A Sad Day Indeed

Hello all,

It is a sad day for me here. I received a call from my good friend Mark last night because I haven't been on any discussion boards in a while and he had some bad news for me. A woman I didn't know very well, although I did get the opportunity and pleasure of meeting her at our London Luncheon back in January(see older posts to know what I am referring to)Well, there is no easy way to say it, she passed away, they are not sure exactly why yet as an autopsy is being conducted to find the root cause. What we do know is that on Wednesday of last week she had her Gastric Bypass and on Sunday her husband found her in their hotel room after she had passed on.

It's not that I knew her extremely well, or that we even chatted all that often. There were some emails between us, back and forth after my surgery, like many readers, she had questions and I did my best to answer them for her. It was through this unseemly important relationship that I developed a deep respect for her, without even realizing it until it was too late and she was gone. It is a sad thing to lose someone we love and my heart truly goes out to her husband and two sons.

There will be a lot of rumors surrounding her death, but know this, Sheila(AKA Rusty) was making the decision that she honestly thought was in her best interest and in the interest of making her a healthy new woman. In my emails to and from Sheila we discussed the fear that accompanies this kind of procedure and the fact that we can never know what the unknown will bring. All surgeries have risk, even in this day and age when it is becoming more and more common and the surgical skills of the medical professionals has never been better, we must remember that sometimes our bodies just won't respond well and we can have sometimes serious complications.

I wholeheartedly wish that this had never happened and that Sheila(Rusty) was pulling a bad prank that we would all be mad at her for, I would much rather that than the alternative of reality.

I hope that given time, this family will be able to find some peace. Sheila/Rusty was an inspirational woman and gave everyone hope with her kindness and great positive attitude.

She was the first person I have personally know to pass away from possible complications of this surgery, I count my blessings every day, but now more than ever.

Thank you all for reading and please, even if you did not know this wonderful woman, say a small prayer for her family or wish them well in your own way.

Wayne

Here are my details in a point form mode(many have asked about what I have done and when, this list sums up the WLS journey to date)

Initial Consult - 09-08-2008
Home Dr. Visit - 09-09-2008
Forms subitted to OHIP - 09-10-2008
1st Sleep Study - 09-13-2008
2nd Sleep Study - 09-21-2008
More info submitted to OHIP - 09-25-2008
CPAP appointment to get machine - 10-02-2008
OHIP Approval - 10-02-2008
original PATS - Nov. 17th, 8:15a.m.
originalSurgery Date - Dec. 3rd/08
PATs Nov 4th, 7:30am
Surgery Nov. 19th
Dr. Nuun, Ypsilanti, MI
Hospital Check in Weight 376lbs
Hospital Discharge Weight 386lbs
December 30th weight @6 weeks postop 325lbs
TWODERLAND achieved Feb. 16th/09 299.6lbs


I wondered how I would feel the day I stepped on the scale and it read under 300lbs. Since it has been many a year since I was under that weight I was truly looking at it as a milestone for me. Well today that day arrived. I am officially 299.6lbs and fit into a size 44 pant. The day I walked into the hospital for my surgery I was wearing a size 52 pant, so in 3 short months I have been able to drop 4 pant sizes. I feel very emotional about the whole ordeal, I truly believe that my life has not only changed(for the better) but that I have been able to add years to my life. I no longer worry about not seeing my daughter walk down the aisle one day, and I know I should easily meet all my grandchildren before my time comes to punch out and visit the big place upstairs.

I was also at my sleep Dr. today for an appointment and the nurse measured my neck at 45cm round and she had the slip of paper there that stated when I went for my sleep study in September my neck measurement was 55cm. A 10cm drop is roughly 5 inches lost just in my neck, that is a "wow" for me.

Post more later,

Wayne

So Here We Are

I haven't written in a while again and thought I better put some thoughts down before you all leave and never come back to my little corner of the web:)

It has been an interesting, to say the least, couple of weeks since my last post. With all the uncertainty in the automotive sector, in which I work, their has been a lot of angst and nervousness and I am definitely not immune to any of it. I have several friends and acquaintances that have either lost their manufacturing job or are in the process of losing one, and plainly, it sucks!

Health wise, I believe I am doing quite well, I am down just under 75lbs now since my November 19th surgery and am feeling pretty darn good. I receive a lot compliments lately, many from people I never would have expected them from. This makes them not only welcome but gives me a sense of accomplishment. It is hard from one day to the next to really notice what I have done as I see myself in the mirror constantly and it feels real good when someone you hardly know makes a comment and notices.

For now, take care everyone, I'll try to post more often when I can.

Waymac

Finally, A New Post. But what to talk about?

So here I am, another Saturday going by and I haven't posted in a while... I actually had someone give me a little crap because of it and so I figured I better get something out...

Well, we all know from my past posts that I have had a stall already and I am in the middle of another one. I haven't lost a whole lot in the past couple of weeks because I have been a little lazy and a lot sick. The horrible cold that is going around made it's way into my house and for the first time I was the one to get it before anyone else. That, I find very annoying because when I get sick I love to blame others for making me this way. Unfortunately for me, this time, they could all put the blame on me. So I was sick for a week and everyone else caught it, then something that I hate happened, I got sick again, right as the last of the kids was getting over their cold, I come down with another one, so that was another week shot.

Because of being sick(that's my story and I'm stickin' to it) I have not been to the gym in over two weeks and at my most sick point my fluid and protein intake was, simply put, dismal.

Now, I have started to get back on track with liquids and protein, although I seem to not be able to get as much in me in a sitting as I could before I got sick.

I know the scale hasn't moved all that much in two weeks but I am still proud of my overall accomplishment so far of 67lbs lost, not to mention that I do see the inches tearing away at a rapid pace. Clothes are more of a pain in the butt than they have ever been for me. I honestly thought it would be fun, and to be truthful maybe it is a little, but it is annoying to wear something one day only to put it on the next and it's just draping off my body... I know, stop your complaining right? Now you sound like my wife:)

Tonight marks the first time my wonderful wife and I get to go out on a date since my surgery. Tonight we are headed to Ceasars Windsor to be in a taping of the new Howie Mandel show called Howie do it. We are both really excited as it should be a really good time, beforehand we are going to go out for dinner somewhere and as usual I hope that there will be something on the menu for me.

I apologize for not updating more regularly and promise to do that as much as possible, although I do head back to work on Monday after being off since November 15th, but will do my best.

Take Care everybody!

Wayne

Yesterday was a fantastic day.... It started out with a trek to London Ontario where a group of people that had never met before gathered at a Montana's restaurant to have lunch together. A family of sorts, people from all walks of life.

This group I am talking about is, of course, our own little Barix support group, 33 people braved the cold and came from as far away as North Bay and Michigan to meet each other and put a face to the screen names we have all been using for the longest time.

