Hike #6

April 25th
Post op: 1 month
Lbs lost: 25

Dad joined me on this weeks adventure to Carkeek Park Trail. It was a warm day but the trail was nice and cool thanks to thick trees and a pretty little creek it followed. This is my first unpaved trail since surgery and at last I feel like I can call this a real hike! The majority of the trail is flat with a good hairpin slope at our chosen trail head. Our turn around point was the park itself which had a pretty beach area. We took a break there and I met Dad's challenge to prove that I could still skip a rock. Not wanting to make the same mistake as last week - I noted my water status and emphasized our need to return. As we made our way back we cracked jokes and pointed out neat features of the trail. We passed a few other hikers, families with their pets, and a couple out birding. I made it to the top of the winding hill and back to the car and felt great... I had energy and water to spare!

As expected my weight loss has plateaued for a couple weeks - I was warned in advance that this would happen so I know not to be discouraged by it. Besides... 25lbs in 1 month is still pretty amazing! I've noticed that I basically eat 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and 2 dinners - each being about 1/4-1/2 cup of food at a meal. I still need to focus on eating more slowly though and of course... getting enough fluids!

Hike #5

Sunday April 18th
Post-Op: 1 month
Lbs lost: 23lbs

This week friends Patty and Brian joined me on Centenial Trail in Snohomish. It was another gorgeous day with lots of families on the trail. It's a relatively flat paved trail where we saw a lot of bikers, runners, and rollerbladers. There is a narrow horse trail off to the side where we saw a couple on a pair of retired race horses.

We set our turn-around point at 2 miles to give us a 4 mile round trip. And of course my energy ran out around 3.5 miles... right around the same time I ran out of water. Thankfully I had a couple of extra bottles in the car!

Hike #4

Sunday April 11th

Days Post-Op: 18

Lbs Lost: 21

I chose a late Sunday morning for this week's hike so that my co-worker and good friend could join me. Sunday gave us surprisingly perfect weather for this week's adventure on the Burke-Gilman Trail. I know this still doesn't quite qualify as a "hike" but hey.. I'm still less than a month out from surgery here!

We met on the UW Bothell campus and conquered a quick flight of stairs before we wound our way through the wetlands. As we confidently passed a creepy underpass section of the trail we agreed that this would be a nice area to stash a body. Our similar quirky sense of humor followed us as we noted the woman walking the trail in heals, at the ridiculous abundance of bright green windbreakers, the standoff between a pair of geese and a great blue heron, and the suspicious geocachers pretending to be anything but. As we walked along the river we talked about work, friends, pets, family, where we grew up, college days, future hikes, and just how life changing our experiences have been so far.

We made our way down the trail between the highway and the river, past the poplar trees and the spruce saplings. We fought the urge to venture off the trail in search of the barbecue we smelled nearby! And finally we found ourselves at the logical turn-around point for us - Wilmot Gateway Park in Woodinville. We took a moment to note the well kept playground and the large field of pristine green grass that was probably too soggy for a picnic. On our return voyage we crossed paths once again with walkers, joggers, and cyclists who had also turned around at some point. We cooed over the cute dogs and double checked... yep.. she really is walking the trail in heals! Our round trip hike to Wilmot Gateway Park and back came to just over 3 miles and I proudly exceeded my original distance goal for the week.

Hike #5 will have a slightly more challenging goal with a little bit of a twist to it... so stay tuned!

When your body says "OMG!"

Sunday April 4th

Easter Sunday Menu:
Corned beef w/ cabbage
Baby red potatoes
Dinner rolls
Black cherry jell-o
Fruit tort dessert

MY Easter Sunday Menu:
Two spoonfuls of cottage cheese
One spoonful of sugar free jell-o
1/3 of a small baby red potato (pulverized with a fork)
And for dessert ... 1 teaspoon of the custard from the fruit tort

Over the next several hours my energy dissipated and I soon was feeling downright horrible. My head was spinning, I felt out of breath, I was sure I had a slight fever, and I wasn't sure which was going to come first.... getting sick or passing out.

