JudyG
1/28/05 I am a 55 year old married mother of two girls, 23 and 18. I have been overweight for pretty much of the last 15 years. Infertility treatments and a car accident started my weight climbing and I have never been able to keep the weight off since then. It's been a rollercoaster ride of many diets,with the vicious cycle of gaining,losing and gaining even more, until I have finally reached 243 lb. All the co-morbidity problems...arthritis, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, etc.. have led me to the decision for WLS.I have done a lot of praying and asking for guidance, and feel this is where God is leading me.
I love gardening so spring can't come too soon. 8-> We bought a boat this past fall so it will be competing with the gardening in the spring. In the winter I finish up decorating/renovating projects inside and plan my gardens. My youngest graduates from high school in June and will be heading to college in September. I retired from the military 7 years ago but my husband is still in the military.
My first consult appointment with Dr. Aslam is March 17th!! I have set up my dietician appointment and mental health appointment, so I have started on my path to better health. :-) My PCP and orthopedic surgeon are cheering me on, as are my family. I would head for surgery tomorrow, but I know I will have to practice patience. 0:-)
3/11/05 Well it's for certain I will be having surgery! Hopefully I can have the WLS at the same time. Had trouble with my gallbladder since last Sunday and the ultrasound on Thursday shows I'm filled with gallstones and the gallbladder has to come out. I would love to have the surgery for both the end of April, but I don't know if this darn gallbladder will wait that long. Here's hoping! My DH's insurance covers the rny without requiring approval! Still don't know which way I want to go...rny or lapband. I should know more Thursday.
3/15/05 Four down!!! Mental Health in place, Dietician consult...Gallbladder ultrasound...PCP letter....
3/17/05 Had my consult!! :-) Went really well and I'm psyched! Literally!! lol Set up my psych appointment, respiratory therapy appointment, and pylori test....I'm on a roll!!!! All these are within a week!!! Way to go!!! Will have my requirements done soon and then it's say my prayers for a quick response. Gallbladder still kicking but manageable with meds. Have weaned myself off from Diet Coke and switched to water. Wasn't as tough as I though it would be. I'm keeping positive on this and can't wait until it's my day to be on the "losin' side"
3/25/05 Finally finished all my requirements. Respiratory therapy done last week...passed the pylori yesterday and took the psych test last night. Now it's just wait until all the reports come in and it is submitted for approval. Gallbladder is still hanging in there for the moment! :-)
4/14/05 Called to check on the status of my packet. Was told that it was submitted and first denial received. It was expected that they would deny the first time and Jeannie will send in the appeal letter shortly I was told. My DH's insurance doesn't require approval so I'm not really worried, but I would prefer lapband, and it is questionable whether they will approve anything but gastric bypass.I will just have to wait and see!
4/16/05 I am trying not to focus on the progress of the appeal and am starting to enjoy spring and all the good things that come with it. Was at the PCP yesterday for a checkup on my gb,and the flu, and sinus infection (yea, it's been an awesome...not...month) and learned that I had dropped 6 lbs!!! Duh!!! Not really hard with the GB limiting my diet!!Work is really busy and many spring projects to keep my mind off the wait....I am going to count my blessings patiently until I have more answers! 243-237-135 goal -6lbs (feels good to put that in!!!)
4/23 In the past few days I have gotten my denial letters for the lapband from my primary and secondary insurance. Jeannie told me to expect that. Supposedly it takes an appeal to get them going. Well today I received a letter from my primary stating that they had received my appeal letter from Dr A. and they would make a decision within 20 days. Deeeeeep breath!!!! Practice patience! 0:-)
5/12/05 I am APPROVED!!!! I got my letter today! I'm calling the Dr's office tomorrow and hopefully will get a surgery date soon! My gallbladder is so bad right now, but I have a project at work I have to complete for my own piece of mind before I would feel comfortable taking time off! Aiming for the end of the month, if I can hold out that long! Let's see:-D
5/13/05 Friday the 13th is a lucky day for me. I have a surgery date ....May 25th. I will say goodbye to my gallbladder and hello to my new lapband! Awesome trade! :-)
5/24/05 Tomorrow is surgery! I can't wait!! :-) I'm scheduled as the first surgery at 7:30 am. Pics and weigh in tomorrow before I head to the hospital. Soon I will be a loser!!! :-)
5/31/05 Day 6 after surgery and I'm feeling better. Down to 223, about 20 lbs from the start of my WLS journey. About 8 of it after surgery. My gallbladder was pretty bad and recovery from it has slowed me down. Being allergic to percoset hasn't helped either. Taking fluids fine and working on the protein.
