Mrs.Doxie

That happened to me when I went back to work...2 weeks after surgery. I got scared and contacted my patient advocate, who told me it was completely normal. The port is sewn into the muscle, so it would make sense that it gets sore when you use that muscle the first time after surgery.

Dr. Reilly's patient here. Banded in December. Still haven't had a fill.

What you are looking for is a magic bullet. You want to find the easy way to lose weight without having to take any responsibility or do any of the work yourself. It doesn't exist. If it did, don't you think ALL of us would have used it by now? Those who are successful have accepted that the band is NOT "the easy way out" and that WE have to do the work. WE have to make good choices. WE have to work WITH the band. WE have to pick ourselves up after a lapse and keep going. WE can't give up and accept failure. None of us is perfect. We ALL have lapses. The difference between you and those of us who are continuing to be successful is that we recognize that we have never in the past been able to completely follow the rules (I have lost and found the same 50 pounds for years) and start over, sometimes daily. I have bad days. I have bad weeks. However, I do not accept this as failure. I want it bad enough to say to myself "ok, you've screwed up, but that does not make YOU a screw up. Fix it!" and I do. Does that mean I won't screw up again? Definitely not. BUT, I will not accept that as a lifestyle. I accept it for what it is...a JOURNEY with bumps in the road. By saying you WILL NOT follow the rules, you have accepted failure and acknowledged that you have given up trying to improve yourself. Nobody can fix you except you. Take responsibility for yourself, talk with your doctor, decide what needs to happen to work with what you ALREADY have in place and worked so hard to get, and move forward. If you can't do those things, nothing else will work for you. There is no magic bullet. Now, if you would like to discuss what I do to handle my sweets craving or how I deal with getting enough Protein or how I get my exercise in, etc. I will be happy to answer any of those questions for you. Is my way the RIGHT way? Maybe not, but it is the right way for ME and I am doing it within my surgeon's guidelines.

I teach high school. This is the spring. I teach high school. We've had a full moon. I teach high school. We have TAKS (state mandated standardized testing) next week. I teach high school. OK, so now that we've gotten the basics out of the way... After school today a very well-meaning co-worker asked me what size I have gotten down to. I tell her a 12 and she responds with "Back when I was chubbier, I got this dress that I only wore once that is a size 12. It is just sitting in my closet and I'll never wear it again. I just wanted to offer it to you if you'd like it." GEEZ!!! I've lost 65 pounds and dropped from a size 20 to a 12 and you want to start off with "back when I was chubbier" in reference to a size 12?!?!?! Come on people, THINK before you speak!!! Not 10 minutes later, a senior boy (who I've never taught) stops me as I am walking by his table and says "Mrs. Huebotter, I just wanted to tell you, you look amazing!". At this point, I am shocked and just stop and look at him. As I realized he is starting to get embarrassed, I have to check myself to say "thank you, I've been working really hard at it." He responds with "I can tell." Sometimes God knows what we need right when we need it. I sure needed an "amazing!"

Yes, yes, yes, and YES! It is completely normal!!! I originally was going to be banded 4 years ago. I managed to 2nd guess myself out of surgery with the idea that I really CAN do this myself, I was gonna give it one more honest attempt, etc etc etc. Well, there I was four years later and 25 pounds heavier. Yes, I did manage to lose some, but found it all and they brought friends for a party and never left. This time around, everything just seemed to fall into place. I had a money scare with my medical reimbursement account right before surgey and thought I might have to cancel at the last minute, so that helped to keep me focused on somthing other than the actual surgery. I was nothing other than excited all the way up until right after they started the IV for surgery. At that point I had a panicked moment of... "what the heck are you doing? Do you realize what the long-term implications are? Exactly why is it that you are VOLUNTEERING to go under the knife? Do you really understand that you will never be able to have the same relationship with food again?" About that time they let my daughter come back to keep me company until they took me in. What a Godsend! She is a joker and has a wonderful sense of humor. We laughed about my new attire of hospital gown, hat, and support socks. She took pictures for her Facebook. She grossed out about the IV. She teased that she was going to have to hide her clothes from me (she is a size 6). She basically took my mind off of everything serious. Now, I have to wonder what the heck I was thinking by waiting so long. I am 56 pounds down from the day I started my pre-op diet and have gone from a size 20W to a size 12. I can purchase clothing anywhere and not just at the "Big Girl Store". I can walk two 15 minute miles on the treadmill without huffing and puffing and can survive a 55 minute Water aerobic class. The weight is not "falling off of me" like others like to comment, but I am averaging 1-2 pounds each week once I got past the liquid diet. I have to be honest and admit that I have been one of the lucky ones who has not needed a fill and not had any complications, but I sometimes wonder what my life would be like now if I had done it when I had originally planned. Then I remind myself that everything happens for a reason and God has His own plan. Good luck with your surgery and everything that goes along with it!!!

Isn't color just the coolest thing? I did not realize how much black and brown I owned until I started replacing clothes! Guess I was trying to blend in.

Yes, it is and BTW, I'm from TEXAS!!!

I really liked her. A couple of days before surgery she called to make sure everything had been finalized and if I had any last minute questions and we ended up talking for probably half an hour about her personal experiences, etc. It really helped to keep me focused on the goal.

LOVE LOVE LOVE my babies!!! They have such personalities and we love watching them play tricks on each other. We have had to learn NOT to give them bones, though. Even if they each have their own, they start fighting over them. Two of them are in time-out right now as a result. Just like children. Nice to meet you, too!