Columbus Foodie

Latest Update

2008-07-22T17:00:46Z

Here's what I just sent to my doctor:

I’m emailing you (albeit a little late) with my last set of labs, this was at 4 months post-op. At the six month point the weight loss is going slowly but surely, I am down to 308 from 384.

My issue with the hernia mesh resolved itself, magically when the insurance company didn’t want to pay for it any longer – at that point the wound care doctor told me to let the open wound close and it has not reopened nor do I seem to have any more seromas, so there was no need for additional surgery, thankfully.

Otherwise, my health is well, other than some issues with rashes under now hanging skin on my pannus, and some pain in my back which my primary care physician believes is caused by the shifting weight as Paul and I lose. My hair is falling out like crazy (I know it’s telogenic effusium, and perfectly normal), but if it keeps falling out at this rate I’ll be bald in no time flat and need a wig. Small price to pay for good health. My stamina level is much, much more than it has been – we go to the farmers markets every weekend during the summer, and where I used to have to sit down every couple hundred feet, especially when it was hot, now I can get through each one without stopping and still have energy left over. I’m hoping to start exercising regularly now that the hernia mesh issue is resolved; I just have to stop being lazy and get up and go do it.

--

And here's the picture I sent him:

Other than the fact that I look like Steve Wozniak, I feel just fine. :) Yeah, the weight loss is going slowly, but I'd rather it go slowly and keep it off than lose it quickly and have it come right back.

Updated Pic and Wound Update

2008-06-04T03:50:44Z

I'm hovering at around 315 right now, and if the pattern continues, this time next month I'll be down another 10 or 15 lbs. and possibly be hitting "twoderland". Someplace I definitely haven't been since I was in my early teens.

The wound issue is almost a non-issue now. Ever since insurance stopped paying for the visits, all of a sudden the big deal isn't much of a big deal and they've told me to stop packing it. As soon as I did, it pretty much closed up immediately and there don't seem to be any new seromas forming along the incision line, so that's a good sign.

And finally, an updated pic - a bad self-portrait I took on Memorial Day weekend, during dusk, with no makeup, in raggedly ass clothes, with my hair back in a ponytail, but one of the first pictures I've been able to notice the weight loss myself.

Let's hope the downward trend continues.

Long Overdue Update

2008-05-22T18:10:33Z

Well, here I am a little over 4 months post op - I'm down 70 lbs. from the date of surgery, and down 107 lbs. from where I was last April, and down 188 lbs. from my highest weight ever. So, now at 314, I'm the smallest I've been since high school (I went from 305ish to 335ish in the summer between my sophmore and junior years). It's really evident now - everything looks smaller, but with a lot of hanging skin. I'm in a 26/28 for most clothes, and even have a few shirts that are 22/24. I'm losing quicker on top than I am on bottom, and have gotten a little pear-shaped (blame the pannus!).

The wound issue is mostly cleared up - it's just a little pinhole now with very little stuff draining out of it, hopefully this means I'm out of the woods as far as needing more surgery.

I need to start exercising (now that I'm able to walk around with no real issues) and I need to lay off the sugar and carbs, but other than that, everything is dandy. :) I'll try to get around to posting an updated picture soon.

Mixed Messages

2008-02-14T18:54:52Z

Well, I'm back at home. I'm getting really confused with all the mixed messages I'm getting. The wound care nurse had me thinking I was on death's door, full of infection that would consume me if I didn't have the hernia mesh removed like yesterday.

So I go to the ER, and the doc in the ER says that he doesn't see any infection at all - just lots and lots of serous fluid that's running clear. They did blood tests, and my WBC count isn't elevated at all, and I don't have a temp, again which means no infection. He consulted with the wound care doc too, who just wants me to have the wound packed and cleaned daily until I see him on the 25th. So the ER took a culture (which the results will be back in 48 hours), pumped me full of Dilaudid, and sent me home with an prescription for Vicodin.

The funny thing is, the wound care doc told me himself that the hernia mesh was infected on Monday. And now it's not? Could the antibiotics have actually knocked the infection right out of me? I sure hope so, as the wound is starting to heal (Paul says that today he had like 12-15" of dressing left over, whereas yesterday he had like 6").

Either way, I'll be glad when this is all over with. At least now that the pain is being managed, things are a bit more bearable.

Worse to Even Worse

2008-02-13T15:01:40Z

Well, I'm headed over to the hospital in a few minutes. The wound care nurse came to my house yesterday to pack the wound, and said that if I wait two weeks to have surgery, I'll probably be dead. She said that the whole entire abdomen is infected, and that there is no way that this will heal at all in its current state. She says I should be on strong IV antibiotics and that they should be monitoring my sed rate, and that trying to heal a wound over an infection is nuts. Not only that, but the pain level has gone up A LOT, and it drained so much yesterday when they were changing the dressing that it left a big puddle on the couch.

