As time goes on

Lately I've been going through a good amount of hurdles. I have been plateauing for a month at just under 200 lbs, which is frustrating to say the least, since I was going to have my 6 month follow-up appointment and felt like I didn't have much to show for the additional three months. I rescheduled my appointment because I left my bloodwork until the last minute, and I wanted to make sure they had the results before I went to the appointment.

I have been very focused on the excess skin situation lately. I feel like it's hampering my attempts at sizing properly, not to mention making me feel dissatisfied (even to the point of minor disgust) with myself... "What am I doing wrong that it looks like this? I should be going to the gym more." - but then too depressed to get out to the gym...among other excuses. There's other things I could be doing of course...

...other things I've been "slacking off" on. I've been irregular in taking my vitamins, mostly because I can't afford the chewable/dissolvable ones. So taking the large and bad-tasting pills isn't something on my mind. In addition, I haven't been taking my calcium supplement, which is indeed liquid. I just don't really think about it, though I should. Generally when I get home from work I get a beverage - water, iced tea, whatever. The calcium supplement is right there. And yet... Nope.

Which relates to another problem I've been having - teeth. I have had crappy teeth all my life. I had a molar abscess when I was about 7 years old. (The new molar also abscessed later on. Eventually I had it extracted, which makes me more or less happy as a clam.) I have more fillings than I'd like to admit to. But lately, things have gotten worse. I have two broken molars, and some other damages to existing fillings and the like, probably from deterioration from the teeth underneath. Most recently, I broke off part of a tooth (that already has a substantial filling) while eating granola with flaxseed in it. Yep. Granola. The dentist thinks we can save my tooth, which would be grand. It's already next to two teeth that had to have root canals and crowns.

See how this is going?

In any case, my coworker, whose wife and stepdaughter both had weight loss surgery, said their teeth went to hell after their surgery, mostly from stomach acidity. I didn't really believe that would happen to me, since I haven't had any heartburn or acid indigestion really - but that's because I've been staying on Prilosec nonstop. But combined with the calcium-fail on my end... And maybe acid I'm not even thinking about... Definitely need to do something to turn this boat around, before I need dentures by the time I'm 30.

I always joked with my friend Meryl about my teeth problems and being so poor that I need to start hookin'... That I would start giving gumjobs. Welp, that doesn't seem so absurd of a likelihood now!

Have been making some Christmas cookies - and able to eat them. Thankfully, they are so absurdly filling (like any of the meager carbs I've tried) that I can only get away with one, maybe two -  not handfuls like I used to do. So huzzah for that!

I'm sorry I've been so absent from posting - I will do my best to work on that. Don't hold me to it, though - clearly I'm not very good at following through on stuff lately.

Post 3 month check-up

So, I am officially down 40 pounds 3 months after my surgery! The doctor's office was very pleased with my progress, saying that I'm a bit further along than they expect patients to be, so that's even better. (Since I'm worried I'll start slowing down sooner than I think, and I'm kind of amazed I got to this point at all, because of plateaus along the way.)

A rundown of my bloodwork showed that my protein was good, which is something I was really worried about. It's something they stress so much in all appointments that of course I would be worried! I haven't been tracking my protein or liquids anymore, but have just been mindful - especially of fluids.

No more trips to the E.R. Seriously.

Unfortunately, not all my bloodwork was great. The phlebotomist/lab tech at Quest muffed up my blood sample on the CBC, so I have to get that done again. My levels of vitamins B1 and B12 are low, so I need to start adding those in. I have already been taking B12, but the RN (Rose) said I can double it with no problem. And B1, I just have to start taking. Thankfully that's not too low (the goal is 8-30, and I'm at 8), but one of the causes of thiamin/B1 deficiency is daily consumption of coffee or tea. Well, hell! I drink a mug of 12+ oz of hot tea in the morning at work, then iced tea almost all evening when I get home. >_<  Another cause of low B1 is high intake of processed foods - which, naturally, things that are made to be low fat, fat free, sugar free, etc, have been engineered to be such most likely. So all the specialty doodads are good and bad. I think just adding B1 vitamins to my regiment should be fine to bump me up to a better level.

The last thing that was wonky was that my liver enzymes were high, though there's nothing I can do about it supposedly. Rose said it was most likely my body still adjusting to all the effects of the surgery, changes in my diet, etc.

Back to the B1 and B12 briefly - deficiencies in these vitamins can cause emotional problems, so I wonder if that is what is really happening up in my brain, instead of changes needed in my regular bipolar medications. (I expressed concerns over that at my last psychiatrist appointment, and she said it was just adjustments still. WHY SO LONG FOR ADJUSTMENTS?!)

