Monday, May 28, 2007, at 9pm Eastern on TLC

Big Medicine is the number one feature on the TLC webpage!  http://www.tlc.discovery.com, or go straight to their website on TLC, http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/big-medicine/big-medicine.html.

Check it out!
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070508/netu093.html?.v=5

Ads have started airing on TLC - they are pretty short right now, just 15 second spots, but will start to get longer as we get closer to the premiere date.

Also check out the Big Medicine Myspace Page: http://www.myspace.com/bigmedicinetlc!

Hi all!  I am a frequent poster on the lap-band forum, as I had my band put in last June.  Over there I have frequently talked about my dad and brother and their upcoming tv show on TLC.  I am starting to post the info on the other boards so people can check it out!

The show follows my father and brother, Drs. Robert and Garth Davis as they meet with patients, perform surgeries, and work with patients on follow up.  Each of the 13 episodes focuses on a few patients and their stories, from making the decision to have bariatric surgery, all the way to getting plastic surgery after they've reached their goal weight.  It's a cool concept, especially for those of us who have had WLS and like to see others' experiences!

The official airdate is going to be Monday, May 28, 2007 on The Learning Channel, right after the show Little People, Big World (I think it is 9pm, but not sure if it is eastern or central time.  I will continue to post reminders!

I just created a Myspace page for the tv show that you can all visit.  The website address is http://www.myspace.com/bigmedicinetlc!  It is very barebones right now, as I don't have the official descriptions from TLC or anything yet - but I will be updating it and hope that we can do episode summaries and have my dad or brother blog on there eventually!

You can also visit the website of their practice in Houston, http://www.surgerybydavis.com.

Hi all-

I got a couple nice messages from people asking how I've been doing, so thought I'd write a little update here. After my last incident feeling too tight, i found a very nice place called Barix here in Columbus - it's basically a huge bariatric surgery center! A doctor there was really great and gave me a little unfill - I immediately felt better and have been doing great ever since! It's probably about time for me to get some fill back since I've been much hungier, but since I am maintaining my weight right now I think i might hold off for a little bit.

Last weekend, TLC flew me to Houston to do a follow-up interview for the tv show about my brother and dad's practice! The TV show is called Big Medicine, and it basically follows my dad and brother in their private practice doing bariatric surgery in Houston. Each episode focuses on different patients through their journeys with bariatric surgery, from making the decision all the way to plastic surgery. They had interviewed me previously and wanted to hear more about my experience with the band for the tv show. I am a little nervous about being on national television, but I think my story is pretty cool, and I hope that some day the band might be widely used for people *before* they become morbidly obese. I am incredibly proud of my dad and brother, and I think people are going to love the show - it's done great in focus groups, and TLC seems to love it! Commercials and ads will begin in early May, and then the plan is for it to premiere on Monday, May 28, after Big People, Little World, which is the #1 show on TLC right now. Very exciting! I will keep you all up to date with their planned interviews and ads, as they have been booked to go on several tv shows and stuff to promote it.

So that's all for now! I am still weighing in between 134 and 138 - it definitely fluctuates! I am pretty much a size 4 in almost everything, though, which is cool. Thanks to everyone for checking in on me!

I'm almost 9 months post-op, and I am pretty close to goal weight. I've plateau'd a bit and fluctuate between 135 and 138, but I don't mind - i'm pretty happy where I am right now. I'd like to be at around 130, but I'm in no rush - I can't afford to keep buying new clothes!!!!

I have not done a single bit of working out since I had my band. Before my band, I hated working out as well, but I got really into yoga and had been doing it a lot - 4 days a week or more - for a few months. it didn't help me lose weight, but I definitely felt more toned. Well, I had my surgery, and then recuperated for awhile, and then moved to Ohio, where I have been too crazy busy with work and too lazy to go find a new yoga studio and get back into it. I know it might kick start my weight loss a little AND start toning me up for summer, but I just haven't been able to!

