on October 15, 2006 7:44 am
08/12/2008
Update: Well my journey gets more interesting the longer out I get. So far my lap band is still healthy and in good position. But I had a very scary thing happen to me on Saturday, August 2, 2008. I was on my way to my girlfriend's barbecue and while enroute driving I started to have severe abdominal pains in my lower stomach. The pains got so bad, I ended up going to the ER rather than the party. Good thing I did go to the ER, I was admitted into the hospital and the ER docs ran a CAT scan and found that I had a blockage in my bowel. They immediately contacted my band surgeon, and after Dr. Moazzez read my CT scan, he immediatey admitted me into the hospital. After the ER docs did the CT scan, they called my doctor, and Dr Moazzez instructed them to immediately unfill my band, I was really freaking out now because no one has ever touched my port before, and I was scared they would damage or puncture a hole in my port, but luckly the ER doc only stuck me twice and extracted all the saline I had in my band at the time 2.3ccs, but I did not care, I just wanted the severe pains to go away and I started to get naseaus and I started dry heaving and vomiting.
The pains were so severe I thought I was going to die, I stayed in the hospital the entire weekend and finally on Monday morning, August 4, they did another CT scan and my band surgeon Dr Mo, said the swelling was getting worse, so he told me he was going to have to go in and do an exploratory surgery to find out what was going on and causing all the pain, and also to check my lap band to make sure there was no slippage or infection, also my doctor never sugar coat nothing, he told me the worse case scenario if they find infection, he would have to remove my band, I really got scared at this point, but I did not care, I just wanted the pain to go away.
I had the surgery, and my doctor discovered that I had a rare hernia that was causing bowel blockage in my uterus. He mentioned that it was so rare that he was going to write it up in a medical journal..(lucky me ;)). to make a long story short, all the pain went away immediately after my doctor removed the hernia.
Dr Moazzez, showed me pictures of the hernia and told me that it did not affect my band and my band was still in good condition and position, I stayed in the hospital for about 5 days, my boyfriend stayed with me most of the time rubbing my tummy and holding me "I love him". My sister also came from Atlanta to stay with me through my ordeal.
I will take it easy for awhile, I lost about 10 more pounds and I weigh about 180 pounds now, I am at my personal goal weight...woohoo!!! my doctor wants me to be at 170 pounds, but at this point in my journey I don't care, I am happy with where I am, I just be healthy and happy. I will go get my band filled back up in about 2 weeks when I feel better, I am just happy to be alive and in good health.
Signing off now.
4/17/2008
Update: Well I guess I have come a long way baby! My dream has come true of being able to get into a size 10 dress!!! I am healthy loving life and at my personal goal of size 10 top and 12 bottom! My Lap band journey has been pretty much uneventful, I am currently at 2.7ccs in my 4cc band, I was completely unfilled last year in 2007 due to a long trip, that caused severe burning, so my doctor had to unfill me and let things rest and heal, this set my weight loss back a bit, but I am not complaining, since this could have lead to more severe problems with my band, it is always better to unfilled, when needed, than to let things get worse and get the band removed. Since then I have been refilled and have great restriction again. I thought I would post some new pics of myself since I am a picture hog these days...hehe....I started out wearing a size 26 the day of surgery and I am at peace now in size 10/12, but who knows, before it is over I may get down to a size 8/10 ;). At this point, I am just living a normal life, I eat like a normal thin person, and I have my weekly treats of cake and ice cream (with no weight gain, I am in heaven ;), I still can't eat no more than 1 cup of food per sitting, which is good, but I can eat all solid foods, just not much of it, some bandsters report they can no longer eat certain foods, but I sure can! which is good for me, since I wanted to live a normal life! At this point in my journey I really don't want my band too tight and reduced to liquids, since I have lost the bulk of my weight, Ideally I would like to lose 20 more pounds, but if I don't I am still very pleased and happy with my weight loss, since the main focus was to get healthy, I have more engery now than before, I can run 2 miles, hit the treadmill for 1 hour at high tensity woohooo!
April 2008 Size 10 dress, but I have bat wings when I wear cute little strapless dresses - UGH! But I am not complaining much ;)
INFAMOUS SIZE 10 TAG!!! MY BEST KODAK MOMENT!!!
