Congestive Heart Failure.

Jan 18, 2010

I've always tried to post on my blog the different things I've gone through before and after surgery.  I think this is a very important chapter of my journey to post.  If this helps one person avoid what I've gone through this past weekend its well worth my time posting it.

My lap band has been tightened periodically through my journey.  My last two were way too tight.  I should have had them taken fluid out sooner but I had a wedding to go to and I wanted to look good.  That was all I thought about.  I let them tighten it again before the wedding even though I knew the previous one was too tight.

With two consecutive tightenings this is what happened.  Yes I lost weight.  I lost it at a rapid rate.  The concenquences of my vanity came at a high cost.  Over the past several months I delevoped a horrible case of acid reflux.  When I would try to sleep it would actually come up into my mouth and cause me to vomit.  My throat got torn up and it even changed my voice.  It also caused me to throw up all the time.  I barely kept any food down.  The weight rapidly came off.  People started to tell me I looked gaunt.  I knew it was going too far.  I saw my regular dr and he said I looked ok but not to lose more weight.

My weight was 119 (The extreme low of healthy for my height) when I saw the lap band dr last Friday.  She said I looked ok.  I told her I wanted fluid removed from my band because I lost too much weight and I was getting weak.  She said I was the first person to say they thought they lost too much weight.  She removed a few cc's from my band and sent me on my way.  It was great at first.  I could eat and drink without throwing up.  I was eating probably what I should have been eating all along.  Why water intake slowed down a bit because I just didnt feel thirsty. 

Saturday when I weighed myself I was 128. I wasnt too concerned because I knew I was dehydrated and I was probably just getting the lost fluid back.  On Sunday my weight climbed to 135.  I thought it was a tad odd but I pushed it out of my mind.  I had been short of breath for weeks and have been feeling weak and I should have been paying attention to the chest pains I was having periodically having.

Tuesday night at my son's concert my legs started to bother me.  I looked down and realised they were swollen.   When I got up Wednesday my legs were even bigger.  I called the Dr's office and made an appointment with the Nurse practioner because my regular dr was booked.  I weighed in at 148. She looked at me and said my legs looked fine.  I kept telling here they were not fine.  Even fat I had bird legs.  Now I had swollen skin tight legs.  You could not see any of my veins.  She called Dr Gibson in because he saw me recently and he immediately told her my legs were swollen.  They talked about congestive heart failure because I had been weak and coughing and now swelling.   I had a chest xray, ecg and bloop drawn. They put me on lasix 20 mg for three days and scheduled me for a weight check. 

I took the lasix and it made me pee a little bit but it didnt really help much.  When I went to work on Friday and my face was swollen now.  My legs got so huge they looked like tree trunks and the skin was burning like they would burst.  I was short of breath and was having chest pains on and off.  I called the Dr's office and they upped the lasix to two times a day.  They told me if I got any worse to go to the Shady Side ER.

I tried to work but couldnt.  Every time I bent down it felt like my legs would tear open and my breathing got worse.  I called my husband and told him as soon as he finished work at 2:30 to pick me up and we'd head to the ER.

When I got the the ER they repeated the same tests as Dr Gibson did a few days ago and then I was put on a heart monitor.

While I was waiting they compaired the results from there with the results of the tests Dr Gibson had done.

After several hours I was admitted because the test results said I had fluid on my lungs, I was anemic, my potassium and magnisium were low and causing erregular heart rythyms and my red blood cell count was low.

They were not sure if this was cause by a heart attack or another reason.  They scared the crap out of me!  Every dr that saw me over the next few days mentioned the congestive heart failure but all had different reasons for it.  After more tests and an echocardiogram of my heart they decided on a cause.

I was malnutrioned from the lap band and my poor eating over the last few months.  The acid relux had caused damage to my throat and caused me to throw up.  I was so anemic and my levels were so thrown off it caused the irregular heart rythyms that caused the chest pains.  My body shut down and held on to the fluid and I started to drown.  I was lucky that the echo showed no damage to my heart.  They spent the last few days working to get my levels back to normal. 

