New Grad De-Lurking!

[Guest guest]

Greetings, All!

I have been lurking here for months, but today is the day I can

finally post. I'm officially one year out from my RNY (5/30/02). Woo

Hoo!

First, I wanted to say how much I've enjoyed reading this board. I've

learned LOADS from you folks, watching up here in the rafters.

Everybody's posts have been helpful, but I particularly enjoy ceep's,

Faye's, Dan's, and of course, VitaPerson's. ;-D

Second, here are my answers to ceep's (I believe it was hers) survey:

1. Are you male or female? Female

2. Starting Weight? 268

3. Weight now? 140

4. Surgery type and date? Open Proximal RNY 5/30/02

5. Amount bypassed if you know? 75 cm.

6. Length of common channel if you know? Don't know.

7. Pros of your surgery?

Being at a " normal " weight for my height (5'7 " ) -- something I gave up

ever seeing again, years ago.

Feeling as if I might actually " keep it off this time. " Remission

RULES! (Here's hoping it sticks!)

Moving off the couch and out the door. BIG change there.

Big " pro " : My obesity was hiding cancer. Two months after my RNY, I

noticed a lump that I never felt before, and it turned out to be

thyroid cancer with mets to lymph nodes & chest. If I hadn't had WLS,

I wouldn't have lost the weight anytime soon, wouldn't have noticed

the lump, wouldn't have found the cancer for years (probably), and

wouldn't have the good prognosis I now have. It was just one of those

thangs, but there's no question in my mind that WLS saved my life, and

that the surgeries & radiation treatments I've undergone so far for

the " thyca " have been a whole heckuva lot easier to handle without all

that excess " me " around. I dodged a Big 'Un there.

8. Cons of your surgery? None (knockin' on wood!).

9. Greatest joy? Not being recognized, though lately, I also need a

hat to pull that off. ;-)

10. Greatest challenge? Sugar. I don't dump; never have. (Sigh.)

" Peeps " still just look like " Mr. Bill " to me, though -- I could care

less about 'em -- so maybe there's hope for me yet. ;~D

11. Your age at time of surgery? 43

12. Any advice to others? (about 5 lines if you can manage)

Watch and learn from what the long-term posties do. ;-D

Don't add stuff to your protein shakes.

Water is a beautiful thing.

Don't take clothing sizes too seriously; to paraphrase Andy Warhol,

" Someday, everyone will be a size four for 15 minutes. "

For that " melted candle " look: Spandex, spandex, and more spandex

(undergarments, of course!).

13. Your surgery doc? if you care to say:

ph Afram (Washington, D.C.)

14. Your regimen of food and exercise? (Please summarize in a short

paragraph; aprx calories per day estimate/and minutes of what kind of

exercise/and how often?)

(I guess I'll skip the part of my regimen that calls for midnight

shots of ReddiWhip right outta the can ... bad, bad postie!).

Two protein shakes per day (Proscore 100 Chocolate ROCKS!).

I try to keep my protein grams equal to or ahead of carb grams on a

daily basis (well, okay ... close, at least!). Couldn't do it without

the protein shakes, though.

I've been at goal for three whole months now (I know ... lucky lucky

lucky there). Current calorie intake is 2,000 calories a day;

still trying to figure out whether this is the right level for me for

maintenance. Seems awfully high, but I kept losing on less. Time

will tell.

Hit the gym 3-5 times a week; I run (can jog four miles now), or do

the elliptical machine (40 minutes/Level 10/Hill or Random programs)

or the stairmaster (35 minutes/Level 9/FatBurnerPlus program), plus

weightlifting (20 min. or so ... mostly arms & some abs).

15. Which of these adjuncts do you use? (hypnosis, prayer,

affirmations, journal keeping, therapy, OA, meddies, etc.)

I still write down everything I eat on fitday.com, mostly for the cool

(sugar-free) pie charts & graphs it generates. ;-)

I read the OSSG message boards daily on Yahoo, and on AMOS (Q & As),

compulsively.

I still go to my doc's support group meetings (once every 4-6 weeks

now; went weekly for the first six months post-op, which he

recommends).

16. What is your daily vitamin and mineral supplementation?

Trinsicon (for iron/intrinsic factor), with Vitamin C; 1500 mg.

calcium citrate (with Vit. D and magnesium); 2 Centrum chewable

multivites; B-12 sublingual every other day; milk thistle (last labs

showed elevated liver enzymes). Also use that funky super-fluoride

" leave on " toothpaste at night at my dentist's recommendation, hoping

to avoid teeth issues down the line.