KATHYSH
I had an RNY with Dr Schlesinger in October 2001 and lost 110 lbs. I was told at the time that I would never gain the weight back because I would not be physically able to, so I went on my merry way being very successful at first and loving it. However, throughout the last 3 years I have gradually put on 50 lbs and have now gone over 200 for the first time in almost 5 years. 50 lbs seems like a lot, but if you think about it, a weight gain of only 1 lb per month for 3 years is 36 lbs - and that's just eating an extra 100 calories a day. I have been telling myself that cutting out 100 calories a day would not be difficult - but it's hard to make such slow progress. I think my mindset after RNY was that I could eat anything because I was eating less of it. That worked great when I was really eating less, but as time went on I began eating more and more because I could - and, voila! here I am. I have scheduled a stomaphyx with Dr S on 11/07 and I am determined to lose the weight I have gained and permanently change my eating and exercise habits. I hate being over 200!!!
11/10/07 197 lbs
Had my stomaphyx in Phoenix with Dr Schlesinger on Wed 11/07. Weighed in at 203 on Monday and have lost 6 pounds since then - under 200 again. I am very happy with the procedure and am feeling restriction again. So far I'm having no problems sticking with the liquids because I know it's only temporary and in a couple of weeks I'll be able to eat real food again. And best of all is that I know I will be able to eat small portions and be satisfied.
Dr S said my pouch was still pretty tiny but the stoma had widened. He put in 3 rows of pleats and they told me that I had not failed - the RNY surgery had failed me and that makes sense to me and alleviates a lot of guilt and self-doubt. I am so glad to be back on track!!
11/15/07 194
My biggest fear going into this was that I would continue to eat compulsively ignoring when I was full. Well yesterday I did just that. I made soup and put it in the blender and then through a sieve so all I had was the liquid. It tasted sooooo good I ended up eating the whole batch - I had used 2 quarts of chicken broth to make it so I went through that much soup almost non-stop. It probably went through my stoma and pouch pretty fast and it probably was not a lot of calories, but the point is that I was not hungry and I just kept on anyway. I was sitting in front of the TV doing nothing except eating and I did not have the will to get up and do something else. The longer I sat the more depressed I got and the more I ate. When will I get a handle on this eating thing??? I tell myself that if I ever get in that situation again I will do this or that instead of eating, but when I'm in the midst of it I just don't care about anything and all my good intentions go down the drain.
11/25/07 193
One pound doesn't seem like much but I was up to 197 and now back down to 193 so it feels like a lot to me. Could be a lot of water fluctuation but I did take a good hard look at what and how I was eating. TDay I ate my soup - and ate my soup - and ate my soup - continually throughout the night. I didn't eat any TDay food except some mashed potatoes and about 1/8 cup of sweet potato casserole but I kept going back again and again to eat a little more soup. Since then I have decided to drink water when I feel the compulsion to go back and eat again and I have started doing that - I'm not up to 64 oz yet but I got 32 oz down and that is a big deal for me. I don't like to drink water but it does make me feel full. I will increase to 64 oz soon. Exercising seems almost beyond me as I sit here now but tomorrow I go back to work and from there I will go to the Wellness Center to get back into my exercise routine. I'm still on full liquids so I have to figure out an eating strategy for work. When I get hungry now I really get hungry and it comes on suddenly. I think I will make some more soup and take it to work along with some protein powder. I go out to lunch every day with friends so I have to figure something out for that too. In many ways it was easier being home as far as eating goes. Paid $8000 for the stomaphyx so I have paid $727 per pound so far. I've got to improve that ratio!!!
12/09/07 192
Back to work and back to working out and down 2 more lbs. I am eating regular food now and although I have cut back I don't think I'm cutting back enough and I am eating more than I should - especially when I'm not hungry which is BAAAAD and my biggest problem. The restriction from the stomaphyx is noticeable but not as much as I thought it was going to be - I was thinking it would go back to post RNY days - but it doesn't. I feel great and am much happier than I was before the procedure so there was definitely a benefit.
Went back to working out but my legs felt like lead and I could hardly get through a step class. That lasted for about 2 weeks and has improved but it's going to take some work to get back where I was.
My goals are to drink my water which I have trouble doing and need to do; to be happy with whatever weight I lose even if I think it should be more; and to stop eating when full. A lot of times I just forget about drinking water. When I want to put something in my mouth I think of food first - I guess someone needs to bop me on the head and say, "you could've had water"! The other two are longtime goals that I am still working on and hope to conquer before I die. I've done the physcial things to reach that goal and now have to continue the mental work - that's the hardest! Hanging in there.
