Angela T.

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Well, just a quick update...
I've had guests at my home for the last 2 weeks so I wasn't able to do traditional workourts, but I never sat down until it was time for bed each of those days, so I got some kind of workout! 
I'm down to 181lbs now and I'm happy that I'm losing again. Hopefully this will keep up for a while. I don't want to plateau again like I did before. (totally my fault!)
So, that's what's new.

Well, it wasn't an intentional break, but I haven't been to my doc in 5 months. I was having issues with the office billing my insurance and on principal, I couldn't bring myself to go to the office for a fill and pay a co-pay each time when they should be billing my insurance for a fill which wouldn't cost me anything. I know I'm subborn, but that's just me.

So, since November I managed to only drop a pound or two. I had surgery at the end of December to remove a lipoma from my waist line. That got horribly infected and had me down for a few weeks. Then I had bronchitis and that had me down until the end of February. In March my husband and I went on bodybuilding.com and got exercise routines for ourselves and our son to start working out. Mine was a fat burning circuit routine of weight lifting. I did 10 minutes on the treadmill and then 1 hour of weights Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri each week. After 2 weeks though I was eating more because working out had me so dang hungry and I managed to gain 5 lbs!   So, about 2 weeks ago, I made the decision to do much more cardio then weights. I’ve been doing 2 days on, 1 day off of jogging/ walking on the treadmill for about 20 minutes and then lots of ab work and some resistance bands and weights. Now, this week, I have to step up the cardio even more. The good thing is, when I started in March, I could barely even jog for a minute on the treadmill. Slowly, I worked up my stamina and can now jog 5 minutes at a time. I’ve read it’s better to stagger your speed and incline to get a better workout anyway. Hopefully that’s true…   Today, I go for a fill this afternoon. I’m so glad because I have been so hungry lately since I’ve been working out hard. I’ve been getting hungry between meals too which I hate.   So…I’m back on track now. Hopefully I’ll see results soon. As of this morning I was back down 3 lbs since I gained the 5. That’s good, but not good enough. Wish me luck!!

I went for my 3rd fill today. The doctor was planning on giving me 1cc, but after I let him know that I've been "starving" all week he decided to do 1.5cc. All week I've felt so hungry between meals and I'm able to eat about 2 cups of food at a meal. I try to eat just a little bit and wait a little while to see if the hunger subsides, but it doesn't. I'm still having trouble going to the bathroom and so he gave me a prescription for that. It seems I'm not losing much because of this. He recommended that I stay on a liquid diet for the whole weekend to be safe. If I feel stuck or unable to drink anything I should call and he'll come in for an emergency unfill. I don't think I'll need that though. (fingers crossed) I had about 4.75 cc in the band, so now I'm at about 6.25cc. We'll see how this plays out.

Now, about a month before my surgery I fell down my front porch stairs and messed up my back and SI Joint. This week that's been bothering me a lot and I haven't been able to be very active. I need to get moving again so that I can work this weight off. I know I was on the smaller side to begin with and I wont' see much of the dramatic loss that some people do, but I just want an avg 1-2 lbs a week at least.

I hope you all are doing well out there. Have a great Thanksgiving!!!

Angela

I had my second fill this morning. I get so squirmish when he's doing it. I feel the pressure a little and then this weird feeling. I get a little lightheaded sitting up because they have a pillow under my back to make my abdomen stick out a little, so my head is tilted down.

So far, I don't feel any different. last time I noticed a little bit of gurgling when swallowing the water. This time I didn't feel much of anything. I do have a total of 4.5ccs in my band now. Hopefully I'll have a little more restriction now.

I had my first fill today. I was nervous because it was a new (to me) doctor I was seeing. But…turns out he was great! He explained everything to me before he did it and answered all my questions that I had.

 

I made sure to thank all of the ladies in the office today for making this experience pleasant and easy. What made me happy was this made THEM happy. As if maybe no one (a patient) ever said thank you to them before.

 

The fill went fine. Turns out that I actually had 1.5cc’s in my band from surgery. He put an additional 2 cc’s in and I drank and everything was fine. He gave me the choice of having a local or not. I asked him to feel around and if he could guarantee me that he could get the port the first time, then I didn’t need it, but he said he’d just give it to me since he wasn’t sure. I’m glad I did get the local because I could feel the pressure of him poking around just a bit before I heard him say he got it. I’m thinking I’ll stick with the local for the next couple of fills. Maybe after that I’ll be brave enough. Not sure.