So here's where we run into a problem - the doctor I saw in the wound care clinic is out of network for my insurance, so the only way I'll be able to have surgery and have it covered is to go back to the ER, ask them to bring him in to consult, and go from there.

The nurse says that once the infected mesh is out and they've got out of all of the infection, that with a wound vac and iv antibiotics, things may turn around for me in 6 weeks or so. Let's hope. I'm really scared, guys. If they admit me, I'll have Paul update for me.

More Surgery?

2008-02-12T18:46:54Z

I'm tired at the moment, so I'm just going to repost what I posted to the Dr. M list - more details later.

For those of you following my ongoing saga with the seroma issue,
things just went from bad to worse. I went to an Urgent Care last
week, and they gave me a referral to a wound care clinic. I just saw
the surgeon at the wound care clinic, and he debrided the wound down
2-3" to the hernia mesh, and has told me that the internal sutures
and hernia mesh are infected. He packed the wound with salt wick
dressings, will arrange for daily repacking, but says that it's not
likely that the wound will heal on its own and that I'll most likely
need to be reoperated on in 2 weeks to remove the infected mesh,
insert a cadaver mesh, after which he'll need to leave the incision
open with a wound vac for it to heal from the inside out.

Inferior US Medical Care

2008-01-28T15:47:42Z

I am so damned frustrated. As I may or have not mentioned previously, I developed a seroma by my incision about day 10 post-op. I had it drained three times sucessfully using a syringe (once in my hotel room, twice in the doctors office) before I left Brazil, with the instructions that I follow up with my family doctor on Friday (and probably on Monday as well, since it needs to be drained every 3 days or so until it's healed).

So I head to my PCP's office on Friday, and ask her to drain it. She refuses to do so, saying that it's a liability issue for her. After making a couple of phone calls, she says I'd need to have a CT scan, be admitted to the hospital impantient and have a drain surgically placed in me, and have to stay in the hospital (for 5? 15? 30?) days until the seroma is healed. Needless to say, this plan is asinine. I'd have to go through all that here in the US for something that could be done by a nurse in a hotel room in Brazil? Needless to say, I wasn't on board with that plan. I told her I'd check around and get back to her. Of course, this same doctor didn't even know what a seroma is, so it didn't inspire confidence. When I pointed out that a nurse did it with a syringe in a hotel room in Brazil, the nurse said, "well this isn't Brazil." My response? "Well, that doesn't say much for the US, does it?"

So all weekend, the seroma has been bothering me. I emailed Dr. M (the surgeon) and asked him what will happen if it doesn't get drained. He says that eventually it will drain on its own by creating a tear in my skin, and that it will be a breeding ground for infection. Not what I wanted to hear, and all of sudden this makes the issue more pressing.

So this morning, on the suggestion of some other people on Dr. M's yahoo group, I called a wound care clinic. Even though they list "surgical incisions" on their web page, they say they won't touch it unless it is an open wound. I tell them if I don't get it drained, it will be one, and I am trying to prevent that. They tell me it doesn't matter, they won't touch it in any case. Great.

In desperation, I call my original surgeon's office. She left BTC (Barix) years ago, and is now with the bariatric program at a local hospital. Her receptionist tells me that she doubts that Dr. Choban will drain it, since I had the surgery done out of the US and she won't want the liability. She said she'll ask anyway, but is sure the answer will be no. She asked about where I've been following up with - I told her I followed up with BTC for the first couple of years, and then after that, it was impossible to make an appointment for follow-up (they'd always tell you to "call next month when the appointment books are open"). So she says, "oh, so you've been non-compliant with your followup?". Uh, no lady - it was impossible to make an appointment. Big difference.

So the situation is looking bleak. I'm tempted to hurry things along by puncturing the seroma with a syringe myself, so some of this fluid can leak out, and so I can control the size of the hole, and so I can keep the hole meticulously clean to prevent infection.

It just makes me really sad that doctors, who have taken an oath to "do no harm", will let a person suffer because of "liability issues" - no, it doesn't matter if the wound gets infected and I die, as long as their hands are clean. Maybe I've just been spoiled by Brazilian medicine, but this US attitude makes me sick to my stomach. Literally.

Dr. M says that the seroma will never resolve itself on its own (most seromas get reabsorbed by one's body after a month or so) because of the hernia repair mesh. I'm not sure where to go or who to ask next. I'm truly left holding the ball on this one, and I'm angry, and upset, and extremely frustrated.

On the bright side, I weighed in this morning at 349, so I'm down 35 lbs. in 20 days. Not bad. :)

In Where She Emerges from the Other Side...

2008-01-16T17:24:19Z

...bruised, battered and beaten.

The past week of my life has been hell on earth. I've spent every moment of that time in so much pain that had I had the means to, I would have happily ended it all. Having never had any real headaches in my life before (other than the occasional small tension headache, or sinus headache), I used to think that people who talked about migraines were overreacting a bit. No more.

