Drowning...

It's been awhile and usually one could assume that all is well and that's why I haven't posted anything. Well, I guess that's true and false for me.

I continue to struggle with getting in 64+oz. of water a day. It's so dang hard to drink ALL OF THE TIME unless it's 30 minutes before I eat or 30 minutes after I eat. I am probably trying too hard and over thinking this, but I swear it's a full time job just making sure I eat enough and drink enough every day! Most of the time my tummy (or sleeve as I call it) is ok now. I do still have a flood of acid in the morning upon waking, so I literally reach onto the nightstand and grab an acid pill (like Prevacid) and swallow it with water before I even fully wake up. That seems to help calm the acid down and let me feel pretty good. I have heard from other "sleevers" that taking an acid pill is required for the first 6 months until the stomach is totally healed, so I don't feel odd about it. I am getting a lot more water in me these days and my calorie intake is up to about 500-600 calories a day when I work hard at it. I got in 78 grams of protein the other day and that was the most by far that I have gotten since the surgery! I had two protein shakes that day which gave me 50 grams right there - a great way to get it all in - just wish they tasted better. Yuck!

All of the water going in has NOT helped me with the continuous water retention I have been experiencing though. :(   My feet and ankles are LARGE and puffy and the skin actually itches and hurts on them and feel so tight! It's been very uncomfortable. I have theorized that the evil estrogen that haunts me yet could be the culprit. As I am burning fat, the estrogen stored in my fat cells is released and floating in my bloodstream. This has certainly wreaked complete havoc on my moods, and it seems plausible that it is also causing the moderate to severe water retention (edema) now.

I got down to 276 and then it was almost as if my body worked hard to hold water to keep me closer to 280. I lived at 280 for many months a few years ago when I was on Atkins for 18 months and lost a good chunk of weight. I wonder still if my body feels like 280 is a good place to stay...? Anyway, I would see the scale move down and then the next day right back up to 277, 278. It was maddening! I KNOW I am losing weight when I am eating so little and my energy levels have been higher, so I have been moving around more - feeling a little able to be more active. It's been two weeks of this and finally the pain in my feet, ankles, knees and hips was enough for me to realize that I am FULL of water! I saw my PCP this morning. He was amazed at how swollen I was for morning and immediately wrote me a scrip for a pretty strong diuretic (water pill) to start to get rid of some of this water. He thought that my "Estrogen Theory" had merit but also said that it could just be that my body has some imbalances that it's trying to compensate for. He did order a blood draw for my iron levels and electrolytes as he said I am "pale and tired looking". We'll see what those tell us. I think I was tired and pale from working for two days painting and redecorating my living room - another side effect of having a little more energy and less weight to drag around. He chuckled when he looked at my weight at check in today. "You have now lost a First Grader", he said. Seemed a little harsh, but he's right! I DO feel accomplished.  :)

I got on the scale this afternoon as I took my first water pill. I weighed in at 279.2 pounds. DAMN WATER. The pill made a great first stab at the swelling and within 90 minutes I weighed 274.8. I was literally peeing every 10 minutes for awhile there! HOLY COW! I still have I bet 6-10 pounds of water on me, so we will see how much I weigh tomorrow night. LOL It's nice to see the scale moving down once more, as the weight had been lost, but the water wasn't allowing me to see it.

The doc asked me today, "Would you do it over"? I had to think for a moment, but I told him, "yes". It's a very hard road, with pain, and mental pain as well. I have had many down days (no doubt from my enemy estrogen) and I have spent a huge amount of time trying to calculate my daily protein intake and water consumption. It's NOT an easy path, but fact is, it's working!!