Doing really well now.

I'm down to a regular large size tshirt & 16W size pants.  I have not weighed in for about 2 weeks, and plan to as soon as I get back to work. 

Feeling really good! I still have no fills in my band

I am now down to a regular Large tshirt, and a size 16W pants!  I'm so excited about this.  It is very rewarding to try on the smaller clothes and they actually fit!

I have been doing very well getting solids down again.

This time seems easier than right after the surgery.  I have been blessed to have the opportunity to speak to others that are interested in getting the band done.  I think I have been approached by about 4 people at church about it. 
Even though the past 2 weeks have been a bit rough, I would do it all over again.  This was just a learning curve if you would.  I can't let my sinus drainage and allergies just go.  I have to treat them due to the drainage. 

Vomitting is better today! Solid foods again! Results from doctor visit were good!

Well I went to the doctor Wednesday. They agreed with me that is was just drainage from my allergies and sinuses.  They put me on Nasonex and continue my Zyrtec.  They wanted me to discontinue the decongestant.  Today I had to take it though.  It was bad.  I even sounded all nasaly!  The doctor felt that it would improve, and that I would be back on solid food by the end of the week.  Well I tried a egg burrito today, and that felt good going down, but didn't stay down.  Darn it.  I tried some chicken nuggets tonight at dinner, and they Stayed down!  Yeah, I'm back to regular solids again!  It's in small quanities like when I started eating solids after the surgery. The doctor said it was becuase the stomach is swallon from all the vomitting and the Zantac or Tagament whichever I took would help with that and the swelling would go down. 

I'm happy to report it is improving!

Well I'm able to keep down pudding and water!

I go to see the doctor on Wednesday.  We will see how that goes.

Well I was getting dizzy last night and afraid of dehydraton. Went to the E.R. or E.D.

Because of all the drainage from my sinuses everything has been coming up.  Even water.  I was still have fluid output, but getting a little dizzy.  So off to the E.D.  emergency department.  Well a xray was done and lab work.  Thank goodness the band is still in its correct position no slippage!  The labs all came back completely normal.  No sign of dehydration there!  Thank goodness.  I just keep taking little sips of water off and on.  I must be retaining it somehow.

Gastric band sugery differences in the bands

What was described to me is that the Lap Band and the Realize band differences are just in the port for the fills only.
The Lap band port is just sewen to the muscle and can float or move.  Idealy though the muscle tissue will grow to hold that port in place. 
The Realize Band though has the little things that attach to your muscle.  They hold the port in place so it doesn't move around.
I went with the Realize Band. I'm happy with my choice. 

I have had some problems with sinus drainage.

I have sever allergies, and with the fall season I have been having a lot of drainage. It pools in my tiny upper tummy and blocks everything.  So!  Unfortunately, I vomit.  I'm looking into this now.  I have been doing all liquid diet this week.  I have been doing all protien drinks this week.  All solids have just come back up. I have an appointment next week to find out what is up with the band.

The first week after surgery.

I ate my protien drink the very first meal just to be safe.  I was so hungry.   The next meal I tried grits.  Well that wasn't so good.  They were to gritty to soon, so I tried cream of wheat!  That was the ticket!  I also did gogurts and small curd cottage cheese.  I stayed away from the soups.  They all had noodles.  I was happy with things I was eating. by the end of week 3 I was on soft food.  I was trying food off and on.  Refried beans.  Some ground beef.  I started mixing in my Egg Beaters with my cream of wheat!  Fabulous.  More filling and yummy! I was walking every evening bit by bit I increased my distance. By week 4 I was up to a mile again.  At week 5 I was eating regular meals.  I was told that when you start eating regular food.  You will figure out the right consistancy to chew your food up to, and bites to take.  Until then, well there is one way out and that is up and out.  So I learned quickly to take smaller bites, chew, and eat slowly. 
Even today.  There are times I will not be paying attention to what I'm doing when I'm eating and up and out it goes.  I have to take smaller bites, and chew them well.

I like this one! This was a wonderfull picture, but you can really tell the difference in my face here and my arms!

More photos of my progess. The weight loss is really noticable now!

9/15/209 268lbs

This was me and my nieces 4-11-08 at our wedding

Learning to put pictures on the blog!

We took this picture 9/09 

Preparring for bariatric surgery.

It took me 7 years to get to the point of even being ready to have the surgery. Once I decided I was at my lowest point, I went to a couple of seminars here in the Phoenix area. I decided on a surgeon. Due to the insurance requirements I had to do a 6 month diet, and get all the medical records (1 note for every year the last 5 years showing my co morbidities & my weight) together. I had to do the phsyc evaluation, and I had all the testing and got the pulmonary & cardiac clearance. I was over 50% body fat. I was 37 on blood pressure, diabettic, asthma, and allery medications. I topped out at 230lbs at 5" 3' and 3/4. I found out that I was a diabettic when my weight kept increasing despite exercise & diet change back in 2005.

I followed a low carb, fat, sodium, sugar free diet. Wow what a challenge! I manage to pull it off and still eat very satisfying meals. I watched a lot of Alton Brown on Food Network Tv. I learned a lot about spices and cooking.

This year though, I started having more physical mechanical problems. My knees were popping and clicking, and I had been walking up to 3 miles a day. I had to back down to 1 mile a day. Then my left gastro calf muscle burst. I was off work a week, and had weeks of physical therapy. This was about 2 months prior to my surgery. I recouperated and started walking again.

So getting closer to the surgery date I had to go in for the preop testing. It was really convienent. It was all scheduled and set up at the hospital were the procedure was done. I was in and out with everything done in like 2 hours. Now this included a the barium swallow. The doctor put me on a full liquid protien diet for 2 weeks prior to surgery to help pull the fat off of my liver. This was okay and easy in the begining. But by the second week, I was starting to really feel the pangs of hunger. The smell of food just made my stomach churn with hunger. I had to letteraly leave an area were there was food. This happened a couple of times. I quickly left the erea and avoided being around friends and family while they ate. Or I made sure I had my protien drink as a shake to satisfy my hunger. That worked pretty well. Then the day before the surgery with the prep. That wasn't bad at all. I think this was primarily to do with the liquid protien diet. There wasn't much to get rid of with the prep. I was okay with that. The process would have been miserable if I hadn't been on a liquid diet prior.

The big day arrived. I went through The Bridges Centre for Surgical Weight Management at St. Luke’s Medical Center http://www.stlukesmedcenter.com/services/weight_loss_surgery/.  My husband and I went to the hospital, and before we knew it I was in the operating room. Then I was in recovery quickly after that. I went home the same day. I loved that! It was a fairly easy recovery. 5 years ago I had 2 major back surgeries, and that required an abdominal surgery as well. This gastric band surgery was a breeze to recover from compared to the back fusion surgeries. By week the end of week 4 post of I was able to bend all the way down to put my gym shoes on. I noticed though when walking during that first 4 weeks that the giggle of my belly caused pain on my side were the port was placed. I had to hold the side of my stomach to ease that problem.

Well I am going to sign off for now. I am loving my new diet, and loosing weight at it! I have become a Flexitarian!
I'm loosing weight and loving the food I cook!