Day 68 238 lbs (minus approx 60)

So things are going well. I saw the MGH Weight Center MD today and he was pleased as well...my labs showed deficiency in Calcium and Vitamin D. I informed him that the nutritionist told me the same thing 2 weeks ago and I have since become religious with my supplements. He accepted that w/out making me take a prescription supplement. But he told me to go counter to traditional advice and take my Calcium citrate with meals so that the Oxolates in my food bind with the Calcium and filter through my system. I only have to avoid taking my calcium with my multi-vitamin because of the Iron in the MV.
He told me the rest of my labs looked better...my insulin, while still on the high side, is much improved. So I have avoided diabetes for now. My liver levels are also normalized. So things are looking good.
My BP was 120/80 with just the atenolol. The MGH WC Dr. doesn't understand why I am not on more BP meds. He would just assume that they keep my BP at 100/60 with the heart condition and all...but he is bowing to the opinion of the Cardiologist.

One of the challenges I am facing is compiling opinions from 6 different doctors and taking the best advice from each. My PCP is supposed to be the "Quarterback" of the team, but realistically I see him a few times a year (once if I don't get ill). So I kinda have to be my own quarterback.

On top of all that, I sliced off a chunk of my thumb this week. So it's never dull here.

Day 63 - (240 lbs, minus approx 58)

I eat like a toddler.

So Valentines has come and gone. It was a nice night out for Cheryl and me, but it was also one of those nights where you miss eating.

We went to a decent restaurant we've wanted to try in Quincy. And like most restaurants they had plenty of delicious special appetizers, entrees and desserts to try. I knew I should skip the meal and just get some soup but I think I felt like the restaurant would frown on that so I ordered the duck. My hope was that since the duck is a bit fattier, it would go down easy.

It sort of worked, however I'd say $24 worth of the $25 duck was still there when I finished...it now resides safely in our refrigerator. Please feel free to send me any "leftover duck" recipes. I stopped eating after a few bites and just accepted the dilemma w/out forcing myself to eat more. I also wanted to save room for dessert since there would surely be something mushy on the menu. You can see my dessert in the picture...I forget what they called it but it was basically an Italian version of Flan.

Overall it was a nice night. Cheryl had Filet Mignon with Gorgonzola Mashed Potatoes. I waited till she had eaten most of it and decided she liked them before I let her know that Gorgonzola is a type of blue cheese (bleu?). Cheryl is not normally a fan of the Bleu.

While I do have a love/hate relationship with my itty bitty stomach...I do hope I can at least eat a bit more next year.

So now I eat like a toddler. Cheryl and I went to breakfast this morning and I ordered one scrambled egg and sausage. I got through half the egg and one sausage link...do you think they'd let me order off the children's menu?

I got hungry later and had a sippy cup of milk and dry cheerios...It's like I'm 2 years old sitting in a pew at Church...but I have to admit I'm starting to embrace my toddler stomach-pouch.

later.

Day 59 Need to push fluids

Well it's almost been two months since my surgery and things are still going fairly well. I have been back at MIT for almost two weeks, I haven't been "sick" in a few weeks (knock wood) and I am down at least 52 lbs or so.

My problem now is that I really need to do better with my fluid intake. Since I don't feel thirsty (or hungry for that matter), it's hard for me to remember to sip all day. At the MGH weight center, one of their mantras is to remember to listen to your body...that this surgery has now opened up a line of communication from your body to your brain to let you know when you are full, hungry, etc... However, in the first year or so, this is not entirely true. They encourage us to eat in a normal pattern, whether it's Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, or 5 small meals or so, whatever...they want us to ingest something in the pattern (even if it's just a few bites), regardless of our hunger level. So the same applies to fluid.

I need to achieve 64 ozs of fluid a day. Let's see where I am at on a typical day.

Morning - Instant Breakfast, Milk 10-12 ozs
Lunch - applesauce 4 ozs
Dinner - no drink
In between meals, usually a fruit 2'0 16 ozs.

So that puts me in the 32 ozs area. So I am only taking in about 1/2 my fluid. This probably contributed to my kidney stone incident.

I need to double my fluids. Yuck .

wish me luck.

Day 52 (246 lbs, minus approx 51 lbs)

Cleared to exercise...sorta.

So I had a followup with Dr. Hutter today and he was very pleased with the progress. He has given me permission to exercise without limitation.

However, I also had a followup with my cardiologist, Dr. McFarland. Dr. McFarland is also very in favor of an exercise regiment, but he wants it supervised by the Cardiac Rehab unit at MGH. This is due to the Hypertrophic Cardio Myopathy that I was diagnosed with way back in 1991. I am a little concerned about this since cardiac people seem to love things such as treadmills, exercise bikes, and stairclimbers...boring, boring, and boring. I don't need to hulk out like a professional wrestler but I would like to be able to lift some lighter weights, play some basketball or whatever...

Anyway, Cardiac Rehab is normally covered for those people who have had some sort of incident. Dr. M is trying to get me in on the grounds that I have the HCM and I am post-bariatric surgery. So before I pick a gym, I now have to wait for the "consult committee" at MIT Medical to approve this and then get an appointment at MGH.

Day 51 - New Jeans

So it's been awhile since I posted anything. Sorry for the delay.

Last Monday, I made my triumphant return to work. I worked a full day and then woke up to a passing Kidney Stone the next morning. My colleagues at work wanted me to wait till I had an official clearance from my Dr. before returning, so I wound up being out the rest of the week.

I don't know if the Kidney Stone passing was related to my return to work...I blame it on my lack of liquid intake. Although I do try to make sure I drink enough, it doesn't always happen. So I paid the price last week. It was painful and I made a terrible scene in the lobby of urgent care. But really, when someone is in agony you should help them quickly instead of answering the phone.

I made another triumphant return to MIT yesterday and have decided to ease back in slowly. I am only going to work 4-5 hours a day this week, and then see about getting back up to 8 hours next week.

I visited Peter in NYC over the weekend. He made me buy new jeans because he felt my old jeans looked like "Clown Pants" and that they were making a mockery of things. I actually bought jeans from "The Gap". I don't remember the last time I bought clothes at the mall.

I have a followup with Dr. Hutter on Wednesday and then I'll be cleared to start exercising. I haven't decided if I should join the gym at MIT or the YMCA in Quincy. The Y is kinda expensive but you do get a lot of facilities...MIT has a better deal but then I am staying in the city an extra hour or so.

I'll repost after my Dr. H visit.