Feb. 2, 2003: Well this weekend has been boring for the most part so I read a bunch of support group messages from the Todd group and the Obesityhelp group concerning weight gain. Basically I learned the following to : (1) avoid alcohol because it is wasted calories and it will hit you much faster then before; (2) you must stay on a high protein, low carb diet and try to minimize the fat intake (basic body truth: what the body can't use it stores) and PAY ATTENTION TO SUGAR CONTENT (try for as close to zero as you can) it can make you gain weight as well; (3) take your nutrient supplements daily as well as track your intake the first year at least; (4) working out is a must to keep trim and tighten up the skin but remember, you will add weight as you change your body mass from fat to muscles so just make sure you are loosing dress sizes; (5) in time your body will level out but don't mistake plateaus for final weight and if you go below your recommended weight to height calculation, talk to your doctor; (6) have your doctor check you for anemia at least once every three month the first year, then every six months after that for the next 2-3 years, then once a year after that and every time you show symptoms of anemia; (7) you can never drink enough water but you can drink too much other liquids causing weight gain; (8) take a few minutes of your day to simply meditate and remember where you came from, what life was like before your WLS, what it would have been if you did not have WLS; this will help you get through those times when you are down on yourself for not being where you wanted to be that day.

Feb. 3, 2003:Well I finished up today with Dr. Stewart and he is concurring with Dr. Todd that I need the WLS. Will see him again when I get enough weight off to do another Sleep Apnea test to see if I can come off the BiPap machine. On the one hand looking forward to that day, but on the other hand, will miss my old friend. Will probably keep him around for awhile for sentiment sake at least. So now the ball is back in Dr. Todd's court and his good staff.

Feb. 4, 2003: Got in to have my touchup appointment at Dr. Todd's office. Met Bill, the NP who reviewed my records. They decided to have a specialist look at the upper GI track area as I have a small hernia at the entrance of the stomach and they just want to insure it will not cause a problem. Also, the initial work up failed to catch they wanted a letter from my cardiologist so know we are in the process of getting that from him before surgery. The good news is that Sarah says she has enough now to start dealing with the insurance. I have already touched base with them and was given a tracking number which I relayed to Sarah. My policy says they can do everything over the phone and get a pre-approval as long as they get the documents requested in a reasonable time. Will see, but who knows. Bill says figure unless a big problem shows up should be able to go into surgery by early to mid march. On the bad side, I have started to gain weight again so I need to concentrate on watching my diet more. But then again, I did have to have one more pizza feast during the Super Bowl…..lol…Well, on ward and upward.

Feb. 6, 2003: Well today was just one of those days when more cogs got thrown at me. The Upper GI showed a possible hi-something-or-other hernia at the top of my stomach. So now I get the great experience of having a scope shoved down my throat the 12^th to see if it needs to be repaired before the WLS. With my luck that will be what will have to happen. And I guess that if that is true that is what will need to be done. The positive side of this is that it will drive up my out-of-pocket so that by the time I get to Dr. Todd the insurance should pay for it all. They are not going to be happy paying for three surgeries that include hospital stays. Kinda makes me feel good though after all these years of paying my monthly medical policy. Had to laugh as I thought of it all….feel like Lee Majors getting ready to be operated on….."We have the technology, We can rebuild him." But then I heard…"budge cuts, budget cuts"….Oh well, I have been in the Lord's hands since I was preteen and He has never failed me and He has a superb track record. So now I get to spend a quiet few days of just work, sleep (on my new bed), clean house, and oh yeah…the annual cat-to-vet trip next Monday. What a fun life I have. Oh yea…one more thing…Dr. Todd says my goal weight should be 190 lbs so I went to vitualmodel.com and plugged in the parameters. Do I get to sue someone if I don't turn out that way…lol… just a thought. I will be happy just to finally get it all off.

Feb. 12, 2003: Well, Dr. McCray cleared me for the bypass surgery. Yes!!!! So now I just need the cardiac doc to clear me and it should be done until the insurance reports back. Upping my carbs to sooth my throat (plenty of cranberry juice and some ice cream…any excuse). They did take another EKG. Seems to be the routine with all doctors doing evals now a days. You would think that with the low interest rates they would not need so many extra car payments from me.