Friday, though, i decided I was going to do it. And I did! And it was wonderful! Today I went again, and it felt amazing. It's crazy how much easier it is do to when you're 50lbs lighter! But it was still challenging, and I broke a sweat for sure! I like to do Ashtanga or Vinyasa, both of which are more of a "flow" and so you keep moving quite a bit. I greatly miss my amazing studio in Austin and am still going to try a few others here in Ohio, but I am glad to have started down the road to total body and mind health. Yoga makes me feel amazing, physically AND mentally. Friday I was beyond stressed out, but I left the class feeling so relaxed and at peace.

In other news, I took a job in DALLAS! I will be moving back to Texas in September, and I can't wait! Additionally, I am really really really looking forward to spring and summer. I always hated summers because it sucks being overweight and squeezing yourself into tank tops and shorts. I never ever ever wore shorts because I always felt like I looked ridiculous, and skirts were always super uncomfortable. Which means I spent summers in 100 degree heat wearing PANTS! I think I am going to enjoy the spring and summer so much more when I'm able to wear shorts! Also, I need to buy bathing suits!!!!! I tried one of my old ones on today, just for fun, and it wouldn't even stay up! It's hilarious!

so that's all for now, just wanted to share! hope everyone in band-land is doing great! Look for my dad and brother's reality tv show about gastric surgery, Big Medicine, in June on TLC!

Well, life is good!

In February I went back to Texas for my birthday, and my brother give me a new fill. I have been doing great with this one and am back to my usual bandster lifestyle, and loving it! I have finally lost the last 5 lbs I've been playing with for two months! I have to say, I am FINALLY happy with my weight. I would like to lose another 10 lbs or so, but if I stayed right where I am, I would have absolutely no qualms whatsoever!

I have been traveling a bunch for job interviews all over the country in the last month. I got to go buy a new suit, which was ridiculously fun. I got one from Ann Taylor - it is a size FOUR, with room to spare!!!! My last suit from there, which was from December of 2006 (so only about 15 months ago) was a size 14. Wow. I didn't realize how much more confident I would feel walking into a job interview being a thin person! I also got the cutest new pair of jeans by a company called Joe's Jeans - they were ridiculously expensive, but I wear them every single weekend - they are a size 27, which just seems amazingly small to me.

I will say, though I feel great, I still don't truly realize how much smaller I am until I see pictures or see my reflection at random. In my own mirror, I still see the same chubby girl, but when I'm out and about I sometimes get surprised by my appearance. I am starting to truly realize that I am a "small" person now, which I have never been in my life. Even as a kid, people called me "big boned." It is so weird to be thought of as "small" now.

Certain things have really changed. I absolutely adore shopping - this is a bad thing- I spend too much money! I have also really noticed that I don't have near the amount of aches and pains that I used to have. I had a lot of back problems before, and though have pretty much disappeared! I don't get tired running up stairs and stuff. Crossing my legs is an absolute pleasure, and I literally think that every time I cross them! Just lots of weird stuff that I've started to notice more lately, for some reason. It almost feels like I wasn't letting myself notice all the great stuff until I'd lost my desired amount - now, I am finally truly realizing and taking advantage of it!

Well, since my nightmare last weekend, I am feeling 100% better! My brother took out most of my fill (I think I have a little less than 1cc left) after that whole experience. I was really hungry the first couple days and felt like I was eating much more, but now I am feeling comfortable and have been eating well. I have actually lost 2 lbs this week, which I was surprised by. I am almost 50 lbs down from my highest weight. Crazy!

Here's the story. It's a long one, but pretty interesting!

As you probably know if you are looking at my page, I had my surgery in June 2006 in Houston, TX. I am 15 lbs from goal, feeling great, have not had a single problem besides one unfill when I was too tight awhile back. I have had this same fill (I was at abt 1.8 ccs) for a whole month and have been totally fine.

