Friday, August 15, 2008

6 1/2 months since surgery



I can't believe its been over 6 months since the surgery. I'm posting three pictures today, the one on the left was taken back in October and the other two are from July, 6 months post op.
I went this past Tuesday to see the surgeon(Dr. Reyes) for my 6 months check-up. He was quite pleased with my progress. Since the surgery I have lost 107 pounds and since October 145 pounds. Dr. Reyes said that all my lab work was great but my protein level was still a little low, push more protein. He said that he didn't need to see me for another 6 months and do lab work again at that time.
The other doctor that I went to see was the pulmonologist. He was also pleased with my progress, I had not seen him since the end of February and had lost probably about 70-80 pounds during that time. He said instead of doing another sleep study, he would send me home with a little oxygen sensor that you put on your index finger that would record my oxygen while I slept and I just had to take it back the next day and they would print out the results and let me know. Well, I did that on Wed. night and took it back on Thursday, that didn't turn out so well. It still shows that my oxygen level falls to about 77 percent while I'm sleeping, so I have to continue using the oxygen while sleeping. I was not happy with that, but I came home and cleaned the machine and put it in the kitchen near the bedroom and ran the tubing into the bedroom. I slept with it last night and slept pretty good. Having the machine out of the bedroom makes it quieter and I could sleep better. I am going to check back with that doctor next month when I go to see the heart doctor and see if I can use the little sensor again to check it. I don't go back to the pulmonologist until February and don't want to have that big machine for another 6 months. Medicare will pay for it for one year and then its yours. What would I do with it after that.
I had a WOW moment last weekend. I went to see the movie "Mama Mia", hadn't been to the movies since before the surgery and then I would sit in the front row where you could put up the armrest. Well, I sat in the second row above that and was able to sit in the sit without any problems. It felt great. I also only had a bottle of water with my crystal light added to it. NO POPCORN. Hope my rambling hasn't been too boring.

No comments: