Well, it has been a while since I last said anything, and boy do I have a lot to talk about. So, yeah, this is gonna be a long one. Maybe. Dunno.
Last week I did great, I was working out and I was getting back into my groove. Then disaster sort of struck. I went in to get my IVC filter removed, as a precaution they always check to make sure there are no clots in the filter before they remove it. For me, however, there was. And apparently it was quite the big one too. At that point, they decided that instead of removing my filter, they would check to see if they could place a second one, why? Because apparently it had either grown beyond or started to push through the IVC filter, meaning there was an actual clot attached to the filter and even beyond. The sheer magnitude of how bad this is I don't was ever completely explained - but I am fully aware of what can happen. My grandfather died of a pulmonary embolism while in the hospital. Had the part that was beyond the IVC filter broken off, it could have been very, very bad.
So what did they do? Well, like I said, they were looking to put another filter in, however my IVC (inferior vena cava) was too wide at the place they needed to put it, meaning the filter would likely become dislodged and end up causing what it was supposed to prevent. So that was scrapped. They instead decided that they were going to admit me to the hospital. While in the hospital, they left the catheter that they were using to try and remove the IVC filter (which was in my neck) and used it, instead, to inject high power blood thinners right near the blood clot.
So, all of this went on, I was told I couldn't move, couldn't be sitting up, and basically had to stop whining.
I vomited some of the pills they gave me back up (which, apparently I can vomit and that is good news). Bad news is I didn't want to risk those pills again.
I was put on a clear liquid diet again, which sucked. I also have been prescribed lovenox (again) and this time I have to do it twice a day, it is 150mg (a huge dose) and quite frankly, I hate it even more than before. I thank the judge that prevented the makers of lovenox from blocking the sale of the generic version as it was 10 dollars instead of 100 (with insurance).
At any rate, the stay in the hospital sucked, and I got out Saturday afternoon - which was followed by a quick run to a sushi bar with my wife's cousin and then home to get ready for my son's birthday party.
The party was great and all, but I was still in pain and irritable. I had to take some of my strong pain killers otherwise I would have had to be on bed rest.
Now comes the good news, I'm going back on the 26th to get the filter removed (hopefully) and my weight is down to 341.6. It had gone up during my stay in the hospital, but I think I was retaining fluids as I was peeing like a madman for a couple of days after.
Oh well. I suppose that wasn't that long. I'm just a little frustrated personally that I haven't been able to keep up with my exercise (don't want to fall into a not-going rut) and all that good stuff. Had an interview last week, haven't heard back, hope for the best on that.
OH! And I had to go get my blood drawn today, at which point I got my A1C back... it is at a 5.9 - which is great (given my previous had been a 7.5, and they want you under 7.0). So, since I haven't been on a medication for my diabetes since August 3rd, that is great, absolutely great :D
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Busy Busy!
Sorry I haven't posted in a while. It isn't for lack of wanting to. I just have been rather busy and had a lot of things to do.
Two weekends ago we went up to stay with my in-laws for a birthday celebration. I got to eat a lot of different foods (since I could start eating "normal" foods on Oct 1st). It was great, but I found out that slow and steady is the only way I can eat anymore.
Last weekend we went to St Louis to visit my family and have a party for my son (he turns 1 this week). While the party also had another member (my gma who has cancer) and the party had far more people there for her than my son, my son still had fun tearing up his first cake. He'll definitely be a pro come this weekend when we have one for friends and family that live close to us.
My exercising has been rather pitiful. I can still run, I was able to get a 16:12 sec mile (I don't remember if I posted about that) and run at 7 mph for about a minute. I couldn't do much else though, as I seemed to ramp up my blood pressure in doing that, and my headache didn't really allow for it.
To top it all off, we got strep somehow. I've been on antibiotics since Thursday morning but we also ended up with a pretty bad cold for a couple days (which made it even more fun). I'm just thankful we got out flu shot otherwise we'd have been screwed as I'm certain we'd have gotten the flu as well, lol.
