few gastric bypass patients actually follow the advice of the clinic? I have no idea. I've passed the halfway point to 200 lbs in just 2 1/2 months. I know this is going to slow down eventually, so I guess I'm choosing the happy dance while the going is so good.

I haven't been this light since I was newly graduated from college and realized I could eat whatever I wanted.

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BTW, here's a pic of me in the suit I wore to my concert on Saturday.

Broke a Plateau

I had been stuck on 275 for several days and was beginning to worry. Last week I worked out twice on Mon and Wed, but got lazy on Friday, and Saturday went by without getting much done. Bernie and I managed to get to the gym on Sunday and I did quite a bit of weight training.

This morning, I was rewarded with seeing the scale at 271.2.

I'm not exactly sure what's going on with my body, but I have been very thirsty lately and I think my body is readjusting its water balance.

Another few pounds and I'll be halfway to my unofficial goal of 200 lbs.

I'm still feeling good. I got some blood tests done at my regular doctor and the results were that I am very slightly anemic and need more vitamin D. Neither is a surprise due to the lack of red meat and veggies in my diet, and the fact that I don't take my powdered vitamin D any more. I solved the problem by eating more fortified cereal with milk, and I found some very tiny vitamin D pills at Costco. And they have my protein shakes there for much cheaper than GNC or Wal-Mart! I'm also trying to get more beef in my diet, but it's hard.

Pumping Iron

Today, I started working out. Not just walking on the treadmill, I mean. Bernie and I had an appointment with the trainer for our free orientation session, and he showed us some workouts that we should do for our individual goals. Strangely, mine didn't involve much in the way of weights. He had me doing step-ups while holding dumbbells, an inclined pull up using a long strap, and an inclined push up using the weight bar as a grip. We warmed up with 10 minutes of treadmill, and finished with 20 minutes on the stationary bikes.

I'm relatively certain that my arms will be numb tomorrow and paralyzed on Wednesday from this effort. That's just the way I roll.

275 today

I'm now at the same weight I was when I got married, however, I bet I am a lot smaller, based on the clothes I'm wearing now. Maybe I'll try on my wedding suit to prove it.

According to what I've read, it is time to start lifting weights. To tighten up sagging skin, they say that building new muscle will help more than anything else. Therefore, I start working out with machines next week, on top of my treadmaster training.

I've jumped the gun on 'regular' food. I'm not ready for steak or chops, but I managed a chicken sandwich for lunch today without much trouble. I just have to make sure I don't zone out and eat too much. I almost killed myself after stuffing two extra bites down my throat at breakfast yesterday. It is not worth it! I just wasn't thinking and reverted back to old habits. Never again. I barely managed to avoid upchucking.

Chinese New Year update

We had a nice family celebration lunch for CNY today. Bernie made a lot of stuff and we supplemented with food from the local Chinese take out restaurant. I managed to eat half an egg roll and a couple of forkfuls of lo mein, but it was uncomfortable going down. After the party broke up and Bernie and I went to the gym, I ate leftover orange chicken for dinner with no qualms whatsoever, so there is still absolutely no rhyme or reason to what I'm able to tolerate.

The good news is I am now at 280lbs. Since I worked out today, I bet I'm at 278 tomorrow.

There was a little bit of "changing of the guard" in my closet today. My waist size is still 44, but I no longer need elastic at that size, and in truth, normal 44s are a little loose in the waist. I went through the pants in the closet and took about 80% out of circulation because they were too baggy. This also wiped out the current roster of blue jeans.

So I went to where I had stored the skinny clothes in vacuum bags 3 years ago. I got 8 pairs of slacks out that were once too small and they now fit (some of them are actually loose), including several pairs that still had tags attached. An old, reliable pair of jeans that once fit me are now back in service because they fit again, as well as a pair that never got worn. I've apparently shrunk in height, because almost all the slacks need to be re-hemmed by about an inch. The sad thing about all this is that these pants probably won't be worn long before they are also too big, and then I'll start opening the vacuum bags that are even farther back in the spare closet.

I'm starting to work on my laundry, and I bet there are clothes in the hamper that won't be going back into the closet, too.

It's a good thing I've hung on to clothes that I 'outgrew' while I was gaining weight. Otherwise, I'd be going broke replacing them right now. I expect I'll be wearing t-shirts and shorts from my college days when summer arrives.

