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Here is my story from start to finish. There are 2 videos and some pics that show the end result. The last video is being filmed right now for a Lap Band special coming to the Health Channel. Here are the links: Then check out the pics! You are on the right track with this procedure in my experience. Your life will be so much better... Good luck with your new adventure! Todd

I have been heavy up and down all my life. I had thought about the RNY but it seemed to drastic and way out of reach dolllar wize in the states. I recently just 2 years ago saw a dr. in Bend Oregon who before he would see me had to have cash up front of $2500 just for some simple tests and exam. well that was a waste of cash! well tax return came and went...other things are always more important than yourself. I finally had a visit with a local girl in Burns who had Dr. Aceves perform her lap band...she was excited, happy with the care and services. The hospital was clean and quiet....she could not boast loud enough about the care she recieved, So I did some research and this is when I made the decision...this year was gonna be my time to shine. My knees are going to feel better when they are not packing 354 lbs of person on them. This grama of 4 is gonna be a cool grama, one that can kneel down and kiss the babies and get down and play on the floor with them. My babies will never again say "Grama why you so tired all the time"....I am excited to start my new way of living. I have lost my love life relationship with my husband, I want this back more than anything. He is not so supportive and over the years has become more of a roommate than a husband. I want this to change aas well, I want to rock his world again like I did the first time we met. I love him more than he knows. I have very supportive friends and family during this time, so I am praying for a fast recovery and quick weight loss. I will post more when I get home.

I didn't make it to the gym today but I went online and found some old Richard Simmon videos....LOL. I haven't sweated like that in a long time... I worked out for 20 minutes and then I got on my elipitical machine. I am proud of myself. Starting today I am taking control of my life again. Here's to the new me.

This weeks weigh in: 175.4lbs. Down .6lbs this week. I went to a step class Friday. It kicked my ass and I loved every minute of it. Trying to use the toilet or climb stairs on Saturday SUCKED but it was that good good pain. I sweat my ass off through a tank and a t-shirt! GOOD STUFF! Phew! Work has been crazy and although my daily eating habits are just fine despite being out for work dinners almost every week night for the last week and all of this week too. At one of the dinners, I tried a few bites of a hot dog A HOT DOG!!! I haven't had a hot dog in forever. It smelled horribly delicious at the table next to us and I wanted mine with mustard. Tons of mustard. I had a bite and it was all good. Not quite what I imagined it to taste like but I settled on the compromise that since it was not a 10 out of 10, I would only have a few small bites and leave it alone. Well, I did have a few small bites while keeping up the conversation with a few folks. I must have been distracted because on my 3rd bite, about an 1/8th of the way in to this guilty pleasure, I felt a funny swallow. It was too big. I was going to get stuck at a work dinner. FABO! I quietly (couldn't talk) excused myself, went straight to the bathroom and was horrified to see 5 little girls playing around in and out of the 2 stalls. There was a line up! I could not imagine letting these innocent little darlings watch me lose my lunch into the garbage can, but it was coming. I couldn't open my mouth to tell them to hurry or get out of the way... so I waited swallowing hard, rocking the cold sweat and pacing. Finally, they left and I went straight in to the stall and effortlessly just spat it right out. Not to go in to TMI but this piece of hot dog that was causing all of this, was the size of a small pea. My vitamins are bigger than this. WTF? Lesson learned. Farewell hot dogs... I will miss you but my ass will not. Apparently, I have tricked myself in to believing that they taste a whole lot better than they really do. This weekend the hubby and I are hitting the slopes at Marmot Basin. A whole weekend away together... alone! I don't know if we have ever done this. I am really excited about us being able to share another hobby! I love the Rocky Mountains and I love Jasper, Alberta almost as much as I love the ocean. There is something to be said about a heard of elk greeting you at your door in the morning and the surrounding views of the Rocky Mountains. When I was younger I used to dream about building my own little cabin way up there in the bush with a zip line just for me to take my trips to town for supplies. Although I still love the idea, I know that I would never survive! lol. I love the outdoors and am so fortunate to live where I do. The promise of this will get me through this week! Check out one of the Travel Alberta Commercials: If anyone ever wants to come visit Canada for a BOOBS tour - let me know! lol. Sadly, I will not be making Chicago this year. I had hoped to but with the wedding in April (38 days until departure to be exact) and an awesome week-long road-trip with the Besties to Vancouver Island in July, I won't be able to afford it. It doesn't help that September is black out month for all of the field executives at work either. Maybe 2013! More news; My Mom had decided to have Bypass surgery in May after the Mexico trip. She has started a blog and when she figures out how to send me a link, I will share it with you all. I am really excited for her and she has worked really hard at all of this for a while now. She is down 30ish lbs so far and I only see her working harder and harder. Allot of the work has been on her own and she has even been trying to motivate some of the girls that she has met through different nutrition and psych classes that she has attended. I am proud of her and cannot wait for her to tap in to the wonderful world of support in blogland! Stay tuned! Take Care all and please keep your fingers crossed for me to escape the weekend without injury!

Yay! I got my first fill this morning! I'm so happy, it's ridiculous. Even if I don't reach restriction from this fill, at least I now know that this journey has really started and is really progressing, and as long as I do the work, I can expect to get results. I can't even describe how that feels. It's euphoric! Even though my surgeon had indicated I would likely have a fill at this appointment (4 weeks post-op), I still had paranoia that it might not happen. I'm just that kind of girl--a worrywort! Well, when the nurse escorted me into the exam room, I saw all the accoutrements of a fill already laid out for the doctor, and that soooo made me happy. Never have the sight of needle, syringe, and alcohol swabs given me such a thrill! When the surgeon came in, he asked me if I was on soft solids yet (which I am) and if I wanted my first fill. I don't think he even got to finish the question before I was shouting my "YES!" It turns out that my surgeon does his fills by feel--no barium swallows or flouroscopy. He had me lay back on the exam table and lift my head in a mini-crunch while he located the port. Then came the needle. Now, I'm on the fence about needles; they don't totally freak me out, but I don't love them, either, so it was a little odd for me when, after the initial stick, he spent maybe 15 seconds wigglnig the thing around to get it in precisely the right spot. I can't say it was totally comfortable, but I can't say it was painful, either. It was just a weird sensation. Once the needle was in place, he started the injection, backed it up to be sure it was correctly entering the system, then completed the fill. The whole appointment was like 5 minutes (with another 40 minutes spent completing my form, waiting, weighing in, and getting my vitals checked). After the fill, he gave me a small cup of water to drink and said I could come in after 3 weeks if I felt I needed more restriction. The fill itself consisted of 3.0 cc of fluid. That made me quite happy, since I dreaded getting only 1 cc at a time. The surgeon claims that most patients feel restriction between 3 cc and 8 cc. Right now, I'm not entirey certain what I feel, since I've been instructed to have my first post-fill meal as liquid, then progress slowly back through the stages until I'm on solid foods. The water at the dr's office went down with no issues, so I felt a little worry that I might not have any restriction at all. When I got home, I had a protein drink for lunch, and it took me 45 minutes to drink the 8 oz. I didn't have any trouble with it at all, but I thought I could feel it going down in a way I hadn't before. Whether that's restriction or just swelling, I guess we'll see, but I'm feeling fairly optimistic. And full off just liquid, which is nice. Hopefully that will continue. Anyway, that's my first fill experience. I'm crossing my fingers that the band kicks in and starts holding up its part of this bargain, since I only lost 3.4 lbs since my last dr's visit.