Now, Life After Surgery

Went to a monthly follow-up meeting last night, and Dr. Courtney Holbrook, who ran the session, gave me two  writing assignments.  This is The Second.

For this assignment, Dr. H asked us to write about what our life was like After surgery, to help us remember why we decided to have it. She suggested answering questions like these to focus my attention on the prospects and possibilities of change.

Describe how you have changed.  Major change so far is dietary compliance with my pouch, my "tool" that has replaced my former stomach. I eat three meals each day, focusing on protein first. About 1200 calories per day, emphasizing meat protein sources (mainly chicken and fish) and veggies.  And some fruit.  Much less carbs than I ate before surgery (BS), and less fats.  And smaller servings, no grazing.  No sweets, either.  The only real sweet thing I've eaten in four months was a partial piece of wedding cake at grandson Erick's wedding to Evangeline.  And I felt guilty for 3 days.

What are your dreams and how are you achieving them?  I'm not much of a dreamer.  There are a number of things I'd like to do on my Bucket List, and the major change offered by the surgery is to improve the odds of me being here to do them.

What is it like to live in your new body?  Pretty much like the old body.  I've lost 70 pounds, but I don't yet feel really different  Much of the weight loss has been from my arms and legs, and so my torso feels unchanged.  Now, in honesty, my pants sizes have dropped from a tight 46 to a loose 42. And today I'm wearing a loose comfortable shirt that I couldn't button two months ago.  But I haven't really made an emotional adjustment to a "new body."  Yet.

How do you define health for yourself?  Not being blind.  Not having my feet cut off.

What are you looking forward to?  Pretty much the same things I looked forward to BS.  Family life, friends, spending time with my wife, children, grandkids, and great-granddaughter.  Still working on my bucket list, and would love to take a tour that would travel over the route of the Lewis and Clark route to the west coast.  I'm hoping to organize a family reunion next year to celebrate the life of a great-grandfather who pioneered settlements in eastern Utah.  And I may go back to my writing job.

What interests that you had wished for when you were overweight are you pursuing now?  Uh, I still feel like I'm overweight.  Ask me again after I lose another 35-40 pounds! :-)

Life Before Surgery?

Went to a monthly follow-up meeting last night, and Dr. Courtney Holbrook, who ran the session, gave me two  writing assignments.  This is The First.

For this assignment, Dr. H asked us to write about what our life was before surgery, to help us remember why we decided to have it.  For me, the answer was simple: diabetes.  I had fought this affliction for over 20 years, and despite reasonable care and close compliance, I was starting to see my end game, and it wasn't pretty.  My eyes were damaged, and I am restricted from night driving.  I had a stroke in 2006, followed by heart surgery.  And I was feeling effects of diabetes in my feet and legs.

Some of my friends and contemporaries have had much more serious issues.  Three of them have had leg/foot operations, and two have had parts of a foot amputated.  Because these are dear friends, it was easy to see myself in their shoes, and predict that another few years would leave me with amputations and blindness.

I had wanted to receive bariatric surgery five years or so ago, but my then-primary care physician vetoed it.  "Absolutely not," he said.  "That is dangerous, unproven surgery and I'll never approve it."  I eventually found a new PCP, but never trusted him enough to discuss this.  Fortunately, my insurance provided an alternative to requiring a PCP approval.

120 Interesting Days

Okay, it happened.  Surgery April 20.  Weighed 274 pounds, felt like crap.  Checked into St. Vincents hospital on 20th, and surgery performed by Dr. Ben-Mier that afternoon.  Was in hospital about 4 days total, dealing with issues of blood pressure, heart rate, etc.  They took me off insulin the day of surgery, which I thought was wonderful.

Now, four months later, where am I?  Today...
     ...I weigh 204, showing a weight loss of 70 pounds.
     ...I am still off Insulin, and my fasting blood glucose yesterday was an excellent 96.
     ...I am taking about one eighth as much blood pressure medicine as BS (Before Surgery.)
     ...I'm taking half as much heart rate medicine.
     ...I can walk 1.4 miles in less than 30 minutes without stopping to catch my breath.
     ...Curiously, I am not exercising as much as I need to.  This is a bit of a mystery to me.
     ...My arms and legs look to have carried me through a famine.  The ol' weightlifter has stick arms now.
     ...I'm troubled by intermittent bouts of dizziness.  Today at Costco, almost fell into my shopping cart.  Several other people pitched in to keep me upright.  This happens embarrassingly often, like maybe once a week now.  WTF???