Just a reminder...

I've moved!

You can find current content at my new blog.

Here's the link: http://knownbyname.wordpress.com/

Hope to see you there!

It's Moving Day!

No... no... we're not moving houses! Phew! Can you imagine? No - our blog is moving!

Here's the thing... I've got several blogs. I've got shortcuts to them on my desktop - and I'm always thinking about updating one or the other of them. But it just makes my life feel so fragmented.

I don't like a fragmented feeling life.

So, a month or so ago (maybe longer...) I started thinking, "What if I move - and merge! - all of my blogs into one location?" At first it seemed like a crazy idea. But the more I investigated, the more I thought about it, the more I brainstormed... well, it seemed less and less crazy.

So I've started a new blog - moved all of the posts from my other two most invested in blogs there, too, and well - today is the day. It's time to move. So - you can now find me over at: http://knownbyname.wordpress.com/

It's still a work in motion. I'm trying hard to get stuff categorized - if you look on the upper right hand corner there's a drop down with categories. There's a category for Living the DS Life with subcategories. There's a category for the Hip Chick Chronicles (more of my day to day life blog) and subcategories. And then there are some new categories where life kinda intersected.

So I hope you'll follow over there. If you're new to RSS subscription - look on your browser toolbar - it's a little orange button with a dropdown. When you click on that you can subscribe to a blog. Then, when updates are made, you can be notified. It's a very cool thing to know how to do!

Anyway - I've got some blog housekeeping to do. Hope to see you over at http://knownbyname.wordpress.com/

Phew! What a week.... okay - more!

I can't believe I haven't posted here since March 3rd! I thought for sure I had! I'd thought through posts I wanted to post! But oh yeah - there was that non-weightbearing bit... the "keep the toes above the nose" thing for all of those weeks. Dang - it's amazing how an ankle reconstruction can really cramp your style!

So - I've had some interesting revelations of late...

First - was in Denver last week (with my son at National Jewish Health - honestly, if you have poorly controlled allergies, asthma, immunology issues - these people need to be your best friends!). Wierd thing happened. I was getting in an elevator and as I turned to press the button for our floor, I caught - out of the corner of my eye - view of a fairly slim lady, and I thought, "Gosh, she's nicely proportioned!"

Okay - if you've been morbidly obese - do you do that, too? Do you think those kinds of thoughts? I do - all of the time! Most of the time it's doing a mental calculation trying to figure out if I'm larger (which I typically assume) or smaller, than the other person. Not a competition type of thing - but more a still trying to figure out what my shape really IS kind of a thing!

...back to my story... then, I realized - THAT'S ME!

WIERD!

Then, remembering that I recently had the ankle reconstruction surgery and I use a walker for the most part still....

I was walking through a building and came to one of those heavy double doors with the bar across the middle that you push against to get the door to open. With the walker, I typically turn around, plant my back against it, and shove for all I'm worth. Know what?

I didn't weigh enough to open the stinking door!

WIERD!

According to my scale, I weigh 149 now. My weight hasn't started with a 14 anything since something like the 4th grade.

WIERD!

Oh - and I had to buy a dress for a court date (long story - won't go there) - and I tried on quite a few. One of them was a VERY fitted little number - quite pretty - and know what? Size 12 fit very nicely.

So - let me just say. Yes, I'm liking my revision!

And that's the scoop.

Later, I'll come back and tell you the sordid tale of what my Mother's Day weekend was like!

Surgery tomorrow...

Yes, again.

This time - left ankle reconstruction. You see there's this necrotic bone - kinda like your bone getting a cavity, and they've gotta take the bad part out, and then fill it... Then there's the whole alignment thing - nothing aligns the way it's supposed to... Then there's the fix the ligament thing... And the possible add a tendon thing... And the release some of the muscle (?) from the back of my calf thing....

I typically can tell you in very exacting medical language exactly what an upcoming surgery will entail and give fairly detailed specifics. Not so much this time!

Dang, this complex orthopedics stuff is a little hard to keep straight.

But these things I do know:

1. I've got a 10:30 am surgery time.

2. I'll probably be in the hospital 2 or 3 days.

3. I may or may not be on low molecular weight heparin injections following surgery.

4. I will be non-weight bearing for 4 to 6 weeks.

5. I'll be in a cast for 6 to 8 weeks.

My surgeon has prescribed a knee scooter for me for after surgery. Initially I'll use a regular walker - but get a gander at the knee scooter - it's kinda trippy:

I think it'll work out well - and will definitely make the whole non-weight bearing thing more livable.

