Kim Roan

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Yesterday was my Six year anniversary from having RNY Gastric Bypass surgery!  I have maintained a 100 pound weight loss-Yay for me! I am still at 164 and am still not comfortable at this weight.  I feel "uncomfortable" with the number more than anything, but feel fairly comfortable in my "skin". I know I can improve on things.  What happens is that I am under a lot of stress with family and work and I am not putting myself or my health first and I know it and it bothers me!  This is a Life long process and I will continue to work on me :)  God Bless

As I approach the 6th Anniversary of my Gastric Bypass surgery (03/31/08), I stop to reflect all that is happening in regards to my health~ Referring to Colleen Cook's book "The Success Habits of Weight-Loss Surgery Patients", I will touch on each habit as it relates to my journey:  Personal Accountability-I am real particular about weighing myself and tracking that weight each Wednesday.  My current weight is 164.8.  It is not the weight I feel comfortable with, however.  My comfort weight was more like 155.  Another way I held myself accountable was to go to monthly Post op support group in Billings and I haven't gone since April 2013 after Misty Curtiss, Bariatric nurse left the program for another job;  Portion control-My eyes are literally bigger than my stomach and I fail to realize this a lot of the time!  I end up not eating it all, but I have to be wary of the carbs that are on my plate and rely on the tried and true "rule", protein first and measure/track is a must;   Nutrition-Again, protein first and I have been eating way too many carbs lately and they aren't the complex kind ;  Fluid intake- I always think I am getting enough fluids, but without tracking, I really don't know;  Regular exercise-I was much more active while "training" for three 5K's this past year-nothing going on right now; Vitamins and Supplements-I am very particular about taking my vitamins 4 times a day to get them all in and trying to achieve the maximum absorption.  I am finally on the correct dose of iron so levels are normal.  All my labs appear to be at normal levels!  I've done a lot of research regarding vitamins and what I use works for me!  

Bottom line, I have determined that my continued success in this journey will be dependent on several factors that I must continue to work on (not in order or importance since they are all important):  Attending Support group;  Measuring & tracking my food; making wiser food choices; increasing fluid intake and setting up a regular exercise program.  Getting back to basics is where it is at my friends!  God Bless you all in your journey!

I am very faithful when it comes to taking my vitamins!  My yearly labs are due and I am anxious to see if all is up to par!  Here is my current daily regimen:

2 Centrum Multi-vitamins chewable  (1 morn, 1 eve)
1 B12 sublingual 500 mcg  (1 morn)
7 Calcium Citrate 250 mg (2 morn, 2 Noon, 2 eve)=1750 mg day
1 Tender Iron 60 mg (Ferronyl Carbonyl-1 evening apart from   calcium-includes 400 mg Vitamin C)
4 D-3 1000 IU each (1 morn, 1 Noon, 2 eve)
1 B-50 Complex (1 noon)
1 Coromega3 squeeze (1 morn)
   Papaya Enzyme chewables (digestive aid- morn,  Noon, eve)
2 Fiber choice chewable (4 grams of fiber per day-1 morn, 1 eve)
Miralax occasionally for constipation

Multi-vitamins contain 800 IU Vitamin D per day
Calcium contains 1225 IU Vitamin D per day
Total Vitamin D is 6025 IU per day

Weight-154.2 #

Wow!  Three years has gone by so fast!  All is basically going pretty well for me.  As you all can see, I am maintaining my weight.  I am actually the same weight that I was 6 months post op Gastric Bypass surgery!!  Weird, huh?  I felt better at 145-150#, however!  I continue to attend support group once a month at St Vincent's in Billings.  This helps me be accountable for my actions!  We have been going over Colleen M Cook's book "The Success Habits of Weight-loss Surgery Patients" and I am also carrying around the bookmark that goes along with it that states the 6 success habits-Personal Accountability;  Portion control;  Proper Nutrition;  Fluid intake; Regular exercise and Vitamins & Supplements. This reminds me to stay on track :)

This journey is a life-long process!  God Bless :)

DAILY VITAMINS 

2 Centrum Multi-vitamins chewable (1 morn, 1 eve)
1 B12 sublingual 1000 mcg (1 morn)
6 Calcium Citrate 315 mg (2 morn, 2 Noon, 2 eve)=1890 mg day
1 Bifera Iron 45 Mg (1 bedtime)
3 D-3 1000 IU each (1 morn, 1 Noon, 1 eve)
1 B-50 Complex (1 noon)
1 Probiotics (1 noon)
1 Coromega3 squeeze (1 morn)
4 Papaya Enzyme chewable (digestive aid-2 morn, 2 eve)
2 Devrom chewable (Internal deodorant-1 morn, 1 eve)
2 Fiber choice chewable (4 grams of fiber per day-1 morn, 1 eve)
Miralax once a day for constipation

