17 Month Roll-Call

Who is out there? How are you? Any challenges in your life? Complications? Lost too much? Still have alot more to lose? Stopped losing? Eating issues? Gaining weight? Falling back into old habits? What have been the biggest good surprises since surgery? What have been the biggest bad surprises since surgery? Kathy

I'm doing okay! No big challenges in my life at this point. My Vitamin D is now 40 so no need to do megadoses. My liver enzymes (AST and alpha phosphatase) are now normal. My ALT is 70 which is almost double normal but it is dropping from where it was so doc isn't sending me to gastro for a liver biopsy at this time. I'm staying on my milk thistle supplements - it may have helped with the liver so I'm not changing it. My back/right leg is still giving me issues even after my cortisone shot a few weeks ago. I'm going to go for a repeat MRI (last one was two years ago, I guess) and then I see the back surgeon in November/December again. We'll see what is going on in there. Still occasionally have some right side pain. Not sure what triggers it. Need to track it in writing to see if it is related to eating certain things or not. Not sure about the selenium (since I still take it) and the rib cartilage thing. Who knows. Biggest surprises - good 1. How quickly I got off medication for diabetes, high blood pressure and off my CPAP machine 2. That I weigh less than I expected to get down to and that I wear a much smaller size than I would have anticipated (though this is all numbers which in the big scheme of things don't really amount to much) 3. That I actually enjoy exercising - there I've said it. Someone take my temperature. Get the straight jacket and lock me away 4. That the quality of what we eat is so much better than before. There doesn't seem to be room for junk or trash food. Have we become food snobs - a bit perhaps 5. That I never had much problems with food post-op. I have only hurled twice in 17 months. I do dump on incidental sugars so I know not to go near the real deal but beyond that I do fine with real food 6. The Maysters are still holding together! Biggest surprises - bad 1. Not knowing how much extra skin my body would have and where it would be located - it ain't purdy but it does cover up well with clothing since plastics are not in my future 2. All the strange pain issues/complications that I've had in the past year 3. Being a bit fearful of the long term effects of the surgery on the body - iron, protein, etc issues 4. That I initially thought we'd save money after WLS but with the cost of protein and vitamin supplements - this is more expensive way of life Kathy 279/276/244/160/155/156.5 (highest/consult/preop/goal/lowest/current)

17 mths!! Time just keeps flying by. The very first person I personally knew who had wls had it SEVEN years ago now!!!! That just amazes me! Things have evened out a bit for me. My eatting isn't the focus of my day now. I crave water now, so I don't really have to keep track of it, although I still used bottled water so it's fairly easy to make sure I've opened at least three a day. My weight has stabalized fairly easily. I did drop down lower then I wanted to be after tt, but I'm right back at 130 where I want to be. Old habits? well, I admit that the other day I was soooo emotionally upset that I bought a snack pack of cookies and crunched them all the way home, but it certainly isn't a "habit" anymore. It's a pretty rare occassion now. Biggest good surprises: 1. That I lost my weight at all. After not being able to lose weight, I wasn't all that confident it would work for me. 2. That i lost all my weight so freakin' fast. Nine months to surgeon's goal. WOW !!! That blows me away. Even though I have had some icky rare complications and was sick, I still lost the weight. 3. TT - I never thought a TT would be in my future. I've only dreamed of having a flat tummy and now I do!!!! 4. The attention of others. I've been ignored (at best) and made fun of (at worst) but I'll NEVER forget the day that I went to the library and this good lookin' man opened the doors for me - NO ONE (except dh and my kids) has ever went out of his way to open a door for me!! Actually, I don't know if this one is a good one or a bad one. I remember feeling both elated at it and quite angry at the same time. Biggest Bad Surprise 1. Health Issues - I surely wasnt educated enough on the complications that can happen. Oh, I knew the immediate complications that everyone knows about (leaks, strictures, etc.) but no one ever told me that I could have a stroke from certain levels being out of whack. (heck the surgeon to this day won't admit that it had anything to do with wls). I didn't know how difficult it was going to be to find vits that my body will absorb and keep me in good health. 2. Mal Absorbtion - This was like a "dream" preop. It became a "nightmare" postop. I never ever ever thought that I would mal absorb to the point of costing me my health. I honestly had a hard time thinking that I would mal absorb at all - and boy was I wrong there!!! 3. HERNIA!!!! - I never thought I'd get a hernia. I've bore six children just fine. I've lifted, pulled, done the work of a man many times. I've never had even a pulled muscle. I have wls and then cough and POP, hernia!!! And man do those things hurt. No one in our new town knows that I've had wls and I think the biggest wooo hooo is the fact that I don't talk about it at all (except on here). I just lead a "normal" life. WLS doesn't consume my day anymore!!! People here, just take me for what I am. Of course they look at me and say, "you have SIX children???" and "are they ALL yours" heeeheeheee I'm the best darn lookin mom of six in the county and I love it!!!!!!!

