Tricia W.

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Have gradually been having some fluid put back in my band (less than 3 ccs total) and once again I am having problems.  Started during the night.  Woke up vomiting and choking.  This continued for 5 days.  Could not keep down ANYTHING!!  I was even vomiting up brown fluid with the coffee ground look.  Went to the doctor today and she took everything out of my band AGAIN!!  She wants to make sure I don't have an ulcer because of the brown vomit, but thinks it just from the irritation from all the acid.  Scope (EGD i think) is in the works.  It feels so great to be able to drink some water tonight.  I am thinking this band and my body is not a match.  Not sure what to do. 

I had to have all of my fluid taken out today :(  I have been having problems with acid reflux again, but this time I had vomiting with it as well.  Doctor wants to get an x-ray and give my stomach a rest before he puts anymore fluid in again.  I already feel better, but concerned with not having any restriction.  I will have to really rely on my willpower for now.  Good news is I am down 98 pounds :)

I lost 6 lbs this month and I finally weigh under 300!!!!  I am so excited.  It's been a very long time since I saw the 200's.  Doctor removed some more fluid since I was still having trouble with night time acid reflux.  I hope this fixes the problem, but the unfill doesn't make me want to eat everything in the kitchen.  I've had a total of .7 cc's removed over the past two months.  Hair is still falling out.  I think it may be slowing down a little, but still way more than normal.  My husband even commented that my hair is looking thinner, ugh!!  Next appointment is in 3 weeks since my doctor will be on vacation until the end of August.  My goal is to solve the relux problem and not gain any weight with the unfill.  We will see!!

I had my regular appointment yesterday and I told my doctor about the night time acid reflux and some pain with eating, so he decided to take out a small amount.  I can already tell the difference, but he said it may take a few days since I was probably too tight for an entire month and I have lots of swelling.  I'm down 9 more pounds this months for a total of 65 pounds since my initial visit.  My hair is still falling out (going on the 3rd month), but I hope it stops soon.  Next appointment is in 4 weeks and I hope to be under 300 by then.  I'm sooooo excited!!

On May 4th, I had my 3rd fill.  I didn't get one on my April visit, and between my April and May visit, I only lost 3 pounds and felt like I could eat a horse.  So on my May visit, I received .3 cc's, which I know isn't very much, but ever since my fill, I have been burping all the time and waking up during the night with acid burps.  I called my doctor today, and they told me I probably needed a slight unfil, but since I only got .3 cc's, I may not feel much restriction again if they took some out.  My other option was to try Prilosec to see if that helps.  Since I live 2 1/2 hours away and I don't want to lose my restriction, I opted for trying the Prilosec.  If that doesn't help, I will definitely get a little taken out.  I know it's not good to be too tight.  Other than that and the fact that my hair is falling out by the handfuls, I am doing great.  Luckily, I have very thick hair, but I hope it stops falling out soon or it will be very noticeable.  Here's hoping the Prilosec works and my hair stops falling out!

It's been 2 weeks since my first fill and I am doing great other than my scale hasn't moved at all since my fill.  I am pretty tight in the mornings (can't eat anything, but I can drink my water and protein shake just fine) and by dinner time, I can tolerate pretty much anything.  I have another fill on March 9th, but I am thinking I may not be ready for one just yet.  I am afraid I won't be able to drink my liquids in the morning if I am any tighter.  We will see in another 2 weeks.  Lately, my calves have been crampy and tight so I am supposed to go have some lab work done.  I'm not sure why they are bothering me, but hopefully it doesn't last long. 

I am almost 4 weeks out from surgery.  My first fill is scheduled for tomorrow and I am a little nervous.  As of right now, I feel like I could eat a horse.  I am so hungry and ready for something other than liquids.  I should be able to start the "mushie" stage on Friday.  Weight loss has been a little slow.  I have only lost 14 pounds since surgery.  I guess I kind of expected a little more since I eat less than 500 calories a day.  I will take what I get with a smile on my face though :-) 

So far everything is going great.  My incisions are healing nicely and I only have slight pain when I hiccup.  I've had no problems sleeping, so I am a happy camper.  My biggest complaint is that I am STARVING!!!  I thought I wouldn't have much of an appetite for a while, but by day 3, I was craving food.  My 1-week post-op appointment is tomorrow and I should be allowed to drink my protein shakes again.  I never thought I would be so excited about my shakes.  I haven't had much energy and had some lightheadedness, but I relate that to the lack of nutrition.  Next week, it's back to teaching and I am looking forward to it.  I just need to remember that I  had surgery and not over-do-it. 

Surgery is over.....yay yay yay....Everything went great!!!  The worst part was the anxiety once I arrived at the hospital.  Everyone there was extremely wonderful and I received great care.   My husband and I went over the night before and stayed in a hotel, but I didn't sleep well.  My check in time was 8:00 am and they had me get in my gown and started my IV.  They wheeled me back to surgery holding at 9:45 and I had to say bye to my hubby.  That was tough.  I'm glad I didn't have to wait for hours and hours for the surgery.  It seemed like it went pretty fast.  I was in the surgery holding area just long enough for the anesthesiologist and my doctor to come in and talk to me.   I remember them moving me to the surgery table and then waking up in recovery.  They removed my gall bladder, which I am thankful for since it had several gallstones.  I wasn't in very much pain, but I had a little nausea when I first woke up, but the meds helped with that.  Once I got to my room, I started walking.  I was alert for most of the evening and was surprised I wasn't "out of it" more.  I stayed for one night in the hospital because I live 3 hours away.  They sent me home with pain meds, ant-nausea meds, and some phosphorus powder because my blood levels were low on my post-op labs.  I slept really good on my first night home and I got up this morning and went for a walk around the block.  So far, I have to say the surgery wasn't bad at all.  I am sore in the port area, but everything else seems to be good.  When I am sitting, I can't even tell I had surgery.  I am extremely satisfied with my experience and with the care I received.  My next appointment is next Thursday and I should be released to start drinking my protein shakes again.  I am excited to be on the next part of this journey!! 

Tomorrow is the eve of the big day.  I will be heading over to Federal Way to stay the night so I can get a good nights sleep before I have to go to the hospital on Thursday morning.  I have an 8:00 a.m. check in time, but they are not sure when my actual surgery will be.  I hope I don't have to wait too long.  My nerves are starting to get the best of me.  All the "what-ifs" are consuming my thoughts.  I am sure tomorrow is going to be worse.  I just have to try and relax and look forward to being on the loser's bench.  My next blog will be about my experience and I will be that much closer to getting my life back.  Until next time.......