ObesityHelp

I'm fighting for my hero -- my niece Kaitlin.

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October 8, 2006

Well, here it is. One year later. Do I have anny regrets? Not really. Have I met any goals? Not really. Am I happy with my weight loss? Not really. See a theme?

I have only really managed to lose 25 pounds since surgery a year ago. I've started exercising more, eating MUCH less and, yet, cannot seem to lose any weight!

Heck, even if I eat badly and don't exercise, I don't gain (I guess that's good, anyway).

I definately have restriction (now at 6.5 cc in a VG band) but I could probably use a tweak. My yearly appointment with my surgeon was rescheduled until the end of October and I'll probably get a small fill then (0.25 or 0.5 cc max).

I also have an appointment at the end of the month with one of my three endocrinologists. I'm going to ask him some very challenging questions. I don't know if my meds might be keeping my weight on. I'm already on a diuretic and the growth hormone I'm on should also help me lose weight (trust me, I've tested low for growth hormone, this is something that's been clearly medically documented, I don't believe in the over-the-counter growth hormone stuff -- this is very expensive, injectable GH).

I'm still working on finding a solution. I know the answer is out there for me and I know that I am definately following bandster rules (and on the days I don't I'm not gaining weight, either).

Lori

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July 5, 2006

Ok, people are asking me to update my profile. Here goes. I initially lost 24 pounds within the first two months and another 10 by January 2006. By February, however, I stopped losing weight and managed to gain back the second 10 pounds I lost (got down to 392.2 then back up to 401.3 -- started at 426.6 pounds).

I'm pretty much in a "fact finding" mode trying to discover exactly why my weight loss stalled. I certainly eat less (on a day where I don't really "try" to eat extra healthy, I consume about 1,800 calories). To maintain my current weight I should be consuming at least 4,000 calories. There is no way I'm doing that.

My doctor, nutritionist and I are working on finding out what might be going on. I have the larger band with 5.5cc in it (just over half full). I've had conservative fills ranging from 1 cc to only 0.5 cc depending on how I feel. I certainly have restriction (my multivitamin is trying to get stuck in the morning and I'm breaking it in half) so I'm not really ready for another fill. I'm wanting to figure out what else might be happening.

I guess I've gotten a couple of validations out of this: (1) I really didn't eat too much before surgery and I made decent food choices and (2) none of the other surgeries would probably have worked all that well for me, either, so picking the band was actually not a bad choice at all for me.

After my most recent fill (June 5th), I seem to be losing weight again. Oh, I forgot to mention that I started physical therapy in April and pool therapy (water aerobics, really). So I'm actually doing more physically than I have for a while so that adds to the confusion about not losing weight.

I know that I have a pretty medically messed up body. I have hypopituitarism and have many hormones replaced (and others I should be taking but I'm currently not -- I should be on estrogen and progesterone). I'm still on most of my meds (stopped injectable insulins the day before surgery -- Lantus and Humalog).

I'm frustrated but I'm committed to seeing this through. I know the surgery will work. I just have to figure out what I need to do to make it work better. My next step, if I don't continue to lose at least a little bit, will be to cut down to 800 - 1,000 calories a day. That will be a bit of a challenge since that low calorie level really takes more preparation to make certain I'm getting in all of my caloric requirements. After that, it'll be back to the endocrinologist for further workup (and to see what other hormones I should be taking...).

The only reason I haven't posted is because I've not had much to post.

I've not lost enough to post more pictures because they won't show any significant changes. Maybe in another couple of months.

Lori

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Oct. 9, 2005

Well, I'm home from surgery. Everything went well. I actually don't have too much pain -- I feel more like I've had a bad flu than surgery. My throat has been bothering me from the intubation but its starting to heal, too. My real problem right now is getting enough to eat and drink. I'm working on that, too, though.

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My horoscope for this week (the week of my surgery) from In Touch magazine:

The new moon frees you from some weighty issues, and your newfound, breezier spirit attracts interesting strangers. A lucky find could make all the difference now.

I found it profound that that was the message on such an important week. Oh, yes, and they said my lucky number was 7 (usually its 2)!