Multi-vitamins contain 800 IU Vitamin D per day
Calcium contains 1200 IU Vitamin D per day
Total Vitamin D is 5000 IU per day

 

Weight 155#

Hello everyone!  I am two years post op RNY as of 3/31/10!  I went in for the check ups with Weight Management clinic (doctor and bariatric nurse) and also with surgeon.   Had 7 vials of blood drawn and must be doing something right with my vitamins because my labs are good!  I currently take Multi-vitamins, Calcium, Iron, B12 sublingual, B complex and Omega 3 (mostly chewables).  As you can see, my weight has increased and I have mixed emotions about this!  I maintained between 145-149 up until around six months ago and stress brought back some unhealthy eating habits in the evening. I really thought I had conquered them!  I also stopped going to support group for various reasons such as winter weather, no vehicle for awhile, kid activities, etc.   No excuse, stress or not.  I have to be accountable to myself!  I need to use my head along with this "tool" :)  It will be an ongoing journey for the rest of my life!  Last week, I did go to pre/post op support group and I plan on getting back into this.  This also helps hold me accountable because I feel that I can set a good example for others!  I do consider myself successful in my weight loss!  God's Blessings to you all!

Hi everyone!  I thought I would update on what happened to me this past weekend!  On Friday evening, I was eating popcorn and started getting stomach pains so I stopped eating and tried to get the pain to go away by resting, etc and the pain would not go away.  I ended up vomiting & the pain subsided somewhat, but would not go away so I called the surgeon's answering service and they had a surgeon call me (not a bariatric surgeon though).  I ended up going to the ER in Billings and spent 3 hours waiting in the waiting room to be seen and the pain just kept getting worse until I vomited again and this time, the pain subsided to the point that I almost left the ER without being seen!  They encouraged me to stay so I waited and seen a doctor (not a bariatric doc though).  They ended up sending me home and asked me to stay on clear liquids for 12 hours.  I went home and was on clear liquids and then began trying to eat yogurt/pudding, but these caused some pain (not as severe) so I stuck with liquids instead.  Saturday night, I was in & out of pain and vomited a few times, but not much came up.  In the early hours of Sunday, I woke up in pain & vomited huge volume of liquids-it seemed like all the liquids I drank on Saturday came back up!  Sunday AM, I phoned the surgeon's answering service again because I would take a sip of water and this would cause some pain.  This time one of the Bariatric docs asked me to go to the ER again so I did.  This time, the ER doc consulted with the bariatric surgeon and believe me, this put me more at ease (I did keep asking if they call the on-call bariatric surgeon to see me or what the procedure was).   They put in an IV and started giving me fluids because I was dehydrated.  They also did x-rays and drew labs and these seemed to be okay so they did a CT scan.  I drank 2 cups of the contrast liquid and this went down okay without any pain.  When they got the CT results, the bariatric surgeon on call came to see me and told me that she thought that I may have an internal hernia, but wanted to consult with my surgeon.  She admitted me to the hospital and Monday afternoon, they did exploratory surgery (laproscopically).  The only thing they found was some adhesions, but nothing that seemed to cause the severe pain I experienced!  I am now home, eating/drinking fine, without any pain.  I guess, even a year out, we can still have complications and I don't think I will be eating popcorn anymore!  This scared the heck out of me and I THANK God that I am okay.   I want to remind everyone that if they do have problems that they don't ignore them and make sure you get ahold of a bariatric doctor one way or another!  You have to definitely be proactive in your care in all ways.  Take care everyone!  I wish all good health in their journeys!  God Bless!

