Phyllis C.

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Yippie!!!!!

I had my sleeve on 4/17 which was a revision from Lapband. So far I have lost 12lbs. There are many reason why I am slow, but I think the main reason is that I was a revision and had already lost about 45 lbs. Then there is the fact that I am 58, post menopausal, way too fond of rich food and not very fond of exercise.

But I am happy!!!!! Yesterday we went to my husbands Gala for work. I wore a dress that had a size 10 tag. I know this is an extreme case of vanity sizing!!! It actually had more to do with the cut of the dress and fabric. The only place it was fitted was in the bodice and I am “narrow” under the boobies. The only full length pic of me was taken by my husband and he is technically challenged and took a video instead.

Anyhow, we danced and had fun. I ate a dainty portion of food. My husband is gaining as I am losing because he gets everything I can’t eat. I was so frustrated because I couldn’t eat my dessert, which was a beautiful orb of chocolate with a mousse center.

Getting dressed for these things takes most of the day. I kept changing bras and other undies so I wouldn’t have bulges or panty line. I bought a pair of those spanx, but damn if I know where I hid them from myself.

I have so many clothes that are fitting me now that I bought recently in hopes of losing and ones that I fit into years ago. Love trying on things that were too tight and now they fit. It is better than a lower number on the scale!

I am making more of an effort to keep track of what I eat on fitday. I am also more conscience of eating very nutritious foods. Knowing that I may not be absorbing all of the nutrients that I eat has been keeping me on my toes. I never took vitamins before the sleeve, but now I do. Spinach is my friend.

As far as the difference between the band and the sleeve goes, the sleeve seems to be a better fit for me. I feel full with a small meal and I am not as obsessed with eating, but still more than I would like. I average about 1000 calories a day. I don’t want to go much lower than that because I don’t want to slow down my metabolism any more than it already is.

I feel fabulous!!!! I had my 2 week check up this morning. I was raving to my Dr. about how great I feel. He told me I looked great and asked a few question about what and how much I am eating. I will see him in 3 months and he will do complete blood work to check on my vitamin and mineral levels.

About 5 days after my surgery my husband and I went to the beach for me to recover in my favorite environment. One week post I woke up to the sun rising over the ocean. I painted my toes and nails, went shopping, and took a nice nap. Later that evening we went to the boardwalk and walked up and down quite a ways. We went to an old fashioned arcade to play pinball and slots. We used to go there when we first met over 30 years ago and I felt just as young and was having just as much fun!!!!!!!!!

I have been eating soft solids since about 6 days out. I have had a few issues of eating too fast and maybe a little too much. I usually throw up a little or just feel uncomfortable for a while. I had about 3 instances of what might be dumping, but I am not sure what caused it because I am not eating anything sweet. I could be some things that were too rich for me at the time.

Yesterday I started to exercise and today I joined my local Y after I left my Drs. Office. They have a pool and lots of weight machines, classes and every type of cardio equipment you could imagine. They were having a promotion so I even got the initial membership fee waived. I just pay a 50.00 monthly fee. Now I just have to make it a regular part of my routine.

I have already hit a stall with my weight, bummer, but I am not surprised because of my age and body type. I will be working on figuring out what I should and can eat and what I enjoy. I want to make sure that I am eating high quality, high nutrition foods to get the most out of what my slim line tummy will hold. So far appetizer type foods seem the most appealing to me. Little bites of lots of different things. I still do get hungry though.

I have lost about 10 lbs so far. But!!! I look and feel so much better that I am just going to patiently plug away until I beat my body into submission. I had a band and I can tell you that this surgery is much more compatible with me and my insides. I was always aware that I had something inside that didn’t quite belong. Once I heal totally, I think I will forget I had surgery all together.

I feel so optimistic and fortunate.

Date: 11/13/2005     Vital Stats Pre-op
Age 56:  Weight 291:  Height 5’2”
BMI 53.                    LapBand Surgery date March 6, 2006=weight 277
Weight as of 7/26/2006=268-23                 
weight as of 11/28/2006=267-24  
Weight as of 3/02/2007=255-36                        
Weight as of 5/8/2007=25239                                                                                                         
Weight as of 8/27/2007=247-44
AS OF 10/14/07=244-47
Fills                                            
1-May 3, 2006 1.5 ccs  2-Jun 13, 2006 1cc  3-Jul 25, 2006 1.2ccs  4-Sep 28, 2006 .5cc
5-Nov 28, 2006 1c  6-Apr 19, 2007 .5cc  7-Aug 21, 2007 .7   8, unfill -2ccs

Scheduled for a revision on 4/17/2008

I have been through this thing before and am about to do it again.

Yesterday I stopped by Whole foods on my way home from work and stocked up on what I call my post op survival kit.

Right after surgery your tastes are going to really change.  I did not want anything sweet, spicey, artificial or overly seasoned with anything.  It was all about bland.   So here are a few things I bought to get me through.