Afraid of getting sick with a newly remodeled stomach I got on the phone with my doctor who reminded me of this not so pleasant phenomenon called dumping syndrome. No, it's not as gross as it sounds... not even close.

That 1 little harmless teaspoon of sugary custard I had eaten had been the evil culprit of all my misery. The custard had "dumped" all of its sugar into my body and made me feel awful. I was kindly reassured by my doc that I wasn't going to get sick or pass out and that I just needed to sit down, relax, and take small sips of water. With my anxiety cured I commandeered Dad's recliner and slowly began to feel better.

Today I am still exhausted by my Easter ordeal but I am thankful to have a new found fear of sugar and all of its evil schemes!

Hike #3

Saturday April 3rd

Days Post-Op: 10
Lbs Lost: 15

For this adventure I was joined by Mom and Dad as well as the family dogs Ricky and Lucy (yes really). This bright crisp Saturday morning presented a slightly more impressive "hike" than last week. Well, sort of.. it did include a brief section of real actual trail-like terrain and at 10 days post-op I'm pretty proud of that! At this point my energy comes and goes and the pain is more like the soreness you would get from having a really hard ab workout followed by a night at a good comedy club. Don't worry my dear fans.. my hikes will definitely become more impressive as the weeks go on.

The five of us walked along the residential sidewalks for about a 1/2 mile before coming to Stipek Park, a favorite excursion for our shorter and furrier family members. I skirted around the park to the grassy trail that would around the south side. My first accomplishment is that I avoided slipping on the wet and slightly muddy grass, and my second was my discovery of a little duck pond. On the west side of the park is a large field where my trail rejoined the main path and I was able to meet up with the family. After another brisk 1/2 mile walk and a few potty breaks (for the dogs) we found our way back home feeling more refreshed than fatigued. And the adventure continues!

Hike #2

Saturday March 27th

Hike #2

Days Post-Op: 3

Lbs lost: 0

It's bright and sunny out with a cool spring breeze... a perfect day for hike #2. It's my first hike after surgery so it was a bit slow going to say the least but still really nice to get some good fresh air and sunshine! This time Mom joined me on my adventure.

A suburban garden with brick lined paths was the chosen location for my first post-op hike. After a short trek to the south we crossed a path into a large garden/forest. There were birds of all kids and squirles everywhere mingling with the occasional dog from an off-leash area. Bright sun shined down through the huge cedar trees as Mom and I made our way around the winding path. We did our best to name the many plants and flowers that were just beginning to spring up. We backtracked and circled the gardens a few times. Being only 3 days post-op I was a bit sore and groggy and so of course I wasn't able to hike at an impressive speed or for any great length of time. By the time my body called it quits I was satisfied with my .26 miles recorded by my pedometer.

As Mom went out front to get the mail I headed up the back steps and into the house.

Surgery

Wednesday March 24th was my surgery day. I had a LapSleeve (or a vertical sleeve gastrectomy) where my surgeons resize my stomach to that of a small banana.

Everything went well and I was able to go home that afternoon. It's always good to be home - I have a great professional support team which includes my surgeons, office staff, nutritionist, and exercise physiologist - but of course nothing compares to being home with family! At two days post-op I feel more pressure than pain which reminds me to take really small sips of water. In time I'll be able to graduate from broth and jell-o to pudding and protein shakes and then eventually to real food again - just a lot less of it!

Hike # 1

Saturday March 20th Dad and I hiked (walked) along the North Creek Trail in Bothell.

The path connects the Burke-Gilman Trail to the Snohomish County Regional Interurban Trail in Everett. Parts of the trail are paved, parts are gravel, and parts of the trail connect to each other using sidewalks through the Canyon Park business area.