Lastly, I talked about my hair loss with the RN. She said doubling the biotin (vitamin B7) could help, since I am only taking 5000 mcg and can take 10,000 mcg, so I will try that. But I am still very depressed and discouraged my my hair thinning, and having small tumbleweeds of hair every time I shower. I've been investigating wigs, weaves, extensions, etc... And I'm mostly looking into a wig. There are a TON of resources near me for wigs, thankfully, but I don't know anyone with first-hand experience in that realm. I'm afraid to talk to strangers about it, and get honest, friendly information. I'm going to go to the gastric sleeve support group at GBMC tomorrow night and see if they have any experience. Rose said she didn't really know much about it. The hair could return in like 3-6 months, so when it's going, it's going to take a goodly amount of time for it to come back. This part is what's making me really start to consider this. It's a whole new terrifying frontier for me (and another absurd expense to go through - sigh), but hopefully I can have the courage to keep on.

Family updates & Shopping

I've sort of "rounded up" the people that will be visiting me in the hospital. Dave's mom and grandmom will probably be there, as well as his friend Mani and possibly his friend Rick (and possibly his respective wife Masha). I realized that even if it is kind of a "crew," it's not anyone I really wanted. I'm scared, and I want my mom. Yep, basic child-based instincts. But it's true! No one in my nuclear family has gone in for major surgery and stayed 2 days in the hospital. I believe when my mom had her hysterectomy, she might have been in overnight one night, but I don't think it was more than that. (I was pretty young, so I can't remember.) 

So I sent my mom an email, more or less begging her to come down. And then I completely forgot that they had a scheduled vacation...that they were leaving for very early the next day (after my surgery). She suggested I reschedule it or postpone it. It's too late in the game for that, really - I'm just waiting on what time my actual surgery is going to take place. But then she talked to my sister about it, and she is happy to come down! She's coming down Friday (the day after), which is fine - I'm sure I won't be all "heyoooo" the first day, since I'll most likely be sleeping a good amount. I'm really glad she's coming - and she's even voiced some support, which means so, so much to me. I am so happy that I'll have "one of my own" with me. 

*sniffle, wibble*

Ok, onto other news. I ordered a goodly amount of supplies for myself: EZ Sweetz liquid stevia (holy cow, the ratios on that are ABSURD), 5 lbs of almond flour, a pill crusher obliterator, liquid tylenol, Wellesse liquid calcium supplement, and a B12 sublingual (dissolves under the tongue) tablet. In addition, I picked up some additional protein shakes, some Isopure, some Powerade. GEARING UP. Still need a recliner, though - finding one in my ideal price range is very difficult. In addition, I stopped into GNC (yet again) today, and picked up some Lean Shake 25 packets for emergency work protein (lol~), some protein bars (specifically PowerCrunch Protein Energy Bar Original - Wild Berry Creme; QuestBar Natural Protein Bar - Lemon Cream Pie (for Dave); NuGo Slim Brownie Crunch; NuGo Slim Raspberry Truffle; Kind Nuts & Spices - Madagascar Vanilla Almond), protein pudding from MHP (Maximum Human Performance), and a box of Atkins Day Break Oatmeal Cinnamon Baked Square[s]. AAAND I got all that stuff from GNC just now for just over $12 (p.s. there is tax on food in MD). Hooray, savvy shopping to the max! Seriously. I can't really afford all these fancy-to-do protein supplements and bars and whatevs, so I gotta get the cheaps when I can.  I am really excited to try these out and give you guys a report back. I've enjoyed the Quest Bars recently (I believe I had Apple Pie and Chocolate Brownie), so I may review those while I'm at it. But some of these are ones where I've tried the brand before and coming back to explore other flavors. Neat how I do that, huh? ;)

Post Pre-Surgery Prep Class

So, Tuesday night I had my pre-surgery class, along with about a dozen other people who were having a variety of surgeries (there were surgical "representatives" from bypass, sleeve, and lap-band) with Dr. Liao. The whole thing was pretty overwhelming. Dave came with me, so he got to witness first-hand everything I've been going over. About half of it was repeats and things I've already gone over more than a few times. But there was a lot of new information - especially on the medications I will need to be taking (regular medications as well as vitamins and supplements). I won't be able to swallow pills for quite some time - they will have to be obliterated and popped in some applesauce, yogurt or pudding. And I already have 5 pills I take in the morning and 2 at night...and I'll have to add in pills for acid reflux, pain meds (if needed), papaya enzyme (if needed for any kind of blockage pain issues), calcium, and B12. Oi, I say. Oi. In addition, they all have somewhat strict timetables for when they can be taken.

