So here we are, it's new years eve 2008, tomorrow brings another year. For me, it will be a year of new and fresh things. I will continue to lose weight and feel better, I will work on learning to love myself a little bit and I will never, I repeat, never, look back, other than to motivate myself to move forward.
This has been a challenging year for my family as well. They have had to endure the grumpy me, the disatisfied with myself me, the "bad" me. In the new year I plan on making a lot of changes in my life, many of which I have already started, but will continue with. Not the least of which is treating my family with more respect. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I beat my kids or cheat on my wife, it's more the subtle things. When I would feel down about myself I, like many others, would take it out on those closest to me, the ones that care the most. When you say it out loud it sure doesn't make much sense to behave like that.
I love my wife and all three of my little rugrats with everything I am, I will start to show it to them more in 2009 and also to myself.
I hope that everyone reading my blog has had a great 2008, despite the economies of both countries and that you can leap over your hurdles in 2009 like an olympic champion!
Happy New Year Everyone,
Wayne
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
Another One Bites The Dust
So, it came, we spent, it's over. Another Christmas in the past, seems like only yesterday we were panicking about not having the shopping done.(In actuality it was a few days ago:) )
Alls going well, I have been sick over the holidays a couple of times, but it was my own fault, at least the first time it was. I had a glazed meatball along with my turkey and mashed potatoes... Yup, sugar doesn't like me anymore! The other time though was last night at my mom's place... I had a small portion of turkey, some mashed potatoes and a couple teaspoons of corn(I think the corn was the culprit).
The holidays sure have screwed up my schedule though. I have not been keeping up to the schedule of eating and drinking, but I am getting back on track with it today. It has just been too darned busy to be able to remember to eat and drink as often as we are supposed to.
On a good note, I am down another couple of pounds, so that is good.
Well, I hope everyone had a great Holiday!
Wayne
Alls going well, I have been sick over the holidays a couple of times, but it was my own fault, at least the first time it was. I had a glazed meatball along with my turkey and mashed potatoes... Yup, sugar doesn't like me anymore! The other time though was last night at my mom's place... I had a small portion of turkey, some mashed potatoes and a couple teaspoons of corn(I think the corn was the culprit).
The holidays sure have screwed up my schedule though. I have not been keeping up to the schedule of eating and drinking, but I am getting back on track with it today. It has just been too darned busy to be able to remember to eat and drink as often as we are supposed to.
On a good note, I am down another couple of pounds, so that is good.
Well, I hope everyone had a great Holiday!
Wayne
Saturday, December 20, 2008
May not seem like much, but...
Yesterday I had a wow moment! It actually brought a tear to my eye...
It has been a long time, probably about ten years or so since I fit into something under a size 50 pant. In fact, one week before surgery I had to buy some pants(I hated to do it) and they were a size 52 and fit snug.
The past few days my wonderful wife has been calling me saggy butt because of the obvious weight loss of 40 pounds. I still see the fat guy I was pre surgery but she says she is noticing a big difference in me. So we were at the mall to finish the Christmas shopping yesterday and I kept pulling my pants up and it was driving me crazy. My wife dragged me into Marks Work Warehouse(where I have not fit into pants in at least 3 years) where she summarily threw me into a dressing room and started to lay pants over the door. I found a pair that fir well and liked the cut(jeans) and when I walked out of the dressing room to show her, she told me, very excitedly, that they were a size 48. Literally, ten years. Ten years since I fit into that size. It was an incredibly emotional moment for me.
I liked the way the jeans didn't fall to my ankles when I walked so my wife went to pay for them and I wore them right out of the store, carrying my 52's proudly in the bag from the store.
I have been working out quite a bit lately, trying every day, although with all the walking yesterday I skipped the gym, but am planning on going today with Tena(wonderful wife and life partner)
Protein... I have been getting closer to my goal, it is a real challenge to find items to eat that are high in protein that will get me to 99grams a day, I have been hitting the 75 -80 grams/per day range which is okay. My water intake has been easier as long as I remember to have a bottle of water on me at all times. If I forget, hours will go by and I will be severely behind on my water intake.
All in all, I am feeling pretty good physically, but this time of year brings with it many memories of the last days with my father. It was 8 years ago on Christmas Eve that we lost him, and the anxiety builds every day as we get closer to Christmas. Personally I would cancel this holiday if not for the children. So, I put on a good face, turmoil a little myself on the inside, grin and bear it all. That's what we do for our kids I guess.