I've experienced more pain in the past week than I have in an entire 35 years on earth. If you added every single painful experience I've had up, collectively it still wouldn't have even come close to that headache. I would rather have natural childbirth 5 times in a row than to ever let an epidural needle anywhere near me again in my lifetime.

But no, the headache itself wasn't enough - add to that nausea that wouldn't (and still won't) let me keep anything down (projectile vomit salmon, anyone?), even saltines most of the time, and I'm still not out of the woods. I can see the edge of the forest but am still fighting to get there. But, as I've said, this too will pass, and in a month hopefully things will be back to normal. But in the meantime, life fucking sucks. Just because one can have a positive attitude about the eventual outcome doesn't mean one has to enjoy it while it's going on.

What pisses me off is that it took that stupid anesthesiologist a week to agree to do the blood patch (which is, BTW, the first line protocol for a dural puncture in the US) - he wanted to be "conservative" and "treat the symptoms" with fluid, drugs, and time. After 6 days of "time", by yesterday morning, my attitude was "fuck that, give me the fucking blood patch". He still didn't want to do it, warning me of all the risks "menningitis, infection, paralysis, etc", I'm convinced because he would rather me stick out the pain until I got to the US and then I would have become someone else's problem. Nevermind that there is no morphine drip on the plane, and that I would have been in abject misery. I, in no uncertain terms, yesterday argued protocol with him, told him that if he didn't have the skill or the confidence to perform to the procedure, that I would find someone who would, no ifs ands or buts. My surgeon (who I have nothing but respect for, btw, and agreed with me completely on what the treatment should have been for this) backed me up, and I got the blood patch done yesterday.

About the blood patch. Let us just say that the procedure itself hurt and traumatized me as much as the headache. The procedure should be somewhat straight forward, bascially they're supposed to sedate you, insert an epidural needle, pull some blood from your veins, insert in through an epidural catheter into the space where the dura leak occured, then within a few minutes the blood is added to your epidural space is supposed to clot and seal the leak that is causing the cerebro-spinal fluid to drip out and cause the headaches.

For me, the procedure was totally unsedated, where I sat on the edge of the OR table while this guy rooted around in my back with a heavy-gauge 6" epidural needle, with no idea where he was going, hitting nerves along the way in a game of and hit and miss that went on for about an hour - with him pulling out the needle occasionally and trying a different angle of approach.
Eventually he said "I got it - don't move a millimeter" and I sat there sobbing, scared to death, while the stupid catheter in my artery had already clogged and they needed to rip out the iv in my other wrist, to go rooting around for enough blood to fill the syringe no matter how they got it. It was absolutely excrutiating, so painful at times that I almost started screaming. The only thing I could think of during this time was that it was my weakness that had gotten me into this position in the first place; that if I weren't such a undisciplined fat pig, I wouldn't have needed to get a revision to my weight loss surgery in the first place, and that my vanity and/or need to not weigh 400 lbs. may end costing me the use of my legs or even my life if I were to breathe the wrong way. I have never felt such a loss of control in my life, and I never want to feel that way again. I still don't know how to parse the emotions of the last week - it's not a painful experience that I can asborb into my life experience and learn from, instead it's something that bring to tears whenever I think about, and haunts my nightmares (I keep reliving the experience whenever I sleep).

Having said all that, I don't regret coming here to have the surgery. I have no question of the skill level of my surgeon, or the caring of his nurse. I would once again with confidence put my life in the lands of this surgeon. He has done everything possible to make this whole ordeal tolerable, advocated for me when I've needed it, and basically has checked in on me one way or another day and night. I do have few choice things to say about the hospital itself, but that's another post for another day, and again, doesn't reflect on the skill of the surgeon.

And please note - while my experience has, admittedly, been nightmarish, bear in mind that out of over 400 North American patients, plus 2,000 Brazilian patients, I am the first one who has experienced this particular complication with the epidural anesthesia. Not that it makes any less shitty, but complications happen, and I just happened to get hit with one.

So thank you everyone for your comments and well wishes, and I'm sorry I haven't been able to post previously. I just hope that this all ends up being worth it in the end.

It's ALL Good...

2008-01-09T00:33:22Z

Paul here.

Becke came through the surgery (well, surgeries -- a revision bypass and a hernia repair) with flying colors.

She tells me that she's in much less pain after this surgery than she was with the first gastric bypass in 2001. She'll probably be up and typing her own entries tomorrow once the residual effects of the anesthesia fade away.

Her incision, for what it's worth, is considerably shorter than the original... almost a third so. Go figure.

Right now she's reclining on a comfy chair, watching some weird-assed movie on one of the few English-broadcast channels here in Brazil. People getting grabbed into the sky by some invisible force; and then there's Gary Sinise... what the hell's with that?

On the subject of the surgery and its aftermath, she'd like to point out that the single, wide, properly designed binder is a hell of a lot more comfortable and functional than the pair of crappy cheap-assed junk binders that BTC provided back in 2001. Sure, it's a tad itchy, but she's gotten over that already.