So - here in the last few minutes before midnight I'm getting caught up on my to-do list, sipping lots of iced green tea, and trying to remember if there's anything else I ought to pack in my bag for the hospital.

I gotta be honest - getting my head around this surgery has been pretty wierd. Every other surgery I've ever had has always included, "And of course, we'll want you up and walking as soon as possible." Not with this one. It's gonna be wierd.

I'm determined to be a good patient, though - and will try really hard to follow the rules. My surgeon says if I'm good, then he might let me drive after 2 weeks. I'm gonna be good!

So... time for me to get some sleep! I've got a busy day ahead of me tomorrow!

The 10 Most Common Mistakes Weight Loss Surgery Patients Make

From http://www.nawls.com

While weight loss surgery (WLS) is considered the most successful treatment for morbid obesity, it is just the first step toward a fresh start. Weight regain is a common phenomenon, as is illness when weight loss surgery patients do not follow recommended guidelines.

Breaking old patterns, establishing an effective post-WLS lifestyle, and addressing the emotional issues that often complicate obesity takes more than commitment; it takes support, information, and resources.

The National Association for Weight Loss Surgery (NAWLS) helps WLS patients shape new lives. We teach people what they need to know and help them makes the changes they need to make to achieve long-term WLS success -- physically, mentally, and spiritually.

In a November 2005 poll conducted by NAWLS, the following were identified as the top 10 mistakes WLS patients make:


1st Mistake: Not Taking Vitamins, Supplements, or Minerals

Every WLS patient has specific nutritional needs depending on the type of surgery you have had. Not only is it a good idea to ask your surgeon for guidelines, but also consult with an experienced WLS nutritionist. Understand there is not a standard practice that all surgeons and nutritionists follow in guiding WLS patients. So, it is important to do your own research, get your lab tests done regularly, and learn how to read the results.

Some conditions and symptoms that can occur when you are deficient in vitamins, supplements, or minerals include:

Osteoporosis; pernicious anemia; muscle spasms; high blood pressure; burning tongue; fatigue; loss of appetite; weakness; constipation and diarrhea; numbness and tingling in the hands and feet; being tired, lethargic, or dizzy; forgetfulness, and lowered immune functioning.

Keep in mind, too, that some conditions caused by not taking your vitamins, supplements, or minerals are irreversible. For example, a vitamin B-1 deficiency can result in permanent neurological deficits, including the loss of the ability to walk.


2nd Mistake: Assuming You Have Been Cured of Your Obesity

A "pink cloud" or honeymoon experience is common following WLS. When you are feeling better than you have in years, and the weight is coming off easily, it's hard to imagine you will ever struggle again. But unfortunately, it is very common for WLS patients to not lose to their goal weight or to regain some of their weight back.

A small weight regain may be normal, but huge gains usually can be avoided with support, education, effort, and careful attention to living a healthy WLS lifestyle. For most WLSers, if you don't change what you've always done, you're going to keep getting what you've always gotten -- even after weight loss surgery.


3rd Mistake: Drinking with Meals

Yes, it's hard for some people to avoid drinking with meals, but the tool of not drinking with meals is a critical key to long-term success. If you drink while you eat, your food washes out of your stomach much more quickly, you can eat more, you get hungry sooner, and you are at more risk for snacking. Being too hungry is much more likely to lead to poor food choices and/or overeating.


4th Mistake: Not Eating Right

Of course everyone should eat right, but in this society eating right is a challenge. You have to make it as easy on yourself as possible. Eat all your meals--don't skip. Don't keep unhealthy food in sight where it will call to you all the time. Try to feed yourself at regular intervals so that you aren't as tempted to make a poor choice.

And consider having a couple of absolutes: for example, avoid fried foods completely, avoid sugary foods, always use low-fat options, or only eat in a restaurant once a week. Choose your "absolutes" based on your trigger foods and your self knowledge about what foods and/or situations are problematic for you.


5th Mistake: Not Drinking Enough Water

Most WLS patients are at risk for dehydration. Drinking a minimum of 64 oz. of water per day will help you avoid this risk. Adequate water intake will also help you flush out your system as you lose weight and avoid kidney stones. Drinking enough water helps with your weight loss, too.


6th Mistake: Grazing

Many people who have had WLS regret that they ever started grazing, which is nibbling small amounts here and there over the course of the day. It's one thing to eat the three to five small meals you and your doctor agree you need. It's something else altogether when you start to graze, eating any number of unplanned snacks. Grazing can easily make your weight creep up. Eating enough at meal time, and eating planned snacks when necessary, will help you resist grazing.