Happy Holidays everyone!
Wayne
It has been a long time, probably about ten years or so since I fit into something under a size 50 pant. In fact, one week before surgery I had to buy some pants(I hated to do it) and they were a size 52 and fit snug.
The past few days my wonderful wife has been calling me saggy butt because of the obvious weight loss of 40 pounds. I still see the fat guy I was pre surgery but she says she is noticing a big difference in me. So we were at the mall to finish the Christmas shopping yesterday and I kept pulling my pants up and it was driving me crazy. My wife dragged me into Marks Work Warehouse(where I have not fit into pants in at least 3 years) where she summarily threw me into a dressing room and started to lay pants over the door. I found a pair that fir well and liked the cut(jeans) and when I walked out of the dressing room to show her, she told me, very excitedly, that they were a size 48. Literally, ten years. Ten years since I fit into that size. It was an incredibly emotional moment for me.
I liked the way the jeans didn't fall to my ankles when I walked so my wife went to pay for them and I wore them right out of the store, carrying my 52's proudly in the bag from the store.
I have been working out quite a bit lately, trying every day, although with all the walking yesterday I skipped the gym, but am planning on going today with Tena(wonderful wife and life partner)
Protein... I have been getting closer to my goal, it is a real challenge to find items to eat that are high in protein that will get me to 99grams a day, I have been hitting the 75 -80 grams/per day range which is okay. My water intake has been easier as long as I remember to have a bottle of water on me at all times. If I forget, hours will go by and I will be severely behind on my water intake.
All in all, I am feeling pretty good physically, but this time of year brings with it many memories of the last days with my father. It was 8 years ago on Christmas Eve that we lost him, and the anxiety builds every day as we get closer to Christmas. Personally I would cancel this holiday if not for the children. So, I put on a good face, turmoil a little myself on the inside, grin and bear it all. That's what we do for our kids I guess.
Happy Holidays everyone!
Wayne
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Rut be gone!
So it seems my rut is gone, hopefully forever. I went to the gym again today(I have got myself in the habit to walk 2miles at a vertical incline of 3)and when I weighed myself I was down 2 more lbs. I don't want to get into the bad habit of checking my weight to often, but now that I know the stall is done I will wait at least 3 days before checking it again.
It sure is getting close to Christmas, just a week to go and the big day is here. I have all my shopping done(I am ahead of my wife on this one! hehehe)
Wayne
It sure is getting close to Christmas, just a week to go and the big day is here. I have all my shopping done(I am ahead of my wife on this one! hehehe)
Wayne
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Stuck In A Rut
Stalled for 6 days now! Yup, I know it's all a part of it, but gotta tell ya, it's frustrating when nothing happens for that long but you are doing what you are supposed to. Okay, maybe not everything I am supposed to... Okay, I have been messing up, I admit it, there, ya happy now:)
The past several days have been very busy for me as I have not returned to active work I have had a weekend filled with meetings and therefore have not been following my plan as well as I would have liked.
For example, on Sunday I awoke late, jumped in my clothes, grabbed a bottle of water and headed out to a meeting I had to attend at 9am(arrived just in time). After the meeting I headed home and when I got here it was after 11am and I had not eaten anything yet and only got 1 bottle of water down. I tried to catch up on my protein, but when you are that far behind, it is pretty much impossible to get there. So, yes, I know it is my fault and I need to plan better. I think I will come up with a "travel" kit that has some snacks and water in it, just to have at the ready for days like this, it wouldn't be hard to do, just have to get off my butt to do it.
Other than that, things are going well, pain is still only when I overdo it. I was supposed to go to the gym the other day and just didn't get there.
I was sick to my stomach last night. We made some chicken strips, nice soft food and I got about 1 and a half down when I started to feel a pain in my stomach, kind of a burning sensation. Next thing I know, I am hunched over a garbage can in the bathroom losing what I had eaten. Everything was chewed real good, it must have been the batter on the strips or something like that. And oh boy, did that hurt! If there is one thing I advise against, it's getting sick to your stomach at 3 and a half weeks post op. Not fun! So I was a little sore from that last night and maybe still a little tender this morning still.