Oh, also, the intubation was a breeze -- Dr. Mohammed got her intubated on the first try.

Signing off,

Paul (I'm under the knife on Thursday morning, folks...)

Today is the Big Day!

2008-01-08T07:05:45Z

Well, it is now the morning of surgery, and I'm happy to say that I'm not even a little bit nervous. The tests over the weekend went smoothly (especially the endoscopy, which I was expecting to be far more difficult/traumatic than it actually was), and everything came out normal (no fistula, yay!) so it's a go for me. Paul caught my cold, and is still quite congested, so his may be postponed a day or two.

We've so enjoyed our time here in Curitiba so far. We've made a wonderful friend, Gilberto, who has had us in his home twice now for homecooked meals, and he and his family have made both of us feel so very welcome and far less homesick for our own families. And I've been able to communicate with mine using video Skype for free, so that helps too.

When I post next, it will be from the hospital, post-op, hopefully letting you all know I've made it through OK. I have every confidence in the world that I will.

Welcome to Brazil!

2008-01-04T11:28:50Z

Well, after a VERY long trip down here, during which I didn't get one iota of sleep, we've finally arrived in Curitiba, Brazil.

The flights down were uncomfortable, but do-able. We got stuck on the ground for two hours in Columbus at the very beginning, so we missed the connecting flight in Atlanta, but they upgraded us to first class for the next plane out to Miami, and got to Miami with hours to spare. The international flight was unremarkable for the most part - the 90" or so of space between seats in business class was a welcome change from the cattle car of coach. The TSA agents were especially nazi-istic in Miami, yelling at us because we weren't moving fast enough.

We got to Brazil, and were surpised between the difference in customs/security here vs. in the good 'ole US. No shoe carnival, unloading every single thing you own, quart bags, etc. We were expecting to be fingerprinted/photographed but none of that happened. We filled out two customs forms, got waved through, passports stamped and that was that.

The airport in Sao Paulo was a bit intimidating, to say the least. Definitely not handicapped friendly. HUGE. The elevators weren't working, and there were about twice as many people waiting for flights as there were seats in the waiting area. There is no such thing as lines there - people pretty much push you along in a throng. There is especially no patience for the elderly/infirm/children, etc. If you're in their way, they'll literally push you aside or climb over you. Not fun. Especially when you don't know a lick of Portugese and can't understand what people are saying to you. Not that many people speak English here (not that I expect them to, mind you - no more than I would expect people in the US to be bi/tri/quadlingual to accomodate tourists). I'm picking up a bit of Portugese (i.e. obrigado "thank you", bom dias "good morning", desculpe "pardon me", etc. and I can understand a good deal of the written langauge but when people speak it to me, it's much more fast than I can process it. I guess that's true for many non-native speakers of a language.

The plane to Curitiba was...interesting. Think Skybus as far as boarding - you get bussed to the tarmac where you board on stairs. All of the announcements were in Portugese, but we've discovered that flights are pretty much universal in safety instructions, processes, etc. no matter where you go.

It is beautiful here in Curitiba. The man who picked up at the airport, Gilberto, speaks fluent English and has been invaluable thus far in getting us the stuff that we need. My throat was raw from the dry air, and the doctor prescribed benzocaine lozenges (over the counter here, vs. being a prescribed drug in the US, go figure) which have helped immensely.

The doctor is one of those rare people that make you feel completely at ease the moment you meet them. He comes across as very grandfatherly, and I can't imagine anyone I'd rather have elbows deep in my guts. On a serious note, I think we made the right decision in coming here to have surgery, no matter how ill-advised it sounded in theory.

The hotel room (it's more of a suite) will be just dandy for the three weeks we're here. Great water pressure, a little kitchen area, separate living and sleeping areas - it comes out to about $100US per night, but that also includes a pretty nice breakfast buffet in the morning at the attached restaurant.

The food here is...well, different. Not bad, just different than our American palates are used to. They season food much differently here. The thing that has been most agreeing with my stomach is salami/meat, cheese, and fruit. We got some beautiful strawberries at Super Walmart (yes, they have them here too) for like $1.25 US.

More later, we've got an appointment with the doctor in just a little while. Just wanted to post to let you all know we got here in one piece.

Down to the Wire!

2007-12-30T20:06:14Z

Less than 3 full days before we begin our trip - wow, how time flies! There were a couple of scares in there. We were afraid our tourist visas wouldn't come back in time, fortunately they did :) And when I went to comfirm our flight details on Orbitz, they had unassigned our seats and had us stuck in the middle of two people on one flight (there is a reason why I bought two seats for myself, duh!), and had not enough seats for the seats they unassigned on the other. They have assured me that we will be accommodated properly on the flight, but I'm still a little bit nervous. All I know is that heads will roll if I get to the airport and there are issues.

