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Blog 52574

A blog by adagray

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About this blog

I was banded on December 17th, 2009 by Dr. Robin Blackstone of Scottsdale Bariatric Center. I received my first fill (3cc) on 1/27/10, second fill (1.5cc) on 2/10/10, third fill (.75cc) on 3/1/10, fourth fill (1.25cc) on 3/29/10, fifth fi

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Bottomless Pit

I don't know what my problem is, but I am so hungry and can eat so much since my last fill. I thought I had pretty good restriction at 4.5cc. Got my 3rd fill on Monday which brought me to 5.25cc and I am so hungry. Ugh! :tt2: All I can think is maybe I am being too 'careful' and eating too many soft-ish foods. So, tonight I am gonna have my DH grill some salmon and asparagus. Wish me luck that it doesn't slide down so easy. :smile2: Oh, the other thing is that my muscles have been sore and I've been tired a lot lately. I started exercising every day over a week ago so maybe my body just really needs the food to repair my muscle? I can only hope! :thumbup:

March 5, 2010

4

Second Fill Appointment Scheduled

When I got my first fill last week (1/27), I was told I could have another fill in two weeks if I still felt I was in the yellow zone (hungry between meals, eating large portions, etc.). They just told me to wait one week to see how I feel first and then I could call and schedule the next fill for the next week. Yesterday, I was crazy hungry all day... may have something to do w/starting back at Jazzercise. So, I called this morning to schedule my second fill (thinking it would probably take them at least another two weeks to get me in). Well, I was very pleasantly surprised that they can do my fill next Wednesday, 2/10 (so exactly 2 weeks after my first). Yay!!! :biggrin: Its funny, when I tell my friends how I get stuck w/a needle and aren't supposed to eat for 72 hours after, they figure I would want to postpone as long as possible between fills. And, personally, I was a teensy weensy bit tempted to schedule this fill AFTER Valentine's Day since DH and I have reservations for a very nice dinner out. But, above anything else, I just want to get this show on the road. And, ultimately, this will be my life. I can still enjoy our V-Day dinner out, but savoring a small amount of food (maybe just getting an appetizer for my meal) rather than stuffing myself w/a 4 course meal. I am ready!!! :confused: I've been so happy w/what the band has done for me already, but I am eager to get it working to its full potential. :drool:

February 3, 2010

3

A blessing in disguise...

I was so bummed a couple of days ago when my surgeon's office called to say that they had to postpone my fill from this Friday to next Wednesday. I would've been getting my fill right NOW, but I am so glad right now that I'm not. I woke up this morning w/terrible cramps and sooooo bloated. Yep, my TOM is here w/a vengeance. I can't even get my rings off if I wanted to. I've heard that water retention and bloat like this can make your band feel tighter so I am so glad I am not getting my first fill right now. And, I usually only have PMS type symptoms the first day or two so I should be totally back to normal by Wednesday for sure. :thumbup:

January 22, 2010

3

Goodbye Fat Clothes, Round 1

Yesterday I packed up a whole bunch of too big clothes to donate. I didn't start out planning to do this, but was getting annoyed that everytime I go in my closet lately, I have to rummage through my closet to try to find something that doesn't look sloppy on me. I've always worn stuff (especially shirts) on the loose side so even though I haven't lost a ton of weight yet, I had a lot of stuff that was looking ridiculously large. Then, I went into my two 'Stage 1' boxes to see what I could get out of there that fits now. Let me explain... last year when I was waiting and waiting and waiting for insurance approval, a friend of mine came over and we went through ALL my old clothes. I had tons of different sizes. And, we got rid of everything that I wouldn't want to wear again. And, sorted the rest into 'Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3' boxes. Stage 1 is sizes 14-18 and 1X, Stage 2 is 12-14 and XL, and Stage 3 is 10-12 and L. OK, so I went through the Stage 1 stuff and got out a few things that work now. Woohoo! Its like free clothes!!! :scared2: But, I found that I have very few t-shirts that are my current size. So, when I was out today I bought three new t-shirts. Nothing fancy, but it feels good to have some new items that fit. I wore a new t-shirt to Jazzercise yesterday and got lots of compliments on my weightloss. I think its hard for people to see it if you don't wear clothes that fit. So for any of you that are feeling like people aren't noticing or you don't feel any different, I highly recommend some t-shirt therapy. Only $10 each and made me feel great!

