shelliwi
Hi,
My name is Shelli and I live in Northwestern Wisconsin in the small rural community of Sheldon. I am a 41 year old wife and mother of 2 boys ages 9 and 11. My husband and I bought a small business after both quitting our jobs in the airline industry. ( I was a flight attendant and he was a mechanic ) We own All Season Sports Center. We deal in ATV's, snowmobiles, and boats. Sales, service and rentals. I really don't do too much with the business other than the book work. I have a full time job in our local school district. ( this provided us with that much need heath insurance! ) I am a baker in the school lunch room. Yes a baker! Our school still bakes all its own bread, buns and deserts!
I have been overweight all of my adult life. However, I reached the stage of morbidly obese when I had my children. I have never been able to keep the weight off since then. About 2 1/2 years ago, I was told that I had a hypo-active thyroid . This definitely could have played a roll in why I could never keep weight off and had a hard time even losing! I also felt like crap and didn't even know it until I became properly medicated to bring my thyroid back up to a normal level.
I started my wls journey by reading every book I could get my hands on. I bought a stack of books on halfebay.com and started studying my options. I also did a ton of research on-line and talked to anyone that I could that had some experience in wls. Then I finally decided that the Lap-band was the right choice for me. My next step was talking to my primary care doctor. I don't know why - but, this scared me to death! I had no idea what her reaction would be. When I entered her office, my blood pressure was almost off the charts! As soon as I was able to tell her what I was after, I received her immediate approval! (boy, did that ever help my blood pressure!) Even the nurse was laughing at how worked up I had gotten myself! My doctor discussed my plans with me and immediately referred my to a weight loss surgeon.
The 8 months that it took to get from talking to the surgeon to my actual surgery has been slow at times and racing along at other times. I have used the time wisely and done everything I can to prepare myself for this journey! I am a Christian and have definitely prayed a lot on this as well!
Let the Journey begin !
7-13-09
Well, tomorrow is the big Day. My surgery is scheduled for 10:15 am. I am suppose to arrive at 8:15. So far, I'm not nervous - just excited. I hope it stays that way! I am very confident on my surgery choice. I truly believe that it is the right choice for me! I'm post more when I get home from the hospital and fill in all the details!
7-23-09
I am 9 days post-op. I am feeling pretty good. The surgery went off without any problems. I never even got nervous. I was truly amazed. I thought I would be a basket case for sure. I can only credit that to all my studying up and praying ahead of time. I really struggled with whether or not this was the Christian approach to weight loss. After much prayer and comments from my OH family, I came to the conclusion that this surgery is a gift from God. One for me to take advantage of and get healthy!
My surgeon required all Lap-band patients to stay the night in the hospital. That was fine with me. I rested up and visited with my roommate who had just had RNY! We really got along great and it was nice to talk to someone going through wls! When I came home, I was able to stop my pain medications by the next day. My only real problem was GAS! I never realized how painful gas could be. I was hoping someone would come in an POP me. LOL The gas from the surgery settled in my chest for a couple of days and left through my shoulder. That wasn't bad. The real gas problems were intestinal. I needed to have a bowel movement and I hadn't had one in 5 days. My doctor recommended a small laxative. It really helped. Shortly after, the gas started to improve.
I had my 1 week post-op exam with my doctor. He seems happy with me. His only concern was that my pants are rubbing on my main port incision. It is uncomfortable and pink. He wants me to wear my pants unbuttoned until it heals up completely. I think maybe he placed my port a little too low! Time will tell. He has allowed me to move onto mushies and really well chewed regular food. I am really excited because I so want to chew again! I've missed chewing! I am scheduled for my 1st fill on August 13th. Almost a month from the date of my surgery. It will be done under fluro.
I have already noticed restriction in my eating. I can only eat a small amount and then I become full! This is exciting!
August 14th, 2009
I had my 1st fill yesterday! 4 weeks after my surgery. I definitely needed the fill. I've noticed how much more I've been able to eat the last 2 weeks. It was done under fluro in my doctor's clinic. It was pretty cool watching the barium go down my throat on the screen. He put 3.2cc in my 10cc band. It was a complete non event. It didn't hurt at all! I can feel my band for the 1st time ever. When he added the fluid, I could feel it. I definitely have restriction now! I did liquids yesterday, mushies today and then on to soft foods again. I'm hoping that this fill will get me on the road to weight loss. My doctor told me that I can go back in 3 weeks for another fill if I need it. Otherwise, I don't go back until my 3 month appointment.
November 19th, 2009
Well, I'm finally experiencing restriction! It took me 6 fills! (under fluro 1st) - 3.2cc's / 2nd - 0.3cc's / 3rd - 0.2cc's / 4th - 0.2cc's / 5th - 0.2cc's/ under fluro 6th) - 1.5cc's
I now have a total of 5.6cc's in my 10 cc band. My doctor told me that almost all of his patients get restriction right around 4cc's so he was very conservative with my fills. However, by my 6th fill I was 4 months out and still not feeling any restriction. He decided to do it under fluro. Thank God! I finally am feeling restriction. Maybe the weight will come off a little faster now. However, I can't complain, I've been loosing about 1# a week without restriction. So far, no complications. I'm happy with my band. I'm down 37 # since my initial consult. 21 # since surgery. That is ok by me. I couldn't have done it without the band. I don't even feel hungry or deprived. I have hope that this will work for me.
December 12, 2009
Today I weighed myself and I'm under 200#! Actually, the scale read 199! I hope I never get over 200# in my life again. Now that I have restriction, it seems much easier to loose. Hopefully, I will be able to keep up my downward trend. A very good friend of mine bought me an elliptical machine for my birthday. She told me that she was very proud of me and wanted to help me continue on my path to weight loss. I'm hoping to get into a good exercise routine. It can only help!
December 28, 2009
I had to go in for my 1st unfill just before Christmas. I called the doctor on the 23rd and they were able to fit me in. I had been having terrible acid reflux when I went to bed. Also, anything I ate hurt and even drinking was hard. The liquid would just pool and gurgle down slowly. Dr. Pitchford checked me out under fluro. When he had me drink the barium, it would bubble back up. He removed 0.2 cc's. ( I have a total of 5.4 cc's now )This seems to have helped a lot. I no longer have the acid reflux and eating and drinking are much more comfortable. So far I have slimed 2x Once was on a scrambled egg white and the other time was after eating Cheetos's. Not a fun feeling.
April 15th, 2010
Since I wrote the last time, I've had to have 2 more unfills. My acid reflux keeps returning. It keeps me up at night. I keep choking on the acid and wake up coughing and sometimes vomiting because of it. My doctor told me that if the problem persists, he will have to recommend a revision for me. He suggested the sleeve. I don't want to loose my band. I have lost 84# so far and only have 11# to go to my goal. I know that without the band I would gain all the weight back. My biggest problem is living with the reflux. My last unfill was 4 days ago and I still have the reflux. Right now I have 4.6 cc's in my 10 cc band. I still feel restriction. Maybe I'll have to have even more taken out. Time will tell.
