Blood test and results

I had a whole range of blood tests yesterday morning. The nurse arrived at 07.05am and had to knock loudly on the outside door to wake me. In the afternoon, my doctor’s surgery partner ‘phoned me as the laboratory had ‘phoned her to say that my potassium and protein were extremely low and needed immediate attention. I collected a prescription for potassium syrup, one soupspoonsful twice a day for two weeks and a prescription for a further blood test next Thursday morning, to check on my progress. I love the way the dosages are prescribed here, not 5ml, 10ml or 15ml but by coffee and soup spoons. I promised to try to get some more protein into my mouth.

Today I started with a mug of all milk coffee, a chocolate cream dessert with 4.5g of protein and half a slice of toast and butter with smoked salmon, so I am trying with the protein.  I have to have more blood taken next Thursday to check up on progress. 

Dietician

This afternoon saw me back up at Yves le Foll hospital again, this time to see the dietician.  I have already cancelled two appointments with Mme Guyot, so hadn't seen her since I was in having my operation. 

I knew she wouldn't be happy with my poor eating and she wasn't.  She was, however, very kind and understanding, ending up with asking me to try to eat more dairy and to eat six times a day minimum.  She is worried about my lack of protein and the possibility of malnutrition.  I agreed to try to increase my dairy intake by buying and eating creme caramels etc.

She too, having weighed me, said I was losing weight much too fast, but understood the difficulty.

I have another appointment in three months on 1 February 2012 when I need to attend with a completed food diary too.

14 week weigh in

Weighed in at 112.7kg/17st10½lbs this morning.  This is just one kilo lighter than a week ago, but then the surgeon did say he wanted my weight loss to be slower, so no problem there then.

For the last few days I've been eating not much food but loads of calories.  I made butternut squash soup which is let down with lots of cream - and I mean lots.  I have had two bowls of this each day.  Today I've eaten one bowl and one Cadbury's Chocolate Miniroll.  The Miniroll went down without much thought - unheard of for the last twelve weeks.  I was hardly aware I was eating it, which I consider to be a breakthrough - not being obsessive about what was in my mouth.

It is really hard finding something I want to put in my mouth, but I've also been continuing with the Carr's Water Biscuits with butter and Cheddar cheese too.

None of this sounds healthy, but I'm just glad to be eating anything really.

Rendezvous with surgeon

I had an appointment with Dr Le Chaux at 15.00 hours this afternoon.  I told him about my inability and reluctance to eat anything at all, trouble with medication and toothbrush in my mouth.  He said that these months were the worst always and that come six months things will have improved!  I do hope so, another three months of this seem a hell of a long time to wait.

He was concerned about my blood pressure being low as I wasn't eating very much, but when he took it there was no problem, 135 over 75.  He gave me prescriptions for Surgiline, the vitamins and Inexium.  He also gave me a prescription for a nurse to take blood for various tests in the next week.

He said it might be interesting to try to have a series of appointments with an English speaking therapist, but felt that things would be ok in another three months, as above.

I have another appointment with him on 7 December and I have to have yet another lot of blood tests for that appointment too. 

Next Wednesday it's the dietician I have to see, but I can't see the point really.

3 Months Post Op/13 weeks exactly

Not much change from a few days ago when I weighed having arrived back from England.  Just another 200g gone, so now 113.7kg/17st13pounds. 

I had a really rough night with sitting on the loo from 4.00am and vomiting after doing my teeth when I decided to get up for good.  Finally decided to go to bowls and had a good morning in spite of feeling weak.  It was good to see everyone too.

An interim weigh in

Because I've been over in the UK for a week, I didn't manage to weigh on my scales on Tuesday, as I usually do, so I've weighed this morning - four days late. 

I saw the hypotherapist in England but it was felt by him that I needed a twelve week session which obviously I couldn't do as I live in Brittany.

I weighed in at 17stones 13lbs/113.9 kilos/251 lbs.  This is a further weight loss of 9lbs, putting my total weight loss in just over twelve weeks to 29.2 kilos/4st 8lbs/64lbs.  Next Tuesday, will be 13 weeks and exactly three months.  Although the weight loss is lovely, it is also worrying as it is due largely to my almost complete inability to eat and the constant vomiting I am suffering.  Yesterday, as I was travelling for 12 hours coming back home I didn't eat anything, as I couldn't cope with being ill in the car or on the boat.   In spite of this, I was sick just before I went to bed.

Trying to be positive now I'm back and get over this problem of putting anything in my mouth at all.

I am making a concerted effort now I'm back to sort this out.   This morning I managed my tablets without vomiting and ate half a banana.  I also, for the first time for ages, drank my vitamins - they taste disgusting, but I am very weak and do need to sort out my mouth problems.  I am planning half a cheese sandwich for lunch, having brought back Cheddar and white plastic bread from Cornwall.

Eleventh week weigh in

I weighed in at 118 kilos/260 lbs/18st 8lbs this morning which is a much better weight loss than recently.  The weight loss was 2.5 kilos/5.5lbs.  This means I've now lost a total of 25.1 kilos/55.3lbs.  Another .7 of a pound and I would have lost 4 stones/56 lbs - which is, I think, very good. 

My eating problems continue and I feel as if I am eating less and less.  It has to be a psychological problem so I have booked myself in to see a hypnotherapist on Monday week, in the hope that he can make me understand that eating is a good thing.