Jennifer C.
Update and other stuff
Jan 14, 2010
Hi to all!
About me - I am a shadow lurker here and on duodenalswitch/yahoogroups.com. I stay in the shadows because I have enough emotional turmoil to deal with in my own life that I am learning not to shove down my gullet with food anymore. I also have a hard time articulating what I truly mean through typing (and tend to be long winded) and hate to come across as crass. With that out there....
I am a patient of Dr. Kemmeter of Grand Health Partners in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I started with them when they where still a part of MMPC. I was in the process of approval for my surgery when they where breaking off and becoming GHP. Everything went real smooth with the split and move to their new location. That all happened November 2008; I had surgery January 2, 2009. So I just "somewhat quietly" celebrated my One Year Surgiversary!!! My High weight 320/ Surgery Weight 308/ One year 175 lbs/ Today 170lbs. ten more pounds and I'll be half the woman I was and that just blows my mind. My surgery was done at Blodgett Hospital which is where all bariatric surgery was preformed up until recently when they added St. Mary's into the mix. I know nothing about St. Mary's other than it has gone through a lot of construction, as has every hospital in Grand Rapids has because our medical industry is booming. I had great care at Blodgett, but I am pretty sure either hospital would be fine. Both Dr. Kemmeter and Dr. Foote are REALLY good looking; Dr. K's picture does him NO justice!!! But I am not that superficial that was just a bonus! He's a great surgeon and a very caring person, very dedicated to the laparoscopic procedure. I've had a person recently tell me I should be a poster child for WLS because I had such a picture perfect time. I was off pain meds after my second day home and have really had smooth sailing through the whole thing, but that person who said that to me was someone very important to helping me with my success, she is my massage therapist who I see once a week (she is VERY affordable) that and regular Chiropractic care have played a huge part in my continued success and ongoing wellness.
Now about my diet I am Gluten Free, I am not a diagnosed Celiac because I did not want it to interfere with the possibility of my having WLS, Gluten destroys the intestines of a Celiac. I figured if my surgeon got in there and saw my intestines were in really bad shape I would come out of surgery with only a Gastric Sleeve done and that would be way better than nothing or a RNY. You may find this to be crazy but my weight would have killed me faster than anything so I was ok with my decision of keeping my possible need to be Gluten Free to myself. I never had any outward gut problem with Gluten but I was having other issues such as pre-rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and blood work, all over body aches and pain associated with the weather, depression, A.D.D. etc. My Aunt who is 10 years older than me has all the same problems that I was having just 10 years more advanced and WAY worse and it scared me big time. Finally a Physicians Assistant who was examining her for a sinus infection put ALL the little puzzle pieces together, the P.A. 's husband was a Celiac so she had personal experience with it. Well long story short my Aunt was slowly dying and got off Gluten and was off all medication within a month, one of her medications for her Rheumatoid Arthritis was causing the chronic sinus infections. It was a real light bulb moment for me because I always would bounce back and forth with low carbing. I would feel so good off carbs, well it wasn't just carbs it was Gluten carbs Wheat, Barley & Rye. They are like a bad drug and they sing their deadly song "eat me! eat me!!" Believe me I have woke up the last two days from dreams where I was eating Pizza and it was NOT Gluten Free LOL!!! So with ALL that said I eat everything but Gluten. I try to no longer eat out anywhere, just yesterday I have a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese no bun from Mc D's and I can feel today that I have been Gluten-ed, I hurt all over from head to toe, I was really hungry and was getting something for my youngest son because we were going to watch High School Wrestling and it was going to run late and now I will pay the piper for a couple of days while it works it's self out. I am very amused by the posting of foods eaten and not eaten due to oil slicks or not. If you are a new post-op you are going to change so much in the next couple of months it's not even funny, I went through so many food stages and so will you... It kills me when DS patients watch and limit their fat ... We only absorb 20% of the fat that we eat so why would anyone limit it? They are now doing the DS dietitian visits separate for DS patients at GHP hopefully due to me offending the RYN people who sit there and say what's a DS? Right after the dietitian would ask me " and what kind of low fat foods do you like to use?" and I would say "why in G~ds name would I eat anything because it's low fat!?!?!" " I've had a DS!!!" KNOW ALL YOUR SURGERY OPTIONS!!! RESEARCH ALL SURGERIES!!! I really don't like to knock other WLS procedures and peoples decisions regarding their health but why would you want to do something permanent to yourself that is either going to punish you with dumping and possible stricture and or need for revision in the future. Do it right the first time and start living the life you deserve. So where was I ... ah the joy of fat! LOL I also never eat fake sugar the stuff will kill you and it gives me more gas and yucky poops!!! I have used nothing but real sugar or honey since surgery. I found out after surgery that I could not stand the taste anymore and it just tore me up with gas. I eat plenty of gluten free carbs I didn't realize how much until my oldest son (19 yrs. old) just recently started doing Atkins and I have been helping him adhere to that. My second son (17 yrs.) who has always been the heaviest of my boy's has lost 30-40 lbs. since I had surgery eating plenty of fat, protein and carbs but adding exercise and not eating junk food and drinking pop a.k.a soda. I believe that they also should be off Gluten because it does run in families but you can only lead the horse to the water... So my eating carbs has not slowed my weight loss at all, BUT when I eat gluten my weigh will jump a good 3-4 lbs. and I will be bloated for a week, which really ticks me off today because I've been hovering around 170 and it's That Time Of The Month and my husband and I are getting really excited about the 160's, have not seen that since 1982 and that is when we started dating!!! It is very exciting since my weight loss has slowed down and it just kind of kicked back in and that last five pounds took at least a whole size with it and my body REALLY changed. I just bought (and wore) a size MEDIUM, I haven't worn a medium since... I was five years old LOL!!!!!
So I am going to wrap this up for now and try to copy and paste this to my profile at OH. I hope that some of this helps a pre or newly post op because I know that this is what kept me going while I waited to have surgery. I didn't think I would ever get there!!! But here I am and it has been ONE HELL OF A RIDE!!!!! I would not change a thing!!! Thank you to all of you who are always there to pay it forward you are worth more than your pre-op weight in PLATINUM!!!!