Well, Friday morning I woke up for work and tried to drink my morning hot tea as I do every day. I drank three sips and was massively uncomfortable, and suddenly it came RIGHT BACK UP. So, I thought, Maybe I am swollen, and decided to try some liquid tylenol. Same thing. I went to work nervous, but tried not to think about it. Throughout the day, I tried to drink water, to no avail - I had horrible burning and pain whenever I tried to drink! So, I called my brother (a bariatric surgeon), and he said to call the surgeon here in Columbus that i had been seeing for fills (Dr. Bradley Needleman). I called Dr. Needleman's office, and the nurse said he was out but that I should head to the ER.

At the ER, I spent 4 hours in the waiting room. Finally they take me back and seem clueless, don't even know what a band is. So, I tell them, I need an Upper GI and a bag of fluids, and ibuprofin or tylenol for the swelling, and a surgeon that can remove my fill with a 20 gauge Huber needle. They look at me like I'm crazy. Eventually i go to get the upper GI, and the radiologist is like, Hmmm, i haven't used this machine in awhile. Then he tells me to "take a big gulp" of the contrast. Helloooo, I cant even take a big gulp NORMALLY, how am I going to do it now? So, I did, he sees the band is correctly in place but very narrow and lots of reflux. Ten minutes later (longest I could hold it down), all that nasty contrast came right back up. YECHHHHH. Another 4 hours waiting (my bed was in the hallway, btw, not a room), and no one has talked to me or helped me. No surgeon, no ER attending, nothing. I ask to disconnect my IV, leave AMA, and cry myself to sleep at home. My wonderful father (also a bariatric surgeon, though he specializes in RNY) called the director of the bariatric surgery program at Ohio State, who said that the on call surgeon who knows how to do fills would see me on Saturday when I come back to the ER, and that he would be able to help me.

Saturday morning I am still unable to take a sip of hot tea without major discomfort. I call the on-call surgeon, and I then arrive at the ER AGAIN. This time I wait only 1.5 hours before I go back, and I actually get a room. The surgeon comes an hour later - meanwhile, I have asked 3 times to be given fluids since i have not had anything to eat or drink in more than 30 hours, but they won't do it until the surgeon sees me. The surgeon says he has worked with Dr. Needleman and "helped' with fills - meaning he likely has never done it. This guy stuck me over 6 times trying to get at my port to take my fill out. It hurt like hell, and he clearly didn't know what he was doing. The guy tells me he thinks maybe the port is twisted or broken, but REFUSES to do it under fluoro - I have no idea why. It is now 4pm, another 4 hours at the ER. He tells me he will admit me until Monday so I can get fluids, and then the other surgeon will come and see me and I may need surgery. I call my dad, who says, GET ON A PLANE TO HOUSTON RIGHT NOW. I call the airlines and use all my miles to fly home. At 4pm I have them disconnect my IV and leave AMA yet again, and by 5:30pm I am on a plane. No food or drink for 48 hours, but I did manage to get half a bag of fluids at the hospital, and my dad made them give me Toradol to see if it would help the swelling.

I get off the plane at 7:45 pm, and my dad drives me straight to his hospital. My brother is waiting for me. He takes me right to the fluoro machine, marvels at the million pokes and brusie on my port, and uses the fluoro to access my port in, yes, ONE try. He takes all the fluid out, gives me a glass of water, and I drank it down with ease, and then another. It took my brother less than 5 minutes to accomplish what took the Ohio State Idiots more than 12 hours to NOT accomplish.

I am BEYOND pissed off. I cannot believe that Ohio State, which has a specialty center in bariatric surgery, did not have a single person that was trained in doing a fill/unfill on call. It amazes me, and is compeltely irresponsible. I am shocked at the incompetence in that hospital, the poor way that I was treated (i haven't even gotten into that here), and the poor training of the medical professionals. I am shocked that my surgeon here was unavailable and had NO ONE to manage an emergency with one of his patients. I am SO THANKFUL to have such an amazing father and brother that were here to be of help to me, as they are to all of their patients. My brother told me he had a patient on Friday afternoon who had the same problem - she came in to the office, he unfilled her, and she was gone in less than 30 minutes.

