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It has been a very long time since I posted on here. Had my RNY in June of 2010. Yes, it's been almost 12 years!  I think the last time I posted was about 6 years ago?  Anyway, weight-wise, I'm doing well. Been up and down but am sitting pretty steady at a 100 lb. loss from my surgery weight. As I have aged, several issues have arisen. My most recent issue was an abnormal cardiac stress test. My cardiologist wants to put me on a couple medications, one of them being the low dose daily aspirin. I'm not sure I can do that with an RNY. Anyone else have to take a daily aspirin?  Any issues?  Thanks in advance for your input. ????

One year out. Really? Wow.  I really can't believe it. Last year at this time, I was in the hospital ready to do this.  Scared? Yeah.  Excited?  Yeah.  This year, I am sitting here dealing with very different feelings.  Happy? Yeah.  Regrets?  None.  Blessed and Thankful?  You betcha. 
I have made it thru this past year with not one complication, issue or setback.  I say that, not in bragging, but in true gratitude to God.  You see, my surgery was bathed in prayer and I believe that God has been with me the whole way.  Does that mean that I won't ever have any issues? Of course not.  But so far, my prayers have been answered many times over. 
I started this journey at 270 lbs and I now weigh 143.  Never thought I would see the 140's.  I am continuing to lose, albeit slowly.  The loss has definately slowed down.  I am totally thrilled with my results so far. 
A year ago, I was a pathetic specimen of a woman. Lol.  No energy, lethargic, fat, on various medications.  Today, I have more energy than I know what to do with some days, I'm off all meds except the vitamins and supplements that I must be taking, and for the first time in my life, I am THIN!  Seriously.  I can feel bones that I never knew were there! 
I am very thankful today also for the OH family.  I am on this website every single day and even tho I don't post much, I read and read and read.  I have learned so much from all of you.  And I continue to learn from you every day.  What a wonderful group of people you are.  Any time that I had a question, there were always those quickly willing to offer advice.  Thank you so much!
Well, I'm off to do some more reflecting on my special day.  Later...

Truly cannot believe that I'm 10 1/2 months out already.  All continues to go very well.  I am now down 120 lbs.  As of this morning's weigh-in,  I am 150 lbs. on the nose!  Wow.  How did that happen? LOL.  I never thought that I would ever see 150.  Haven't been there since high school.  And I've been out of high school 36 years!  I continue to eat all dense proteins with no problem, yes, even steak goes down without a problem.    I have been pretty diligent about my eating.  Following the rules as dictated by my surgeon.  I have, on occasion, taken a fingerful of icing, a bite of a cookie or a bite of pie, but honestly I have not eaten a whole slice of anything that I shouldn't be eating.  I often wonder if I will be able to continue to hold this strong.  It is beginning to be a struggle.  The further out I am, the more I want to try stuff.  I fight the temptation, but boy, it is really getting hard.  I don't want to fall back into bad habits because when this malabsorption goes away, I don't want to be left with old habits to battle along with the fact that it will be now harder maintain or lose.  I really appreciate the OH family.  I read posts on a daily basis.  It definitely helps to keep me focused and informed as to what to expect down the road.  I will be back to post at my 1 year surgiversary!  It will be here soon! 6/16!

Well, I made it thru my first holiday season post-op.  It really wasn't so bad!  I managed to stick to my pouch plan and not nibble so much.  I actually LOST weight over the holidays.  Believe me, that is a first.  I feel so blessed to have had a smooth journey so far.  No complications, no vomiting, no nausea..no NOTHING.  Praise God!!  I can't begin to explain to you how good I feel.  But I'm sure many of you know exactly how I feel.  My husband bought me a Wii Fit Plus for Christmas so I tried it out last night.  It is really fun.  I think I'm going to enjoy it. 
I am currently down 92 lbs.  Since I am an elementary teacher (music) my husband always compares my weight loss to a kid's size.  For example, at a 92 lb. loss, he says "You've lost about a 4th or 5th grader!!  It cracks me up, but it's true! 

