WLS Center E-Newsletter
A
FREE publication from
http://www.WLScenter.com
Hosted by
Barbara Thompson
Author of:
Weight Loss Surgery:
Finding the Thin Person Hiding Inside You.
Issue #86 |
February
1,
2006 |
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Hello Everyone,
I am from Pittsburgh and a Steelers fan through and
through. In fact, my first goal after I had my surgery was to not
weigh more than the Steelers football players! It would bother me
when they first announce the players at the beginning of the game
that most of them weighed less than me. I always think of
professional football players as being big bruisers! Well, I guess
I was a big bruiser too! But not anymore!
In the recipe section below, I have a chili
recipe that you can have on Super Bowl Sunday. I hope you enjoy
it. Go Steelers!!
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In This Issue |
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* Your Medicine Cabinet: Safe Remedies for
Colds or Flu
* Hospital Experiences
* Girl Scout Cookies Revisited
* Biking to Honor All of Us
* Recipe: Super Bowl Beer Chili
* Success Story: Juanita Logan
*
Research Study Info Requested |
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Safe Remedies
for Colds or Flu
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We are in the middle of cold and flu
season. If you have caught a bug, you may be confused about
which over the counter remedies are usually acceptable or not
for us to take. This article from my book, “Weight Loss Surgery;
Finding the Thin Person Hiding Inside You” will guide you
through.
Taking Pills Post-Op
It is important
to continue your prescribed medications
post-op. But you may be concerned
about taking pills that are large fearing that they might get
stuck. You can try crushing your pills and putting them in
something like a little bit of applesauce. Or you can buy a
pill splitter to cut them in half. However, be careful if you
take timed or sustained released medication. Check with your
doctor or pharmacist to determine if the medication you take
falls into this category. These medications are not designed to
be crushed and can release medications too quickly into your
system.
Timed and
sustained release medications may no
longer be the best choice if you have had gastric
bypass surgery. These are designed to slowly break
down in the stomach and intestines. Because of the change
in your anatomy, they may not be absorbed correctly.
Immediate release medications seem to be better suited for
gastric bypass patients. Talk to your doctor about this.
Also, be sure
that your primary care physician understands how rapidly you will be
losing weight. Many conditions are drastically improved soon
after weight loss surgery including high blood
pressure.
Your physician needs to monitor your medicationsso that they are correct
for your changing needs. A patient from my local support group was
on blood pressure medication and about a month or two after
surgery started complaining of dizziness and feeling faint.
When her problem was isolated, her doctor discovered that her
high blood pressure medication was now too strong for her,
causing her blood pressure to drop too low, making her feel
faint.
In general, any
non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug is not acceptable because
they tend to cause bleeding and stomach ulcers.
The following
list is a general guide to over-the-counter drugs. Be sure to
check with your own surgeon to ensure that he or she agrees with
these recommendations.
Medications to
Avoid |
Advil |
Alka-Seltzer |
Vanquish |
Aspirin |
Bufferin |
Coricidin |
Cortisone |
Excedrin |
Fiorinol |
Ibuprofen |
Motrin |
Pepto-Bismol |
Medications
That Are Recommended For Colds |
Benadryl |
Dimetapp |
Robitussin |
Sudafed |
Triaminics |
Tylenol Cold
Products |
Medications
That Are Usually Well Tolerated
(Try to
obtain sugar-free or diabetic formulas
for any of these products.)
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Peri-Colace |
Panadol |
Tylenol |
Tylenol Extra
Strength |
Gas-X |
Phazyme |
Colace |
Dulcolax
Suppositories |
Fleet Enemas |
Glycerin
Suppositories |
Milk of Magnesia |
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If you do not have your copy of my
book “Weight Loss Surgery; Finding the Thin Person Hiding
Inside You,” what are you waiting for? It is recommended
by surgeons across the country and has been dubbed the
“unofficial bible of bypass patients” by the
Philadelphia Inquirer.
Order your copy at
http://www.wlscenter.com/1shopmain.htm |
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Hotel Experiences |
Have you checked into a hotel and had a bad
experience because of your size? Were the front desk personnel
less than helpful or insulting? Was your room so far away from
the elevator that you could hardly make the trip down the hall?
Was the furniture or bathroom design or fixtures not
accommodating? Then drop me an email and share your experiences
or thoughts with me at
Barbara@WLScenter.com.
I have been invited to address the
hospitality industry and would like to share with them your
experiences and also your suggestions on what would make your
stay better. |
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Girl Scout Cookies Revisited |
After my article in the last
newsletter about avoiding eating Girl Scout cookies, Ruthann
Foltz of the Girl Scouts of Erie Shores sent this information
about a great program that Girl Scouts have to send cookies to
our service men and women overseas. Check with your local troop
about a similar program. She writes:
Many
Girl Scout Councils in the United States have a new program that
ships donated cookies to our service men and women overseas.
The program at our council, Girl Scouts of Erie Shores in
Lorain, Ohio is called “Thanks a Lot.”
Anyone can purchase a box
(or case of 12) and the purchase of the cookies benefits the
girl, the troop, and her home Council. It is with these proceeds
that we are able to help fund programs that build girls of
confidence, character and courage. We have various
organizations who are paying shipping and handling fees, so
cookies will be sent to our service men and women to enjoy. We
have had a great response to this program and many of our
overseas personnel are receiving a “taste of home” from young
citizens through this program.
