Heather M.
Approved after first letter! Date set for 4/25 surgery! Had psych eval and I am not a nutbag! In fact, the shrink was amazed that I had never seen a counselor or therapist like most of the nation! hehehe Had anesthesia evaluation; great airway! Had EKG; NORMAL! Went for pre-op exam; perfect!
My health problems (Pre-op) include: PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), high bp (controlled via meds), diabetes, arthritis. Family history includes: high bp, strokes, heart problems, diabetes, and many super-obese women on my mother's side.
4/18/06 - One week before surgery. Realized I was late (even for me who is never regular due to PCOS, but pretty regular since our daughter was born. Like 31-36 days). SO, on cd 41 I took a prego test. Expected it to be negative because it took 9 years and a lot of heavy fertility meds to conceive our little girl. It was +++++. HOLY CRAP! Had to cancel my 4/25 surgery date. Blood work confirmed that I am pregnant! I'll just have to wait until after the baby comes to go through the whole process again! :)
6/01/06 - Well, unfortunately I miscarried our baby at 12 weeks. At our 12 week appointment it was determined that the baby stopped growing at 9 weeks and there was no heartbeat found. I ended up miscarrying on my own and had an emergency D&C a couple days after my appointment. My body just couldn't wait for the scheduled D&C. We have decided to deal with this and get past it quickly. I have rescheduled my banding for September 14th. The good news is I only need to redo my pre-op basics (blood, ekg, chest x-ray and anesthesia eval).
9/11/06 - Just 2 days and a wake up to go before surgery! I had my pre-op stuff done last week. Found out that I didn't need to repeat the ekg or anesthesia eval. Found this out at the repeat anesthesia eval. Dr. Schweitzer's office thought I had to repeat. At least I didn't redo the ekg already :) Chest xray was done and now it's all a waiting game. I am ready, anxious, worried, excited and hopeful all at the same time! All normal feelings. I've been under anesthesia before for other things (most recently for the d&c after our miscarriage) so I'm looking forward to some good sleep! hehehe
9/26/06 - Well my surgery on 9/14 went very well. I had surgery at 9am and was up walking by 10pm. I was mostly sore the first day and then the pressure from the gas in my belly was mainly uncomfortable for the first 3 or 4 days. I didn't feel like eating because my belly already felt full. Now almost 2 weeks later I am down 12 pounds and waiting for my 2 week post op appointment for an official number. I got my period a week after surgery so I might be holding some fluid right now. I transitioned from full liquids to mushies and now at 2 weeks out I am eating some more solids now. I get full at about 1 cup of food. I don't get mad because I can't pig out. I feel full so I'm satisfied, not angry :)
9/29/06 - Yesterday was my 2 week follow up appointment and I am officially down 13 pounds! WOOHOO! Today I felt great and didn't have any food troubles. I got crabs for dinner and instead of my usual dozen, I could only get down 6 and that was a struggle! hehehe
10/23/06 - Had my first fill today (6ccs) WHEW am I miserable! My stomach must be super swollen because I'm hurting and don't want to look at any food. I just need to take it easy for a few does and should be fine.
10/25/06 - Well, I went in to have some fluid taken out of my band. Food nor liquid was staying down. They took out 2 ccs and I got immediate relief.
10/28/06 - The 2ccs they took out was perfect. I can eat and drink now without trouble, but I can definitely tell I have some restriction. I can't eat much now compared to how I felt like I was starting to pig out 6 weeks post op. My size 24 jeans are falling off my a$$ now!
12/10/06 - Well, I'm almost 3 months post op and I feel really good. I can sprint up the steps without getting winded or my heart racing :) Tomorrow I go for my second fill. I suspect that I will get the 2 ccs that they took out back in October. I think that it was just too much for me at one time, but now I'm sure I can handle another 2ccs. I can't eat as much as I could pre-op, but some days I can still eat a fair amount. It's obvious that I have a little restriction because I would say that I eat half of what I did before my band. Also, my BMI has gone from 42.6 down to 37.7 (this is subject to change once I have an official weigh in at the docs office tomorrow!)
