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Paige's Weight Loss Journal

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Self Pay with August 17th Surgery date

July 10th     After being turned down by our insurance company and no where left to       go, I will have to pay out of pocket for the surgery. I know it will be worth it for me physically as well as for my feelings about myself. I have scheduled it for August 17th with Dr. Avilla at the hospital in Blackfoot.   Now I at least know that I have explored all options prior to going the self pay route. It would be nice to get it done in July, but with the Japanese youth delegation being here and my being responsible for their 2 weeks of activities I don't want to risk not feeling well during that time.
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August 17th Banding Date

Well in two days I will be banded. I am looking forward to it, but am wondering about all the complications I have read about. My husband says you wont' know until you try. I will be self paying $11,000. I have been busy the last two weks entertaining dlegates from our Sister City in Japan. They just left yesterday, so I haven't had much time to think about it, which is good. Aslo our daughter had a baby on Saturday, August 12th. she was just 5# 12 ounces and a real cutie.   I have been taking care of our 4 year old granddaughter so her parents can make the adjustment to two. We drove today 30 minutes to Blackfoot to pay for the surgery and to find out when I am supposed to show up at the hospital. I learned today that I am suppose to be there at 6:30 am. My husband works in Idaho Falls just a half hours drive further north. He will drop me off and then come back to se me later in the afternoon. I will spend the night at the hospital and then do the barium swallow the following morning to see if the band is placed correctly.   Then I will be back home to recover and begin to learn about my new band and how it will react to foods. I have been on high protein and low cabohydrates these past two weeks. After surgery I will be on 2 weeks of clear liquids and then 2 weeks of other liquids and then 2 weeks of mushies.
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Correction 54 Pound Weight Loss

January 20- Yesterday I had my appointment with Dr. Avila and was pleasantly surprised to find out that I had actually lost 54 pounds and now weigh 175. I did have my third fill at that time as I have been feeling a little hungry between meals.   He told me I was doing great with an average loss of two pounds per week. I don't go back to see him again until I feel like I need another fill. Last time he told me to come back in three months so now I really feel like I am on my own. I will try to attend some of the support meetings they have the last Wednesdays of the month when the weather gets better, to keep up with how others are doing and to have others to visit with for support.   This band has been great and will be a great help when it comes to the maintenance part of the weight loss picture that other programs cannot provide. I have not missed the foods that I have not been able to eat at this point, and maybe I will be able to add some of them back anyway in small quantities later.
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August 17th Banding Completed

I had to be at the hospital at 6:30 in the morning of Thursday, August 17th. I had my husband drop me off with my overnight bag, and he drove another half hour to work as he had several meetings there that day. I told him I would be fine and that he could stop by on his way back home. The surgery went well and I was back to my room by 11:00am, watching t.v. I had clear liquids and jello for lunch and then the Dr. came by and said everything went as planned and he would like me to begin walking about 6 times that day. So...I got out of bed and walked around the floor a couple of times and did my lung breathing machine to keep me from getting pnemonia. My husband showed up about 4:30 and he walked with me and then left to go home.   I didn't need any pain medication the first day, but on Friday before noon and before my husband came to get me I asked for something as my port side was starting to hurt. They gave me Toradal and Motrin in my IV. That seemed to help. Getting into bed that night was terrible. That was the worst part of the whole surgery was geting in and out of bed and sitting down on the toilet and pulling my self up again. OUCH! I had to hold pressure on my port side when I walked around the house on Friday and Saturday and Sunday. Monday it was a little less sore. I was having some gas pains also during these first few days in my left shoulder area. Today is Friday and I can now get in and out of bed pretty pain free and even slept on my stomach last night. I took the Vicodin Friday and Saturday night only and Childrens Liquid extra strength Tylenol as well.   I was on clear liquids from Thursday until Wednesday when the Dr.s nurse called to see how I was doing I told her I felt very weak. I told her I was having a bout of diahrrea as well and she said that was normal being on just the clear liquids. She said I could try some yogurt and Slim Fast, but not full cream soups yet. I had yougurt for dinner that night, but had those gas pains back in my shoulder area right after eating it.
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Oct 10th Dr. Appointment

Just got back from the Dr. I lost 3 more pounds so now I am down 30 pounds and should be under 200 pounds at my next dr. appointment. He says I am doing just great. He says it is better to loose it more slowly so the skin has time to adjust and isn't saggy. My BMI has dropped from 38 to 31.   He gave me a 1/2 cm fill so I have a 1 and1/2 cm fill. He said it will take 3- 4 fills to get just the right amount of restriction. I will go back in 3 weeks on Halloween. I told the dr. I will expect him to be in costume!   I need to get another pair of blue jeans as my one pair is too big. I don't want to get too much invested in my pants as I won't be wearing them for very long, as I drop in size.
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Loosing Weight