I have not been on the computer a whole lot the past few days, one for the previously stated reasons, lots of meetings, but also I have a couple of projects I am working on for my National Union and it involves some video editing. Well, my laptop(my primary computer) has, or I should say had Windows Vista on it. Well, Vista sucks bad and I had to go back to Windows Xp just to get my program to run, then I found out the laptop's just not powerful enough to handle the video editing. So I went to the desktop(my wifes main computer) which is much more powerful but running really slow and I had to do some upgrading there just to get it to a good speed. Now I have installed the software and have to see if the video editing will work on hers. Anyway, all these computer problems and other obligations have really kept me away and I apologize for that.
Computers seem to be functioning better now, so I should be a little more visible online.
Bye for now, Wayne
The past several days have been very busy for me as I have not returned to active work I have had a weekend filled with meetings and therefore have not been following my plan as well as I would have liked.
For example, on Sunday I awoke late, jumped in my clothes, grabbed a bottle of water and headed out to a meeting I had to attend at 9am(arrived just in time). After the meeting I headed home and when I got here it was after 11am and I had not eaten anything yet and only got 1 bottle of water down. I tried to catch up on my protein, but when you are that far behind, it is pretty much impossible to get there. So, yes, I know it is my fault and I need to plan better. I think I will come up with a "travel" kit that has some snacks and water in it, just to have at the ready for days like this, it wouldn't be hard to do, just have to get off my butt to do it.
Other than that, things are going well, pain is still only when I overdo it. I was supposed to go to the gym the other day and just didn't get there.
I was sick to my stomach last night. We made some chicken strips, nice soft food and I got about 1 and a half down when I started to feel a pain in my stomach, kind of a burning sensation. Next thing I know, I am hunched over a garbage can in the bathroom losing what I had eaten. Everything was chewed real good, it must have been the batter on the strips or something like that. And oh boy, did that hurt! If there is one thing I advise against, it's getting sick to your stomach at 3 and a half weeks post op. Not fun! So I was a little sore from that last night and maybe still a little tender this morning still.
I have not been on the computer a whole lot the past few days, one for the previously stated reasons, lots of meetings, but also I have a couple of projects I am working on for my National Union and it involves some video editing. Well, my laptop(my primary computer) has, or I should say had Windows Vista on it. Well, Vista sucks bad and I had to go back to Windows Xp just to get my program to run, then I found out the laptop's just not powerful enough to handle the video editing. So I went to the desktop(my wifes main computer) which is much more powerful but running really slow and I had to do some upgrading there just to get it to a good speed. Now I have installed the software and have to see if the video editing will work on hers. Anyway, all these computer problems and other obligations have really kept me away and I apologize for that.
Computers seem to be functioning better now, so I should be a little more visible online.
Bye for now, Wayne
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Just another Saturday Night
Hey there blogworlders! Well, it's Saturday night, not a whole lot going on or changed with me lately. I am still in pain rarely and only when I overdo it or so it seems.
There has been a lot of chatter online regarding the new OHIP regulations. There was a Dr. in Toronto that recently lost his licence to practice,(see article here http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081212.DOCTOR12/TPStory/TPNational/Ontario/
thanks to JUDY for the link) he had a 8-10yr wait for WLS and now his patients are left hanging in the wind. They will now be redistributed to the new clinics opening to handle the constantly logjammed patients. The question now is, will this just simply increase the wait at the new clinics that are opening or will they be able to handle the large number of patients in a timely fashion?
You can still be approved for surgery in the US, however your Dr. must stipulate that it is an emergency that you get the surgery and answer yes to both questions on page two of the OHIP application.(Thanks to DiminishingDawn for this information)
Lots going on in my personal life right now, with all the uncertainty in the auto industry(which I am attached to) I have had a lot to do the past few days, sorry for not posting in a while.
night all.
There has been a lot of chatter online regarding the new OHIP regulations. There was a Dr. in Toronto that recently lost his licence to practice,(see article here http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081212.DOCTOR12/TPStory/TPNational/Ontario/
thanks to JUDY for the link) he had a 8-10yr wait for WLS and now his patients are left hanging in the wind. They will now be redistributed to the new clinics opening to handle the constantly logjammed patients. The question now is, will this just simply increase the wait at the new clinics that are opening or will they be able to handle the large number of patients in a timely fashion?