April 7, 2010

3

Two More Pounds! Woohoo!!!

Finally, the scale is moving down some more! My body just seemed to love the range of 218-220... has been hovering there for 25 days (not that I'm counting or anything LOL). I saw 218 yesterday and have been soooooo good lately about following the rules and getting serious exercise in, I was really hoping I might finally see something lower than 218 today... like maybe 217 or 217.5. I would even take 217.9, but I have an old scale that only goes in half pound increments. But, what do I see this morning... :w00t::w00t::w00t: 216! Woohoo!!!:w00t::w00t::w00t: TWO pounds down from my lowest weight. And, I'm proud to say I DESERVE it! :sad: Boy, this band will drive you crazy w/self-doubt because the weight just does not come off very steady. Seems to come off in spurts for me. But, I don't have proper restriction yet either so that may be part of the reason for this (as well as not always consistently following all the rules ). Anyway, regardless of HOW the weight is coming off, I am still thrilled w/my band because it IS coming off. :blushing:

March 26, 2010

3

In a Parade Today!

A bunch of the instructors and members of Jazzercise in my town were in a parade today. Anyone who is a member of Jazzercise could be in the parade as long as you bought a t-shirt. We all got crafty and modified our t-shirts (cut them up and blinged them out). We have ladies of all ages, shapes, and sizes. I am the largest in the group, though. At first, I hesitated on saying I would do the parade. I was afraid it would be too hard for me. But, then I decided to take it as a challenge and represent the big girls. I think there are just so many larger size ladies who think they can't have fun exercising or don't feel comfortable joining a group exercise class. I wanted them to look at me and realize that if I can do it, they can do it. But, boy oh boy, was it hard! All uphill in the blazing sun, over two miles, and two HOURS of Jazzercising. My instructor's husband was driving a truck in front of us w/a cooler of waters. And, at one point, I was dying of thirst, but could not catch up w/the truck to get some water. :eek: I finally did catch up and rehydrate, though. And, the crowd was cheering loud for us and really encouraging us on. My husband brought our kids out to watch me in the parade and they were all so proud of me. It was an awesome feeling and accomplishment for me to finish it without medics having to be called in. LOL :thumbup: Now, my muscles are sooooooo sore. I took a three hour nap this afternoon, drank a ton of water, and did two protein shots already (trying to boost my protein for muscle repair), but my muscles are still sooooooo sore (especially my butt!!!). Youch! :cool:

April 11, 2010

3

The Day Before the Day Before...

Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!! I'm freaking out, but not freaking out at the same time. I just can't believe the day is almost here. Nevermind about all that good stuff I said I was gonna do this last week in my 'T-7 Days' post. Not saying I've been 'bad', but I haven't been THAT good about meeting ALL of those daily goals. I just feel like I'm going crazy trying to get everything done that I need to before surgery. Its like Christmas is on the 17th because I figure I'll be out of commision until Christmas so everything I need ready for Christmas, has to be ready by the 17th. Oh well, excuses, excuses, but I am doing the best I can and still following all of my surgeon's rules. I tried to get out of some of my Christmas commitments, but my DH is a stickler for tradition and doesn't want to cut anything out this year. So, we baked cookies all last weekend even though I can hardly eat any. And, I have to get our Christmas Letter done today even though all of our friends are on Facebook and know what we are doing anyway. I know my DH is a little crazy when it comes to this Christmas stuff, but he is also helping me out w/a lot of other stuff so I will humor him on it. If there is one thing I've learned on this journey is just how lucky I am to have such a supportive husband. He has juggled his schedule around many many times for my doctor appointments and he changed his time off so he will be off for a week and a half after my surgery. Last night, he could tell I was stressing out, so he did the kids' baths, homework, whole goodnight routine, and cleaned the entire kitchen like I've never seen him do before. And, I'm just so grateful because I really do need to rest up as much as I can so I'm going into this surgery as healthy as possible (not burnt out and overtired). OK, so today is my last day of eating light (but normal). I had a chicken breast for b-fast. I know that is weird, but it is high protein and I felt like I needed something more substantial than a shake. I am gonna have more chicken and vegies for lunch and quinoa pasta w/ground turkey and spaghetti sauce for dinner w/more vegies. Tomorrow morning I can have a light b-fast (not sure what that will be yet), then doctor's orders are to have only soup for lunch, followed by bowel prep at 1pm (magnesium citrate laxative drink). This thing looks disgusting, cherry flavor, but you know it is going to be YUK!!! After that, I can only have clear liquids until midnight and then NOTHING after midnight and my surgery is not until 2:30pm the next day. Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

December 15, 2009

3

I'm having a hard time believing it...

