Michelle B.

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O.k., so the holidays were tough.  I discovered that candy and cookies go down easily.  In fact, they go down easier than the right foods.  As of Jan. 3 I had gained a total of 12 pounds.  I have taken 3 off so far.  I've found it very hard to get back on the diet.  I do well for breakfast and lunch, but I lose it in the afternoon and evening.  My band had been too tight, so the last time I went for a fill I had .5 cc taken out.  I can now swallow my pills easier, but everything else goes down easier as well.  I think I might need to have about .25 cc put back in.  I have an appointment Wed. and I'll talk to the PA then.  I don't want to be throwing up and risking having my band slip, but I need as much restriction as I can get.  I am VERY addicted to carbs.  Today I had a shake at 8:00 a.m. and I was starving by 10:00.  Luckily I was working so I couldn't eat.  Before, when my band was too tight, I could go until 12:15 no problem.  I'm hoping adding a bit back will help.  I also need to find the will power I had at the beginning.  I have gone back to the pool to swim, but I have to work back up to 10 laps.  I did 7 last time, but I was pretty worn out.  It's amazing how a few pounds and several weeks off can get you so out of shape.  I need to keep telling myself that I can do this.  The first 50 dropped so easily.  The next 75 will be much harder.  I really wish my insurance would have approved me for the sleeve.

I'm 3 weeks, 4 days post-op and haven't had to take any insulin in about 2 1/2 weeks.  My blood sugars have been running between 80 and 120, with occasional dips into the 70's.  I called my doctor and she took me off the Actos.  My only diabetes med now is Metformin.  Hopefully I can back off that one soon, too.  I stalled in my weight loss for a few days, but I am finally down a few pounds this morning.  I've now lost a total of 39 pounds.  We have a trip planned to the outlets in Williamsburg in Dec.  By then Greg and I should both be ready for some new clothes.  I have 2 pairs of pants that have been sitting in my closet for 4-5 years waiting for me to loss some weight.  I tried them on the other day and they fit!  They're even a bit baggy.  It feels good, but I'm ready for my first fill.  I still want to eat!

It's been one week.  I've lost 9 pounds since surgery, 29 pounds since I started the liquid diet, and a total of 36 pounds since I started this journey back in March.  I'm feeling pretty good, but I am so tired of protein shakes!  I can't wait until the mushy stage in 6 more days!  I did have some Halloween candy last night and a little today.  I know I shouldn't, but I couldn't help it.  It all went down fine and I still lost a pound from yesterday.  We'll see if it catches up with me tomorrow.

I'm 3 days post-op now and feeling pretty good.  Drinking is still slow, but getting better.  The hardest part is taking my pills.  I used to take a whole handful at a time.  Now I take them one at a time and it's still hard.  2 of them are pretty big.  I may try cutting them in half.  I'm finally back to the weight I was the day of surgery.  I was up 3 pounds when I came home from the hospital.  I was told that might happen because of the IV fluids.  Now I should see my wieght continue to drop.  My parents brought my 4-year-old son home last night.  He came in very tentatively.  I think he was afraid to touch me.  I told him it was ok to give me a hug and he did.  Then I showed him my stomach.  He thought it was pretty neat.  It's hard not being able to pick him up.  I can't wait until 2 months are up so I can pick him up again.  2 months will be Christmas Day.  That will be my best Christmas present! 

Day 11 of the 2 week liquid diet pre-surgery.  I'm doing o.k., but I really want to eat!  I've lost 16 pounds so far.  I know my liver has got to be in better shape than it was.  Only 4 more days until surgery.  I'm ready.  I'm looking forward to starting the next phase of my journey.  I'll keep you posted.

I finally got the word that my appeal for the gastric sleeve was denied.  I was submitted for approval for the Lap band and was approved.  My surgery is set for Monday, Oct. 25.  That means I start the liquid diet on Monday, Oct. 11.  I knew it was coming, but I'm not looking forward to it.  The only protein shakes I've been able to tolerate are the Atkins shakes, but they only have 15 grams of protein each.  I need to find something with more protein.  I may just have to use the powders.  It seems like no matter what I do they never get mixed enough and most of them taste pretty bad.  I guess I can deal with it for 4 weeks.  It will be worth it in the end.  I'm looking forward to being thinner this Christmas.  Hopefully I'll be able to stick with the diet through the holidays.  Wish me luck!

I heard back from the surgeon's office.  My request for a gastric sleeve was denied.  My insurance requires that you have a BMI of 50 or above.  I'm only at 43.  My surgeon was hoping they would approve it based on my co-morbidities.  He's appealing it, but it will probably be denied again.  If it is I will switch back to the Lab Band, which was what I had originally thought I would do.  The wait continues...

We had our 6th month appointment with the PA yesterday.  I lost 7 pounds, Greg lost 5 pounds.  She was very happy, especially since we were in Disney World for a week this month.  We have now meet all the requirements to be submitted to insurance.  Hopefully we will be approved.  I will be going first.  Greg has a torn rotator cuff.  He will be having surgery on that soon.  Then he has to wait at least 6 weeks until they will do his bariatric surgery.  Now we just wait for a date.  I was hoping to be able to do the surgery over the summer.  School starts in a week.  I don't want my surgery date until mid to late September now.  I teach Elementary band & strings.  I need to get my program going before I take time off.  Our office said it usually takes 1-2 weeks to get approval then surgery will be scheduled for 4-6 weeks after that.  That puts me mid September at the earliest, which would be perfect.  I'll keep you posted.

We went to see the PA in our surgeon's office for our 3rd month pre-op diet appointment.  We didn't do so well.  I gained back 7 pounds.  I'm having a very hard time sticking to the diet.  We brought our documentation from the nutritionist we saw about a year ago.  Unfortunately we didn't see her 3 months in a row, so we can't use that for insurance purposes.  I've decided to wait the full 6 months and have my surgery in September.  They're going to try to get my husband in earlier by submitting him under medical neccessity.   We're hoping he can have his surgery sometime in June.   He has a sleep study next week, then they'll submit and we'll see what they say.  We're going to Disney World the 3rd week in July, so he needs to either have surgery early in June so he has time to recover before we go or wait until we get back.   We're both back on the diet again, still struggling, but doing better.   I hope I can make it until September!

I went back to see the P.A. at my surgeon's office and wanted to talk about whether or not I should switch from the band to the sleeve.  I find it very hard to stick to the diet now and I'm afraid I will beat the band after surgery.  I can't seem to stay away from the carbs.  She said she was very happy that I came to this conclusion on my own because she thought all along that I would do better with the sleeve.  So, now I have definitely decided to go with the sleeve.  I still have some work to do before they can submit a request to the insurance.  She wants my husband and me to have the surgery around the same time.  I'm not sure how that's going to work, since we have an almost 4 year old at home.  We'll see.