An update.....to the update...catchy title huh???

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...

the saga continues....surprisingly I am in a good mood though.

Ok, went to see my Lap Band dr. today...he squeezed me in....got a complete unfill.  When he took everything out the liquid amounted to 2cc.  yep, I thought I was at 3.5.  Now I know some liquid is still in the tubing but my band is empty.  Surgeon is convinced that my issues are not band related....how can they be with so little in the band????  I am almost a year out...kind of late for a slip....no port pain....would be in the ER if it was erosion....etc.

I feel like he (the surgeon) doesn't even want to go there (i.e. "band hell" where everything that could go wrong does).....I kept asking about a slip or my stomach coming up through the band etc. but he thinks maybe gallbladder or acid reflux disease.  (I am rooting for him to be right but worry that he isn't)

On to doctor #2 today.  The General Practitioner seems to agree w/ surgeon...thinking more likely gallbladder or pancreas issues.  He is having me get the Upper GI tomorrow and then ordered a gallbladder ultrasound for the following week.  Also wants me to start taking an anti-acid daily.

So that's the scoop....at least for now.  Not sure what, if anything, I will find out tomorrow.  Cross your fingers for me that it is NOT a slipped band or erosion. 

Update

Due to an insurance SNAFU I wasn't able to get my upper GI today. kind of ironic b/c my insurance did not cover my surgery in the first place but....

Going to the surgeon tomorrow.. Not sure how that is going to go. I will probably get a complete unfill. I am starting to wonder if maybe my issues are NOT band related...maybe that is just hoping.

Through tears today my friend tried to talk me off the ledge....I am panicked that my band is messed up & I will have to get it removed. That would be 13k down the drain and open up a whole lot of worry about how I can maintain with out some help from the band.

The bottom line is something is wrong. I read what you people eat & I can't even imagine eating most of it....i am too busy being in the fetal position for days at a time b/c I had chicken.

It's a "Love/Hate" type of relationship

It's been a few weeks since I have posted.

Let me tell you why....if you don't have anything nice to say....don't say anything at all.  Yep, I have been on a rollercoaster of hating my band.  I don't want to scare the newbies but here's the truth.

Don't laugh...I know I wrote a post awhile back about how much I loved my band...the irony huh?

Literally 2 days after that 'sunshine and rainbows' post....wham, my band slammed shut.  Over a french fry mind you.  (I don't remember seeing those on the what to avoid list...did I miss something?)

I was miserable for 2 hours...finally threw up 3 times...then seemed ok.  Only problem is that 3rd throw up seemed different than a PB.  It felt like it came from deep down..............

Woke up the next day in pain.  Just thought band was a bit irritated.  Started drinking my water and shake in the morning and by the time I got to work at 7am I thought I had the flu.  I was in so much pain in my upper abdominal region and my back.  I was shaking and had chills.  Called a sub and went home to sleep for 6 hours.

Well, this nonsense went on for another 2 days.  Each day was a bit better but nerve pain all in my back and I couldn't eat.  So was it the flu or did my band slip?

Went to see the dr. and he was no help.  He didn't really know what to say to me.  I told him to take out fluid so he removed 1.5cc leaving me at 3.5cc. Scheduled me for an upper GI  which will finally be done tomorrow 6/18.

 I wish now I would have had him take everything out of the band because the saga continues.....

After babying the band for a week, I figured I could get used to this new fill level (3.5) and deal with it since I was so close to goal.  I was hungry every two hours but otherwise things were going well. 

At least until this past THURSDAY 6/14.  Since my band was so loose, the food addict in me decided to try pizza....I haven't had pizza in a year.  I normally can't do bread of any sort and can tell on the first bite that it's not going down.  Well, I ate about 1/4 of a small piece of thin crust over about 20 mins.  Everything was great.  I was excited that I did it with out getting stuck.

Friday, 6/15 was not so good.  I was burping like crazy upon waking.  Drank my protein drink in small sips but kept burping.  Went to Zumba...seemed to help .......but after class the burping continued and I started getting back pain.  So Friday was a mess....barely ate anything, tried to deal w/ the non-stop burps and back pain. Woke up in middle of the night to stomach acid shooting into my mouth.  (Was this b/c of the pizza????  Fine when I ate it and for hours after but then the next day when I tried to have a protein drink my band said NO WAY!!!)

Saturday, 6/16 was worse.  (Is this still b/c of the pizza??) I was miserable all day.  Burping like crazy, back pain, upper abdominal pain.  Drinking would upset my tummy too.  I did not have that upper chest pain (under your breast bone) like I get if I am stuck, but I was not doing well.  Heartburn all day.  PB'd twice on water and purred soup.

Here we are now, Father's Day, 6/17.  Doing much better now but only after I PB'd on water this morning.  WTF????  I then took a 2 hour nap...I think my body is soooooooo stressed.  Eventually, I did eat 4 oz of purreed soup, 2/3 of a protein drink, and a few oz of frozen yogurt today.  Right now the back pain seems to be gone and so are the burps.