One interesting side note... TLC is filming a 13 episode reality show about my amazing dad and brother surgeons and their bariatric surgery practice. It will start airng in June (and I will keep you all updated of course!!!). They were around taping for all of this drama, so they were there, and it will likely be on TV this summer! Pretty crazy.

I am feeling great now. I have been eating and drinking fine all day, no pain, no soreness (except around the port where I was poked 100 times!). We have no idea what caused all of this, but I will probably keep the band empty and let myself heal for a few weeks. I also need to find a new surgeon here in Columbus to do my fills -not a chance in hell I'll go back to Needlman.

FOR THE RECORD: This may have been the weekend from hell, but I would absolutely never regret getting this band - it has changed my life and I cherish it greatly. It was a mess of a weekend, but more because of the lack of proper care than because of my precious band!

Happy New Year y'all!

Things are going well here! My 6 month band-iversary passed and I didn't even notice! I am down 45 lbs from my highest weight and feel great! Officiallly in a size 4 in several brands (including ann taylor) - craziness! Still a size 6 in my favorite pants, which are from Express - but their clothes seem like they're made for high school students so I don't take it too hard :)

I went to visit family in friends in Texas again for New Year's and it was great to show off. Shopping for a new year's eve outfit was also fun, of course.

My restriction level is kinda funny these days. I have been having days where I'm so tight that I can hardly swallow cold liquids, but by the end of the day I've loosened up a bit and can eat a few bites of solid protein (usually chicken or tuna). In Austin I ate lots of my faaaavorite foods, including tex mex, but it was awesome to realize that I can't gorge on everything and feel guilty - I ate small amounts, was totally satisfied, and didn't feel an ounce of guilt for eating queso (my favorite) and enchiladas. I even got to have some of my favorite ice cream (Amy's). Of course, ice cream is easy to go down so I have to be careful there :) Overall, though, I enjoyed my friends, family, and food all weekend and arrived back weighing in at the same weight as when I left - phew!

I've been thinking a lot about how the band has changed me lately. I really think that I am a much happier person. I wake up confident! I do, however, think about my appearance 100 times more than I did pre-band. I think that it was a psychological block before - I didn't think about how I looked because it was SO depressing to me, and it wasn't worth making an effort. Now, I spend so much more time getting dressed, always wear jewelry and makeup and do my hair, etc. I don't know if this is necessarily a "good" thing, but it's just something I've noticed. My mom likes it!

So that's about all for now. I know i need to update more! It's been good to see some more publicity about the band (i.e., Today Show). I really think it should start being done more on people that were my size (a "lightweight") - what an amazing preventative measure. I am so thankful to have had it done when I did, and even think about what it would have been like to have had this tool even earlier in my life - I feel that it has saved me from a lot of heartache.

This weekend I went shopping to find a dress to wear in my friend's wedding the weekend after Thanksgiving. Only requirements: long (floor length), and black. Well, i went shopping and found this beautiful one, and OMG, I tried on the size 6 and it fits me just perfectly! I cannot believe it. It is this matte jersey material that is clingy, and goodness, I wouldn't have worn that for a million bucks pre-band!

One other NSV:

Now, when I weigh myself on those Dr scales, I don't have to move the big weight over to the 150! I can stay at the 100 lb and add on with the smaller weight! Do you know what I mean? How fabulous - I can't remember the last time I was able to do that!

Here's something kind of funny though. I have seriously major scale anxiety before going to the doctor! I weigh myself almost every day or every other day at home, and yet I always have this weird fear that when I weigh myself at the doctor's office I will realize my scale has been wrong all this time, or that I miraculously gained 10 lbs or something. It's so bizarre, and yet I have this anxiety EVERY time I step on a scale at a doctor's office, even though last time I got a "Bravo" from the nurse at my primary care dr's office!