Jane P.

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I saw Dr. Argotte yesterday and all is well. I was still experiencing a too-tight feeling, so he did take out .2 cc, now I have 2.8 cc in my 4 cc. band. I learned a lesson about taking antibiotics. I was diagnosed with a sinus infection on the 19th. Started antibiotics, daily it got harder to swallow and keep food down. Finally on the 26th, it was way too tight, was gurgling and spitting up from my own saliva. Called the dr. and decided since I could get liquids down, to wait on my dr. appt. One of the lovely OH posters explained to me that I need to request liquid antibiotics, if a pill lays in your pouch and dissolves, it's going to irritate and cause swelling. duh. I won't forget that again. Anyway, I'm down 53 lbs and feeling lots better today, and I also got to see my hospital room-mate from the day we had surgery, Shannon, and she looks wonderful, and has lost 80 lbs. Wow, this is really working for us, who would have thought.

My endoscopy was Friday, and everything is good. No ulcers, just a little swelling, so he took a biopsy just to be sure, but it all looked good. So, this a lesson well learned. If you let it get to a bad stuck episode, and you know when it's coming so don't deny it, you could bleed from it. And any time you see blood, you need to be concerned. The main thing to remember is Don't Go That Far.
And finally I have hit the 50 lbs lost mark, Praise God. Even tho my weight loss is slow, it's still leaving, so I'm still happy with it. If you're reading this and wondering, the answer is yes, it's still the safe, successful way to lose weight.  

Here I am, a month since my last posting, and I STILL haven't hit 50 lbs lost! But I am at 48 lbs down. Boy, I'm crawling to this 50 lb mark. As long as it is still moving tho, it's still working. I've had bit of a problem this week. Tuesday night I was eating supper, and got stuck. Went to the bathroom and was spitting up blood. So I quit trying to eat. No more blood, no pain at all, no tasting blood and no more episodes. The next day, I couldn't swallow any food at all, not even applesauce. So I called Dr. A. He wanted to see me first thing this morning, so DH and I went. He said it could be an ulcer or even just irritation. But he's going to do an endoscopy on the 18th to look at my esophagus and stomach to make sure everything is okay. And I'm to stay on liguids and soft foods for about 3 days. I had just been to see him for my regular appt. a week ago. And he was pleased with my progress. I didn't start losing well until I was 8 months out from sugery. But since then I have lost 21 pounds, in the last four months, so he said that is a good thing. So we'll see if there is anything that needs attention and keep going on this journey. Until next time.......

I have lost 45 pounds now, my next goal is to lose 50 by my one-year bandiversary, which is June 18. This band is working like it should. It really does help when there are times you just can't make the right choices of what to eat or how much. It won't let you eat too much! I do realize this losing phase is going to take 2 or 3 years probably. You know what? That is so okay with me now. I hopefully won't need any plastic surgery to tighten anything by losing so slowly. I confess that I'm still not exercising enough, I've got a problem with that. So that needs to be my focus for awhile. If anyone is reading this for encouragement, I have learned that I cannot change all things at the same time. I am not Wonder Woman, and I'm not the strongest-willed person in the world. Whew, that was hard to say. Until next time...

It has been almost 2 weeks since my un-fill and reaching restriction. I have lost another 9 or 10 lbs. I'm comfortable with how the band works now. When I do what I'm supposed to do, it does what it is supposed to do. My focus now needs to be on exercise. Since yard work ended last fall, I haven't really done any consistent exercise like I should. I'm checking into gyms in the are and considering what I think I would keep up. It's time to move tho. I know the weight will fall faster and my body will change quicker. I just praise God the band is working.

The doctor was successful at my last visit on Monday with accessing my port. When he tried to do it under x-ray, it still would not work. But Monday he took out .5 cc, so I now have 3 cc in a 4 cc band. The difference is unbelievable. I am able to eat a meat first, slowly and in small bites, then a vegetable. I don't eat more than 1 1/2 cups in volume, and no sweets. But it is working as it should, so there is truth to the fact that you can be too restricted as well as not restricted enough. I hope I have gotten to my "sweet spot", even if I had to back up to do it. I am full of hope again and enthusiastic again. So if you're reading  this, please keep me in your prayers.

