Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Worried About Weight Loss

I made a decision early on not to have a scale. I really didn't want to have the pressure of a daily weigh in to deal with. Well, I went over to a friends and weighed. I had not lost any weight. That bothers me. Since, I am eating a lot of junk food and am not following the rules. I think that I have topped out on weight loss. I weighed about 240 lbs and that is around 235, since I had shoes etc. I would hate to be in that small percentage where the gastric bypass just doesn't work. There are some and the way I snack all day, that might just be me. I am concerned about it.

Got my follow up exam with Dr. Clements at UAB sometime in the near future. I need to call his office and check.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Side Effects

I have been reading some postings today about gastric bypass and wanted to touch on that just a bit. There are side effects with this surgery. Gastric bypass restricts your ability to eat and it punishes you if you try to break the rules. There is consistent negative reinforcement each time you try to violate the simple rules the doctors give you.

If you eat too many sweets, you are going to be sick.

If you eat breads are starches, you are going to be sick.

If you drink sweetened carbonated sodas, you are going to be sick.

If you eat greasy foods, you are going to be sick.

etc, etc, etc...

There are basic rules and if they are violated, it will be bad. The kicker here is that it varies on how much you can break the rules. Sometimes you can get away with a little bit, but the next time you will pay a price for just a small violation. You have to retrain yourself and it is a painful process.

I am not here to fool you. The first 2 weeks after surgery is not good. First, you are dealing with the pychological issues of not having your best friend anymore(food). Second, you are dealing with the drastic change in your anatomy. Then, you are generally in pain and feel sick.

But, it gets better.

I don't know if I would do it again, it is too early. But, I do know that it is changing me for the better.

Slowly Back to Normal

Over the past few days, I have started to feel much closer to normal. I am able to eat many of the foods that I could before the gastric bypass. I still can't sit down and have a meal with the family but I am getting there. I am finding that I tend to eat all day, constantly. Small amounts but eating anyways.

I don't know how much I have lost. I purposefully do not have a scale, since I went into this to help with my other issues (sleep apnea, gout, etc) and not to lose weight. But, curiousity is getting the best of me and I might succumb to that today and go buy a scale.

This morning I had a fried egg, grits, fried bologna and that was a huge mistake. I knew going into it that it was a mistake but I was really hungry since I didn't eat much supper the night before. Anyways, throwing up and sick. Got up and then went back to bed with a sick stomach. Didn't start work until around 9am.

I continue to take my vitamins every day and that has become more or less a routine. I just leave them sitting on my desk and grab one during the date. They are chewable and rasberry flavored, so that makes it easier.

The weight is much lower but I really don't feel like it. I have had several people comment on the weight loss but I am not really feeling like I have lost much weight. My clothes are much bigger but I feel the same. I have noticed that the lower backaches have stopped and I think the sleep apnea is getting better. The gout continues to plague my left knee but I hope eventually that will get better.