I'm actually looking forward to the TAM portion of the flight. I've been looking around online, and trip reports like this one have shown me that I really have nothing to worry about.

It's been a bit nerve wracking trying to do all the last minute things and not forgetting anything (like going to the bank, stopping mail and paper, calling the alarm company to let them know what's going on, calling the credit card companies, taking the animals to the kennel, going to the doctor, packing, and so much more.) I went to the doc on Friday and she gave me 30-day supplies of all my meds and a pre-filled Lovenox syringe (for my Factor V Leiden, so I don't get DVT on the long flight) to give myself before I get on the plane. I'm planning on documenting the trip fully by taking pics, stay tuned. I'll have (from what I understand) internet access in both the airports and on the plane. so you'll be hearing from me soon. :)

We've Got a Date!

2007-12-19T19:18:29Z

Barring unforseen complications, this is where I'll be in exactly two weeks:

It looks sort of like Chicago to me, for some reason. But contrary to popular belief (and the worries of friends and family), it's a thoroughly modern city, not a third world rural chop shop. ;)

So we finally got our plane tickets, and they cost a pretty penny - $8,500 for two tickets! Yowza. At least it wasn't the $14,500 it could have been if we didn't find the Brazilian ticket broker that meant we'd have to fly on TAM and have multiple connections. If it gets us there in one piece, I'm happy, even if it means a lot of layovers. $6,000 is a lot of money to save, and makes it worth the inconvenience of traveling 50+ hours to get to and from Brazil.

We're both having surgery on January 8th. First Paul, and then me a few hours later. My nerves are acting up, but on the bright side, because of those jitters I haven't had much of an appetite and am down to 389 lbs. Paul bought me a new toy for Christmas that will make posting from Brazil super simple.

More as we get closer to the date I'm leaving.

Getting the Ball Rolling

2007-09-29T19:29:00Z

On the bright side, after my trip to Florida, I'm hovering around 395-400ish. I always lose weight when I'm on vacation, for some reason. Probably because I only eat a few times a day, and just munch when I'm really hungry. Wish I could apply that to everyday life.

But we're getting all the paperwork together right now to send to Marchesini, so we can hopefully get a surgery date in January. I'll keep you all updated on what happens next. The sooner this surgery is done, the better. I feel like crap.

It's Been a While

2007-08-15T17:51:21Z

A long while. 4 months. No more weight loss, I've been bouncing around 410ish because I haven't even really tried to lose weight either. I know where diets get me. I don't want to screw up my metabolism any more.

Paul and I have both decided to have revisions to our gastric bypass surgery. We're both getting revised to a duodenal switch in Brazil, hopefully in January or February. We've got our passports, hopefully the plans will go smoothly.

Having lots of problems with arthritis (knee and back), got a HUGE hernia (I call it the alien baby), plus mis-aligned vertebrae that make exercise painful if not impossible at the moment. The word miserable is an understatement. Right now, it's just a matter of biding my time until some of the weight is lost and the hernia is fixed.

So expect this to be less about dieting, and more about preparing for the weight loss revision surgery and the aftermath.

Wow

2007-04-07T22:23:34Z

Down another couple of pounds today, to 409. I'm a logical person - I know that it's water weight, and that it's virtually impossible to lose 12 pounds in one week otherwise without starving yourself. Believe me, I'm not starving myself. Small changes that are making a lot of difference, I guess.

I wish it weren't so friggin' cold out - the dogs can use some exercise, and so can I. My knee is still shot, but I really need to start using it more. I think my muscles have weakened from lack of use.

I'm looking forward to my trip to Philly/NJ in a few days. Keeping myself busy by trying to get everything I need loaded onto my laptop before I go. I'm going to pack tomorrow, so I don't forget to bring anything with me. I always lose weight on vacation, no matter what I eat, since I'm not grazing all day. Paul wants me to mail him a big box of Tastykakes when I get there, so he doesn't have to wait until I get back to eat them.

Fish tacos for dinner tonight. Yum. :)

On the Bright Side...

2007-04-06T19:12:54Z

...I've lost 8 pounds this week, without even changing much yet - I've avoided fast food, and that's about it so far.

My mood has been up and down. Hopeful about getting healthier, cause I feel like crap 24/7 - frightened that I won't be able to do it - a bit of panic if I contemplate more restrictive "diets" like South Beach, Atkins, Weight Watchers, etc.

I think I just need to eat more like a normal person. A little bit of everything in moderation. Watching portions. Not eating mindlessly when stressed or bored. Not letting food replace sex, crying, laughing, etc. In a way, food numbs me. Fat is a great barrier from having to deal with people.

I think in response to a lot of bad treatment in the past, I've become a stone cold bitch. A whole lot less naive. Less willing to sit back and let people tell me what to do, who to be, etc. I think it will be difficult to let go enough to let the weight management program to work, I'm really friggin' hard headed.