Feb 2006 SIZE 20 5 Months Post Op down 40 pounds
8/30/05
I would say from an insurance stand point everything has run extremely well, my insurance company is paying for everything and I received my approval on the first submission from my doctor’s office, I am really blessed for that. And then I received a letter from a RN at Blue Cross to assist me with any thing that I need. Carefirst Blue Cross is really taking care of me. I have read most patients have to pay out of pocket. I would definitely recommend Blue Cross Carefirst if anyone is considering the Lap Band or RNY.
Count down begins for all the preparations for my surgery. I had my sleep study Tuesday night at Arlington Hospital . The technican was very nice, the room was nice, there was a TV with cable, but when the technician hooked me up to all the wires I could barely breath or move around in the bed, not comfortable...I could not sleep or breath properly with the wires in my nose. I am now waiting for results to see if I have sleep apnea. 9/3/05
I have got most of my pre op testing done at Fair Oaks Hospital. They took a lot of blood, my Upper GI was horrible, I had to drink a big tumbler cup of barium..YUK...It as all I could do to keep it down everything else went smooth..still wating on my Nutritionist appointment and Psych evaluation. The most challenging part is to lose another 20 pounds that is required prior to surgery...I will start walking twice a day for the next 3 weeks. 9/25/05
I find myself going through unexpected issues with appointment issues first was with the Nutritionist and Now with the Clinical Psychotherapist, I cannot believe that I am only 5 days from surgery and cannot seem to get an appointment confirmed with the Psychotherapist, she constantly keeps rescheduling, NOW I don't have a choice, I am thinking about postponing my surgery and finding a new Psychothrapist because she keeps rescheduling my appointments, I will call the Doctor's office first thing in the morning and speak to him directly and let him know what has been really going on the with the Nutritionist and Psychothrapist and he needs to know that he may lose a patient due to unprofessional behavior with people he has in his recommended notebook.
Sorry I have to vent, this does not make sense I am 5 days prior to surgery and have to worry about the Psych appointment. Most people worry about not having enough insurance coverage or they have problems with not being covered by the Lap Band, I don't have those issues only dealing with getting an appointment.
My sleep study went well and all my blood work has been complete, I was able to lose 15 pounds post op, but not the 30 pounds my Doctor suggested to shrink my liver..oh well, I have been starving most of the time and too weak to do a great deal of exercise my blood was a little low, anemic, probably because of me dieting, this concerns me because after surgery I will not be able to get much food in, I went to my Hematologist and they gave me an iron infusion to build up my hebaglobin, I still feel sluggish, but a little stronger.
Hopefully this week goes better than last week and I will update on whether I can find another psychotherapist within 2 days and get a report back to my doctor before surgery. 9/27/05
I finally had my psych appointment...gee this is an accomplishment, he mentioned he was recommended me for the surgery... It is count down to my surgery..three days, I am suppose to do my final weigh in tomorrow at the doctors office...it has been tough on the pre op diet, the scale at home is about six pounds less than the doctor's office and it has not moved I have lost 12 pounds...short of 17 pounds short of what the doctor wanted..oh well, well I have not gained but not lost either, maybe in a couple of weeks it will start coming..hopefully after my surgery. I am getting a little nervous especially going under anesthesia..oh well, I am going to pray everything turns out well. I probably won't update again until I am banded. 10/3/05
Well I am three days post op..my experience so far has been pretty much expected. I had my surgery Friday morning at Fair Oaks Hospital in Northern VA. I arrived at the hospital a little late, I was trying to get there around 5:30 am since my surgery was at 7:30, I did not get there until 6:35 so it was a rush to get prep. The hosptial staff was awesome, they hurried me in and joked with me about how I will be this size 6...I laughed and knew that will never happen, then before I knew it they were shooting me with these blood thinners in my abdomen and that is all I remembered. I woke up from the surgery around 10:00 am my anesthesia took some time to wear off on me, I just remembered it being very hot and I need a fan...I stayed in the recovering room until around 1:00 that day and then was taken to my room, which was fantatistic..it was a new wing of the hosptial..computer system built into Cable TV..meds by a push of a button it acutally looked a suite..the nursing staff was awesome. I had my first meal that Saturday morning of broth, jello and Crystal Lite which I sipped on.
One of the nurses had RNY surgery 3 years ago and told me about his experience, they say that floor is only for bariatric patients which was really nice.
I went home that Saturday, boy did I feel weak, when I walked I felt like I had been hit by a train...today I feel alot better. I was given many instructions by my doctor and dietician. I seem to feel better and stronger every day and the pain is not that insense like it was on day 1 and day 2.
