6 weeks.

I had my 6 week appointment today.  It has really only been 5 weeks since my surgery but I told my doctor that I was going on vacation and wanted the appointment BEFORE the trip not after!  And boy, am I glad I made this decision!

When I arrived at the doctor's office, I knew that my first of three appointments was with the Nutritionist and it was a group appointment so it would last an hour.  I don't prefer group appointments because they usually contain at least one clueless patient who ends up monopolizing the conversation but since I was a "reschedule", I took it without complaint.  And in hindsight, I am glad I did.  2 other woman (who both had the "sleeve" not gastric bypass) were part of the group.  As we were walking down the hallway to our lecture room, the power went out.  It stayed out for the next 2 hours!  We were in a room with windows so it was fine.  


The six week Nutrition appointment rocks.  Here is the basic gist of the conversation:  Eat all kinds of meats/proteins.  You can have legumes (woot!), beef, pork, chicken, seafood, etc., and soy.  So, go for it.  If you get your protein in, go ahead and have raw or cooked fruits AND veggies.  Oh, and if you would like to, try eating pasta, rice, potatoes, and bread.  And PLEASE don't count calories.  Just count protein.  AND...you can now eat high protein cereal WITH milk.  Big day of good stuff!


My second appointment was a trip to see the Exercise Physiologist.  He is a very practical kind of guy.  I like him.  He was extremely impressed that I was walking 40-60 minutes each and every day.  He told me it was okay to skip a day.  He helped me to set weekly goals instead of daily goals so that when school starts back up, I can see how to fit things in.  I am very worried about my skin sagging and he simply stated that it wasn't about working out, it was about getting the vitamins in and keeping my skin healthy.  SO, that was a big relief and I will religiously take those vitamins daily and pray for good elasticity.  


My 3rd appointment was with my surgeon.  He is a very soft spoken man and really listens.  I shared with him that my sugars were pretty much hovering right around 80-90 whenever I was testing.  He looked at me and smiled.  He then proceeded to say that within the next 20 lbs of weight loss, I would need to start weaning myself down on my Lantus insulin.  And eventually I will stop the insulin.  This was very sweet music to my ears.  This was the reason I had the surgery in the first place.  And this imminent reality was the best news of the day!  It is plain to me now, why some doctors are calling bariatric surgery a CURE for diabetes.


I lost 6 pounds from my last visit 3 weeks ago.  That is great news too but very secondary compared to all of the other news.   

It has been an excellent day.  I am going to celebrate it with a nice long sleep!
Blessings,
Heidi