Re: 9-1 /2 Weeks Post-Op Progress Report - LONG

April 11, 2001

Sherry, just wanted to tell that their is a big difference already. Love

your new haircut. Can't wait for more updates.

Patti

9-1 /2 Weeks Post-Op Progress Report - LONG

> Hello-

>

> I thought it was time to tell my story here for all of you pre-ops

> who thirst for what it's like " on the other side " (I know I

> couldn't get enough of that kind of info in my 6 months of waiting

> to be switched!)

>

> I had my DS on February 2, 2001. I'm not going to go into the

> details about my surgery and who performed it, because it is a

> very long story. There were some " hospital politics " going on

> at the hospital the day of my surgery and, unbeknownst to me

> until weeks AFTER my surgery, I did not get operated on by my

> surgeon of choice. This infuriates me to say the least, especially

> since I was self-pay and feel I did not get what I paid for

> because this OTHER surgeon gave me a 100cm common channel instead

> of the agreed-upon 70cm common channel. I paid for one surgeon

> and got another - seems like there should be a law...

>

> Anyway! I am feeling REALLY good these days. I have lost 61

> pounds as of my last wiegh-in on April 2 - 2 months out. I feel

> I should have lost a little more than this since my starting

> weight was over 400 pounds. I feel I have not lost quite as much

> as I should have because of my common channel being 100cm instead

> of 70cm.

>

> The first couple of weeks I was losing an average of 2 pounds

> per day. Since those first 2-1/2 or 3 weeks, I've been losing

> at about 3-4 pounds per week. About once per month the scale

> doesn't show a loss, and I'm sure that is due to monthly water

> retention.

>

> When I first got home from the hospital, I could hardly eat, of

> course. I would dip a spoon into yogurt and gingerly lick the

> yogurt off of the spoon. I could eat maybe a third of a container

> of yogurt in this way. All the things people said were great

> for them after surgery were terrible for me. I could not handle

> eggs or tuna or any other meat. I finally " discovered " Frigo

> Cheddar Cheese Heads (cheddar string cheese) which had 6 grams

> of protein per. I could get down 3 of these per day, and a little

> yogurt and some water, and I think that helped my recovery a LOT -

> being able to get all that protein in so soon.

>

> Soon I was able to eat a quarter and then a half of a grilled

> cheese sandwich, or a fried bologna sandwich if the bologna

> was very well done - meaning crispy!

>

> Pretty soon I discovered double noodle soup - lot's of protein

> and goes down good! That was at about 4 weeks out. At about

> that time, I started experimenting with more and more foods. My

> stomach didn't like nuts, but could handle a little peanut

> butter. A little chicken started going down ok. Eggs started

> going down ok, but bacon took awhile.

>

> I had quite a moderate amount of nausea, but only vomited once,

> and that was only because I forgot and drank a lot of water

> after eating and my new, little stomach couldn't handle the

> volume. That's not a problem any more - I gulp down water,

> just like I used to - and I can even drink during meals now.

>

> Now I'm to the point where just about anything goes down ok. It

> sure seemed to take a long time, though. I had a lot of problems

> with the way my stomach felt when I ate. A lot of uncomfortable

> gurgling from the very first bite, some esophogeal spasming that

> was very uncomfortable, and a bizarre " full " feeling ON TOP OF

> feeling starving during my first bites of a meal.

>

> Now that my esophagus has stopped spasming when I swallow and my

> new stomach has learned how to burp, things are alot more pleasant.

> The gurgling has nearly come to an end, knock on wood, and I'm

> starting to feel " normal " .

>

> I have been walking on my treadmill 4 times per week for the last

> 4 weeks and am about to start water-walking at a local pool when

> it opens. I feel like I'm walking on air. I'm actually RUNNING

> in short bits when I want to hurry and do something. My husband

> and sister have said they have never seen me so full of energy!

> I can do a lot more than I could, and my back has stopped hurting

> all the time. My ankles and feet don't hurt as much any more,

> but for some reason my hips still hurt a lot - I guess I need to

> lose still more weight to feel the positive effects in that area.

>

> I thought at first that I was lactose intolerant, but have since

> figured out that it is just my body adjusting to my new arrangement

> inside, because there is no rhyme nor reason to why/when I get

> gassy or diarhea. It doesn't really bother me, as I was on

> glucophage (for diabetes) for 2 years prior to my surgery and

> that affected my stools a lot worse than this surgery does! Can

> I get an amen from those of you on glucophage?? LOL

>

> Speaking of diabetes, it is " gone " . I haven't taken my glucophage

> since the day before surgery and my blood sugars are PERFECT.

> I've never had a number higher than 132 since surgery. My numbers

> are regularly under 100 now - even in the morning - even after

> having a little ice cream. And ice cream used to send my numbers

> into the stratosphere.

>

> My mild sleep apnea is gone too. My husband says I don't snore

> any more. And I'm a lot more comfortable while sleeping.

>

> Heck, I'm a lot more comfortable just SITTING.

>

> Tonight I went to Old Country Buffet and had 2 large pieces of

> ham, 1 dinner roll with butter, a glass of milk, 4 bites of

> mashed potatoes and gravy and 2 bites of a carmel-pecan roll

> and was full and satisfied. It felt like a grand feast. 10

> weeks ago that would have been an appetizer. I'm not being

> funny in the least.

>

> Let me say again I was full AND *SATISFIED* !

> I could get full before surgery if I worked hard enough, but

> the feeling of satiety was non-existent. I could eat and eat

> and still feel like I hadn't put a bite in my mouth. Now when

> I eat, I know I've eaten - I feel good and content. Satiety

> means you are content with what you have eaten and don't WANT

> any more. I wouldn't have wanted devil's food cake with fudge

> frosting after my meal tonight, even if it had been sitting right

> in front of me, even thought that is my favorite thing in the

> whole world. Why? Because I was SATISFIED!

>

> I used to say I didn't want to WANT to overeat. Now I don't want

> to. That unique torture has been taken away from me.

>

> That's not to say I won't have devil's food cake with fudge

> frosting at some point in the future. It's just that it will

> be a choice - if I could have had it instead of the carmel

> roll at dinner, that's what I would have had. But I will be

> happy with a small amount of it, and will have the power not

> to eat it if I am not hungry. That's saying a LOT.

>

> Thank you Dr. Hess for " discovering " and developing this

> procedure and sharing it with the world. I feel indebted

> to him not just for my life, but for my sanity.

>

> -Sherry (Lake Marcel, WA)

> BPD/DS Feb. 2, 2001

> self-pay

> 5'5 " / 359 pounds / 33 years old

> Lost 9 pounds in pre-op weight loss efforts

> Have lost 52 pounds since surgery!

> Total of 61 pounds gone forEVER!

> http://www.fluffynet.com/wls/

>

> ----------------------------------------------------------------------

>

April 11, 2001