Carrots, potatoes, and fennel bulb to make my own veggie broth to mix with canned chicken broth.  Much heathier and more appealing than the straight canned stuff.  I will store the cooked veggies to use in my mushie stage or feed them to my husband.

I found this lovely coconut water that is a natural substitute for sports/electrolyte drinks.  Mild, very slightly sweet and refreshing.  It is called O.N.E. It is 100% natural coconut water.  It would probably make a great base for resfreshing fruit smoothies too.

Peppermint flavor, Anise flavor, no alcohol added ,to put a few drops of either in my drinking water.  These two flavors help expell gas and settle the stomach. 

Crystalized ginger and whole cloves.  I make tea with these. just a bit of either in boiling water.  Again they help to expell gas and settle the stomach, also the ginger helps with nausea.  A tiny drop of honey can be added if necessary.

Limes to make a weak limeade.  I use a bit of real sugar when I mix it up.  The first thing I wanted after my last surgery was lemon or lime aid.  It is so refreshing and thirst quenching and believe me you will be thirsty.

I also bought some plain protien powder and some unsweetened soy milk for the full liquid stage.

For physical comfort I bought Burts Bees Chapstick, a beanbag neck pillow that can be heated up in the microwave for the horrible shoulder pain that I had for a whole month, and unsented body lotions.  Sweet or un-natural smells made me nauseas after surgery.

Also bought some epsom salts for when I can actually soak in a tub.  Very sootthing and sucks all of those surgery poisons right out of your bod.

I stocked up on other things too, but they are the normal soft snacks and things that you might want like Activa plain yogurt, applesauce and sf pudding.

Post op it is all about taking good care of yourself and healing.  Follow your Drs instructions of course and if any of the above fit into his/her plan give them a try.

I got the lapband about two years ago with much hope and anticipation.  I thought for sure I was going to be one of the lucky ones and be down at least 100 lbs in a year.  Well, no, I was the president of the Turtle Club instead......But I kept my hopes up thinking that when I finally got the kind of restriciton everyone else was talking about that I would lose better and faster.  

I did manage to lose about 40-50 lbs over the course of two years.  I never had the experience of not feeling hungry, never felt full on small meals, and I remained obsessed with my food addiction.

Back in the fall I started to have some pains in my upper chest and an increase in reflux.  I had an UGI and an ultra sound to rule out gall bladder disease.  The UGI showed the reflux and the fact that I had a hiatal hernia that had pulled the band up my stomach.  I had restriciton in that the food was slowed down, but I basically had no upper stomach to "fill" and satisfy.  So that explained alot of how the band failed to work for me.  I had a small hiatal hernia even before the lapband and it got worse as a result of the lapband.

When I saw my Dr. about the results of the UGI we discussed reparing the hernia and repositioning the band.  As an afterthought I asked about the sleeve and if it would be possible to see if my insurance would approve a revision to the sleeve instead of the band being repositioned.  I had lost faith by this point that it would work even after getting fixed.  He seemed to think that was an excellent course of action.  The revision to the sleeve was approved.

I am going to see him on Tuesday and tell him that I definitly want to proceed with the sleeve.  My surgery is scheduled for April 17.  I am slowly but surely getting excited about my second chance to lose weight and keep it off.  I started at 291 before the band and I did keep any weight off that I lost with the band.  I am not sorry I had it, but I wish that the sleeve was more prevelant at the time I was researching.  Although I am still freaked out about having part of my stomach removed and may have still chosen the band not knowing what I know now.

I am encouraged that everyone seems very happy with their sleeve.  I have a feeling it is going to work for me too.  I just wish it was all over and I was well on my way to my new skinny self.

I am feeling blue after my appt. with my surgeon today.  I have been having trouble with restriciton and just getting the kind of performance from my band that others seem to get.  I have a hiatal henia which has pulled my band up on my stomach so that is very close to my esopagus.   It is also causing bad reflux.  The reflux is a more recent event.  But I have never had effective restriction.  Although how do you know when you don't know what it is really supposed to feel like?

Anyway I don't have much of a pouch, I hate that word.  The food gets slowed down but does not spend any time in my non existant pouch.  So I get the disadvantage of having difficultiy eating some foods, but they go right through anyway.

I am having the hernia repaired and the band repositioned.  But this is the part that got me down.  There is a 25% chance that it will be done open.  If there is a lot of scar tissue, they may have to go in open.  Revisions to the band have a 1 in 4 chance of that happening.

We also discussed possibly converting to a gastric sleeve if things look like they may not hold up by just having the band repositioned.  I don't know if my ins. will pay for that but he is going to include it on my approval form.

So I am feeling a bit down with all of this to consider.  Part of me is optomistic that once I get things where they should be,  I will have a functioning band and will lose weight.  Then I am worried about another surgery and all that involves.  i haven't been sleeping that well either because of the reflux.

Cheer me up and tell me everything is going to be alright........