Every time I look at the scale, I'm having a hard time believing the number there. This morning I got on and found that I had lost ANOTHER two pounds! Woohoo!!! I am now down 19 pounds since surgery (12/17) and 26 pounds overall (from my highest). This is all SO fast for me. Don't get me wrong, of course I LOVE it! But, for the first time, my head is having a hard time keeping up w/my weightloss. I feel like people can't possibly notice a difference, but everyone says they can. And, I can't believe I could fit into a smaller size, but I just tried some on from my closet and they fit. In a weird way, it feels like I don't deserve this because I haven't suffered and been hungry since surgery. I have associated hunger and deprivation w/weightloss for so long now. It is just so weird to be rewarded w/the weightloss, but without the discipline and obsession w/'points' required by WW. Or, eating your teeny tiny lunch on Jenny Craig and feeling so damn hungry you want to crawl under a rock until your next teeny tiny meal. Of course, I have to follow the band rules and I guess that is a 'diet' of sorts. But, it sure is a hell of a lot easier than any other 'diet' I have ever been on and, at the same time, I'm losing weight faster too. And, even though I am still in the 'yellow' zone w/my band (don't have quite the restriction I should), it is helping me tremendously w/portion control and hunger which is SO FREEing after this lifetime of struggling w/diets that I have endured. So, I guess I'm having a lovefest w/my band today. I can already see that this is gonna turn out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. :bored:

February 1, 2010

3

Letter to My Mom

My mom just joined lapbandtalk.com. She is 'Kakaako Joan' and got the lapband two years ago and has lost over 100 pounds. We actually have the same 'bandiversary' (12/17), but mine is just two years later. And, that was all just a crazy coincidence because I certainly did not choose my surgery date. I had to go through two appeals w/Aetna and when I was finally approved, I hounded my surgeon's office until they would give me a date. :thumbup: Anyway, I was writing my mom an e-mail tonight and realized that I should've just posted this all to my blog here so I could update you all who I am sure are all on the edge of your seats waiting for an update. So, here it is... My weightloss has slowed down. I'm holding steady at 11 pounds lost right now (18 if you count what I lost from my highest weight), but if that's all I lose until my fill, I am happy w/that. Its more than I could lose doing anything else for one month. I have no restriction at all now that the swelling has gone down. I get my first fill on 1/22. In the meantime, I'm just following the band rules as best I can, trying to stick to only three meals a day, no desserts, very limited starch, lots of protein, and walking on the treadmill 30 minutes/day. But, its kinda like being on WW right now cause I'm hungry in between meals. I just try to distract myself or eat protein for a snack if I get really hungry. Can't wait to get a fill and get this band working for me! I am very happy that I've healed up so well now, though. I feel like I could do Jazzercise already, but will wait to get the OK from my doctor at my next appointment since they said absolutely nothing but walking for the first month. My stomach muscles are all healed, though. No pain and I can even sleep on my port side.

January 7, 2010

3

A wedding, hummus, and another pound down!

Update... I was blessed w/a buffet for the evening. I was so so happy :tt1: after I saw the buffet setup and read the menu... hummus, mashed potato bar, two salads (salad has always been a slider for me). Yeah!!! Of course, there was a lot more than that that I stayed away from... lots of breads, pastas, beef wellington. But, I stuck (haha) w/just the stuff that I know as a slider for myself. So tempted to try the beef wellington. My husband told me it was so tender, but I kept all of your advice in mind and stayed clear of it just in case. I took less than half a plate of food and nobody even noticed or commented. It was so delicious and so satisfying after being mostly on liquids this week.:smile: I can tell I have really healed since the previous night. Nothing even felt the least bit bad going down, but I was super cautious and took it slow and stopped as soon as I felt the least bit full. I did notice how most everyone else got at least two huge platefuls, even all my skinny friends!:thumbup: I just don't have that kind of metabolism. But, I'm so thankful for this surgery so I can enjoy a meal like this (even just the mushy food), feel satisfied w/it, and still lose weight at the same time. Woke up this morning another pound down! Woohoo!!! :tt1:

April 3, 2010

3

11 Days Post Op, 10 Pounds GONE!!!

Its been awhile since I posted. Its been busy, busy, busy w/my parents visiting from Hawaii. I have become totally addicted to the scale cause my weight just keeps goind down! :thumbdown: I have forced myself to cut back to weighing every other day, though, instead of every day. But, it is such a novelty to me to see my weight drop so quickly like this. I NEVER would lose more than 1-2 pounds per week on Weight Watchers and there would be many many weeks where I would lose nothing or even gain. And, WW was soooooo hard. So far, this has been pretty easy. I'm just satisfied on so much less. Genius! Now, over the course of my parents' visit, I have taken some liberties on my food which are not recommended by my dietition. I am allowed almost every kind of food right now, but am supposed to avoid starch, red meat, wine, and dessert. The truth is I've had a little bit of all those things. Not as an uncontrolled cheat, but w/the conscious decision that I am trying to rid myself of the 'all-or-nothing' thinking or 'dieting' thinking which has always been to my detriment. So, last night when we went for Mexican, I did eat a few tortilla chips, but did not shovel them into my mouth the whole time we were waiting for our food. And, I ate one fish taco that was on a small corn tortilla (saved the other one to take home). The other day for lunch, my mom and I split one serving of bolognese over polenta (and it was a fancy place, so half a serving was really small) and I had two spoonfuls of creme brulee. Sorry if I am making your mouth water. :crying: But, I'm happy that this type of moderation actually works w/the band. I always wanted to moderate my intake before, but I was so damn hungry I couldn't stop at half a serving or a couple bites. :drool: I do realize I'm in sort of a honeymoon period right now, though. My next challenge is to start my regular exercise program as soon as my parents leave (tomorrow morning). We've been doing active things... like yesterday we went to the Desert Botanical Gardens and walked A LOT! But, I know that once they leave, I've got to get a regular routine going because my normal daily activity is not nearly enough to keep my metabolism going good. You all might think I'm crazy, but I'm planning on making it my goal to exercise TWICE per day. Nothing strenuous, but do two walking sessions of at least 30 minutes... one in the AM hours and one on my treadmill while watching TV after my kids go to sleep (around 8:30). Having been on A LOT of diets before, I know my metabolism really responds to this. Its how I've broken through plateaus before. And, now that I'm a SAHM w/one kid in school and one kid in preschool, I really don't have any excuse for NOT putting more effort into exercise. For once in my life, I've got the time!!! :thumbup:

December 28, 2009

2

Delayed Restriction and Low Blood Pressure

First of all, I have now come to the conclusion that I am one of those people who doesn't feel a fill (lol, that sounds funny) right away. Meaning, I do not seem to swell up or feel any restriction right away right after a fill. In fact, I feel more hungry (probably because of my doctor's rule to not eat for 72 hours after). Anyway, so I got my 3rd fill last Monday and was thinking I felt less restricted after the fill than before it. And, honestly, that was kind of annoying. :glare: Flash forward to this weekend and suddenly I am feeling a lot more restriction. I got stuck two times this weekend (on solid protein) and slimed for the first time. I kept everything down, but it hurt so bad I wished it would just come back up. :thumbup: I'm just not a puker (or PBer), though. Oh well, I gotta learn to chew and take it slow. But, that's a good thing! Even though I have a bit of a learning curve w/this, I am grateful for the restriction. I am definitely satisfied on less food now and it is lasting me longer. :thumbup: In other happy news, my blood pressure has dropped significantly. I felt a bit dizzy doing some housework on Saturday so I took my BP and found it was 86/65! So, I have been monitoring my BP closely since then, skipped my BP meds Sunday and today, and so far my blood pressure is staying in a normal healthy range without the meds. Not sure if it will stay this way. Its hard to believe I could just drop the meds alltogether like that, but we will see. I'm gonna track it for a bit longer and then call my doctor.

