07-01-08 – Is it July already?

I can’t believe that half the year has already past. 2008 seems to be sailing by like the Starship Enterprise at Warp 9. For me, the year started with 2 1/2 months of physical therapy for sciatica, which as I’ve now found out after a CT scan, was being caused by spondylolysis, a birth defect causing a narrowing of the central spinal canal in the lumbar region. I’m still not sure if the physical therapy had any positive benefit other than to strengthen my muscles, but I suppose muscle-strengthening is always a good thing. I have since been to a back pain management specialist, who has so far administered two epidural injections. I had a follow-up appointment last Friday, and I have to go for a hip X-ray to see if there’s anything additional going on there. If so, I’ll have to see an orthopedic specialist. I really don’t have much pain in my lower back anymore; it seems to be concentrated in the hip area.

I also decided, after several years of hemming and hawing, to attack my weight problem with bariatric surgery. So, in May, I had a consultation with a surgeon, and decided to go ahead with it. At that time, I was still trying to decide between lap band surgery and gastric bypass surgery; I’ve since decided to get the gastric bypass surgery. I believe it’s the best option for me to maximize my weight loss, given my history and other medical problems, including obstructive sleep apnea and Barrett’s Esophagus.

I am now enrolled in a 6-month weight management/surgery prep class which includes nutrition and exercise classes, 1-on-1 appointments with a dietician, an appointment with a nurse practitioner, a bariatric physician, plus a cardiac work-up, a pulmonary work-up, and a psychiatric evaluation. So far, I’ve had a cardiac stress test (I don’t know if I’ll have to repeat this, because it’s only good for 6 months), 2 nutrition and exercise classes, and an appointment with a dietician. I’ve been learning about meal planning, grocery shopping, eating in restaurants, different types of exercise, etc. I must say, the meal planning and grocery planning has been quite a chore, since I’ve never done it in my life. Ever. But I’m sure it will become easier as I get more accustomed to it.

The dietician recommended a 2000-calorie-a-day balanced diet, which I’ve been trying to follow. Although I tend to get frustrated and angry with myself when I have a bad day and fall off the bandwagon, I think on the whole, I’ve been sticking to it the majority of days. Weekends have been my biggest weakness. I’m still not sure how to tackle that problem, but I’m not going to stop trying. I’ve discovered, now that I have my new mechanical balance beam scale with a 500-pound capacity, that if I’m bad for the whole weekend, I gain all the weight back that I lost during the week. If I’m only bad for a meal or so, then I’m OK. I reported a couple of weeks ago that I was down 15 pounds since the end of March when I started this blog. Thanks to the last two weekends, I’m still at 15 pounds down. So, my goal for this upcoming 4th of July holiday weekend is going to be to not gain back any weight I lose during the week. I’m just going to have to figure out a way to do it.

So, it’s been quite an eventful year so far, and we’re already halfway to the Ball dropping at Times Square! And by the time the next President takes his oath of office, I’ll either be a post-bypass patient or an almost post-bypass patient!