Feb. 15, 2003: Ok first I admit I was bummed when United Healthcare said they had rejected my request for the operation. Once I got the letter, they had not rejected it but wanted more information. So I contacted Karen Baker at UHC and she gave me the info they wanted: cardio clearance, psyche report, and a post-op care description from Dr. Todd to make sure I was being taken care of properly. And yes I was a little bummed they not only did not have the psyche report (I was told by Dr. Todd's people they had it) but got more bummed when I found out the psychologist had not even sent it yet. Then to add to the problem, I find out that Sarha is leaving Dr. Todd and so have no idea who is going to straighten out this mess. Turned it over the Lord. In other words, I sicked the Lord on them and went about my business.

Feb. 17, 2003: Ok, Shannon is taking over and I had talked to her about what Karen needed. She got the psyche report and sent it out to Karen. I received my copy directly after reminding the Good Samaritan office that they could not charge me for my copy or Dr. Todd's. Shannon is also getting with Dr. Todd to meet UHC's request for post-op information. I see Dr. Morrnel Wednesday for the Cardio clearance.

Feb. 19, 2003: Got the clearance from Dr. Morrnel and gave Cathy (his nurse) the fax numbers to send it to (DR. Todd and Me). Dr. Morrnel promised to expedite the letter so we should have it in the office by Thursday morning. Shannon said she had already sent Karen Dr. Todd's letter and received Karen's promise to walk the appeal through as soon as she got the psyche clearance. So now we just need that and the waiting for pre-approval for surgery begins again. Isn't this fun.

Feb. 20, 2003: Talked to Shannon today. She said Karen had all the stuff they needed and was hand walking the papers through for the appeal and felt confident that it would be approved. So we set a surgery date for Feb. 28^th so I could get home before Matt heads off to his 2 week guard duty trip. Need to reduce my carb intake to below 30 grams so guess it will be a liquid diet till the 28^th. Well another road block passed Praise the Lord.

Feb. 25, 2003: Met with Dr. Searles (Dr. Todd's assistant) and we are a go for Friday. He gave me the prescriptions for pre-op and post-op meds. My gut recognized the meds from hell to clean them out. They groaned all day long. Guess we have to shock them into submission before we cut and dice them up. Oh joy. Got pre-admitted and blood drawn. Man they drew so much, if Drac stops by for a quick snack, I definitely saved some virgin tonight.

Feb. 27, 2003: Well, today was "Meds From Hell" day. I don't care how much lemon they put in that stuff, it's nasty stuff. I did remember someone suggesting putting the 2, yes 2, bottles of the magnesium citrate in the refrig and letting it get good and cold before you drink it. That helped a lot and I was able to chug it down. Warned Matt so he decided to go to the movies and not share the experience. I raised a smart kid. Have not smelled stuff like what came out since my teen days when I cleaned a stopped-up septic tank. Wow! Glad my neighbor was gone too as I vented it all out towards his trailer. I think some paint is missing from his trailer. Oh well, finally finished about 6 pm and was so exhausted I slept for a couple of hours. Got packed for tomorrow and finished my laundry. So I guess the next time I post it will be a post-op post. One thing to note: I have received so much support from family (biological and spiritual), local support group, Dr. Todd and the Todd Squad as well as new friends via the various wls sites I have visited…..I am truly blessed. Oh, I had to shave my beard off because the sleep doctor requested I be smooth so her mask would fit. Did not have the heart to tell her that twice now, MALE Doctors, were able to put me to sleep without worrying about my beard. Oh well, she sounded sweet so I obliged her. Well, off to bed. Boy am I starving. I bet I won't be able to sleep, not because of the operation but because my stomach is growling something offal. Which usually means no sleep for me. Oh well, will try and if not… I can always do the dishes.

