melly37

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Non Scale Victories are so much fun!  Yesterday my hubby and I went on a long motorcycle ride.  We left just before 8 am and didn't get back until almost 6 pm.  There are so many beautiful places to explore in New Mexico.  The weather was perfect for a ride.    I got a little sun burned, but it was worth it!  I just don't think I could have stayed on the bike that long 50 pounds ago.  

I was down to 212 this morning!!!  So a scale victory to go along with my non scale victory!!

I went to Kohl's after work today.  I saw a pair of capri's that I liked, but they were a size 16W.  I have been wearing pretty much 18's, but most of my stuff is very stretchy.  I started at a 24 or 26.   I went in to try them on, and WALLAH!!!!!!  They fit!!!   They weren't even tight!!  They weren't stretchy material, and didn't have elastic in the waist either.    That sure made my day!  

As far as my fill goes.....I am still undecided.  I am starting to think I am a person that can not tolerate foods until after noon.  My schedule has been out of whach the last few days because I am in a leadership training class.  I went ahead and went to Burger King today for lunch,  I got a small cheeseburger and some chicken nuggets to see if I could eat either one.  I took the bun off of the burger and was able to eat a few bites, but not too much.  I took a few bites of a chicken nugget.  It was hurting.  UGH,  I saved the chicken and at around 4pm I tried eating one again, and this time it went down just fine!  In fact, I even ate one more!  LOL   I was craving a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner.  So, I stopped and got some diet bread, and made myself one.  I could eat half and I also had 1/4 cup (if even that much) of soup, mainly broth.  

Last night I was able to eat 4 1/2 meat balls.  So.....all in all I might not be too tight, I might just need to make sure I don't attempt to eat until late in the afternoon.    Not too convenient.  BUT....I really can't afford the unfill unless it's a must have for my health.   I am still on the fence sometimes though.  I really don't think good restriction is supposed to be THIS RESTRICTING.  I also keep arguing with myself by saying, maybe one or two more pounds loss will loosen the band on it's own.  I haven't gone below 215 yet.  I can't imagine why since I am barely eating a damn thing, except maybe my body went in to starvation mode?   Who knows?  I would love to be down to 214 when I weigh in the morning. 

UGH 
I had some hope yesterday,  I went to Costco and they were giving samples of chili dogs.  The were giving a half of a chili dog.  I took one and was able to eat the weiner with not problems.  So, I thought maybe I had just been swollen from the fill still.  We went to see Indiana Jones last night and I ate popcorn, that went down fairly easy.  But, today has really been a no go with food. 

I am able to eat pub mix (crackers, etc.), but I tried to some canned chili today and had trouble with that.  I was able to eat probably 1/3 of a cup or a little more.   I grilled steaks for dinner and cut my pieces extremely small.  I had about 5 bites and my band slammed shut again.  

I lost another pound, the scale showed 215 this morning.  I love the weight  loss, but I can't risk damaging my stomach or my band.  I can drink protein shakes all day, but I really don't want to do something I will regret.  It's past 72 hours since my fill so of course I will have to pay for this unfill.   UGH!!  Oh well.  Nothing I can do about it.  I applied for a part time job at Wal-Mart.  I sure hope I get it, we could sure use the extra money! 

  Okay....this fill has restricted my eating ENORMOUSLY!!!!  OMG.  I am praying that I'm not too tight.  I am having trouble eating foods.  Liquids go down fine, just a little slow.   For lunch, I got some Mexican food at Twisters.  I could only take a few bites and had to put it away.   That night we went to Applebee's and I ordered smothered grilled chicken.  Uhhh...nope.  I could only eat about 5 to 6 VERY SMALL bites and my band slammed shut.  (Dang, George!)  

Today, I heated up the chicken and it was still a no go.  I made chicken salad and had a little trouble with that.  I was able to probably eat 1/2 cup finally.  I have a little pain when I am eating.  I think I am going to switch to mainly protein shakes for the next few days...and if I am still having trouble eating solid foods I will have to get some taken out.  UGH.  I don't want to do that if I don't' have to.  Money is the main reason.  