7/2/05 Well it's a little over 5 weeks since surgery. Hard to believe how fast time has gone. I got my first fill of 1.5 cc on Tuesday, before Dr A retired. Boy, what a difference it has made. Before the restriction, it was getting so that I could eat as much as I wanted of everything. I was afraid that I would gain all the weight back! Anyways, with restriction, it seems comfortable and the scales are showing faster weight loss. I was 243 on my initial visit, 236 on the day of surgery, and am now 215 lbs. Wooowee! Feels good and my knees certainly appreciate it!
7/4/05 Happy 4th of July! A little short of 6 weeks and I finally reached 30 lbs of weight lost! I'm at 213 today! :-)
8/3/05 9 weeks from surgery and I'm at 208. I will admit I ate whatever I wanted for a two weeks vacation but I still am down 5 lbs in a month. Feels good! The weight dropped quickly but my body is just now catching up. All of a sudden nothing fits and I have spent the evening rummaging through boxes in the attic finding clothes that I haven't worn in 5-6 years. Came home at lunch time to change clothes because I couldn't stand walking around in baggy clothes any longer. 35 lbs down and 60 to go hopefully. Gets easier as time goes by!
8/21/05 Got a fill to 2 cc's and it really helps. Seems I lost some of my previous 1.5 cc's from my first fill. This fill was way easier than the first!
9/13/05 It's been over a month and I'm at 203. Just can't seem to get into the 190's. I can't say I have been watching what I eat too closely but I haven't been overeating either. A lot of stress issues at home with my 18 year old settling in at college and my husband going through a tough time right now. Good thing I'm not a stress eater! Just not much emphasis on the weight. Fortunately it seems like everything I put on is baggy on me. Finally broke into size 18 in pants and size large in tops. No more plus size department for me! I am actually getting a waist back too! Feels awesome! Switched to Maine Bariatrics and Dr. McKee. With Dr Aslam semi-retired, I felt I needed more full-time medical support. I miss the support groups too. Scheduled for my first fill with Dr McKee early in October.
8/24/06 Been almost a year. It's certainly been a tough one. Lost my mother-in-law last fall and almost lost my dad to heart attack, open heart surgery and then throat cancer. DH had kidney surgery twice last fall. Through it all, I only added a few pounds and was able to hold my own until this past summer when I was able to jump start myself again and finally start dropping weight again.
Started back on the program the middle of July and really started exercising and walking. It slowed down my weight loss but I have been really dropping clothes size. Mostly size 14-16 now and my last few 18's are really bagging. Just trying to make it through the summer with the clothes I have. Went to LL Bean today and was able to buy a size 12 winter jacket. 2 winters ago my favorite coat was my red peacoat size 1X. Last winter I was able to buy a size 16-18....today I'm at a 12!! Yipeee!!! I know I lost almost a year of weight loss time, but without the band I probably would have gained a lot back. With my lapband buddy...I was able to hold my own.
Only drawback with this weight loss is that my wrinkles are beginning to show. When you are overweight, the wrinkles don't show as much because they are puffed out. With weight loss, they are there for all to see. That's ok, I'm 56 and feel better now than I did 10 years ago. I can fast walk 2 miles now and couldn't make it around the block before surgery due to my arthritis. I did learn what was holding me back so long. I had a flouroscope back in July because I complained to the Dr that I could easily eat a whole plate of food with no problem and then be hungry an hour later. He did the flouroscope and learned that my band is just fine and I have just a little opening but I am one of those rare people who do not have the nerve sensitivity to sense when I am full. I just keep stacking the food up without getting any signals.
The way I solved this was to start back at first base with liquids, then mushies and then very small portions. I push the protein first and then the veggies. Weight started coming off pretty well after that. I am at 197 and so happy to be in the onederlands now. Thought I'd never drop below 200...hovered there for what seemed to be forever.
But I'm back on the program and determined to make it this time. Just is taking me a little longer...
May 2010 I'm in my 160's and feeling so much better! Knees are a lot happier now and I love wearing size 12's!