Pink Fox: its Raining...IN MY HOUSE! :/

[dragonlaurel]

Wow, you have come a long way. You might want to change the thread title to "before & after" .

(edited cause fingers didn't type what brain was thinking )

 

[frustratedearthmother]

CONGRATS, you look amazing! And, I'm sure your health is much improved too!

 

[Denim Deb]

Wow, what a difference! You look much younger now.

 

[moolie]

Wow Pinky, you look fabulous! Congratulations on your milestone you must be so proud of yourself!

 

[pinkfox]

thanks guys
theres ups and downs...
loosing the weight id save my life, prior i had severe sleep apena and my heart condition was worsening...
id always been big but the last 2 years of my relationship i blew up, a combination of depression and compliance (though i didnt see it at the time obviously, it didnt hit me how depresse i was IN the relationship untill i was out of it...always easier to look back) not long after moving back in my my parents i began being incredibly tired and my chest was constantly aching, i chocked it all up to depression about the break up but it soon became aparent it was more and i finally got off my ass and did something about it!

NOW the sleep apnea is gone, im no longer pre-diabetic and my heart condition is back to "normal for me" status, my hips knees and ankles no longer buckle under the weight of my frame and for the most part my energy level has climbed through the roof...
in exchange i now have a lower back issue from the posture change and excess skin, skin issues from the excess skin and a B12 deficiency that looks like its going to have to be controled with regular shots...

the depression about my weight has gone and instead i battle with body dysmorphia and depression about my actual skin (no i realy doo look like im wearing a sack, EVERYTHING sags)
but i knew those battles would come...
i didnt go into this journey closed eyes thinking it woudl "solve" all my issues...and i try and stress that to anyone that asks me questions about this journey ect too, this is NOT a fix all and the after effects can be ust as if not MORE depressing than the prior...
i did this because i was 26 and dying! litteraly, the sleep apnea was so bad even dring the sleep study they were unsure how i was still alive, i stopped breathing literally once every 4-6 seconds! and my heart condition had gotten so bad i was on the verge of it simply quitting!
i did this to save my life and put me on the right track to SLOWLY heal all the other wounds (phycially and mentally) over time...

anywho.

today ive got 4 bales of hay comming, got a good price on it, wish i could have affored more but 4 for now, will try and get some more before the end of the month and mabe again in october...as long as it stays dry itll keep so why not.
so ive got to clear a spot under the carport to store it (i dont have any kind of storage shed right now) ill set it along the back wall with the feed (cant wait untill i can afford an actual shed to put feed and hay and shavings in ) should be enough room back there to keep it out of the way and dry.
ive got to call the coop in town and see if the puppy vaccines came in, they had to special order the 5in1 for me (i wont do 7, lepto is dangerous and bordatella useless lol) but at $2 cheaper than TSC AND 20 miles closer...well worth it...they dont need it for another week but i figure ive got to go into town to get cash to pay for the hay anyway, might as well pick them up while im there, theyll get stored in the fridge either way

and the puppies could REAY do with a bath today lol...so i think thats the plan...and one i should start working on.

 

[Happy to be Me]

You are amazing! I am in awe of the way you set your goals and have worked toward them. I have read through your journal (took me a while!) and you are really an inspiration. You should be incredibly proud of yourself. Congratulations on all of your accomplishments!

 

[SSDreamin]

Amazing Pink! Congrats on hitting the two years out mark and being 'on track' !

My MIL went through the surgery too, for the same reasons you did. Last year, at Christmas, I was going through some old photos and found one of her the week before her surgery. Even she couldn't believe it was her! She is, I believe, 3 1/2 years out from her surgery. She deals with a lot of the same issues you do now. The skin problems are tough for her, as is the body image thing. I wish she'd keep a better eye on the vitamins/minerals! I didn't realize how much the surgery effects your body's ability to take in those things, until she wound up in ICU! For some reason, I had assumed it was all short term effects - I've seen people who have had the surgery get heavy again, so I thought her eating, etc. would return to 'normal' - but her Dr. says it is a lifetime thing she'll need to stay on top of. From following your journal, I should've realized I was wrong

 

[pinkfox]

one of the problems with the bypass is while it is THE most sucessfull of the surgeries, its also got the most "long term upkeep" overall because during the RNY they do actually disconnect the first 6-8 inches of small intestine which is whare most vit/minreal consumption occurs...so you end up with a serious malabsorbtion of these things without some serious suplimentation...
and supliments shoudl also be chewable, sublingual or liquid if possible with gellcaps being the next choice as pills are harder to break down lol.