I know when I first went to Barix, pre surgery, they told me about this online "forum" and how it was a great support tool and yadda, yadda, yadda and I thought to myself, yeah right. It all sounded kind of sappy actually, the idea that a bunch of people who can't even see each other can help one another... well, let's just say I wasn't "buying into it"

After a few months on these support boards however, I can truly say that I have "met" some great people and learned a lot about obesity and myself. Yesterday proved to me that this group of people, from all walks of life and from all over truly have one thing in common and any differences we have with each other are put aside because of this common bond. This to me is the true definition of family.

The conversations were excellent and some even unexpected, and meeting everyone was truly an exciting experience.

After the lunch, a few people went back to a friends hotel room and stayed to chat for a while longer, these friends were Mark and Colleen. People that I first met at my original consultation back in September and since have become close personal friends with.

Special thanks go out to Jean for organizing the day, to Mark and Colleen for opening their arms to everyone at the lunch and having the kindness in their hearts that they do, to Kelly, for talking about your sons poop in a video:) and for everyone that took the effort and drove from so far away to go and have lunch with a bunch of complete strangers. This is a special group of people, and I love you all.

Wayne

Docs balk at deciding how fat is too fat for one seat

By CHRISTINA SPENCER, NATIONAL BUREAU

Last Updated: 10th January 2009, 3:58am

Dr. Robert Ouellet, president of the Canadian Medical Association, said physicians are "disappointed" with a new policy from Air Canada and WestJet that obese or disabled passengers who need an extra seat must have a doctor's note.

"The question of whether or not someone can fit into a specific seat on a specific plane is not a medical question," Ouellet said in a statement.

The CMA has long complained doctors spend too much time on paperwork. For instance, the group is currently negotiating with the Canada Pension Plan to simplify its medical claim forms and increase the fees for completing them.

Requiring a doctor's note to gain an extra seat on a flight "shows a disregard for the issue of scarce medical resources," the group says.

The airlines' decision to require doctors' notes follows a court ruling that carriers make a free extra seat available for the obese or disabled who require it. Airlines have until today to start doing so.

Ouellet said airlines "should not try and pass the buck to physicians over what is essentially a business matter."

WestJet spokesman Robert Palmer did not respond directly to the doctors' concern, but said in an e-mail that the airline had developed its policy "to comply with the Canadian Transportation Agency ruling." An Air Canada spokesman could not be reached


My Comments on the Matter

If a person walks up to the ticket counter it should be plainly obvious if they will need extra accomodation or not. The airlines are using an embarrasing tactic to make it even more difficult for overweight people to travel using airlines. To top it all off, Dr's charge for notes and if you could persuade yours to write one you would then be unduley penalized for being sick.

Part of the problem is in Canada, obeisity is not recognized as a disease, in the US it is. Instead it is recognized as a co-morbitity to other diseases such as sleep apnea, heart disease, cancer, etc.

This move by the airlines is nothing short of discriminatory action as a disabled person does not require a Dr's note if their wheelchair must be accomodated because the ticket agent can see that. Judging by this logic, they should also be able to tell that a severley obese person can not fit into a single seat, so why the discrepency.

At a time when obesity is on the rise and millions of North Americans are afflicted with it, it is very disheartening to see the airlines using these tactics.

That's just my opinion, what do I know?

Wayne

6 Week Post Op Visit

Hey everyone,

I was at Barix this morning for my 6 week checkup and everything went really good... I can start eating more things, pretty much whatever I want and just not introduce to many new things at once.

Both Dr. Nunn and Rachel(Nutritionist) were really happy with my progress and said that I am ahead of the game, being that I have lost 25%(56lbs as of this writing) of my excess body weight in just 6 weeks.

It was a good visit, only about 45 minutes or so, but a very encouraging visit nonetheless.

My next appointment(3 month) isn't until the end of February but I have to get my bloodwork done for it, probably next week to make sure it is back from the lab and sent to Barix before the appointment. Sometimes our Canadian testing takes a little longer so the nurse suggested doing my bloodwork at least 4 weeks before the appointments to make sure I have it all.

Just an update

I went back to the gym today and did my usual routine of 2 miles on the treadmill, then decided I was ready for a little more. I spent a little time on a couple of machines that work the inner and outer thighs, then went to the ab machine... Well, lets just say I am not ready for abs yet:) At 6 weeks out I knew the abs would be the tough one to try but I thought, I only have it set to 20lbs, how hard can it be? Evidently, very. I did about 4 crunches when I felt some pain in my side and thought "oh, oh, I better stop". I went on and did some swimming and ab exercises in the water to make sure I didn't herniate myself.

I see Dr. Nunn again on Tuesday for my 6week follow up, so I will check with him about what I can and can't do, although he did tell me at my two week, that anything I felt comfortable with was okay, my body would stop me if it was hurting, and boy did it!

I am fairly exhausted as this has been my first workout since before the holidays and was a little more intense. I am still amazed how high I can get my heart rate before I start to feel winded or anything.

My schedule.... Blah! I am finding it increasingly hard to write stuff down! It makes no sense, it's an easy thing to do, but I just don't remember to do it. I am doing okay keeping track of my water, because it is four water bottles a day and I keep that many on a shelf in the fridge every day and know when I finish them that I have met goal. It's the protein though, I am having a very difficult time with it, but I will keep at it. My wife bought me a small ringed binder(fits in pocket) and a pen that attaches to it so I can keep things written down, hopefully I can make that work.

A friend of mine, David, has set up a blog as well, he is just beginning his journey and like myself wants to help those that are just starting out, it's an interesting read, check it out at David's Blog.
Well, I hope you all are having a great time in 2009,

Wayne

2009!

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Okay, who's messin' with my scale?

This is just crazy! I mean, I knew the weight comes off fast, but come on. I hopped on the scale this morning and my wife did the reading, in fact she had to do it twice because she thought her eyes were betraying her, and me, I thought it wasn't nice of her to lie to me. Turns out her eyes and her honesty were true. In just 10 days I have lost a total of 21 lbs. That's a 2 before the 1. Holy crap, that is just crazy.

I don't see any differences in myself yet, however I am wearing a sweater right now that used to look like sausage casing on me and now isn't, in fact, it's comfortable.

My wife and I are going to head to Canadian Tire this morning to get me out of the house for a bit(plus they have a bunch of sales right now and we have some christmas shopping to get done), not sure how long I will last, but I am looking forward to getting out of the house for a bit.

I still get this sharp pain on my left side, right where the muscle was cut(so I guess that is to be expected) and after I have been standing for a while I hurt in a lower spot. I guess this really brings new meaning to the phrase "no pain, no gain" as I need to get out and excercise in order to heal.

My follow up appointment with my surgeon is on Tuesday Dec. 2nd(3 days away) and I am excited to see how I weigh in at the hospital. I will also find out how much longer I will be off work at that point, although he has already told me he did not expect to send me back until after the new year.

l8r

Wayne

Eight Days Later

Eight days ago, I had only been out of surgery for an hour or so at this point, actually I think I came to around 5:30pm in recovery, and it was a heck of a rough start to my new life.