I hope to get in to exercise a couple times this week, at minimum, and then as long as they have it on Saturday, I've got a swim class to go to that should be fun, or at least educational. I still need to schedule my last few appointments with the trainers so that I can get those taken care of.
On a different note, I have an interview tomorrow. Hopefully I can land this job, and we can get things rolling. We can't afford to stay at the place that I currently go to exercise unless someone pays for it other than us or I have a job, and even then, it is a ways away from the house (about 15 minutes or more) and the gas + time makes it somewhat troublesome to go. But since part of my program fee went to paying for three months, I may as well use it. If I can't afford any membership, the apartment complex we live at does have some exercise equipment that I can use so it isn't a total loss. I just hope that we have the money when my membership runs out to get into a health center as paying for something (or having a membership to something) makes it much harder to just ignore. I also almost have lost enough weight to be able to start using the Wii Fit so that will be nice when I can do that (when i can't get to the gym). It will also more accurately measure my weight, and will give me my BMI (at which point I'll start putting that in too).
Well, anyways, things are going well, and I'm starting to actually see a reduction in my weight rather than simply just knowing I'm losing weight because of the numbers and the fact my clothes are fitting looser.
Two weekends ago we went up to stay with my in-laws for a birthday celebration. I got to eat a lot of different foods (since I could start eating "normal" foods on Oct 1st). It was great, but I found out that slow and steady is the only way I can eat anymore.
Last weekend we went to St Louis to visit my family and have a party for my son (he turns 1 this week). While the party also had another member (my gma who has cancer) and the party had far more people there for her than my son, my son still had fun tearing up his first cake. He'll definitely be a pro come this weekend when we have one for friends and family that live close to us.
My exercising has been rather pitiful. I can still run, I was able to get a 16:12 sec mile (I don't remember if I posted about that) and run at 7 mph for about a minute. I couldn't do much else though, as I seemed to ramp up my blood pressure in doing that, and my headache didn't really allow for it.
To top it all off, we got strep somehow. I've been on antibiotics since Thursday morning but we also ended up with a pretty bad cold for a couple days (which made it even more fun). I'm just thankful we got out flu shot otherwise we'd have been screwed as I'm certain we'd have gotten the flu as well, lol.
I hope to get in to exercise a couple times this week, at minimum, and then as long as they have it on Saturday, I've got a swim class to go to that should be fun, or at least educational. I still need to schedule my last few appointments with the trainers so that I can get those taken care of.
On a different note, I have an interview tomorrow. Hopefully I can land this job, and we can get things rolling. We can't afford to stay at the place that I currently go to exercise unless someone pays for it other than us or I have a job, and even then, it is a ways away from the house (about 15 minutes or more) and the gas + time makes it somewhat troublesome to go. But since part of my program fee went to paying for three months, I may as well use it. If I can't afford any membership, the apartment complex we live at does have some exercise equipment that I can use so it isn't a total loss. I just hope that we have the money when my membership runs out to get into a health center as paying for something (or having a membership to something) makes it much harder to just ignore. I also almost have lost enough weight to be able to start using the Wii Fit so that will be nice when I can do that (when i can't get to the gym). It will also more accurately measure my weight, and will give me my BMI (at which point I'll start putting that in too).
Well, anyways, things are going well, and I'm starting to actually see a reduction in my weight rather than simply just knowing I'm losing weight because of the numbers and the fact my clothes are fitting looser.
Last weight: 344.8
Current weight: 343.8
Weight Lost: 1.0 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since Coming Home: 38.2 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since August 3rd: 58.2 lbs
Current weight: 343.8
Weight Lost: 1.0 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since Coming Home: 38.2 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since August 3rd: 58.2 lbs
Friday, October 1, 2010
Stomach Problems
I've been having issues with my stomach lately. I've been adding in soft foods (the next phase of my diet) one per day (with one exception), varying what it is. I've tried eggs, spaghetti and sauce, tuna (not as blended as I normally would have it) with fat-free mayo and toast.