The North Creek Trail was perfect for a first hike esspecially since it has been years since my last real hike! The gravel prtion of the trail we took was nicely level and wound through the Canyon Park green belt. We saw the expected ducks, cattails, and an assortment of other birds. Our 2 mile walk began right across from the Northshore YMCA and took us past the Monte Villa Farmhouse and had several loop-back spots that can be used for shorter walks. There were a few others on the trail, families with pets, joggers, and a couple of bikers.

Great path for a first hike, a quick outdoor workout, or a nice walk with kids and pets!

1st Night on a CPAP

Unpack CPAP machine and accessories

Plug in machine

Fill humidifier with filtered water

Drink remaining filtered water

Attach tubing to machine and mask

Put mask on and turn machine on

Raise one eyebrow

Turn machine off and put mask on correctly

Take mask off, turn off bedroom light, put mask back on ... correctly

Disembark large cruise ship directly onto observation deck of the Space Needle

Take brief tour of immigration museum (at observation deck of Space Needle) with Mom and ex-boyfriend

Wander into alley like area below Pike Place Market and help Mom across a cold stream while wearing nice church pants

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My Sleep Study Experience

I checked into the Sleep Center at Steven’s Hospital after I got off work around 7:30. I was already so exhausted from sleep deprivation that the couch in their lobby started to look inviting! I handed in the usual medical office forms I was given to fill out along with a brief sleep routine diary I was instructed to keep over the previous week.

I met Chelsea, my tech for the night, who was as sweet as can be and being about the same age with quite a bit in common she made the ordeal feel more like a slumber party than a sleep study!

The biggest surprise was how comfortable the room was made up to be. It was very similar to a hotel room with a TV, DVD player, and a private bathroom with a shower. I also had access to a kitchen just down the hall with juice and snacks. All this time I was expecting some kind of cell with bunk beds and a big Plexiglas window. I imagined being one of several subjects being studied by a panel of scientists like an experiment. Just further proving that my imagination can run amuck and that I’ve probably watched WAY too much television!

After I got settled, changed into jammies, and found an Olympic hockey game on TV, Chelsea came in to hook me up to all the monitors. My jaw hit the floor when she told me cheerfully that the whole process would take about 30 minutes. I hit the Mute button on the TV and Chelsea proceeded to glue approximately 30 sensors to my arms, legs, chest, face, and head while we gabbed, joked, and giggled like a couple of teenagers. I’ve never been very photogenic so I was reluctant to have Chelsea take a photo of me and in the end I looked downright frightful so I deleted the picture.

At last it was bedtime. For the first part of the night I was instructed to sleep on my back as much as possible for more accurate readings. If I showed signs of apnea during the first few hours Chelsea would come in and put me on a CPAP machine and conduct the rest of the study with that on. I don’t think I slept well for the first part of the night but I managed to produce enough data to move on to the CPAP portion of the study. I found the nasal pillow type mask the most comfortable to sleep with and was surprised when Chelsea came in and quietly told me that it was 6am already! I had slept through most of the night!

The surprises weren’t quite over though. As Chelsea unhooked all the monitors she told me that the adhesive used had to be MELTED OFF by standing under the hot shower for about five minutes. It really took about 30 minutes of scrubbing and rinsing before I was glue free and beautifully exfoliated!

As I checked out and thanked Chelsea for listening to me snore all night long she told me that it would be a week or two before my sleep study report is generated and reviewed by Dr. McCoy. I’m still waiting for a call to set up an appointment to go over everything but in the meantime I did get set up with a CPAP machine just today and I am very much looking forward to getting some actual sleep for the first time in who knows how long!

All of this gives me a renewed excitement for my surgery that is now less than 1 month away! I am finally allowing myself to imagine what it will be like, and my heart is pounding with the anticipation of feeling what I haven’t experienced since I was a teenager… refreshed, energized, and healthy!

Sleep Study

I did a three night sleep study over the weekend and was excited to hear that I could do it at home rather than at a sleep center. My excitement wore off at bedtime as I climbed into the device, attached all the sensors, secured all safety straps, and noted emergency exits. I was surprised this contraption didn’t come with some kind of parachute or airbag in the event I fall out of bed! A built in neck massager would have been a nice touch though.

