Daughter's Gastric Bypass Horror Story Continues

Our older DD had Gastric Bypass surgery over 2 years ago now, and her health problems from it continue to show up. All last year she battled with Peripheral Neuropathy so bad that she was almost not able to walk at all. She was in and out of the hospital something like 50 or 60 days last year, while they tried to bring her nutrition level up to a point that her body could recover. She thought she was over all that, even though it meant she had to gain back a lot of the weight she had lost.

During that same time period, she was having constant problems with crumbling teeth and abscesses. Now, the dentist tells her that the real problem is that the jaw bone is deteriorating, so the roots of the teeth are not stable. He is planning on pulling them all and putting her in dentures.

And, now, on top of that news she received this week, her eye exam showed serious problems, which they thought at the time was weak muscles from the Neuropathy. So, she went to an ophthalmologist, who says she has holes in her retina. She now has an appointment with a retina specialist.

To say the least, she is overwhelmed. We spent a long time on the phone last night with her sobbing away, and understandably so. When she decided to have the bypass surgery, we did all kinds of research, and at the time it seemed like the best way to improve her quality of life. Obviously, that was not the case.

I realize there are people out there who are so morbidly obese that they are existing, not living, in their present condition. DD's health was such that she was in serious danger. But now, it's hard to think that she (we) made the right decision.
If you know anyone who is considering this surgery, please let them know that there are people who have major regrets about it.

My Digestive System Is Behaving! Not So Sure about Us??

It looks like the Gastroenterologist has found the right combination to get my digestive system working again in a manageable way. I haven't had any pain or bloating now for several days, and I've been able to eat some things I wouldn't have dreamed of trying just last week. I still don't have an appetite, but I still need to lose weight, too! So I'll count that as a blessing for right now.

We had our Date Day today, instead of yesterday, because our respite care giver couldn't come yesterday. We had an enjoyable day together, not really doing much, but just relaxing. With my balance as wacky as it is right now, there's not much else we could do.

Daddy, DH, and I had our first big flare up of tempers this evening. It was just a matter of time before it happened. We've been trying to stall it by getting out of the house a couple of days each week, but it was inevitable.

Daddy hates the idea of having anybody in his house, doing things he would normally be doing, or changing his routines. He's been independent too long to take easily to having DH and me here, and certainly to having Frances here two days a week. And he hates not being able to take care of himself any more.

We've understood how he felt, so we've been biting our tongues ever since he fell, as his bitterness shows through in almost everything he says to us. Hopefully this show of temper on all our parts will clear the air for a little while, but that remains to be seen.

So my relaxing day had a somewhat dramatic end, but as thick as the tension has been around here, it may well have been for the best in the long run. I can only hope so.

Same-o Same-o

I did go to church Sunday morning, which was a pleasantly normal thing to do, but my stomach acted up, as usual, so I really didn't get to enjoy the afternoon. I did get a good bit of rest, though, which I certainly needed, but I'm still not getting more than a few hours sleep at night. The Ambien just isn't working for me.

Today has been pretty much a repeat of many others, with the accompanying stomach bloating and cramps. I'm being just as careful as I can with what I eat, and I'm not having any bathroom problems, so I have to conclude that this is due to the Parkinson's itself. Just like my legs were moving so slowly before I was on medicine, evidently my digestive system muscles are also moving very slowly. The regular Parkinson's meds don't work on these involuntary muscles. That's what the Zelnorm is supposed to be helping, but I don't really think it is. And, thanks to how lousy I'm feeling, I'm losing a good bit of weight.

So it looks like I'll be moving my Gastroenterologist and Neurologist appointments up sooner, if possible, as I've had about as much of this stomach trouble as I want to put up with.

Is My Tummy Ever Going to Be Normal Again?

I started this blog to keep track of everything that was going on with what turned out to be a diagnosis of Peripheral Neuropathy and Parkinson's Disease. Once the PD diagnosis was made, the Neurologist seemed to basically ignore the PN diagnosis. Since I can't really tell that I'm not feeling things as well on my right side, that's OK with me, as long as I can walk normally. And I can say, that as long as I'm faithful to take my PD meds, I am walking normally enough to appear to be symptom free to the uneducated eye.

