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Sunday, December 26, 2010

RETURN OF THE BLOGGER

It appears that I am in the mood to begin blogging again. I have been preoccupied with some health issues of late which resulted in some mild depression which in turn further resulted in a lack of desire to paint or write or for that matter anything else. A few pills and I am feeling much better now (ho ho, hee hee, ha ha).

Specifically I was carrying too much weight which was causing a number of health issues.  It finally came down to lose weight or face a stroke or early death . At that point I made the decision to see a surgeon after which I decided to have a Lap Band procedure. Basically this  is simply a plastic band placed around the upper part of my stomach. This limits the amount of food I can eat at one time and tells my body that I am full when the upper small stomach is filled. There is a small opening, which can be regulated through a port inserted under the skin, that allows the food to slowly pass into the lower large part of the stomach.

There were other options but those involved major surgery and long recovery time. I am glad I opted for the Lap Band. Recovery has gone well except for the incision in which the port was inserted. The port is the device attached to the band by a tube through which an injection or extraction of saline solution can tighten or loosen the band as needed. The incision for this port has not healed properly as did the other five holes cut during the surgery. Some rejection of the port by the body and partly because I am diabetic. It is about three quarters healed but still has to be packed and dressed twice a day.

Still I am glad I made the decision to have the procedure. I had the surgery Oct. 26 and to date, Dec. 26, I have lost 62 pounds. On the down side, there are challenges.
The first challenge of course is facing the fact that I will never be able to eat and enjoy food as I did in the past. I will from now on only be able to eat a very, very small portion - no more steaks, chops, hamburgers, fast foods, fried food, carbonated drinks, bread. Going to a restaurant is a waste of money since I can only eat about ten percent of the meal.

Another factor is the change in the body as more and more weight is lost. The whole chemical balance is changing, mostly for the better. The depression sometimes comes with those changes. On the other hand many of my weight related issues are getting better and my GP Doctor is looking at taking me off some of my medications.

All in all life is supposed to be an adventure and I consider this one of those adventures. Can't hardly wait to see what 2011 holds in store for me.

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