Kim S.

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Wow - Can't believe it has been so long since my last update.  I'm still here and still losing weight - slowly but surely.  I had a long stretch (Jan to June) with only a pound or two of weight loss but I lost two clothing sizes and think my body was struggling to get below a "set point".  Anyway, I suddenly dropped 8 pounds in June and now am stable and slowly going down from my new point (249 lbs).  I haven't had a fill since January and still don't feel like I need one.  Some days I am hungrier than others but the amount of food I can eat continues to be restricted and life with the lap-band is good.

Well, after cancelling my fill on Friday on Monday I was hungry enough to eat paint off the walls!  I called my surgeon's office back and got a fill appt for Nov. 6th.  I struggled all week with being hungry even an hour after eating a good meal.  According to the Dr's scale I'm down 49.5 so far total and she told me she was very happy with my progress which surprised me as I felt I should have lost more by now.  She pulled back the saline and felt some was missing (there's a whole negative pressure issue with the VG band and she didn't pull back aggressively) so she gave me a fill of .5 cc, which gives me a total fill somewhere between 6.5 cc and 9.1cc *shrug*.

I could definitely feel the difference and even sat in the waiting room and sipped a second cup of water just to be sure things were ok.  I'm on liquids and things are going/staying down fine but restriction is definitely back.

I'm going to see a personal trainer 2x per week and doing 30 minutes on the elliptical 2-3 times a week.  I always do the elliptical before or after my PT sessions but my schedule has been so chaotic that I'm struggling to get the a few extra gym sessions in.  I know I need to do it but it's still tough.

I weighed myself today and I'm officially down 50 pounds!!!! Woo Hoo.  I really wanted to hit a pound a week for the whole year and with 2 months until my bandiversary I've made it.  My next big goal is about 10-12 pounds away, which is when I'll be at the low weight (254) I hit in 2003 on my last yo-yo cycle (doing Atkins) before I finally got serious about WLS.  It is so exciting and motivating to see a big number/goal tick by.  Clothes that even recently were too tight in the waist are fitting fine.

I haven't had a fill since Aug. 28th (I'm at 8.6 cc in my VG band) and just moved a fill appointment scheduled for this Friday.  I definitely don't need a fill, not even a tweak, and much as I'd love the "good job" from my surgeon I don't want the drive, the sitting around waiting, etc. when I know I don't need a fill.  I moved the appt to Dec. 11 and the secretary pushed that I should come in sooner as my doctor likes to see her patients monthly but next month is crazy for me so I stuck to my guns.

I'm off to update my ticker lol.

Ok, I think I am finally getting somewhere. I have started going to the gym 3x a week and am trying to get a walk or two into the week as well. I've signed on with a personal trainer and can definitely feel the difference as she gets me to use muscles that I didn't even know existed. We're starting off slow with isometrics and core strengthening stuff. Saw my surgeon yesterday and we decided to leave my fill at 8.6 cc. I'm not feeling much hunger and lost 6 pounds in 5 weeks. I'll see her again in 3 weeks. I've started using SparkPeople, at least a few days a week, to get a better feel for how I'm doing on calories and daily breakdown of protein/fat/carb. I'm actually doing better than I thought and it is encouraging me to keep making good choices.

Haven't updated in awhile but things have been going along good. I still see my Dr. for a fill once a month. At the beginning of June I really wasn't feeling restricted and we were eating take-out a lot as we were flat-out trying to get ready for a big family trip and all the end-of-year stuff with the kids at school. Sure enough - no weight loss. Five days after the fill, we went away for a month and we were back to cooking normal meals and I walked on the beach (in the water) and hour a day (about 2 miles) and five days after coming home, saw my dr. and I was down 9 pounds - hurray!! I am struggling to keep up with my exercise - always something I do because I know I need to not because I want to. When the kids go back to school in September I will go back to the gym. I drive them to school in my workout clothes and then go straight to the gym - no excuses. Right now I am walking on my treadmill at home as it is just too hot and humid to be outside. My eating is doing good and I'm at least close to my sweet spot. I eat when I'm hungry, usually a small breakfast or protein shake and regular bandster lunch/dinner. Some days I have a snack and some I don't. I am down 38 pounds and am finally seeing it in my clothes. I did some sorting in my closet and things that I didn't think would fit did! I was a size 28 at the time of my surgery but I had just refused to buy more clothes at a bigger size so most of the clothes in my closet were 24 and just wedged myself into them - they were stretchy, can you tell :). So now I finally fit into my 24's but it feels like I haven't dropped clothing sizes because I'm still wearing the same stuff as 40 pounds ago it just looks better. However, during my closet diving I found some of my 22's fit and others are almost there. I can't wait to get rid of my current clothes, which I feel like I've been wearing way too long!! Alright, enough sitting on the computer - the treadmill is staring at me haha.