Eight days later, I have ended my pain meds, moved to pureed foods, can manage myself around the house without help and even did some light cooking for the family for dinner today. Not too mention the big one... drumroll please.... I am down fifteen pounds from my Pre-surgery weight.

If I overdo it, I pay for it though, like today, I cooked and went for a walk and am hurting a little when I stand up, so, I sit down :)

I still haven't really felt hungry yet, maybe a little tiny bit today while I was making dinner for the family, but very little.

All the pain I do have is on the left side of my chest below my pectoral(fancy word for boob, who knew:) right at the "big" incision point where I was told the "big" stapler went in.(okay, by big incision, it is maybe an inch and a quarter to an inch and a half long)

I don't think I have mentioned my incisions before and was asked about them. I only had five incisions and they range from half an inch(smallest) to and inch and a half(largest) with most of them being closer to the smaller end than the larger.

Eating and getting my goals in remain my biggest problem right now although last night I finally met my water goal. Yeah me! But my protein is way off and I have to start working on that one.

Well, I hope everyone is doing well, I will blog at ya later,

Wayne

KABLAH

Feeling kind of blah today. Had my usual protein shake for breakfast, skipped my snack cause I just wasn't hungry(Iknow bad)and am trying to force myself up to get a lunchtime thing going. I just don't want to eat anything and it is becomming very hard to tell myself that I have to. I do realize that I do have to, that without the nutrients I will get weak, so I will do it, I just won't be happy about it.

Painwise, I am better today, it's after 1pm and I have not had any meds and feel okay about that. It really does get a little easier each day.

Thank you for all your kind messages, calls and emails, they really do make me feel better. I think it's a bit of a funk I am in is all, "get up, watch tv, walk, computer, walk, bathroom, walk - repeat. These are my days right now and it just is getting a bit trying.

Anyway, I'm done grousing for today, tomorrow is a new day and I know it will be a better one.

Take care everybody,

Wayne

Gloomy day

Well, I went to my uncles funeral today. I took a pain med dose at 8:30 this morning before we left and it lasted until about noon, to bad I was there until 2 though:( It was a wonderful service, so many people cared for him and it was very evident today. I saw a bunch of family I don't see often which was also nice. Afterwards there was a luncheon at the church where the service was and they laid out a huuuuge spread of food, and you know what? Not a single thing appealed to me or made me think "Oh I wish I could have that", nope, my wife grabbed me a 1/2 cup of milk and a spoonful of mashed potatoes and I sat there, sipping and taking the occasional small bite of the potatoes just enjoying my family's company. For the first time in my memory banks, a "luncheon" was not all about the food for me. It was an exhilarating feeling to see how much power I have gained back into my life and the so many better things I can do with my time instead of always concentrating on food.

Wayne

What'd I do? Jinx myself?

I am a little more sore today... not sure if I overdid the walking yesterday, just around the house, but I try to get in more steps each time I do it. I have not had any pain meds since last night at 11pm either, so that probably has something to do with it as well.

Had a good shake this morning, it is kind of a combo of 2 different ones so here is the recipe...

Double CHocolate Peanut Butter Shake

1/2 cup milk
1 scoop Matrix 5.0 chocolate whey
1 package swiss miss sugar free hot cocoa mix
1 tbsn peanut butter
4 large ice cubes

put in the bullet and blast away. It is very sweet but I find it easy to get down and has absolutely no whey taste at all. And better yet, made the way I have here it is 39.5 grams of protein, which can really help you reach that goal. Especially me, since mine is 99 grams a day.

Have my uncles funeral tomorrow, not sure how I am going to pull it oof, the pain levels are pretty high and the funeral is an hour from my home, but I will figure something out. My wife and two oldest kids went today to be with the family as our ambassadors, so to speak.

I guess that's all for now,

L8R

Wayne

3 days Post Op

Today I am feeling a little better than yesterday, in fact I find every hour gets a little easier than the previous one. Yesterday I was able to get in 50 of my 64 ounces of liquid with 44g of my 99g of protein as well.
I am on track to do much better than that today as I had a Matrix 5.0 Double chocolate shake for breakfast - 37g protein - and a 42g protein bullet in my water, of which I have around 20 ounces down so far. My wife is going to pick up some new england clam chowder soup, I will blend it, strain it and drink it for my dinner and that should give me another 12 g of protein or so, getting me pretty close to goal.

The great thing about Dr. Nunn is that he only has you do liquid stage for three days and then you start the puree. I know it doesn't sound like much fun, but it has to be more flavour than just liquids.

Yesterday I was taking pain meds every 4 hours on the dot, today I had a dose at 5am and another at 1pm so that is tapering off as well. I know others that have said they only took a couple doses once arriving home but not me:)

So that was just a little update and I will post more tomorrow or the next day,

Bye for now,

Wayne

Well, here I am!

Hey all,

Well, I am back home now, actually since yesterday, a mere 24 hours in hospital was all it took to rearrange my insides:) The actual procedure was about an hour and a half.

I arrived at Barix at quarter to twelve for my appointed time and sat there for another hour bouncing my knees and basically freaking out. Dr. Nunn was, mostly on time, just a tad bit behind which is not uncommon once the surgery starts. Almost anything can happen once you are in that little room and you definately want the Dr. to take the time to make sure all is good. That is what happened with me as well as once in there, the Dr. Realized I had a hietal hernia that needed repairing as well. A hietal hernia, for those that don't know is when a portion of the stomach starts to "balloon" into the esophogus track. Dr. Nunn was able to pull it out and stick it up so that it is out of my throat. He informed me that this is probably the reason I have had acid reflux for the past decade as well. Huh, who knew!

So I was in quite a bit of pain as I came to around 5pm yesterday and was moaning and groaning to prove it. They upped my morphine dispenser to give me more at a faster rate and that seemed to work. They get you doing the breathing excersises pretty soon, so make sure you practice that before going in, it is very important to help keep your lungs clear. By 9:30pm thay had me up for my first walk... OUCH! But each subsequent one gets a little easier.

The Dr. came in yesterday around 11am to tell me I was good to go and by around 2 pm we left the hospital. Tena had already gone to a wlagreens down the road to get me my vicaden(yummy)pain killer and we were on our way.

The trip home was not much fun and I really feel for those of you that have to travel long distances to leave the hospital. Our drive was only about an hour, but you are very sensitive to every bump along the way(to be honest I am not completley sure Tena wasn't hitting them on purpose, after all she has had three of my children:) )

The night last night was rough, but managable and every hour it gets a little bit easier. I have not had a lot of gas pain(thank god) but pain in a swollen area just below my left breast, apparently this sore spot is a Dr. Nunn special as the "big" stapler goes in here and can sometimes get a little to close to the ribs, causing some bruising.

I am trying to drink my water, although 64 ounces in a one ounce pouch is not going to be easy, but I am not the first to have this done and I won't be the last.

I am hoping to be fit enough to go to my uncles wake on Sunday, it is actually scheduled for tomorrow and sunday with the funeral on Monday, but I think tomorrow is too ambitious of me. I will try for the evening session on Sunday and will definately attend the funeral Monday, no matter how much pain I am still in.