I sure wish my insurance company paid for fills locally.  It's expensive for me to get fills/unfills no matter what I do.  Driving to Lubbock when gas is so expensive....or shelling out my own money to go locally and get it done at Fill Centers.  

Well, let's just hope for the best and pray that I am still just a bit swollen from the fill itself, and will be fine in a few days!!  I was down to 216 this morning.  LOL I am liking that part of it!

I got my 3rd fill yesterday.  The doctor that is contracted with Fill Centers USA gave me 1.5 CC's.  I thought I had 3.5 CC's already in the band, but when he pulled out what was in there,  I had 4.1. ????  I guess the band was primed a little bit during surgery even though Dr. Frezza said it wasn't?  I don't know.  Anyway, the 1.5 CC's seems to have made a big difference.  I am still on liquids, but the liquids are going down slow.  He tried to put in 2 CC's but that was too much.   I am happy about my new fill.

I also got my Wii Fit yesterday!!  Yeah!!!  I tried it out, and I think I am really going to enjoy it!    There is a wide variety of things to do.  The balance games are a lot of fun.  

Thirdly, my favorite was American Idol last night!!  Yeah!  David Cook!!  I really didn't think he was going to win, so it was a very nice surprise.  The show was pretty awesome.  Bryan Adams AND ZZ Top were on!!!  Two of my all time favorites!!  Cook sang Sharp Dressed Man with ZZ Top!!  It was so good!!  My sixteen year old son thinks I am crazy for loving this show.  He thinks it's stupid.....but I am entitled to have one guilty pleasure!  LOL  

I am down another pound.  I weighed in at 217 this morning.  Wooo Hooo!!!  I hope to be under 200 in a month if I am lucky! 

My baby brother graduated from college this past weekend!!  Joe, Dylan and I made the trek down to Las Cruces for the big event.  My older brother and his wife flew in the day before.  My other brother in Las Cruces hosted everyone for board games, etc.   We all had the very best time.  We have become very close over the last 3-4 years.  All we have is eachother in the way of family.  They are all very successful, smart and very caring brothers.  I am so lucky to have them!    The last time I saw any of them was at Christmas, before my surgery.  They all said that I looked very good!  I am not down as much as I would to be at this point, but that helped my ego quite a bit!  LOL

I contacted Fill Centers USA yesterday.  I will be going in for a fill sometime this next week I hope.  The lady is supposed to contact me today with an appointment time.  I have tried to be very careful in determining if I need the fill or just have been eating around my band.  I would say I definitely need a fill.   I might not require a bunch of fluid, maybe 1.5 or 2?  I don't want to be overfilled, that's for sure!!   For times when I don't have self-control, I would like to not be able to eat breads and rice.  Right now I can still eat bread without a problem.  

I have really been disappointed in myself and how little self control I have exerted over myself.  I haven't gained weight back, I just am losing SO DANG SLOW!!  I know I need to exercise more consistantly also.  I didn't get this surgery to be on a diet for the rest of my life....so I sure hope the fill will help along with gaining better self control. 

  My plane got back around 5pm on Thursday, went up and went to work yesterday and worked two hours of credit.  I slept in today, and boy, it sure felt good!!   I had a really good time.  We didn't get much sleep.  We stayed up late most nights, VERY LATE, and had classes early in the morning.  LOL But, it was a very good experience.  

Some of the classes weren't really related to our line of work, and some classes were very helpful....but, most of all the time spent with my superiors was INVALUABLE!  I was the only peon...I was with my direst supervisor, her supervisor and her supervisor.    We are a fairly small family, so we all work closely together back at home.  Well....THEY work closely together.  I am a lead at the contact center, but that doesn't mean I am privy to a lot the decisions these guys make.  Well, I was THIS WEEK!  LOL  It was very good.  I know that being invited was a good sign, I just want to keep working hard so that eventually I can work my way up to a supervisor position.  