12/13/06 - I had my 2nd fill on Monday and for the second time the nurse pract. had a hard time getting it done. She stuck me FIVE times. She said only three, but I thought I counted four and then when I took off the bandaid there were FIVE pin holes where I was stuck. I'm glad we persevered because I got the fill. We only did 1cc because we were afraid that if the 2ccs was put back in I would be too tight again. So far so good. I can tell a small decrease in my food intake. It's subtle. After the holidays I'll go back to get the other 1cc put back in. I broke 270. I weighed 269.3 WOOHOO! Soon I'll weigh what my drivers license says (250 - which I wasn't weighing when I had it done, I was too embarrassed to have it read anything OVER that number!) My birthday is in 2 days and normally I would get crabs, but I can't eat as many as I'd like so we're getting a great crab cake at By The Docks instead :)
01/21/07 - Happy New Year! The holidays were great! I didn't cheat too badly. I had a few cookies over the course of two weeks and my plate this year at Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners were measley compared to my prior years! The one thing I have found out is that my band does NOT like ham (we had both days - two different dinner parties). I ended up barfing it up about an hour after I ate it. So, unless it's Canadian bacon, I don't do ham anymore! It's just over a month after my second fill and I just hit 259! WOOHOO! I am getting closer to 250 :) Oh, for my birthday I did get the crab cake. It was delish. I ate about half, Kylie had half of that and then I gave the rest to my mother. Imagine that! Pre-op I could have eaten almost TWO of those things and they are HUGE crab cakes. I don't think I'm going for another fill just yet. I am happy with my loss so far. It's been about 10 pounds since 12/13 and there is NOTHING wrong with that!
02/03/07 - Well, I'm down 3 more pounds since my last post and have officially hit the half Century mark!!! WOOHOO! Down 50 pounds! YEAH! So I'm weighing 256 and my next goal is to hit 250 so I weigh what my driver's license actually says. It's been a big FAT lie for too long!
03/01/07 - I went for my 3rd fill and am now at 6ccs. Pat got me on the FIRST STICK!! WOOHOO! The scale was up a couple of pounds, but I'm sure that it was from being able to eat a little more than usual the week before my period.
03/06/07 - The fill has majorly kicked in. I've had trouble with tuna salad 2 days in a row. Not sure why because I haven't had problems with it before. The only thing I can figure is that it is due to being tighter in the morning??? Good news is the scale is down the few pounds I was up on 03/01 and I am actually down 2 more pounds so my total loss now is 52 pounds! :)
03/08/07 - DOUBLE WOOHOO! I have a SV and an NSV! The scale is steadily moving. I am down a total of 56 pounds and now I weigh exactly what my driver's license says: 250 pounds. I haven't weighed this much since when I got married in 1995. I am SO tempted to pull out my gown to try it on, but it's vacuum packed for preservation.
04/12/07 - Well I was down 61 pounds (up a few now) but feel like I can eat a lot more than I should be. My fat pad must have shrunk! Seems like the last fill has lost all it's goodness. I have another fill scheduled for 4/19. Good news is my hubby FINALLY got a fill and he's back on the losing track again!!! That Buddha belly is shrinkin'!!!
04/17/07 - I had to reschedule my fill for Thursday because AF showed up and there is no fills during TOM.
05/03/07 - I got my fill today. I am down 16 pounds from my last fill on 3/01. After talking to the NP she asked if I wanted just a tweak of 0.5 ccs and I was thinking more along the lines of 1.0-1.5 ccs because of my increased ability to eat. I settled on just 1.0 cc because I was afraid I'd be too tight. I'm back down the total of 61 pounds and the NP said I am well ahead of the Lap-Band curve and she asked me to come speak at one of their band support group meetings. I'm so glad I'm doing well! So far this morning I feel well. Just sipping on some tomato soup and planning on doing liquids/mushies today and tomorrow. Mom's birthday is Sunday and I really want to be able to eat some crab cake.
06/28/07 - Got another fill. Down 5 pounds from the last time. My fat pad must have really shrunk and left room between my stomach and the band. I got another 1.0 cc so now I have 8 cc total in my VG. I'm down a total of 66 pounds!!! WOOHOO!
07/03/07 - Well, it's been almost a week and my fill has kicked in. I can tell my restriction is FINALLY back so hopefully the scale will start taking a nose dive again. I can eat 3 oz of tuna salad and 6 crackers for breakfast, lunch I can eat about a cup of food and dinner a bit more. I'm not hungry at all. When I do eat I have to be sure to take tiny portions because I still want to finish my plate. It's a hard habit to break after almost 36 years of overeating ("Finish your plate Heather, there are children in China who would love to have that!"). I finally gave away all of my fat clothes; size 26/28. I am happily shopping for 18/20 clothes and I am finding that what I like is NOT on the rack in my size. Geez, I must be a popular size now!!! WOW, I'm feeling NORMAL!
