Introduction and question

[Guest guest]

I've been reading messages here since before my surgery (open RNY,

distal, March 12, 2001), but even though I've been " legal " to post for a

long while I haven't gotten around to introducing myself.

Briefly, here I am. My name is Jeri, and I consider myself only

moderately successful in the weight loss arena, as I've lost from 413

(day of surgery) to the approx. 260 I've been holding at for the past 5

or 6 months. The goal set by my doctor was 130-150; my own more

reasonable (in my mind) goal was anything under 200.

(It was only by being on this list for so long that I've come to realize

that I'm not the only one who hasn't even gotten close to goal. I think

when you first start reseaching, you somehow only notice the stunning

successes and it makes you feel all the more like a failure when your

own experience doesn't match it.)

As it is, I'd STILL qualify for surgery if I hadn't already had it, so

while I am happy with the 150 lbs I've lost, I'm not as ecstatic as many

people here seem to be. It has made a huge impact in my overall heath,

but perhaps the fact that I'm (still) disabled with an unrelated illness

also has a lot to do with it.

(A vestibular disorder; I'm dizzy a lot of the time and have a

particular difficulty with reading for any length of time. Losing

weight has not allowed me to " get my life back " but then, it wasn't what

took it in the first place. I had a pretty normal/active life before I

became ill, even at 350+ lbs. I even had a horse -- a huge horse --

and rode. After becoming ill I gained another 50 lbs. and it was those

last 50 that really made all the difference in the world. Ironically,

it was the long series of doctors' visits related to the illness that

led me to gastric bypass surgery as well. Since doctors tend to blame

pretty much any symptom on obesity when you're fat, the idea was that

losing weight would cure my vestibular problem. That didn't happen --

it had no effect whatsoever -- but at least I did lose the 150 lbs.)

And yes, I do my protein, drink loads of water, take all my vits, avoid

sweets, don't drink with meals ... :-) (I told you, I've been reading

the list for a long, long time! ) I even exercise -- brisk walking

-- as best I can (it makes me dizzy, of course, everything makes me

dizzy or so it seems). I did recently switch types of protein drink

from a collagen (spelling?) one to a whey one, and seem to have lost a

few more pounds, but only time will tell if that's going to make any big

difference. My capacity has increased astonishingly (I'm amazed and not

particularly happy at the quantity of food it now takes to satisfy me)

but I do seem to be a bit less hungry since I started the whey protein

drinks.

And now to my question. I've been taking carbonyl iron since my

surgery, but the store I've been buying it from has discontinued it, and

the only other carbonyl iron I've found is prohibitively expensive,

particularly since I'm taking massive amounts (5 65mg pills a day, or

325 mg). What other type(s) of iron should I switch to? My labs are

done every six months, the last one was in September -- the iron was

getting lower, so I upped it from 4 pills to 5 pills a day. I'm a bit

worried about getting it wrong, since it'll be 4 months until I'm

checked again, and switching to a different form of iron supplement

could really change things.

Best,

Jeri

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jlw@...