March 8, 2010

2

20 Pounds Gone!!!

That's 13 pounds lost since my surgery on 12/17 (just over 3 weeks ago) plus 7 that I lost before surgery. Woohoo!!!

January 11, 2010

2

No More New Years' Resolutions!

For once in my life, I feel a great deal of peace about everything. I was banded on 12/17 and whatever I can achieve w/this band, will be just fine. It doesn't matter how long it takes as long as I keep moving in the right direction. Hence, there is no need for New Years' Resolutions. I will continue to strive towards moderation while being kind to myself as much as possible through this journey. :wink: One of the psychologists at my surgeon's office said that we never have to be 'dieters' again. This has been and will be one of my biggest challenges... to give up the 'dieting' and 'all or nothing' mentality that has only been a detriment to me throughout my life. One of the buzzwords I used to hate... 'lifestyle' is something I am ready to embrace now that I have this tool that makes it possible for this 'lifestyle' to not include constant hunger. :biggrin: I have to admit that a part of me is sooooooo curious to see where I end up at the end of this year. But, I won't pressure myself to end up at any particular spot by the end of the year. I will do the best I can and my body will do what its gonna do. And, I will enjoy the journey. :biggrin: I wish you all Peace & Happiness in this New Year. :biggrin:

January 1, 2010

2

OverFilled!!!

This was my first experience w/this. I was so miserable yesterday, I did not even feel like posting about it to my blog. But, I did post on another thread so I am gonna copy those entries here: ******************************** 5/17/10: I just got another 1cc added and am up to 7.5cc in a LAP-BAND APS (10cc capacity). This is the first time after a fill that I'm experiencing water going down slowly. I can only drink one sip at a time and there is a lot of gurgling as it goes down. Does this sound alright? I'm a little concerned just because I've never been this tight before. :rolleyes2: My doctor says only to drink clear liquids for 72 hours after a fill, though, so I guess I shouldn't worry about it for now. Maybe it will loosen up by the time I am supposed to be able to eat. For those of you who are at your sweet spot, what do you think? Is that a normal feeling for water to go down slow and gurgle??? ******************************** 5/18/10: Update... I've decided to go for a slight unfill today. I have an appointment in 2 hours. Last night, I just kept getting tighter and tighter. Then, I decided to have some warm broth. Big Mistake! That made me swell almost completely shut. I had to spit out my saliva for awhile it was so bad. Then, I alternated between sipping really cold water and spitting out my saliva and that seemed to reduce the swelling enough so that I could sleep comfortably. I really did not want to have to go to the ER and end up w/a complete unfill. Woke up this morning feeling fine, but then took two tiny sips of water and started feeling all the gurgling and discomfort again. So, I don't know if the swelling would go down in a few days, but I can't even deal w/a few days of this. Plus, I had very good restriction after my last fill and did not have trouble with fluids. So, I really don't think it would get better enough to stick w/for the long run. Anyway, I hope she can just take maybe half out and I'll be good w/that. We shall see... ******************************** Now, I'm back from my unfill appointment and I feel sooooooo much better. It felt better as soon as she took half the fill out from yesterday (0.5cc). So, now my total fill is 7cc instead of 7.5cc. And, boy does that half cc make a huge difference! I have never been so happy just to be able to drink water freely and protein shots. Woohoo!!! :confused:

May 18, 2010

2

Today is the Day!!!

My stomach is growling My butt is sore (from the bowel prep) My laundry is clean (and the kids' too) My house is clean (kinda) My medicine cabinet is stocked with... gas-x strips and chewable vitamins My pantry is stocked with... diet jello herbal tea and low sodium chicken broth My treadmill is dusted off My Christmas presents are bought My husband will have to do the rest!!! OK, my attempt at a poem of sorts. I do find it a bit humorous how much preparation goes into this half hour surgery. And, you all know this poem doesn't even begin to cover it all. I could write a separate one about the insurance junk. But, here I am, the day is finally here! :tt1: My surgery got moved back up to 12:30 so I am really happy about that. I was scheduled for 2:30 and was wondering how I would make it that long without food. A 12:30 surgery time makes it a lot easier because I need to be at the hospital by 10:30 which leaves a lot less idle time around here to wallow in my hunger. My 6 yr old son heads off to school at 8:45, then my MIL gets here at 9:15 to watch my daughter, then my hubby and I need to leave by 9:45 to be at the hospital, parked, and in there by 10:30. I'm just enjoying a few silent moments here before my kids wake up. I am anxious to get this over with, but not worried. I mainly just want to be knocked out so I don't have to feel this awful hungry feeling anymore.