All in all, it has been a painful experience so far, but I know that in a little time I will be starting to feel like my old self and can get back into the swing of things.

Thanks so much for all your phone calls and emails with words of encouragement, they mean so much to me.

Take care for now, now I need a nap:)

Wayne

Today is the day

I wasn't originally planning on posting today but thought, since I was awake, and awake a good while at that, I would post a little something.

I got a phone call last night from my mom, at first I thought she was just calling to wish me luck before today but it turned into more than that. My uncle passed away yesterday from a percieved heart attack. It is a blow to our family and to me personally as he has been in our family (married to my moms sister) from my earliest memories. He was a great power in our family, always with a kind word and a gentle heart. He leaves behind three great kids, my cousins, the youngest of which is only 16 years old. My aunt is a strong wooman but this will be a very difficult time for her and I really feel for her.

My uncle was only 50 years old, just turned actually, this past monday which makes it even more sad and I will sorly miss him.

I don't want to make light of his passing but I must admit that hearing the news last night, after processing, I realize that this journey is more important than ever. I don't want to be 50 years old and leaving my kids behind or my wife for that matter, not that he did mind you, but I have the opportunity to turn my life around before it is too late, and that is just what I plan on doing. The funeral will most likely be this saturday, which will be tough and painful to attend(both mentally and physically) but I will be there for my family.

I was talking to my sister last night after we found out and it just brings back so many memories and emotions from when we lost our father 8 years ago, we really feel for our cousins and aunt and know what they are going through.

I'll miss you uncle Guy, rest in peace.

Almost there now!

Well, it's getting real close now. Tomorrow is the big day, but today, wow, no fun at all.

My lovely wife, Tena, made me a couple bowls of jello before heading to work this morning, so I have that, some broth, no sugar added dole popsicles and water to choose from today. I have been drinking a lot of water trying to keep my stomach full and then when I get hungry(like all the time so far) I am trying some jello to "fill the void".

As per the hospital instructions I took 2 dulcolax laxitives at 10am, nothing happening there yet, thank god, I am not looking forward to that:)

All seems to be set for tomorrow, we will be leaving the house right after dropping the kids at school(they go to the neighbours after school and stay until friday) to make sure we allow for the border if they pull us in or ask us a bunch of questions. I figure, if I have to wait around here, whats the difference if I wait around in the hospital, at least I will be there already.

So take care everybody, I am sure it will be a few days before I am able to post anything, I'll see you on the otherside!

Wayne

The Two Week Freak

So the two week freak isn't limited to just two weeks before surgery I am finding out, in fact it seems to escalate as you get closer to the date.

I had a great week in Toronto last week, and luckily have some spillover work to get done in the next couple of days, not too mention things around the house that need doing before "the big day". I am hoping I can keep myself occupied and the old mind busy enough to not think about it too much beforehand.

So my wife has decided, after talking to my mom, that it might be better for her to get a hotel near Barix Wednesday night and stay over. I tend to agree as I don't want her driving home in the dark from so far away. If all goes well, fingers crossed, I will be home again sometime Thursday, probably towards evening I would imagine as my surgery start time is so late in the day.

I made a shake this morning using Matrix 5.0 Vanilla(available at Barix and probably GNC) and I have to say it wasn't too bad. I am not a huge vanilla fan but I added some frozen strawberries to a scoop of the protein powder, the milk and tossed it in the magic bullet for a few seconds. Taste was pretty good, very smooth compared to any other protein powders that I have tried to date. Of course you still have that "taste" to get used to, not sure if I ever really will, but I'm gonna try.

I may or may not post tomorrow, not sure what is happening, I may try and spend a good portion of the day at the gym, walking and swimming, just trying to keep my mind occupied, so we'll see.

Wayne

Well, well, well

I'm back from Toronto, I actually got home around 4 o'clock yesterday, in time to go to the gym with my family for family swim night! Yeah, an echo'ee room with 50 screaming kids jumping and splashing:)

Today I have a meeting in the morning and then I am off to see the new James Bond movie, I am quite the bond freak and I really wanted to see it before my surgery, so this will be my last movie theatre memory pre-op.

I am really appreciative of all the emails I have been receiving with words of encouragement, you folks are wonderful. One in particular was asking about the exact tests done at PATs, I checked my "returned from PATs" post and realized I didn't handle that very well.

At PATs, tests are conducted to make sure you are "fit" for surgery and have nothing wrong with you that would make surgery a further risk to your health. The tests vary from person to person, but I can tell you what I experienced.

Upon arrival and check in, I was brought back to sign a bunch of forms and for them to get a copy of my OHIP(insurance) card, then was whisked off to a little room where a very tiny oriental woman took 6 vials of my blood. As soon as that was complete, they brought me into another room and a nurse took my vitals and weighed me, then put me in a room and went through my medical history. (You do your medical history several times at Barix and I think it is a built in redundancy to make sure they get it all) Then I went off to a one hour Nutrition class that my wife attended with me, then back to another room to wait. Once there, they took me for my Ultrasound, to check my Gallbladder, after that I was seen by the respirologist and given a device to work on breathing exercises with, she also drew my blood gasses at this point. Finally the Dr. came in(not the surgeon, a GP) and she finished clearing me for surgery, kind of a mini physical was done here and then I was told I was good to go and free to leave.

It is important to note that this was how MY PATs went and yours may go very differently, based on your co-morbidities they may require other tests, for example, I didn't have an EKG at Barix, but my family Dr. had me have one and faxed the results to them, same happened with an xray. Some people require an endoscopy, others may require something else. The point is, the testing is very individual, they only thing for sure is that it lasts about 4 - 5 hours.

Well, I hope that helps, sorry to the post-ops who have already done this and didn't need to read about it again:)

L8R Wayne

5 days to go!

Hey there Bloggers!

Well, 5 days until the big day, I am still in Toronto, had a wonderful evening at my cousin's place, not too far from my hotel. We had a nice dinner and then afterwards I told them all about my surgery and decision to do this and they were so supportive, it was great!

I also talked to my wife tonight and she told me they called from Barix and I have to arrive at 12 noon on Wednesday the 19th. I kind of wished it would have been a morning surgery but hey, beggars can't be choosers right?

Tomorrow I will head out from Toronto and make the 4 1/2 hour drive home, hopefully I will get away shortly after lunch to beat all the bad traffic, this city is CRAZY with traffic.

That's it for me, beddie bye time, night all.

Wayne

Just a Quickie

Just a quick post this morning, I was up late last night working and have to head to work very soon, but I thought I would just drop a quick line to everyone to say hello.

I am now seven days away from surgery! That, to me, is incredible, it feels like only yesterday that I was walking into Barix for the first time, wondering what this place could hold for me. Who knew at the time that it would be the start of a journey that would lead to a whole new life for me?

Excited and nervous, those are my feelings at this point, talk to you folks later,

Wayne

In the big T O!

Hey there everybody....