 

I had some watery cream of wheat for breakfast and some soup for lunch. It had a few veggies in it that I couldn’t get out when scooping it up at work and they went down just fine. It was only a few. He recommended liquids for today and if I feel it’s necessary for tomorrow as well. But to go by how I feel. Then I move on to soft foods then regular foods like after surgery, just in daily increments instead of weeks.

 

I got full off of the soup and was happy to be quickly satisfied again. I was starting to eat a little more than a cup this last week and that had me nervous. I think this will be better for a while. I have another appointment in 4 weeks for my 2^nd fill. He said they do every 4 weeks for the first year. I’m assuming it will go down to .5cc’s now or something like that.

 

I’m determined to up my exercise now and to get off more weight before then.

 

I asked him about my hair loss and he was convinced that it really had nothing to do with the surgery or lack of nutrients from the band since I’ve been eating fine. So, I’m off to the Endocrinologist at lunch time tomorrow and will try to update after that if I know anything.

 

Thanks for reading…I wish you well.

Just an update. I saw my PCP and she said that the hair loss was more than likely due to a vitamin deficiency or my thyroid or just the anesthesia. But she was hesitant to do anything about it. She felt it was better I see the surgeon and endocrinologist for these things. So, my appt with my surgeon is on Saturday, and I have an appt. with my endo next Wednesday. I'll update as soon as I know what's going on.

I've been asked to provide an update. So, I guess it's time. :-)

Today I weighed in and I was 199. Woohoo!! That was a nice feeling. I was having a hard time keeping my calories up during the last couple of weeks, so I think that was part of the reason for my stall in loss. I've been eating lots of protein though, so that's good.

I have an appointment with my doctor tonight for my annual exam. Unfortunately, I have to discuss hair loss with her. I don’t believe that it’s from lack of protein, but it could be. I’ve decided to keep a written log of my protein grams everyday to ensure I’m getting enough.

 

I do have a thyroid problem. And I’ve had some other symptoms of that getting worse, so I’m just going to ask her to check that out for me with blood work. If it comes back high, I’ll call my endocrinologist and get my meds upped.

 

I love my band even though it’s not really doing anything for me. It’s sort of a mental thing right now I guess. I’m making better choices and eating healthier. I’ve banned pasta from my diet for now. I’m not saying I’ll NEVER eat it EVER AGAIN, but it’s a problem food for me and I’ve recognized that. Bread for the most part is not a part of my life. I did eat a piece of pizza the other day that had some sausage and peppers on it. I cut it up into small pieces and chewed really good, but I won’t do it again. I didn’t get stuck or anything, but I just knew it wasn’t what I needed.

 

I was craving PB&J the other day, so I bought some of those Keebler Topper’s crackers. They had the least amount of carbs per serving and I had some PB on them and sugar-free jam. Craving satisfied.

 

This week I’ve decided I will start my Tae-Bo. My son needs to start working out to, so we’ll make it a family thing. I already walk 2 ½ miles each weekday and also do my strength training a  couple times a week as well as stretching. I love when it’s nice and I can do stuff outside because it’s exercising without even thinking about it then.

 

On a side note, I’ve been able to sleep on my stomach for a couple of weeks now. That was my biggest concern actually. So many people have said that they can’t because of their port. I don’t feel mine unless I feel for it. I’m a tummy sleeper and am happy I can still be. I’m glad I was given the low profile port.

So, that’s what’s been going on. I definitely am happy with my decision to go through with this. If you have any questions please let me know.

I had my first post-op appoinment with my surgeon yesterday. I was 203 - 1lb off from what I weighed in at in the morning (minus clothes) so I'm not changing my weight in my signature from 202. I started the mushies/purees on Wednesday and am doing fine on that. I've actually been living on egg beaters and soft cheese - babybel. I'm trying to decide if I will have some refried beens and cheese tonight or some yams with a little bit of something else. It's a hard choice when I haven't had food in so long. If I can't decide, I'll just go with the egg beaters. LOL! I am looking forward to having some mashed banana and peanut butter for breakfast tomorrow if I can remember to buy the bananas tonight.