It is VERY important that people that have had surgery take care of themselves and get the nutrients we need.  It is so easy to get malnutrioned because we are essentially starving ourselves.  I did lose weight as the lap band surgery worked.  It happened at a cost to me because I ignored warning signs. 

If I ignored the signals much longer I could have died.

I was so thankful to be released last night.  I have to work on my nutrion and make sure I get everything I need.  If I did that from the beginning.. This would not have happend.
Smileycons!
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Time to maintain!

Jan 08, 2010

Went to the Dr's today and they were actually pleased with my weight.  I thought I would have been chewed out for going to low.  They said I was the first patient to say they think they lost too much.  They did remove a little from my band so I could eat more.  She said its time for me to stablilize and think about the stomache surgery.  After I saw the pic of me getting fluid removed from my band I realised she was right on that one!

I ate dinner and it was wonderful.  I still have restriction.  If I eat too much the extra forces its way out.  I know.. TMI!  I can't wait to see what's in store for me!

Until next time!
Smileycons!
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14 months post op and way past goal!

Jan 07, 2010

So much has happened since I last posted.  I was at goal then.  Now I'm way past goal.  I'm 120 lbs and I'm expecting them to remove fluid from my band at my check up tomorrow. I actually hope I gain some back.  I NEVER thougth I'd be saying that!

I have the puckered sagging skin in different areas of my body.  I think I'll be looking into the stomach surgery soon.  I wouldnt change a thing through out this journey.  It was the smartest decision I've ever made!


Smileycons!

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GOAL

Nov 01, 2009

I woke up yesterday morning and jumped on the scale.  I looked down and in shock I saw my goal weight of 150 lbs.  I blinked a few times and then realised... This was the first day in my ENTIRE life that I was not overweight.  I was born a fat baby and stayed overweight.  It was a constant battle.  I've lost weight over the years but never to the point I got into a normal healthy range.

Through out the day it would flash through my mind that I wasnt over weight.  People stopped and told me how great I was looking and for the first time I truly appreciated it.

When my daughter got home from work she took my measurements again.  Since the day before surgery and yesterday I've lost 52 1/2 total inches.  It almost works out that I've lost 2lbs for every inch I lost!

I do have new goals now.  Part of me would like to get to 128lbs.  The reason for this is because I will have lost half my entire weight if I do this.  But for now I will have simple goals.  Break into the 140's which I did today because my weight this morning was 149.6.  My biggest goal will be to stay in a healthy weight range.  That means I can be between 119lbs and 150lbs.  If I can stay in that range for the rest of my life I will be happy.  I dont care if I get to 119.  I want to stay a normal weight.

I accomplished my goal 5 days short of my wls surgery anniversary of November 5th.

Until next time.. Staying healthy!
Smileycons!
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11 Months Out

Oct 11, 2009

So much has changed in the last 11 months.  I am so glad I did this.  I'm coming up on my first year.  I have about 9 lbs to reach my goal and I'm about 3 lbs short of losing 100lbs.  I can't believe it.  I never thought I'd get this far.  Now I see new goals.  I can see myself going past my 150lb goal into the 140's.

Yesterday I put on one of my husbands flannel shirt.  A year a go I couldn't even close it over my boobs.  Last night I was swimming in his shirt. 

The lap band was the perfect tool choice for me.  I still have my food demons but this keeps me in check.

I think I'll always be the fat girl inside but I'm starting to accept my new appearance.

Until next time!

Smileycons!
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7 1/2 Months Post Surgery

Jun 21, 2009

For the past few months it has been a struggle with the weight.  I hadn't gained but I hadn't lost either.  I was worried.  I noticed I shrunk a size or two so I kept calm that way.

I saw the physician's assitant Mike on Friday.  I expressed my concerns and he gave me another fill.  I now have 2.5 cc's in a 4 cc band.  Wow what I fill I got!  I've been on liquid and soft diet since then.  He said I could try regular food today but I think I'll wait till I'm more ready.  The weight is falling off again.  I am happy.  I'm closer to the goal of weighing less than my husband.