Today is August 28th and a week and a half since my surgery. I decided to weigh myself for the first time since my initial visit to the surgeon in May, a couple of nights ago. In May I weighed 230 pounds. The dr. took a picture of me. I had been cutting back on carbs and exercising quite a bit on the treadmill since May. I now weigh 208 pounds. My clothes are starting to feel bigger on me. A jacket that I wore with my dress pants is too big now. That is a good feeling.   I feel like I am hungry even after I eat my yogurt or my Slim Fast. I know I won't get a fill until 6 weeks out in order to give my stomach time to heal. My stitches are starting to itch and I am able to sleep on my stomach now without pain.
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Pre-op High Protien Diet

May 30- I am on my second week of a high protein diet. I have been to see the Dr. and have talked to all of the pre-op people. I have a banding date set for June 8th. I will call tomorrow to see if the Dr. office has sent in my infor to Aetna. I hope they will approve even though my husband says we can do a self pay, if not. It costs $15,000. for self pay. I plan to have the surgery done at Bingham Memorial Hospital in Blackfoot, Idaho about 30 minutes from where we live.   I have been reading many banding success stories as well as stories of complications! That part is a little worrisome. Slippage sounds like a big deal and might mean the removal of the band.   Current BMI 38.4 Weight 228:)
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Almost At the 50 Lb. Mark!!

Dec. 13th _ I was to go to the Dr. On Dec. 9th, but cancelled as I didn't feel like I needed a fill, and he had scheduled this appointment just for me as he realy didn't want me to come back until Jan. I will go in On January 19th.   I am weighing 184. When I get to 180 it will be a a 50 lb. loss. The dr.s scales are 1 lb. less than mine. I am trying to exercise 40 minutes a day on the treadmill. The exercise really helps to shed the pounds!! I lost 3 pounds this past week. It is nice to fit in to some of my old shirts and sweaters that I still have as I haven't had to go out and buy anything new. Maybe another couple of pair of pants in another month or two.   I am not really that hungry most of the time, so the band is doing it's job. When it is time to eat I don't have to eat that much before I am full. Yea!!!
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First Doctor's Appointment Post Op

Yester day, August 30th I went to the surgeons office. When I was weighed I had lost 24 pounds. The nurse was very excited about that. When the Doctor came in he started to look at my chart and said do you know how much you have lost? I told him yes, but that I did lose some of the weight prior to surgery as I had cut back on my carbs and had been walking 2 miles on my treadmill. I probably had lost 10 pounds from May until my August 17th surgery. While I was there he took off my steri strips that had been covering my incisions. He said I was healing very well.   I am happy anyway for the 24# loss. I am scheduled to go back to him on Sept. 12. He told me I could eat anything you would feed a baby. So I had a cup of clam chowder last evening. Yogurt fro breakfast as usual.
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First Doctor's Appointment Post Op

Yester day, August 30th I went to the surgeons office. When I was weighed I had lost 24 pounds. The nurse was very excited about that. When the Doctor came in he started to look at my chart and said do you know how much you have lost? I told him yes, but that I did lose some of the weight prior to surgery as I had cut back on my carbs and had been walking 2 miles on my treadmill. I probably had lost 10 pounds from May until my August 17th surgery. While I was there he took off my steri strips that had been covering my incisions. He said I was healing very well.   I am happy anyway for the 24# loss. I am scheduled to go back to him on Sept. 12. He told me I could eat anything you would feed a baby. So I had a cup of clam chowder last evening. Yogurt fro breakfast as usual.
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Waiting for Response from Aetna

Well,today, June 8th was the day that I was scheduled to have the banding done. After a call two days ago to my surgeon's office they informed me that Aetna hasn't even looked at my records yet so we willl have to postpone the surgery until we hear from them. She said it could be a couple of weeks yet. She had just sent in my records to the insurance last week.     I really wondered if this was going to happen as quickly as we had planned, after reading other people's stories about having to keep bugging their insurance for an answer.   I hope that they won't wait too long to decide. I will continue to keep with the high protien diet, but know it won't be easy , not knowing when the surgery will be done. The 700 calorie a day diet is pretty limiting.
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Lost 80 lbs.

Today is October 8th and I have lost 84 lbs, but gained back 4lbs. I have not been watching my snacking and eating a few things that are not on the lapband menu! I need to refocus and get back to my exercise program. I am at 154 lbs and still should lose another 10-12 lbs to be closer to my goal weight. It feels great to wear a size 12 jeans and is much easier to get down on my hands and knees and get up again. I have been banded over 1 year now. Seems like a long time ago. I haven't had a fill since May or June. That would be the last fill that is for free so now any fills will have to be at my expense. My banding was done in August 2006 and there was 1 year of free fills. I am very pleased with my band!
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Back to the Treadmill !!