Weight Loss Update

I've officially graduated to the 'soft foods' diet that I've been doing illegally for the past couple of weeks. I'm allowed noodles and crackers again, whee!

After a less than 50% acceptance rate, I am crossing grits off my list of approved foods. I have no idea why I can't handle them, but such is life.

This morning, I weighed in at 282.4 lbs. I've hit and passed the 50lbs lost mark. Another ten and I'll have to change to 42 inch waist pants. My mom measured me and I've lost a ton of inches on my chest, stomach, waist, arms, legs, and neck. On the down side, skin is starting to sag and stretch marks are beginning to show. Some of them sting! Couple this with the dry skin that winter brings, and I'm having to slather on lotion when I get out of the shower every day just to keep that crawly sensation from happening.

Bernie and I joined a gym on Monday and we each did 20 minutes on the treadclimber. No issues, no soreness, and 180 calories burned. I wonder if that spurred the drop from 285 to 282?

In any event, I've already lost half of what I originally expected to lose. That's cause for celebration in itself.

We went to a restaurant on Monday night after the gym and the waitress told us she had a friend that had done gastric bypass 3 years ago, had gotten her plastic surgery and everything after the weight loss, then she rediscovered candy and wine and gained it all back. Thank heaven I don't drink or love sweets much.

One disappointment - I cannot tell when I'm full. I guess I'll have to measure portions for the rest of my life. That's a fair trade.

Weight Loss Update

286.4 this morning. 47 pounds lost.

I'm going to start investigating gyms next week. I have a good recommendation from a friend at work about Energy Sports and Fitness, which is close to the office. They have a "cardio cinema room" where you can use the treadmill or elliptical machine in a darkened movie theater and enjoy the show while you sweat.

I think I'm going to concentrate on cardio fitness at first - something I usually shun for the weights. I think the rapid weight loss will keep me interested.

The lightest I've been in memory is 265. I can't wait to break that barrier. After that, I'm going for college-level weights.

Eating is still officially puree, but I've been cheating with soft foods from time to time. Bernie and I went out to eat the for the first time and shared a plate. Baked Mac & Cheese, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, and fried shrimp. The shrimp were a religious experience. They just disintegrated in my mouth and the flavor was out of this world. We took most of the meal home and I had leftovers for three days.

On another interesting note, the budget has never been in better shape in our household. Eating at home has saved us a bunch of money this month.

I went to my first rehearsal with the concert band since the surgery and both me and my recently repaired saxophone did great. The dent in my lip hurts, though.

First Checkup with the Surgeon

I had my one-month appointment with the surgeon yesterday. He was really impressed with the 43 pound weight loss. My blood pressure is high (which I know - we've been checking it) but not dangerously high, so he wants to wait a couple more weeks before doing anything about it. I have an appointment with my regular doctor on the 24th, and he says if she wants to, she can put me back on the Vasotec, but not the diuretic, since I am already fighting dehydration.

Everything else looked fine- he was pleased with the healing of the incisions (they're all new pink skin, except for the drain wound, which is still a scab).

I totally forgot to ask him about playing the saxophone, which I will resume next week. I was planning on doing the old joke about "Well, I never could before!", but now I've missed the opportunity.

Bernie and I went to GNC and bought some pre-packaged Myoplex protein shakes, which will now be my breakfast that I take to work. That should take care of the problem with instant cereals, or eating too fast on my way out the door in the morning.

I made some crock-pot chili last night and had it for lunch today. Delicious, and it's sitting nicely in the stomach pouch.

You know, life ain't bad.

Not Much New

Not much new to say, except I fell below 290. 289 and declining.

Four Little Things

Four little but very positive changes I've noticed since I had surgery:

1. My face has totally cleared up. I used to have an outbreak about once a month. Now I don't even have blackheads on my nose.

2. No more C-PAPs machine. I haven't used it in a week, and the last two times I tried, I woke up and wanted the mask off. I'm sleeping great without it, and no back pain, either.

3. No more blood pressure medicine. I swear, when I was 26 and started needing BP meds, that's when my hair turned gray. I think some blond might be creeping back in now, but that could just be my imagination.

4. I'm cold. I'm cold all the time now, and I never felt cold in my life before this. Maybe this means I won't be hot and sweaty all the time this summer.