Update, product review and website review

February 28, 2009 at 2:27 am (Weight Loss Surgery, WLS Post-op update)
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Okay, so I know it has been a while since I have last posted to my blog. I’m sorry to those who have been reading that I haven’t kept up as much as I would have liked to. Where has the time gone! Goodness it has gone by so quickly.

Well… a update, first off, of how things are going for me. Since I last posted (on January 18, 2009) I have lost about a little more than 16 lbs. The other day I was at the store with my husband and he, for what I think is probably the first time, actually told me to slow down. He couldn’t keep up with me. I have always been the one to tell him to slow down. LOL :O)

Thankfully I have not had any complications physically. What I do have a little trouble with, still, is getting in 64-plus ounces of fluid in a day. I have never been one that drank a lot of fluid in a day. I can do it, but there are just days where I am so busy that I don’t think about holding a cup in my hands and sipping, sipping, sipping away at it. I am now able to eat solids and honestly can eat just about anything – with certain exceptions of course. So far I am handling what is on my list of things that are allowed at this point fairly well. At one of the support groups I went to this month I talked to the nutritionist who told me that it is okay to eat the protein bars at this point. That made me VERY excited! I will eat a protein bar any day over drinking the protein shakes…. mainly because I am a little tired of drinking the protein shakes. I still like to get some ISOPURE in though. These extra protein supplements are now my choice to keep eating. The plan that those who go through St. Vincent Carmel Bariatric Center of Excellence get says that at 12 weeks out we can cut down the additional protein supplements. We are told to make sure we get in 3 servings of Milk every day. I am doing good with getting in 3 ounces of food at each meal now. Sometimes I can’t get it all in but that is mainly if I have eaten a protein bar within 2 hours of eating the regular meal. I also have noticed that in the morning when I go to eat breakfast, or even in the evening if I haven’t eaten anything for an extended time period between lunch and dinner, I get this little “hunger pain” feeling in my stomach. I discussed this with Dr. Gupta at my last check up appointment and she said that at this point I would be okay to drink hot tea or coffee prior to eating as they have found that with others who have had this same issue it helps to “warm up” the stomach muscles. The “hunger pains”, so to speak, don’t “hurt” necessarily but more so it is just annoying. When this happens I find that by the time I take my second bite out of my food I get almost a false fullness feeling. I know that my stomach isn’t full. It can hold more than two bites of food. The hot tea or coffee does help.

Clothing… I finally broke down and bought myself 3 new pair of pants over at the local Goodwill. If I have to get a new pair of pants I’ll get them from Goodwill until I am pretty well set at a plateau at my goal weight. One day I was at the YMCA and while walking on the treadmill I had to constantly pull up my sweat pants… that is when I decided to take that first step and figure out how many pant sizes I went down. Where am I on that? Well, (big grin) I bought pants 6 sizes down, but could have easily gotten them 8 sizes down. I chose the 6 sizes down over the 8 sizes down as I am so used to wearing my clothes slightly big. BUT… I also got 3 new shirts. 2 “large” t-shirts (one long sleeve one short to be layered one over the other) in regular ladies size and 1 “XL” shirt from the juniors! THAT was an exciting moment.

Another interesting thing I am starting to notice… There are a few who know me but didn’t recognize me at first glance! Ohhh the expressions are almost priceless. They just do this double take and then have this look of total shock on their face. A few have just looked at me with the thought written across their face of “is this seriously her”? LOL. I just chuckle. I have had a few ask what kind of diet I was on. A former co-worker asked me if I work out at the Y as she thought that she saw me but didn’t say anything because she wasn’t sure. All that with only being down 44 lbs. I am curious as to what it be like when I get down to my goal. :O)