I'm so guilty of putting my life on hold, especially right now. I want to change that, but don't know how. I want to learn how to stop pushing people away when they start getting close. I want to stop being so damned self-conscious. I've always been big, but there was a time where I was OK with it, comfortable in my skin. Comfortable enough to be intimate with people without regard to body image. If I don't think I'm sexy, how the hell can I expect my husband to? He's already expressed that his "ideal" body type is half my size. He loves me anyway and tells me he finds me attractive, but knowing his "ideal", how can I believe him? There's a big difference between curvy and voluptuous and fat. Not that fat is bad, mind you...Just that I think my husband wants a curvy girl instead of a fat girl.

I don't know. I'm confused.

A Waste of Time

2007-04-06T19:01:32Z

And here's what happened when I saw the surgeon yesterday for my follow-up visit, again summarized by what I posted to the WLS listserv:

"Thank you everyone for your input so far, it's been very helpful.

I went and saw the surgeon today as a follow up to my hospital stay
this past weekend. To say it was a waste of time is an
understatement. He refuses to consider *any* malabsorptive revision,
says he was talking about LapBand placement over existing pouch only.

I told him that I didn't believe that would work for me, that a
LapBand on a proximal RNY for someone who is SMO has just about 0%
chance of success, and that I was looking for a revision to a
malabsorptive procedure, either a DS or a very distal RNY if the DS
weren't a possibility due to pyloric atrophy. That I *know* that I
would need to work to lose the weight, but that I wanted a solution
that would be realistic for where I'm starting from and that would
ensure that I could keep off the weight once I've lost it.

And then he told me that I wasn't being realistic - that I would
(not might, would) get debilitating diarrhea 24/7 and would stink up
a storm, etc. I countered with "yeah, sure - initially until you
figure out ways to eat that won't make you gassy, it may be a
problem, but that's why there's Devrom and Ozium and fiber to bulk
you up, and if it means living longer and getting rid of my
comorbidities, that's a tradeoff I'm willing to make". I told him
that for someone my size, the DS is the ONLY logical choice, and has
a record of 80% EWL, compared to 40% of the Lap Band - and that
regain was minimal compared to my current surgery, which is said to
have an 80% failure rate in the long term. He told me that after "1
week of research on the internet, I don't know anything, and need to
more research" - I pointed out that I have SEVERAL years of research
under my belt, and have read all the studies for all types of
surgeries.

Needless to say, we're at a stalemate - I told him I was planning on
eating healthier/exercising to get some of the weight off anyway,
and was planning on enrolling in the weight management program at
McConnell Heart Health, which involves a nutritionist, exercise
physiologist, and is physician supervised. I figured in the year it
would take me to research my options, I could get myself down 75-100
lbs. on my own so I could have a lower BMI at surgery time and
increase my chances of hitting somewhere near goal. He told me that
wasn't a good idea, that was for people who only had a little weight
to lose, and that I should go see this doctor friend of his who
would "get the weight off quick through drugs and other drastic
measures". Sigh. I'm not looking for quick solutions, I'm looking
for a permanent one.

More and more, the DS is looking like what I want/need. And
insurance will pay for it too, but there's no OON benefits on my
plan and no INN doctors who do it (except for Maguire, and I don't
think he does RNY to DS revisions). So either way, I'll have an
insurance fight on my hands or will self pay if insurance still
denies. Can anyone point me to a list of doctors who will revise a
RNY to DS or a very distal RNY (w/ 50-75cm CC) if the DS revision
isn't possible?

A Confession from an Old Timer

2007-04-06T18:55:30Z

To bring everyone up to speed, here's what I posted to a WLS listserv, which basically tells most of the story of my experience so far:

"I'll admit it. I'm officially a failure.

When I had weight loss surgery nearly 6 years ago, I sang the
praises of the surgery, saying it was the best thing I have ever
done for myself.

In many ways, it was. It got me mobile again. It got me living life.
And even though I've managed to gain back half of the weight I've
lost, I'm still mostly mobile. And still living life.

But it's also given me a lot of things I didn't bargain for. Anemia
and B-12 deficiencies. CFS/Fibromyalgia. Some autoimmune crap we
haven't been able to diagnose yet. Some of this stuff is treatable,
but I'm taking more pills every day than my grandmom did when she
died at 86.

Over the past few years, I've stopped trying to make the surgery
work. Since the malabsorption was gone, and since I didn't have any
restriction, it was so very easy to go back to eating the way that
got me to 500 lbs. in the first place. I'll take my share of the
responsibility for that. If I had dieted my ass off, I may have even
eventually made it to the high 200's.

So let's get to this past weekend. Ate dinner as usual - a few hours
later I was doubled over in pain with waves of abdominal cramps and
major dry heaves. Paul took me to the ER, and they thought I may
have had a partial bowel obstruction. After some pain and anti-
nausea medication and a CAT scan, they decided to admit me. I saw
the surgeon there the next day.