December 17, 2009

2

Bandster Heck

I refuse to call it 'Bandster Hell' because its really not that bad. Heck, its just like I'm trying to diet like normal (pre-band). I refuse to journal, weigh, and calculate all my food and activity because it gives me bad flashbacks from Weight Watchers. But, I do keep a pretty keen mental awareness of how many grams of protein I am getting in, water, and calories. And, am being diligent about following the band rules. I'm trying to stay under 1500 calories per day and 70+ grams of protein. :thumbup: I've been doing pretty good for the past couple days since NYE and all the holidays are over now. I woke up feeling like I had lost weight this morning so I got on the scale and found that I lost ONE more pound! YAY!!! :thumbup: OK, I was trying not to get on the scale more than once/week and Thursday was gonna be my weigh-in day so I certainly didn't do too well w/that seeing as today is Sunday. Maybe I better go find the SWA group now. LOL :smile2: Oh, I also had an interesting conversation w/the cashier checking me out at the grocery store yesterday. She told me that this year she is going to climb Camelback Mountain... that she's lived here so long and its so beautiful and its about time she did it. Now, this is a short, but strenuous hike (very steep). The beautiful skinny people of Scottsdale run up and down this trail for a workout. I would probably die of cardiac arrest if I tried to even walk up it right now. But, as she said this to me, I quickly replied, 'You know, I think I should do that too.' And, it got me thinking about how much I used to like hiking and how I miss it. I even started looking up trails on the internet. I think I will pick out some easier trails first and work my way up to Camelback Mountain. And, then later this year maybe I can hike Camelback Mountain. And, if I can't make it, then the beautiful skinny people will have to carry me down! :confused:

January 3, 2010

2

2 days post-op, 1 more day till I can eat real food!

Things have been a little more rough since I left the hospital. The dosage of pain medication I was prescribed for home is significantly less than what I was getting in the hospital and boy does it make a difference!!! My gas pain was pretty bad last night and the gas-x strips don't seem to work very well on it when it is in my back and shoulder. A heating pad helps w/my back, though, and I did end up getting a good night's sleep. I had one big farting episode in the middle of the night that helped relieve a lot of the gas pressure and then another today. I have never wished I could fart more in my whole life. I would love to just toot toot toot all the rest of this out of my body and be done w/it. Sorry, TMI!!! I am also really getting tired of only being able to have broth, herbal tea, diet jello, and water. I did discuss this w/my surgeon's assistant and she assured me that the hunger I am feeling right now is really just head hunger. And, I agree because this doesn't feel like the real hunger I had right before surgery. Right before surgery (I had not eaten for 24 hours), my stomach was growling really bad and felt like it was eating itself. I couldn't think of anything except how hungry I was and how I wanted to be knocked out so I wouldn't feel hungry. My 'hunger' now is more of just wanting to taste and enjoy something different than jello, broth, and tea. Anyway, I am so thankful my husband has been so supportive and helpful AND has not been eating around me. What a saint! He went over to my inlaws tonight w/the kids for dinner. I just have to get through one more day of no eating now and then I can start trying foods on Monday. My surgeon has you go straight to real food, but to be safe I will start w/cottage cheese or yogurt I think. Then, I have some good deli meat I got from Costco and also some smoked salmon. Mmmmmmmm, that sounds so good. I also have some yummy soups in the pantry... roasted red pepper & tomato w/a dollop of greek yogurt... mmmmmm, I am giving myself more 'head hunger' now. :tt1: I watched Julie and Julia last night. What a great movie to watch when you can't eat eh?

December 20, 2009

2

And, drumroll please... I have restriction!!!

