Year 2

How strange that sounds... but with May gone... we all have made it past the 1 year post-op mark so yes... we are now into year 2. For some of us it'll be trying to get to goal by continuing to lose and for others it will be trying to maintain. For all of us we need to stay on top of our labs. Some deficiencies can appear at this point and further out. Protein stores and iron come to mind. I know that during my first year (strange to say that), I had labs done every 3 months or so. I think now... it'll be every 6 months. For all of us we need to be due diligent in taking our vitamins. They are for life! For all of us we need to make sure to eat on a regular basis (every so many hours) and if we have a carby meal to make sure to balance protein and even fats in there. It is really wise to keep some food stuff with you at all times... just in case. Those cheese peanut butter crackers are usually a better thing to ingest then say something that is just carb. There are many cases of (reactive) hypoglycemia in longer term post-ops and not just those that had diabetes pre-op. This means that the person has an overproduction on insulin in response to eating carbs. Balancing out carbs with proteins and healthy fats will slow down the insulin response. Kathy

Amen! And thank you, by the way, for posting that website link about the labs. That was very helpful for me, as I read up on what they had to say about the whole B-12 definiciency thing and I think I'm having some symptoms that I need to talk to my surgeon about when i go for my year checkup! (I still have a headache from reading about B this and B that though - lol - and I'm still unclear about all of that). Diane And let me tell you ... those peanut butter cracker things have come in so handy - I keep a box in my drawer at work. I also have gotten into the habit of keeping a bag of soy chips on hand as well. GenSoy makes some great flavors and they are a good source of protien!

Diane B - Happy Surgerversary (one day late)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I too have been doing the crackers n peanut butter thing for an on the go. I try to make my own using whole wheat ritz crackers but many times I've just bought them for convience!! Hugs, Laurie

Kathy, Do you get Kaye Bailey's LWWLS newsletter? She had a fantastic article this morning about the carb addiction most of us have. It was written really well and even though I knew it already it was a great reminder of what carbs do to our bodies! Let me know if you don't get it, I'll forward you a copy. Hope you have a great morning! Barb