Make a plan for what you will do when you crave food, but are not truly hungry. For example, take up a hobby to keep your hands busy or call on someone in your support group for encouragement.


7th Mistake: Not Exercising Regularly

Exercise is one of the best weapons a WLS patient has to fight weight regain. Not only does exercise boost your spirits, it is a great way to keep your metabolism running strong. When you exercise, you build muscle. The more muscle you have, the more calories your body will burn, even at rest!


8th Mistake: Eating the Wrong Carbs (or Eating Too Much)

Let's face it, refined carbohydrates are addictive. If you eat refined carbohydrates they will make you crave more refined carbohydrates. There are plenty of complex carbohydrates to choose from, which have beneficial vitamins. For example, if you can handle pastas, try whole grain Kamut pasta--in moderation, of course. (Kamut pasta doesn't have the flavor some people find unpleasant in the whole wheat pastas.) Try using your complex carbohydrates as "condiments," rather than as the center point of your meal. Try sprinkling a tablespoon of brown rice on your stir-fried meat and veggies.


9th Mistake: Going Back to Drinking Soda

Drinking soda is controversial in WLS circles. Some people claim soda stretches your stomach or pouch. What we know it does is keep you from getting the hydration your body requires after WLS--because when you're drinking soda, you're not drinking water! In addition, diet soda has been connected to weight gain in the general population. The best thing you can do is find other, healthier drinks to fall in love with. They are out there.


10th Mistake: Drinking Alcohol

If you drank alcohol before surgery, you are likely to want to resume drinking alcohol following surgery. Most surgeons recommend waiting one year after surgery. And it is in your best interest to understand the consequences of drinking alcohol before you do it.

Alcohol is connected with weight regain, because alcohol has 7 calories per gram, while protein and vegetables have 4 calories per gram. Also, some people develop an addiction to alcohol after WLS, so be very cautious. Depending on your type of WLS, you may get drunker, quicker after surgery, which can cause health problems and put you in dangerous situations.

If you think you have a drinking problem, get help right away. Putting off stopping drinking doesn't make it any easier, and could make you a lot sicker.

Are you taking your Super B Complex?

Cause if you're not, here's another GREAT reason to do so!

Can B Vitamins Lower Risk of Blindness?
Taking a Combination of Vitamins B6, B12, and Folic Acid May Lower Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration

By Jennifer WarnerWebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Feb. 23, 2009 -- Taking a combination of B vitamins may offer a rare and inexpensive opportunity to help prevent the most common cause of blindness in older Americans, age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

A new study shows that women who took vitamins B6 and B12 along with folic acid had a 34% lower risk of any AMD and a 41% lower risk of AMD with significant vision loss.

Researchers say treatments for AMD are limited to people in the later stages of the disease.
“For the large population with early or no AMD, there is no method of disease prevention other than avoidance of cigarette smoking,” write researcher William Christen, ScD of Harvard Medical School and colleagues in the Archives of Internal Medicine. “From a public health perspective, this is particularly important because persons with early AMD are at increased risk of developing advanced AMD, the leading cause of severe, irreversible vision loss in older Americans.”

Vitamin Combo Curbs Macular Degeneration

In the study, researchers randomly assigned more than 5,000 women over 40 without signs of age-related macular degeneration to take a combination of 2.5 milligrams of folic acid, 50 milligrams of vitamin B6, and one milligram of vitamin B12 or a placebo every day. The women were part of a trial looking at the use of these vitamins and cardiovascular disease. The women had heart disease or at least three risk factors for heart disease at the start of the study.

During about seven years of follow-up, 137 new cases of age-related macular degeneration were diagnosed, including 70 that resulted in significant vision loss.

The results showed that women taking the B vitamin supplements had a 34% lower risk of any AMD and a 41% lower risk of AMD with vision loss than the placebo group.

Researchers say the benefits of the vitamin combination in preventing AMD appeared to emerge about two years after treatment began.

"The trial findings ... are the strongest evidence to date in support of a possible beneficial effect of folic acid and B vitamin supplements in AMD prevention,” the researchers write. They note that further research is necessary in other groups of people to confirm their findings.

View Article Sources

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There are SO MANY reasons to stay on top of your B Vitamins - but if this one isn't way up there, I don't know what is!

Interesting! Very, very interesting!

For years now I've heard DS'ers remark to me: "It's so strange - I just haven't gotten sick since my DS! For like years now! I can't figure out why!"