OK, I know it is temporary because I am only 4 days post-op so as soon as the swelling goes down, it will probably be gone. But, for now, I am enjoying it. Today was my first day I could eat food. I had cottage cheese and smoked salmon for breakfast. I felt satisfied, but didn't really feel full or what I would consider restriction. I could've eaten more, but stopped. But, for lunch I took two pieces of turkey lunchmeat and rolled each piece around a little bit of cheese, then microwaved it. After eating these, I definitely felt full (not uncomfortable, but definitely done) and they were not big at all. My doctor was right that the more 'solid' the food is, the more full you feel and for a long time. I'm so happy! I don't know why, but I expected that I would not feel any restriction until maybe a few fills. It was just hard for me to imagine being truly satisfied on so little. Oh, and bonus, I already met my protein requirement for the day (70 grams) and haven't even ate dinner yet. I am doing good!!! :cursing:

December 21, 2009

2

Need a fill so bad!!!

I really sympathize w/all of you who have to wait a month between fills now. My doctor allows fills every 2 weeks if you feel like you need one. But, I made the mistake of waiting before making my next appointment and this time they had no appointments available when I felt like I needed one. So, the soonest I could get in is four weeks after my last fill. And, I just feel like I have almost no restriction at all right now. AND, I still have to wait ONE MORE WEEK! ACK!!! :waytogo: Even worse, I am not losing any weight. I am being very good about my exercise so really hoping that this means I've at least gained some muscle and lost some body fat (even if the scale isn't moving down). Of course, I won't know that until I get on the doctor's scale (that breaks it all out) so for now I am just bummed that the scale is not going down. :eek: I don't want this post to be totally negative, though, so let me share at least one positive thing that has happened for me this past week and that is that I now fit into some even smaller jeans. The smaller jeans I was excited to fit into a month ago are now loose and some that I could not even pull up on me before, I can wear comfortably. Woohoo!!! :mad:

March 20, 2010

2

First Stuck Episode

Just when I thought I had no resriction, I had my first real stuck episode tonight. First of all, I think I must be retaining water. I have felt bloated all day. And, I think this is what must be making me feel restricted cause I have not felt any restriction for awhile (I'm 3 weeks out from surgery and no fill yet). Anyway, so this morning I had a baby shower to go to and when it came time to eat, I splurged on having two eggs benedict, some shrimp, and mixed fruit. I could feel the food not going down so well so I stopped eating. It was so weird for me to not finish my plate cause everything was so good. OK, so flash forward to tonight's dinner and we had grilled salmon, grilled asparagus, pasta, and rolls. I was just gonna eat the salmon and asparagus and I could feel some of the asparagus was not so tender, but it was still going through fine. Then, I decided what the heck, I think I'll have a roll. BIG MISTAKE!!! By the time, I felt it getting stuck, I had already eaten almost the whole thing. It hurt really bad. I excused myself to the bathroom and took my water with me. My mom had said you can take a sip of water to help it come back up if needed (she's been banded for 2 years). But, when you are stuck, the last thing you want to do is to add anything to the mix. I took some tiny tiny sips and it just made it worse. It was a weird sensation feeling the water work its way down and little bubbles coming up. I am a woos when it comes to throw-up. I don't even know how to make myself throw-up if I needed to. I remembered that someone on here says it helps to hold your hands up high in the air so I did that for awhile. That seemed to work OK and the roll finally made its way through over the course of a few minutes. I know some stuck episodes can be a lot worse so I'm thankful this passed pretty quickly. But, I never ever want to feel that again so I am staying far far away from bread from now on. I hardly ever eat bread products anyway because I have an intolerance to wheat (makes me really tired), but just indulged today because it wasn't gonna matter if I got tired. Anyway, this whole experience has taught me that I also really need to be careful anytime I am retaining water or feel bloated. And, I need to try to prevent that too. I think I was so bloated because I ate some really salty stuff last night which makes you retain water. And, I had wine which makes you dehydated. And, when you are dehydrated, your body reacts by retaining water too. So, I gotta really watch all that stuff now... not just for the calories (which I knew were bad), but because of how it effects your restriction. On the bright side, I got on the scale yesterday and lost another pound! Woohoo!!!

January 11, 2010

1

Two pounds in two days!

