Thick and Thin of it

Michelle's story

2006-09-17T21:25:00.000-05:00

Jo has been after me for months to write about my feelings and experience with Gastric Bypass surgery. I’m sorry Jo I just don’t enjoy writing. She originally wanted me to write about how I was feeling before my surgery. Well, I’m past that now so I will write about how I feel today.

I am 3 weeks post-op. I think we have all heard comments about how this surgery is the easy way out. I have news for anyone who believes that…….it is NOT an easy way out. I went in to surgery with an obese persons mind and came out of surgery with the same obese persons mind. Everyday for me has been a struggle. In many ways its worse then any other diet I have been on because food choices are so limited. At this point I can eat low-fat cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, lunch meat, and beans. I miss bread, sweets, fruits and veggies. Everyday I watch and smell the foods my husband and children are eating….I miss it.

I am required to eat slowly. It takes me at least 20 minutes to eat 1/2C cottage cheese. Truthfully, it is boring to eat now. When I’m in a hurry to go somewhere or do something it’s even worse. I am also required to chew my food to a pureed state. This has been very hard for me too. You pay a heavy price for ignoring either of these rules. Let me tell you I have paid the price several times.
One of the worse things for me is my fear that I can eat too much. I limit my food intake to the amount that I am told to eat. I have yet to feel that very full feeling that most get after surgery. I wonder sometimes how much food it would take to get me to that full feeling. At this point I’m too afraid to push it. The truth is if I was on a regular diet I would have cheated and gone off it by now. Having this surgery does not allow for this no matter how bad you want it.

Now you are probably asking yourself why anyone would have this surgery. Where is the hope? My hope lies in my ability to change my obese mentality. At this point I can not cheat nor can I decide to go off. My hope is that little by little food will become less important. That with baby steps my mentality will change. What this surgery has done for me is to keep me on the path no matter how bad I want off. Eventually, the surgery will no longer do this for me. Therefore I must change my mentality now. No, by no means is this the easy way out. I do however have real hope now. Hope that I’ve never had before. Is the surgery worth it? I think and hope that it is but I am not to the end of my story yet. I’m still trying to figure it all out.

Michelle

Word on Michelle

2006-08-29T07:52:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note. Got word yesterday around noon that Michelle was out of surgery and doing fine. Want to thank everyone who read and prayed for her. We of course will continue to keep her in our thoughts and prayers, but we know that she will do great!

Joanna

Thoughts and Prayers going out to Michelle

2006-08-27T19:40:00.000-05:00

Today, mine and Terri's thoughts and prayers are going out to our good friend Michelle in Cali. Tomorrow morning she begins her journey down this road we have started on. We know that she is in excellent hands, but of course we ask that each of you keep her in your thoughts and prayers as well. We all know that the first couple of days are the hardest on a gastric bypass patient. Those are the days when you begin to regret the decision, the days when the pain is the worst and the days when you cry and wonder, "what in the world have I done?" But as any wls patient knows, getting through those first couple of days is a huge hurdle and a progress to a better life down the road. So Michelle, we love you and we will be there for you no matter what!

In the previous post, I asked that if anyone had an experience that they wanted to share, to email me and we'd get your story posted. Well....LOL, like a moron, I didn't realize that neither my email nor terri's is published on the blog! Yeah, I'm a huge dork, go figure! Anyway, if you would like to email me your story, just type it up in a word type document and send it to me as an attachment to joannafrazier at yahoo dot com and I'll be more than happy to post it here for everyone to share! Thanks so much!

Joanna

Do you have an experience to share?

2006-08-15T20:32:00.000-05:00

Terri and I would like to invite you to share your stories. If you have a gastric bypass story please feel free to email us. We would love to share your stories so that everyone can learn from different people.

So please, share with us, we'd love to hear from you all.

Joanna

100 lbs

2006-08-13T04:46:00.000-05:00

Well, I’ve officially lost 100 lbs since I had my surgery and I feel fantastic! I still have a good ways to go until I meet the goal that my surgeon set for me. Now, my surgeon said that according to my height and body type, I should weigh 130 lbs. I think I will be happy to see 150 because I don’t foresee myself at 130 lbs because that is just way too thin for me. I don’t know if that is just my mind telling me that 130 lbs is too thin or if I have just been so heavy for so long that the idea of being an ‘average’ weight makes me nervous! I guess it really doesn’t matter though because I am headed in the direction of where I want to be and need to be for the sake of my health.