So… for those of you just starting the process or who have just had their surgery… you will have this all start happening too. I’ve heard the stories of MANY others who have gone through this before me and it just seemed so surreal. But, it is true… people around you that know you do respond differently…. they are excited for you, they are surprised, they are curious, some don’t know how to respond (and do not realize that their confusion on how to respond is written all over their face). Be ready to have some humor and respond with something that will make them laugh. I told a former student that I had who looked totally confused as to why I had changed so quickly “it’s okay… I’m just shedding little pieces at a time of my ‘Big Mama’ costume”. I am secure within myself, and you have to be, to be able to admit that I was NOT at a healthy weight and instead of feeling bad about that… instead of being self-conscious… I prefer to use that condition that I was in as a stepping stone for better understanding. You can truly say that you understand when you have had to live it. This isn’t a surgery that can be taken lightly (as you have heard said many times) and you aren’t being given a free ride (as you may have also heard). You have to work the tool. You have to exercise, you have to take the vitamins and calcium every day for the rest of your life, you have to…. well… you should know… and if you need to know then check out the info on my blog site or many of the other sites out there that discuss it all.

Okay… now… I’m done with my own personal update. WOW… that was a long one. Sorry about that. Probably wouldn’t be so long if I would take the time to update more often. I’ll work on doing this better.

Two final thoughts… Product Review…
If you live in an area where there is a Kroger grocery store… go pick up some Kroger brand CARBmaster yogurt. It is 80 calories (which is less than other brands out there.. well.. that I have seen), has 3 Net Carbs and 12g Protein!!! I cannot get over this yogurt. It is just truly wonderful.

Kroger brand CARBmaster yogurt

Kroger brand CARBmaster yogurt

Website to take a look at: http://www.livestrong.com
Take a stroll on this amazingly cool site that is brought to us by the Lance Amstrong organization. You can register for free and take part of some very cool features… like a food tracker that is better than any that I have yet found online, a inches lost measurement tracker, a weight loss tracker, exercise tracker, etc. Check out “The Daily Plate” section. I believe that you will be extremely pleased with this site as I know that I quickly am becoming.

Till next time…

~Tammy~
tammy1


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WLS Update: NOTE stomach flu after the surgery is BAD… VERY, VERY BAD!

January 18, 2009 at 3:49 pm (Movie Review, Uncategorized, Weight Loss Surgery, WLS Post-op update)
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Well, it has been a while since I have made a post to my blog. The days just seem to be passing by so quickly. A run-down…..

Christmas was good. My ex-husband lives in Illinois so my daughters don’t get to see him too often. I had made the decision that while he was here in town that the girls’ could spend the whole time with him. My gift to him, I guess you could say. Was it hard for me to not have them at home on Christmas day? No. I was just fine with it… because I had made that decision to let him have them all of the time he was here over Christmas. That was my decision and so I was fine with them not being here with me. They needed that time with him. My husband, son and I spent part of Christmas day over at my in-laws. It was a very enjoyable day and I had no problems as far as the post-surgical diet went or eating stuff that I shouldn’t have been eating.

New Year’s was a whole different story. It started out well, but ended rotten. I started out feeling great on New Year’s Day, but then by noon I started feeling really, really sick. I thought that possibly it was dumping syndrome, but I knew that it couldn’t have been that as at the moment that it started the only thing I had had was a protein shake, that I still wasn’t done drinking. The protein shake had the only new thing in it that I hadn’t tried up to that point: egg protein powder. The egg protein powder was actually great in making the shake itself seem light and it wasn’t bad at all, tasting wise, however I have since no desire to attempt that particular product again.

The symptoms reminded me of being in labor with my children, and that isn’t an exaggeration (unfortunately). Vomiting wasn’t there. Probably would be but with the little tummy food does not sit there long enough for it come back up (sorry so graphic). Dry heaves was more the issues than anything (again, sorry so graphic but I know that there are people out there who are will want to know specifically). After about 7 ½ hours of dealing with this and not being able to must up the desire to eat (which is a must) I was on the phone calling Carmel Surgical Specialists. Dr. Jones was on-call for their office over the holiday. Because of the extreme of the level of pain I was having, the nausea, the dry heaves and the probability that I was quickly becoming dehydrated she made the suggestion that I go up to Carmel St. Vincent’s ER. I am not that far from there, 20 minutes, so that was not going to be a problem.