Well, I made it into Toronto today, am going to be here for the week working. It's a really nice change of pace from what I normally do, and I love it, love every second of it. It would be my dream job full time, but alas, I don't think that is in the cards for me, but here's dreamin'.

Got a hold of my cousin today that lives in Toronto and we are going to do dinner on Thursday with his family and one of my Aunt's. This side of the family I don't get to see very often and I think I will tell them what is going on with my surgery as they have not heard about it yet. I am really looking forward to seeing my cous and hanging out with him for the night, we only see each other once every few years so it should be a good time.

I am trying to answer all my emails for you, but honestly, I never knew that many people were reading my blog, I only have 13 followers as of today, but I am getting a lot of email questions from more than them so I will do my best to answer those questions as soon as I can. Remember though, I am no expert, everything I have learned was gotten online, that's not to say I won't answer you, just letting you know. I do enjoy reading your emails and comments and responding to you all, so thanks for continuing to come by and have a great night!

Being away from home makes the working out tough, but luckily the hotel I am in has a great gym and pool area, which I am going to make use of tonight and then again in the morning.

L8R

Do-Be-Do-Be-Do (like the song:) )

Well my wife and I joined a gym yesterday before I went into work for my last shift. It's a nice little gym we have about a 3 minute drive or 15minute walk from our house, so it is very convenient. In fact I am an alumni, although not for a few years, during one of my dieting phases I gave it a try.

Anyway, tonight we went for our first workout, and I have to say I feel.... errr... pain, okay, I feel pain, in my legs, ouch! I think they hurt now, wait until the morning. I only did a short workout, but for a guy who hasn't worked out since the Reagan administration in the states it is a little difficult to get started.

So I started off on the treadmill and did that for 25 minutes, which I am pretty proud of, and I did it at a moderate pace of 3.0(whatever that equates to I don't have a clue) While my DW started jogging on hers. HUH! Jogging, that bi$%h! lol :)

After my 25 minutes, which my legs were burning after the first ten and I endured thinking the burn would subside(it didn't) I did 10 minutes on the stair machine. That thing was sent to earth by the devil, seriously I think satan himself designed the friggin' thing, talk about an awkward, painful experience, but I made it through. And I almost didn't pass out either, well okay, not really pass out, just seeing little black dots for a couple of seconds, nothing to get too excited about. The important thing is I got my heart rate up, and I did it, I really did it. I didn't just think about doing it, I actually went out and, yeah, I know, you get it.

So tomorrow I am planning on going back and torturing myself a little more(as long as my legs co-operate anyway), I have been reassured by several people that it gets better, and at some point you actually look forward to doing this to yourself, well here's hoping.

L8R, Wayne

Last Night in the "Big House" till January!

Last night I put in my last shift until the new year. I was on afternoon shift and next week I am away for some training in Toronto, then I am into surgery week.

The week of my surgery I have the Monday and Tuesday off (for pre surgery issues) and then it's under the knife on Wednesday the 19th. Dr. Nunn has told me that he is going to keep me off of work for six weeks due to the nature of my job which puts me back in the plant around the middle of January. I am both nervous and excited right now, it will be nice to have the healing time post surgery but it sure is getting close, it's kind of a nervous/excitement feeling knowing that surgery is only 11 days from now, to think about how different my life will be is just staggering.

Food has ruled my life for so long, I am lucky to have other hobbies to occupy my newly aquired free time with.

Wayne

It's another day

So yesterday I was feeling anxious and neither my wife or myself could figure out why. Nothing had changed, our lives did not miraculously evolve overnight into something else. So what was it? It was a true mystery. Then tonight(or I guess yesterday now, at this hour)I was at work, and I brought the Barix "bible" that they give you at PATs(It is a how-to for eating correctly, starting of course with the full liquid stage). Anywho, while I am reading the "bible" I start to get this anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach, a true "butterflies" moment, and then it hits me. The reason I have been so anxious is because I passed my PATs. That may sound silly, in fact it doesn't even sound right when I read it back, but it is true.

I am nervous, not about the surgery, but wondering if I can do it. This is lifechanging, am I truly ready for it? The last thing on earth I want is to go through this and struggle, only to have my Weight come back later in life. I realize that this will be a life long struggle and am trying to find ways to cope with that reality, this blog helps me with that actually.

Although, this may sound like "cold feet" to some, I think it is a normal progression through this process. I did not give myself the opportunity to think too much about after surgery until I knew for sure that I was going to be fit for it, and of course, in my endevour to keep things real out here in blog world, I thought it only fitting that I lay my feelings out there for you to see, errr read.

I know this is right for me, I have done the research, I know the possible complications, I know what things WLS patients can end up with down the road. I am truly ready and in T minus 12 days, it all begins for me. Wish me luck, Wayne.

Results from my PATs appointment

Hey everybody,

I am a little behind in my postings and promise to try to catch up over the next couple of days.

Well, my PATs (Pre-Admission Testing) appointment was November 4th and I passed with flying colours! Everything went really well, all my blood work came back good, my blood gases(ouch, that one hurt)were good, the Dr. that does the clearances said that other than my weight, I was a healthy guy. I have really high hopes that once I get things under control I will be able to stave off some of those things I have been fearing(eg. heart disease, diabetes, etc.) So we are officially a go for Nov. 19th.

On another note, I posted the chicken marsala recipe the other day and finally got a chance to try it, and here is my review of it...

Chicken Marsala Review

The seasoning that you coat the chicken with adds a nice flavour to otherwise bland poultry, my only suggestion would be to "pound" the chicken a little to flatten it out so it is not too thick, I think this would have added to the flavour a little as some pieces did not seem very well seasoned, but upon further inspection, they were just really thick pieces of the breast meat. Pounding the chicken to flaten it out a little would have definately overcome this.
The Marsala sauce is quite nice with no alcohol taste at all, I added a little lemon juice that I sqeezed from a fresh one I had lying around in the kitchen and I think it added a nice little zip to it. I did not thicken the sauce as stated in the recipe that you can, and I think if I make this recipe again I will do that so it is not quite as runny.
My only negative critique of the dish is that, because it simmers in the sauce for a while, the coating becomes rather mushy which I did not care for, texture wise.
All in all it was a good meal, low in calories and fat(I used Becel butter flavour spray instead of pam to coat the pan while cooking) and good tasting. I would give this a 3.5 out of 5 stars for flavour and a 4 out of 5 stars for ease of preparation.

'till next time,

Wayne

Product Testing Starting Soon!

I told you the other day that I picked up a variety pack of protein supplies from Barix, well, I figure if I have them, I might as well review them all, so starting sometime this week I will be trying these different products and posting my reviews of them.

Stay tuned!

More Recipes!

Hey Everybody,

So I have received a few emails asking me for more recipes and I am going to get started on that soon, for now though, here is a recipe that was posted on the Barix Connection website by Christine. It is a Chicken Marsala recipe that I am trying out tonight, so today the recipe, tomorrow the comment on how it turned out:)

Marsala wine is not available everywhere in Canada, but if you tell the person what you are looking for they will find you the equivalent. I am using a Sherry that is made in the Niagra region as I went to the wine store in Zehrs and they only carry Niagra region wines, this is the one the gave me as a substitute. I will figure out the calories and either edit them in here or post them with my comments on flavour tomorrow. Without any further babbling, here is the recipe...

