Vitamins

Now that I'm 1 year post-op I recently had my labs reviewed. The amazing thing is the complete resolution of all the health issues I previously had. But this post is about vitamins, not that.

So with the review I need to increase my Vitamin D (50,000 IUs) to every other day (from once a week). And since my hematocrit is low, I was told to increase my Iron - doubling it daily. The hematocrit is only slightly low, and other indicators for iron are good, so I am taking it upon myself to double the iron only every other day.

This should make it easier to remember (double the Iron on the days I take the Vitamin D). AND try to keep the cost down.

I am looking forward to the end of the calendar year to see how much I spent on vitamins in the past year. I know it will be high.

I am now taking Calcium 3 times a day, probiotic 2 times a day, 1 multivitamin, 1 zinc, and, as previously described, the iron and Vitamin D. This should keep my hair from falling out and prevent me from becoming a stooped old woman. Or so I hope.

I am doing the flexible healthcare spending account. Next year the limit is being raised to $5000 - which would be good for reconstructive surgery. But I'm thinking about ordering my vitamins online through U-Promise. It's more of a pain in a way - to order online. If you don't order online you can just run out to Target or Whole Foods and pick up what you need (at least for most of what I take, although the Iron is by special request). I can still do Flexible Spending with Upromise - but I can also get the rebate. Which will lessen the pain of paying for vitamins.

But then again, it's a small price to pay for great health.

Why Blog?

It's been almost 14 months since I had the Duodenal Switch operation to lose weight. You might be asking, "Why now?"

I have kept a journal since the surgery because I've always wanted to track, monitor, and remember the journey. But I didn't really know if I wanted to share that journey. And then it sort of dawned on me - I share it almost every day.

I decided early on that using surgery to lose the weight was not something I should be ashamed of. This was my salvation. And shouldn't I shout that from the mountaintop? When asked how I lost it I am honest. I am open and confide readily about the decision, the challenges, the recovery and even about how I am trying NOT to lose weight now.

So why not blog about it?