I'm also getting alarmed from some of the other things I've been reading on the forums (gastricsleeve.com), compounded with that the nurse said at the class. That it's going to be a struggle to get an ounce of water down. That it hurts to swallow and you'll most likely have to let it slide down your throat. What? What?? Lord, what am I getting myself into?

On the plus side, I am really happy that they gave me a calendar with the exact dates of "do this on this day, do this on this day, blah blah". I had already started to kind of cobble that together, so I'm glad I got an official one.

Anyway... Kinda trying to keep it together. I'm working on the pre-op diet stuff - today is my first official day. (As I just realized...though I knew earlier in the week that it was going to be Thursday. I just forgot today is Thursday.) max 1500 calories, 70-90+ grams of protein, max 50-100 grams of carbs, max 60 grams of fat, 12+ grabs of fiber, and 8-10 glasses of water/clear liquids a day. I can do it! *fist pump*

Soft Chews Reviews

So let's start off with the major reason for this post:

I really hate swallowing large pills, also known as "horse pills" in my world.

Vitamins and supplements are generally in that form all the time. SO! I pretty much do everything I can to find pills/caplets/tablets/etc that are small, or chewable! Therefore, I have acquired a good deal of experience.

In addition, I went to GNC today to find out some new info on other protein, and they had a goodly amount of soft chew samples! So naturally I took one of each. I don't have a ton of information to review them, other than ranking them in order of flavor, and a little research into their benefits through the website.

 So, the ones I tried were Garden Greens Lychee-Mango Super Fruit Chew, GNC Women's Ultra Mega Soft Chew Multivitamin - Mixed Berry, and GNC WELLbeING be-Beautiful Hair-Skin-Nails. (I can't believe the absurd length of some of these names...) The first one I tried was the Lychee Mango, and it was definitely my favorite. It was a bit gooey and sticking to my fingers, but that annoyance was only very minor. Here's a quick n' dirty description from the website - 


"The Lychee fruit originates in Southern China and the name Lychee is derived from the Chinese word "lee chee" meaning "one who gives the pleasure of life". The mango fruit is a tree native to West Africa. The fiber from mango helps to reduce cholesterol and boost energy. Garden Greens™ Lychee-Mango contains no cholesterol, virtually no fat and low in sodium. Lychee and mango help the body to digest food properly for the best nutrition and an added boost of health to promote weight loss."

Overall, it doesn't seem like it's got oodles of nutritional value, but it might be a nice thing to supplement someone's weight loss. Not for me at the moment, though. And, truly, none of the ones I sampled today would be ones I continue taking, due to their cost and availability.

My middle favorite was the Ultra Mega. The flavor was good - kind of like a perfect fake grape flavor. Its consistency was pretty good, and I enjoyed it. If I was in the market for a new multi-vitamin, this would most definitely be a consideration. Also, it is definitely CHOCK FULL of vitamins, now that I investigate it more, so I think it is actually a strong competitor for my regular multivitamin I take (just regular centrum chewables, orange flavor). Kind of as a nice bonus, it had the least calories of the two (though, generally, they are kind of negligible), and slightly more importantly, had protein! So good on ya for that, GNC W.U.M.S.C.M. (wum scum? that's an awful acronym)

My least favorite was the be-Beautiful. The taste was so-so, but the consistency was not pleasant - kind of gritty. For what I would take this for (the biotin, which is definitely strongly on my radar), the biotin is such a small amount that I'm not impressed at all. Nice try - would definitely sell to people not doing their homework. 








In addition to the ones I tried, I am already taking Viactiv Calcium Supplement Soft Chews (Milk Chocolate) and VitaFusion Fiber Well Gummies for Weight Management (Peach, Strawberry, Berry).  The Viactiv chews smell kind of awful as all get-out in the actual container. But when you unwrap them, they're kind of taste like a little tootsie roll! So it's almost a treat. 

The Fiber Well Gummies are pretty good as well, though definitely not a ton of fiber - 5g is kind of small potatoes. But, what the hey, why not add a supplement in there as well, right? Also, I take them at the same time I take my Centrum Chewable in the morning, which is sour and gritty, so they go down well together. These gummies are definitely very chewy, you'll be working on them for a bit after you pop them in your mouth. They taste good but not awesome. I'm not sure if I'm going to buy them again, but it's not for the flavor reason - it's for it being a kind of minimal amount of fiber for the price.

Soon to come: Isopure Protein Water Reviews, Protein Bar reviews, etc!