09/25/07 - I got a fill on the 13th and it has brought me up to 9 cc in my VG. I'm down to 231. Clothing wise I'm in 18/20 pants, but I feel like I can step down to a 14/16 since the butt and thighs are getting baggy. I realized the other day that I have NO winter clothes. I gave all my fat clothes away so no sweaters, long sleeve tops and my coats are HUGE. So it's time for a shopping spree! WOOHOO! Oh, we went to a Ravens game last Sunday and it was a BREEZE walking up to section 533!!!! No stopping, no sweating, no heavy breathing. I LOVE MY BAND! I have lots of NSVs: clothing, seat belts, travel, amusement parks, etc.
01/14/08 - A lot has happened since my last post. I am down to 226, but on 10/31 I had found out I was pregnant - WITH an IUD! Unfortunately I miscarried at 8 weeks (night before Thanksgiving) and then I got very busy with the holidays, Kylie's 3rd birthday, my birthday, and of course I'm always busy with school. People keep telling me how great I look and it's not that weight is pouring off anymore, it's because I'm wearing clothes that FIT! hehehe I'm in 16 jeans, 14/16 pants, XL tops and some L tops. Fortunately my bra size is the same (Floyd says WOOHOO to that!). My shoes are pretty much the same 11 for sneakers and either a 10 or 11 for dress shoes or boots. Just doesn't have to be wide anymore. I get an upper GI on 1/21 and a fill on 1/23. Hopefully that will kick start me losing again. I'm also looking around for a stationary bike and Ballys sent me a renewal for $99 a year which I might take advantage of.
02/15/08 - Okay, so NO FILL on 1/23 because the upper GI showed I was too tight. On top of it the UGI films were terrible and now I have been fighting to have them redone at no charge. I have had smelly belching on and off for months as well as occasional reflux and this was from being too tight and I was also throwing up on occasion. I have had 3ccs removed from my band and now I feel great. I still have restriction, but food goes down now instead of feeling stuck. We assume my esophagus was dilated a bit so I am on light food and Protonix for a bit just in case of inflammation. The UGI that we end up redoing will show what is going on. For now I am still working my band and will post back in a week or two with a weigh in. I should probably loose some soon! I have maintained for about 4-6 months!
03/13/08 - Okay folks. Update! Let's remember I am 18 months post op and have lost 80 pounds. I am as compliant as a bandster comes and my doc has asked me to speak at support group meetings and info meetings for new band patients. I finally got my second upper GI done. The first films showed that I was VERY tight but nothing else was clear enough to clear me for a fill. My docs protocol is to do an upper GI at 9cc level in a VG band. Because I was so tight on the first films and because of my prior complaints (see further in this email) they removed 3ccs. On the second set it showed my esophagus is dilated and I had to have a complete unfill today. For months I complained about smelly FART burps (too tight didn't let the food pass and digest, instead it rotted in my pouch), occasional vomiting thought to be from some foods not being chewed well enough or being newly untolerated. Reflux was maybe every few weeks and was scratched up to eating too close to bed time. My doc has emptied my band and has told me to eat normal foods, concentrate on proteins, avoid carbs and to have another upper GI in a month and if my esophagus is back to normal I can start fills gain. I'll update again in a month when the next UGI is done!
p.s. I also now wonder if the rotting food that was sitting in my pouch was poisoning and making my fetus sick thus causing my miscarriage.
04/10/08 - I went this morning for my follow up Upper GI and my esophagus is back to normal. Needless to say...LESSON LEARNED! I have been unfilled for a month and while I didn't eat junk, I could eat more and I got hungry OFTEN. I of course was no longer having any kind of vomiting either so what I wasn't getting calorie wise before I was now getting. SO, everything looked great and the NP gave me a fill. She first asked how much I had before and that was 10ccs. The NP wanted to give me 7ccs and I flat out told her no. My first fill post op was 6ccs and my stomach swelled so badly that I couldn't eat for 3 days and I even had trouble drinking. At that time they took out 2ccs and left me with 4ccs. So today I let her put in 5ccs and I'm doing great so far. If I don't have good restriction I can go back next week to bump up my fill a little. So, that's it for me for now. Glad to be back on the losing track!