I weighed on my scale at home at it is down about 12 pounds since last week...wow..I am not sure how long that will last..I am still on clear liquids so I am sure that is why I am draining from water I guess. I am down a total of 20 pounds pre op and 12 pounds post op so now that makes me down 32 pounds in a month. Hopfully the next time I post it will get better and better until then. 10/11/05
I had my first post op doctor's appointment yesterday, Dr Moazzez staff were amazed at the weight loss and how well I have healed. I am now down officially 33 pounds since I stepped on the doctors scale. I pray that I stay pain and complication free, I know that I will have some slip ups, but I hope and pray this band really works for me.
The only problem I am having now is head hunger, I miss food sort of, the neat thing about this is when I do eat, I cannot even eat a small cup full of food, I wonder how long my body can maintain such small quantities of food.
Dr Moazzez seemed to thrilled with my loss and me looking so great he said that I could start on protein like tuna fish and egg salad.
I took his advice and made some tuna salad last night - it was really mushy and moist, I only ate microscopic teaspoon fulls at a time, and I ate less than an ounce, 30 minutes later I started feeling pain, like the small amount of tuna just sat there in the middle of my breast bone, I started to freak out, I drank some water and took a Gas X, then I started to walk around, that tuna sat there all night and I had discomfort in the middle of my chest area, I could not sleep well, it finally digested. I don't think it is time for me to eat tuna, even mushies at this time. 10/25
I has been a couple of weeks since I have last updated, wow a couple of changes, first and foremost I have lost a total of 25 pounds since surgery...woohoo. That brings me to a total of 40 pounds lost so far, 15 pre op and 25 post op. Ok now the food challenges, it has been a little difficult trying to adjust to the bandsters rules of eating, the small portions and waiting at least 30 minutes before drinking...that is the most difficult part, but I am adjusting. 10/30
My first Month out update:
I still have restriction with no fill yet, I have lost 25 pounds after surgery, 15 pounds pre op, I believe that my pre op diet really helped contributed to my quick post op weight loss, my pre op diet shrinked my stomach and got me ready for small meals and healthy eating.
I did not do a pre op liquid diet; I just exercised and lived on tuna salad.
The first 2 weeks were a challenge trying to get all my food in, I experienced two stuck episodes during the first two weeks out.
Week three - foods started to get better to tolerate, I was able to eat scrambled eggs w cheese with no problem, week three was when I started to test things it was my transitioning from mushie to solids, I even tried chocolate and a piece of cake from a birthday party at work…not a good thing but hey three weeks of liquids and pureed food caused for a celebration…
Week 4, I can NOW eat anything that I have tried, just small amounts, nothing I cannot tolerate yet, no rush for a fill yet. I no longer puree my foods I am on solids now….I can eat eggs, tuna, chicken, veggies, salad, toasted bread, brown rice, celery, crackers, fish, (I even tried dips and chicken wings from my companies happy hour) basically now when I swallow it goes down well, there is no stuck feeling like before, but the greatest thing about my band is when I eat a small cup of anything I start to feel full, it STOPS me from eating…this band works exactly like it is suppose to for me…woohoo.
My clothes have begun to shift as well they are getting loose..., pre op I was barely fitting into a size 24 now, I am now very comfortable 20-22. I am now actually the size of my picture now that was taken 2 years ago. I am back where I started. I have been a yo-yo dieter for years, up and down more up than down. When I got to my highest weight of 326 I know it was time for something more drastic, my yo-yo dieting was just making me bigger and bigger.
The liquid phase of my diet was the worst, I was weak most of the time and hungry, boy was I hungry, they did not tell me that I would be that hungry. Well I guess I have gotten use to not eating much, I am now transitioning from the mushie phase of my diet into testing solids, this will be very interesting.
I went the cafeteria at work and ordered from the salad bar, tuna and egg salad and a cup of chicken noodle soup. The tuna taste good, I have learned to get creative, I put sauce on the tuna to make it mushie, it taste really good, I don't want to have any mistakes at work...so good so far. 10/30/05
My first 30 days out update:
I still have restriction with no fill yet, I have lost 25 pounds after surgery, 15 pounds pre op, I believe that my pre op diet really helped contributed to my quick post op weight loss, my pre op diet shrinked my stomach and got me ready for small meals and healthy eating. I did not do a pre op liquid diet; I just exercised and lived on tuna salad.
