brooklyngirl
Yankee gone south
Hey all!
So yesterday was my 9 month surgiversary! Someone, a while back, had written a post on PB about the good, the bad and the ugly. I found it super helpful back then so I thought I'd share my version, only in reverse...
The ugly
So yesterday was my 9 month surgiversary! Someone, a while back, had written a post on PB about the good, the bad and the ugly. I found it super helpful back then so I thought I'd share my version, only in reverse...
The ugly
- I am a saggy mess. My upper arms, stomach, boobs and thighs are atrocious. So far, my ass hasn't gone south, but I won't be surprised if that happens too. It was 91 degrees out today and I wore a sleeveless dress. The 8 year old that I take care of asked me what's wrong with my arms
- Lots of things that are WLS staples don't agree with me. Splenda, whey protein shakes and yogurt give me horrid stomach pains and send me running for the bathroom. Lots of things that are sugar free, high protein, inexpensive and/or easy to eat on the go have one or more of those ingredients. I've wasted lots of money before I figured it out, and I spend more money on protein supplements now.
- I think I might have an anal fissure and it is NOT fun.
- There are times (especially while I'm PMSing) where I still feel the carb monster take over. Sometimes I can fight it off, other times, like last week, I cave. I think my compulsive food issues will be an ongoing struggle for the rest of my life, but I am working on it in therapy.
- Sometimes I think I look great, other times, I don't see the difference that others can see. It's a real mind fuck.
- I lost about 3/4 of my hair, but I do have "sproutlings" that are 1-2 inches long.
- My last set of labs wasn't very good. My iron, protein and some vitamins were all low. I've been working since then to get things back into range, but it's not very fun to force feed protein when I'm not hungry or vitamins when I sometimes gag on them.
- I have lost a total of 194 pounds from my highest weight before the pre op diet. That's the size of a chubby chic, or an average man.
- I can eat foods that were forbidden for my whole life- butter, bacon, cheese, nuts, full fat salad dressings, fatty cuts of delicious meat!
- I can shop in lots of regular stores now. At my biggest, I couldn't even shop in Lane Bryant or Avenue anymore, last week I bought a maxi dress in the junior section in Target
- I can walk without feeling like I'm going to collapse. This means I can do things I couldn't do before that most people take for granted, like going grocery shopping, walking around the mall with my girlfriends, going to the park, going to outdoor events, ENJOYING LIFE!
- I do no have debilitating back pain from compressed discs any longer.
- My knee pain has improved.
- I don't feel like everyone is staring at me for being the biggest person in the room anymore.
- I'm flying to California this week, and of all the things I'm stressing over, being humiliated by not fitting into the seat and by squashing the person next to me are not on that list!
- My severe sleep apnea is almost gone, if not gone completely (I haven't had another sleep study done to confirm, but my husband says I rarely snore these days).
- My diabetes has resolved. My A1c is at the low end of the normal range.
