Katrina Anderson

Hey there ...so here's my story! I have fought my weight since puberty. Growing up I was always overweight, but not obese. Obesity set in in my early 20's. By 25 I was about 260 lbs and hating the way I looked - so I looked into surgery. I had never had any kind of surgery at all before, so I was really nervous about it! After a lot of research, I decided to get the Lap Band done with Dr. Mark Watson at UTSW. He was great! I got the Band in November 2009 and lost about 60-70 lbs. The lowest I had gotten though was 175, but that was living, breathing, sleeping everything fitness and watching/counting every little thing that went in my mouth. My happy body weight stayed between 185 (single) and 195 (in a relationship). After 6 years, I'd kept off the weight, but hadn't seen any further progress. I was maintaining only halfway through my weightloss journey! No! I'd also starting having acid reflux and GERD issues again. Dr. Watson only does Band (doesn't agree with the sleeve or bypass), so I decided to consult a coworker who had the sleeve done with Dr. Nick. She was a simliar size to me starting out and looks phenomenal! I met with Dr. Nick in the beginning of February - so nervous he would say I was too small for the sleeve. After listening to my history and taking a look, he said I'd be a great candidate for revisional surgery. YAY!! Come to find out in all the preop tests - my endoscopy showed that my band was actually causing some ulceration in my stomach/esophagus, and my hiatal hernia was at it again. So I stayed on top of everything to get the surgery scheduled quick. I wanted the rest of my life to start SOON. I weighed about 195 when I first met with Dr. Nick, but I hossed out knowing what WLS would do for my eating habits LOL. I gained a few pounds. I lost about 10 with the preop diet, then since surgery on March 30th I've lost about 14 lbs. I'm a little bummed that it's not literally melting off of me like some people have happen, but I am so happy that it's working. Slowly but surely, right?? My goal weight is unknown. My dietician says 138, Dr. Nick says "ehhhh 140's but I'm not focused on the scale - I'm focused on your actual size (blah blah blah lol)" and my band doc said 155. I'm thinking I want to be in the 140's and a size 6 or so...but I haven't been that since since I don't know when. I guess we shall see! As far as any complications go, I would say that I haven't had any real complications. I had a hematoma on my left side which hurt like the dickens, but faded after a few weeks. I also had a LOT of bruising, but that also faded. My lowest incision was being tricky with where my pants hit and has finally closed up in the past week. No infections, just a LOT of itching. I've been sticking with what my dietician suggests as far as food. I LOVE to cook, and my family loves my cooking, so I've been searching high and low for yummy recipes that I can alter for me or them. It's a fun challenge, I'd say. If anyone has any suggestions on yummy recipes, I'm more than happy to have them! I'm also willing to share my "soft foods" recipes if people want them. Thanks for having me here...I'm excited to get connected!

mindy79 I will definitely share! I'll have to get them together. Right now my family is in love with this Italian Chicken bake and these buffalo chicken/egg bites. SO flavorful and delish! Good luck to you, LuckOtheirish!!! I'm sure it'll go smoothly - and you will love it so much better compared to the band! Keep us posted! theycallmeFree - 31 pounds is AWESOME! I'm slowly ticking down the pounds at 26 lbs right now. But that is 26 lbs GONE!!! WOOHOO! On a random sidenote, how did my title change?? I spelled it "ragrets" on purpose, as I was quoting a movie! Boo!! LOL

Thank you so much, Kathleen! And you are right, I'm very glad that I'm losing! Diets didn't work for me either - they worked for a bit then just...stopped. I'm happy to hear that you're still having a decreased appetite after over a year post-op! I worry about that a little bit! Good luck with your continued success!! Have you found any great recipes that you found to be a good staple? (haha no pun intended)

Oh Girl - Let me just tell you! I had my band for over 5 years, and I was starting to have major issues. Extreme tightness in the mornings, awful reflux at night (coughing fits and all), and it was miserable - I was also not losing anymore weight. Don't get me wrong - I lost 60-70 lbs with the band, but wasn't moving the last couple years. I saw my doc about getting the revisional surgery and life is GREAT so far! NO MORE reflux, no more ridiculous tightening that I can't even have Water in the morning, and just no more issues really! I had mine out and the sleeve done at the same time on March 30th, and everything went so smoothly. Granted I don't eat much at all now, but I don't have hunger issues and I MOST DEFINITELY don't have any throwing up issues. It's a totally different experience than the band! I wish I would have done this in the first place. Congratulations on making the change, and good luck with your surgery! Please let me know if you have any questions or need encouragement.