You can still be approved for surgery in the US, however your Dr. must stipulate that it is an emergency that you get the surgery and answer yes to both questions on page two of the OHIP application.(Thanks to DiminishingDawn for this information)
Lots going on in my personal life right now, with all the uncertainty in the auto industry(which I am attached to) I have had a lot to do the past few days, sorry for not posting in a while.
night all.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
3 weeks gone by
So three weeks have now elapsed since my surgery and I have to tell you, I am feeling happy. My pain levels are very low, the only time I seem to be in pain any more is when I overdo it. I have not started excercising yet but plan to in the next few days.
I am down a total of 32lbs since the morning of my surgery and it is starting to show. I have constant "saggy butt" in my jeans, as my wife calls it and I can now button up my winter coat, which last year I could not.
My eating habits are hard to describe... I would like to say I am eating and drinking exactly as I am told to, but this would be a lie. I am getting most of my water in every day but like yesterday for example, I got about half of my protein goal in for the day. Some days, you just don't want to eat anything and then others I am finding I can get the food down as I am supposed to every 2-3 hours.
I think at this point it is more of a memory thing than anything else. When your body isn't asking for food all the time, you have to remember to give it nourishment on your own. As soon as I get involved in something I forget all about my schedule and before I know it I have not had anything to drink in a couple of hours, setting me back. This whole schedule of eating and drinking is truly the most frustrating part of this journey. I try to keep a log of everything I eat and drink so I can keep track, but honestly, who has time for that all the time? But I am trying my best.
It may sound negative, but I am actually feeling real positive about everything right now and am committed to making it all work.
Bye for now,
Wayne
I am down a total of 32lbs since the morning of my surgery and it is starting to show. I have constant "saggy butt" in my jeans, as my wife calls it and I can now button up my winter coat, which last year I could not.
My eating habits are hard to describe... I would like to say I am eating and drinking exactly as I am told to, but this would be a lie. I am getting most of my water in every day but like yesterday for example, I got about half of my protein goal in for the day. Some days, you just don't want to eat anything and then others I am finding I can get the food down as I am supposed to every 2-3 hours.
I think at this point it is more of a memory thing than anything else. When your body isn't asking for food all the time, you have to remember to give it nourishment on your own. As soon as I get involved in something I forget all about my schedule and before I know it I have not had anything to drink in a couple of hours, setting me back. This whole schedule of eating and drinking is truly the most frustrating part of this journey. I try to keep a log of everything I eat and drink so I can keep track, but honestly, who has time for that all the time? But I am trying my best.
It may sound negative, but I am actually feeling real positive about everything right now and am committed to making it all work.
Bye for now,
Wayne
Monday, December 8, 2008
New OHIP Approvals
Everybody wants to think what they did, where they go is the best, whether we are talking grocery shopping, buying jeans or having surgery. It's just regular human behaviour. So I have held off a few days responding to my previously posted letter regarding OHIP, trying to analyze why I am feeling the way I am about it.
OHIP is great. There is now doubt that universal health care is something that helps make Canada the best place in the world to live in. There are some undeniable facts though... We have not been the inovators in bariatric research and procedures. And although, the College of Physicians holds an annual bariatric specialists sympossium once per year, bariatrics is still not a recognized speciality in Canada. The surgeons that perform these operations are general surgeons, people that have a lot of knowledge about the whole body and how to perform many different surgeries. Our medical system is set up drastically different than that of our US counterparts, when they say bariatric specialist, it means exactly that. Their sugeons are and have been trained specifically through schooling and residency to be a specialist in the subject. We are not there yet.
This is what scares me a little about the new regulations coming down from OHIP regarding US surgery. Don't get me wrong, we need and have needed our medical community to get on board with bariatrics for a long time and it is very encouraging that they finally are. I just don't agree with OHIP blindly stopping people from seeking out the help of US Dr.'s while they get there "house in order" and truly can be world reknowned for bariatrics like they are many other specialities.
Somewhere, some Dr. noticed a large amount of money being paid to US firms that perform these procedures and decided it was high time we keep our publicly funded OHIP dollars in Canada, for this I agree to fully. Our tax dollars should always stay in Canada if at all possible, but I worry if the individuals who start these practices in Canada simply are going for the cash or are truly committed to the long term care of bariatrics and are fully prepared to do the things that they do in the states. The constant support, nutritionist help, online and in-person support groups, empathy training for there staff. All of these things will determine if this is going to be another great Canadian story or a blunder of epic proportions.