This
year Girl Scouts of Erie Shores will be selling five cookies
with zero trans fat grams per serving! The classic Thin Mints,
Caramel deLites, Peanut Butter Patties, and the brand new
Thanks-A-Lot and Reduced Fat Cartwheels will all feature zero
trans fat. Now you can support Girl Scouting and enjoy a
delicious treat, while still maintaining a healthier lifestyle.
What’s more, over 70% ($2.11) of the $3 cost of a box of Girl
Scout Cookies goes to support local girls. To find out more
about our program, and see some pictures go to
www.girlscoutserieshores.org . Click on the cookie and then
“Thanks a Lot.” The best way to support your local Girl Scouts
is to make your monetary donation to local councils who hold the
501 C3 status.
PS………Since my surgery in July of 2003, I have lost a total of
148 pounds….and stayed within 10 pounds of my lowest weight…..I
am employed by the Girl Scout Council in our area, and still
enjoy a cookie or 2 now and then…(however I have hiking trails
available J
)
Ruthann Foltz
Teen and Adult Development
Girl Scouts of Erie Shores
Lorain, Ohio
rafoltz@girlscoutserieshores.org |
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Biking to Honor All of Us |
On April 25th, 2005 Kimberly
Clements had gastric bypass surgery. On April 25th,
2006, she will celebrate her 1st anniversary by
starting on a 10,000 mile bike ride along the perimeter of the
lower 48 States. She sees the bike ride as a healing process and
a way to show that no matter what life throws at you, you can
make your dreams come true. She will be starting her journey in
Boston on April 25th and completing her journey 11
months later on March 25th, 2007.
If you would like to follow Kimberly’s
journey, communicate with her, or contribute to her cause, go to
http://www.ahealingjourney.zoomshare.com/ .
I will post her progress from time to time
here in the newsletter. Her determination should make all of us
proud! |
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Recipe:
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Super Bowl Beer Chili |
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Super Bowl Beer Chili
1 (12 ounce) can beer
1 (46 ounce) can V-8 juice
1 (8 ounce) can kidney beans
1 (8 ounce) can chili beans, mild or hot
1 (8 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 pound ground meat (You can substitute the
vegetarian ground “meat”)
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper (optional)
1 (8 ounce) package of chili seasoning mix
In a large Dutch oven, brown and drain the
hamburger. Add the remaining ingredients except the chili seasoning.
Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. When simmering, open
the chili seasoning package. There are 4 packets in the package.
Add the chili seasoning package first, stir. Add the salt package
to taste, stir. Add the cayenne pepper package to taste (the
entire packet will make the chili very hot and spicy), stir. If
you like thick chili, add the mesa flour following directions for
your desired thickness. Let this simmer for 20 minutes, stirring
frequently. Turn the heat to low and continue cooking for up to 40
minutes longer.
Makes 8 servings.
Each serving: 239 calories, 19.6 g. carbohydrates, 4.5 g.
fiber, 15.3 g. protein
If you have a recipe that you would like
to share in future issues of this
newsletter, please send it to me at
Barbara@WLScenter.com |
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I want to offer a special thanks to Juanita
Logan for sharing her story.
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for all the inspiration you give me. Here is my story.
I'm 47 years old. I had Roux-en-y gastric
bypass surgery on September 14th, 2004. It had never
entered my mind to have this surgery but I was diagnosed with
congestive heart failure, severe asthma, sleep apnea, and allergies.
My heart doctor said if I didn't have this done I wouldn't live much
longer. My heart was getting weaker all the time. So I fought with
my insurance company for five months and finally got approved.
I started gaining weight in the early 1980’s
when I was diagnosed with severe depression. Of course the side
effect of the medication was weight gain. Every pill they added
after those made me gain more weight. I tried every diet known to
man, but when my heart got bad, I couldn't take diet pills of any
kind. Not that they would help anyway.
I've been made fun of a lot over the years.
Family members would never fail to tell me how fat I was. Wonder
where the depression came from? My brother called me names as a teen
and I wasn't even really fat then.
After my surgery in September 2004, my father
and mother both fell ill. Taking care of them caused me to lose more
weight than I should have. I weighed 272 pounds when I first weighed
in. I needed to lose 117 pounds but I lost 140 pounds. I now weigh
132 pounds.
My surgery has been a great success. I would do
it again, but my heart never got any better. It is stable for now
and I do feel better. I got off of all asthma medications, all
breathing treatments, and all antidepressants. I was off of all
heart medications, but was recently put back on a small dose.
I wore a size 26-28 and now I wear a size 6-8.
That is a huge difference. I like myself now for the first time in
years. I hope that I can keep the weight off, but sometimes it
scares me that I might regain it. But I do have good support where I
had surgery. Even though I can't make it to a lot of meetings
because of the distance, I can communicate by email to them when a
problem arises.
Keep up the good work on your web site.
Juanita Logan from Kentucky
Juanita@setel.com
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Congratulations Juanita |
I love good news. If you have good news, a
success story to share, or inspiration,
please send it to me at
Barbara@WLScenter.com so that I can
include it in future issues. |
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Research Study Info Requested |
Susan Smith, a
weight loss surgery patient 2.5 years ago, is working on a
dissertation and needs to survey 220 pre-op patients. She is doing
research on distress, obesity, and weight loss surgery in the
United States. She wants to test how distressed people are prior
to surgery and if their distress is lessened after surgery.
If you have not
had surgery yet and are willing to participate in the survey,
contact Susan Smith at
smsmith333@msn.com |
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Reprinted
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weight loss surgery.
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