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Day 3

This is Band Day #3 - I woke up feeling tremendously better this morning. Yesterday was just an overwhelming day for me, hearing the ugly cancer news about my mom. I think it kind of knocked the wind out of my sails. But, the support and stories I read on hear every day assures me that life does go on.   I weighed this morning, I weighed 222# the morning of surgery, and this morning I'm 218.8. I know I didn't drink enough yesterday because we were on the road and I was unprepared, so I'll work on that today. The 100+ heat here in Texas is draining on a good day.   Have a great day all!!
lauraq

lauraq

3
 

A Long Way To Go

I am Laura, and I'm a food-a-holic. I've been overweight since I was a kid, and I just turned 50. I don't remember ever feeling full in my life. I can eat more than a man, and still eat more. I eat when no one is watching; I eat when I'm happy, scared, lonelt, depressed = I need no reason. I know that if I don't do something immediately, I'll die before I'm 60. My dues (we were estranged) died in his 40's of a massive heart attack; and the youngerst of my 3 brothers has had several strokes. And still I eat. My blood pressure is high; I have a high-stress job as a nursing director; I have a gorgeous, fit husband and 3 daughters - all but 1 struggles with their weight. I am ready to be healthy. So, I've been to the surgeon. I've been told I am a perfect candidate for lap band. I'm waiting for a letter of denial from my primary insurance which does not cover the bnd before I submit my info to BCBC - Fed, which pays 100% after the first $100. I'm angry that my primary has already taken a month and still no denial letter, even though it will be denied. I want to get started. I want to quit eating enough for an 18 year old boy. I know I can't do it on my own. I'm 5'5 and I weigh 240. I'll keep trachk of my journey here. My surgeon is Briget Brady in Austin.
lauraq

lauraq

6
 

Life is About to Change

A lot has happened to me in the past 2 weeks. First of all, my 73 year old aunt was beaten and raped in her home here in our small town, and her assailant stole her car. He has since been captured and the case goes before the grand jury next week. Next, my daughter graduated from the University of Texas. Then my mom got sick and temporarily lost the vision in one of her eyes, and she lives with (and takes care of) my 101 year old grandmother.   In the midst of all this, I have almost overlooked the fact that I AM APPROVED ON MY FIRST TRY WITH BCBS-FEP!!!! I am amazed. So, things are moving rather quickly. I go Wednesday, JUne 3 to get pre-op lab, exercise physiology testing, my nutrition counseling and a psych eval done - all on the same day. I have only told a few people about this. My family is very supportive, but I am soooo nervous. I think once I have the date set, I'll be OK. I think I will start my 2 week diet Wednesday and hopefully have surgery 2 weeks from then.   I'm really worried about my Diet Coke addiction - I'm afarid that's going to be a problem. Any thoughts on that?   I enjoy reading all the blogs and I get tremendous support and reinforcement from them. Now I'll need to "tech-up" and learn how to put a ticker on my blog, and how to upload pictures. I'm just saying, I'm not the brightest computer person. But I am a good nurse!!  
lauraq

lauraq

3
 

Feeling better day by day

Today was a good day. I had a little more energy until late this evening. Less shoulder pain...finally. Less soreness overall. I ate soupy mashed potatoes today which tasted amazing, but I was full very quickly. What a concept! I walked 1 mile with my DD2 and friend this evening and could hardly make the last lap. There was a high school summer workout program going on at that time, and I tell you...teenagers don't know how wonderful it is to have those athletic bodies. I wish they could fast forward a few years to motivate them to keep it up. I wish I would have.   I take my mom tomorrow for a physical to look for cancerous lesions on her body to make sure she doesn't have a melanoma. Then Thursday, I have a post op visit and she's having a body scan. I'm praying that maybe all the bad news we heard last week might have some miracle cure. I'm trying to keep my mantra going - "God's grace is sufficient." We can make it through many bad days with the grace of God - I think I am finally realizing that.   Hope all my June 29th band buddies are recovering nicely. Have a good night all.
lauraq