Chicken Marsala
1/4 C flour
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 c sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup Marsala
1 tsp butter flavoring

Mix flour, garlic salt, pepper, oregano together and dredge the chicken through it.

Liberally spray skillet with either butter flavored or olive oil flavored Pam. Heat pan on Med. Cook chicken for 2 minutes, respray pan, flip chicken and add the mushrooms. Stir mushrooms so they don't burn. Cook chicken for 2 minutes on this side.

Pour the wine over the chicken and mushrooms. Add the butter flavoring. Cover skillet and cook on low for 10 minutes. If you want the sauce thicker, mix 1 Tablespoon cornstarch into 1/2 cup chicken stock. Remove the chicken, increase temp to medium and stir in the cornstarch mixture. It will thicken quickly so stir. Once it is thick enough, put the chicken back in.

Just 2 days left!

Well, it's Sunday night, just sittin' around the house today, nothing much happening except oh yeah, 2 freaking days! The day after tomorrow is my PATs, I am getting very excited both for this day and the one that follows 15 days later! I have been trying to drink my 64 oz of water a day lately, and have been doing okay with that, but I don't think I am losing any Weight. I try to eat mostly protein, in fact I bought a sample pack of different items while I was at Barix visiting Mark a couple days ago.
Not sure what my problem is with the protein powders, other than the fact that I am a gagger. No seriously, I have actually seen at the dentist, the hygenist, on her paperwork has "gagger" written on my chart. I just can't get past the idea of the shakes, I haven't tried them or smelled them or anything yet, but I still get the heebie jeebies at the thought of them. That's why this sample pack was kind of cool, it has these protein bullets that have 42g of protein and come in a variety of flavours, the one I got is a fruit punch that by itself is a little extreme and had my lips puckering when I tried it, but it does dilute in water nicely.(Thanks for the idea there Mark!)
So, I am anxiously awaiting my "kick at the can" and hope that the PATs go good and they don't see any reason for me to not have the surgery. All in all it has been a fairly boring weekend, but the week is going to get more exciting!

L8R All

Yesterday Halloween, Today Christmas!

Hey everybody, so here is a shot of my two boys last night for halloween, Colin, the 8year old is in the Skeleton costume and Aidan the 5 year old is Batman. My daughter Kaitlyn is posed with her friend "Beanie" Kaitlyn is the one with the wig, dressed as "Bride of Dracula" mohaha(a moohaha, just felt appropriate there)

So Halloween is over and today is Christmas:) It may seem weird but my inlaws leave for Texas for 5 months on Nov. 5th so this year our Christmas with them is Nov.1st, today. It should be a good time, my Mother In Law makes a great dinner and my wife does all the desserts, there are about 16 of us there today, it makes for a nice time. And hey, this way I actually get to eat my xmas dinner, not drink it through a straw like I will later next month!

L8R, Wayne

Michigan Weight Loss EXPO

Hi everyone,

A friend of mine, Tyra from the Barix boards, put up a link to a site today that I found very interesting. It is for the Michigan Weight Loss Expo, when you link over to their site you will see the multitude of things to see and do during the course of this 2day event. I have never been to one of these before but it looks like a good time. My wife Tena and I are planning on going over to it on the Saturday to check it out.
Here are the particulars if anyone is interested...

Michigan Weight Loss Expo
November 8th, 10am to 7pm and November 9th, 10am to 5pm
Rock Financial Showplace
Novi, Michigan
Tickets are free, but you have to register for them online, just go to the site for all the details.
http://www.weightlosssupershow.com/

Off I Go!

So yesterday I was thinking to myself... self, let's go for a walk, but my problem is i bore rather easily. Admittedly I am sure I have ADD because nothing holds my attention for long periods of time if it is stagnant, so I worried about walking and being bored. I decided I would take along my camera, those of you who have known me for a while will know that I used to absolutely love to take pictures. In fact it is what I did to pay the bills for a short time, but after having three kids, the mortgage, the bills and everything else, it is really hard to find the time for it anymore. A couple years ago I bought a fancy digital SLR so I could take my photography to the next century but alas, hardly use the darned thing.

Well yesterday I think I may have solved two problems with one solution. I took my camera with me on an interesting walk. I decided on a nature trail not too far from where I live that has several different walking paths through the woods, it was a beautiful morning, if not a little cool, but overall, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, it seemed like a great idea. I took off on one of the trails and followed it around a small pond, shot some fall foliage and some birds, nothing exotic, saw a couple of blue jays but they eluded me. I continued on my path, contemplating life and all it's pitfalls and glories when I was startled by a sound in the woods. What did I see you ask? None other than a female deer and her baby, not more than 20 feet from where I stood. HOLY CRAP! Shoot the pictures dummy!

I have never, outside of a zoo had the opportunity to see such wonderful beauty up close like that, it was a truly awesome experience for me, I love nature, and with my rekindled foray into photography, I can see myself getting my exercise in places like this a lot easier in the future. My wife was definitely jealous when I returned with my prized bounty of pictures from my adventure. My pic of a deer, that's the one I saw:)

My wife, Tena, came with me today to visit friends of ours, Mark and his wonderful wife Colleen. Mark just had WLS yesterday and it was incredible to see how well he was doing just one day post operative. We went for a short walk and he described everything about the surgery he could remember, well not the surgery I guess, as much as the lead up to it. I was really glad to see him and to see how well he was doing, he gives me great hope for my surgery, which evidently is only 21 days from now, yikes!

Wayne

So Here We Are

I woke up in the night last night, don't remember when, covered in sweat(I know, real appetizing a fat sweaty guy lol)and I felt sooooo much better, for this reason I am not even going to the Dr. today as I feel great, 100%, yeah me!

I was looking at the calendar and realized my PATs are now only 6 days away and surgery is 22 days from now. WOW! Time sure is a flyin', I am starting to get a little nervous when I think about things, but I think it is just the PATs that have got me scared right now, gotta get through them to get to the surgery. So in just 6 days I will find out if I am a go or not, here's crossing my fingers.

As it turns out....

So, as it turns out, I think I am fighting an inner ear infection and that is why my withdrawal seemed so bad and I am planning on visiting my Dr. in the morning for confirmation and hopefully antibiotics to clear it up. (Or so my family, family Dr.(My dear wife,lol) thinks, and after visiting webmd, I tend to agree with her)

I have my PATs in seven days, so I want to clear this up ASAP, I wouldn't want anything holding surgery back, especially something as simple as an infection that can be cleared up rather easily.

So, for today, that's it, I am trying to figure some things out for my blog, I want to add more pictures and have a few sections for other things, but I am limited by what this free blogger from google will allow me to do, I may look into alternatives or at the very least send them off an email asking for some assistance. Till next time, Wayne

Feeling a Little Better Today

Hey folks,

I am feeling a little bit better today, I will explain what I have been going through for the past several weeks with withdrawal from some meds I have been on for quite some time.

