BrickHouse

Since having emergency gall bladder surgery last week, shakes and yogurt are all I can tolerate right now. Are you around Albany? Email me: brickhouse@outlook.com. I'd be happy to take them off your hands!

Yeah, I was a little disappointed in the hospital staff this time. I've had 5 major surgeries in the last 3 1/2 years (not counting tissue expander/implant swap, port placement, port removal, and chemo!) I'm on a first name basis with some of the staff! Those are great ideas. He is diabetic and she has inoperable cancer. She still works evenings. I would love to do something special for them. I will give the dinner idea some thought for one of her nights off. Thanks!

The Daily Burn sounds great! Anything that motivates you and excites you is the BEST workout for you! I've been nauseated every time I eat and this morning I contacted my dietitian as well as the surgeon's office. They both agree I shouldn't have been advanced from Stage 1 to Stage 4 so suddenly. So, it's stages 1 & 2 until the weekend for me. That makes me feel better. I'm able to get all my Protein with shakes and Greek yogurt. But my tuna packsets and canned chicken breast were making my pouch scream. My neighbor is the best. He is retired and his wife is semi-retired. He just took my daughter to the Y to swim and shoot some baskets so I could rest. This neighbor also shovels me out every snow storm while my husband is at work and stuffs my daughter's pockets with Cookies and goodies when she goes out to the school bus in the morning. I wish I had a pocket full of money to do something nice for him and his wife.

Yes, gallstones are very common in WLS patients. Sometimes they remove the gall bladder while they're in there doing the sleeve or RNY. I'm still trying to understand the way it happens, but I know it has something to do with cholesterol and losing fat quickly.

Thanks so much for the support, kids! I'm definitely feeling better, but I'm VERY sore and bruised. I didn't bruise at all with my RNY. Not sure what touched it off. I had a few sips of diet Ocean Spray and I immediately felt a wave of nausea. I went upstairs and lay down for a little bit and within 30 minutes I had to go throw up. Then it was like clockwork. Nothing was coming up, but I couldn't stop. I couldn't keep anything at all down. The nasty stuff you have to drink for a CAT scan was the worst. I was able to hold it down for the scan, but when they wheeled me down for the ultrasound, the motion made me violently ill. That was the closest thing to puking my guts up that I've ever experienced. I know it came from below my pouch because more than a pouch full came up. Sorry if TMI. I was SO ready to go to the ER when they came to get me at 9 am Friday.I usually have nothing but good to say about St. Peter's, but this time was different. They had trouble with my IV so they put it in the crook of my elbow, rendering my arm useless. Four more failed attempts in my wrist left me with a nasty bruise. Then while I was in the OR, they started a new one in the top of my hand, but they left the other one in! It kept poking my bicep and I almost took it out myself. Then, the icing on the cake was that they brought me a dry ass hamburger on a white bread bun for lunch yesterday! SERIOUSLY?! LOL! But as always, the nursing and medical staff were top notch. Now I don't feel like eating much at all. My ribs are still sore from wretching so hard. and now I probably don't have that little string in my incision anymore since they went back into that one! I just can't believe it took me down so fast. My gall bladder was fine in December.

So Thursday afternoon I started feeling a little nauseated and within 30 minutes, I was so violently sick. Nothing was coming up, but I was just heaving and wretching so hard. It was so painful. I thought it was a stomach bug, but it wouldn't stop. I got scared and called Dr. Trivedi after about 5 hours of this. He told me to rush to the ER. Cat scan, ultrasound, blood work... more throwing up... I finally sent my husband and daughter home at 1 am once I knew I was being admitted. Friday morning, I had emergency gall bladder surgery and a bunch of adhesions freed up. This surgery was much more painful than my RNY. I'm also bruised a lot, too. But I came home today and it feels so good to know I'm sleeping in my own bed tonight. This was a Valentine's Day I'll always remember!

My highest weight was 274 when i finished chemo in May 2013 My day of surgery weight was 264. My current weight is 221. My goal weight is 135 (but I'll know better once I get down to the 150 range). I want to try to resist inactivity. I feel so good when I'm active. I borrowed a book on stretching from the library. I want to increase my flexibility and my strength so I can get my 50 year old butt on rollerblades soon!

Dang, Kyle! You're just an itty bitty thing! Congratulations!!

