Six months out post op
Well, here I am at the magic 6 months postop mark! (RNY 12/6/2002). I went in
at 429 lbs. and am now below 322 lbs. It feels good to wear clothing I
couldn’t fit in before and to wear shorts that used to fit like *underwear* on
myself! I’ve been through a lot though, and have not gotten back my strength,
which I lost due to malnutrition diagnosed at about 10 weeks out. I broke a
leg from extreme weakness and am still housebound (my condo is on the second
story of a non-elevator bldg.), but I am getting stronger through home
physical therapy through the local VNA. I had a horrible wound complication
from my surgery (severe wound abscess) that resulted in a very long healing
process. The wound remained open until about a month ago. It is now a long,
feather-shaped scar from my waist to just under my breasts and I use Vit. E
oil on it. There are no stitch marks since the stitches externally had to be
removed to treat the wound, which, btw, stretched 9-1/2″ long, 5-1/2″ wide and
was so deep you could put a fist into it (which RNs and my wound care doc did
on a regular basis). Reiki and protein intake helped a LOT.
I pray I can continue the weight loss (which my PCP has assured me is likely,
since my body is in an extreme catabolic state still-in fact, she wants me to
SLOW the loss by eating a couple hundred more protein calories/day!). I wish
to be another 100 pounds less in another year. Thst would make me very happy.
And a lot healthier. My endo says I am still a diabetic and is treating me for
PCOS with a low dosage of Glucophage (which I had stopped taking altogheter),
so the excess chin hair should also fade eventually.
When I can get around without the walker and get down those stairs, just watch
me go. I can hardly wait to be more active. It’s been so hard to be active
when it’s a major effort requiring concentration and strength to just move
from one chair to another in my home. That will change, I know now. I can see
the light at the end of the tunnel, and this time it’s not a train.
I’ll write more now that my stamina is slowly returning, and I’ll have my
setbacks I know. Heck, I vomited from trying to eat rotisserie chicken just
last night (back to the cottage cheese-pineapple and sf popsicle routine for a
while, I guess).
So glad you are all here. I’ve never stopped reading, been a lurker most of
this time, but my questions and worries were always replied to with kindness,
wisdom and caring.
Tess
—-
Open RNY 12/6/02
429 to less than 322 at present
–
What doesn’t kill me makes me
stronger.
— Nietzche