I will honestly say I have not been in an Emergency Room yet that is like that of St. Vincent Carmel Hospital. Imagine walking into an ER going right up and immediately having your vitals checked out and then being taken back to one of 18 “private” ER rooms, that look just exactly like most of the private rooms when you are admitted to other hospitals, having the admittance person come right into your room to check you in, etc., etc. I asked what they do when they have a crowd of people in the ER at once. Where do they sit outside in the reception area? They told me they don’t sit in the reception area that they have always had enough beds (18 rooms plus) that they have never had to have anyone wait at all to go back. I looked at my husband and in between a pain episode I told him, “If I ever need to go to the ER again bring me here!” I love my PCP, he has been my Dr. for 18 years now, but I am sure he wouldn’t mind if I went to the other hospital branch that he is affiliated with. It is the same hospital, just in different areas.

The ER nurse had a little bit of difficulty getting an IV started in my arm. I was dehydrated pretty badly. It took her 5 sticks (which most nurses won’t even consider trying again after 2 or 3 sticks) to get the IV into a vein that wouldn’t roll on her. They sent me over to have a CT scan after they gave me some Morphine for the pain. Finished the scan, went back to the ER, and the ER nurse was rather agitated with the CT scan tech who turned off my IV fluid line. I didn’t know she did. I pretty much slept the whole time of the CT scan because Morphine, like most all pain meds, knocked me out. I was lucky that I even got off the bed and on the table to do the scan, and then back into the bed after the scan… I was THAT out of it. The scan showed that everything as far as my tummy went was just fine, in other words I didn’t have any obstruction or leaks. They also told me that the scan showed the staple line was healing just as it should and in the right time frame that they expect them to heal. That was good news. :O) BUT… It still didn’t take care of my issue. The diagnosis was in agreement with what I figured it probably was… the stomach flu… and a NASTY flu it was too. JUST as an FYI… the Incentive Spirometer (which I am probably misspelling) does NOT prevent you from getting the stomach flu!!!

I was admitted and stayed in the hospital until the 3rd of January… probably could have stayed a little longer, but I seriously got tired of staying in the hospital. Next time I will remember to have brought up to me either my laptop or at least a book to read! The silly IV came out of the vein at one point and I had to again go through getting stuck in order to get the line restarted. Four nurses and 7 more sticks later it was finally in place again. That was 12 sticks… ouch! My arms looked like a purple pin cushion. While I came home on the 3rd it actually took a whole week for that stomach flu to work its course. The pain was under control by the 3rd and that to me meant that I was at least functional again.

Went back for my six week check up with Dr. Gupta on the 15th (which was last Thursday), as well as for a Nutritionist visit. Everything there went well. Nothing out of the ordinary to tell there, except that my next check up is in another 6 weeks.

So… that pretty much does it for my update on how I am doing with this Roux-En-Y thing. Oh… weight lost? I guess I did forget to put that down here, didn’t I? Sorry. Since my last blog post I have lost 8 ½ lbs. and 16 ¼ inches over total body. That is a good loss in my opinion. I am satisfied with that. I think that 10 lbs. / month is a good steady goal to shoot for with my height and weight average. REMEMBER, those of you just starting this process or are thinking about going through with having this procedure, EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT!!! What is a healthy weight loss per month for one person is not necessarily going to be lost with another person. Some may lose way more, some may lose the average, and some even less than the average. As long as your Doctor is not concerned, as long as your Doctor tells you that you are on track… then that is all that matters. ALSO… stay away from the scales except for once a week… and start measuring yourself, too. Measuring yourself is a great way to see where you are losing weight at first, the most often, as well as to know that even if you aren’t losing a lot in pounds in a week you may be losing a great deal in inches. FINAL THOUGHT…. STAY AWAY from anyone that you know has had this terrible stomach flu especially if you are fairly fresh out from having the surgery done!!!

Till next time………. Go see two new movies out: Marley & Me and also Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Awesome movies!

~Tammy~


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RNY Post-Surgical Update

December 19, 2008 at 11:56 am (Uncategorized)
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So yesterday I went over to the “Y” to do a weekly weight check. Lost a whole half-pound! I am okay with this. I mean after all I did lose 16 the week before. On top of that I have been doing a great deal of riding on the bike and I am probably having some muscle build up.

