Tiny Steps, new knowledge

I went in for my 6 week checkup today. Ended up with my 4th fill as well.

Now at 9.9cc in a 14cc band. They almost wanted to go to 10.9cc.. but I kind of said i'd greatly prefer just 1. considering they are fast-tracking fills like no other I kind of figured slowing down wouldn't be a bad thing.

The bad: My weight hasn't BUDGED in over 3 weeks now. I am eating right (1200-1600 calories a day, very little to no caffeine intake, no carbonated beverages to speak of, hardly any carbs, low fat.) I am also exercising 3-4 times a week, mostly cardio.. I am up to the point where I throw the stationary bike in hill climb mode.. and keep the RPM's at around 80 for flat areas and over 95 on hills. ends with my heart-rate being well over 150 for about 35 minutes straight.

the good: I've apparently had numerous NSV's without realizing it! (Nsv = non scale victory) My total fat content of my body dropped another 1.8% (about 6 lbs in 2 weeks of pure fat gone) My blood pressure is a down (wasn't that high, but it's still down). My body is actually loosing weight very well, but it's also retaining water (added 25lbs of water weight from last visit) They aren't sure why but think it will subside, just keep doing what I'm doing sort of thing. The way they phrased it is it's a slow process.. I am getting healthier on the inside, before i see it on the outside. They said it's my body adjusting and everything is happening as it should, to not give up.

so.. no changes outwards.. but apparently lots of good changes inside.. so.. keep on keepin' on.

whoa buddy, we have restriction!!!

So.. after my first fill it was like nothing changed essentially. I felt exactly the same!

Second fill.. holy crap!!! I have to eat a LOT SLOWER.. i thought i was eating slow before, I was wrong. at night when I lay down for bed My stomach gets the worst gas pain i've ever had in my life.. it subsides if i shift around a bunch. but.. last night that meant a solid 30 minutes of shifting around before i actually fell asleep.

I read about drinking a solid 8-10oz of water about an hour before bed.. as it helps "flush" out your stomach.. sO i'm going to try that tonight and see if it helps!

Started working out steadily again.. i had been out walking.. but now i joined a gym. my first workout? walked/jogged a whole 1.2 miles, and biked another mile. I was dead tired too.. soooo out of shape it's not funny!

things going ok.. Waiting for swelling to go down in band and my body to adjust a bit before i leap into solid proteins.. i'm still eating mostly soft foods. I did try to munch on some bariatric pretzels i bought.. sounded good.. but they are also gluten free and kinda taste like cardboard! yay for money down the drain! (also one of those pretzels got stuck.. not fun.. i ate too fast for something so dry i thinking)

Can't tell if i look any different.. as I don't really have people here who see me much enough to notice.. so.. guess i'll just keep doing what i'm doing and working hard at it!

Fill #2

Well I went for my one month checkup today.

Im doing fine.. by their tally I've lost 10% of my excess weight in a month.. so yay!

I also got my second fill!!! bigger yay!!! I've been self restricting my food intake.. but if i chose to i could easily eat 16ounces of food or more. big nono!!!! So they put another 2cc's of fluid in my band today.. bringing me upto.. 8.9cc overall! (total capacity is right around 14cc i believe)

I'm on liquids until tomorrow to allow my stomach some adjustment time.. but I'll keep you posted on how my restriction is once I am able to return to regular foods!

OOPS!

SO I forgot to update for a bit, sorry!

I got my first fill a few weeks ago, it seemed like a great thing for about.. 2 days. Then it felt just like I was before I had it. I can easily eat over a cup of food if i choose to. I try and keep my meals to around 3-4oz max.. 1-2 eggs mixed with a bit of lite mayo for a simple meal, or a 3oz packet of tuna mixed with some mustard and relish. Problem is when I eat what i should eat (the 3-4oz meals) I am hungry again 2 hours later.

My weight loss has totally stalled. I lost 26lbs over first 10 days or so.. and.. have completely dead-stopped since then.

Im doing a lot better with seperating myself from eating when im bored, etc..

Since the surgery I have not consumed a single bread product, caffeine, or carbonated drink. (or alcohol) So i'm probably a bit healthier.

All in all I'm doing ok. Just starting to get a tiny bit frustrated at this being my second week with zero weight loss!

I go in Thursday the 13th for my month checkup. I'm going to ask for another fill because I shouldn't be able to handle as much food as i can at the moment.

Joining a gym tomorrow, finally. Hopefully being in an atmosphere where I can workout more often will help!

Starting over

It's like I am discovering food again from the beginning. Stuff I used to eat and be like.. meh.. whatever.. is now a wondrous treat!!

for example: I bought some tuna fish.. i am onto my "soft food" phase.. and that includes flaky fish and ground meats.. YAY! so anyway.. i bought some tuna.. just a simple mix.. bit of mayo, some mustard on top.. ate with a fork.. a little 2oz package. I am FULL.. i didn't overeat.. but it's the first time in a long time I ate something and felt actual fullness.. it's amazing.

