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The Down Side to Gastric Bypass

9/14/2016

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Contrary to popular belief, Dumping Syndrome (one of the major side effects of Gastric Bypass surgery) is not called that because it makes you have to dump.  At least not in the crude way you may be thinking.  It sounds gross, and while it can cause issues in the bathroom, that’s not why it’s called that.  It sounds awful (and it is), but it’s actually considered one of the benefits of the surgery.  It is a very effective tool that retrains your brain to stop bad eating habits like eating too fast and eating too much.

Imagine taking a funnel and putting it in a drinking glass.  The funnel represents your stomach, the glass represents your intestines. Imagine filling the funnel with something the consistency of a thick applesauce (which is ideally the consistency I should chew all food to before swallowing).  The applesauce shouldn’t flow freely through the funnel into the glass, it should slowly kind of drip into the glass.  Now imagine having the applesauce in the funnel and then pouring some water into it.  Obviously, the contents are going to flow much faster through the funnel into the glass.  Same with my new stomach.  If I drink anything 30 minutes before or after eating, food will empty from my stomach into my intestines faster than the intestines can handle (because in addition to shrinking the stomach, the intestines were also shortened are re-routed to prevent as much absorption).  And when the intestines start to freak out because the food is coming to fast, it causes dumping syndrome.  Same when I consume too much sugar (the limit is typically 10 grams per meal).  The intestines can’t process it fast enough and they freak out. It causes nausea, sweating, fast heartbeat, and occasionally vomiting and/or diarrhea (which luckily I have yet to experience).

So think about the funnel in the glass visual again.  This time imagine the funnel being full of the thick applesauce substance. But even though it’s full, you keep adding more to it.  It still is just slowly dripping through the bottom, so it just keeps stacking up so-to-speak.  Before you know it, there’s no more room in the funnel. Now, any food you add to it has nowhere to go but…up.  One small bite can make the difference between feeling fine and all of a sudden feeling like you have a small boulder stuck in your lower esophagus. It’s hard to take a deep breath or move without feeling super uncomfortable.  This also happens MUCH more quickly if you aren’t properly chewing your food.

So far I have only had one real instance of the first problem (dumping syndrome) and I didn’t throw up – I just felt like garbage and came very close.  But the second scenario happens a few times a day. I’m still learning to accurately gague when to stop eating.  Like I said, sometimes it’s just the difference of one bite.  Or not chewing long enough, even though you’ve already been chewing for 30 seconds.

So if you are considering gastric bypass, just know that it’s not all shrinking dress sizes.  If you don’t like to monitor your portions pre-surgery, it only gets more intense afterwards. If you hate having to log foods and read labels, post-surgery you need to accurately track all fat, protein, and sugar that passes through your lips.

But even when I take the tiredness, nausea, racing heartbeat and/or boulders in the esophagus into account, it has totally been worth it.  I’m down 61 pounds from my highest weight and today I was able to sit behind the steering wheel of my husband’s tiny Nissan Sentra and turn the wheel without my belly being a hindrance.

Yep. Still not regretting my decision.

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Non-Scale Victory

9/7/2016

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To you skinny folks, this may not mean much.  But to me, I experienced a true victory yesterday.  You see, I cannot reach my toes.  Well, I guess I could if I didn’t mind having to not breathe during the process or causing major cramps due to the contortionist position I’d have to be in to be able to sustain any real hand to foot contact for longer than a second or two.  But I do mind those things so I refrain from attempting that acrobatic feat very often.

This poses a problem because I also hate having unpainted toenails.  So in order to be able to paint said toenails, I have to put my foot up on the side of the tub or on the foot board on my bed.  Then I can bend over and reach them well enough to get the job done.  But even then, to be able to reach across my body with my right hand and be able to reach my left foot has always proven tricky.  It’s like when I reach across, all of my fat gets pushed up and in weird places and gets in the way. Somehow my belly ends up being up around my neck...once again cutting off all circulation.  So anyway, my right foot usually looks decent.  The left foot though…not so much.  I am the opposite of ambidextrous.  I can barely hold a fork properly in my left hand.  So having to paint toenails with my left hand sometimes leaves my foot looking like my three year old did it.

But yesterday I was able to hike my foot up and paint my left foot with my right hand.

It’s the little things.

From my highest weight (about 6 months ago), I weighed in today at 56 pounds down.  30 pounds down since surgery day.

Still praising God at the ease of the surgery and that I was able to even have this opportunity in the first place.  He is good.
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Are You Hungry?

9/1/2016

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I understand hunger.  My mouth has watered over many foods through the years.  I’ve craved desperately things that that tasted good and made me feel good.  My stomach has growled when I needed nutrition but for some reason or another wasn’t able to get it.  The satisfaction and comfort I received after getting to eat the food I was craving…it’s a feeling that became addictive. 

I also understand thirst.  I wear a C-PAP machine at night for sleep apnea.  It basically blows air down my throat all night long.  When I wake up in the morning, my mouth is like the Sahara desert.  The first drink of water in the morning brings me immense amounts of pleasure.  

But it hasn’t been until the last ten or so years of my life that I understand how it feels to hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6).

Hungering for righteousness means to want so badly to be right in God’s eyes that you are willing to change the bad things in your life - even if it means denying your own desires.

Being thirsty means focusing on the good things in your life that bring God glory and bring you closer to Him…not focusing on all of the things you want to do and can’t.

Lots of people love Jesus.  Lots of people believe in God.  But not a lot of people are so hungry for Them that they are willing to deny themselves and follow Them at all costs.  But if you do, there are immeasurable blessings and satisfaction found in doing so.

Fulfilling this hunger is truly the only one that will satisfy you deeply and completely.

“I have a kind of food you know nothing about.” -  Jesus (John 4:32)
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