Perspective

Let me clarify a bit. I am not headed to the rubber room. Yes, there are things that aren't going as I would exactly like, but they are not leading me down the road to serious depression. I admit, I am at times a little dramatic. What is happening is just the sort of up and down that happens in life at times. I have known serious depression in the past and this isn't it. I will cope with my son and granddaughter moving when it happens. I will just have to save my meager $'s and visit them once in a while. The other things that are happening will resolve themselves and I will adjust. Yes, some things are crappy right now.

I do appreciate people's concern. I don't want people to think that things are worse than they are though. Life is not constant and everything changes. Sometimes those changes catch us off guard. Living means adjusting though.

I hope to have a better day and I hope you do too.

Love,
Shel

PS. Just to add fire to the furnace one of the things I am coping with is the current trend to loose hair. It is a known side-effect of the weight loss surgery. It is temporary, but I had to go through this with chemotherapy and it is a really crappy thing. In fact the picture of me to the left was taken just after chemo ended and that hair is a wig. (I really need to update my picture, but I am a little camera shy and with the weight loss I am changing quickly.)I am hoping that the loss will not be very extensive. I kind of like my hair. I do get it permed and colored and if the hair loss continues I know that those treatments may need to stop for a while. This is just frustrating and adds to my current feelings. As I said everything changes.

PPS. I just found this on the web. It is a response to a question of hair loss post bariatric surgery.

Hair loss, and change in hair color and hair quality after gastric bypass surgery are common problems and typically happen within the first year after the operation. Your body goes through a period of severe starvation and tries to divert nutrients toward more vital organs. Although carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, and vitamins (especially the family of vitamin B) have been blamed for the hair loss, the exact mechanism of this problem is not known and multiple factors might be involved. The good news is that your hair loss after gastric bypass is usually temporary and will be improved when you get out of the rapid weight loss situation. Any patient who had a gastric bypass should have frequent doctor visits following their bypass surgery as the procedure is associated with incidence of iron, vitamin B12, folate, calcium, and vitamin D deficiency. You need to be on supplements of minerals and vitamins and you should also be monitored with regular laboratory tests for these deficiencies. Please keep in mind that gastric bypass produces medically controlled malnutrition to force weight loss.

I am told that the hair loss is more typical of bypass surgery, but my weight loss has been rapid and I certainly have been under some stress. I am now taking more supplements and my diet is more varied.