2 YEARS!

And what a wild ride it's been. Hard to believe it's been 2 years. 2 long years, mind you. LOL. Pleasant surprises since WLS: 1. I weigh less then I ever expected (weight same as when I was perhaps in 7th grade maybe - certainly never as an adult) 2. I wear a size that has a single digit (in pants, at least). Never expected that. 3. I have lots of bones that I never knew were there. 4. I'm not as big boned as I thought. I have long hands and feet but I'm truly not big framed like I always believed. 5. That I now look so very much like my mother did when she was young. 6. Losing more shoe size then I had gained with the last weight gains. 7. I dump. Things I didn't expect: 1. The strange pains that would plague me. Still don't know what they are. Still scares me a bit. 2. The delicate balance of the timing of eating and food choices that may or may not trigger dumping. 3. Realizing that people that meet me now would never know I was ever heavy. 4. Finding pants that fit. If they fit my waist (due to some extra skin) they tend to be wide in the hips. 5. That I'd truly realize that white carbs cause strange reactions in my body - cravings, lethargy, instant and dramatic weight gain. 6. That not only would I lose hair on my head but a bunch of months post-op I realized that the majority of arm hair was gone as was the hair on knuckes and toes. The hair on arms is back but lighter than before. Hair on my toes is back but I don't see it on knucles. Hair on toes is good (per my endocrinologist when I had diabetes - means good blood flow). 7. Skin/hair as dry as the Sahara. Difficulties/issues after WLS: 1. The strange pains that would plague me. Still don't know what they are. Still scares me a bit. 2. The delicate balance of the timing of eating and food choices that may or may not trigger dumping. 3. Finding pants that fit. If they fit my waist (due to some extra skin) they tend to be wide in the hips. 4. Shaving my armpits is near impossible. They are hollow caverns. 5. Extra skin. Mine isn't as dramatic as many and I'm definitely appreciative of that but I hate the extra folds and stuff especially on my face - the rest get covered by clothing. I weigh less than I did at 20 but my waist is 3 inches bigger due to skin. 6. I dump. Important lessons learned: 1. The importance of protein. (I do supplement. If I cut down on my supplementation - I see it in my labs.) 2. The importance of vitamins.... multis, vitamin D, calcium, iron, B12, B complex plus others as needed. Learning about vitamins. 3. The importance of eating on a regular schedule. I eat or supplement every 3 hours or so. Avoids sugar rises or dives. Keeps me feeling energetic and balanced all day long. 4. I can definitely eat enough to gain weight. Calories eaten and burned are important. It takes work to maintain my weight loss. 5. The importance of exercise. 6. The importance of regular lab work and medical follow-ups including lots of labs and bone density scans. Be your own advocate for your labs. Get a copy of EVERYTHING. Track them in a list/spreadsheet. Learn about them (www.labtestsonline.org). Find out what they measure and what lows/highs mean. Act before you are deficient in things. 7. WLS fixes stomach and quantity you can eat but doesn't fix your mind. You have to work on issues, behaviors, coping skills, stressors and food choices each and every day. Life improvements since WLS: 1. Diabetes is resovled/under control. Was on insulin 5 years. 2. High blood pressure is resolved. Was on meds 5 years. 3. Sleep apnea is resolved. Was on CPAP 6-9 months. 4. Feel better physically and mentally. Am much more active. Kathy

Hi Kathy, Glad to see your post. Missed ya! I just wanted to send my greetings and hugs to you and Michelle and our many faithful May ladies! ( and any occasional guy May lurkers ) I have to schedule some time to do a review of my 2 yrs since surgery and post it too. Briefly I'll say it has been such a worthy venture. Lost close to 100 lbs. never made it to the 100 lb. mark and work hard to just maintain. Have been suffering a great deal with neck and back problems and it isn't the fibromyalgia but arthritis and disc issues in spine. Seeing a new chiropractor who is very into homeopathic and alternative therapies. Seeing lower back improvement but the neck is slower to respond. ( BTW Michelle, My fibro is for the most part in remission just to give you a pinch of hope with yours, the day may come when it sleeps and only occasionally rears it's head with a mild growl. ) Gardening every morning and some evenings is my passion and my delight! I am so tickled with the perennials I planted last year! Popping up all over. It is a renewal in HOPE ! I must say. My roses are blooming so beautifully and last wk. I finally got around to sprinkling epsom salts on them and it must be what they crave cuz in just a wk they really took off ! The chiropractor says I should be so kind to myself and take a nice long soaky bath in the epsom salts because it is a great way to absorb magnesium ! But it is a luxury I haven't squeezed time out yet to indulge in. But as I type it out it occurs to me we WLS gals might try in that it offers another way to absorb the vits, hummmm. OK , guess time can be found after all. There is an ever present battle with the weeds , so like out daily battle with food choices. If we let it slip a few days ...there are consequences - for sure. Which take more work to overcome than the daily maintence. So practicing those good habits of weeding and making healthy choices in our food programs pays off well. Also keeping a food journal helps me " keep it real" . ( the good the bad and the ugly ) I miss our usual postings and interaction. It has been a much richer experience having you Mayers to compare notes with and share the journey together these past 2 yrs.. Thank you Kathy, for your leadership and faithful care of us all. You are like the big sis to us, here. Hope we have been a support for you in your adversity as well. Hugs and Blessings to all . My heart's affection is with you, as are my prayers daily...yep you are on the prayer list , Mary