Monday, May 10, 2010

After CAT

I went to see the surgeon today to evaluate CAT scan results.
I had good and bad news.
First (expected), there is no abdominal hernia. There are two small ‘inguinal hernias’ that are stable comparing to CAT scan in 2007.  However, the abdominal wall is very thin; therefore I need to have plastic surgeon to the rescue to repair the belly and the muscle, so I contacted one.
Second (unexpected), the CAT scan indicated ‘Urinary bladder wall is diffusely thickened. There is apparent defect at the superior portion of the prostate gland…
Doctor recommended to see urologist, and I already made an appointment for June 4th. Thickening of the wall bladder could be a symptom of many problems, so I am not ready to speculate.
As Gilda Radner used to say: “There is always something…”
Cheers.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Welcome 4000 Visitors

Hi,
I was silent for the last two weeks. In the meantime, 4000th ‘unique’ visitor visited me. From the emails I received and feedback posted, it looks like few people out there were influenced and somehow I feel that I contributed to their life or their decisions.
Thank you all for sharing with me that difficult navigation, Now the sailing is clear.

OK – so what is new?

Looks like I lost all the fat I should loose, but I still did not reach my weight goal. I just have to accept it. What is bothering me more is my still large belly (of course much smaller from what it used to be, but still sort of out of proportion). When I started to exercise and specially tummy workout, my belly was just exploding. When I tighten my muscles, I have a ridge running up and down the front. I visited bariatric surgeon and she suspects that:
  1. There is a small probability of hernia
  2. I have separated stomach muscles that would have to be surgically ‘stitched’ together.
I am scheduled to have a CAT scan on Wednesday to see what is inside. Hernia can be very easily repaired however full abdominoplasty would be difficult, expensive, and with significant recovery time. On top of this, insurance covers hernia repair, but considers abdominoplasty‘cosmetic’ and therefore not covered.
Other than this – I feel great. I do not regret this decision for even one moment.