I have not posted on here for a long time. You see, I have not been very successful in this first 7 months of this journey. I didn't want to post anything negative. But, if the process is to be seen as what it is, the down sides must be shown. Nobody should go into this not knowing and accepting what comes, what may happen, and what you will have to do. The bottome line is this, I thought this would be easier. It is not easy. I still have to choose the correct foods, in the correct amounts and eat completely different from what I have done for the first 52 years of my life. I can no longer put a mouth-full of food in my mouth, each bit must be small, really small. And it must be chewed until it is the consistency of applesauce before it is even swallowed. These are not suggestions, these are musts. I met with the dietician yesterday and had a wonderful session with her. We thoroughly discussed the food plan, the rules, the reasons for the rules and she was so good. I did have a problem when I go to the dr. visit. He was going to do a small un-fill, as the dietician and I both think I am too tight. I have 3.5cc in a 4. cc. band. But alas, he was unable to access the port. I have to go back next Tuesday and have it attempted unfer x-ray, and I pray that it was just at a bad angle, and not flipped. But to face the music, I am only down 21 lbs instead of 31, because of my gaining and losing and gaining and losing and cheating, and eating soft ice cream when I couldn't swallow anything else.  If you are reading this for information, take this seriously. If you are trying to choose between the RNY and the lapband, remember this. The struggles I am having now with learning how to eat, will eventually come to an RNY patient, perhaps 18 mos or 2 yrs down the road. For the first 6 to 8 months, their body will not let them over do it, or cheat. But in the end, all of us fat people have to learn and change the way we eat if we are to live.

Well, I got my first fill today. Didn't hurt a bit. The dr. had me stay at the office for about 15 minutes, sipping water to make sure everything was working as it should. I'll be on liquids for 24 hours now. But this is pretty exciting, I have felt full since I was at his office. Have not been hungry yet at all. Sure hope I feel restriction with  this fill. I'm very optimistic about this working just as it should. I have decided I need to keep a journal, this was recommended by the bariatric nurse right before I had surgery. I thought it probably wouldn't be necessary. But there are a lot of emotional ties to food that I need to acknowledge so that I can release them. 
Here I go!

Total of 31 lbs lost now, it's been a month since surgery. My dr. was very pleased with my progress and we scheduled my first fill for 2 weeks from now, on August 2, 2007. I am anxious to see how this is going to work. I realize my band isn't actually functioning until I get restriction. So that's going to be exciting. 
A very big deal this week! I started this journey on 6 prescriptions, today I am officially off of 4 of them, only on two for allergies now. Even came off of my blood pressure medicine. Wa-hoo! I'm thrilled about this goal reached so soon. 
I feel like this two weeks before the fill will be a little difficult, because I have to limit the food myself. I'm pretty much healed so I can actually eat more than I'm supposed to, so I have to actively control it. And we all know, if we were good at that, we wouldn't need the band. So I'm asking for anyone who reads this to say prayers for me for this time. I love this band!

I am two weeks out from surgery, and feel great. I've lost another 8 lbs for a total of 29 lbs since the very beginning. I can hardly believe the difference in the way I feel, for it just to be 2 weeks. I have started using the push mower for exercise and that is something I haven't done in about 9 years. It feels so good to be doing something so physical. I do get hungry, but when I eat my alotted meal, I fill up and stay full for about 4 to 5 hours, so I can't complain about that. I'm drinking my water and taking my vitamins, so I can honestly say so far, this is working just fine for me. I have had a few "oh my gosh" moments, but only a few. Which surprises me. I'm so glad I have chosen this route, and I thank God for Him allowing me to do it. If anyone is reading this and contemplating surgery, give it much prayer, but do not be afraid of it. You have to make a decision one way or another, believe me, if you choose to do nothing, you are choosing the hard way. Also I found out I have a 4cc band, and the dietician told me I should have good restriction by my 2nd fill.