I love the fact that I feel so much better than I used to and I don’t regret the decision that I have made. Sure there are limitations on what I can eat but it’s really not as bad as I thought it would be. I rarely have issues with over eating because you learn very quickly what you can and can not eat and how much you can eat. And for me, as a fail safe, when I wasn’t sure if I was full or not, I opted to stop eating rather than risk overeating. Your first episode of overeating will be painful beyond your wildest imagination. Don’t let anyone tell you any different. It hurts! And your immediate desire to vomit is a welcome relief. But it’s a learning experience that everyone that I know who has had the surgery has had to go through. And you do learn and you do go on and hopefully you don’t have to have that experience again.

You get the whole speech from the doctor and the nutrionist that this is a lifestyle change and while yes, you can understand that, you really don’t, not until after the procedure. After the procedure you can look at another person in a restaurant who hasn’t had the surgery and wonder how in the world they can manage to eat so much food! When just months before you could have eaten all that and more. You begin to see others in a different light. It’s hard to look at someone who is morbidly obese and not wonder why they don’t do something to get healthy. You think to yourself, I did it, why can’t they? Your entire outlook on life will change, and you begin to see that that was the goal all along. You have to start seeing things in a new, more positive light. You start going to the gym and working out and liking it! You can go out and play with your kids and not get too tired to function after just a few minutes. These are the benefits of the lifestyle change that you have chosen.

You will have people ask you why. People will want to know why you just couldn’t stop eating. But these are people who have no clue what it is like to live in our world. So you have to understand that they will never understand.
Joanna

Terri's Plunge...

2006-06-20T16:02:00.000-05:00

Hi I'm Terri. I'm 45 years old and have struggled with my weight all of my life. From the time I was little...I was always as my family put it..."chunky". I have gone up and down for many years. Tried most of the diets out there. Yes they work...but then you gain again and put on more than you were before. I'm a single mom of three. Raised them myself with no support. I let myself go. Put my children first. Over the years...my self esteem was zilch. Was criticized constantly...."You're fat....ugly....never amount to anything." I've heard it all...not just from others...but family members as well. You fall into a routine. At one point...I was like...who cares how fat I am? They don't see anything but that. So...I let myself go. What did it matter?

Well...I've watched my son play ice hockey for going on 7 years now. At the end of the season...they invite the parents and family on the ice. (I ice skated as a young un) But Gerard never had anyone to skate with him. Being so heavy...I could not skate any longer. It's broke my heart each and every time. Since my girls are now grown and on their own....its just me and my son now. I decided that now is the time to start taking care of me. Saw an ad and made an appointment to go to a seminar on bariatric surgery. I made a consultation that same day. I also made a promise to myself to get healthy for my kids and for my grandchildren. I even got books to work on my self esteem.

First let me tell you....every insurance company is different. Different requirements to be considered elligible for the surgery. My insurance only required the bmi recommendation for the surgery. From questions I answered the doctor deemed it necessary for me to have a sleep study done. That was my worse fear. I'm terrified of anything covering my nose or mouth...and it was a big step for me. I needed the study and had to use the machine in order to have the surgery. I lucked out with great techicians who let me come in several times to get used to the mask so I wouldn't panick. They helped me to get through the testing. Some insurance companies require more such as counseling and meetings to attend. Your doc has the final say on what other testing is needed. It took me 4 mons from start to my surgery. Others have taken 6 mons to a year.

My surgery was done on May 1, 2006. Things are still very fresh in my mind. From the sugery and incisions...there really wasn't much pain. More of a bruised feeling. The first two days in the hospital....I was pretty oblivious. Dozing after my walks and dozing in general. Each time you get up it gets easier. Someone once said day 3 and 4 are the worse. The anesthesia is gone....you are coming home. Let me tell you....they are right. You come home to steps and bulky furniture that you didn't have in the hospital. Those two days I had the worst of my pain. But as if a miracle...when I woke up on the 5th day....I felt so much better. I tried to walk at least 20 mins each day. Even on the uncomfortable days. Just kept moving and even had my daughter pick me up and take me out to a flea market to walk around.