I had RNY, so no bougie. Also laproscopic. I used to go to Planet Fitness, too. I liked it. I loved that I could grab a tan and that they had so many Arc Trainers. A family member of mine had an odd experience in the men's locker room, too. He's straight as they come, and was uncomfortable with some overly-friendly, naked guys! I used to change in the little area outside the showers. I went at a quiet time, so there wasn't a lot of activity in the locker rooms. I have the oddest dilemma. I had an infection in one of my incisions a couple weeks after my surgery and developed a nasty abscess. I had to pack it with gauze twice a day for 2 1/2 weeks. Once it was healed inside enough, we let it close up. The other day, I noticed the last of the scab was coming off in the shower. I pulled it off with some tissue and there was a string from the gauze inside it! So I have a string sticking out of my scar! I can't pull it out. It's really in there. I suppose I should call the doctor's office about it. I swear these things only happen to me!!

You can get help at the Y if you are on disability. They're all about helping people get in if they want to get in. Especially if you need help. Worth checking into. I found Gold's (Vent), Best Fitness, and some others to be full of muscle heads and bimbos. I suppose it depends on what time you go. The pool at the Y is awesome. My pic update... Seven weeks out.

Wow, Rensterness, look at YOU! You look great! And that's a great Taylor Swift "SURPRISE!!" look, too! LOL! Doing pretty well over here. I got some good cardio in, going to the Y and using the Arc Trainer. Love that thing.

Where'd everyone go???

Thanks, guys. I have a long way to go, but I'm off to a great start! Feeling good.

Here is a picture I took today, compared with a shot from the breast cancer walk I did in October...

Rensterness, I am just getting back to "real" foods, or Stage 4. I still experiment. For instance, I can eat deli turkey but not deli ham. My dietician said to steer clear of high fiber foods (corn, broccoli, etc.) for the next few months. I don't eat breads, rice, or pasta. No carbonation. No steak... Meatballs seem to be fine with sauce. Greek yogurt is my go-to food. I love it. Eggs are great, too. I am sticking with cleaner, healthy foods... except when I make a microwave meal and just eat the protein.

Rensterness, I shared your page on my FB... I know it's made it to Arizona and Washington state. I asked people to keep sharing it. I am officially in a "new decade!" My scale was at 229 this morning - 35 down in 5 weeks! I have gone from a size 24 to a 16!! And it's only the beginning!

Rensterness, have you tried things like GoFundMe or making a FB page? I've seen people have entire gastric bypasses and other medical things paid for with donations through pages linked to a PayPal account.

Thanks! Right back atcha! I think I've lost the most from my eyelids! LOL!

Rensterness, I had the bypass. Sometimes I can eat half a cup; other times maybe a quarter cup. It depends on the food. Softer proteins like yogurt and cottage cheese are almost always a half cup. Sometimes more. I can finish a container of yogurt. Glad your fundraiser went well. If you might be interested in an Avon fundraiser, let me know. Lots of options. Keep up to 40% and you have your money in your hand when the fundraiser is over.

I am a month out. I've lost just over 30 lbs. and I do get hungry! I mean like twisting, churning, growling hungry! But a very small amount of food (usually 1/2 cup or less) fills me up. I'm still not eating tougher meats or any raw fruits or vegetables, but I'm having lots of chili, chicken, fish, and eggs. Oh, and Greek yogurt. That's my go-to food. Rensterness, how was your Party Lite turn out? I'm an Avon rep myself. If anyone wants a brochure or a link to my 24/7 site, please inbox me. Orders over $30 ship to your door for free all over the country. Sometimes there is free shipping for $10 orders. On the other hand, if anyone wants to sell Avon, it's still only a $10 investment and you can make up to 50% commission. That means you also get your own purchases for up to 50% off. And their free training is second to none! Inbox me for more info. Avon has some really good skin firming lotion by Skin So Soft that I've been using. They also just came out with a new line of smoothing undergarments (think Spanx) that are very reasonably priced and a necessity for those of us with a little loose skin.

The NUT component is the toughest part of the St. Peter's program. Dr. Lemanski is not easy to please. He had me second guessing myself like crazy. It was nearly impossible for me to lose weight pre-op, even with the help of his nutritionist Laurie, due to the huge does of insulin I took each night. Laurie put me on a 1200 calorie lower carb, higher Protein diet with almost no results. Sometimes he recommends Medifast, also.

My care at St. Peter's was great. Stacey (daytime tech) will keep you smiling.

Now THAT was an experience I won't soon forget. But it was necessary and I'm feeling so much better. I have a ten day course of antibiotics and I will see my surgeon regularly through the rest of the year to be unpacked and repacked. My abscess was huge (10x5 cm) and it got that way fast, over a little more than 24 hours. Don't ignore any warning signs. Don't try to be a hero or be proud of your pain tolerance. Any post op pain that is not improving, or as in my case, getting worse, is a red flag,

My sore incision is abscessed and I need to go to the ER and have it drained tomorrow. Booooo. But then I will be pain free!