Tamara V.

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Well not too naughty!  I'm supposed to be on full liquids until Tuesday and I had a carnation instant breakfast Monday night.  Bad bad bad I know.    I'm not beating myself up about it.  I'm actually really proud of myself that I selected something that wasn't too horrible for me, rather than a milk shake or something stupid like that.  Of course, that's sort of dumb since I wasn't tempted to get a milk shake...is it a win if you weren't tempted?

Things are going great.  I'm feeling better every day and am enjoying my time of with my husband at my beck and call.  Actually, I'm mostly just enjoying spending time with my husband.  He's really a wonderful guy.

Well I've been banded!  I had my surgery on July 3rd at about 9am.  Everything went very well.  The surgery was quick and I was able to walk myself from the recovery room bed to the hospital bed.  Then of course I slep for a LONG time.  I was supposed to be discharged on 7/4 but ended up having to stay an extra night due to a medication reaction.  So I was sent home on Thursday and have been doing well since.

I still tire really easily but I'm working hard to keep moving.  I want to get the gas out and build up strength!  It's hard deciding what is normal post op discomfort or if there is something I need to worry about.  My stomach just feels a little different and I'm trying to figure out what the signals are that my body is sending me.  I think I'm doing well.  No problems so far, but it's still making me nervous and worried that I will read something wrong.  I probably need to just relax!

Anyway, I'm happy to be home and happy that I have a couple of weeks off work to figure everything out.  My husband, Jeph, has been wonderful.  He's very supportive and attentive.  I don't know how I could have done this without him.

This waiting for surgery can be difficult.  It seems endless and incredibly fast at the same time.  I've done my pre-op appointments.  They had a little class about what to expect in the hospital and right afterwards the same day as my pre-op.  

I've signed up for a couple of studies and will be busy with several appointments associated with that until the end of June.  

I'm really excited for surgery and staying focused on losing weight until then.  I want to have a healthy liver the day of surgery!  

Anyway, things are going well.  I'm excited and happy to have things moving along.

Yea!  I have a date!!  July 3rd is my surgery date.  I'll be having Lap Band surgery at OHSU.  I'm so excited!

I'm a tiny bit disappointed at the same time.  I know I should just be grateful to have a date!  It's just that I'm planning to start grad school in late June.  Having my surgery on the 3rd is going to put a kink in those plans but I can live with it!

Well I'm doing good this week.  I had my upper GI on Thursday.  They found a small hiatal hernia and mild reflux.  I'm not sure what that means for me surgery wise but the radiologist seemed to think it wasn't a big deal.  

And I weighed this morning.  My husband and I have been weighing every Saturday morning.  It's sort of a contest but there is no prize involved...except feeling good of course.  But I lost 8.8 pounds this week!  I'm not sure how I did it but I'm pretty pleased.  Obviously it's not something to count on happening often, but those big numbers sure do feel good!

I'm scheduled for the motility and ph test on April 14th.  I'm disappointed that it takes so long to get in, but I know the time will fly.  

Plus!  I went to the gym yesterday and met with a personal trainer.  I purchased five sessions just to help me get started.  I feel great after working out yesterday and plan to go again tomorrow.

Finally, my BMI is below 50!  I know it doesn't seem like a big deal when you are so overweight...but it really feels great!

Well I guess it's true that you should be careful what you ask for.  I'm proceeding with the necessary testing to see if I'm a good candidate for Lap Band.  

I'm scheduled for an upper GI tomorrow.  This is no big deal...a little bit of pain with the barium swallow and all, but really not a problem.

But I'm also waiting for a call to schedule an Esophageal Manometry Study and an Ambulatory 24-Hour Esophageal pH Study.  Don't these sound like a whole lot of fun?  Well I've been reading up on them and they really are going to be a true joy.  They both involve tubes down my nose...one for 24 hours!  Yikes!

Needless to say, I'm a little anxious about this.  But I'm not complaining!  I'm so excited to be able to get the Lap Band that I would be willing to put up with quite a bit!

That's how I feel these days...up and then down!  One minute I'm on the top of the world and the next I feel like I want to scream...or cry!

I recently decided that the Lap Band procedure is really the surgery I want.  I was really excited because I contacted my insurance and they said it was covered.  Then I contacted the surgeon's office and they said it wasn't but they would call the provider rep and verify.  So of course I couldn't just let it be...I had to call the insurance company again myself.  And this time they told me that no, the surgery wasn't covered.

This was Friday so I spent the weekend in turmoil trying to decide if I was going to go ahead with the bypass, wait 1 to a million years for my insurance to agree to pay for the Lap Band, pay for it myself, or just give up.  Then Monday morning I got an email from my surgeon's office telling me their provider rep told them the Lap Band IS covered.  So do I trust this?  I'm going to move forward and hope this is true.  

So now I'm excited again, but reservedly so.  I'm going to set up an appointment with the surgeon tomorrow and get the ball rolling.  I need them to check me out and make sure I qualify for the Lap Band.  

Oh! And I lost .2 pounds this week.  Not amazing but it's still losing.  I can't complain about that!

Well good news.  This week I lost another 3.4 pounds!  I've been really lucky with my weight loss.  I'm feeling good and am doing great.  I do need to get my exercise routine figured out though.  I'm so off and on.  It's frustrating.  I really want to go to the gym but by the end of the day I'm just too wiped out.

I also found out in the last week that Blue Cross will now cover the Lap Band.  I'm really pleased about this.  I'm hoping this will be seemless process.

It's been a pretty good week! I've lost 3.8 more pounds, a total of 27.4 overall but 17.8 since my initial appointment with the surgeons office. I also got a letter of approval from Blue Cross, my insurance, for all of the pre-operative requirements. Of course, this is a long way from surgery approval, but I can't complain.

Well things are going well. I've lost 14 pounds since my initial visit with the surgeon's office (almost 22 since I decided to do surgery)  and am feeling great. I've started talking seriously with my family about the surgery and answering their questions and concerns. I've been pleased with the responses I'm getting. I was worried I would get a lot of the "why don't you just diet?" stuff. Everyone has been very supportive though and I'm feeling good about my decision. I'm feeling really energized and have started deep cleaning the whole house. This is not something I could usually be enticed to do but I've been really excited to get things looking sharp so that I can feel comfortable at home after the surgery. Of course I don't even have a surgery date yet and am probably 2-3 months out...but why be a buzz kill for myself???