So, what's the problem? It has been, and continues to be, my digestive system. As I sit here writing this, my stomach feels like I have some kind of heavy weight in it, and there's the feeling of a lump all the way up to my throat. I've had good days, usually several in a row, but I've had more bad days than good since I started taking the PD meds. Since I do have good days, I keep trying to find a pattern, something I'm doing right, or wrong, that will give me some clues as to how to avoid this bloated uncomfortable feeling. But I can't find a pattern at all. It's very frustrating to go to the doctor, and they start asking all of their neat little questions, and you can't give them any neat little answers!

OK, I've whined long enough. This is turning into a major problem for me, as I'm losing weight rather rapidly, simply because I don't feel like eating. I have a Gastroenterologist appointment on the 20th, and hopefully by then I'll have something to tell him besides it feels like a weight and a lump!

One More Thing I Can't Eat Any More :(

I really like well made pork and beans, and we had some good ones for Thanksgiving. I wasn't able to enjoy them on Thanksgiving Day, because my stomach was really giving me a hard time, with lots of cramping and pain. But I've tried several times since, while eating the left-overs, to take just a small amount of the beans, after being careful to take a BEANO tablet first. It didn't do any good. Almost as soon as the beans hit my stomach, the cramping would start. Since I enjoy eating them so much, I've tried it again today, but the results were the same. So, that's one more thing I can't eat.

It wouldn't surprise you that I'm losing weight, would it? After all, most of the things I really enjoy eating are now off limits, not because somebody just told me to quit eating them (which would never work), but because they make me sick. That's a pretty good incentive to do without some of my all time favorites, like milkshakes and chocolate ... sigh. These were always my comfort foods, and now I can't eat them at all. Bummer.

Of course, I really do need to lose the weight, so I shouldn't be upset. But I really would love to have a thick chocolate shake about now. I can dream about one, anyway, right?

If we lived near Birmingham, I'd try some Soy chocolate ice cream, but we don't, so that's not an option. The next time we go to the doctor I'm definitely getting some, though. That's a promise to me!

Continuing to Feel Good

I felt better for a Sunday than I have in some time. All the exercise is beginning to pay off, I think. Usually, by the time I've cleaned up after Daddy and fixed his cooked Sunday morning breakfast, I'm already tired. Then the long sit through Sunday School and Church just leaves me drained for the day. That didn't happen yesterday. I had plenty of energy. My body still cramped some in church, but not as bad as usual. I've stopped carrying the cane to church, too, so I'm feeling much more normal. Everyone's still good to ask about me and let me know that they are praying for me, which I really appreciate.

I didn't do so good a job of staying off the computer yesterday, even though I really did mean to. This is going to be a hard habit to change, and the difficulty of it just convinces me that it has reached the compulsive point. I've gone through all my usual daily computer tasks already this morning, and I've taken a set of pictures for an eBay listing already, so at least I'm being a little more efficient.

We're taking Daddy to the Podiatrist today, so that will get me away from the computer for awhile. I'm going to see the Podiatrist, too, this time. I made the appointment several months ago, thinking I would keep it if the diagnosis was Parkinson's and cancel it if it weren't. What with the Peripheral Neuropathy, and some very deformed toenails already, it just seemed like a good idea to touch base with him. Daddy sees him every three months, as he's a diabetic, but I don't expect to see him but maybe once a year, unless he tells me otherwise.

I'm noticing a gradual weight loss, which suits me just fine. I've just about cut out all sweets, and my portion sizes are much smaller than they used to be. I really don't feel like eating very much at one time any more. I've cut out the in between snacks, too, for the most part. And the meal at night is usually very small - sometimes only a banana. I just don't get hungry at night any more. We eat our big meal at lunch now, and my dear sweet hubby, who does the cooking, makes sure it's a very nutritious meal. I'm overweight, anyway, which puts extra strain on my legs and balance, so I hope to continue to lose weight gradually for some time.