I called the Bariatric Center and had the nurse pull my record and give me my measurements that they had done so I could start keeping track of those as well. I am done 4.5 inches in the hip and 3 inches in the chest. My husband had a few remarks about the inches lost in the chest… I told him to get over it. LOL. MEN!!! GEESH!!! LOL! I made up a VERY cool Excel spread sheet where I am graphing my weight and measurements. IF you would like to have this spread sheet for your own use feel free to send me an E-mail (listed below) and I will send that to you for your own personal use.

A funny thing occurred when I called to get those measurements. There is ONE other Tammy with the same last name as mine here in Indiana. The only difference between our names is our middle name. Anyway… apparently she has had this surgery as well. I figured out that they were talking about the other Tammy when they had the wrong date for when I first went in for consultation. Apparently she went in on February 28, 2008 and I went in on August 28, 2008 and our measurements were VERY close to being the same. They did tell me that we didn’t have the same surgeon. They didn’t tell me what her measurements were just that they were VERY close to each other. NOW when I call I will remember to give them my middle initial and date of birth. LESSON: IF you know there are others who have the same name as you… ALWAYS check to make sure that places have the correct person. I found out that she was out there back in the day when I sold Pampered Chef and the company had her in their system as a customer. They sent her my stuff. I got her contact information from the company and called her to let her know that it was on its way to her. When it came in she called me and I went out to her house and picked it up. I didn’t meet her as she just set my stuff on the porch. BUT… it was still rather comical. HOPE she never gets into trouble… in my line of work that may make for some serious confusion within the courts. LOL :O) I am sure she would never do such a thing though. Back in the day when I talked to her that time she seemed really nice. IF she ever reads this… I wish you the best of luck on your recovery, Tammy. She would know who she is by the previously described incident.

Well… That about does it for this update. I don’t know what else to write about. (GASP… SHOCK! LOL… to those who know me well.) :O) I’ll do another weight check next week on Christmas Eve and will attempt to post on the same day. BUT… In case I don’t get around to it… MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

~Tammy~

To send an E-mail you can contact me at: TammysWebLog@aol.com


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RNY Update

November 5, 2008 at 8:16 am (Weight Loss Surgery, WLS, WLS Post-Ins. Approval)
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Well I figure it is time to do an update on the progress of this surgery.  I, like many, have been on a side-tracked mind these last couple days due to the presidential race.  I had decided a long time ago when starting this blog that I would not talk about politics, so therefore I will not go into who I voted for or whether or not I am excited over the things to come in the next four years of our lives.  Today is a new day.  A day to get back on track.  With that said…..

I got the call last Friday to set the date for the surgery.  Only I missed it!  I was blow drying my hair.  I called Heather, left a message for her, enjoyed the weekend, and starting on Monday I prepared myself for another possible long week of waiting for a return phone call.  Thankfully I did not have to wait too long.  She called a little bit after 10 am on Monday November 3rd to schedule the surgery date.  On December 2nd at 2:00 PM (ET) I will be going into surgery.  I have to be at St. Vincent Carmel Hospital’s Bariatric Center of Excellence (located at St. Vincent Carmel Hospital) at 11 am.  Right now I am waiting for St. Vincent to call me back, as I had gone out early afternoon on Monday when they called, to do my pre-registration.  Heather told me that here soon she will be sending me out a huge packet of information, I will have to set the date to do my pre-op blood work and other testing and I will have to go and take a 6 hour nutrition class.  I am sure that there are more specific details but right now I do not know them.  As soon as I get more details I will post them here so that you will know, and those that are considering or beginning this process will also have an idea as what to expect in this phase.

Am I excited? Oh yeah! I know it may not “sound” like it at the moment, but right now it is still too early in the day for me to show much excitement.  I do have a LOT of stuff that needs to be done before the surgery… and not just stuff relating to the surgery itself.  So… now that the election stuff is all done things need to get back to normal.  I’ll write more later when I know something.

~Tammy~

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