Marital Problems

My wife has been cool with the gastric bypass and the weight loss. But, as of late, she keeps commenting about the weight loss. She is putting on some weight and I am losing. Further, she claims that my personality has changed and I just don't know what to do. Didn't know that this was going to strain the marriage but it has. Just don't know what to do.

Been on the road for about 3 weeks now working and it is getting rough. Eating out is tough and I have found that I drink alcohol more often. That is not good.

Vitamins

I have a confession, I have not been taking my vitamins. The thing is, my body no longer absorbs calcium, b12 and many others. I need to take a vitamin supplement every day, but I just don't. I know it is bad, but it is a pain in the behind. They have to be chewable vitamins and they are cow pills. Jeez, I guess I should get some blood work. Anyways, just thought I would fess it to you guys. I know of a family friend that had the surgery several years ago and never took her calcium. She now has a bone degenerative disease and lots of issues with bones. So, I guess I need to take them. In fact, I think I will go now and take them. Gastric bypass changes a lot of things and this is just one of those. You can't undo this, it is forever.

I also need to go back and see Dr. Clements at UAB. It has been a while.

Limitless Energy

I am just amazed at how much energy that I now have. I have been working in the yards all weekend and took my son fishing today. Not really even tired.

The jeans that I bought last month are getting too big. I continue to lose a substantial amount of weight and am now down around 210 lbs. Never thought that I would weigh below 200 again in my life. But, I think that this just might happen.

Things continue to go just fine. Other than the odd back pain from the last post, I am good.

I haven't had a problem with loose skin but my daughter did comment on the appearance last week. So, I didn't realize it but I guess that it is a problem. Well, there are bigger problems in life that people deal with. I will take flabby arms over diabetes any day.

I am really up on the gastric bypass and glad that I did it. It was the right decision. Still need to go see Dr. Clements at UAB.

Back Pain

I have noticed that by lower back hurts a good bit now. Not low back pain, but like at the very end of my tail bone. Lot of back pain in my medical history but I have never had pain in this particular spot. It is especially bad as I sit for a long time. I spoke with my barber and she had gastric bypass a few years back. She said that until the muscles adjust to the new weight distribution that I would have these strange pains. Not much concerned, it is more of a discomfort. But thought that it would be worth a mention.

I haven't gone to see Dr. Clements in a while and thinking of making an appointment. I need to check this blog to see the last time.

I continue to be gout free and the sleep apnea has improved in the past few days. Not sure about my weight right now but my clothes continue to get larger.

Dumping Syndrome and New Levi Jeans

Since I have had the gastric bypass, I have had a few issues but one in particular I would like to talk about on this post. You guys have probably heard about Dumping Syndrome. Let me clue you in on the details. It happens when you drink or eat too much sugar. I found out it is particularly bad for me when drinking coke or similar sugar soda. When it happens to me, I feel flush and my face feels really hot. My heart then starts racing and I usually get dizzy. You absolutely have to sit down. You feel sick to your stomach and panic'd at the same time. It is like an extreme panic attack with the nausea. It leaves you feeling weak and overcome with fatigue. It is no fun but you quickly learn how to avoid this just by not eating the offending foods.

I went and bought a couple of pairs of jeans last week. Size 38 and could have bought a 36. I continue to lose weight but at a slower rate.

Drinking

I have discovered that alcohol is just not going to be ok. Tried a glass of wine over the weekend and it does not agree with me. It feels like a bit of dumping happens and it just makes you feel really bad the next day. Hard liquor is out of the question. And, beer is out b/c of the carbonation.

Things are going ok. Sleep apnea is bothering me but it is no worse than it was before.

Visit to Doc and Chicago

Went to see Dr Clements at UAB on the problem with gagging, etc from my last post. He said that I could do a scope of the stomach or I could just take a wait and see. I told him that I would rather take a wait and see, hoping that it will go away. Dr Clements did mention that I was about 10 lbs behind on the weight loss and then read off the list of things that I should not be doing. I weigh 228 lbs and he mentioned that I should lose 50 more lbs. I don't see how that is possible, but he is the doc.

I then went off to a conference in Chicago for a week. It was a very long week and lots of hours. I held up ok but did have one bad night with no energy, etc. One story, I had dinner with a client at a really nice Italian spot in chicago. I had 2 pieces of bread and 1/2 bowl of Italian wedding soup. I ordered the lasagna and had 2 bites. It was the best I have ever had but could only eat 2 bites. I spent 45 minutes watching others eat and pushing food around on my plate. It was awkward, to say the least.

Sleep apnea continues to be a struggle.

People are really starting to notice the weight loss since the gastric bypass.

Lastly, I have noticed some traffic on the website and it looks like some people are actually starting to read the blog! Good news on that front. I hope that this can benefit someone.