The first 2 weeks were a challenge trying to get all my food in, I experienced two stuck episodes during the first two weeks out. Week three - foods started to get better to tolerate, I was able to eat scrambled eggs w cheese with no problem, week three was when I started to test things it was my transitioning from mushie to solids, I even tried chocolate and a piece of cake from a birthday party at work…not a good thing but hey three weeks of liquids and pureed food caused for a celebration…
Week 4, I can NOW eat anything that I have tried, just small amounts, nothing I cannot tolerate yet, no rush for a fill yet. I no longer puree my foods I am on solids now….I can eat eggs, tuna, chicken, veggies, salad, toasted bread, brown rice, celery, crackers, fish, (I even tried dips and chicken wings from my companies happy hour) basically now when I swallow it goes down well, there is no stuck feeling like before, but the greatest thing about my band is when I eat a small cup of anything I start to feel full, it STOPS me from eating…this band works exactly like it is suppose to for me…woohoo.
So far, no vomiting, no PB, no slime of what I hear about, no pain, my incisions are barely visible I have to search for three, the only one I see is the port and it has shrunk to about 11/2 inches long…I have forgot I have this band until I start to go over that cup portion amount it lets me know it is there. I am now down from a size 26 to a comfortable size 20-22, I probably will not buy any clothes until I am comfortably in a size 18 non stretch paints…my first milestone will be a size 16 non stretch pants, I am 5’8 tall, Ideally I would like to be a size 12-14, hopefully this band will help me get there.
The journey continues …until next time…
11/27
Well it has been almost a month since I have updated my profile. A little has changed, well it is the holiday season, I am not going to be hard on myself, as long as I don't gain weight before the end of the year I will be happy. But I have lost weight since I have updated I am now down to 275 from 283, that is 8 pounds, I have not had a fill yet. My first fill is tomorrow, I am a little nervous, I hope it turns out well.
I enjoyed Thanksgiving, I was able to eat more than I expected, but that is ok, I enjoyed every bite. I am looking forward to the new year and will be getting more strict on my diet intake. My goal it is be into a size 14 by next May, hopefully this band will make that dream come true.
1/11/06
Well it was been awhile since I've updated my profile. I am still recovering from over the Holidays. I don't have much to update but I love my band so far. Although, I pretty much ate whatever I wanted to over the Holidays including all my favoritate treats with no problem I was able to still lose weight. I need to get back to excercising if I am going to be successful at reaching my goal by May, of a size 14. Future Update
1/28/06
Well, I had my first fill on 1/16/06 of 1cc in my 10cm/4cc band, I had some intial swelling the day of the fill and a couple of days afterwards, but after the 5th day, I could not really tell any difference, I don't think this 1cc fill is my sweet spot yet, so I will have to get another adjustment. I did have a brief scare after my first fill, this actually happened 5 days after my fill which is so weird. I had eaten some salmon around 3:00 and I noticted my band restriction tighten up a bit so I stopped eating, just a minor discomfort feeling in my chest.
So around 11:30 that Sunday night my stomach started to feel funny and I felt funny and felt this weird deep burning in the back of my throat, somewhat like acid reflux but 10 times worse, I thought my band was attacking me. I called Dr Moazzez and got the answering service at 11:30 at night and he actually returned my call this late and had me drink some water, he waited on the phone to make sure I was ok. Dr. Moazzez is so great, I am glad he is my surgeon. I guess it turned out to be only that salmon had got stuck in my stoma and caused some minor irritation while my band was tightening up. I stayed on liquids for about 2 days and I am feeling fine now. Acutally my restriction has lifted, what's up with that. I don't think this 1cc is enough restriction, so I will need another tweak to get to my sweet spot, I miss my toddler size meals.
I am gearing up for my excercise routine, I had a minor set back of 5 pound wieight gain after a week at the gym, go figure...I will mix up my excercise from now on to speed walking and doing weights at the gym..hopefully, I will have better weight loss results the next time I update my profile. 3/1/06
It has been awhile since updating my profile, I have had 2 fills so far in my 4cc band, I am currently at 1.66c fill level. That fill still did not do the trick, I could barely fell the difference, I still can eat more than I should be able to eat. I will go again for a third fill in about two weeks and see if that helps. Since it is getting warmer outside I have started excersing more now, hopefully that will help.
I am not sure if I will meet my goal to get into a size 14 by May since I have not had any good restriction now for about 3 months, but my doctor says I am still doing great, I have lost 61 pounds so far so I am not so discouraged. The Lap Band is not about rapid weight loss anyway, I am thankful that I have not been sick or anything so far with my band, I would not want to lose my wieght being sick all the time.
