melly37

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Not only is Dr. Acosta a good listener and an amazing surgeon, but he is also easy on the eyes!   ha ha!!

I had my local appointment with Dr. Acosta on Friday,  It was nice to not have to drive down to El Paso.  I had thought long and hard about whether or not I needed a fill. I was even thinking about the possibility of seeing if he would start the process for a revision of some sort.  

I had fixed some french toast for my sweetie the previous weekend and at a slice and a half myself....went down well with lots of syrup!  ha ha  For the most part, if I stuck to real foods....solid protein, etc., I was only able to eat small portions.  Last week I was reflecting upon points when my band was too tight.  I was remembering the heartburn, the fear of eating out, and the times I was very dehyrdated, not even getting water down.

As I was driving up for my appointment, I was rehearsing in my head what I needed to say to Dr. Acosta.  Would he be disappointed with not weight loss the last six weeks?  Would he mention a revision to me?  Would I leave his office in shame and embarassed?

My weight in the office seemed only longer as I tried to remember what I had eaten the last week.  How would I ever be able to describe and document my diet to the nutritionist.  How would she know where I was going wrong and what advice to give if I couldn't even recall what I had put in my mouth.  I realized that I had gotten very far away from what I was right after surgery.  I planned meals as best as I could back then.  I concentrated on portions more.  I wasn't perfect, but I was aware. 

I hadn't lost any weight since my fill six weeks earlier, but I couldn't pinpoint where I had gone wrong.  This had to stop.  I was ready to swallow my pride and talk to the nutritionist and really listen to her this time.  I was prepared to admit to Dr. Acosta that I was the reason I wasn't losing weight....it's wasn't my band failing me.  

I got weighed in and the scales showed a 2 pound loss from the last time.  I talked to the nutritionist and she took the time to talk to me.  She told me to consume 1,100 calories a day.  300 more if I exercise. The nutritionist said I should get 73 grams of protein and limit carbs to 60 a day.  Hmmmm okay.  Now I had perimeters.  She had probably told me all of this before, but this time I was listening.  I haven't been losing weight....now is the time to listen to someone trying to help me to do so.  

My next and final visit was from the doctor himself.  I was a bit nervous waiting for him.  I had been at the office for 2 hours at this point.  He has so many patients and is so booked that I always have to be prepared for a long wait.  How would I explain my measly 2 pound weightloss?  Should I talk about possible thyroid issues?  Should I blame my band?  Well.....I came to the conclusion that there was a place to put the blame, and that place was squarely on my shoulders.

When Dr. Acosta came in, (after I wiped the drool from the corner of my mouth ) I told him how I could feel a real difference after my last fill.  I told him that I was eating small portions and being satisfied for 3 hours or more.  I went on to say that I really wasn't sure if I needed a fill.  I had needed to talk to the nutritionist and was glad that I did.

He smiled, and started to ask me his usual questions.  Any heartburn or reflux?  No.  Any problems with throwing up?  No.  Can you eat meat, like steak?  Yes.  Can you eat bread?  Well......remember that french toast?  Ummmm, Yes.....but not too much.  I can usually only eat 3-4 bites of bread before I know I had better not, so I usually stay away from it.  It was at that point that Dr. Acosta said......

You need a fill

  I was struck with a little bit of fear.  I had been honest with him.  I had told him that I could only eat about 3/4 to 1 cup of protein at a time.  I had told him that I stayed satisfied for hours.  The tipping point was the fact that I could eat bread.  He told me that a band adjusted properly would not allow me to eat bread at all.  

Hmmmmm........oh my gosh......a fill??  I am scared of being too tight.  Dr. Acosta reassured me.  He said, " I know that you do not have a slip, so I feel comfortable giving you a fill."  Yes, I now had a better placement of my band.....and band re-positioned by a competent doc.  I was in good hands.  I needed to trust this man.  Should I be able to eat bread?  Probably not.  

So, Dr. Acosta gave me .25 of a CC.  I don't know how much I have total now, but I am a bit psyched now.  I felt very full Friday night on some very thin soup.  I was really a bit on edge, hoping that I wouldn't get suddenly too tight and not be able to sleep because of reflux. etc.  Everything was fine!  I stayed on liquids all weekend.  Sunday night I had a VERY small amount of roast, some carrots and mashed potatoes. I had very small portions.  Everything that I ate went down just fine and I didn't have any discomfort.  Yay!!

Today, I had two chicken nuggets from Wendy's and a large chili.  I ate two nuggets and only half of the chili.  I had a semi-stuck feeling afternoon, so I just made some creamy soup for dinner.  After eating that, I felt much better.  

I weighed in at 200 the morning I went to see Dr. Acosta.  This morning I was down to 198.  I certainly hope the scale continues to get lower!!  I am excited about this fill now.  I pray that it works!!  

My weight has really been stuck between 199 and 202 for MONTHS and MONTHS.  I have pretty good restriction right now, and therfore my portions have been pretty darn small.  I stll eat some bad foods, but considering how little I eat, I think I should be losing some weight finally.  Last time I blogged I was wondering if there was a serious problem with my thyroid. 

Although, I still wonder about that, I stumbled upon an article about how by adding a lot of Vitamin D by taking supplements have helped some women shed weight.  I figured that it wouldn't hurt me to take some Vitamin D supplements.  I don't know if that's what did it, but I started taking those on Monday and by Friday I was down to 197.  I weighed in at 197 this morning, as well.  I haven't changed my eating at all, and I didn't get any exercise last week.  I fell going up the stairs last Monday and hurt my shin pretty darn bad.  I even went to urgent care and got it looked at.  It was VERY swollen.  So.....anyway......I am wondering if it's the Vitamin D that helped me lose a few?  Maybe my body was no longer able hold on to some of the weight naturally?  Not sure.  I am just glad to see the number getting further from 200!!  I will be starting my period next week, and might get back to 200 again, but it will be wonderful if I NEVER see that number again!!  Ever!!  ha ha!!

My appointment with Dr. Acosta for Friday hasn't been cacelled as of yet.......yet.  LOL  I plan on going, I really don't know if I should get a fill though.  I am very uncertain.  I am leaning towards not getting one.  Even though my weightloss is PAINFULLY slow, I am not having problems.  I rarely PB, no hearburn and I can't eat much at a time.  It's so hard to know what the right thing to do is.  Maybe he will help me make my decision.  Maybe he will try and get approval for me to be revised to the sleeve.  Who knows?  We will find out on Friday!

As much as I didn't want to, I updated my mini-goal ticker to show that I am stuck at 202.  UGH!!    My restriction held out all weekend, yet I didn't lose a damn pound!!  I did have some bad slider foods, but not even much of those.  Soooooo, my goal is to stick to GOOD FOODS this week.  Really gauge the amount I am able to eat and drink all of my water.  If I STILL don't lose weight by this weekend, I will beat my head against a wall.  ha ha!

Seriously, I am beginning t wonder if I do have a thyroid issue.  A bandster friend of mine said she had to go to a specialist to get diagnosed with her thyroid issue.  She said the simple blood tests that her PCP ran didn't pick anything up.  Mine never do either......but my sluggish metabolism has to have some kind of explanation, I would think. 

Hopefully, I don't have an issue, and I have just been taking in more calories than I thought.  We'll see this week.  I am going to try and track as well as I can.  It's really hard with homemade foods to know for sure how many calories I am consuming.  Good luck to me!