Don's Freakout Palace

I got my results a couple days ago. I figured it was going to be a production doing screen grabs of all the pages, uploading them to photobucket, and then putting together a post here so I procrastinated to the weekend.
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So, first the straightforward stuff, clearly I need to stop my B-100 and B12, up my daily D and K (currently taking a D3-50k and a "Vitamin K triple play" 2x a day), and get in more iron and protein.
I've been taking DHC heme iron from the beginning, was on two a day then increased to 3-4x a day after my fainting episode early out. I've gone back and forth on Proferrin heme because it constipates me but it also made me feel much less weak and lightheaded, so I had been taking two DHC and one Proferrin a day 4 days a week then just two DHC a day for the weekend to clear the backlog. So I'm going to have to find some way to survive more Proferrin. I'm a bit fuzzy on what Total Iron Binding Capacity is.
I'm assuming my anemia and blood composition issues (Albumin, Globulin, Bilrubin, Red Blood Cell Count, Hemoglobin, Hemocrit) all are knock ons from low protein and iron.
I have no earthly idea what my Phosphate and Uric acid numbers mean or how to fix them so i'm doing some research this weekend but I hope that fixing some of the obvious stuff will unscrew these.
 
Work is messy and kind of scary. We do have some health care business but our bread and butter is locally owned restaurants. We've had a pretty massive drop in business. Some of our customers have closed outright for the duration, others are doing much less business. We have picked up a little business delivering to independent grocery stores who are suffering supply chain disruptions. At this time they are promising not to do layoffs but we are getting furloughed one day a week. A lot of the long term impact is going to depend on how long this goes on. Most of our customers run pretty hand to mouth so 2-3 months of shutdown will probably do them in.
 
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Work is messy and kind of scary. We do have some health care business but our bread and butter is locally owned restaurants. We've had a pretty massive drop in business. Some of our customers have closed outright for the duration, others are doing much less business. We have picked up a little business delivering to independent grocery stores who are suffering supply chain disruptions. At this time they are promising not to do layoffs but we are getting furloughed one day a week. A lot of the long term impact is going to depend on how long this goes on. Most of our customers run pretty hand to mouth so 2-3 months of shutdown will probably do them in.
I don't know what goods or services you supply, so this may be moot, but if it is consumables, would it be possible to pivot to add a retail bulk home delivery model?

Please talk to your doctor about iron infusions. So much easier on the gut and far more effective for many of this than oral iron. I'd venture to say an infusion would make you feel like a new man!
 
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Fwiiw... heads up, my understanding is iron infusions are often done in chemotherapy sites, and take a bit of time. I'll let people with direct experience chime in
 
Yes they are. One good thing about that is that if there is any place where infection control is rigorous and always practiced, it’s in a roomful of immunocompromised patients. It can be unnerving to be getting a procedure to improve your health in a roomful of people who are getting chemo infusions. Makes you grateful for your relative good health.
 
Fwiiw... heads up, my understanding is iron infusions are often done in chemotherapy sites, and take a bit of time. I'll let people with direct experience chime in
The Fereheme infusions I get actually only take 15 minutes themselves but they keep me on saline for 30 minutes afterward to watch for allergic reaction. With check-in and such, the whole thing takes around an hour to hour and fifteen. They are given in a set of two infusions 1 week apart.

Our local center has private infusion rooms. They give us beverages and snask and warm our arms before inserting the IV, plus we get heated blankets, so it's a fairly spa-like experience. I have fallen asleep there multiple times.
 
So... how are you doing.. it's been a while?

G

Yeah, I decided that monthly updates didn't make sense any more, meant to do an 18 month update but that got away from me too. My weight really hasn't gone anywhere, though I am getting more raisin-y in some spots and a little flabby in others. Inside of my thighs looks like scrotum skin now but my gut has a bit of a roll (think it's mostly skin).
Having a bit of trouble with Fatigue but it's hard to sort out what is DS, what is being on a night schedule, and what is the state of the world at present.
Wife posted some pictures on facebook and I didn't recognize myself in one of them. It's weird because I feel pretty fat but Looking at the pic I look like a rail (part of that is I'm pretty wide head on but in profile I'm thin).

Three years ago:
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Who is that thin guy?
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you look great in both before and after! (so happy!)

Wife posted some pictures on facebook and I didn't recognize myself in one of them. It's weird because I feel pretty fat but Looking at the pic I look like a rail

it's a real mind-f*ck, isn't it? the brain just can't adjust as fast as the WLS person can change.

having just gained about 18 pounds I am really noticing how my knees, especially, and other bits ache now when I had NO pain for a long time.

what are you noticing in how you feel?
 
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I'm a bit late for my 2 year surgiversary (Dec 18). Weight is floating around in the 190-195 range.

Did labs December 30th, got them back last week. I've managed to pull D and K out of deficiency, but have fallen into deficiency in Zinc. I have changed my Zinc and increased the dosage (Supposedly Picolinate is more absorbable that Gluconate). I'm doubling up on Folate because it's slipping into deficiency. Also I still haven't been able to move out of anemia. My TIBC is at least back to normal.

I need to get a Doctor's appointment to ask about the BUN and liver hormones (AST/ALT).

Cramping is still an intermittent problem. Mostly it's in my feet during the 'night'. Walking to the bathroom and back is usually enough to clear it so I can get back to sleep. Been fighting with fatigue. Muscle weakness and numbness in my legs another unwelcome addition to the gripe list. I'm not numb like "I can't feel my legs!" more like after you've run a long way and your muscles feel kind of fat and tingly.

I have been sleeping better. Bought a new CPAP mask and a chin strap. I would have to shave my face to change to a mask that covers my mouth and nose, so this seems to be a reasonable compromise. Usually I'm getting about 7 hours and am up 1-2 times a night, on a good night I'm down for 5 hours and then go back to sleep for another 2-2 1/2 hours. on a bad night I might sleep 3-4 hours then be up every hour and a half or so. There are a lot more good nights than bad now.

Still have trouble seeing my size. I just ordered a sweater and had a freak out moment when I unwrapped it ("Is this a kid's size?). Of course it fit and is , if anything, a little loose.
 

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