Re: Edema; P. Greer Reply

May 9, 2000

Dear Marsha, (again, hehe)

I never had a real problem with edema even though my blood pressure was high

until after my MGB. My problem was caused (and this is the laymen's version

of what my Dr. said) by the fact that I had no protein which somehow helps

your body rid itself of fluids and assists circulation. Because I was so

protein starved my body didn't know what to do with the fluids so they

settled to the lowest point, my legs and ankles and feet. My Dr. prescribed

Aldactone which is a diuretic but one that doesn't rob the body of potassium

(my levels of this were almost non-existent too) as much as some of the

others like Lasix.

I always attributed (based on my Mom and Mother-in-Law's experiences) the

edema to circulation and high blood pressure which eventually led to

congestive heart failure.....you might be able to look up a medical website

and find more info about it. There are also a couple of Dr.'s wives who are

Post-Op and might know the answer. If all else fails, e-mail Dr. R with the

question. It might take a few days for him to get back to you, but he will

eventually.

I, too, am going through peri-menopause. It's bad enough that my body

thermostat is " out of whack " since I've lost so much weight, now I'm having

the hot flashes too. My husband says I kept it hot enough in the house to

bake bread on my lap this winter.....he's hoping our AC bill will be as low

as our heat bill was high, since I stay cold all the time.....we'll see.

Pam in NC

Pre-Op Wt 318 @ 5 ft. 5

MGB Surg.= 1/4/99

Lowest Wt.= 143 10/99

Reversal of MGB= 10/24

Current Wt= 165-175, Holding healthy and happy

May 9, 2000

Pam,

It's strange that you mention lack of protein as the possible culprit. I've

been thinking about that possibility a lot lately because I'm not a very heavy

meat eater. Yesterday I was at the drugstore and happened to come across a

bottle of protein supplements. I had never seen this before - protein capsules.

So I bought a bottle and started taking them. I figure it couldn't do any harm

and might make me feel a lot better.

I have PCOS (poly-cystic ovarian syndrome) and hypoglycemia and have been told

that my body is glucose resistant. I'm not a real medical type person but my

understanding of this is that my body doesn't assimilate foods properly - the

nourishment doesn't get to the cells that need it? That's probably an

oversimplification of it but I figured the water retention was kind of the same

thing. My body doesn't know how to get the water where it needs it so it just

saves it. I guess I was thinking about the protein because of the hypoglycemia.

Maybe I need it much more than I thought.

While I am thinking about the surgery and learning about it I'm doing kind of a

modified post-surgery way of eating. I eat whenever I'm hungry but I only eat a

certain amount at a time. If, after an hour, I'm still hungry I eat again.

I've found that unless I eat high protein foods I stay hungry all the time. I

only started doing this about a week ago and it has been an interesting

experience. I wanted to see how I would react emotionally to only being able to

eat small amounts at a time. Most of the time it's not too bad. I'm already

feeling better and have lost a little bit of weight. Whether or not I decide to

have the surgery I think this way of eating is much healthier for me.

My whole system is out of whack from the peri-meno. I've always been

hot-blooded and it feels strange to be cold all the time. Except for the hot

flashes. Those are something else. My biggest problem is the mood swings.

Some days I'm afraid to go out in public. I feel like the woman on Fried Green

Tomatoes - I want to ram everybody's car and be rude. LOL

Marsha