I'm back!

I've been neglecting my blog. I went on vacation with a friend for a week and I am just now getting back into the swing of things. For the most part things are going well, the eating is improving and I am back to being able to eat "normally". In an average meal I can consume about 1/3 to 1/2 a cup of food depending on how dense it is. My liquid intake has been fabulous, now that I discovered loose leaf tea I am drinking about 80oz a day. All of these developments have kick started my weight loss, though I am still loosing slowly. I have lost 143 pounds. It is strange to think that I've lost more weight than some people weigh.

I've discovered two new favorite foods, soft cheeses with crackers, particularly Port Wine Cheese and Laughing Cow Light, I typically spread it on whole wheat crackers. I also love Carb Master Tortillas with peanut butter. Peanut butter and I are finally friends again, there was quite a long period of time where I couldn't eat it without feeling sick.

Some of you know that I have developed an obsession with coupons. A few months ago I was able to get a really good deal on Centrum Silver vitamins, unfortunately when I take them they make me feel like crap. I get a headache that lasts at least an hour, pain in my pouch and I flush all over. It is most likely a reaction to the niacin in the vitamins, I've had to go back to the expensive ones, but that is not the end of the world.

My hair loss has slowed down. It has not completely stopped but it is no longer coming out in handfuls. Hopefully this trend will continue and it will grow back in the same way it was before. I am self conscious about it, but my friends assure me that it is not noticeable.

Now that I can eat enough calories again I will be going back to an exercise routine. I am doing great so far but I can't get complacent and fall back on my old habits.

Slowly getting better

It seems like things are slowly getting better. I have not had any burning in my pouch in a few days and I have been able to eat more at each meal. I am cautiously optimistic at this point that what the doctor did worked. I'm still eating a pretty bland diet, but at least I can eat which is a huge step forward at this point.

Not much to report on the weight loss front. I think my body went into starvation mode when the eating problems started and I have only lost four pounds in the last month. Hopefully once I can start exercising and taking in the proper amount of calories the scale will start moving in the right direction.

I did have two small non-scale victories this week. When I was at the hospital for my procedure they gave me the normal size gown and it covered me up without a problem. I also go to wear the normal person's blood pressure cuff and not the one that says XL in big bold print on the side. Sometimes there is a lot of joy in the small things.

Getting Rid of Baggage

On Saturday morning I finally got up the courage to take all my oversize clothes to the good will. It was harder than I thought it would be to get rid of them, but six contractor bags later I feel a little more free of the weight that was bogging me down.

Endoscopy Results

The results of my endoscopy are good but slightly frustrating. He found no stricture and no ulcers, but the opening if my stoma (where my esophogaus meets my stomach) was only 11mm, he widened it to 18mm which is about as wide as they will go. After my endoscopy I ate lunch and was able to get down a more normal portion (normal for a person six months out from gastric bypass). I've been drinking all day without a problem, but this evening the slight discomfort is back and though I was able to eat more than I have in the past month for dinner, I still could not get down as much food as I had in the past.

I'm going to give it a few days and take it easy on my pouch. If that doesn't fix it I'll be back to the doctor to figure out what the next steps are. I did get some cool pictures of my insides that I'll post when I get them scanned.

Letting Go

I have six contractors bags full of oversize clothing in my garage. All that is left to do is pack it in the car and take it to the good will. It should feel good to get rid of them, purging the old me and bringing out the new. Literally getting big of baggage so to speak. Even with the small issues I"m having right now I have zero regrets about this surgery. I found the real me hiding under all that weight. What I don't know is why can't I get rid of the bags? Hopefully I'll find an answer to this question soon.

6 Month Update (Gosh has it been 6 months!!!)

These are self explanatory by now, then and now:

Doctor Update

I saw my surgeon today about the problems I have been having with food. His best guess is that I have developed a stricture and possibly an ulcer. I will have an endoscopy on Monday morning to figure out what is going on for sure. If it is a stricture they can fix it during the endoscopy, if it is an ulcer they will give me medication to take care of it.

For those of you who do not know what a stricture is, it is a narrowing of my esohpogaus as it enters my stomach and makes it very difficult for food to get through.

Exercise Update

I've been limiting my exercise because of my food intake issues, but I have been trying to stay active. Yesterday I went to the NC fairgrounds with a friend and walked around the Southern Woman's Home Show and the Flea Market for about four hours. It was more like strolling, but I was out and about.

Today I did about two and a half hours of vigorous cleaning and by vigorous I mean the kind of cleaning where you break a sweat. I'm not sure Richard Simmons would call it exercise but I'm counting it.

Tailbone Update

I really hope this is not a case of speaking too soon, but this is the first day since surgery that I have had no pain in my tailbone. Not even a twinge, the pain is totally and completely gone. Now lets hope it stays that way.

Tailbone Pain

Shortly after my surgery I began having pain in my tailbone and lower back. I went to an Orthopedic doctor and went to physical therapy for about three months, the pain in my back was caused by an unstable "SI" joint, and the physical therapy and doing regular exercises to strengthen my core has eliminated that pain. However, the pain in my tailbone gets worse with every pound that I lose. Today I got a cortisone shot right over my tailbone. I have heard some horror stories about it, but the shot itself was not that bad, the whole thing took about a minute and then it burned for about thirty seconds. I am sore right now but I hope the pain goes away soon.

Still Can't Eat

Today is the worst day I've had with regards to eating since right after the surgery. Everything I try is sitting like a lead weight in my pouch. I am not in any pain, but I'm uncomfortable most of the time, but especially when I eat. I spoke to the nurse at my surgeon's office about this again and she thinks it is time to come in and be seen. I have an appointment with my doctor on Monday and a strong feeling that there is an endoscopy in my future. I keep trying to convince myself that this is all in my head, but today I felt sick after eating half of a hard boiled egg, in the past I could eat two eggs in a sitting with no problem so clearly something is going on.

So as a result of all the problems with eating I have not been able to exercise, I am only taking in about 500-700 calories a day which is not enough to keep my blood sugar from crashing when I exercise. It has also kicked my body into a stall with the weight loss. I am hoping that the surgeon can get to the bottom of this quickly so that I can get back on track.

The nurse did say that if solids were giving me a problem I could just give up on them for now and do a liquid diet this weekend. That sounds great to me and maybe if I give my pouch the weekend off it will like me again.

Spring is in the Air

Went out with some friends today on a beautiful spring day. Took a few pictures, I haven't taken my official six month photos yet, but this gives you a good idea of my progress.