Stretch Armstrong Part 1

Anyone remember that toy? It was awesome: he was a body builder action figure type of guy, but he was filled with gel and he could be stretched out to some amazing length like 6 feet. What in the world does this have to do with gastric bypass and weight loss? Well, for the past couple of months I have been feeling kinda like Stretch Armstrong's less stretchy older sister.

About a month after surgery I started having serious trouble eating things. Things I had been eating with no trouble, like refried beans and chicken salad. It was a odd feeling- it felt like everything I ate was stuck at the base of my throat. In that place where the clavicle comes together at the front of the neck. At first, it would pass in a few minutes, so I just thought I must have eaten too fast, or didn't chew well enough ( WLS patients are supposed to chew each bite 20-30 times, and that is really really hard!)

It went on like that for about 4 days. Pain after each meal that would go away after a time, but it was getting progressively worse. Then one day I was eating a sugar free pudding cup and it just got stuck and would not go down. Pudding is considered a "slider" food- something that we can eat a lot of, because it slides right down and doesn't fill up the pouch. But this time it wasn't sliding anywhere! I sat on the couch in tears, wondering what I was doing wrong. Why couldn't I get the hang of this?

I tried to get rid of the pudding (throw it up, sorry for the TMI), but couldn't do it. I called the bariatric clinic, and they were concerned. Concerned enough to schedule me to come into the hospital for a round of IV fluids and something called an EGD. That stands for a really long word which means they stick a camera down the esophagus and and take a peek around. What they were looking for was a stricture- which is when the opening from the stomach pouch and small intestine overheals and closes up.

Sure enough, I had one. And a whopper it was indeed. My opening was completely closed. The doc said only bubbles were passing through at that point. So while I was in the "twilight sleep" stage, they used a balloon to stretch the opening. The whole twilight sleep thing is interesting when they are sticking a scope down your throat- you gag and choke and remember the whole thing, but you don't fight it because you are somewhat under.

When I woke up, they gave me water to drink and it was fine. I thought, well that's that, I am good as new. Little did I know.

Before I left the hospital, the doc told me two fantastic bits of news: I would have to go back to the liquid diet (more on that in another post), and I would need 4 more dilations before I would be back to where I should be. Great, I told him. Really looking foward to that. Once a week for the next four weeks I get to have an IV stuck in the back of my hand and a tube shoved down my throat.

My Loss is Goodwill's Gain

I haven't mentioned it yet, but in the three months since my surgery (it will be exactly 3 months on the 19th of this month), I have lost an amazing 67 pounds! I have NEVER been able to lose this amount of weight in my life. I have no regrets about having surgery- well, let me take that back. My only regret is that I did not do it years ago.

Anyway, today was a horribly hot and humid day in the Minneapolis area, so I spent my day indoors going through my closets and dressers. I was trying to not buy any new clothes for awhile yet, but last week a friend told me it was time to get rid of my old big, baggy shirts that I was still wearing to work. I didn't think I looked that bad, but the truth is I really never look in the mirror before leaving for work. I just throw something on and leave the house. So I didn't realize how bad I was looking in the sloppy clothes that are several sizes too big for me now.

Me wearing a coat I bought just last winter. Way too big for me now.

I ended up with 4 large garbage bags full of clothes that are pretty much falling off of me now. I kept a couple of shirts and a pair of pants so I can get some good before and after pics once I get to my goal weight. I can't wait to get to that point!

About half of what I pulled out of my closet to give away. Sad thing is many of these pieces still have the tags on!

An expensive suit I used for interviewing. 4-5 sizes too big now.

It's hard not to mentally add up how much money is going into the Goodwill bags, but talk about motivation! Physically, I didn't really realize feel how much weight I had lost. These clothes sure are evidence that something is working!

Wow, It's Been a Long Time...

Hello friends,

It has been a few months since I have posted! I had my WLS surgery on April 19th. Had a few serious complications that I will write about later, but I just wanted to write and say that all is going really well now. I am able to eat without any pain or nausea, and have been able to increase my calorie count a little each day. I am current eating between 300 and 400 calories a day- not quite where I should be yet, but considering where I came from, I'll take it!

I promise to update this little blog more often from now on. I was not really feeling up to it the last couple of months, but now that I am feeling much better, I am anxious to share this journey with you!