Oh well, hopefully I will have better stats the next time I update my profile. 4/16/06
Well it has been awhile since I have updated my profile. There have been some good news since the last time I posted. I finally got my third fill about a month ago, it took me to an awesome sweet spot restriction level. At first I thought the fill was not going to work and while I was eating a salad and wings at a restuarant, it kick-in all of a sudden...it was like WOW...I just got full really really quick. I got this little cute hiccup and I was stuffed. I really love my lap-band. It is so amazing how it works. I love it because I allows me to be totally normal, I can still eat all the foods I ate before I was banded, the only difference I only eat teenie amounts when I have good restriction, my restriction is loosening up a bit since I have lost more weight, I guess I may need another fill tweak when I go in and see my doctor.
Well since my last fill of 2.1 ccs in my 4cc band I have lost 20 pounds, woohoo. I am getting closer and closer to onederland, I don't think I am going to make my goal to be in a size 14 by May, but that is ok, I am happy I was able to lose another 20 pounds so quickly.
I have started excercising more since I have lost more weight and it is warming up outside and I am getting more motivated to do more exercise and hopefully that will help additional weight loss go quicker also. I love the bikes, I sweat a lot and feel great when I do cardio at the gym.
Signing off for now until next time.
5/2006
I got my 4th fill on May 4, 2006 and wow what a difference in restriction, I am now tighter in the mornings, this is the first time that I am really tight, but not too tight I am able to eat mushy things in the mornings but I have to be very careful in chewing food now. Hopefully this fill will pull some extra weight off, I have been exercising a lot now since it is warmer outside. I am now in a comfortable size 18 pants and some size 16 pants, I have lost about 30 pounds since February. So far no vomiting or sliming yet, or no problems at all with my band knock on wood...until next time...
6/2006
Well a lot has changed since the last time I updated my profile, I am now down to about 230 pounds, a total of about 95 pounds so close to onederland, I can wear a size 16 and some size 14 stretch pants, I am so happy about my lap band, it is more than I had hoped for. I have not been the most complaint bandster, I follow the rules of eating healthy most of the time, I think if I would stop my weekly sweet treats I would have lost a lot more weight, but I am very pleased so far with my weight loss.
I had my first sliming experience on June 20 on watermelon, it was my fault, I am usually tighter in the mornings and I pushed the envelope and ate a couple of bites and got the stuck golf ball in my chest and then pain and started sliming, but it was not that much and I only spit out a little yucky gobs of slimy stuff, I learned from that, so far no PBing or vomiting thanks god, I am so careful about my eating. I have very blessed so far and not been sick one day since I had my band. Hopefully it stays that way.
I currently have 2.5ccs in my band and thinking about getting another tweak on restriction since I am a bit looser in the evenings, hopefully this will not make me too tight, I fear being overfilled, I don't want to get any problems from being too tight, anyway, signing off for now, until next time....
October 14, 2006
Well a lot has changed since I last updated my profile. I have lost over 111 pounds and it has been over a year since my band aniversary. I can knock on wood I have not had any complications with my band. The only things I have experienced was my doctor filled me too tight for my comfort level, I could barely eat solids and I experienced really bad heartburn and reflux in August, the 2.8ccs were just too tight and he removed a small amount of saline after about a week I kept that fill for about 1 week and that was too long...and he also ordered an Upper GI to make sure band was ok and there were no issues it was still perfect.
After my doctor removed .2cc I found I was too loose and my appetite had increased so I went back to my doctor and he added 1.5ccs back, and I am currently holding 2.7ccs in my band and I am really tight, I even experienced my first PB for the first time in one year since banding...it happend at work unexpected, I had gotten irritated from eating spicy chicken and forgot I need to refine my eating and slow way down and take teeny bites since I am tighter than I ever been, so this restriction level is all new to me and I will have to adapt or remove saline.
I am also loving my new lifestyle my band has allowed me to have, I get noticed a lot these days by the opposite sex since losing weight, and my dating life has been very exciting, I am newly divorced so I am like a kid in a candy store with so many options. Hopefully I will find my soul mate and live happily ever after....
I am currently wearing a size 14/16 and even some size 12 dresses, hopefully over the next few months I can get into a size 12 pants that is my overall goal, it would be nice to be able to get into a size 10, but that may be too thin for me since I am tall about 5'8 tall, so I tend to look thinner anyway, I will sign off for now and until next time...