I also feel for the people who have been jumping through the OHIP hoops trying to get an approval only to be told they have to go to a "new" clinic and start the process over.
As you can see, I am still undetermined on this one, it's a hard thing to see come to fruition when our medical system for years blamed the individual instead of recognizing obesity as a disease, maybe I have some hard feelings. There are countless stories of Canadians going to emergency rooms and being mistreated because our Dr.'s don't know how to deal with bariatric patients, I know, I have an aunt that almost died last year when she was continually misdiagnosed(after telling the Dr.'s she was a gastric bypass patient) and ended up spending 2 weeks in Henry Ford hospital in Michigan, one of which in ICU, because our ER Dr's in Windsor could not diagnose a blockage after three seperate visits to them. I know I sound negative, I am just scared, this new system will need time before it is perfect, I just hope the cost of getting into bariatrics so late is one we can afford and families don't lose other members of their families because OHIP wants to keep the cash in Canada.
That's how I see it now, I really hope our future with baritric treatment is bright and the proper support mechanisms are put in place everywhere, not just at the hospital where the procedures are done, but throughout our health care system.
Wayne
OHIP is great. There is now doubt that universal health care is something that helps make Canada the best place in the world to live in. There are some undeniable facts though... We have not been the inovators in bariatric research and procedures. And although, the College of Physicians holds an annual bariatric specialists sympossium once per year, bariatrics is still not a recognized speciality in Canada. The surgeons that perform these operations are general surgeons, people that have a lot of knowledge about the whole body and how to perform many different surgeries. Our medical system is set up drastically different than that of our US counterparts, when they say bariatric specialist, it means exactly that. Their sugeons are and have been trained specifically through schooling and residency to be a specialist in the subject. We are not there yet.
This is what scares me a little about the new regulations coming down from OHIP regarding US surgery. Don't get me wrong, we need and have needed our medical community to get on board with bariatrics for a long time and it is very encouraging that they finally are. I just don't agree with OHIP blindly stopping people from seeking out the help of US Dr.'s while they get there "house in order" and truly can be world reknowned for bariatrics like they are many other specialities.
Somewhere, some Dr. noticed a large amount of money being paid to US firms that perform these procedures and decided it was high time we keep our publicly funded OHIP dollars in Canada, for this I agree to fully. Our tax dollars should always stay in Canada if at all possible, but I worry if the individuals who start these practices in Canada simply are going for the cash or are truly committed to the long term care of bariatrics and are fully prepared to do the things that they do in the states. The constant support, nutritionist help, online and in-person support groups, empathy training for there staff. All of these things will determine if this is going to be another great Canadian story or a blunder of epic proportions.
I also feel for the people who have been jumping through the OHIP hoops trying to get an approval only to be told they have to go to a "new" clinic and start the process over.
As you can see, I am still undetermined on this one, it's a hard thing to see come to fruition when our medical system for years blamed the individual instead of recognizing obesity as a disease, maybe I have some hard feelings. There are countless stories of Canadians going to emergency rooms and being mistreated because our Dr.'s don't know how to deal with bariatric patients, I know, I have an aunt that almost died last year when she was continually misdiagnosed(after telling the Dr.'s she was a gastric bypass patient) and ended up spending 2 weeks in Henry Ford hospital in Michigan, one of which in ICU, because our ER Dr's in Windsor could not diagnose a blockage after three seperate visits to them. I know I sound negative, I am just scared, this new system will need time before it is perfect, I just hope the cost of getting into bariatrics so late is one we can afford and families don't lose other members of their families because OHIP wants to keep the cash in Canada.
That's how I see it now, I really hope our future with baritric treatment is bright and the proper support mechanisms are put in place everywhere, not just at the hospital where the procedures are done, but throughout our health care system.
Wayne
Friday, December 5, 2008
New information for Canadians
Hey there everybody,
I wasn't going to post today but got an interesting email from DiminishingDawn regarding OHIP and denials in Ontario that are on the rise. Here is the email as sent to me. Wayne
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Members,
I thought I would send you an email to let you know of the current change in OHIP and what seems to be a BIG change in the OHIP process. This is good information for you to pass on to newbies or new people that you know of.
We are currently finding new information from sources in Hamilton about the big change.
