4 weeks post-op - The Lesser Man

What an amazing four weeks. It has gone so fast. Every day I am becoming a lesser man. I know that doesn't sound right. Lesser in size, and mass. Not in mind and spirit. I made SWMBO (She who must be obeyed) laugh a couple of days ago when I put a pair of shorts on and took 3 steps and they fell off. Puddled around my ankles. I am down 2 shirt sizes and 4 inches in my trousers. Segway - Wicked witch of the west, I'm melting, I'm melting. Segway - back to topic. Fifty pounds gone, forever. Never to return. Ahhhhh - deep sigh of relief.

I did have my first vomiting experience yesterday. One thing I have found out, is when my tool doesn't like something, I get immediate feedback. For those of you that are continuing on to have this procedure, remember this. Every time you try a food that you have not had since the surgery, go slow, it is a brand new experience for your tool, for that new pouch of yours. The feedback for me is immediate and swift. I was out for a business lunch. I am very open about my surgery, so my lunch mate knew about it. I had ordered a sushi grade ahi tuna sashimi style with a remoulade - yes its raw, get over yourselves. The sauce was sweet - bad juju. I took three very small bites, chewed very completely and waited for the results. Within a minute or so, I knew this was not going to be pleasant. The tuna was fresh and excellent, pre-op I would have loved the sauce. I excused myself and proceeded to the loo. (That was for my friend five-wises). Felt the internal bubbling and proceeded to spew.

Now this was not as bad as I expected. There was no gut wrenching twisting and turning of a large sick stomach. I just kind of opened my mouth and out it came. Ok. Not horrible. One spew later and I was done. I felt better, tool feedback controlled and done. $13.50 wasted. there were 4 pieces on the plate still and one chewed piece in the jon. Expensive lesson. I should have ordered the soup. Now I am however, kind of bummed. Pre-op I adored sushi and sashimi. I hope this is not my future for the raw fish. In a couple of months I will try again, but for now, I will be passing on the raw.

Another thing that I noticed in the past week, is how uncomfortable everyone, except SWMBO, is around me at meal time. Everyone wants to apologize for consuming huge mounds of food in front of me. I have to ensure them that it is ok, eat away. It does not bother me. Until recently, I never really noticed how much we as an American society eat. I was speaking with a loved one about the size of portions in Europe. She had stated that her sister or someone had gone and the portions were very slight. I explained to her, that it was the norm in Europe. Only in our American excess, do we pile enough food on one plate to feed three people. I really see that now and it bothers me that I could not control myself in the past to consume a proper portion.

Life continues to be a new amazing adventure. 4 weeks out and I am doing great. I feel great, am exercising 2-3 times per week. Pain in my back is gone, I am sleeping well and truly look forward to my future as the lesser man.

21 Days Post Op - Pump Me Up

When I was in high school, college and the Navy, I spent a lot of time in the gym. Exercising, running and lifting weights. Football required strength, conditioning, endurance and more strength. I spent hours in the weight room with Paul, Rich and the rest of my O-Line buds. We would yell at each other, grunt, sweat and pound out hours and thousands of pounds of reps on the bench press, the power driver, curls, squats and more leg work. Obviously, looking at myself, I have spent very little time in the gym over the last 10-15 years.

"I'm Hans and I'm Franz"

I have returned to the sweaty environs of the local health club as of last Wednesday. It has been a very emotional week for me. You see, I love the gym. I loved working out, the feeling in my muscles as they grow due to the weight being lifted over and over. I don't quite understand why I stopped doing this in the past, but I did and the results are what they are. Now as I just had major Gastric Bypass Surgery, I have to be very careful as to what I do in the beginning, but it is a beginning and bring on the endorphins.

"and we are here"

My first day in the gym was spent on the treadmill. Roxy (Dr Whites Plan Administrator) said I should be doing the 100 meter mosey. So that is what I did. 30 minutes on the tread mill set at 2.6 mph. I elevated my heart rate to 143 and maintained it there for 30 minutes. I had trouble figuring out how to stop this machine and figure I was doomed for life to be attached to this moving tread, but figure it out and stepped off. Dizzy. Light headed, I stumbled to the towels and returned to my senses. I am completely overwhelmed. 25 days ago I could not walk 1/4 of a mile without having to sit down, without having extreme pain in my back. The mall was a painful experience. I am actually emotional. I just walked 1.2 miles in 30 minutes. I didn't have to stop, I am not in pain. What in the name of God is happening to me. So much has changed in the last 25 days.

"to pump you up."

Two days later I went back to the wellness center and had my fitness assessment. Can a 392 pound man really have an assessment of his fitness. Let's be real here. Now if we were to call it a lack of fitness assessment, that would probably be more correct. So I got weighed, bmi'd blood pressured (still no more bp meds) and Ross ran me through all the machines in the center. Let me tell you about this wellness center. It is really quite nice. It is ran by the Hospital Parent group that did my surgery. It is not a meat market. I see no steroid monsters, in fact the average age here is probably the mid to late forties - just like me. People that want to better themselves and their health. It is perfect. They have great equipment and if I keel over due to the exercise, I am about 200 meters from the ER. I really like it here.

"Bring on the endorphins"

I again went to the gym last night, exactly 21 days post-op. Did my 32 minutes on the treadmill. This time I did 10 minutes at 2.6 mph, 10 minutes at 3.0 mph and returned to 2.6 mph for the last 10 minutes. Kept my heart rate from 143 to 156 for the complete 30 minutes. I then did a round on the arm and chest machines. Light, light weights, 2 sets of 15 and 12 reps. Holy crap, I remember this feeling. My biceps and triceps pumped right up. My chest muscles tightened. I love this stuff. No exercise performed to failure. Maintained my form. High reps with low weight, toning exercises. Nothing yet for the midsection of my torso. Those exercises are still a few months away. This is going to be great. I will have "guns" again. I finished my workout again with no real pain and a wonderful endorphin rush. I have lost 48 pounds and feel great.