Tomorrow (3/31/09), I will be celebrating one year after my Gastric bypass surgery (RNY)!  This past year has gone by so incredibly fast!  Has it been easy?  Nope, but it has been good.  Almost too good to be true!  I can't even tell you how good I feel about my weight loss.  I still have a fear that I am going to gain all the weight back, but reality sets in and I realize that if I continue to do as the bariatric nurse, doctor, nutritionist & surgeon have taught me to do, I will continue in good health.  I am anxiously waiting for my most recent lab test results so I can make sure I am getting the proper amounts of nutrition/vitamins/minerals, etc.   My body composition test last Thursday showed that my lean body mass is the same as 6 months ago so that means that I am getting enough protein and not losing muscle.  This test also showed that in 6 months, I have lost another 7% of body fat (went from 27% to 20% in 6 months!).  When I look at my body, I see lots of excess skin, but not so much that I would even consider plastic surgery at least not at this time.  I currently wear a size 8 in pants & size medium tops.  My feet have "shrunk" a little, but not a lot.  I still prefer flavored water and probably drink too many iced mochas, but this is my only vice!  I walk more than I did before & much faster than before!  I still need to work harder at getting more exercise such as light weight lifting for strength.  I deal with wanting "sweets" each day and this is a struggle for me!  I do "dump" on sugars/simple carbs, but it doesn't always prevent me from "never having it again".  Again, MODERATION, MODERATION, MODERATION, just like before WLS!  I explain to people who ask about my journey that this was never a QUICK FIX and I still have to do what I needed to do before WLS and I am more aware of this now than ever!   Most importantly, I have learned to deal with emotional times with things other than food and believe me, there have been lots of emotional times this past year, but that's another story!  Again, I THANK GOD for each day that I have been given.  GOD BLESS you all!

It just totally blows my mind that I am at a "normal" BMI!!!!  I have met my first goal of getting to 150 (now I am below that).  Weight loss has slowed down and that is okay because it gives me a chance to breath and adjust to the changes to my body/mind!  Has it been easy?  Not always, but it has been a great decision for me.  I pray that my good health continues and that my labs continue to stay on track!  I continue support group with St V's Weight Management and this helps me to continue to be accountable for my actions!  I began my food diary again this past week and it also helps me to be accountable for my eating and this can guide me if I am slacking on fluids or proteins.  I still have "head hunger" for sweets, but they are just not worth it!  My stomach just doesn't tolerate sweets. I still feel like myself, but a better self!  Again, everyone needs to remember that the surgery is not a "cure", but a tool and how you use the tool determines your results.  There are many things that I struggle with such as exercise even though I know that it is a necessary part of everyone's life!  I guess, we need to think of it as a prescription from your doctor/surgeon because without it, our bodies will not be as strong and healthy.  I faithfully take my vitamins twice daily (Optisource chewable multi-vitamins-2 twice a day, Essential Fatty Acids-2 twice a day, Citrical Calcium  Petites with Vitamin D-2 twice a day, which I cut in half because still too big for me to swallow whole).  I also take effexor tablets 75mg daily (1/2 pill twice a day).  This is the only prescription medicine I am on and I would really like to go off of it so will work on this in the next 6 months or so.  I was put on it a month before my mom died for anxiety/depression and just never went off of it.  I stress that it is important to talk to your doctor before discontinuing any medicine, however and I will follow my own advice!  The Vitamin D that I was placed on last month has really improved my mood/attitude and I think that I have always been deficient in this area and just didn't realize it!
Again, I feel so blessed in this journey!  I THANK God for helping me thru all the steps that were necessary to get to this point in my life.  I am also very blessed to have support from my family, co-workers, WLS friends and non-WLS friends!  BEST WISHES to all who are researching the WLS process and also to those who are continuing on the same journey that I am :)

WOW!  24 weeks since RNY!  All is going pretty well.  I have lost a total of 109# since highest weight last July 2007; 101# since beginning process at the St V's weight management clinic; and 66# since surgery on 3/31/08!  It has all been pretty amazing.  I am now wearing size large tops and size 12 pants and can get into some size 10 pants, depending on the brand!  The remarks I get now are that I am too thin and should stop losing!  I just explain that I am under doctor's care and am doing what I am suppose to be doing and my body knows where is needs to be!  I am struggling with wanting sweets, but my stomach does not!  I can't do ice cream, breads or pastas, but that is okay-not the end of the world, that is for sure!  I rely mostly on Cottage cheese, pears, yogurts, protein drinks and chicken, some beef  and some vegetables.  Still trying to get an exercise program down pat and also still struggling to get in all my fluids, but it is an ongoing process!  I THANK God for my good health and pray for continued good health & strength.  I appreciate the Wt Management clinic's support group with Misty Curtiss.  She is so encouraging and an inspiration to me!  I have also met some wonderful people who have had the surgery that are also very helpful!  I have a stressful job, but my bosses & co-workers have been very supportive also!  I never mind telling people what I am going thru now!  Big change from not wanting anyone to know what I was doing before surgery! 

This is certainly not the "easy way" out and it certainly was the best choice for me!