Blackthorne

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06/09/2006 My stomach hurts.

Another funny/strange moment in the life of a post-op DS.

Yesterday at work, I was sitting there talking on the phone, when I realized that my whole belly hurt - from just above my groin all the way up to my sternum. It wasn't a sharp pain, just a general overall ache.

All kinds of things were going through my head - had I sprung a leak this late in the game? Did I have an infection? Was it something I ate?? Did the hernia fairy stop off at my house last night?? What???? Should I call out sick and go see a doctor?? It was getting *really* uncomfortable just sitting there, and movement was worse.

Then I started to giggle as I realized what was wrong. Nothing!

I was just sore from exercise! Tuesday I met with the personal trainer, and she gave me several new exercises to build core muscles, and my muscles were simply complaining.

Here are some of the new ones:

Exercise #1 (but done on a full swiss ball, not a BOSU half-ball)

Exercise #2

Just thought you'd find my "bellyaching" amusing.

05/07/2006 Today was a day of both joy and sorrow. I woke up this morning, weighing 177.6 lbs, officially hitting my Trifecta:

1) I am now a member of the Century Club - I am down 100lbs from my highest weight (277lbs).

2) This is the lowest adult weight I've had since I turned 18, and the DS now officially beats all of my previous weight loss attempts as the best weight loss I've ever had.

3) My BMI is now under 35, meaning I am no longer obese in any way.

That was part of my joy. The rest of my joy is being with my family here in Southern California, many of whom I haven't seen in a LONG long time.

The sorrow, however, is the reason I'm here.....a cousin of mine passed away recently, and his funeral was this afternoon. He was three months younger than me - much too young to be moving on from this world. He left behind his wife, two children, his parents and a large number of friends & other family. There were well over 200 people at the funeral. I saw him briefly on my trip up from Florida, and I'm glad that I did - it was the first time in over 20 years that I'd seen him. It was truly a beautiful funeral.

3/9/2006 I've begun to notice a pattern of plateaus. I lost about 30lbs my first month, then plateaued for three weeks. I lost another 20, and plateaued for six weeks. I lost another 20, and again plateaued for three weeks.

So even though I show losses each month, it really isn't a steady loss - it's stair-stepping downwards. Since my last plateau ended 4 days ago, I've lost another 4lbs, but I have another week before my 'month' ends on the 15th, so we'll see what my official six month loss is.

2/22/2006 Last week was my 5 month anniversary, and I lost 15 lbs for month 5, for a total of 69 lbs since surgery, and 85 from my highest weight. Finally am fully moved to Seattle, and getting settled into my job. Staying with my brother temporarily, but all good things in time.

1/20/2006 New Year's Eve - Three and a half months post-op.


For comparison - here is a picture of me in Miami, on the way to Brazil:

01/17/2006 For the last six months, my life has been a constant circus of events, and it's finally coming to an end. I have a job waiting for me in Seattle. I'm moving in four days. My dad's stuff is almost all moved - just waiting on quotes for moving the piano & grandfather clock. And other than one last four thousand mile road trip, I'm done travelling.

I stopped wearing the binder about two weeks ago. Weight-wise, I plateaued for nearly six weeks, and finally dropped a little bit of weight just in time for my four month weigh-in. Annoying to say the least, and I finally broke down & whined about it.

Apparently a good whine is worth four pounds, and that's not British Sterling. ;) I've now lost 54lbs since surgery September 15th.

12/10/2005 I bought some new clothes the other day - size 20 jeans and a size 16 sweater. The sweater is a little snug, I probably should have gotten the 18, but oh well - I think I'm the only one who noticed. I started in size 26 jeans and size 3x/size 24 tops. I did have some pictures taken, which I'll post when I get them developed.

11/29/2005 Leaving for Omaha this afternoon to assist Cat B, who is having the DS with Dr Anthone on Thursday. Since my stall broke on the 10th, the weight has just been falling off - I've lost 17lbs in 19 days and 9 of that in the last twelve days. As of this morning, I weigh 212.6 lbs - down 48 lbs since surgery and 65 lbs from my high weight.

I can vaguely see a difference front to back, but shape-wise, I'm still an apple. Other people say they can REALLY see a difference. I should take more pictures so I have some record of this time. I have been so busy the last few weeks, that I haven't really been focused on the surgery. I still eat lots of protein, but haven't been counting grams. I can now wrap my binder around me 1 1/2 times. Cat has a smaller binder waiting for me, and I can hardly wait.