04/24/08 - Had our first appointment with the personal trainer last night. We did a body comp to find out how much lean mass we had and I’m impressed. Mine is still about the same as 10 years ago. Back then lean mass (muscle, bone, organs) was 160 pounds and I was working out 3-4 days a week then. Now it is 156 pounds of lean mass. So considering I haven’t been working out I still have a huge amount of lean mass. Needless to say I’ll never weigh 140 pounds. My body fat should be around 27% (middle of the road for my age for the normal weight range – normal runs 21-33%) The lower in the normal range the better. So (156 x 27% = 42 pounds of fat plus 156 pounds) that would mean at 198 pounds I’d be at middle of the road normal weight! Even if I shoot for the lowest end of 21% that is only an added 33 pounds of fat and that would put me at 189 pounds. I’m SOLID! Hehehe I was aiming for 180, but that might be too small! Anyway, the workout was really good and went by quickly. We sweated, we panted, and we tired out by the end, but felt great! Today I’m not sore, but the back of my thighs feel like wet noodles; plain weak. Also, went for a fill this morning. I asked Pat if she wanted to give me the 2cc that we held off on last time and she said no and gave me 1cc. Just didn’t want to take a chance of me being too tight and not being able to see her tomorrow. I can always go back for more later. Feeling good, sipping on some soup.
05/25/08 - Well, a lot has happened since my last post. The PT pushed me too hard (DOUBLED the weight the next day!) and I developed horrible sciatica that I'm now in physical therapy for. I got another fill which puts me at 7cc in my VG. And, I am 9 weeks pregnant today! The OB/Peri doesn't want me unfilled and said it's okay to lose some weight. She doesn't want me gaining and developing diabetes again. The wls doesn't know I'm pg and I won't be telling until after I am at least 12 weeks. That's pretty much it for now! :)
06/25/08 - Just wanted to post that this month I GRADUATED COLLEGE!!! I have my BS in Finance.
07/29/08 - I wanted to put up an update on my pregnancy since I just had a visit this week. My blood pressure is better than ever (thanks for the layoff BFC - it's done wonders for my health! lol), blood sugar is normal (thanks to a little insulin), and the baby is measuring exactly 18 weeks which is where we are. I have only gained a total of 6 pounds so my lap-band is working great and perfectly fine still filled (7cc in a VG) since the baby is doing well. The perinatalogist is fine with me not gaining much at all. Tuesday's sonogram was very good. The baby has all the organs, limbs, etc that it should, but we need to go back in 2 weeks because the tech couldn't get the baby to turn so she could see the lips and nose (checking for cleft palate and Down's). But, we DID see that the baby is going to be.............................ANOTHER GIRL!!!!
09/02/08 - Baby Lacie is doing well. On 8/26 I had the fetal echo done, f/u sono, and visit with the perinatalogist. I've gained 11 pounds to date and that is perfect. The fetal echo was perfect, the sono tech saw the lips and nose this time and everything was good there too. So, all things are great, but to be honest I am very anxious to have Lacie and get to see Pat for a fill. btw, Pat said I need to wait 6 weeks after my c-section for the fill which puts me mid January. I'm sure some of my fill will dissapate while I'm pregnant just because it's been SO long since my last adjustment in April.
09/23/08 - I went to my perinatalogist today for a regular four week visit. Lacie's heartrate was great as usual and she's quite the wiggler. I think she'll be playing soccer in GBMCs nursery when she comes out! If she isn't kicking me in the crotch she's kicking me above my belly button (oh and my PORT is starting to stick out!!!). No sono this time. As for me, I am allowed to gain a pound a week, so each monthly visit means I can gain 4 pounds. This visit I only gained 1 pound - WOOHOO, just 12 pounds so far this pregnancy. My blood pressure is wonderful. It was 130/70 today. My sugars are also really nice and tight. By now in my pregnancy with Kylie (pre-op) my BP would have been over 140/90 and the doc would have doubled my BP meds and my sugars would have been SO crazy that I would be taking tons of insulin at bedtime PLUS fast acting insulin with all meals. All in all a good visit! Amnio is set for Monday, 12/8 (to check lung maturity because they are taking Lacie 3 weeks early) and if all is fine I'll have a c-section on either 12/9 or 12/10.
10/26/08 - Well, it's been yet another month already, WHERE has the time been going? I had a peri/OB appt today and I LOST a pound this month; I'm allowed to gain 4 pounds each month. My total gain for this pregnancy is currently 11 pounds. Doc is fine with that and so am I. BP is still doig great on just my 100mg a day of Labetalol (which is what I was taking pre-baby) and my blood sugar is still nice and tight! Baby is still doing great, but I am catching the blunt of her baby kung fu! At night, when she is most active of course, we amuse ourselves by watching the movement on my belly. Some days I swear she is going to kick or punch her way out! lol I'm 30 weeks and they are taking her via c-section on Wednesday, December 10th; so just seven weeks left! Now I get to start going every two weeks to see the peri/OB and TWICE a week for fetal non stress tests and weekly for biophysical (sono). I'm seriously considering a parking pass! LOL
12/10/08 - Today I was supposed to have my c-section.....guess what? NOPE! The amnio yesterday showed that Lacie's lungs are not mature enough yet. So, we will have ANOTHER amnio on 12/16 to see where we stand next week and if her lungs are ready next week we'll have the c-section sometime after Tuesday. Right now they are looking for a good day and time to make it happen. btw, my sugars are still tight and my bp is still perfect. No changes in meds and all looks great with Lacie. I've still only gained 10 pounds, but I'm fluctuating about 3 pounds up and back down.