Feb. 28, 2003: Well, could not sleep mainly because I am so darn hungry. So I got up to work on my stock purchase. Hospital called to ask me to come in early as the morning person scheduled canceled. So got Matt up and we headed in. Went into pre-op at about 7:30 AM then into the back operating room. At least this room looked like an operating room. Why do hospitals seem to make them out of storage rooms? At least that is the impression. Oh well. Put me up on the cross table….makes you feel like the Lord I guess the way you are riding a rail for a bed and two arms swing out for yours. Any way, Dr. Todd came in an prayed over me and I really appreciated that. They put me under and I woke up 3 hours later in my room. I vaguely remember the Doc telling me all went well or at least someone did. Found my drug button and went back to sleep. Woke up to dinner, like I was really hungry and vaguely remembering people coming and going. Hope I smiled a lot. They had me up trying to walk to the chair and that was ok. But was glad to get back to bed and push the drug button.

March 1, 2002: Been up several times. Really weak but expected that. They are shooting me with all kinds of anti-drugs and liquids as well as blood thinning shots. They tried to have me eat cream of wheat for breakfast….no way. Never have and never will. S I stick to the protein drink, crystal light, breakfast drink and the purred fruit cup. Also I get lots of ice chips. Lunch was a nice cup of chicken broth, protein drink, crystal light, breakfast drink and some fruit drink. Dinner was an attempt at mashed potatoes….never could eat hospital stuff, but the gravy was good, protein drink, breakfast drink, crystal light, and some fruit. That is the main food menu for me while I was there. They did have a lentil soup twice which would gag a maggot. Tried using their bipap machine but having same problem as before, ALARMS keeping me up. So they are just putting me on O2. My bladder has shut down so they put me back on the cathedra.

March 2, 2003: Supposed to be able to go home tomorrow. Sure feel real weak still. But they say that is normal. Other wise could use a bath. Not much sleep.

March 3, 2003: Not going home. My heart has now started to sound weird and look weird on the monitor. I am walking more but getting no sleep. Floor people are not responding to the alarms because they know it is me disconnecting to go to bathroom and the tech responsible for them rarely show up. So I will just have to start complaining and see if I can push my bipap usage. I am told that my blood count is really low and now they are considering a transfusion.

March 4, 2003: Well, no transfusion but I did get a nice full body sponge bath and dry hair shampoo. They felt great. Still very weak. Finally came off cathedra and started to void on my own. Have been having bowl movements since day two. Took a full bath today with actual warm water. That was great. Doc and I talked about blood transfusion since the iron pills they give me are working too slow. Also, cardio suggest that lack of blood level right now may be adding to the heart problem. Doc ordered blood transfusion and for me to use my Bipap machine. Dr. Stewart also ordered my using my machine so I could get some sleep. Battle with hospital started about 6 PM and resolved about 11 PM. I got to use my BiPap machine and actually got some sleep.

March 5, 2003: They transfused me in the morning and I was finally cleared to head home at noon. I now have to take heart medicine to stabilize the rhythm. Just want to get home. Got home and found my dressing where they pulled the tubes bloody as all get out. Had Matt do a battle dressing and I went to bed. Was hard getting up into it, but felt great. Slept for a couple of hours. After I got up, found dressing bloody again and had it changed. Still weak, but feeling better.

March 6-8^th: Still very weak but holding on. Trying to find ways to get my calories about 500 and the protein to 60. Lucky just to get protein to 45 and that is mostly my protein drink I make up. Still weak but stomach wound not bleeding now. Glad to have Jon here as Matt is off to play soldier.

March 9-14: It has been a rough week for eating and drinking. I still have no appetite and everything tastes like crap. My main meal is a mixture of ensure-Protein plus, mixed with either a banana or strawberries, 1 teaspoon of peanut butter, 1 or 2 scoops of the protein powder all hand mixed with shaved ice. That at least keeps my protein up, then I try to get down a soup with added protein as well as drink 1-2 ltrs of water. The crystal light tastes too sugary now so I don't drink that but the tang seems to be ok. I still have no strength in my legs to do much walking and when I try to climb stairs, I really exhaust myself. Oh well, this too will pass I am told.