Well it is hard for me to believe, but 5 months are already gone.  I am happy to report that all continues to go well with me and I am down 70 lbs.  I will be weighing in tomorrow morning (every Monday) and I am hoping to be in onederland.  About 3 days ago, I sneaked on the scale and was at 200, so I hope that tomorrow I can say I'm in onederland!!  We'll see...  The only problem that I have had so far is constipation resulting from the calcium citrate.  I talked about this in my last blog.  I stopped taking the citrate and went back on the carbonate and upped the dosage.  But as was so "eloquently" pointed out to me on the message board, just upping the amount is not enough.  So after much consideration, I have decided to "bite the bullet" and go back on the citrate.  Calcuim apatite was suggested to me, but I had a hard time finding it.  I started today taking the citrate again and I am taking mega doses of a stool softener that I hope will help to manage the constipation.  Please wish me luck.  I certainly don't want to wind up with bone loss or rickets, so here we go....
Other than that issue, the Good Lord has really blessed me in this journey so far.  I have not tempted the sugar or simple carb gods yet. Lol.  I am not really afraid of dumping...I'm afraid that I WON'T dump.  So, I have just not tried anything that I should not be eating.  But here come the holidays.  I'm sure that somewhere along the line, I'm gonna try something. Not really worried about Thanksgiving, but Christmas....oh my!  I just have to try to keep my focus. 

Praise God, I'm still doing great!  I have had zero complications so far.  The only thing I have had to deal with lately is constipation.  Switched from Citrate calcium chewables to Citrical tabs.  That did it.  I know that I needed the calcium citrate, so I started on the Citrical.  Ever since then, moving my bowels has become an event.  Asked my surgeon about it, he told me to take Colace.  Found a generic equivalent, and started to take it.  Much better!  Still have to push, but it is better than it was.  Sorry, I know....TMI.  I also have begun the dreaded hair loss. It is not coming out in clumps, but when I brush it, there is a ton left in the brush and it seems like hair is everywhere!  I really have to be careful when I am cooking.  If I ever found a hair in my food, I would croak!  Even if it is my own.  I was rather surprised that I would start the hair loss this soon.  I thought it would be at around 5-6 months.  Oh well.  Hopefully it won't get much worse than what it is now.  I have lost 47 lbs. so far.  I was really hoping to have hit the 50 lb mark by 3 months.  I almost did it.  I will check back in probably next month. 

Really doing well.  I have not yet eaten anything that I can't tolerate.  But then, I have been very careful.  No sugars,  no simple carbs.  I have lost 33 lbs. so far.  My weight doesn't seem to be dropping as fast as some others that I read about on the boards, but it's dropping at my own rate, I guess.  I will be starting back to school next week, so that will be rather stressful just getting back into the routine,  I have been at home since the surgery so it will be an adjustment going back.  I hope and pray that my journey continues to go as smoothly as it has these past 9 weeks.  I appreciate all of the info that I get from the boards.  Thanks to all of you who are so willing to share your advice, recipes, etc.

Well, today I am exactly 3 weeks out.  I'm doing well, except I'm still on full liquids (that's what my surgeon recommends). I am so sick of cream soups and jello and sf puddings and sf popsicles and cream of wheat. It might not be so bad if I didn't have to mix protein powder with everything.  It supposed to be unflavored but ummm, I don't think so.  Anyway, I should be just thankful that everything is going well and I am healthy.  I have really on an emotional roller coaster.  Cry, cry, cry.  Depressed, sad.  The other day, I was so down. Honestly, I have never felt that down.  It really kind of scared me.  I didn't feel like doing anything.  But then, the next day, I was much better.  I know from reading on the boards that this is normal.  I don't know what I would do without the message boards. I learn so much from reading them.  I don't write on them too often, but once in awhile I will share what's going on with me. I have a drs appointment tomorrow.  I am hoping that he will allow me to start on soft solids.  I really think I'm ready for that.   We'll see...