So---there you have it.  I am freaking out about having the upper GI tomorrow.  If I am having a hard time w/ water....how am I gonna get that liquid cement down???  I am afraid I do have a slipped band and what does that mean???

I will let you know.
p.s. I made goal today......140....but based on the last 2 weeks, it was not worth it.

Here's what I love about losing weight with my band

1.  crossing my legs!  who knew how much I missed being able to do that comfortably???

2.  wearing running tights or compression capris....and feeling confident in them.

3.  being able to do 10 "boy" push-ups.  My goal is to get to 20 in a row by the end of summer.

4.  feeling my hip bones jut out while lying down

5.  my port is now an "out-ie"....yup, an out-ie!

6.  walking into a staff meeting and having a colleague yell out "Th*mpson, you are half the woman you used to be!"  What could I do but laugh and tell him I will accept "any and all compliments."

7.  how strong and muscular my legs feel

8.  that I can't binge or graze....and really don't want to.

9.  being a good role model to my kiddos....taking the emphasis off of food and promoting activity/exercise into our daily life.

10. feeling in control over what and how much I eat. 

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, what do you love about your weight loss and/ or band????

60 pounds gone!

Finally, finally, finally!  60 lbs.....bye bye! 

I have been bouncing back and forth between the same 2 lbs. for several weeks but it looks like 145 is here to stay and puts me at 60* lbs down since I started this journey.  (*only down 40 since getting the band on June 30, 2011.)

I can't believe I am at 60....my goal is another 5,  bringing me to a loss of 65 and the start of maintenance.

Part of me is in a hurry to get rid of those last 5 ...but on the other hand what is going to change when I get to goal???  I'm not really doing anything different now than I will be for maintenance.  I am just following the band rules and working out like a fiend!  Maybe I will skip a workout once a week but I doubt it.  I love working out...it's the mental release as well and stealing a little "me" time.

I never would have thought I would be here a year ago.  I finally understand why all of you veteran bandsters say how much you "love your band."  I do too!

TTT

Ten Things Thursday
1.  I ate 5 puffy cheetos....they are amazing.  80 calories worth and loved every bite. 
(Why am I feeling guilty now though???...I logged it.....I have several hundred calories left for dinner and dessert.)  Oh yeah, because I am not at goal.  Stupid me.

2.  Speaking of goal, I have 7 lbs. to go.  I can definitely see  myself getting content where I am BUT it's a goal....I can do it.............. right????  It would put me at a "healthy BMI" and that is MOST important to me

3.  Having a garage sale this weekend.  I really don't want to do it but I have a ton of random things to get rid of and want to earn some money to buy new clothes!

4.  Only a few more weeks of school left.....we are out June 14th.  Yippee! 

5.  I can do 15 boy push-ups in a row which is a huge deal for me!

6.  Bought a few new items of clothing since NOTHING fits me anymore...even the stuff I had altered / taken in.  I was continually surprised when I tried on Medium tops.........and they fit!

7.  One of my absolute fav kiddos in my class last year, swung by my room to say hi yesterday.  After chatting a bit he confessed that he wanted to say hi but really, he just needed to see me.  He'd heard from a million kids how "amazing Mrs. T looks!"  Apparently, word on the street in the high school is how I look....good to know they are discussing my weight huh???

  It was so cute b/c he made sure to say that he "always thought I was beautiful but now I look so fit and strong."  Nice compliment so I will take it.  These kids think of me as their second mom so it's cute that they want me to know how impressed they are with my efforts.

8.  I have had several colleagues tell me this week "I didn't even recognize you"  after running into them in the halls or parking lot.  I know I should take it as a compliment but really.....do I look that different?

9.  Gotta update my profile picture....I guess none of you will recognize me either!  LOL

10.  June 30th will be my one-year band-a-versary.  My fill level is good but after the 30th of June, I will have to pay* for office visits or adjustments.  (*not that I didn't already pay....it was just a lump sum cash payment for the surgery,  band, office visits, adjustments for the first year.)  Should I go see the band dr. for a check up before the 30th as a last "free" appointment?

have a good weekend !  ct

Ode to "the girls"....yep, boobies....not BOOBS

Yesterday I went bra shopping.  "My girls" have been neglected as I have lost weight.

At first, I was pretty excited that my cup size did not change as I started to lose.  (Trust me, I do not particularly want to have big boobies, but I also didn't want to have "deflated water balloon boobies" either as I got smaller.)  I was crediting the slow loss, increase of protein and muscle mass, etc.  Pats on the back for me!!!

My band size kept shrinking though!  Yipee. 

Well, now I am losing in the cup area too.  So anyhoozle, I needed to go get some new bras.

I had a NSV in midst of this outing....a frustrating one, but still a NSV.  I had a dilly of a time (no one says "dilly"anymore...why did that just pop in my head?)  trying to find 34DD.  I kept getting annoyed that all the  DD bras were 38 or 40...occasionally a 36 DD.  Can you believe that?  I couldn't find ones small enough!!!!  (How many years have I moaned and groaned because I didn't find anything while out shopping for clothes because I was too big.)  I will take this new "problem" anyday.

I did come home with a couple new bras and my "girls" are feeling supported today!