March 15-21: Much better week. Am getting more liquids down and can even eat an scrambled egg with cheese and salsa. Clam chowder is still the best soup to use as far as taste but the Stagg, no-bean chili is good too. Big thing is to take a long time to eat the stuff, about 1 hour to get down a cup of food. Cottage cheese is ok, but I can only eat about 2 TB at a time. I have also been able to eat a small bowl of cherios with 2% milk. The Soy Ice Cream was just way too sweet and made me light headed so I tossed that. Need to toss the baby food stuff I bought too, it all tastes terrible and seems to have way to much potassium in them. Was able to go to church and teach my Wednesday night bible study group finally. Was fun, but coming up those stairs about killed me. Still no strength in my legs. I am now down to 397 lbs., a loss of 44 lbs. since surgery.

March 22-29: Well has been a somewhat bad week. Have been really weak again. I suspect that I am not getting enough protein in my diet. Since I stopped recording my intake have no way to prove it, but will start recording again and concentrating on eating those things which add up in the protein area. Doctor had me get rid of the ensure with protein because I was getting really sleepy after taking it. Way too much sugar. Natural sugar ok, but not the added stuff. Also, I need to get up early in morning to start eating to get enough in by time I head for bed around 10 PM. Now I know what they meant when they said "you eat to live". I feel like I am constantly eating just to get enough protein in. Also I am letting my water intake fall low so I need to do that. Protein drinks are getting really boring plus with no energy still, getting board sitting in the house everyday. And talk about the house, it is filthy even with my low standards. But no energy to do much beyond keeping my counter top cleaned off and the dish washer going, but I did do my stove and that really set me back. Thank the good Lord for Judy C as she and another lady have volunteered to come over and clean my house for me. Almost burnt out my blender the other day when I tried to puree Stagg No-bean Chili. Between that and protein fortified clam chowder I can get upto 45+ grams of protein. Oh, I did learn I was using the slimwell breakfast drink wrong…..lol…..finally read the fine print on the brochure. Went to church finally and noticed that when I sat in the chair my but was now squeezing into it. That was nice. Loosing weight in my face, chest, butt, and legs. The stomach will be the last to go I have no doubt. My butt feels like I am sitting on bone now though with all the padding disappearing.

 March 30 - April 25: Well a lot has happened so let me break it down into major events.

BLOOD CLOTT hit my lungs. I figure it probably started the Saturday before I actually went down because I was feeling really weak with no energy. I finally went into the doc's on a Tuesday and Dr. S. felt it was the heart meds keeping my blood pressure down. I really had no shortness of breath except for when I tried to do too much. I went off the meds and started to feel better by Thursday. But Friday morning when I got up, I collapsed and was fighting for all the breath I could get. It took several min of deep breathing before I could get to the phone and call Matt. He came over and it took all his strength to get me into his car to get me to the emergency room. They filled me up with liquids and after the x-ray and ct scan they filled me with clot eating drugs for two hours. Took a number of hours before they stabilized me and transported me to ICU. We of course continued the battle of the BiPap policy…..lol. But I learned they could set the warning levels broad so that solved a lot of problems. I stayed in ICU till the doc felt I had had enough blood thinning treatment and was out of danger of more blood clots developing. The blood clot originated in my left knee and had probably been supplying blood clots to my lungs for awhile as the lungs were quite full. One thing I learned up in the hospital that no matter how many time you tell them you have had WLS, you constantly have to be reminding them of this when it comes to eating and taking pills even though I got Dr. Todd's office involved immediately. I went home about a week later in much better shape then when I came in. Ironically, my brother-in-law had a blood clot the same week as well as the new reporter in Iraq. Sadly the reporter died, but Loren is doing fine. God was very gracious to Loren and myself.

 Relapse occurred about two weeks later. I started to have muscle cramps in my right leg and then in my chest muscles. Since I had no pain from the blood clots we were being very cautious. To add to the confusion, I kept breaking out in sweats for some reason. So Dr. Stewart ordered me back to the hospital for a day of observation. They rescanned my chest and legs but found nothing. There were still some blood clots in the lung, but Doc felt they were residual especially since my oxygenation was in mid 90 with no oxygen added. So he could not explain the symptoms. The cramping went away when I increased my potassium so maybe that was part of the problem. Anyway, went home and have been feeling fine.