Two weeks post op - Melting

Today I am 15 days post op. I don't want to make it sound easier than it is, for some folks it is very difficult. Difficult to make the transition to less food, pain from the surgery, difficulty moving around. It just has not been that way for me. I don't know if I have a high pain tolerance, or I am a quick healer, or what ever - I don't know, but it just hasn't been that difficult so far. Maybe I am just too stupid to realize that it is difficult, but it hasn't been. Now for the big announcement.

42 pounds.

Thats right, from 10 days prior to the surgery till day 15 post op, I have shed 42 pounds. 2 large bags of dog food. One large turkey + 3 chickens. Three 14 pound bowling balls. Gone, disappeared. This is just strange. I am a bowler and I have lost my balls. I eat 4 to 5 times per day, I am full, not starving, and loosing almost 2 pounds per day. Clothes that did not fit, now fit. Many are getting too big. My watch is spinning on my wrist and my wedding ring is spinning on my finger. I have lost 10 percent of my starting weight in the first 25 days. I am waiting for the crashing stop, the inevitable stall and I am sure the intoxication will subside when the stall occurs, but right now I am living in it.

Lets now talk about the difficulties of the first two weeks. I wrote earlier about Days 1-4. After that, my big issue was the gas pains. Not gas from the what I was consuming, but what had been pumped into me for the surgery. That large gas bubble provided some intense pain through day 10 or so after the surgery. If I laid down, it hurt, if I sat too long it hurt. My left shoulder hurt. I could feel the bubbles moving around in my chest cavity. One day I thought I was having a heart attack but it was just the gas. Pain wise, there has not been a whole lot of it. The lap sites were pain free by day 5. The pain from the surgery was only evident when I tried to sleep.

I normally sleep on my side or stomach and when I tried that in the first 10 days, I felt pain in my insides. After day 10 I was able to sleep on my side or my stomach with very little or no pain whatsoever. In fact, I have not taken any pain meds since about Day 7 post op. Sleeping the first seven days home was hard. I just had trouble falling asleep at night. I don not know why, I just did. I took some Ambien for a couple of nights after I stopped the pain meds, but since about day 10, I have fallen asleep much like I did prior to the surgery. Now sleeping on the other hand has been a bit strange. I have been have just downright strange dreams. Not that most dreams are not usually strange, but these have been most unusually strange. I have heard others have experienced this and it will go away.

Did I mention I have lost 42 pounds.

If you have been following this blog, you will remember I made quite a to-do about taking a crap. Bowel movements. In the first week, when I still had alot of gas, the bowel movements continued to be an experience. They are basically, sorry mom, crap explosions with lots of crap shrapnel. Wifey is definitely not happy and after 7 days of this, I could not longer get out of cleaning up by telling Sandy I hurt to bend over a clean the toilet. Thank God that by day ten, the bowel were back to normal, except for the frequency. Taking in much less food has decreased the frequency of the venerable BM.

By the way, I have lost 42 pounds.

One thing that has been very difficult has been watching television. Not the sitting, or the inane crap that most network television shows consist of, but the food commercial. One half hour show had 9 or 10 restaurant commercials, and I found that just mentally difficult. The marketers make all that food look so good. I have just taken to looking away when those temptations are there.

All in all, it has been an amazing two weeks. I am back at work, I feel great and feel incredible positive about the future. I plan on sharing it all with you so come back as I add to this saga. Be well, and if I didn't mention it already, I have lost 42 pounds. Absolutely Awesome.

Some things don't need to change to get better.

I turned 47 last month. As I opened the simple gift that my Bride of 29 years gave me, I was very happy. When I placed it in the CD Player, I was taken back 37 years to the day. That was just weird. I had turned 10 that day and had been given the magical sum of $5.00 in a birthday card by not 1, but 4 different people. That gave me the magical sum of $20.00. A lot of money for a 10 year old in 1970. You 20 somethings, probably wouldn't relate, but for those of us that are the last of the baby boomer's, you know it, I was rich!!!

At that point in my life, obviously not thinking about my 401K, I had to spend that money, like yesterday. I wish I remember where we went, but I don't. I had $20.00 and I could buy anything. A new baseball glove, or a new pair of Converse Chuck Taylor low tops. But no - I went right to the records. I had never bought an album before. Only 45's and now I had enough to purchase two. The first Blood, Sweat and Tears - Spinning Wheels and the second is why I am writing today. I loved music that day and I still do today.

I went to the rack with all the C's and there it was. This one guy in red pants on a 10-speed. Guys in jeans with long hair. My hair wasn't long, I wasn't nearly that cool. But there it was. Cosmo's Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Songs like "Ooby Dooby" and "Ramble Tamble" and don't forget maybe the best three songs in a row on one album, maybe of all time. Songs 5-7 "Lookin' out my back door", "Run through the Jungle" and "Up around the bend".


Fast forward 1970 plus 37. I opened that simply wrapped gift this morning and I found a CD and DVD of John Fogerty's newest Album (CD - I just can not stop calling them albums) 'Revival". When I put the in the player, with song 1 "Don't you wish it was true", I found myself immediately tapping my fingers and toes. Was CCR back together? The John Fogerty influence in CCR was especially obvious with his latest production. I am on my second time though this album today and I know it will be in my car and most listened to in my Ipod for several weeks. This is a really good album and cannot recommend purchase or download high enough. I you are a CCR fan, a fan of rockabilly, or a fan of Fogerty, you will not be dissatisfied with this album . Two thumbs up, 9 out of 10 - whatever your rating scale - run out and buy this!