Good Morning and it's a beautiful one today! I feel wonderful, and I will be going for my first walk later today.
Starting with the correction... yesterday, when visiting the intake nurse I was weighed and told I lost 13 lbs. I told her my scale says 17 lbs. The nurse reminded me that I had lost an additional 4 lbs according to my medical chart prior to surgery. She suggested that I was probably using the initial weight in number.
Lo and behold, that was true. So officially, with today's loss, I am down by 15. I will correct the tickler later today after people have had a chance to read this.
Arrival: I arrived a half an hour late as traffic on the coast can get hairy. However, I discovered that two other patients that were in my class were patiently waiting for me. Since we were waiting for the nutritionist, we had a good chat before the doctor's appointment.
We basically compared everything about our visits from billing to weight loss and mostly about how we were feeling and the foods we were eating. It was great to compare notes per say. We also exchanged email addresses for future correspondence.
A visit with the nutritionist: I confessed to her my mistake about the soup and yes, I got a scolding. Not bad though, I was expecting worse. We then reviewed all the foods we can now have and will be able to have in the coming 5 weeks or at the time of our next appointment. I was happy to hear that for this week I could have a scrambled egg (not fried or boiled) to eat very slowly and ANY kind of beans that I wanted. Even though it was good to hear this, I am not really hungry, so I'll see if or when I end up eating any of that. As a side note, I wrote an email to the RN telling her I was craving a banana. I asked for permission to blend it into my protein shake and she said I could. The nutritionist said no way; fruit cannot be had until the 5th week. Who to believe???
Doctor's Appointment: I was told that the doctor was not in and that we would visit with the registered nurse instead. This RN was also the one who released me from the hospital. I am wondering if this will be a trend... The good part about this nurse, is that she was been employed with the doctor for 15 years now.
The RN started by asking me if I had any pain. I told her about the pain in my chest when I burp. She told me that is where the band is at, it is swollen, it is a silicon band so when I burp it is not going to expand so it is going to put pressure and it will hurt. She told me it does get better because the swelling will go down.
Before reviewing my other questions, she wanted to see my stitches. I said good because the tape was itching me a lot. I also told her that I had something leftover from surgery on the back of my ear. She told me that I could have taken that one off on Wednesday and that was probably causing my dizziness. The RN also asked about having double vision (which I don't) and about taking in water. She told me that dehydrating can also make me dizzy. Finally, not getting my food in can drop my blood sugar and that can make me dizzy.
We then reviewed my regular medications from my other doctors and she told me I can start taking them whole or without crushing them and of course after I eat and one at a time. This will be interesting because I am so used to taking the whole hand full at once.
We then talked about nutrition. She reminded me that I have to eat three times a day and to stay away from all white foods, like bread, pasta, tortillas, and even potatoes. She wrote in my chart that I could advance my diet, and that I should be exercising (get in 30 minutes every day).
About the chills: When I lose weight, I am losing some fat, so I will be cold all the time. Her response, wear a sweater, lose the weight.
Finally, since I won't be able to attend the support groups, she suggested I try ObesityHelp.com where they suggest closer places for the support groups.
Have a good day everyone!
