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Goals

To Get My Master's Degree

11 People
 in progress, 
4 People
 achieved this

My goal is to be a healthy energetic mom.

76 People
 in progress, 
15 People
 achieved this
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Surgeon Testimonial

Christopher Edwards
I love my doc!!!!! Dr. Edwards is a very talented and intelligent surgeon. I knew he had a good reputation. When he walked into the room on my first appointment, he already knew so much about me. He had reviewed my records thoroughly and had a grasp of what type of person I was, so he was able to suggest the surgery that would be best for me. I went in thinking that I wanted Gastric Bypass, but he presented some great facts that convinced me the lap band was the way to go. The day of surgery, when I was in the holding area, he came by to check in on me and say hello. I was a little scared at this point, but his friendly face was very comforting and reassuring to me. His bedside manner is great. rnrnMary Trampler, his nurse coordinator is wonderful as well. She was so friendly and sweet looking, but I know she has the tenacity of a bulldog when dealing with insurance companies. I felt like she bent over backwards to help me get the surgery in plenty of time for me to heal and be ready for my daughter's spine surgery that was coming up. rnrnKatie Branson, the counselor who does the psych evals, was so sweet and easy to talk to. She really knows her stuff as well. She puts MaryAnn on Big Medicine to shame!rnrnOverall, the program is very comprehensive. I would highly recommend Dr. Edwards and his staff to anyone considering WLS.
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salgal's Blog
salgal's Blog


April 12, 2008
on April 12, 2008 6:44 am
I had my fifth fill on Thursday, April 10th.  She drew out 8 cc's, put them back in, and added 2 more.  I have 10 cc's in my 10 cc band.  I am a little freaked out because I still have about 80 pounds to lose!  She said my band will hold 13 cc's and she assured me I still had plenty of wiggle room, but I am afraid that my band will be filled to capacity and I will quit losing weight!  I am pretty tight!  I hope I don't need an unfill.  I have gotten down my liquids and soft foods okay, but I had alot of feelings like indigestion last night while I was sleeping, and I had an incidence of acid reflux the night before.  I think I had read on here that that is a sign of being too full.  We will see how I do today and tomorrow, but I may be calling the doc back on Monday.  I am looking forward to getting the scale moving again!  I was stuck at 82 pounds.  I even gained 1 pound back by the time I stepped on the scale at the doc's office Thurdsay!

My daughter is getting ready to move out!  She is in Louisiana right now getting some training for her job, and when she comes home, she will move out into her own place.  She is only 18!  Of course, she has been a "grown up" since she was 3 years old!  She has always been very mature and well-grounded.  I am so proud of her in so many ways!  I am just a little nervous about letting her leave the nest so young!  The good news is, she is just moving around the corner right next to my husband's office (and her place of employment) so we can keep an eye out for her and we will be close if she needs us.  I just can't believe it has come to this already!  I just brought her home from the hospital yesterday, it seems.   I can't believe how quickly time goes by and how fast they grow up.  I will still have a 13- year- old at home and I am going to hold on to him as long as I can!
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March 15, 2008
on March 15, 2008 1:17 pm
Yipee!  I am officially on Spring Break!  I was sooooo ready for a break!  It seems like every deadline in my life hit this week!  I am not kidding!  Everything was due this week!  The great thing is that now that everything is done, I can now take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy my spring break!.  Then I only have one quarter to go til summer break!

 I got my Biggest Loser video done and sent off.  It was right down to the wire.  I finished it at 1:00am on Wednesday morning, the day it had to be postmarked!  It was my first attempt at making an i-movie, and it took me so long to do it.  I worked another 5 1/2 hours on editing Tuesday night/Wednesday early am.  That's over 11 hours into that thing, not counting the time spent shooting it.  However, I am pretty satisfied with it.  I had to edit the crap out of it because it had to be 10 minutes long and I had about 2 hours of footage.  After it was already in the mail, I discovered a couple of mistakes in it, but I honestly don't care.  It is what it is and it shows our personalities very well.  Whether or not we are what they are looking for is another question, but it is out of my control.  I am just glad that I tried and I have a hilarious video that I will enjoy watching in my golden years!  Of course I want to get picked to go on the show, but if I don't, life will go on. 


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It's been months since I have blogged~!
on March 7, 2008 8:29 pm
So much has happened since my last blog. I am currently down 82 pounds, trying like mad to lose 100 by my first year bandaversary in May. I am also reaching another important milestone that month. I am graduating with my Master's Degree 5 days after my oldest is graduating from High School! Pretty crazy! I am doing something I never thought I would do! I am trying out for a reality show. My friend and I are auditioning for the Biggest Loser. I am tying to get my video done. It has to be postmarked by March 12. I have just spent 6 hours working on downloading it onto DVD. At last check, I did not have sound when I was trying to edit it. I had sound when I was downloading the video. I hope it will come out in the DVD. We have worked so hard! It has been a work in process for over 3 weeks. I would hate to get so close and not be able to send the video in because of no sound. I am currently burning the DVD so I can see if it is turning out. It takes along time. I am staying late at school. I hope it gets done before the custodians are ready to leave! I will be so bummed if I have to leave her empty handed!
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August 7, 2007
on August 7, 2007 9:29 pm
Wow!  I just watched a crazy intense movie with my family tonight called, "Disturbia."  Believe me, it was disturbing.  I don't really like scary movies, but my daughter talked me into it. 