My band made himself noticeable for most of the trip.  (yes, my band is a "he", just don't know a name for him yet)  On the first full day in DC he made himself HORRIBLY noticed!!  We were going on a moonlight monument tour, and took the metro to Union Station to catch the tour bus.  There is a huge food court there, with any kind of food you could imagine.  To this point I can eat anything, just smaller amounts.  Well, my supervisor and I walked by this Chinese food place and they gave us a sample of their sesame chicken.  It was very good and moist.  None of the chicken was breaded....so, I got another sample of their spicy chicken.  This was also very good.  So, I decided to order some food from there.  I got a plate that gave me two heaping helpings of the different chicken, fried rice and a salad.  I knew that there would be no way to eat half of this, but there was a small fridge in my room I could bring the leftovers with me.  

I am sure a lot of factors were the result of what was about to happen, we were in a hurry, I was nervous and excited, I was hungry, and I wasn't paying too close attention to how I ate.  I took about two or three bites of the chicken and got a horrible stuck feeling.  I got up and walked around, hoping this would help the chicken go down.  NOPE.  After walking around a few minutes I was running to find the bathroom.  I found an open stall and PB'd.  I thought to myself, "Whew, okay, no big deal.  I just won't eat tonight."  Went back to the table sat down and another wave of tightness and sliming hit me.  I got up and walked around again....no relief.  I went in search of the bathroom again.  I PB'd again....this time it was mostly mucas.  I didn't feel like I needed to PB again, until I reached our table.    This time, I didn't have time to walk all the way back to the bathroom, so I tried to discreetly heave over a trash can.  RIGHT IN FRONT OF HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE EATING.  Lovely.  Well, It's time to go at this point.  Our tour bus will be boarded shortly.  There is a total of 8 of us from the conference going on this tour.  One of the men has been in DC extensively, so he was the one leading us through the metro maze, to Union Staition.  There was NO WAY that I could just go back to the hotel at this point.  As we waited on the steps outside Union Station I felt the urge to  again!  OMG.  So, I went behind one of the large pillars.  Then another two minutes it hit AGAIN.  ALL ABOARD!!  What was I going to do???   I was so scared at this point.  I had purchased a bottle of water in the food court and had taken a few drinks before eating.  When I got on the bus and the urge to PB hit again, that was the only thing I could do.  Spit up the mucas in to my bottle.  Of course some of it had to ooze outside of the bottle opening and on to my arm.  YUCK!!!!  Five minutes later, ANOTHER PB.   Five minutes after that ANOTEHR ONE.  I was terrified at this point.  I didn't know if I would have to go to the emergency room.  I didn't know if my band had decided to slam shut after the plane ride.  I didn't know what I was going to do.   

My supervisors know that I had band surgery.  I had a very small stuck episode the night before and they knew I was having trouble this night.  I was very embarasses, scared and trying so hard to be discreet about the whole PB in my water bottle.  Well, after what seemed like an eternity on the bus, my water bottle was completely full.  We had passed by the Treasury building, the Smithsonian, The Capitol, the National Archives...and hated every damn one of them.  LOL  I was so miserable.  We finally reached a monument we were going to stop and get out and walk around in.  The FDR memorial.  I will always love FDR now, at least I will love his BIG, HUGE, memorial!!  I ran directly to the water's edge....PB'd with gusto since I didn't have to try and make it in small water bottle.   RELIEF!!!  A very small piece of chicken dislodged and came out!!  *WHEW*    I was sore and very drained, but I knew I was going to be okay and could try and enjoy the rest of the tour.  My supervisors were relieved also.  So, lesson learned.   CHEW, and EAT SLOWLY!!!!   I don't know yet if Chinese food is the enemy, I only got in very few bites, but I will be VERY careful before trying it again.   

I stayed on liquids until the afternoon the following day.  Then I stuck with soft foods.  I was okay the rest of the trip.  I almost got stuck on some scrambled eggs Wednesday morning, but didn't thank goodness!!  

