Intertrigo, going going gone...

In 2004, I developed a horrendous, itchy, red fungal infection under the folds of my hanging stomach (I do hope you weren't eating anything!). It reached its climax when I was on holiday in Canada and I ended up in casualty. That in itself is a long story (about ten hours long if I recollect correctly), but I'll get on with the main point. This red fungal infection turned out to be something called intertrigo, a common fungal infection experienced by obese people with hanging folds of skin. You can get it under armpits, breasts, and groin as well as under the tummy where I got it and it thrives in hot, sweaty places! It doesn't look very nice but the worst part is that it is incredibly itchy - to the point where you feel physically sick.

I got some temporary relief for the condition while on holiday but had to wait till I got back for a longer term solution. In fact I was prescribed a steroid-based cream by my GP which I used, at her insistence, for nearly six months. By this time, the infection had not only resolutely stayed, but I had started to develop horrid, open blisters too. I began to suspect the cream was making things worse and did a bit of Internet research. I discovered to my horror, that the manufacturers recommended the cream not be used for more than ten days - because being steroid-based, it was prone to causing thinning of the skin (permanent) and open, ulcerated blisters!

Needless to say, I stopped using the cream immediately, and on the advice of a pharmacist, reverted to an off-the-shelf product instead. That did the trick and I've used a combination of cream and powder ever since to keep the condition under control. I've been left with permanent scarring under one part of my tummy but I don't suppose I'll be modelling bikinis any time soon - so I can live with it! However, over the past few weeks I have started to think I might be rid of the condition. My tummy still sticks out a bit - that will have to be sorted with some excess akin removal next year. But I don't have a hanging tummy any more. That means the area underneath no longer gets all hot and sweaty - and so it stays dry and fungus-free.

As a result I have started to grow in confidence recently, and gradually cut down on my use of the anti-fungal cream and powder. I've not used either now for the past two weeks and it would appear that my intertrigo has gone!! Yippee!! This is one of the most important outcomes of my weight loss. A few months ago I really thought I would be stuck with having to apply cream and powder to my tum for the rest of my life. I feel a weight (no pun intended) has been lifted off my shoulders.

Some advice to a potential bandit

After a previous post, a reader posted some questions to help her decide whether to go ahead and have gastric band surgery. I posted my answer as a 'comment' but I know some of you may not read the comments section - so here it is:

I'm pleased that you find the blog useful and helpful. I will try to answer each of your queries - but do remember that (a) this is only based on my experience - the experiences of others may vary, and (b) I'm not a doctor (well, not a medical one anyway!)!.

Loose skin: Yes, I have loose skin and it was one of my greatest fears before I got the band. However, it is much less of a problem than the health problems, humiliation and lack of fitness that go with being obese. I will need to have a tummy tuck and am considering other cosmetic surgery too. However, you are only 22 years old and your skin will be much more elastic than mine (I'm 45 years old). That means it is more likely to 'spring' back into position after you have lost weight. Therefore, you should have a very good chance of not getting excess skin after weight loss. You can do lots of exercise and muscle toning activities,and there are also lotions you can apply to help keep your skin taut. I'm not sure how much these are effectve. The main factors are how overweight you are, your age, and how rapidly you lose weight. You are young, you're not as heavy as I was when I started out, and people don't tend to lose weight too rapidly with the band (compared with a bypass, for example).

Diet: In theory, it shouldn't be necessary to 'diet' with the band. It is not about following a special diet; more about healthy eating, good nutrition and portion control. However, I find that my willpower is so weak that I need to count calories and keep a rigorous food diary to keep me on the straight and narrow most of the time. Most of my meals are healthy and portion-controlled. I also tend to have healthy snacks most of the time. However, I also slip up on a regular basis - yesterday, for example, I managed to fit in two bars of chocolate and a mince pie....!

Multivitamins: I take a daily multivitamin - just a common off-the-shelf variety from Tesco. I use a chewable one. I can swallow small tablets but prefer the chewable ones anyway - they are much like eating a sweet! As a bandit, you should find that after the initial liquids only phase, you can eat a fairly normal diet - albeit with much smaller portions. Therefore, it is not usually necesary to take any other supplements as it is if you have a bypass. I don't use any effervescent tablets but I could if I needed to - I am still a regular drinker of Diet Coke. As long as you pour it into a glass to allow the worst of the gas bubbles to escape, and drink it slowly and carefully, - I've never had any real problem.