Currently, within the last week people seem to be getting more and more denials for out of country surgery. This tends to be people that have NO major comorbidities or those whose bmi's are lower (say in the early 40s range). Patients are now being more commonly denied and referred to Toronto or Hamilton.
This is both good and bad news.
There is now some exciting news for Canadians - bariatric specialization! The bad news is that they are turning down more patients to go out of country so Michigan is going to become less and less of an option.
The good news is that they are now forwarding them to the new bariatric Canadian program starting in January. This will take place at St. Joseph's Hospital in Hamilton Ontario.
They will be performing up to 3 a day! The rumour is that they will become a centre for WLS with a total support program. This is a big deal and means that Canada will finally have specialists in BARIATRICS!!! No more just general surgeons.
The surgeons for Hamilton are rumoured to be Dr.Mehran Anvari and Dr. Misra - both specialists, surgeons and highly respected. The rumour is that they will become a centre of excellence and will be primarily operating on patients with diabetes. They will funnel patients now to them so that the Toronto program will be eased and surgery in Canada should become far more accessible and faster.
The bad news of course is that the option of going to the States will be slowly melting away as Canada starts to finally "get with a bariatric program". I think this is very important news to pass along for newbies. Thanks!
Dawn
I wasn't going to post today but got an interesting email from DiminishingDawn regarding OHIP and denials in Ontario that are on the rise. Here is the email as sent to me. Wayne
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Members,
I thought I would send you an email to let you know of the current change in OHIP and what seems to be a BIG change in the OHIP process. This is good information for you to pass on to newbies or new people that you know of.
We are currently finding new information from sources in Hamilton about the big change.
Currently, within the last week people seem to be getting more and more denials for out of country surgery. This tends to be people that have NO major comorbidities or those whose bmi's are lower (say in the early 40s range). Patients are now being more commonly denied and referred to Toronto or Hamilton.
This is both good and bad news.
There is now some exciting news for Canadians - bariatric specialization! The bad news is that they are turning down more patients to go out of country so Michigan is going to become less and less of an option.
The good news is that they are now forwarding them to the new bariatric Canadian program starting in January. This will take place at St. Joseph's Hospital in Hamilton Ontario.
They will be performing up to 3 a day! The rumour is that they will become a centre for WLS with a total support program. This is a big deal and means that Canada will finally have specialists in BARIATRICS!!! No more just general surgeons.
The surgeons for Hamilton are rumoured to be Dr.Mehran Anvari and Dr. Misra - both specialists, surgeons and highly respected. The rumour is that they will become a centre of excellence and will be primarily operating on patients with diabetes. They will funnel patients now to them so that the Toronto program will be eased and surgery in Canada should become far more accessible and faster.
The bad news of course is that the option of going to the States will be slowly melting away as Canada starts to finally "get with a bariatric program". I think this is very important news to pass along for newbies. Thanks!
Dawn
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Not doin' the scale thing for a bit
I have noticed I get on the scale every day after my shower. I am going to stop myself from doing that because I know in the first 6 weeks there is an expected stall of weight loss. A time when your brain says, "what the heck is going on here, hold on to everything" and I don't want to be concerned about it when it happens. I know, or at least should know, that these first six weeks are about healing, not losing weight.
Speaking of healing, I still have that damn pain in my left side when I am standing for to long. I am planning on going out to the grocery store today to get some things for the kids lunches, just to get me out of the house. I don't think I will head to the gym yet, although the Dr. did clear me for swimming, my bandages haven't fallen off yet and don't want to go in the pool with them attached.
Everything else seems to be going okay, I am getting my water goal in every day and very close to my protein goal as well. I have also started to feel hungry on occassion and am eating my six times a day to help with attaining my goals. It is weird though, I feel hungry, have either my meal or snack that is due at that time, and after a few bites am very satisfied. Gone are the days of a heaping pile of pasta with seconds, now a few tablespoons fills me to the brim. Kind of a good feeling. I am also starting to recognize when I am full, something I don't think I ever thought about before surgery. I take a bite, chew like crazy, swallow, put my fork down and talk with my wife or kids, then pick it up to bite again. It really works to feel that full feeling.