Since being on purees I have been staying full between meals. About 1/2 hour before my next meal I start to get hungry. But nothing too bad. My surgeon says I don't have to stay on the purees for the full 2 weeks or even for a full week. When I stop feeling the food and feel comfortable trying soft foods, I can move on.

My surgeon will do a fill as early as 4 weeks if necessary. However, when I went in yesterday he advised me that the other Dr. in the practice would be doing most of the fills during the week from here on out. If I prefer to have my surgeon do them, he'll be doing fills probably one long weekend each month. I'm very comfortable with my surgeon and like his bedside manner, so I'll stick with him for now. When I made my appointment for the fill I was shocked to find out that when he said long weekend, he really meant weekend. My appointment is 10 am on Saturday Sept 19. That made me happy since I wont' have to miss work.  I am really happy with my surgeon and would recommend him to anyone.

Well, that's it for now. I look forward to posting when I've lost a little more weight.

So, I had my surgery on Wednesday at 7:45 am. My husband ended up calling out of work to take me and stay with me. I love him so much for that! He motivated me a lot while I was there to keep drinking every 15 minutes and to walk. We did a couple laps around the floor each time I got up and I believe that really helped with the gas pains. Everytime I started to feel them, I just got up and walked.

I was there a total of 12 hours and when we left we actually went to Dick's Sporting Goods and walked around there for about 15 minutes. Thursday I mostly rested and then Friday we went to the movies, Saturday we went to a friend's house for a BBQ and today I'm doing laundry and have to do some grocery shopping. It's back to work for me tomorrow.

I have a stubborn pocket of gas in the top of my shoulder that comes and goes. It doesn't really hurt, it's just really annoying. My back actually hurts though and the surgeon said that is where they do the surgery (in the area it hurts) so it's probably from that. I've only took one dilaudid last night and for the most part I've only taken liquid tylenol once yesterday and once the day before. I may take it before shopping today just to be on the safe side.

The hard part about these days is getting in enough fluids and protein. I managed yesterday, but I get so full so fast it's hard. If I drink broth it gets cold before I can finish the little bit I can have! But that's what microwaves are for, right? LOL! 

I've lost 5 lbs since surgery (though I came home 4lbs heavier from IV fluids!) and a total of 17 lbs since I first weighed in at my surgeons office 8 weeks ago.  It was 4 pounds on the restricted calorie diet, 8 lbs on the pre-op liquid diet, and 5lbs post surgery. I just wish the swelling would go down so I could fit into my clothes already!!

That's it. I'll write more when I have more to say.
Take care everyone!!

Well, today is day 10 of my pre-op diet. It’s low carb, high protein liquids. I checked to see if I could have plain yogurt/sf pudding and they said that was fine. Most days I have no hunger at all. A few days I’ve heard my tummy growl and actually felt hungry. I say that because it has growled plenty of times and I felt no hunger. I live on my shakes during the day and a nectar protein drink in between. Some days if I’m hungry I’ll have soup for lunch and usually I have a soup for dinner.

So, I stepped on the scale today and I was down 12 lbs (and it’s TOM for me so maybe it’ll be more). 4 of those pounds I lost while counting calories per my doctor, the other 8 were in the past 10 days. I’m very sensitive to sodium, so I think that is hindering my loss. If it weren’t for the sodium in the soups, I’d probably be a little lower on the scale. But no worries, people have already told me that they can see it in my face. (always the first place I lose it) My surgeon says that if I get really hungry or I’m dying to just chew something, he has no problem with me having a small snack.

The one part of this that I hate is the ketosis. My breath stinks and I really can’t do anything about it. I brush my teeth three to four times a day, chew sugarless gum and drink lots of water between my protein drinks, but it’s still not pretty. (sigh)

I saw my surgeon for my final visit on Wednesday this week and he informed me that he will be using a low profile port on me since I have a low BMI (35 right now). I was happy that I wouldn’t have to go through another surgery later on for a revision. Now, I just have to pray that my PT was right and I won’t have any sagging skin! Last time I lost 56lbs I didn’t have any, I toned up pretty nice, so I hope it’s the same this time. That was only 2 years ago. So, I’m not MUCH older. :-)

Well, I’m sure my next update will be right before or soon after surgery.

Until then…