This is just a quick update on the fill I got last week.  I already had over 4ccs in my band and he gave he .7 more.  We estimate  that I have about 5.5 in my 4ccband.  I stayed pretty much on liquids for the whole week and ventured into mushies on Monday.  I definitly have restriciton.  I am able to eat soft meats like sausage and spaghetti with meatsauce, veggies and of course icecream.  I had to stop my vitamin, even cutting it in half is too big.  I have lost a few lbs, but in know way have I been starving or unable to keep down what I take in.  For a few days there I thought I was going to have to go in and have a little taken out.

I am going on Vacation this coming week and I intend to take excellent care of myself and eat very well.  I will do lots of seafood and fresh veggies.  Plus I intend to be more active with swimming and walking.

Is there anyone out there anywhere who has as much as I have in a 4cc band????  Ya know what??? I hate protein drinks...found that out after this last fill.

 

LENTAL/BEAN/AND VEGGIE STEW

Lentil Soup
ingredient	amount	calories	fat	protien	carbs	fiber
Lentils dry	1cup	490	0	56	133	63
pink beans	15.5oz can	280	1.75	17.5	56	24.5
green beans	14.5oz can	70	0	3.5	14	7
soybeans	1 cup	376	17	33.15	28	10.75
0live oil	2 T	220	28	0	0	0
chopped celery	2 stalks	20.5	0.17	1	4.67	2.18
chopped onion	1 med	42	0	1.25	9.5	2
chopped zuccini	1 med	10	0	1.3	1.5	0.5
beer	4oz	50	0	0.36	4.44	0.25
chopped garlic	2 cloves
worchester sauce	2 T
water	3 C
recipe totals		1558.5	46.92	114.06	251.11	110.18
		222.6428571	6.702857143	16.29428571	35.87285714	15.74
per serving		223	6.7	16.3	36	16
7 one cup servings

7-1 CUP SERVINGS

 

PREP AND COOKING TIME APPROX 1HR

BEGIN BY SAUTEING THE ONIONS, CELERY, ZUCCHINI AND GARLIC IN THE OLIVE OIL IN A 8-QT STOCK POT. COOK FOR ABOUT 5 MINS ON MED HEAT. REMOVE FROM THE POT AND SET ASIDE.

COOK THE LENTILS IN 3CUPS OF WATER ON MED-LOW HEAT UNTIL MOST OF THE WATER IS ABSORBED (ABOUT 10-15 MINS). ADD THE UNDRAINED CANNED BEANS AND THE SOY BEANS COOK UNTIL ALL OF THE WATER IS ABSORBED. ADD THE BEER, CANNED UNDRAINED GREEN BEANS, SAUTEED VEGGIES AND WORCHESTER SAUCE. CONTINUE TO COOK UNTIL MOST OF THE LIQUID IS ABSORBED. SEASON TO TASTE. ADD ANY HERBS AND SPICES THAT YOU ENJOY. YOU COULD MAKE THIS ITALIAN BY ADDING OREGANO, BASIL AND PARSELY. MAKE IT MEXICAN BY ADDING SOME CHILI POWDER.

THIS RECIPE IS VERY VERSITILE. THE CONSTANTS ARE THE LENTILS BEANS AND SOYBEANS. I MIX AND MATCH DIFFERENT COLOR LENTILS AND BEANS AND AVARETY OF VEGGIES I CHANGE INGREDIENTS FOR THE FLAVOR I AM GOING FOR WITH EACH BATCH.

I ALWAYS ADD AT LEAST THE SAUTED ONIONS AND CELERY TO EACH BATCH I MAKE. MORE VEGGIES CAN BE ADDED WITHOUT CHANGING THE CALORIE COUNT MUCH.

THIS CAN BE DONE IN THE CROCK POT TOO, BUT I AM NOT SURE HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE TO COOK SINCE CROCKS VARY SO MUCH. ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS COULD BE ADDED AT ONCE. NO NEED TO SAUTE THE VEGGIES FIRST WITH THE CROCK METHOD.

KEEPS IN A TIGHTLY CLOSED CONTAINER FOR A WEEK.

Today I got fill no. 6.  I got 1/2cc.  I already had over 4, so this puts me near 5.  I have been able to eat way too much lately so I really needed a tweak.

I am on liquids for a week.  Just fixed some veggie soup which I put through the magic bullet.  Went down very well so I don't seem too tight.

I am going to start over fresh like I was just banded.  I am going to eat very nutritious foods and stay away from processed foods as much as possible.  My Dr. was pleased with my 10 lb weight loss since the begining of Dec.  I don't think it is all that great but I am mostly to blame for not losing more.  I just had to put myself through the whole gamit of testing my band before I came to beleive that I was not one of the lucky ones who loses quickly.  I have to really work at this thing but I have no other choice.

I now have more time to devote to myself since my mom is in a nursing home being very well taken care of.  I have to get walking and get on my eliptical.  Dr. said I am going to have to get with the exercise program now and I am going to listen this time.

I feel pretty optimistic and ready to move on and really start to work this thing for real.  I know that it is an uphill battle but I have to make looking and feeling better more important than eating what I want whenever I want.  It's an old behaviour that I have to fight, fight, fight!!!!!!

I am worth it.....