If you remember, way down at the bottom of the page, I stated about my father passing away in Dec. 2000, around that time I was put on what was labeled as a "Miracle Drug" by my Doctors. It comes from a different family as Prozac and has less side effects, or so I was told, and you can stop it any time you want. Well, here I am 8 years later and struggling to get off of the drug PAXIL, and slowly succeeding.

At my highest point I was taking 60mg/day of the drug to level out my depression from my fathers death and today I can boast that, mainly due to my own diligence, I have reduced my intake to 5mg/day. It has not been an easy journey to get here, and I only really started it, seriously, about 4 months ago. My previous attempts at "quitting" this drug just didn't pan out.

The makers of PAXIL, Glaxo-Smith-Klein, refute that it is an addictive drug and under FDA guidelines(I use the FDA guidelines from the U.S. since we follow their lead here in Canada) it is considered non-addictive. In order to be an addictive drug one must feel a draw, pull or need for said drug, which admittedly I do not with PAXIL. However that is not to say that you cannot go through withdrawal from stopping it, which is what I am and have been experiencing for the past several months. My symptoms of withdrawal have been slight in contrast to some that have been reported out there and for that I feel lucky. You only have to do a quick search on google using the keywords "paxil withdrawal" to see the devastation being felt out there by millions of users.

So yesterday I was feeling woozy, it's kind of an electrical thing going on in my brain, at certain times I get a little fuzzy around the edges and feel kind of a "woosh" effect in my brain. It is hard to explain if you have never experienced it but is very similar to the reported conditions of vertigo. Although I have been at the 5mg/day level for a number of weeks now, I feel maybe I had a touch of a bug as well and that helped to contribute to the effects I was feeling. For the most part I am fine, just this vertigo feeling strikes once in a while. Unfortunately, these withdrawal symptoms can stay with you for up to a year after stopping the drug, ouch, I sure hope not! I plan on stopping my current 5mg/day dose as soon as my surgery is over and can use my 6 weeks of healing time as a bit of a detox as well. For the most part, the paxil is no longer in my system, as a drug that only stays with you for 24 hours, my 5mg/day is a very minute amount for a man of my size. I am confident I can finally get off this medication, Lord only knows what it has been doing to my insides for the past 8 years.

If anyone has questions or would like me to expand on my PAXIL "problems" then please drop me a line and I would be more than happy to discuss it a greater detail with you.

For now, today, I am feeling better, and am planning on going for a walk in a little while, just to get the blood pumping, have a great day everybody.

Wayne

No News Today

Sorry everybody, trying to get off some meds and withdraw-ing a bit, hopefully I will feel better tomorrow and can post.

Wayne

Mexi sauce recipe

Hello everybody,

I came up with this Mexi-Ranch sauce tonight and we used it to make Quesadilla Burgers and my wife just raved about it, so I thought I would post it in case anyone was looking for something to spice up their meals a bit. Also included is the spice mixture I put together to add into the burgers before they were cooked. If wanting to make these burgers, you want to use this mixture in the beef, or ground turkey, get some tortillas, place one side down in a pan, add a little cheese so it stays together. Pop your burger(that you would have already cooked ahead of time) on top, add about 2 teaspoons of the mexi sauce, I also added chopped tomatoes and onions here and finished it off with a little more cheese, then the lid of course. Cook like a quesadilla about a minute to two on each side. Very messy, but very good. Using extra lean beef and whole wheat tortillas total calories are about 550 for this burger(500 for the burger, bun and toppings, 50 calories for the sauce) but this burger is a meal in itself.(Hint: make the burgers real thin and large like a pancake to fit better on the tortilla)

Hope you enjoy...

**Southwest Seasoning Mix
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon dried cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Combine all ingredients and use to season hamburger.
Use 1 heaping spoon full of seasoning in 1 pound burger


Wayne's Mexi-Ranch Dressing
¼ cup sour cream
1/8 cup light ranch dressing
4 tablespoons light cream cheese
1 chopped tomato
2 chopped fresh jalapeño
1/8 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar-Jack cheese

2 teaspoons is approx. 50 calories

Throw it all in your bullet or other mixer/blender/chopper mechanism and pulse until smooth.
Add to anything that needs a little kick.

Cheating - Is there really such a thing?

So, you have probably come across someone who says that surgery is cheating; I know I have, and judging by a few of the emails I have received, so have many of you. I thought I would use today’s post to air out my feelings on the matter, just some more rambling thoughts of mine :)

When I look in the mirror I see the person that I am today, not the one that I want to be tomorrow.

In order to get to that state I need some help, some people choose Weight Watchers, others Atkins(so many to mention) and when those don't work for us a lot of us choose WLS (Weight Loss Surgery). Everyone makes the choice to follow this path on their own, or at least they should. As I have talked about before this is a very personal journey, not one that you can take for anyone other than yourself. Any type of diet is hard, that’s a given, but what a WLS patient endures is difficult as well. It is not like they just go in for surgery on Monday and on Tuesday they weigh a hundred or so pounds less, it takes them dedication and hard work to get to that point, the WLS is a tool to get you there only.

We call it a tool – Why? It’s actually pretty simple, if you misuse it, it won’t work. Anyone can have the surgery, whether it is LAP RNY or Lap Band but if they don’t follow rules, rules for the rest of their life, they will fail. That is a pretty big “weight” to have on ones shoulders, the knowledge that if you slip up, you may have gone through it all for nothing. Slipping up and not following good habits for the rest of your life will just cause a breakdown in the system; the pouch size will increase, you will eat more and therefore intake more calories leading to Weight gain and you’re right back to where you started.

Surgery is no laughing matter, it’s serious, and there are serious consequences involved in it. First there is the mental, getting your head around the fact that you are going to undergo this surgery for this problem. Second, there is the possibility of complications, although nowadays complication rates are plummeting, it is still a possibility that something bad may happen. Third, there is the recovery, it’s not like you leave the hospital and on your jog home you grab a cheeseburger and a shake, no, it’s a lot harder than that. There is pain, real pain; some say it isn’t bad, while others find it nearly unbearable, so that is up to the individual to decide. Fourth and probably the hardest is the new eating habits, we have lived a certain way for most of, if not all of our lives and to change those habits are a huge accomplishment. This is not even factoring in the liquid diet for 2 weeks, then pureed stage, oh yeah that sounds fun eh? And then of course, soft foods and then regular foods. But some people will never be able to tolerate certain foods ever again, and that is just the plain and simple truth of the matter. Something that someone else can eat and maybe an everyday “normal” food, cannot be tolerated by a WLS patient, know one knows why, just one day you can eat it and the next day it makes you “dump”(exactly what it sounds like, but add flu like symptoms for a few hours). Did we get ourselves into this mess? That’s like asking someone if they have ever gotten lost while trying to find an address, we all make mistakes, but a lot of the time it is our physical makeup’s and our predispositions that get us into these messes in the first place.