Well at this point I'm 7 weeks out. The doc released me from all restrictions at my 2 week visit. I've done really well. As of today I lost 55 pounds and went from a 20-22 to a 14. I go to the gym 3 days a week, doing water aerobics 2 days and working on the machines to tone on the other day. I am planning on increasing that to 2 days as well. I've never exercised so I decided to start slow and work my way up. I have much more energy now and feel so much better in general. I feel good about the way my body is changing and am enjoying watching the transformation. Of course we all wish it would happen overnight, but it will be gone before you know it. I am smiling more now and feeling a whole lot better about me. I have absolutely no regrets on my decision. Many have asked because of food restrictions. But truthfully...I have not craved chocolate since the surgery and now I can eat everything and just have to watch the fat and sugar in the ingredients. I love the way I feel and hope to be on the ice with my son at the end of the next season. I'll keep ya posted on my progress.

AnGeL hUgS,
terri

Vitamin and Minerals...

2006-06-20T14:51:00.000-05:00

I've had several people ask me about the vitamin and minerals that my surgeon requires that I take since I've had my procedure. So I decided the best way was to just scan the vitamin and mineral requirement sheet that was in my surgery packet and post it here. It has a comprehensive list of all the vitamins and such that I have to take daily, when I take them and the instructions on what to take with them and what not to take.

A note for all prospective surgery candidates reading this- I will be on this regimen for the rest of my life!

Joanna

Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation Guidelines and Schedule

You will begin vitamin and mineral supplementation two weeks post-surgery, and continue for the rest of your life. Because your modified GI tract has altered absorptionpost-op, you will also
need to follow a certain supplement schedule. Please refer to the table below:

7 am or breakfast
Calcium citrate 500 mg
Multi vitamin/mineral

12 noon or lunch
Calcium citrate 500 mg
Sublingual B12

6 pm or dinner
Calcium citrate 500 mg
Multi Vitamin/mineral

10 pm or bedtime
Ferrous fumarate chelate (Iron)

· Do not take more than 500 mg calcium at one time, as the body can only absorb this amount at anyone dose. Calcium with vitamin D is better absorbed.

. Do not take calcium or iron withNexium. (*I buy my Iron at GNC you can get it for $3.99)

. Do not take iron with Synthroid.

. Do not take multivitamin/mineral with Pepcid.

. Try to schedule taking your supplements at 5 hour intervals for optimal absorption. If you do not take your vitamin and mineral supplements regularly and for the rest of your life, deficiencies may occur that can have serious health consequences.

. A vitamin/mineral supplementationthat is specially formulated for the bariatric patient is preferred (* I use the chewable Centrum that you can buy at Wal Mart)

*I also by my sublingual B12 at GNC because they sell it for $19.99 for a month's supply.

Joanna

Joanna's journey pt. 1

2006-06-04T11:01:00.000-05:00

My journey with gastric bypass surgery began in November 2004. Well, the part of the journey that actually ended in the surgery. I have struggled with my weight my entire life. I accepted a long time ago that I was going to be a big woman. I never really had a problem with my size. I have always been satisfied with my life. It never slowed me down. I always had friends, dated, had fun.

It was only after my son was born that I really started to consider that losing weight would be to my benefit. I hated not being able to keep up with him or not being able to take him to do things because I was too tired. At first surgery was the furthest thing from my mind. I used just about every variety of diet pill you could find and for awhile they worked. I could lose 50 or 60 lbs no sweat! Keeping it off however, was another problem. After a bout with my gallbladder, however, I had to come off the diet pills and come up with something else. After that I went through a period of time dealing with some personal issues and my weight was not an issue that was at the top of my priority list.

Then in 2004, my older sister told me that she was having the procedure. I had been thinking about it for awhile but hadn’t built up the nerve to actually start the process. After seeing my sister start it off, I knew that it was time for me to do something. So I contacted my insurance company to find out what the process would be. I found out that I had to do a 6 month physician monitored diet before they could submit for approval. So I started that process in November 2004. When I finished in April 2005, I had managed to lose 60 lbs on my own. The surgeon submitted a request for approval to my insurance which was turned down. I was of course upset but determined to go through the appeal process and see what happened. I finally managed to get hold of the right medical records and was approved. My surgery was scheduled for October 24, 2005, the Monday after I took my comprehensive exams to complete my Master’s degree.

Joanna

Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass

2006-05-21T22:12:00.000-05:00

This blog was created so that both Terri and I could share our experiences with our gastric bypass procedures. In this first post, I simply wanted to share a picture so that you could better understand what is involved in a roux-en-y gastric bypass. We both will be posting here so that anyone with questions can hopefully benefit from our experiences. So please feel free to post any questions in the comments section and we'll answer them to the best of our ability.

Joanna