April 6, 2006: Weighed in today at 286, down 30 pounds so far! I don't think I'm at my "sweet spot" but since my last fill on March 3rd I am defintely having some restriction. I think I am eating too fast or not chewing enough - something I need to work on. I will be going along fine and then have this horrible feeling in my chest. I will stop and burp some (and often get up and move around) and then I am fine. No PB'ing but I'd rather not feel that way. Other times I eat ok so I suspect it is the WAY I eat, not what I eat. I'm definitely having a harder time with bready things like pizza or calzone (which I'd been able to eat a slice or two of prior to this fill). My exercise has taken a major blow. I developed a major sinus infection and it has triggered my asthma. With the tree pollen starting I feel like I can barely breathe, let alone exercise. I am doing my neubulizer 3 times a day and trying to avoid starting predinsone so early in the season. I will be going away for two weeks the end of April and the change of scenery will help with my allergies and let me exercise an hour a day, I can't wait!

Ok, I've been bad about getting my profile updated. I had my first fill on Feb. 6th. At that appt I was down 10-12 total since surgery but very little for the last two weeks of January. I found out I do have the VG band and the Dr. put 3 cc's in it. She was training the PA and it took 3 jabs to get the needle in but it didn't hurt. Did 2 days liquids and 2 days mushies, lost 2 pounds in a few days and then went away and proceeded to gain 5 pounds!! Some of that was water weight from travelling and when I went in for my next appt on March 3rd I was down 3.5 pounds for February. I told my doctor I had been having no restriction (I even ate a whole Big Mac one day!) so she gave me another 3 cc's for a total of 6. This time it also took 3 pokes but it hurt more - she bent the needle on the first try. It took a day or two but I definitely have restriction, especially with hard protein like steak or chicken. I get maybe 2 oz down and that is it. I can still have some fruit/veggies with it and I am psyched. I am now down 25 pounds since I started my pre-op diet in Dec. and in another 1.4 pounds will be under 290 and never to see it again!! I am seeing a difference in my face and in my clothes. I travel a fair bit and can't wait until I don't need the seatbelt extender anymore. When I flew in Feb I could just barely fasten the seatbelt but it wasn't comfortable enough to stay like that. I fly again on March 11, I'll let you know!!

About 6-7 days post-op virtually all my restriction has disappeared. I can eat/drink anything although I do fill up on much less. I spent the time up to New Year's Day babying myself and letting myself have small portions of "real" food as they were sitting better in my stomach than the liquids - go figure. Had a nasty dry-heave experience with my medication on Christmas Day but no episodes other than that. All the steri-strips have come off but I have two bigger clear dermal bandages over the port incision and one other. The port area is sore but I can sleep on my side. I lost 8 pounds in the initial post-op period and another two pounds in the last week or so for a total of 10 pounds since surgery!! My next big goal is to get back on my treadmill and back to the gym!

Got home from the hospital today. The surgery went well and the hospital stay was fine. I was slow to get back on liquids so I ended up staying two days but I am home and have had a real shower and am slowly working on fluids/protein. The area around my port is still quite sore and I'm still full of gas but hopefully that will be better every day. Drinking is an adventure - sip, sip! Definitely not as bad as the c-section I had with child #2.

I had my final pre-op visits today. I am down 7 pounds on the Dr's scale (I think 2 of those pounds have to do with clothing choices!). Told the Dr. that before Christmas worked better than after for me and let me know if there were any cancellations and we went right out and rescheduled for Dec. 21st - time for the happy dance!! I have all but a few things I need in place around the house and will do some cleaning and final Christmas preparations. Will definitely be a winter solstice to remember - talk about the longest night of the year :-D.