Bottom line, this surgery is what’s best for a lot of people, what will help them get healthy, live longer and enjoy their lives much longer and with more joy.

In my opinion, if someone says that WLS is “cheating”, well first off, I know it’s best for me and quite frankly, they don’t, not to mention, I stopped caring what other people thought about me a long time ago. If they don’t want to support me, then get outta my way, ‘cause I’m comin’ through.

Till next time….Wayne (and a shout out to the Wayno's out there)

New Tracking Site

I found this website, actually my wonderful wife did, and she sent it to me, so I thought I would share it with you all. It's not an epiphany or anything, I am sure lots of you have seen it or come across it in the time you have been researching but I am really impressed with it. Prevention magazine, not something I have every really read in the past, has a really great tracking tool on their website, the actual web address is http://www.prevention.com/cda/homepage.do and I have posted it in my links section as well(down and to the right:) )
When you first go to the page you will see a whole bunch of information, but just below the banner there is a navigation bar that has a bunch of buttons on it, the one you are looking for is "My Health Trackers", if you click on it, it will bring you to a sign in area where you can choose to create your own profile.

What I like about the site is that you can track so many things, not just your weight and BMI like so many other sites, but also your measurements as well. It has an area for a Weight goal that will ask for a target date to reach said goal, then it will tell you how many calories, based on your current body type and size, you should intake per day to reach that goal. It's pretty neat the way the site is decked out and makes for an interesting tour when you are figuring it out. There are a lot of these "type" of web pages out there on the net, but this is by far the easiest and most comprehensive that I have found to date. I love the food journal and have started using it as well. Kudos to the people at Prevention magazine for making such a comprehensive tool to assist us all in our goals.

And oh yeah, Thanks honey, I love the site! I hope you all like it as much as I do.

Wayne

So it's 12 and 27 now!

Well, 12 days to my PATs and 27 to surgery. Not much is changing right now, same old, same old, one day to the next routine. I am getting nervous a little more each day as I see the countdown dwindle and realize it will be here in no time at all.
I am trying my best to watch my fat intake, yesterday I had my first mini-win with myself. I made the chili(really good BTW)that I posted yesterday and had a bowl of that for dinner, I topped it off with low fat cottage cheese for extra protein instead of sour cream, which is what I would normally use, and it was really good. I am not a cottage cheese fan, but this way made it bearable for me. Anyway, I was driving my daughter to Youth Group and had planned on stopping at the convenience store on my way back to get some "Frito Scoops" to have with another bowl of chili.
I dropped her off and there is a little store across the street, but I think to myself, I will go to the one a little closer to my house instead. As I drive up the block I realize that I was talking myself out of going to that store and did the same thing for the one closer to home. I ended up back at home, no fritos, and no more chili 'cause I wasn't even hungry, I was "craving" the chips, and I fought back and won!
It may not seem like a big deal to a lot of you, but Chips are my downfall, I LOVE them, so to pass them by took a lot of willpower for me, something I admit I don't have a lot of.
So I did, it, I am proud of myself, it's all about the baby steps I guess.

L8R

It's So Chilly I think I'll Make Chili

BRRRRRRRRR! It's cold here today, the perfect day to make chili! Here is what I did, trying my best to keep it low fat(but still good tasting:)

Ingredients

1lb xtra lean turkey
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomatoe sauce
1 can beans in tomatoe sauce
1 can mixed beans(chile style-heinz)
1 medium onion
1 green pepper
1 can mushrooms
2 tbsp chili powder
4 tbsp tex mex seasoning(or sub 2more tbsp chili powder)
1tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
couple splashes of worcheshire sauce
couple splashes ofhot sauce
pinch of cayenne pepper

First I started browning the turkey meat and chopped the green pepper and onion then added it to the pan until soft and meat brown.
Meanwhile I added the canned items to the crock pot that I had set up and added all the spices and flavourings to it. Once the meat mixture is done, in the pot it goes, couple of stirs to mix, set crock pot to high and away we go.
I plan on leaving it until about 6pm so six hours.

This is a great pre surgery meal, not too sure about post surgery, you may want to find a low sugar tomatoe sauce, I used heinz reg. sauce in this recipe.

Hope you enjoy, I know I will!

CPAP

So I have been using this CPAP machine for a couple weeks now and I have to tell you, I don't feel one bit different yet. I have so far logged 116 hours on it and I wake in the morning feeling just as drained as when I went to bed. I realize they say it can take up to a month to start to feel better but my oh my is this thing getting old fast.
I have talked with many people who "can't live without" theirs and I wish it was the same for me. I find my nose is clogged a lot and am on claritan and a nasal spray to help with that, I hope soon it will resolve itself. It is just a really uncomfortable, unatural thing to wear and getting used to it is frustrating. Don't get me wrong, I am committed to it, and will continue to sleep with it on I just wish it would get a little easier.

For those that are not aware, a CPAP or continuous positive airway pressure machine is something used to treat a condition called sleep apnea. Sleep apnea affects thousands of people on a nightly basis and can be corrected and/or controlled using the CPAP and a few good health regimines. My sleep apnea is considered moderate to heavy moderate because I stop breathing 72 times per hour while in REM sleep state. Some people I have been in contact with stop breathing as many as 120 times per hour. It makes it kind of hard to get a good nights sleep when you are constantly waking up, rolling over, gasping for breath, just trying to get yourself breathing again. If you are overweight, snore, don't feel well rested when you wake in the morning, you may be a candidate to get checked out. The testing for it isn't any fun(requires an overnight stay) but the help you recieve could just change your life.

For me, I will stick with my machine and hopefully start seeing a difference soon in my wakefullness, heck I haven't slept well in a decade anyway, what's a few more weeks?

Wayne

15 and 30, MAGIC TO MY EARS

So I have 15 days until my PATs(Pre Admission Testing) and 30 until my surgery. It seems like every day is going by very slow but I know that it will seem like no time at all until I am sitting in that hospital waiting for my turn in the OR.
I have to get my head in the right place, because I realize it`s still not quite where I need it to be. I was reading on a forum that I frequent tonight that some people have what they refer to as `last meal syndrome` and while reading it I realized I have it too, which means I have a little work to do on myself.
`Last meal syndrome` is just what it sounds like it would be, as someone who is going through this life changing event we think it is the last time we will ever get to eat this or that, so instead of making the right choice and passing it by, we indulge using the excuse, it`s the last time I will ever get the chance.
I have been guilty of this syndrome myself since I found out about my approval for surgery and have to tell you, all I am doing is setting myself up for failure. Someone I admire very much on this forum I was speaking of said that once you reach your goal Weight, you can still eat anything you want, just in moderation. So, fear not fellow Weight Losers, there is no more `Last Meal Syndrome` start eating healthy, no more sugars and complex carbs, cast them aside and bring your water bottle with you on your walk, `cause that`s exactly what I`m gonna do. `till next time all.

The Countdown

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