Eating Transition. Well I am trying to get to solid foods, but with little success on most hard foods. I do ok with soft stuff like cheese, soft jerky, and stuff like that. Of course I am still doing protein drinks and soups. So I guess I just need to be more patient in that area. The good news is that I am down to 374 as of this date (-67 lbs) . My goal now is to get in more then 80 grams of protein and 64 oz of water/drink. I also have more energy now then ever before so I guess I will head back to work Monday praise the Lord.

June: Well this has been a very quiet month. Still having problems eating a number of things so since my priority is loosing weight, I have decided to stop experimenting with foods and just concentrate on what I do well on. This consists mainly of the Atkins protein drink, the protein bars, lots of cheese (swiss, provolone, havaria, cheeder, peppered jack) and jerky. I still make my homemade egg drop soup and occasionally have other soups, some I put protein powder in of course. My daily intake is a min. of 100 gr of protein and 100 gr of water (usually sugar free coolade, sugar free tang, and occasionally crystal light). One thing to note is that I was getting dehydrated early this month. Dr. White said my tests showed I was not putting out enough fluids in my kidneys so I had to drink, drink, and drink or I would end up with kidney stones. So I now concentrate on protein and water. I still work to keep my carbs below 20% daily intake and that helps. Fitday.com is used a lot. I have added a weight chart above and will update it as I go. I still take coumadin for the blood thinner and I guess I have stabilized with the meds for now. That is good. I am now working on painting the outside of my arctic room, catching up on the bible course, and occasionally working on the utility walls I finally go up but now have to spackel and prepare for painting. All in all it has been a good month.

July: Well I just continue to loose slowly about 4 lbs a week, less if I eat a lot of carbs so I try to restrict them and keep my total carb intake below 20% of intake. So I use fitday.com daily to make sure I am not cheating. Other then that, I am doing fine. They say in the group meetings you don't really see yourself as if you have lost weight, and that is kind of true. I see it in my face, but if it weren't for the pant sizes getting smaller I would have said no. But as my song says, I take it one day at a time. Praise the Lord and all He is doing for me.

August: Well this month was a good month. I got engaged and we set the date for Nov. 8^th if all goes well and the Lord is willing. Also got the outside of my trailer painted finally except for small section behind shed which will have to be replaced next year. I hope to build a large 10x12 wooden one then. Will need it for storage as this trailer is getting a little cramped especially since the remodeling of the kitchen continues. Got the utility room done, the kitchen side wall painted and the door in. Lost more weight, thank the Lord. Am loosing about 3 lbs/week. Noticed I have been eating more carbs too which is ok since I have been physically working more, but really need to cut down. Leg cramps are returning so need to double up on vitamins and drink much more water. I think the latter is the real problem. Getting in plenty of protein but have found that I still have to watch what I eat. Basic diet is still lots of cheese and jerky which is ok with me but I have a lot of food in the freezer and the pantry to eat which I don't. Need to start working on that to at least keep my food bill down this month as with winter coming my activity will slow down and that means my weight loss will slow down too if I don't go to a gym this winter. And I don't want that!

September: Ok, this month has been a bit of a bummer weight loss wise. First I have been battling the old habit of always eating/munching and loosing. Second, I started to drink Dr. Pepper again. And third, I have not been faithful in keeping my carb intake below 20% intake. Result: I STARTED TO GAIN WEIGHT !!! As you may have noticed from my updated weight chart above. So I have gone back to lots of water, lots of protein, and getting my carbs below 20%. End result is that I lost all the weight I gained…ok it was only 4 lbs but it felt like a lot mentally, I no longer have the bloating the carbonation was causing, and I am down on the weight again. On the good side, my doctor says when I finish my coumadin, I can go back to the aspirin therapy but to use the 300+ mg and make sure I wash it down with lots of water. So that is good. Only one more month and I get married again of which I am looking forward to a lot.