they continue doing this because thats also the main section of the small intestine responsible for "bad fat" absorbtion so its a 2 prong aproach...but it definatly means extra upkeep...
i have a little alarm set to remindme to take all mine, and because of how it works and stomach size i have to space everything out throughout the day including all my other meds too lol.
the malabsorbtion also means regular medications can sometimes be an issue and doseages have ot be adjusted tomke sur eyour getting the right amount based on the new mechanisms and the new weight lol.
(this is LOTS of fun when your on psychiatric meds, now the weight loss has slowed we seem to have my dosages pretty well balanced but every so often something will go haywire lol)

the switch and the sleave done have this issue as much, suplimentation are still needed because your still taking part of the stomach wall away which also helps absorb nutrients) but its not as agressive as the RNY, and lapband only restricts food flow so not much if any suplimentation is needed with that one, (but its also not very effective)

Gain back TERRIFIES me, i think thats why i still fight myself to not get complaicent, still weigh and measure and write things down and i smack myself mentally when i get lax because this isnt a "cure" its simply a tool and it you mistreat the tool for long nough it quits working and all too many people find themselves aining back the lbs and more because they became complacent and didnt stick to the rules (or found ways round them ect) or more so, never adressed the eating problem in the first place...I know i eat when im bored and when im down...so i try to keep busy and when im own i try to re-direct so i dont turn to food...
but most never adress those issues and a few years out from surgery when sugar becomes easier to the system and you dont feel asfull as quickly ect it becomes all too easy to slip back into old habits.

The other dangerzone with this kind of procedure is food is an addiction...and when you cant eat MANY turn to other things to fill the void that food used to because again while they adress the weight, they dont adress the underlying reason FOR the weight, so alvcohlosm, drugs, gambling and shopping adictins tend to become "replacments" they fill the void that eating used to fill.

so many people after this told me "oh you took the easy way out" or "well IM going to do it the hard way" ect...
people need to realize, theres nothing EASY about this...

im 150% AGAINST Weight loss surgery for anyone simply overweight, heck even simply base line obease, im 150% AGAINST the insurance companies who allow wls without any kind of mandetory pre-diet, recoreded history of attempts, ect...and im 150% against wls for people who are NOT under the care of a psychiatrist (i belive psych should be mandetory before an after the surgery because most weight loss issues stem from other issues that if not adressed make this tool useless...
this should be seriously LAST RESORT, the weight comes off "easy" in the beginning, but its certinaly not the "easy way out" by any means, as you mentioned SS, the pshycological scars this leaves behind can be harder than being morbidly obease...and it can leave you with more issues than you had before in many cases...

i just hope i NEVER forget what i was before hand and WHY i did this...i think if i can keep thoe things in mind itll see me thorugh the down sides...
i plan to print the befor epicture off and tack it to my mirror so i can see the difference and how much it was worth it EVERY day!



in other news.

picked up hand feeding formular, and a top for the tank, and cash for my hay and got the posts and netting to do the fence aorund the orchard to give the ducks and geese more room.
need to pick up some line tightners and some gate handles when i head to TSC next weekend for the electric aspect, but at least i can start working on it...i have to cut the netting to height its only 14ft long so i have to cut it to 2ft high then "tie" the peices together to make a peice long enough to go around the orchard (its just to keep the ducks from pushing unter the fence)
ive got the insulators and the wire to do the electric, just need the handles. might actually get this done by the end of the month. whihc is good because the "grass" in my backyard is trying to grow now weve had some rain but the geese and ducks are picking it before it gets chance so untill i can move them over to a new space its not going to recover and id like some coverage before winter hits lol.

got to see if mum found the heat pad for the tank, if not ill be putting it on my people heat pad and asuming all it right will be pulling the linnies to hand feed at the beginning of next week.
they are starting to get thier pin feathers so i may not have to worry too much about heat if i use shavings and make a "nest" as such and keep it 1/2 covered they should help keep themselves warm.
there starting to look "cute" now, in that funky kind of way, they have little eyebals and thier little tiny beaks look like they are actually smilling lol.

i also cleared the spot for my hay to go so thats done but it looks like its going to be thursday before bath day for the pups, its getting chilly on the overights and i dont want them even remotly damp for bedtime.
Ill also admit to getting ovelry attatched to lil-bit the nekkid boy hes just so cute and tiny...hell find a home im sure...but gah, these babies need to get names so i dont get attatched. lol.

 

[BarredBuff]

You look so good Pinky!!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Pink, that was a wonderful public service announcement! People do need to know that there's nothing 'easy' about bariatric surgery or the long term consequences.

Can't wait until you are hand-feeding the babies! I know their little personalities will just blossom when you becoming their 'mother.'