ObesityHelp

I got a fill Monday on the 17th after my emergency unfill about 10 days earlier. I got a chance to sit and talk with my doctor which I haven't done since 1 week after surgery. I expressed my concerns with the lack of weight loss over the past several months as well as all the fills and unfills. We discussed what could happen if this just doesn't work for me. Options of course include removing the band and possibly opting for a different type of surgery. He said that we are far from saying that it is not working, I have lost quite a bit of weight and have not regained any of it. I am just frustrated because I still have about 100 more pounds to go and I can't seem to lose unless I am too tight. So the doctor decided to put half of what he took out back in which was .5 ccs. He does my fills under flouro and he said the fill still looked very loose. I expressed concern that if the fill looks tight under flouro and we know that it will get tighter in 2-3 weeks is this really a good thing. He decided to add another .1 cc for a total of .6 that was added. I now have 1.6 cc's in my band. This does not seem like a lot but it does make a difference. Before the fill monday I could eat everything - pasta, bread, rice. Since the fill the only thing I tried was bread and I find I am having trouble with it so I notice the difference. So far the fill is not too tight and I still can eat too much but I know that it will tighten up in a few weeks. I probably will not go get another fill until Feb because I am going on vacation at the end of January and I don't want any problems while I am so far from my doctor. Other than that I have been suffering with the flu for the past several days. Hopefully things will get better for me soon. I am determined to lose this next 100 lbs hopefully within the next year.

     Wow! It has been a whole month since I last blogged. On Nov 19th I went and got a fill. Against my better judgement I let my doctor fill me until he saw a difference on the flouro. I knew this was not a good idea and yet I was desperate to lose some more so I went along with it. See, I have not really lost much weight in the last 3-4 months. I already know that my fills can take 2-3 weeks to kick in and if he notices restriction in the office by the time the fill really kicks in there will be trouble. So, I went thru Thanksgiving with this fill and didn't enjoy the holiday at all, infact I got sick everytime I tried to eat on Thanksgiving and I did not have a big plate of food or anything. I have returned to using small plates and not filling them up. I had a little bit of turkey with gravy and mac and cheese, cranberry sauce and a roll. Didn't even attempt to eat it all and still got sick. I tried to work with the fill and a few pounds did come off but like clockwork in 2-3 weeks I got too tight to even hold down liquid. This Thursday I had to go to another doctor and take a test requiring a urine sample so I drank some liquid before going out at 10:30am. By the time I arrived at the doctor I was throwing up the liquid. Friday I called my surgeons office and they got in touch with him, he called me personally and agreed for me to come to one of his other offices for an unfill. There I found out that there were only 2 cc's in there and he took out half - 1 whole cc. Now I can eat any and everything which is also not a good thing. I will have to go back to see him on December 17th for another fill. I  hope to get a good level of restriction where I can continue to lose and still be able to eat a sensible meal without getting sick. 
     On a brighter note I got my loan from the credit union and finalized my trip for my birthday. All reservations are made and all employers have been notified. I am spending money like crazy lately Christmas shopping and getting ready for my trip. On top of that I put some furniture on layaway for my son for his bedroom. I am going to remodel his room in the next two months. My second job has been driving me crazy and because of the weird schedules I find myself snacking on horrible things there. I am often scheduled just enough hours to not get a lunch break but so many hours that I need to eat while there. I end up eating cookies or chips and soda. This is a bad habit to form and I must get it under control quickly. 
     This journey is no joke and everyday I question my decision, not the decision to have surgery but did I have the right one? Do I need to consider a revision? Although I have lost quite a bit of weight and therefore this tool does work I have stalled for months and any adjustments usually result in my getting very sick. I can't help but think that if I had went another way I would be much closer to my goal. By my scale I am down almost 80 lbs but considering how much is left - at least another 100 lbs I am not sure that this is the tool that will get me there. I am going to have to have a discussion with my doctor about this. It hasn't been a year yet though and I am sure he will say this is not enough time.