Are you getting the right LABS done??

Lots of people get labs done after WLS. Do they get the RIGHT labs done though? Some yes, but most NO. Vitalady Michelle created a thorough list of post-op labs that any WLS postop should take to their doc (whether their PCP or their WLS surgeon) and request that they be run AT LEAST every 6 mos. If you have insurance that will cover it, go for every 3 mos. Do not go more than a year without a complete set of labs though! I'm borrowing the list via copy/paste, but this is the list that Vitalady and Andrea both share regularly with fellow postops:

*80053 Comprehensive Metabolic profile: (sodium, potassium, chloride, glucose,BUN, creatinine, calcium, total protein, albumin, total bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase) (10231)

* 84134 Pre-albumin:

* 7600 Lipid profile: (cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, chol/HDL ratio)

* 10256 Hep panel: includes ALT (SPGT) & GGT)

* 84100 Phosphorous – Inorganic: (718)

* 83735 Magnesium:

* 84550 Uric Acid: (905)

* 7444 Thyroid panel: (T3U, T4, FTI, TSH) (84437; 84443; 84479; 84480)

* 85025 Hemogram with platelets: (1759)

* 7573 Iron: TIBC, % sat

* 83550 Ferritin: (457)

* 84630 Zinc: (945)

* 84446 Vitamin A: (921)

* 82306 Vitamin D: (25-hydroxy) (680)

* 84052 Vitamin B-1: (Thiamin) (4052)

* 84207 Vitamin B-6: (Pyridoxine)

* 7065 Vitamin B-12 & Folate: (82607; 82746)

* 83970 Serum intact: PTH

* 83937 Osteocalcin:

* 84597 Vitamin K:

* 85610 PT:

* 85730 PTT:

2^ND GROUP

* 593 LDH:

* 31789 Homocysteine, Cardio:

* 83921 MMA:

* 367 Cortisol:

* 84255 Selenium:

* 84590 Vitamin E:

* 82525 Copper:

Recipe: Frank's Buffalo Chicken Dip (sort of a casserole...)

This one is actually a repost... I am making it tonight, so when I thought about it, I thought I'd reshare it for anyone who may have missed it! This is an awesome bake and take dish for covered dish stuff--especially with WLS postops! Tasty and full of protein! I double the recipe, but I only use about 2/3 cup of the buffalo wing sauce as no one here really likes too much spice! I've made it with the canned chicken AND with freshly cooked chicken breast that I shredded myself. Either way, it is delicious, nutritious, and a hit with any group--family or potluck!


FRANK'S® REDHOT® BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP
Servings: 3 1/2 cups dip | Prep Time: 5 min. | Cook Time: 20 min.

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup blue cheese or ranch salad dressing
1/2 cup FRANK'S® REDHOT® Buffalo Wing Sauce
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese or shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cans (9.75 oz. each) SWANSON® White Premium Chunk Chicken Breast
in Water, drained

DIRECTIONS:

1.HEAT oven to 350°F. Place cream cheese into deep baking dish. Stir until smooth.
2.MIX in salad dressing, Frank's RedHot Sauce and cheese. Stir in chicken.
3.BAKE 20 min. or until mixture is heated through; stir. Garnish as desired. Serve with crackers or vegetables.

Tips:
1.Microwave Directions: Prepare as above. Place in microwave-safe dish. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH 5 min. until hot, stirring halfway through cooking.
2.Tips: You may substitute 2 cups shredded cooked chicken.
3.Slow Cooker Method: Combine ingredients as directed above. Place mixture into small slow cooker. Cover pot. Heat on HIGH setting for 1 1/2 hours until hot and bubbly or on LOW setting for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Stir.
4.Tailgating Tip: Prepare dip ahead and place in heavy disposable foil pan. Place pan on grill and heat dip until hot and bubbly.

Even Jillian Was Fat As A Teen....

Most WLS postops can tell you a tale of woe that goes way back to their early childhood. I know I can. And, if I had them handy, I could scan pics that go back to my childhood and show you proof. I have them, but they are packed away at the current moment (project for the future!). I was a fat kid. I was a fat teen. I was a fat adult. It all lead me to become super-morbidly obese and 410 pounds! Well, in a Redbook article, well-known fitness guru and hotbod Jillian Michaels

reveals just the same story! At age 14, she carried 175 pounds around on her five foot two inch frame... Who'd have thunk it to look at her now! And, she lost the weight before the skin got all stretched beyond return. Good for her!

She tells Redbook that her mom noticed that she'd gained weight (she was 50 pounds overweight) and enrolled her in martial arts classes. If only it were that simple for some of us! If only our moms recognized and dealt with the problem. If only.... If only my mom had pursued my health issue (I was not diagnosed at hypothyroid till I was married and having my second child). If I, myself, had known that help was available and that I wasn't just a fat loser.... Well, that is how you feel when you try for years to lose weight and nothing works. Every time you see a doctor, you get the butt-chewing about your weight, but no suggestions as to what you can do about it other than "go on a diet...." Yeah, been there, done that!

I missed it...

My 25th high school reunion that is... It was last weekend and was right here in town too. But, for various reasons--including $$, I didn't get to go.

I saw pics taken at the reunion on friends' Facebook pages... They had a blast! Sure wish I had been there. It would have been so awesome winning that award for having NOT gained the most weight! I am at least 50 pounds lighter now than I was in high school and I'm probably 200 pounds lighter than at the last reunion in 2005 as I was near my highest ever weight just then. I remember when we were packing to move from WV back to FL last summer and I came across the pics from that reunion. OMFG I was huge! When I can get to that stuff again (still packed away till we buy a house again), I will scan and post that pic. Ugh! Never, EVER, again!

Countdown! 9 days to grandbaby hugs!

World's greatest grandbaby is in WV currently with his father. He was supposed to be coming home on 7/17 (his 2nd Bday!), but as his mom and dad have a court hearing (regarding the contempt charge mom filed against dad) on 7/13 in WV, his dad SAYS he will let mom have him back on 7/13 after court. His motivation to let him go 4 days early??? MONEY! He won't have to drive from WV to South Carolina for the exchange... Money is the only motivating factor for that man. UGH!

BUT, that means we are counting down the days till we get him back home! We (my older daughter and I) leave FL for WV on 7/12 at the crack of dawn--well, probably before the crack of dawn! It is a 15 hour drive and we need to be there for a reasonable bedtime on 7/12 as she has court at 9 am on 7/13. Then, after the hearing, we get to pickup the world's greatest grandbaby and head home!

Glad that is over!

So my knee work DID get done this time... June 29th, I had my left knee scoped again. I had already had it done back in August 2009, so not quite a year had passed and it has been painful for a long time already. The orthopedic surgeon thought I might have had a bone chip floating in the joint (my knees are both bone-on-bone) and that this bone chip was chewing up the meniscus that I have left each time it was caught against the bone in the joint... Well, he didn't find any bone chips, just more shredded meniscus. I see him on the 9th for the "full report" but it doesn't sound like he really found a cause for this new damage.

On another front, I had my full labs done on June 22nd and will get those results today or tomorrow in the mail. I'm hoping my iron is at least 100 or higher (ferritin level). I won't be on it because I'm pretty certain it won't be, but we'll see!