I still have no clue what to set as a goal weight. The charts suggest 114-118lbs, and yet I just cannot fathom that. Right now, my only goal is One-derland. Once I'm no longer "over 200lbs", I'll feel much better. Getting close. I'm hoping to be there by New Year's. I figure out a new checkpoint when I get there.

Amanda had some very wise advice though - to focus on things I *can* control, such as eating right, exercise, getting all my fluid in, taking my vitamins, and use THOSE as goals, instead of weight or weight loss. Even though she's probably right, those seem less satisfying than a weight goal.

11/17/2005 My life is in the middle of chaos. My father passed away on the 2nd, and that has been very emotionally exhausting. I'm still eating right - lots of protein, but haven't been tracking grams.

Coming up in the next three months, I am:

* driving twice to Montana
* packing up & deciding what to do with my dad's effects
* two funerals a thousand miles apart
* replacing all my ID & credit cards which I lost at the airport
* accompanying a friend to Omaha for DS surgery
* packing all my own stuff up & moving to Seattle
* selling my house

Unfortunately, they are all important, and I can't put any of them off. Because of this, my update will be short. After losing 28lbs in the first month, I dropped another three, then plateaued for three solid weeks. Finally this last week, weight began dropping again. My weight loss for month two (as of 11/15) is 11lbs for a grand total of 39lbs lost since surgery, and 56 lbs since September 2004.

10/22/05 I finally got my pictures from Curitiba back and developed - if you would like to check them out, click here and use password: "Brazil".

As the 15th, I was down a total of 28lbs - been bouncing around the same 2lbs for the last week, so still down 28lbs. Had my wisdom teeth out yesterday, so I'm back to soft foods for a few days (and good drugs - tasty!). Can I just say Ow!

My seroma stopped weeping about ten days ago, and I'm still looking for a job. Planning a brief tour of the US to drop off applications and visit friends - I don't really care where I end up right now. You've heard the phrase "Anywhere, but here"? That's where I'm headed - full steam ahead.

People often ask "Why the DS" - here is one answer I gave that I believe asnwers it well.

The only part of the DS that cannot be reversed is the partial gastrectomy, and the stomach WILL stretch over time. The lower portion is very similar to the RNY, and can be reversed if need be, although I've only read of one person who did. (And his surgeon was SO bad that he ended up losing his license after the fact)

With a good surgeon, your risks are greatly reduced. My surgeon had done over 400 DS (and over 800 RNY in the past). Out of those 400, he'd never lost a patient, and only had 3 leaks. His complication rates were WELL below average.

The things you have to do are pretty basic - take your vitamins, get your bloodwork done, eat lots of protein and exercise. Now, it's a lot of work early on, but that's because you're getting to know your new anatomy. If your bloodwork comes back low, adjust your supplements to help. I've had that happen even BEFORE surgery - my doctor decided I needed more B12, so she had me come in weekly for B12 shots.

Now, if you DON'T do these things, yes, severe problems can result - but the clinical data (found via www.duodenalswitch.com) indicates that regular monitoring of bloodwork is sufficient to avoid nutritional deficiencies.

With the DS, you malabsorb fat, so you don't HAVE to avoid it. And I've found that I've lost a lot of my sweet tooth. It just doesn't have the appeal anymore that it used to.

Why did I choose it - numerous reasons:

The anatomy of the stomach is as close to nature as WLS will allow.
Eating normally is possible after surgery.
I can have OTC medications like aspirin & ibuprofen.
No dumping.
No blind stomach waiting to cause problems
Can eat & drink with meals.
Better quality of life post-op
Better overall weight loss & weight maintenance
I have yet to see anyone regain all their weight with a DS.

I don't need dumping syndrome because I don't feel a need to be punished for my weight. I'm not a bad girl who needs to be spanked because I want a bite of cake now and then. I feel that a LOT of my weight problems are metabolic, not diet related, so I chose the surgery that fixes the metabolic problem. Now, that's not to say I advocate the chocolate cake diet - I did say "now and then" - but that's how a normal person eats, including the occasional splurge.

And that's what I want - a life as close to normal as I can get. THAT is why I chose the DS.

--BT