Thank you for your kind words. I do hope that your surgery goes well. Do make sure that you get a good aftercare package that includes follow-up appointments, fills and an emergency number just in case you need it. I've never needed to use the emergency number given me - but it's a great comfort knowing that there are people available should anything go wrong. I've just read about a lady who had her op done in Belgium and her surgeon os only over in the UK once a month. She urgently needs a de-fill but has to wait a month for it - I, and some other bandits have advised her to get a de-fill from somewhere else and not wait. So - make sure you get a good aftercare package included with your surgery!!

All the best, Trees x

A body like my mum's

My new body is starting to take shape. I have noticed two similarities I share with my mum. She passed away in 1996 but one of my residing memories of her is that she was always on a diet. She was never more than a few pounds overweight but very frequently she would go on another diet to lose half a stone or so. Even a few pounds would make a noticeable difference to her physical appearance. And the thing was, that she always lost weight around her neck, shoulders and upper chest. Her waist was also quite small. The place where she always wanted to lose weight - around her thighs - was always the last place the weight came off.

What I have noticed is that my body seems to be going the same way as hers. If I look at myself in the mirror just from my upper chest upwards, I look quite slim now. However, I bought some new jeans the other day and found that my lower half is a bit weird! I say that because a size 16 fits me round the waist (which has shrunk quite noticeably), but is too tight round my upper legs. A size 18, on the other hand (which is what I ended up buying), fits me round my legs but is too loose round the waist. I decided my only option was to buy the bigger ones and put a few stitches in around the waist. I suppose I could wear a belt but I've never found them very comfortable.

I also bought a new bra and underwear and found I'd dropped a size in both of those too! I don't think it will too long now before I can fit into a 'normal' 36C!

Anyway mum, looks like I'll be following in your footsteps. I guess I'll always have some loose skin on my arms and inner thighs but as long as I get down to a normal body size at some point, I'll be happy!

Hair falling out

Don't panic, I'm not going bald... but I have noticed an increasing amount of hair in the bath after I have taken a shower in the morning. At first, I thought I must just be imagining things, so I decided to just keep an eye on it for a while. But a couple of weeks on, now I am sure. I did a Google search and found quite a lot of stuff about hair loss in relation to dieting and weight loss. However, there was mixed information. In general, the web sites I looked at suggested that the hair loss is a temporary effect of weight loss, and in some cases, relates to a deficiency of certain minerals. Most commonly, lack of vitamin B, B12 and zinc were cited. Other sites said a lack of water was to blame and others said hair loss was common on low fat diets.

Anxious to get some more definite information, I telephoned my dietician when I got home from work today. He said that some hair loss occurs in about 40% of gastric band patients and is only a short term phenomenon. He assured me that I won't go bald (which was a relief)!! He said it commonly occurs about three months or so into the weight loss process - which is about where I am at now. He also said that it can sometimes indicate a slight lack of vitamin B and folic acids. Now, both these are included in the daily multivitamin that I have. However, he said that if I was worried about it I could get a vitamin B supplement as well. I don't think I will bother with an extra supplement, but I will make extra sure that I take my daily vitamins - I do sometimes forget.

While reading about hair loss on the web, I also came across quite a bit of information about other side effects of weight loss - including dry and flaky skin - something I am definitely suffering from. I apply E45 cream all over every morning and have started to use Bio Oil on the stretch marks on my tummy and under my chin (which is starting to get wrinkly - awful!).

So, the only problem I have now is to try and find the 'sucker' thing for the bath so I can get the water flowing down the plug hole a bit better than it has been doing! I do have very thick hair anyway, so losing a bit of it seems to clogging up the outflow in the bath...

Getting plastered

The five wounds I have are all getting itchy, so I decided to take off the dressings today and have a look. The two on the outside are small, neat 1cm cuts. The one in the middle and the one at the top are both also small but appear to have oozed a little - but not recently. The larger one to the left of middle (the port entry) looks about 3-4cm long and a little messy, though again, it does not look to have leaked in the last couple of days at least.

Having a very sensitive skin, there was a lot of redness around the edges of most of the dressings. The itchiness was eased with a gentle wash. I replaced all of the dressings with new, smaller ones so that less of my tummy area is plastered! I have been told that the sutures can come off in about 7-10 days but knowing how long I take to heal it may be a little longer.

I've stopped taking the co-codamol today because the codeine can cause constipation. I have felt some more pain but it's not too bad. I'll try to get some soluble Paracetamol to keep in reserve.