Enough rambling for today, l8r all,
Wayne
Speaking of healing, I still have that damn pain in my left side when I am standing for to long. I am planning on going out to the grocery store today to get some things for the kids lunches, just to get me out of the house. I don't think I will head to the gym yet, although the Dr. did clear me for swimming, my bandages haven't fallen off yet and don't want to go in the pool with them attached.
Everything else seems to be going okay, I am getting my water goal in every day and very close to my protein goal as well. I have also started to feel hungry on occassion and am eating my six times a day to help with attaining my goals. It is weird though, I feel hungry, have either my meal or snack that is due at that time, and after a few bites am very satisfied. Gone are the days of a heaping pile of pasta with seconds, now a few tablespoons fills me to the brim. Kind of a good feeling. I am also starting to recognize when I am full, something I don't think I ever thought about before surgery. I take a bite, chew like crazy, swallow, put my fork down and talk with my wife or kids, then pick it up to bite again. It really works to feel that full feeling.
Enough rambling for today, l8r all,
Wayne
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Today was the day!
Well, today I went for my 2 week follow up and everything went really well. I talked to Dr. Nunn regarding the pain I am still feeling in my left side and he told me it should dissipate in another week or so. It is due to the muscle being sewn together in two spots and one of them being really tight, therefore a "pinching" feeling in my abdomen.
The Nutritionist came in and talked to me and was not overly concerned about my lack of protein intake as long as I am getting my water, because now that I am on soft foods(that's right, I was moved to soft foods today. YEAH!) I will start to get more protein from food choices I will make.
The scale at Barix is not as forgiving as mine here at home and according to theirs I have only lost 20.5lbs. I say only, but who am I kidding, in 13 days I have shed a couple of bowling balls off my body, and that's impressive. She also gave me another number that I liked... 11% I have now shed 11% of my excess body fat. And in 2 weeks to boot. Needless to say the nutritionist(Rachel) is very happy with my progress up to this point.
Dr. Nunn checked my incision sites and verified they are all healed and clear and that I can go swimming now and whenever I am feeling up to it, can lightly start back at the gym with some walking.
The staff at Barix has been absolutely incredible and this visit was no exception, the women who work in Dr. Nunn's practice are knowledgable, friendly and funny, which makes for a pleasant office visit experience.
A friend I have made on the Barix Connection website was there today for her checkup, Gwen, and she also did real well, although she is a stinker for not telling me she would be there and surprising me. It was a great surprise to meet her in person and her husband Dave as well.
After leaving the hospital we went over to Target to do some more Christmas shopping, I only lasted about twenty minutes before needing to head to the truck and Tena finished things up there for us. After Target we hit Bob Evans for lunch and I put my new soft food allowance to the test. I ordered a scrambled egg and a sausage round, nothing to drink. The lady thought I was from Mars for not ordering a drink, she actually told me she never had anyone ever do that before. In the end I ate the whole egg and about 3/4 of one of the 2 sausage rounds she served me in about 45 minutes. It went down good and tasted great!
Our next stop was at Meijer, where I opted to wait in the car to rest for a while before going in. Tena got about a 15minute head start on me in the store before I went in with her and we looked around, bought some lean cuisine menu items not available here and checked out the toy section for the kids... My youngest som is asking for a transformer Wall-e and I haven't been able to find the darn thing in stock anywhere... The search continues. I left the store again a little ahead of Tena and rested in the truck. We then headed home and all said and done it was a great day, good news at the Dr., a nice lunch with the love of my life, meeting a new friend, other than not getting the gift for my son it was darned near perfect.
So the holidays are upon us, let the craziness begin!
Wayne
The Nutritionist came in and talked to me and was not overly concerned about my lack of protein intake as long as I am getting my water, because now that I am on soft foods(that's right, I was moved to soft foods today. YEAH!) I will start to get more protein from food choices I will make.
The scale at Barix is not as forgiving as mine here at home and according to theirs I have only lost 20.5lbs. I say only, but who am I kidding, in 13 days I have shed a couple of bowling balls off my body, and that's impressive. She also gave me another number that I liked... 11% I have now shed 11% of my excess body fat. And in 2 weeks to boot. Needless to say the nutritionist(Rachel) is very happy with my progress up to this point.
Dr. Nunn checked my incision sites and verified they are all healed and clear and that I can go swimming now and whenever I am feeling up to it, can lightly start back at the gym with some walking.