The sleep monitor strapped on like a camp head light with three sensors – two measure eye movement and one measures pulse and oxygen saturation. A microphone records snoring and a nasal pronged measures the airflow through your nose. Not quite the tiara I’m used to.

The first night was a long one - six hours was about all I could manage. The next two nights were brief and only tolerated about two hours before I took it off for some more comfortable sleep. I woke up a few times during the night – once to an alarm telling me to adjust one of the sensors but overall I managed to get enough hours of sleep to generate a report.

Monday morning I handed the device over to our nurse manager who plugged it in to the computer like an iPod and within a few hours I was excited to have a report in hand. Our nurse was quick to stifle my excitement to point out that the results weren’t good. Apparently I have such severe sleep apnea that the computer bolded and underlined the word Severe. I stopped breathing (or nearly stopped breathing) more than 180 times and average only about a half hour of restful sleep per night.

So… that’s why I’m so tired ALL THE TIME! The good news…. Weight loss surgery will likely cure my sleep apnea. Hmm… I wonder what it will be like to sleep well.

The next step is to see sleep specialist Dr. McCoy at Cox & McCoy Md. Hopefully I won’t have to repeat the study but we’ll see.


Cox & Mccoy Md
7320 216th St SW Ste 20
Edmonds, WA 98026
(425) 673-3850

Pre-Op Nutrition

I have scheduled my nutrition assessment. In my meeting with a medical nutrition therapist with Pacific Nutrition and Wellness we will go over my history of crazy diets, my addiction to frosted mini wheats, the Spaghetti Factory and diet orange soda. And just what this surgery is going to be able to do for me in terms of food.

As part of the pre-op process I have to have a nutrition assessment and a psychological assessment and I’m nervous about them both. I don’t know how I feel about having someone dive into my world to discover my twisted relationship with food. All those sneaky little moments were I rationalized

“I can eat that because no one’s around to see me!”

“If I eat it really fast I can pretend it never happened”

“Salad w/o dressing for dinner = big piece of cheesecake for dessert!”


I have waged this terrible war with food for years and I finally feel like I am about to launch a weapon of mass destruction on it. Finally I will be able to figure out why I love something I hate so much and why I haven’t been able to beat this on my own.

In the meantime I have set a few rules for myself that I already know I need to work on.

1. Cut out soda (that’s going to be HARD)

2. Practice not drinking a beverage while I’m eating a meal

3. Make sure that my meal has some protein in it

4. Remember to take vitamins (another hard one – I can never remember!)

The Fearsome Hiker

I admit that I may have seen one too many episodes of I Shouldn't Be Alive but, ever the Girl Scout, I am a fan of being prepared for anything!

Thinking of cougar attacks and crazy mountain people I thought that having a can of pepper spray might be a good idea.......and a knife.... one that I can open with one hand... that has a holster I can strap to my leg SWAT style.

I soon realized that I needed to solicit the help of my Dad as Safety Director in this project. And Father like Daughter.. I now also have a collapsible baton ... with a lead tip. And after explaining why the machete was unnecessary I went to sleep feeling very safe and wondering... do I need a permit for all these weapons?

Introduction

40 hikes is part adventure project and part weight loss project. I will be having weight loss surgery this Spring with Puget Sound Surgical Center and to help get me back in shape and excited about a more activity-oriented hobby, I am planning a series of hikes.

Here are the rules.. I will go on one hike each week starting the first day of Spring (March 20th) and going until the last day of Fall (December 18th). That is a total of 40 hikes. Some will be hard. Some will be more like a walk. But each will be different.

I will take pictures and report on the day, conditions, the sights and sounds, how I feel, and any other wonderful (or not so wonderful) tidbits as the project progresses. I will also report on how I'm feeling physically, emotionally, and how my weight, energy, and overall health has changed as I predict it will. So stay tuned!