Today is October 12th. I have been on the treadmill Mon. Tuesday Thursday and Friday for 45 minutes at a 5% grade and worked out for 45 minutes and gone 2.2 miles each time. I have been trying to watch the snacking in the evening. We watch t.v. in bed and my husband likes to have a snack then. I try to drink just my Crystal Light at that time. I need to drink more throughtout the day as well. I did lose1-2 pounds this week. Trying to get back to my 151 lbs. and then head on down the scales to my goal weight which was to be about 135-140. Ten pounds to lose is not that much compared to starting out at 235. So I will keep working out regularly and try to stick to protiens and veggies.
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Finally Lost 52 Pounds- Buying New Clothes!!

Today is January 16th. I didn't lose anything last week, but when I stepped on the scales this week I was pleased to see a 2-3 pound loss that would put me at a 52 pound weight loss since my surgery in mid August. I am very pleased with that!   I have been out shopping with my Christmas money! I can now pick out medium sized shirts and tops and need to buy some new jeans, probably size 14s as my size 16s are too loose. I have gone from 230 to 178-79.   I have been using the treadmill about 40 minutes at a time about 3 times a week. I need to get on that tread mill more often as my weight loss has slowed down. I am due to see Dr. Avila on Friday for another fill as I haven't had one since mid October. It is so much more fun to shop for clothes now and I don't have to try on every little thing and I can shop the sale racks with more options, which I have done since Christmas. I even bought regular flannel p.j.s with tops and pants which I normally do not buy because the pants are too small for the tops usually, in order for them to fit my body shape. I usually buy night gowns to avoid this problem. Not any more!!! I am enjoying my two pair of large pjs, but bought a medium size for next winter as I continue to lose more pounds. I can put these large in the dryer and shrink these a bit if I need to as they are all cotton, for next winter.
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Waiting for Insurance Approval

Well, today is June 22 and I have not yet heard from the surgeons office reguarding coverage from our insurance.They had not even looked at my records yet as of June 6th. I am going out of town for 2-3 days so will call them next week when I get back.   I am anxious to get this done. They now are also doing the surgery in Idaho Falls, an hour away from where we live. I forsee many other cities offering this procedure in the near future.
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Weight Loss Plateau After 6 Months

Well today is February 10th and it has been two weeks since I had my last dr.s appointment and fill and have been at a plateau. Today I got on the scales and have finally started to see them move again. I was at 175 at my last appointment by their scales which weighs 1 pound less then mine. If I were to weigh on their scales I would weigh 173 today. I am anxious to get into the 160 range. I am now able to wear size 14 pants.   I ordered the Lee jeans with the elastic at the sides style that I like off of e-bay and got a brand new pair from a gal in Washington for 9.00 plus shipping so for about 15.00 a new pair!! At the out let it would cost 20.00 and I won't be getting to the out let in Boise until the end of March so that was a good deal. I also ordered a used pair that just arrived in great condition, I have to hem up for 13.00 including shippping.   I have been fast walking on my treadmill for 40 minutes for 2 miles 3-4 times a week. It was tempting to eat what I wanted while on the plateau, since I wasn't seeing any results, but read where this is bound to happen and to just keep on doing as I have been and the weight loss will continue again. So that is my plan. We went out to a Thai place to eat last night and I had a salad that was good and I ate about half of it and brought the rest home. It had a watery type dressing on it so it probably will be kind of soggy today. Well I have a new book to read so I am going to put my walking feet up and take a break to read a bit for today!!
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Sept. Weight Loss Journey

Sept 12,   Went to Dr. today and had lost 2 lbs in the last two weeks , so he scheduled me for a fill on Sept 26th. I have felt very little restriction. I am ready for my first fill   Sept. 26,   Saw the Dr. today and I had only lost 1 lb. in two weeks, my exercising has been off as I have been away from home two-3 weeks and my daughter took a new job and have been spending several hours each day at her house babysitting our new grandbaby( 1month) and 4 year old granddaughter. I have lost about 30 lbs since my surgery. Have not bought many clothes as I have some that finally fit now, but didn't pre surgery. I had my first fill today, but don't feel any restriction or different then before my fill. Maybe it takes a while. I go back in two weeks to see if I need more fill.   It's great to be down those 30 lbs, but no one other than my mom and my husband have noticed my weight loss. That is a little disappointing. I can move areound alot better and can go up and down the stairs a little faster.
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