The results are not very promising. The night I ate the tuna, I was in the bathroom wishing I'd throw up for about 45 minutes. I did not want to even eat the next day. I just wanted to drink my Powerade zero (my new favorite thing to drink) and eat/drink nothing else. Of course, I did, because I need to, but I didn't exactly like the idea. Then last night we had eggs. We had scrambled - and we had even had this earlier in the week. Earlier in the week it upset my stomach, but didn't make me that sick for that long. And I finished what I didn't eat at dinner later for another meal (eggs are great sources of protein, but if you have surgery, gassy foods such as eggs might bother you more than normal, I've been lucky and haven't had this issue). The second time eating them that night didn't bother me at all. However, last night when I ate the eggs I spent the next hour wishing that I'd throw up.
While many may not care to read it, it is important that I go into this topic due to the nature of the blog and the fact that people who read this and consider the surgery need to be aware of. Feel free to skip the next paragraph if you want.
When talking about "throwing up" after a RNY, it apparently isn't... quite like it used to be. Because the stomach is primarily used to vomit and you don't have a lot of your stomach anymore (well, you have it all, some of it is just separated from the portion you use), anyway - because you don't have it any more, you don't have quite the ability to vomit as you may have had before. It isn't that you can't - I certainly heaved last night. But what I tend to get is a foamy mucus rather than any of the food. I got some of the eggs up last night, but it was mostly the mucus. What makes matters worse is that if you don't get the mucus up, it only serves to make things worse as your stomach is producing it and if you're not getting it out, it is only filling up your stomach more.
It isn't fun, it isn't great, and trust me, it is giving me great bio-feedback. But it still sucks.
So, while I've tolerated the full liquids and puree (for the most part) perfectly fine - the soft food stage is going to be rough it seems. I'm sure I'm "ready" for it. I can tolerate some things (like toast) very, very well. I just think that because I tolerated the puree and full liquids so well, I didn't really have to worry about how much I was taking in. I also had measured portions that equaled what I could have, and everything worked out very well. In addition, it would quickly move through my pouch because it was already fluid, it just needed a little work in the stomach it seemed. On the other hand, when I'm chewing and swallowing, it is causing my stomach to have to work on the food as well. This, I believe, is pissing it right the heck off, not to mention it stays in the stomach longer, so I have to be MUCH more careful with how much I'm eating, and how quickly I'm eating it.
So, for the time being, I'm going to still try and stick to simpler foods that are easy to digest (pureed stage stuff). But, I'm going to keep trying to eat the "soft foods" diets. Note, I keep using soft foods, but it is really easy to process foods. Steamed veggies, soft canned fruits (not in syrup), crackers and toast, cheese, etc. The toast and crackers are soft, believe it or not, because once you're done eating them they're mush. The reason you don't want bread is that doughy bread can ball up in your stomach (imagine getting it a little wet, and then mashing it into a ball) and that can be as problematic as anything else. One thing I don't know if I can have yet, but I am absolutely dying to try, is sushi. I am going to try and get in touch with the dietitian and see if I can't eat that yet, or if I need to wait to eat that until I'm back to being on a normal diet (minus the fats and sugars, lol).
The results are not very promising. The night I ate the tuna, I was in the bathroom wishing I'd throw up for about 45 minutes. I did not want to even eat the next day. I just wanted to drink my Powerade zero (my new favorite thing to drink) and eat/drink nothing else. Of course, I did, because I need to, but I didn't exactly like the idea. Then last night we had eggs. We had scrambled - and we had even had this earlier in the week. Earlier in the week it upset my stomach, but didn't make me that sick for that long. And I finished what I didn't eat at dinner later for another meal (eggs are great sources of protein, but if you have surgery, gassy foods such as eggs might bother you more than normal, I've been lucky and haven't had this issue). The second time eating them that night didn't bother me at all. However, last night when I ate the eggs I spent the next hour wishing that I'd throw up.
While many may not care to read it, it is important that I go into this topic due to the nature of the blog and the fact that people who read this and consider the surgery need to be aware of. Feel free to skip the next paragraph if you want.
