I'm down 16 pounds in two weeks. I am taking it very easy, napping when tired, drinking the water and forcing the protein down...it's hard to eat when you're not hungry.
I spoke to my doctor yesterday about my physical and mental fatigue. He said it's very normal and I should increase my protein to four shakes a day. He suggested another two weeks off and I decided to take it, although I am totally bored at home and miss my co-workers.
Last night I made it out of the house (big event) to go to a weight loss surgery seminar with a friend, hosted by Dr. Srikanth. I re-learned some interesting things. "Roux-En-Y" translates from French to "fork in the road". This name literally describes what is done to the intestinal tract when gastric by pass surgery is performed. The other thing I learned is that there is a little hormone called Grelin, which is responsible for the hunger pangs I used to feel. My hunger switch has been permanently been turned off :)
I also learned that my surgeon was the first to perform lap band surgery in the North West. He's a trail blazer in this field and spoke at length about a new procedure called the "sleeve". The sleeve is not yet approved by most insurance companies but is proving to be very effective. There are only three years worth of data collected on the procedure, but is an excellent & economical choice for prospective patients who are not covered by insurance. This procedure runs approximately $16,000.
The procedure is pretty simple and the stretchy and Grelin producing part of the stomach is removed, leaving a 6 inch tube that will hold about 3 oz of food. The pros: you feel full fast, you don't have hunger pangs, and your intestines are not rerouted and therefore there are no mal-absorption problems.
Dr Srikanth also spoke about the tummy tucks he does. He does a super tight tuck by cutting a boat shaped section of skin out of the middle of the abdomen. Many plastic surgeon prefer to do a tummy tuck as an out patient surgery, but Srikanth has his patients stay in the hospital at least one night and this allows him to do an extra tight tuck. The cost ranges from 8K to 9K. I will be saving my pennies.
Let's see, what else? I think that's it. More updates to come.
-Angela
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