Some recent pics, and an update on my health
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I feel a bit self-conscious doing this, but several folks asked me to post some recent "post-surgery" pictures.
I didn't want to do anything cheesy and I really dislike the idea of a before/after thing. Just kinda lame.
Anyways, so above are some recent pics of me. (Taken by crimsonsaint, jpinsd and liquid_wayno.)
I dunno, I guess if you want to see a "before" shot, there's one here.
I've dropped over 70 lbs, gone from a 4XL to a 2XL shirt, and from a size 44 (sometimes 46) pants to a size 40. (I can actually wear my 38 jeans but they fit very snugly.)
I've been walking or biking every day, and occasionally mixing-in other stuff. Over the next few weeks, it'll include hiking, kayaking and volleyball.
The weight loss has leveled-off a bit, so now comes the next phase: the goal now is to lose about 2-3 lbs a month for the next year.
Meanwhile, my sleep continues to improve, though perhaps more slowly than I'd hoped. I'm definitely over the first "hump" and able to sleep soundly throughout the night. I'm also happy to report that I am alert enough to work a full 40 hours per week at work again. WHEW. But oximeter readings indicate that my blood oxygen is still low, and I still have some daytime sleepiness. This means I need to keep using my BiPAP*; and I'm working with a sleep specialist to keep finding ways to manage my apnea better.
Things took a giant leap forward when I started using a new BiPAP mask: the Respironics ComfortFull 2. It's practically a perfect fit... my numbers indicate an amazingly low leak rate every single night since I got it. It's comfortable, and I don't get air blasting in my eyes. (This, after experimenting with at least a dozen different kinds of masks over the last few years. Yay!)
So that's one problem solved. Now onto the next one: getting the right BiPAP pressure settings. I got a new BiPAP machine, it's smaller and has some nifty electronic reporting features that should give us some clues. Right now the BiPAP pressure is set to 20/16. I told the doctor that I thought 16 was too high, because I couldn't exhale completely before the BiPAP started making me breathe-in again. He looked at my last sleep study and agreed that my oxygen levels looked better at 20/14. So we've adjusted the machine, and we're tinkering with a few other settings that it has (ramp, cycle, min/max breath time, etc.) to get things better.
So things are progressing!
*A BiPAP is just like a CPAP, only it has two levels of air pressure: one for inhalation, and another (lower one) for exhalation.