Maybe we know why now:

Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Colds
Study Shows Vitamin D May Have a Role to Play in Preventing Colds and Flu

Also in my inbox today, from the Vitamin D Council:

The Vitamin D Newsletter
February 24, 2009

As readers from 3 years ago remember, this newsletter first published
evidence vitamin D would prevent influenza and many varieties of the
common cold in 2005:

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/2005-nov.shtml

I then published the theory in:

Cannell JJ, et al. Epidemic influenza and vitamin D. Epidemiology and Infection. 2006 Dec;134(6):1129-40.

As Science News reported, I realized this after observing an influenza epidemic at Atascadero State Hospital.

The antibiotic vitamin: deficiency in vitamin D may predispose people to infection. Science News, November 11, 2006

Last year, we used vitamin D to explain virtually all of the many unsolved mysteries of influenza.

Cannell JJ, et al. On the epidemiology of influenza. Virology Journal. 2008 Feb 25;5:29.

Our second influenza paper is by far the most accessed paper in the journal this year.

Top 20 most accessed articles for last year in Virology Journal

Today, researchers from Harvard and the University of Colorado, writing in the Archives of Internal Medicine, published convincing evidence my observations at Atascadero State Hospital were correct.

Vitamin D deficiency linked to more colds and flu. Scientific American, Feb 23, 2009

Adit A, et al. Association Between Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Level and Upper Respiratory Tract Infection in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(4):384-390.

Influenza kill around 35,000 Americans every year and similar viruses cause additional mortality and untold morbidity. As I have said, It appears Linus Pauling was right about everything he said about vitamin C, but he was off by one letter. The Vitamin D Council, the nearly broke non-profit educational organization, now believes most influenza deaths and many other respiratory infections, like the common cold, could be prevented if Americans, and their doctors, understood some simple facts:

• Vitamin D is not a vitamin, but a steroid hormone precursor, which has profound effects on innate immunity.
• The amount of vitamin D in most food and nearly all multivitamins is literally inconsequential.
• The correct daily dose of vitamin D for adults is approximately 5,000 IU/day, not the 200-600 IU recommended by the Institute of Medicine, the National Institutes of Medicine and the FDA.
• The only blood test to determine vitamin D adequacy is a 25-hydroxy-vitamin D, not the 1,25-di-hydroxy-vitamin D test many physicians now order.
• Healthy vitamin D blood levels are between 50-80 ng/ml, levels obtained by fewer than 5% of Americans.
• Medicare’s new proposed rule change, which forbids Medicare carriers for paying for virtually all vitamin D blood tests (Draft LCD for Vitamin D Assay Testing (DL29510), will kill tens of thousands of Americans yearly.
• The mechanism of action of vitamin D in infection, dramatically increasing the body’s production of broad-spectrum natural antibiotics (anti-microbial peptides or AMP) suggests pharmaceutical doses of vitamin D (1,000 IU per pound of body weight per day for several days) will effectively treat not only influenza and the common cold, but help treat a host of other seasonal infections, including meningitis, septicemia, and pneumonia, in both children and adults.
• In 1997, when the Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) set the current guidelines for vitamin D intake, they forgot to correct for the widespread sun avoidance that began in the late 1980’s when the AMA’s Council of Scientific Affairs warned against sun-exposure, and recommended that all Americans should make every effort to never let a photon of sunlight strike their skin. The failure of the 1997 FNB to compensate for sun-avoidance, has led to millions of deaths around the world.
• Physicians who ignore vitamin D deficiency will eventually suffer medical-legal consequences.
• While many think the influenza virus causes influenza, Cannell notes it was George Bernard Shaw who first understood: “The characteristic microbe of a disease might be a symptom instead of a cause.” George Bernard Shaw, (Preface on Doctors, The Doctor’s Dilemma, 1911).

If you want professional newsletter services, you will need to help find a foundation that will fund us.

John Cannell, MD
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/
The Vitamin D Council
9100 San Gregorio Road
Atascadero, CA 93422

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It's so interesting.... my statement made at the beginning of this blog entry - I've made it myself. In fact, my kids have mentioned many times since my DS - "You never get sick. We get everything - but you never get a thing!" It's been true... until this winter, shortly after my revision. At which time I went off of my Vitamin D supplements for a time while I was healing up after surgery. Then it took me a while to ease into my full vitamin regime. During that time I got sick THREE times - one stomach flu, and two killer colds. I've only been sick ONCE before this since July 2, 2002.

Interesting, huh?