Will I Get This Done Before School Starts Again? My Journey

[JackieOnLine]

I'm supposed to be quitting caffeine, and I made it to 1:30pm before I caved and drank some coffee.

so hard! I wish you the best with it.

 

[navygrrl]

so hard! I wish you the best with it.

I asked the nutritionist today about how to deal with the caffeine headache, and she told me to take Tylenol, which I can't take, so then she said just take whatever. I had to bite my tongue about how I've already tried ibuprofen and even my migraine meds but nothing touched it until I caved and had a cup of coffee.

Class 2 was today, and the topic was vitamins. We got a sample of different calcium citrate flavors, as well a sample of what we are supposed to take post-op. And as expected, we got the talk about how we have to take the super-special ADEK all-in-one vitamins because it's prescription or whatever yadda yadda yadda. The guy behind me asked about getting them someplace cheaper and the nutritionist told him that he would only be able to buy what he needed from the office or from Celebrate or whatever the other bariatric vitamin place is. When she left to make copies, I told him that he would be able to buy the dry versions of the vitamins on Amazon.

My next nutrition class is June 27. I get to schedule my decision visit then. My cardiac clearance came through, psych clearance is good to go, and I just have my upper GI on Wednesday. I tried to get my nutrition class sooner, but the nutritionist looked horrified and said I have to do every two weeks and it would be extra work. Um, so? I might call tomorrow and ask a different nutritionist.

As a side note, I ended up at Rex Bariatrics initially because my husband had surgery at UNC Rex, and he had a really good experience (and I did, as well, since I stayed with him the entire time). I had consults scheduled with other bariatric centers, but after doing a bunch of research, I realized that I had lucked out with my haphazard choice and cancelled the other appointments.

 

[southernlady]

Here is the new version of the Vitalady list. https://bariatricfacts.org/threads/vl-2-the-updated-replacement-for-the-vitalady-list.17048/

Maybe share it with your friend. Or invite him here.

 

[Larra]

Sad that ADEK's are still being recommended, when they just don't provide enough of anything for most of us, and you can't adjust for one component without altering how much you get of all the other components. And no, you don't need a prescription for them.
Yes, send that guy here! He's not going to get all the nutritional info he needs from that nutritionist.

 

[navygrrl]

If I see him again, I'll definitely send him here. I'll take a printout of Vitalady's list and keep it in my backpack, just in case.

My lab results didn't come back before my soon-to-be PCP went on vacation. I left a message with his nurse, but haven't heard anything back yet. I'll contact him again next week. It's weird, because the labs usually pop up on the portal as soon as they come in, and nothing has shown up.

As for me, I'm officially on Summer Break. I am supposed to be working on writing a paper connecting some of T. S. Eliot poems with Einstein's early theories on quantum entanglement; however, my brain has lost the capacity to comprehend scholarly journal articles, so I'm probably just going to play some video games.

 

[navygrrl]

Did the upper GI today. The doctor said I was a good drinker. Results came back and everything looks fine. The only things left are my third nutrition class and my clearance from my PCP. His nurse called today with my blood work results and my liver enzymes did not get better so now I have to wait to get a liver ultrasound. I also have to go in tomorrow for more blood work. I don't know how long it takes for that, but the chances of me getting this done before school starts are quickly diminishing.

June 4 Levels
AST - 102 Reference Range <34
ALT - 222 Reference Range 10-49

June 9 Levels
AST - 100 Reference Range <39
ALT - 228 Reference Range 0-52

I go in tomorrow for a CBC with Differential, Iron Study, Ferritin, and PT/INR. I keep trying to tell myself that things are happening the way they are supposed to happen, and hopefully I will convince myself of this. I also have my yearly eye exam at the coolest optometrist's office ever.

It's better to be safe than sorry, but I am not a naturally patient person.

 

[southernlady]

Do you take any medications typically processed by the liver? That will drive up your values.

 

[Larra]

Those are all labs for which results should come back quickly (not like vitamin levels and others that take awhile), so keep on top of your doc's office for results.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

Those are all labs for which results should come back quickly (not like vitamin levels and others that take awhile), so keep on top of your doc's office for results.

And depending on your state, you can go…all by yourself, even!…to Quest or LabCorps and get your results even sooner. (Some states make you wait until doctor has reviewed them…like three days…because in THOSE states, we don’t get to look at our own results….GRRRR.)

 

[aaa]

I’m sorry for your loss.

I had the TDS a tiny bit younger than you. Also needed no waiting period or weight loss.

Ensure you keep copies of all preop labs and testing. You may very well find them helpful as the years go by.

 

[navygrrl]

I think mine had to be reviewed by a doctor first, so maybe that's why they took so long. I have my abdominal ultrasound scheduled for next Wednesday, June 21, so the results for that will be back before my third nutrition class. If it comes back as fatty liver, then my PCP said he would sign the slip since losing weight is what I would need to do to fix that, so I'll just hope that's what it is.

But, I actually think it's secondary hemachromatosis from taking iron supplements. I was having a lot of sleep issues, and my sleep doctor did an iron study and my ferritin was at 15.7. All the other stuff was abnormal, either high or low depending (Serum Iron, TRFN, IRSAT, TIBC), while my hematocrit was normal. She had me start taking iron supplements, and I was still taking them until the June 4 blood work. I stopped taking them as soon as I got those results back, but I guess it takes a while to level out. Ferritin was 403.7.

ETA: I was going to add my Upper GI results but then I saw that I already did that but I didn't want to leave it showing as edited when I didn't do anything, so here you go.

 

[southernlady]

I was having a lot of sleep issues, and my sleep doctor did an iron study and my ferritin was at 15.7.

What type of sleep issues? You were lucky in that while preop, you could still absorb oral iron. Most of us postop can not and have to rely on iron infusions.

 

[navygrrl]

What type of sleep issues? You were lucky in that while preop, you could still absorb oral iron. Most of us postop can not and have to rely on iron infusions.

I was having restless legs (and arms ugh), and the doctor thought it could be my iron. It turns out she was right, so the iron helped with that. Apparently, it helped too much.

I know that iron absorption will be an issue post-DS, so I've been looking at different brands of heme iron. I guess I have enough stores for the moment to keep looking...

 

[southernlady]

I was having restless legs (and arms ugh), and the doctor thought it could be my iron. It turns out she was right, so the iron helped with that. Apparently, it helped too much.

I know that iron absorption will be an issue post-DS, so I've been looking at different brands of heme iron. I guess I have enough stores for the moment to keep looking...

RLS will be to your benefit moving forward. For RLS iron deficiency anemia, you do not need to any lower than a 50 on ferritin or below normal on iron sat%.

 

[navygrrl]

I think this is the only time that RLS can be seen as a benefit.

Nothing new going on. My blood work all came back fine. I'm just waiting on my ultrasound on Wednesday.

The preliminary schedule for next school year came out, and I'm back to teaching all freshmen again. I've already got a head start on the first unit thanks to a weeklong professional development course I took last month, so I'm feeling positive about things, at least work-wise.

Today is my birthday and my husband spoiled me as he normally does. In case anyone is interested, I met him online while playing Everquest II, which is one of those massively multiplayer online role-playing games like World of Warcraft. I thought he was a girl for the first month because he ran around in tree illusion form. This was pre-voice, so that didn't give it away. He drove 4 hours to pick me up the first time we met in person, and basically I never went back.

Oh, and neither of use play that game anymore, lol.