I have to say even without a weight loss over the pass few months I still noticed a difference in how I felt.  I can walk steep hills and not have a problem.  The burning feeling in my chest when I climb hills or do too much is gone.   I can take very long walks and not tire.  I have so much more energy.  I go go go go go.. all day long.  People call me skinny.  I have a long way to go till I'm really skinny!  But the compliments are nice.

Until next time...
Smileycons!

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5 months post-surgery.

Apr 10, 2009

It's been one year since I've decided to have WLS.  It's been 5 months since the actual surgery.  As of today I'm 185lbs.  My bmi is 30.8.  In 9/10's of a drop in bmi i will be over weight instead of obese!  I can't wait to be just "overweight".  I wear a large top and size 14 missy pants.  I'm almost ready for a size 12.  I feel wonderful.  There are so many things I can do now that I couldnt do before.  I can squat down till my butt is resting on my heels and then stand back up without grabbing on to anything.  My pain is so dramatically decreased.

Hopefully by my 6th month post op post I will be overweight!

Untill then...
Smileycons!
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4 Months Post Surgery

Mar 02, 2009

I will be 4 months post surgery in 2 days.  I am now 190.6lbs.  I can't believe I am almost in the 180's already.  Forty pounds to go and I will have reached my goal of 150lbs.

I feel fantastic.  I'm liking how I'm starting to look.  Of course I would like to look better! LOL.  I dont mind having my picture taken now.  That's huge for me.  I used to run and hide when someone got out a camera.  People at work crack me up and call me skinny minnie.   Of course skinny is a long way off!   I am now obese.  No longer considered morbidly obese.  It's nice to be considered just fat..... heh.

I can now wear large shirts.  No more plus size for me!  I can also wear size 14 pants.  Thats a huge difference from what I used to wear. ..  2x & 3x tops and size 24 pants.

When someone tells me I look good I smile and say thank you and I no longer feel odd when they say it.  I truly appreciate them noticing.

I feel so wonderful.  Living healthy has changed my life.

Until next time...

Smileycons!

1 comment

Third Fill.

Feb 20, 2009

One month after surgery I had my first fill. They filled me at 25% so that would be 1cc.  My band only holds 4cc's.  The next visit they werent so sure if I should have a fill.  They ended giving me 1.4cc's.  That one was weird.  I never really felt any more restriction than I had before.  Sometimes I was hungry more than before and that worried me.  I was almost to the point of calling and questioning if I even had a fill when I got sick with the flu.  That was a nightmare.  After I got through the flu my band felt different and I felt restriction again and I continued to lose weight and stopped worrying.  Today they gave me 1.7 cc's.  This time I noticed a difference.  He put enough in and made me drink until I could feel the water get stuck.  Once I felt it get stuck he removed some of the fill.   He told me to have liquid and soft for the next two days and go back to a regular diet on Sunday. I went back to work and didnt have time to eat.  It's weird.  Usually when I get home from work I'm starving and look for things to eat.  Here it is almost 3 hours after work and all I've had was a Dannon lite and fit drink when I got home.  Maybe I wont have the after work hunger as badly as I had it before.  Time will tell.  I go back in 6 weeks.  I joked with the dr that I would be under 190lbs when I returned.  Let's see if I can make that happen.
Smileycons!
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ONEderland

Feb 11, 2009

I did it! A little over 3 months since surgery and I'm under the 200lb mark.  Already the next goals are jumping around in my brain.  The smaller 10lb goals (being under 190lbs) and then the next biggest goal to weigh less than my husband.

I can't begin to say how excited and proud I am.  I'm wearing a pink blouse I couldnt wear a few months ago.  My rings spin around my fingers.  I'm wearing a size 16 jeans when I used to wear 24.  Healthy living is GOOD!

Smileycons!
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About Me
Delmont, PA
Location
18.8
BMI
Surgery
11/05/2008
Surgery Date
Apr 24, 2008
Member Since

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