Pinky 20, Me 0

Pinky had some medical issues earlier this year. As a result, we had to change her diet to some specially formulated food. Luckily, she actually likes to eat this food, so that has not been a problem. What has been a problem is that I was supposed to have brought a urine sample to the vet to ensure that the food is working properly. I have been unable to obtain a urine sample from her.

Why is that? Well, she is rather skittish. I have taken her on several walks and every time she squats to pee, I am right there with my mini Tupperware trying to shove it under her. As soon as I get there, she stops peeing. She is quite adept at this dance by now. I have changed containers, but still with no luck. I estimate my attempts at 20 and I have been skunked each time.

I MUST get this sample. I know I can bring her to the vet and they can extract a sample from her, but that will cost beaucoup bucks. Since the sample doesn't have to be "pure" the vet suggested I save some dough and get it myself. Up til now, the attempts have been fruitless. I am determined to get this pee sample. I am setting a deadline of obtaining it by December 31st, 2006. Wish me luck!

Regurgitation

I was always someone who threw up easily. What does that mean? Smells, as in rotting garbage or foul-smelling flatulence could make me vomit. I had heard that post-surgery, smells can really get to you and make you puke. I was not looking forward to this since I was so easily a puker already.

The only smell that has caused me to puke is that of dog vomit. I must admit that this made me puke prior to surgery as well. I have vomitted post surgery due to some foods that I have eaten. Here is the list thus far:

macaroni & cheese
rice
crackers
eggs with salami
pastrami
rye bread
roll

Fatty meats like salami & pastrami are not sitting well in my new stomach. Breads and carbs don't seem to like it either. Still in the trial and error phase, so I will just keep trying different foods to see how they go down and if they stay down or not.

Cream Of Wheat & Other Breakfasts

Yes, I was able to eat Cream of Wheat without a hitch. I couldn't eat a whole packet. When I was full, I just shared the rest with the two dogs. Of course, Cream of Wheat tastes like crap. It definitely needs something to make it more palatable. I swirled in a teaspoon of peanut butter and Splenda which made it much better.

Oatmeal went down fine too. One day I had mini pancakes from Aunt Jemima. I think the serving size is 13 minis. I was able to eat 3 of them. I dipped them in sugar fre syrup and they tasted all right. Pancakes were never my favorite thing though, but variety is nice.

My breakfast staple has been ricotta cheese with a little tomato sauce in it or egg beaters. I made some chicken salad the other day too. This consisted of canned chicken, a smidge of mayo, black pepper, and onion powder. It went down okay too.

Official Weigh in

Met with Dr. Bypass for my one month post surgical weigh-in. I'm down 23 official pounds, and 29 unofficial pounds, if you are keeping score.

My BMI decreased by 3 points.

My fat mass has decreased by 17 points. I really do not know what this means exactly. I didn't see this on the paperwork he gave me until I was home. I will ask him next month what that is all about.

Percentage of Excess body weight lost since surgery is 14.36%

He was very pleased with my results. I am definitely on the right path. Sometimes people who have had the surgery are already not doing well with eating and bad habits creep in. I was pleased.

I told him that I have been pretty tired by 2:30 and that I feel like I need a nap. He said this is very normal and that I should nap if I feel tired. Hey, that's why I'm still not back at work, right? This will probably continue for another 6 weeks. Oh, joy!

He gave me a list of vitamins, some I have already been taking and some I haven't. Here it is:

Centrum Multivitamin Chewable Tablet one per day
Centrum Mineral Supplements Chewable Tablet one per day
Vitamin B-12 that dissolves under the tongue
Complete B Complex one per day
Iron Supplement one or two per day
Calcium, Magnesium & Vitamin D tablet one per day

I have been taking a Flinstone's chewable vitamin twice per day since the surgery. These vitamins taste horrible. I will try the Centrum to see if they are better. (probably not).

I have been taking a liquid B-12 since the surgery. When that bottle is done I will switch to the pill.

I have not been taking a Complete B Complex, but I bought some today already.

I have been taking an iron supplement since the surgery. I was deficient in this prior to the surgery anyway.

I have not been taking the Calcium, Magnesium & Vitamin D tablet, but I bought some today. I was taking Caltrate prior to the surgery because I was deficient in this too.

In two weeks I will get a blood test to check all the levels of vitamins and minerals in my body to see how I'm doing.

My next check-up is January 12th.