AngelicOne

I was diagnosed with PCOS in February of 2008. Unfortunately, I never knew about PCOS until my primary MD sent me to an endocrinologist to help control my ridiculously high blood sugars that required almost 300 units of insulin daily. (I KNOW!) I had my lapband on 11/03/08 at my highest weight of 356lb. By the way, I haven't had to take any insulin since about 3 weeks after surgery. And now at times I find myself scurrying to get something in my mouth because my blood sugar has plummeted into the 60's or low 70's. Go figure. I was already on BC pill prior to surgery and having hormone induced cycles. Prior to the BC pill I was lucky to have a period once every couple of years. I just took my last cycle of BC pills in May and had a normal period this month (June). Yeah! I'm so excited. I'm getting married in August and we really are anxious to start a family. Right now I am monitoring for ovulation with an OPK. To soon yet to be ovulating for this month but am anxiously awaiting that signal from my OPK that means ovulation is "imminent". Because of the BC pills, I'm not sure at what amount of weight loss my cycle would have kicked in but I'm down 54lbs now. I managed to lose about 70lbs a few years ago and my cycle started after about the first 35lbs of weight loss and was like clock work until I slowly started gaining the weight back. I've vowed to make lifestyle changes this time as opposed to just dieting and hopefully keep the weight off. The band will help with that as well. Good luck to all you ladies in this PCOS/obesity struggle. May we all find good health and happiness on our journey.

Hello all November bandsters. I hope everyone is doing well. Please udate current weight to 313.2 lbs. Yeah me! Hang in there, everyone!

LOL-Don't feel bad about all the questions. I was in your shoes once and somebody was there for me. We're kind of alike in that way. In the weeks before my surgery I tried to soak up every little tidbit of information I could find. It helped to occupy my mind during what seemed like a never ending waiting period also channel all my nervous energy. My mom on the other hand (who BTW will be banded 11/26) is the exact opposite. She said she was so stressed out trying to get through the process that she would just get frustrated and throw her hands up. It's funny how people handle stress differently. I notice that alot in my patients. You could have two different patients with the same terminal diagnosis. One will research the internet and the research journals and absorb every piece of info they can find. The other will go on as if they never knew and pretend that nothing has changed. But anyway, I digress. I guess I'll just list the Q&A to make it easier. 1. How do you feel AO? At this point I feel almost good as new. The only mild discomfort I have is at my port site when I try to bend over to pick things up from the floor from a standing position. This is the only time I notice any discomfort at all. 2. Mind if I call you AO or Angela in my notes? You can call me AO if you like. My real name is Angeletta but everyone calls me Angel, hence "Angelic One". 3. Even with 20+ pounds less you probably feel much better, huh? I feel loads better. I am (was) an insulin dependent diabetic and prior to the band I was taking almost 300units of insulin a day in increments of approx 40-50units, 5 or 6 times a day. My fasting blood sugars would usually run close to 200. After the first week after banding I checked by blood sugar one morning after having no insulin since the band and it was 97. I cried. I also am (was) on meds for hypertension. No meds since band and my last reading was 116/75. It hasn't even been a month yet and already it was worth everything. I'm sure you can guess how much I've saved on meds alone this month. AO, can you sleep in any position you want? I'm a belly sleeper so it was difficult at first. The first 2 or 3 days I spent at my Mom's house in her LazyBoy recliner, a life saver. After that I alternated from my back to my right side. My port is on the left and it was still uncomfortable to lay on that side. After about a week and half I went home and was able to sleep on my belly but with a small pillow under my left torso to keep pressure off my port. For the past few days, I've been able to sleep on my belly with no discomfort. Does your incision site or insert hurt? All of my incisions are healing well and I don't have any pain except very mild discomfort at the port when bending over. Can you feel it when you sit down? If you've ever had a large incision or wound that developed scar tissue underneath then you'll know what the port feels like when I'm sitting down. It just feels like a small indistinguishable mass below the skin. But when I'm standing or lying flat I can palpate the exact shape of the port. But before you panic nothing is visible through the skin and you have to palpate pretty deep to feel it. What if anything do you wish you knew before having the surgery? I wish I knew how quickly my medical problems would have improved and I wouldn't have waited so long to get the band. Can you swallow Vitamins? I probably could because I don't have any restriction yet, but my doc recommends chewables so I use Centrum orange flavored chewable Multivitamins and chewable Tums for the extra Calcium. How much food do you eat at a time, 1/2 a cup? I'm still learning to reset my pattern of thinking so I do things like fix a size plate that I would for a small child if I were fixing their plate. This will help to keep things in perspective until my eyes and my stomach are in agreement. This means overcomiing years of poor eating habits and way too large portion sizes. Because I don't have any restriction, I'm still able to eat well over a 1/2 cup but I always make sure I listen to my stomach and stop eating when I'm no longer hungry, whether there's food left on my plate or not. Do you eat every few hours? I usually try to eat something every 2 1/2 to 3 hours just because I know that will help boost a healthy metabolism. The most important thing I do for myself is train myself to ask one simple question before anything goes into my mouth. "Angel, are you really hungry?" If the answer is yes then I eat, but if the answer is no then I try to figure out what it is I really want. Another difficult task of overcoming years of emotional eating and comfort seeking behavior. Do you drink lots of Water? I have a 24 oz container that I try to fill and drink at least three times a day. When I can't get all the water in I supplement with Crystal Light, a most wonderful invention! I'm really practicing that whole not drinking while you eat thing but I've got some work to do in that area. How about coffee in the morning? I'm not a coffee drinker so I don't have this problem but I know we're supposed to stay away from caffeine. Did you put your food in a blender during the mushy stage? I'm kind of lazy so I tended to stick with things that were already mushed like applesauce, mashed potatoes, that sort of thing but I kept with my Protein shakes to make sure I was getting in enough protein. Also, how much do LB surgeries cost in your area? I think it is about the same rate here, about 20K but mine was covered under insurance. Did you stay in the hospital overnight? My surgery was about 2pm and I spent the night in the hospital and was discharged by about 4p the next day. I think that was all of your questions so far. If I missed anything or if you think of anything else, let me know. I'm only a few clicks of the keyboard away.