I will never understand why it is, but my weight really does seem to come off in spurts w/the band. And, I'm happy to see that I'm having another weightloss spurt right now... two pounds in two days! Woohoo!!! :thumbup: My restriction since my last fill seems to be holding strong. I am actually eating out of custard cups now. And, not because I am trying to limit my portions (my doctor doesn't have any rules about how much you can eat - just that you should not eat for longer than 20 minutes). But, if I take more than a custard cup full, then I get too full before I'm done and have to throw some away. And, I absolutely hate throwing food away! I know I gotta get over that, but for now its easier to eat out of the custard cups. Anyway, I'm just so happy w/how the band is working for me now. It is so truly amazing. I'm almost never hungry and even if its been 5 hours since my last meal, I only feel a little hungry. I used to get so ravenously hungry my stomach would actually be in pain and I would get so irritable if I went too long without food. Even the weightloss aside, its really cool that I can just go go go without really needing food. I know that is not the point of the band, but for a busy mom, this is so very convenient. :cool: The best thing about this last fill, though, is that I've totally lost my fear that this band won't work for me or that I won't be able to lose as much weight as I want. For the first time, I just can't imagine that it won't work. Add up the facts that I am not hungry, I am satisfied on very little food, and I am loving my exercise routine (Jazzercise) and there is just no way I won't succeed. This is nothing like any other diet I've been on because YES, I can embrace this as a lifestyle. I'm actually enjoying the journey, not just white-knuckling through it as a means to an end. I think this might be what they call the 'Sweet Spot'!

April 9, 2010

1

Struggling w/Restriction? Grab a Cutie!

I need a fill sooooooo bad. Just ate dinner two hours ago and I am hungry again. Ugh! But, I have discovered one food that seems to do the trick as a snack that actually makes me feel satisfied on very few calories... Cuties! You know those little clementine oranges. I think it must be all the skins/membrane because as much as I chew chew chew, it still feels kind of clumpy when I swallow. But, it doesn't get stuck... at least not for now. My next fill is on Monday and it cannot come soon enough! :blushing:

March 26, 2010

1

The Day After...

I am happy to report that, so far, my recovery has been pretty easy. I had some back and neck pain yesterday (from the gas), but most of that is gone now after taking several walks around the bariatric unit here. I have to say that yesterday the most annoying thing was just being hooked up to so many wires. I still have an IV, but the thing on my finger to track my oxygen and pulse is gone now, the leg pumpers are gone, the thingy w/five wires to my chest is gone, and I no longer have the BP cuff attached to my arm the whole time and going off every 5 minutes. So, I'm finally untangled enough to hook up my computer here! :tt1: Now, my FAVORITE thing about being in the hospital has got to be being wheeled around in a bed. I don't know why, but that just makes me giggle inside. The one thing I am kinda worried about now, though, is how I am gonna make it until Monday without eating anything. I am only allowed herbal tea, diet jello, and broth. I think I will e-mail my dietician and just check to see if anything else would be allowable if I am up for it. I have some of those protein bullet shots at home and maybe they would allow that?

December 18, 2009

1

Jazzercise Saturday, Sunday, and a Surprise!

I recently decided that I needed to step up my exercise program so I made it a goal to exercise EVERY day (either Jazzercise for one hour or walking on my treadmill for half an hour). My favorite exercise is Jazzercise (and it is a lot more intense than walking), but I can only get to that on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the week due to my schedule. So, I planned to walk the rest of the week on my treadmill and maybe TRY to get to Jazzercise on Saturday morning too. I never have gotten into the routine of doing it on the weekends before because it just always seemed too hard to wake up early on the weekends. But, I'm proud to say I did it this weekend! And, not only did I do Jazzercise at 8am on Saturday, but I went today (Sunday) too at 4:45pm. Woohoo!!! :thumbup: And, as if all of that isn't awesome enough, after class was over today, the instructor walked up to me and told me how great I move and that I could be an instructor. What?!?! Did she not notice that I am the fatest one in the room??? I was blown away. I am really good friends w/two of the other instructors (actually one is the owner), but this instructor did not know me at all nor did she know I was friends w/them. I'm used to friends saying nice things and just thinking they are saying that to be nice, but this was totally out of the blue from someone who doesn't know me. Wow! Not that I want to be a Jazzercise instructor, but having spent my whole life feeling physically inept and awkward because of my size, its fantastic to get a compliment like this. :rolleyes2:

March 1, 2010

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