My restriction seems to be okay.  I would like just a little bit more restriction, but I need to master this level first I think!!  It's good to be home, but I will never forget how absolutely beautiful Washington DC is!!!

I emailed Dr. Frezza and asked him directly what kind and what size band I have.  He danced around the question....so my husband send him a more direct email.  LOL  I then got a straight answer.  I have a 10 CC AP Band.  Why was that so dang hard?

This fill has actually done me some good.  I have lost a couple of pounds, well actually about 6 pounds since my fill, and I am feeling tighter restriction.  I can still eat breads okay...but I DO have to chew better and take smaller bites.  (When I don't remember, I get a harsh reminder!)  Getting stuck is almost worse than PB'ing.  On Tuesday night I was stuck for a good 45 minutes.  It sucked!!  I do get full on smaller amounts of food also.  

I am flying out to the DC area tomorrow for the conference.   I hope the plane ride doesn't mess with my band.  Being down at sea level might feel different also.  If when I get back I have the same restriction that I have now, or even less, I will schedule a fill with Fill Centers USA.  I don't think it will take much more saline to have REALLY GOOD restriction.  I'm guessing 1 CC or less.  

I am extremely excited about my trip.  I hope that this only helps my chances of moving up at work.  This job has been such an awesome experience for me.  I doubt I will have access to a computer while I am gone, so I probably won't have a chance to update until Friday or Saturday. 

  I am still very angry with Frezza's office.  I have been trying to get someone to answer the question about my band since Wednesday, it's Monday.  I finally got someone on the line today and got the same crap.  She said that I have an AP Band.   She then says it holds 4 CC's.  I told her one of the two is wrong.  Either it's NOT an AP Band or it's not a 4 CC Band,  She sounded flustered then irritated.  She finally said she would email Frezza, but said I wouldn't hear back right away.  What a joke.  I need to know so that I can start getting fills here in ABQ.  I do not want to see them again.  I have a feeling that I have the AP Band, but I need to know for sure.  
I was feeling some good restriction this weekend.  I started eating food on Friday.  I would get a small amount down and be full.  I wouldn't be hungry for awhile after that either.  Although today I ate small amounts for breakfast and for lunch, at about 2:30 I was starving.  I have been hungry ever since.  I hope that's not a bad sign.  
Aunt Flo came to see me on Friday, so I could have had more restriction because of that.  
I just messaged Dr. Curry and he confirmed with me that the AP Band comes in two sizes:

Hi Dr. Curry.  First, let me thank you for donating so much of your time to us!  I'm not hear to bash my surgeon to you, however I have to tell you that he is absolutely no after care, and I am very confused.   I was told by him right after surgery that he put the AP Band in me.  I was sent to a radiologist to get my first fill and got 2 CC's.  The second fill was done by my surgeon and he told me that I had an AP Band and that it holds 5 CC's.  He said he didn't prime the band during surgery.  He gave me 1.5 CC's.   I am very confused.  Everything I have read about the AP Bands tells me says they come in two sizes, 10 CC and 14 CC.  Can you please help me?  Thank you!

You are correct, the AP comes in a standard and large size and holds 10cc and 14cc, respectively.

  Why can't Dr. Frezza's office know this also??

I am so ticked at Frezza and his office!   
Well, they changed my appointment AGAIN, but luckily they still fit me in since I was already in Lubbock.

Dr. Frezza told me that the AP Band holds 5 CC's of saline.  WHAT??  I just don't think he knows his product at all!!  Everything I read shows the AP has two sizes, a 10 CC and a 14 CC.  What the heck?  So, even though I was worried he was going to over-fill me, I was way wrong!!  He only gave me 1.5 CC's. 
I am done dealing with his office.  I have a call in to them today, asking them to look in my file and tell me what size my band is.  I am going to just spend the money and get fills through the fill center here.  I'm still waiting for them to call me back.  
I have done well following the clear liquid diet though.  I would love to know if I have more restriction, but there is plenty of time for that.  I am going to stay on clears until Friday I think.  Maybe I will at least lose some weight that way!