While I do still take responsiblity for my part in it, he's taken a
huge weight off my shoulders. Told me that I was doomed to fail from
the beginning. Starting at 500 lbs, a proximal RNY was not what I
needed. He told me that no matter where you start, a realistic
expectation is to lose 150-200 lbs. total. So starting at 500 lbs.,
I would have still ended up obese. Which I did. If he had done my
original surgery, he would have put a lap band on me until I got to
350, and then done a distal RNY. Also made sure that I had addressed
the food addiction issues first.

He told me that there's still hope. That he wants me to do a
medically supervised diet to get me to 350 (I say 320, because
that's the point where insurance would cover it), and then put a Lap
Band over my RNY pouch and failed stoma. That we'd address the food
addiction issues as part of the process.

He also told me that the CT scan showed that I had a hernia. And
that I possibly have a gastro-gastric fistula, because there
was "communication" between my pouch and remnant stomach where there
shouldn't be. Which explains why I never felt full. Ever. So either
way, I need surgery to repair this stuff because both of those
things are bad mojo. The hernia was probably what caused my
intestines to get kinked. The issue resolved itself, but could have
ended up very badly.

Part of me agrees I should get a revision. But I'm not sure to what.
Will I have decent results with a Lap Band? Or do I need to go
straight to the big guns of the DS (which is also now covered by my
insurance)? Should I lose that 100 lbs. on my own first, so I have a
chance of approaching something nearing a healthy weight? Am I even
capable of losing it on my own? Should I get the Lap Band, lose some
weight on it, and then revise to a DS to get the rest off? Or should
I see if he'll fix my common channel (which is 375 cm) when he
places the lap band?"

Change of Plans...

2007-04-06T18:52:47Z

...for this site. For food blog entries, please visit http://www.columbusfoodie.com/

I'll now be using this as a blog to track my progress in losing weight and getting healthy. The entries that were here will eventually be deleted, as they are already mirrored on the new site.

FYI

2006-09-10T21:16:19Z

Since I've pretty much got everything moved over from here to the Columbus Foodie domain, I've really got no reason to keep mirroring the same entries at both sites. On the bright side, I've got an RSS feed on the new site, so you can still read my new entries through your friends list on Livejournal by going to this page while signed in to your account, going to the bottom of the page and typing (without the quotations) "http://www.columbusfoodie.com/" into the FEED URL box, clicking the Add Feed button, on the next page type "columbusfoodie" into the Account box, click on the Create Feed button. It will ask if you want to add columbusfoodie to your friends page. Click the Add button and you're all set.

In the meanwhile, I'll post pointers to any new posts on this page until my paid account expires, after which I'll post exclusively to the new site. :)

For now, new post: One Local Summer Week 11 - 100% Local Breakfast.

Food Porn: An Afternoon in the Life of a Foodie

2006-05-16T23:31:24Z

I woke up this morning with a serious craving for a chocolate croissant. Not just any chocolate croissant - I wanted one of those marvelous chocolatines from Omega Artisan Baking. I got there and was disappointed to find out that she only makes them on Saturdays, but didn't leave without getting a piece of Boca Negra (black mouth) cake. Paul and I shared a piece last weekend, and this is the most evil, dense, overwhelmingly chocolate thing I have ever tasted in my entire life. If food=sex, boca negra cake = foodgasm.

I didn't want to let a trip to the North Market go to waste, so I picked up a few other things before I left. See what else I got and where else I went this afternoon under the cut.

I've been making a more conscious effort to shop at the North Market regularly as part of my desire to eat local, and have been pleased to find that the quality of the food is much better than supermarket fare at reasonable prices. My first stop was North Market Produce, at which I purchased another nice small bunch of early asparagus. I have a newfound love for asparagus, and can't get enough of it! Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, maybe put it in a stir-fry, or make some lovely soup with it, or a tart, or maybe just eat it roasted with some hollandaise.

Next, I stopped at North Market Poultry and Game. When hubby found out I was going to the North Market, he had requested that I get him sesame-ginger noodles if they had it. They didn't, but they had jerk chicken and noodles, which looked just as delicious. I got a small container to take home to Paul.

After that, I went to Bluescreek Farms Meats to get four pounds of lovely shortribs, so I can make Bourbon Short-Rib Stew and White Cheddar Grits tonight for dinner (pictures and recipe of the finished product to come later).

I also stopped at Bubbles to get a bubble smoothie, but didn't get home quick enough - I drank it on the way. :)

Still craving a chocolate croissant, I decided to hit Panera, where I got a selection of pastries (including chocolate croissant)

along with my lunch, which was Vegetarian Spring Pea and Asparagus Soup with a piece of sourdough bread, which really hit the spot on a rainy afternoon like today.

I had to stop in Giant Eagle to get a few items to make tonight's dinner, and while I was there, I decided to go across the street to The French Loaf to pick up one of their marvelous apple tarts.

They also had chocolate croissants, so I picked one up to compare with Panera's, to see which one tastes best.

