Michelle_Anne

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What an amazing 6 months it has been!

I started my appoinment today with Maggie the PA. I weighed 142.5 pounds (down 56 pounds since surgery), which is 7.5 pounds below my personal goal. We discussed my ideal weight which is 134.7 pounds. We have decided that  I should try and maintain between 135-140 pounds to stay healthy and not end up underweight. I decided not to get a fill and see what the next month brings. Maggie still wants to see me next month even if I don't think I need a fill  for a weight check. My appoinment is actually scheduled 6 weeks out on October 29th.

My next stop was with the nurse for measurements and photos.

Starting Weight: 241.5    BMI: 40.2
Current Weight: 142.5    BMI: 23.76

The results of my measurements are:
Mid Arm
Start: 15.25  Current: 10.5   Inches lost: 4.75
Waist
Start: 45       Current: 32.5    Inches lost: 12.5
Hips
Start: 53       Current: 38.25  Inches lost: 14.75

Total Inches Lost: 32

I am extremely happy with my results. This is by far one of the best things I have done for myself.

Now a new journey begins... Maintenance!

I received the results of my Upper GI today.

Everything is good! 

I'll see Maggie on September 17th for my 6 month post-op appoinment. I will also have an appoinment with the nurse for 6 month pictures and measurements.

Happy Monday! 

I had my Upper GI test this morning. The test went very well, however the taste of Barium isn't very pleasing. The technician said things look good!

 Now it's time to wait for the doctor to call with the official results.

Officially below goal!

I seen Maggie today for my fifth fill. I weighed 148.5lbs (50lbs lost since surgery).   I have seen a few changes in my eating habits over the last two weeks. I seem to be hungry more often. I got another .5CC in my band for a total of 6CC. I have added an additional mini goal to lose an additional 8.5lbs. I am going to try and maintain right around the 140lb mark. The rest of the appoinment was great, I am schedule for my 6 month post-op check up (Upper GI included) on September 17th.
Maybe...just maybe i can be at 140 by then.

Maggie called with the results of my blood tests today:

Hemoglobin: Normal
Vitamin  B1: High
Vitamin B12: Normal

My system is absorbing the supplements very well.

She wants me to cut  my Super B Complex supplement to every other day to bring down the B1 in my system.

Everything else is Great!

I am 9.5lbs above my personal goal. Hopefully I will reach it before my next appointment on August 20th.

I seen Maggie today for my fourth fill. I weighed 159.5lbs (39lbs lost since surgery). Not much has changed (other than my weight) since my last fill. My portions are still a little higher than the recommended 3/4C and i am still satisfied for 3-4 hours. I had some blood work done to check for vitamin defiecency (hemoglobin was 14.1 ) and I will need to have a scope at six months.  Maggie gave me .5cc so now I have a total of 5.5cc in my 10cc band.  I have scheduled my next fill for Wednesday August  20th (6 weeks this time), 2008.

I seen Maggie today for my third fill. I weighed 170lbs (28.5lbs lost since surgery). My portions are still a little higher than the recommended 3/4C but now i am staying satisfied for 3-4 hours.  Maggie gave me .5cc so now I have a total of 5cc in my 10cc band.  This fill also went very smooth.           I have scheduled my next fill for Wednesday July 9th, 2008 with Maggie.

I seen Maggie today for my second fill. I weighed 176lbs (22.5lbs lost since surgery). My portions are a little higher than the recommended 3/4C and I am only staying satisfied for 2-3 hours. However I am very disciplined with myself. I weigh and measure everything that I put in my mouth and I don't allow myself to go over the recommended daily calories.  I also go to the gym 6 days a week for 45 minutes of cardio at the very least. Every other day I include some strength training. I also frequently use the sauna, hot tub and pool. Maggie gave me .5cc so now I have a total of 4.5cc in my 10cc band. I have scheduled my next fill for Wednesday June 11th, 2008 with Maggie. The appointment was very uneventful and my fill went as smooth as the first one.

I seen Dr. Johnson today for my first fill. I weighed 186lbs (12.5lbs lost since surgery). The fill was really easy. They put me in a chair that raises your legs/feet up to be parallel with the rest of your body and then the head of the chair reclines so that your shoulders/head are lower than the rest of your body. They also placed a large pillow under the lower back. This brings the stomach muscles right up to the surface of your skin. They have you put your hands on your chest. They use Beta dine to clean the area, they have you tighten the stomach muscles (this keeps the port area at the surface of your skin and doesn't allow it to fall into the abdominal area) and then they give you a shot of Lidocaine to numb the area. This really wasn't painful, but I could feel the numbing medicine going in (a slight burning sensation). Once that is complete and the area is numb they use another needle to go in and locate the port. They go in to the side and move the needle around to the port so they don't puncture the tubing.  Dr. Johnson hit the port the first time. He sucked all the existing fluid out (band has some fluid from the priming process before placing the band during surgery) which was 3cc's, he than replaced the 3cc's and added an additional 1cc for a total of 4cc's in my band. I felt it, bit it really wasn't pain. It was kind of weird, hard to describe. Before I knew it the needle was out and they had me drinking water. This first time was actually very easy. He did explain that it may not always be this easy to get a fill. For now my future fills will be done with Maggie. I have one scheduled for Wednesday 5/14. Dr. Johnson expects you to keep your appointments even if you don't think you need a fill. The appointments are also good to go over what you're eating and how things are going. I can also call if I don't think I'm having any restriction and need one sooner, but some people take several days for a fill to take effect. So, this next week will be a new adventure. I am on liquids for 2 days, then purees for 2 days, and then I can move on to regular food as tolerated. It is also possible that the food I could eat before the fill could be problematic now, so I need to be careful.

The liquids are going good. I feel good! 

I seen Dr. Johnson today for my one week post-op appointment. I weighed in at 195lbs. I had expected a bigger loss this first week being on clear liquids. There is still a good amount of swelling and my body has probably gone into starvation mode, therfore holding onto every ounce of fat it can.
I can now move onto the 'full liquids' stage for the next week, then I will get to enjoy pureed foods in weeks 3 and 4. Everything looks good and the dressings were removed from my incisions. I scheduled my first fill for Thursday April 17th.


P.S.
Creamy Potato Soup and a fudgesicle were soooo yummy tonight!