01/07/09 - Well, I had my c-section on 12/16/08. Lacie was born at 8:12am and was 6 lb, 12 oz, 20" long. I came right off the insulin too WOOHOO! Lacie was 3 weeks old yesterday and I have lost the 10 pounds I gained along with an additional 10 pounds! I have a fill appointment for 01/29 and I can't wait! I want to hit my goal by the end of July and I KNOW I can do it!
01/30/09 - Lacie is just over 6 weeks old and I had my 6 week post baby check-up yesterday along with a LONG awaited fill! It's ALL good news too! I healed up very well from the c-section and have lost 30 pounds (as of today) in the past 6 weeks..........I only gained 10 pounds during the pregnancy!!! I saw Pat for a fill and got 1cc added to my band for a grand total of 8cc. To my surprise I still had the 7cc in there with nothing missing. I thought some might dissipate during my pregnancy. The fill is settling in nicely today and seems to be perfect! For breakfast I had 1 packet of reduced sugar oatmeal, lunch I managed a chicken tender and a few bites of beans, and dinner I had a tiny tin of potted meat with about 10 TJs mini Multiseed crackers. I'm LOVING my fill level!!! While I was at Bayview I opted into a study that the urology department is heading along with the bariatric docs. They want to see if band patients are at a higher risk of kidney stones like malabsorptive surgeries like GP. The urologist I spoke to believes bandsters are not at any added risk because we don't have the vitamin deficiencies (I'd have to agree), but we'll see. No compensation, but heck, I'll pee for 24 hours in a jug for the sake of science!!!
06/07/09 - Well goodness! Lacie is just about 6 months old now and much has happened since my last update. I had some trouble with my band in April. Long story short, thought I had gall bladder trouble, but it wasn't. I was having pains, reflux, VERY tight, and wound up violently throwing up in the middle of the night. My band slipped. Dr. Schweitzer said the slip is so bad that he unfilled me and scheduled surgery. He will try to pull down the stomach and resuture it, but if he cannot then he will resection me like a sleeve (I hope he does because I'm so sick of band issues!). I was unfilled last year before I got pregnant. Back then my esophagus was dilated and I had a small slip. Can't find a happy fill level really. It's good one day and then the next I'm too tight. Plus I have never gotten a soft stop signal so when I'm full it's too late. So I am scheduled for surgery this Thursday 6/11. Not sure of the time, but I'll post an update as soon as I'm home recovering!!!
06/18/09 - Okay, so I had my surgery on 6/11. The day of surgery I weighed 253. It should have taken just 2 hours to repair the slip, replace the band, or even to do the sleeve, but because of MAJOR scar tissue, my surgery lasted five and a half hours!!! So, I ended up being sleeved and because of the scar tissue complications, Dr. S oversewed everything. Had a rough first day, but each day has been better. Coming home off the pain pumps was pretty rough because my sciatica really was affected by lying on the table for so long and then for so long in the hospital. I wasn't allowed to leave after just one day as planned either. I ended up going in on Thursday and leaving Sunday. Today I got the drain out, was hoping I wouldn't need one. It was absolutely the worst pain I've ever experienced and I've been through fertility testing, two c-sections, lap band surgery, now sleeve surgery, and this was just awful. It made me so dizzy and light headed that I had to lie down for 20 minutes and I'm no whimp! So far I'm down 11 pounds from surgery last week. I'd love to make it to goal by the end of this year! Will post more in about a month!
06/30/09 - Make that down 21 pounds!!!
07/31/09 - Make that 33 pounds since 6/11!!! The scale is on the move yet again! That plateau (started at 1 month out) was simply testing my strength those two weeks and now it's paying off for sticking to my guns. Where can I get my Century Club Card??? I'm the newest member! I was 220 this morning and that is 100 pounds down!!!!! Just 40 to go to my personal goal; which the doc is happy with since I am 5'11" and carry 160 pounds of lean mass. I just can't believe it! I'm really going to get to my goal!!! Heck, at this rate I might blow by it (scary!).