Who is out there? It's me! It's me! How are you? I'm doing better everyday (I think, I hope?). Any challenges in your life? Complications? Lost too much? Still have a lot more to lose? Stopped losing? Eating issues? Gaining weight? Falling back into old habits? Health issues abound right now. Labs were off (BTW - Thanks Kathy for helping me understand better how to read my labs as a WLS patient. I was truly comforted and hopefully I will be getting the other test we discussed next week). I'm dealing with quite a bit right now. I am dealing with some kidney issues right now due to some malnourishment which is my own fault. I think that I still need to lose, but all three of my docs are yelling at me to cease and desist immediately. According to them, I should have stopped around 165-170 and I'm down to 152. What have been the biggest good surprises since surgery? Man, where do I start! 1. I like shopping for clothes now and love being able to walk in the "normal" section (although I think that normal is a relative term). 2. My husband calls me the food police. I'm constantly on him and the children about what they're eating/drinking, why they should/should not be eating/drinking that, etc. My entire family gets aggravated sometimes with my nutrition savvy. Who knew I would become an unlicensed nutritionalist! What have been the biggest bad surprises since surgery? 1. The emotional impact of this surgery has been unreal. Please don't get me wrong. A friend of mine told me that WLS is 10% physical and 90% mental and boy do I believe her now. It's been a very difficult ride, but fortunately, I have a wonderful support system at home and online! 2. THERE IS SKIN EVERYWHERE! Fortunately like Kathy, I can hide it pretty well with clothing. Heather Starting: 267 Goal: 155 Current: 153 Lowest: 152

Hey there! I'm here! 17 months out and still holding (for the most part) steady around the 150s. I've been struggling with eating crap/more than I should for the past couple of weeks and pushed all the way up to 157 but I'm back down to 154 now and continuing to work on it. Would still love to see 149 someday... I have PS scheduled in December - a little over 2 months away. Still got a lot of work (mentally, mostly) to do before then. Just keep plugging away. Biggest good: I can't believe how YOUNG I feel. Biggest bad: I can't believe how much the excess skin bugs me, truly bothers me... and it's not even as bad as some experience.

WOW 17 months... doesnt seem like that long.... No complication.... thank heavens... stlil have 3-8 to surgeons goal of 160 and 13-18 to mine of 150. Ive been at this weight of anywhere from 163-168 since march... dont think im going down anymore... ahhhh well.. Im at my goal size of a 10 but an 8 sure would have been nice. I have fat days and thin days... just started a new job and no one there knows Ive had surg. Have some grazing days, some bad choics. overall pretty good... biggest surprise... that those little bitty size 10's actually fit biggest bad surprise.. that ive not hit my goal at almost 18 months out... Karen

Well, at 17 months I'm heading for Plastic Surgery at Stanford on Monday. The first Lap Bandr to have it. I've enjoyed my journey. Walked marathons, don about 87 lbs, and looking forward to better health. My biggest advice is exercise. Especially since I don't have malabsorption issues, it is imperative. I feel great!!