Now, I'm finally home after a long afternoon out, and am ready to make dinner. Time to go cut my veggies, I'll be back later with the results of all my hard work. :)

Food Porn: Cap City Fine Diner Meatloaf

2006-05-16T04:48:18Z

I love to eat out, but I don't like dining out prices. This is especially true when I know that I could probably reproduce the dish myself at a fraction of the cost. So what I'll do a lot of times is find a dish I love, deconstruct it, and work on the recipe at home until I've got a clone of it. Sometimes I'll even improve on the clone and end up making it mine anyway. And sometimes I'm lucky enough that the actual restaurant recipe is posted somewhere, which saves me a ton of work.

One of my favorite places to eat in town is Cap City Fine Diner. It's the only one of the Cameron Mitchell restaurants that I go to regularly - I'll have to do a full review sometime soon, as some of their unique dishes, like Maytag Blue Potato Chips, are to die for. Their signature dish is their meatloaf, which serves as the center of a couple of the dishes they offer.

I was lucky enough to find the recipe published online a couple of years ago, and this is my standby meatloaf recipe. Tonight, I've served it with giant radiattore that has been tossed with some shittake and sun-dried tomato cream sauce from Pastaria at the North Market.

I've posted the recipe at Recipezaar along with a link to the barbecue sauce that goes with it. Enjoy! :)

Food Porn: Arroz Con Pollo

2006-05-14T07:44:43Z

In my recent attempt to overhaul my diet to eat healthier, I've had to deep six a lot of the foods I love dearly, or find healthier versions of them. Arroz con Pollo is one such dish - my original favorite recipe had 1/2 cup of oil in it. So I scoured the Cooking Light site until I found a recipe that had a similar vibe. We modified the Cooking Light recipe (shown below in its original form) by adding 2 cups of onions, 3/4 cup of diced green peppers, and 2 tbsp. of Anaheim chiles. Also, instead of using olive oil, we used 2 tsbp. of Enova. We also used arborio rice instead of Valencia because we couldn't find Valencia locally. It came out tasting great, and had a real risotto vibe to it.

Arroz Con Pollo (Chicken with Rice)

Chicken:
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/8 tsp. Bijol seasoning (we used Goya Sazon instead - since Bijol is annato, and Sazon is primarily annato)
6 chicken drumsticks (about 1 1/2 lbs), skinned
6 chicken thighs (about 2 lbs), skinned
4 garlic cloves, minced

Rice:
2 c. uncooked Valencia rice or other short-grain rice
2 tsp olive oil, divided
2 1/2 c. fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
3 tbsp. commercial Sofrito (such as Goya)
1/2 tsp. Bijol seasoning
1/2 tsp. saffron threads (optional)
1/2 c. frozen petite green peas, thawed
1 (7-ounce) jar sliced pimento, drained (we left this out)
--
To prepare the chicken, combine first 7 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal and marinate in the refrigerator 1 hour, turning bag occasionally. Remove the chicken from the bag, reserving the marinade.

To prepare the rice, place rice in a colander in a large bowl, and rinse with cold water until the water runs clear. Drain rice well.

Heat 1 tsp. olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the drumsticks, and cook 5 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with 1 tsp. oil and thighs. Remove from pan; keep warm.

Add reserved marinade, rice, chicken broth, sofrito, Bijol, and saffron threads (if desired) to pan. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes. Stir in peas and pimento; let stand, covered, 10 minutes.
--
Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 chicken pieces and about 2/3 cup rice mixture)
472 cal, 8.7 g fat, 37.1 g pro, 122 mg chol, 32 mg calc, 773 mg sod, 3.1 mg fiber, 5.2 mg iron, 57.8 g carb, 10 WW points

CSA Part II

2006-05-11T23:36:05Z

Hubby and I have decided to take the CSA (community supported agriculture) plunge, and have signed up with Just This Farm as our CSA for this year. It's $525 for the year (which starts next week and ends in November), plus an extra $48 for a dozen eggs every two weeks. We opted to pick up our shares at the farm, rather than pay $50 extra to pick them up at the North Market.

I can't wait to pick up our first share next week. According to his brochure, this is what we have to look forward to this year:

Early
Asparagus, Mesclun, Lettuce, Arugula, Spinach, Radishes, Strawberries, Beets, Green Onions, Snap and Snow Peas, Turnips, Broccoli Raab, and Kale
--
Summer
Tomatoes, Eggplant, Zucchini, Summer Squash, Carrots, Beans, Garlic, Onions, Sweet Corn, Blackberries, Cucumbers, Swiss Chard, Leeks, Melons, Edible Soybeans, Basil, Parsley, Mint
--
Late
Arugula, Tarsoi, Pac Choi, Parsnips, Carrots, Turnips, Rutabaga, Spinach, Beets, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Leeks, Radishes, Lettuce, Kale, Collards, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Garlic, Winter Squash, Pumpkins, Apples