When talking about "throwing up" after a RNY, it apparently isn't... quite like it used to be. Because the stomach is primarily used to vomit and you don't have a lot of your stomach anymore (well, you have it all, some of it is just separated from the portion you use), anyway - because you don't have it any more, you don't have quite the ability to vomit as you may have had before. It isn't that you can't - I certainly heaved last night. But what I tend to get is a foamy mucus rather than any of the food. I got some of the eggs up last night, but it was mostly the mucus. What makes matters worse is that if you don't get the mucus up, it only serves to make things worse as your stomach is producing it and if you're not getting it out, it is only filling up your stomach more.
It isn't fun, it isn't great, and trust me, it is giving me great bio-feedback. But it still sucks.
So, while I've tolerated the full liquids and puree (for the most part) perfectly fine - the soft food stage is going to be rough it seems. I'm sure I'm "ready" for it. I can tolerate some things (like toast) very, very well. I just think that because I tolerated the puree and full liquids so well, I didn't really have to worry about how much I was taking in. I also had measured portions that equaled what I could have, and everything worked out very well. In addition, it would quickly move through my pouch because it was already fluid, it just needed a little work in the stomach it seemed. On the other hand, when I'm chewing and swallowing, it is causing my stomach to have to work on the food as well. This, I believe, is pissing it right the heck off, not to mention it stays in the stomach longer, so I have to be MUCH more careful with how much I'm eating, and how quickly I'm eating it.
So, for the time being, I'm going to still try and stick to simpler foods that are easy to digest (pureed stage stuff). But, I'm going to keep trying to eat the "soft foods" diets. Note, I keep using soft foods, but it is really easy to process foods. Steamed veggies, soft canned fruits (not in syrup), crackers and toast, cheese, etc. The toast and crackers are soft, believe it or not, because once you're done eating them they're mush. The reason you don't want bread is that doughy bread can ball up in your stomach (imagine getting it a little wet, and then mashing it into a ball) and that can be as problematic as anything else. One thing I don't know if I can have yet, but I am absolutely dying to try, is sushi. I am going to try and get in touch with the dietitian and see if I can't eat that yet, or if I need to wait to eat that until I'm back to being on a normal diet (minus the fats and sugars, lol).
Just weighing in
I had a Drs appointment yesterday. I seem to be doing fine, except for the weight loss, which I seem to be doing great with. They said the average for my particular point in time is 20ish pounds. I'm at 51 (according to their scale and their last weight). I, of course, weigh in with slightly less on, so I tend to use mine as it doesn't account for weight differences in clothes even if that won't be much. My resting pulse (not true resting, but not active pulse, I guess you should say) and my blood pressure have both seemed to come down which is great as well. My blood sugars are almost always under 120 now when I test in the morning and overall, I think my medical progress is great.
I'm certainly happy to have lost the weight, but I'd like to see a little more coming of my midsection. I'm seeing plenty drop from my limbs (such as my legs getting thinner and my arms/hands getting thinner), i just wish that the abdomen would shed some more too, though I'm sure that'll take time. Things are definitely fitting looser, but I was trying on jeans and pants that were from pre-op (it is getting to be that time of the year again when it gets cold, yay!). I can still wear all of my pants, though some will definitely need a belt.
Oh well, here's my weight from this morning. Take into account that I haven't been eating and drinking as much due to some issues, so I've been dropping weight more than I probably would normally.
I'm certainly happy to have lost the weight, but I'd like to see a little more coming of my midsection. I'm seeing plenty drop from my limbs (such as my legs getting thinner and my arms/hands getting thinner), i just wish that the abdomen would shed some more too, though I'm sure that'll take time. Things are definitely fitting looser, but I was trying on jeans and pants that were from pre-op (it is getting to be that time of the year again when it gets cold, yay!). I can still wear all of my pants, though some will definitely need a belt.
Oh well, here's my weight from this morning. Take into account that I haven't been eating and drinking as much due to some issues, so I've been dropping weight more than I probably would normally.
Last weight: 348.2
Current weight: 344.8
Weight Lost: 3.4 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since Coming Home: 37.2 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since August 3rd: 57.2 lbs
Current weight: 344.8
Weight Lost: 3.4 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since Coming Home: 37.2 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since August 3rd: 57.2 lbs
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