The staff at Barix has been absolutely incredible and this visit was no exception, the women who work in Dr. Nunn's practice are knowledgable, friendly and funny, which makes for a pleasant office visit experience.
A friend I have made on the Barix Connection website was there today for her checkup, Gwen, and she also did real well, although she is a stinker for not telling me she would be there and surprising me. It was a great surprise to meet her in person and her husband Dave as well.
After leaving the hospital we went over to Target to do some more Christmas shopping, I only lasted about twenty minutes before needing to head to the truck and Tena finished things up there for us. After Target we hit Bob Evans for lunch and I put my new soft food allowance to the test. I ordered a scrambled egg and a sausage round, nothing to drink. The lady thought I was from Mars for not ordering a drink, she actually told me she never had anyone ever do that before. In the end I ate the whole egg and about 3/4 of one of the 2 sausage rounds she served me in about 45 minutes. It went down good and tasted great!
Our next stop was at Meijer, where I opted to wait in the car to rest for a while before going in. Tena got about a 15minute head start on me in the store before I went in with her and we looked around, bought some lean cuisine menu items not available here and checked out the toy section for the kids... My youngest som is asking for a transformer Wall-e and I haven't been able to find the darn thing in stock anywhere... The search continues. I left the store again a little ahead of Tena and rested in the truck. We then headed home and all said and done it was a great day, good news at the Dr., a nice lunch with the love of my life, meeting a new friend, other than not getting the gift for my son it was darned near perfect.
So the holidays are upon us, let the craziness begin!
Wayne
Monday, December 1, 2008
Almost 2 weeks
Tomorrow morning I have my 2 week checkup at Barix(2 weeks exactly on wednesday). I am excited to go because I was promised by the nutritionist that at that appointment I will be moved to "soft foods". I am very excited to get off these darn pureed foods, the thought of them alone is driving me crazy anymore. I can't wait to have just some scrambled eggs.... hmmmmmm yummy.
My weight is down another 2 lbs today so that is very exciting, although I am still having a lot of trouble getting all my protein in. 99grams of protein does not sound all that bad, but when you can only intake about an ounce or two at a time, it sure takes a lot to get there. My biggest fear with low protein is my healing of course. The protein is what gets the body healing faster and I wonder if that is why I still have quite a bit of pain at times, although nothing like last week.
My liquid goal is not quite as hard to hit because all liquids count towards it, so even my pureed soups and such help me to achieve that one.
I can no longer stomach the protein shakes I was making, just the thought of them makes my stomach turn, but my wife picked me up some premade shakes from shoppers drug mart. The name of them is Myoplex Lite and they are made by EAS. Each 330ml carton has 20grams of protein, they taste good so far and go down fairly easily. I believe they were 4 for $9.99, so at $2.50 per meal they are not at all expensive either. I have the chocolate shake ones and find no protein taste whatsoever with them.
Everything else in my life is okay, although with Christmas fast approaching I want to build up some strength to be able to go shopping soon. My wife wants to stop at Meijer and Target while we are in the States tomorrow for my follow up appointment, hopefully it won't be too much activity for me, if so I will just have to wait in the truck for her.
Take care everybody,
Wayne
My weight is down another 2 lbs today so that is very exciting, although I am still having a lot of trouble getting all my protein in. 99grams of protein does not sound all that bad, but when you can only intake about an ounce or two at a time, it sure takes a lot to get there. My biggest fear with low protein is my healing of course. The protein is what gets the body healing faster and I wonder if that is why I still have quite a bit of pain at times, although nothing like last week.
My liquid goal is not quite as hard to hit because all liquids count towards it, so even my pureed soups and such help me to achieve that one.
I can no longer stomach the protein shakes I was making, just the thought of them makes my stomach turn, but my wife picked me up some premade shakes from shoppers drug mart. The name of them is Myoplex Lite and they are made by EAS. Each 330ml carton has 20grams of protein, they taste good so far and go down fairly easily. I believe they were 4 for $9.99, so at $2.50 per meal they are not at all expensive either. I have the chocolate shake ones and find no protein taste whatsoever with them.
Everything else in my life is okay, although with Christmas fast approaching I want to build up some strength to be able to go shopping soon. My wife wants to stop at Meijer and Target while we are in the States tomorrow for my follow up appointment, hopefully it won't be too much activity for me, if so I will just have to wait in the truck for her.
Take care everybody,
Wayne
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