I had my second fill last Thursday, August 2nd.  I got 4.5 cc's in my band.  I had 2 cc's from my first fill.  As she filled, I immediately felt a pressure in my chest like I had to burp really bad.  I think I may even have restriction!  Hallelujah!  I lost 7.5 pounds since Thursday.  Of course, that is after I gained back all the weight I had lost in St. Louis. I am  just so happy to be losing again.  It seemed like I was at a stand still for so long.  Anyway, I have a hard time eating breakfast.  I get that pressure feeling again.  It almost feels like food is caught in my throat at times.  I have been able to eat pretty good my dinnertime.  I did think I was going to throw up today.  I was eating one of those SouthBeach lunches from the deli section.  I got that stuck feeling and I stopped eating for a minute.  I got up to tell my son something and went into the bathroom sure I was going to barf.  It  passed in a few minutes and I was able to go back and finish my lunch.  I has some cookies tonight too.  My daughter made them for the neighbor who lost her husband this week.  I can't believe it, but I ate 3 of them and they went down way too easily.  Maybe I don't have restriction after all.  Who knows?

My daughter is slowly getting better.  The recovery process is slow, but she is making progress.  She can now get in and out of bed all by herself!  However, she has
had 4 migraine headaches in 8 days.  A guy who works for my husband is a former nurse.  He said that percoset (Sp?) can cause migraines.  That was the pain medicine she was taking.  We switched to Hydrocodone today.  Hopefully that will help. 

I am going to meet with a personal trainer tomorrow.  I have been thinking about it for some time now, but after reading a post on the board today, another person inspired me to go ahead and call to set up the appointment.  I am really scared about keeping up with exercise when school starts again.  I get so busy when school starts.  Plus I will be taking my last 2 grad classes this year.   I will  have my one year bandaversary in May of 2008.  I am hoping to reach 3 important milestones in my life. 1.  My daughter will graduate from high school.  2.  I will graduate with my Master's Degree 3.  I hope to lose at least 100 pounds by May 9th.  I have now lost 41 pounds from my highest weight.  60 to go in 9 months.  Can I do it?  I am sure going to give it a try!

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July 26, 2007
on July 26, 2007 1:05 pm
We are home from the hospital!  Yipee!!  My daughter is doing great after her spinal fusion!  It was a difficult surgery and she has had a lot of pain and nausea, but the doctors have corrected her curve from 73 degrees to about 10 degrees.  She has also gained a couple of inches in height as well.  I am just so thankful to the Shriner's Hospital in St. Louis.  If any of you know a child with a serious medical need, contact them!  They were so wonderful!  I can't sing their praises enough!.  Also, if they call you for a donation, give generously!  They help so many kids.  They were so generous with my daughter.  She even got to meet Ryan Fitzpatrick of the St. Louis Rams while she was in the hospital!  Wonderful place, fantastic surgeons, kind and compassionate nurses, and just an all around great resource for kids!  I am going to post some more pictures as soon as I can.  I will post some of her  experience.

I managed to lose 4 1/2 pounds while we were in St. Louis.  Stress, I guess, but I will take it.  This puts my total to 38.5 pounds lost!  Yipee!!!

I am getting me second fill on August 2nd.  I am a little behind schedule because of my daughter's surgery, but I am glad to be getting the fill.  My appetite is huge! 
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My Story

I have struggled with my weight all of my life, but really began putting in on after having children.  I have tried every type of diet known to man and have lost many pounds over my life, only to gain them back because I could not maintain the weight loss.  I had spent thousands of dollars on different plans and  drugs over the years.  After having the most success I ever had with Phen-fin diet drugs, I recall the day they announced that they were taking them off the market.  I heard the stories about the terrible illnesses and fatalities related to the drugs and I sat in front of my television and cried, not because I was scared about my health, but because I was going to lose the only tool that had ever worked for me and I was scared to gain the weight back. My doctor told me after I was diagnosed with sleep apnea that I may be a candidate for a gastric bypass.  I had thought about it for years, but was told that my insurance would not pay for it.  When I inquired with my insurance, I was told that I would have to go on a year-long doctor-supervised weight loss attempt.  After many months of thinking and praying about it, my doctor advised me to write a letter to my insurance company  and ask them to waive the one year waiting period before approval.  Three weeks after sending the letter, I called to check on the status.  Low and behold, my insurance company did not have that requirement after all.  I was told my plan would cover it if my doc would write a letter of medical neccesity.   In the meantime, my surgeon had recommended the lap band procedure instead of the GB.  I was sold on the idea when he explained that it was adjustable, thus easier to control weight loss.  I went for all of the necessary appointments and was banded on May 9, 2007.  I am still not telling people my beginning weight yet, but I have lost 27 pounds so far and I feel really great.  I think it was the best decision I ever made and I am excited about how it is going to change my life.