Demi, I would do it all over in a hot second! The band has given me a new found motivation to stay on track that I just couldn't find by myself. As for the vomiting, that hasn't happened yet and I hope I don't have to experience it. I haven't had my first fill yet so I am still able to eat a good size portion just not as much as I could prior to the band. The discomfort that I feel from overeating is a sort of tightness at the top part of my stomach. I think as long as you chew chew chew and stop when you are no longer hungry you shouldn't have anything to worry about. The first day I started my liquid diet I did good all day (while I was at work) but that evening when I came home I had a freakin' melt down and raided the refrigerator. Everyday got a little easier after that. My meals usualy consisted of 3 protein shakes a day, as much sugar free jello, pudding, and popsicles as I could stand and my personal favorite, egg drop soup. The egg drop soup was my lifeline. It was the only thing that kept me sane during that period. Sugar free jello with lite or fat free whip cream on top is a really nice treat too. If I got too hungry and really needed to eat something I would have a little protein like a piece of chicken breast or some other source of protein. I felt that was the lesser evil. I lost 17lbs in two weeks so it was worth it. As for the 21 day liquids I don't know about that. I was on full liquids for two weeks prior and then 1 week after the surgery. When I went back for my 1 week follow-up I was told to start mushies. I did that for about a week and now I eat whatever I want as long as I am able to chew it really well. I am of the opinion that you can't hurt your pouch without hurting yourself. In other words there will be some pain associated with stretching out your pouch and you'll really have to push the limit to do that so follow your docs instructions and you should be fine. About the pizza, it is one of my absolutely favorite foods but strangely I haven't been tempted to try it yet. I'm basically sticking to a high protein, low carb diet which seems to be working because I have lost an additional 10 pounds in the 2 weeks since the surgery without the luxury of any restriction in my band yet. Just remember to always chew chew chew and stop eating when you are no longer hungry. If you wait to stop eating when you feel full, it's already too late. And follow your docs instructions and you will do fine. I am always here if you have any questions or just need to chat. Good Luck!

Hi there Demi, I had my surgery on 11/03/08 and I am doing very well. Although I don't have any saline in my band yet (I go for my first fill 11/25/08), I find that I obviously have some restriction because I can't eat as much as I used too. And trust me, that was quite a lot. I don't really have too many of my old cravings that used to pop up out of the blue and I had to have it. I think the two week liquid pre-op diet helped with that as well to rid me of my carb addiction. I can sometimes be enticed by people eating "forbidden" foods around me but I've learned to always ask myself am I really hungry before I put anything in my mouth. If it is something that I probably shouldn't be eating I ask myself if I want that more than I want to lose wait and reach my goal. For me that usually works. I guess it just depends on how bad you want to stick it out and make the band work for you. I think the most important thing too is to learn to listen to your body. When I am no longer hungry I stop eating whether there's food left on my plate or not. This was very hard for me to learn, as a matter of fact I still forget sometimes and am painfully reminded by the growing tightness at the top of my stomach if I don't stop soon enough. This is a very hard lesson to learn coming from a not so well off background and having it drilled into your head to eat everything on your plate "because little kids in Africa were starving to death." As for me I'm taking off the full month from work because there's no light duty on my job and I have to be fully functional when I return. I think most surgeons recommend a week if you do desk work. I wouldn't recommend any sooner than that because for me during the first week sitting up in a straight back chair was still uncomfortable at my port site. Your doctor will discuss all that with you once you get the ball rolling. Good luck, I hope some of this info is helpful.

I had to attend a mandatory seminar with my surgeon prior to banding and PCOS was absolutely listed as one of the comorbidities. Hope this helps.

Hey everyone! My surgery went down without a hitch. I'm 4 days post-op now and doing great. Froggi, I have my updated info for the spreadsheet. My weight on day of surgery 338 lbs and my current weight is 330 lbs. Good luck to everyone!

Hey Froggi, What a great idea. My info is below. I'm not sure about the current weight but I am getting banded today and I'm sure I'll be on the scale at some point in the process, so as soon as I am able I will update. Surgery date - 11/03/08 Highest Weight - 355.4 lbs Preop diet starting weight - 355.4 lbs Surgery weight (Your weight the day of surgery) Current weight Goal weight - 160.0 lbs Thanks for this. It will be a great tool. Also I'm a visual person so being able to see my progress will help to keep me on track.