Let me tell you how good it tasted. lol.. i feel almost foolish in saying it.. but.. my eyes got all big as i chewed slowly being sure to grind it up good. It was the equivilent to the food high i used to get when I would go with my family over to the flat rock grill place in lowell and have their prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes. it was amazing! :)

so.. doing a lot better.. i can't wait until my bandages fall off from my incisions. They are mostly healed and the bandages are holding onto the scabs.. but.. I don't want to rip them off. Once Payday comes Im going to join a gym.. I may not be able to lift anything yet, but I sure as heck can take advantage of their aerobic machines!

Healing

Well things are going better.. I think im starting to break my emotional attachment to food a bit. I had a really bad day yesterday and I wasn't thinking only about wanting a big ol' pizza! which is great!!!

I go in to see the surgeon Thursday the 30th and we'll see if he wants to give me another fill or if I have to wait for 3 more weeks. I'm not having a lot of restriction, so a fill would be great.. im not planning on it though.

Things are going well. I moved to soft foods Today.. that will help a LOT i am sure. Heading out to get some groceries in a bit.. I can't wait to bake a piece of fish.. mmm.. real food. :) lol.. I realize how pitiful that sounds, but it's also still true.

Ugh

Ok.. starting to have some serious doubts.

Yes.. im at the lowest weight I've been at in 3+ years.. after only a week.

However.. I am going through food cravings/withdrawal like I never ever believed possible. I want to eat. I want to chew something with some consistency. I am really starting to wonder if this was the right choice for me at this age.

Granted.. people told me.. you're fat. Doctors said something has to change. Parents said it's wonderful and it'll make your life so much better. All the brochures and preliminary conferences and stuff all said just smaller portions, i can deal with that no problem!!!

After finding a wonderful board with tons of banded people and lots of very HONEST opinions.. it seems alot of the information i *thought* was correct.. is way wrong!

Bread.. seems to get stuck in a band.. so.. mostly a no-no. I LOVE BREAD!
Rice, pizza, some chicken, lettuce, many cheeses, beer, soda.. ugh.

reason I say i could have waited is when I went in for my pre-op testing, and my testing day of.. all my results were perfect. blood pressure, glucose levels, blood counts, breathing, lung capacity, so.. basically my only fault.. was that im fat. Just wondering if I shouldn't have waited 10 yrs or somehting before doing something like this.

now true.. it's "different for everyone" but with 4 weeks until I can even attempt solid food.. im just starting to have some real doubts.. hopefully it's just withdrawl, hopefully I won't have as many negative food experiences as others (i.. am younger than 90% of them afterall)

Day.. 5 post-op

Not too much new to report.

My swelling has gone down a LOT past 2 days. Which means I am eating with no pain (well.. drinking) however.. it also means that food is passing through the pouch much faster so i am hungry a lot more often.

side.. note.. lost another 4 lbs. so.. total weight loss since clinic is.. around 22 lbs. I had my initial number wrong it other posts.. I found my paperwork today and it was a bit higher than number I was going off originally.

Day 4 Post Op

I actually slept in my bed last night.. holy crap that felt great!!!

I woke up feeling a LOT better.. i haven't had to take any pain medication so far this morning (only been awake 4 hours) I was able to run to the store and get some more meds without any problems. I even parked furthest spot I could get from the CVS and walked both ways.. (only about 100 yds one way)

I also was able to drink about half of a protein shake this morning without any discomfort at all.. yay!!! so able to consume 4oz with no discomfort and im able to bend over and tie shoes without my stictches feeling like they're going to rip out!

So.. it's coming along nicely.

Side note: The support of people who I haven't had contact with for YEARS has been astounding to me. There are people who I honestly figured had forgotten who the heck I was who are posting me these private messages on facebook and txt msg's.. it's been amazing. I hope they all know how greatly appreciative I am of their support.

Weighed myself a minute ago.. and.. down another 3.4lbs. so.. 12.4lbs lost total so far. :)

GAS!

not burping farting gas.. when they do the surgery they fill your stomach cavity with gas to enable them to work around inside easier. When they're done they do their best to remove it, but inevitably some remains.. so.. it drifts up and settles in the shoulders. Talk about annoying pain. It comes and goes, but it is super annoying. I'll be glad when it gets worked out of my system.

i do have the other gas as well.. which is really painful. Im assuming it's because of everything being swollen still.. Gas-X takes alot of the pressure away. but since the surgery I seem to be uncapable of burping which usually would relieve the pressure. I hope this one passes as well! lol

Post-op day 3

Well.. today I woke up on my side.. oops. But My stomach felt surprisingly good getting out of bed, very little pain. I was able to take my morning pills and my protein shake with no problems. (ok.. it's an 8oz shake.. i was only able to drink about 2-3oz before i was full.. but still)

For those of you wondering what I had done. I was outfitted with what is known as a lap-band. It creates a small food pouch above your stomach that food enters first. You feel full much faster, so you eat less. Over time the band can have fluid added to it which adds restriction to the band. closing the passageway between the new pouch and the old stomach. This restriction means food stays in the pouch longer and consequently I am full longer.

video and info here: CLICKY (video is on the page also)

Officially I can move to the "pureed" food phase today. However I am holding off on doing so because my stomach is still quite swollen from surgery. I want to be able to have better feeling in that area before i go to more solid foods. even though pureed foods is only stuff like cream of wheat, mashed potatoes, etc.. i still don't want to push it.

Since surgery day (tuesday) I am down 9 lbs. as well.