lauraq

4
 

It's A Monday

Today is one week since my surgery and I'm back to work. I thought for sure everyone would notice something different, but only one person asked me if I had lost weight. Of course, in scrubs it's hard to tell any body-type. Overall, I feel good - just a little shaky today. I was at a meeting at lunch and felt some rumbling in my belly and barely made it to the restroom for my first poopy-do in 5 days. So, that feels amazingly better. I was a fool early in the week with those Gas X strips - I was taking 1 at a time not realizing that I could take up to 4 - that really seemed to help. My diet consists of soups, puddings - not enough protein - I need to work on that some. My steri strips fell off and the incisions look OK. On the home front, I'm waiting for an appointment for my mom to have a PET scan to start a metastatic workup, looking for an orgin of the cancer that appears to be in her eye. She is doing well and my daughters are pampering her by fixing her food, cleaning her house, and watching movies with her. We will get through this - God's grace is sufficient. I hope all my other June 29 lap band buddies are doing well. WE have a lot of work to do, and I look forward to seeing how everyone is doing. A special thanks to my band buddy "imaluckydog" for being available for me Friday when I was in a low spot. Thank you so much. And to those of you who have gone before, keep the info coming. Even what might seem trivial to some is "lapped-up" by some of us. Have a good week.
lauraq

lauraq

2
 

Diet Coke Weaning

Thanks for all the positive thoughts on the DC weaning. I am down to about 3 -12 ounce bottles now. The weird thing is that as I'm low carbing, the DC is not thirst quenching. So, that helps.   We had a graduation party for my niece last night and I did ok, or so I thought.....I had fajita meat, cheese, guacamole and the best cucumber salad I've ever had. Until, I found out it was so good because my sister-in-law "forgot" to tell me she made it with sugar instead of Splenda. (She never uses sugar, so not sure what happened there).:sad: I did avoid the chocolate cake, and did pretty well otherwise. Hopefully when I go in for my appointment on Thursday, I'll get to set a date for surgery.   One other question - has anyone heard much about how frequently surgery is cancelled once they get in due to a fatty liver? My doctor had a case last week where the nurse said the liver was so fatty, it would have been dangerous to proceed, so they stopped. Now the patient has to diet for 6 more months before it will be attempted again. I guess I'm afraid of that because I have metabolic syndrome with elevated tryglycerides. Just wonderin....    
lauraq

lauraq

1
 

Trying hard to get ready

Today is Day 14 of my pre-op low carb diet, and I've lost 11.1 pounds. I feel great just having the carbs out of my system. I'm not doing so well on stopping the Diet Cokes yet. I'm hoping I can continue to decrease those before the 29th, or I'm in for major withdrawals.
lauraq

lauraq

3
 

Diagnostic Testing Visit

I go tomorrow for lab, EKG, chest x-ray; visit with anesthesia; visit with exercise physiologist; visit with psychologist; visit with nutritionist - a busy day. I'm so grateful to get it all done on the same day. My BCBS plan has been wonderful and will pay all of the diagnostic testing and all but $50 of the surgery. I should have done this a long time ago. Does anyone know what the exercise physiologist will do?
lauraq

lauraq

1
 

Duh

Sorry I entered the last post twice. I'm not able to delete it. :thumbup:
lauraq

lauraq

1
 

June 29!!!! It's A Go

I'm so excited! My surgery date is Monday, June 29 at 8AM. If all goes well, I can go home that afternoon. I'm nervous, excited, a little melancholy - all at the same time. I guess it is normal to feel sad about giving up my best friend...FOOD.   I've lost 8 pounds on my low carb diet and really feel very well. I have so much more energy when the carbs are out of my system. I feel like doing things; have energy; no hunger. I hope this has been good preparation for the LB.
lauraq

lauraq

2
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