First Fill Down

I had my first fill for my LapBand Monday afternoon.  I have to admit I was pretty full of apprehension and was not at all sure what to expect.  I think I got a little lucky, though, that I had to schedule my fill early as I got a doctor who actually believes in giving you a local of Lidocaine to numb the area first.  Other doctors told us they didn't give an anasthetic as the procedure simply involves injecting silicon into the port using a 22 guage needle, which at first didn't seem to bad, but after the procedure I am glad I had the local as there was a lot of pressure on the area, and I can imagine that it might hurt more than I really anticipated.

After the doctor injected an additional 2cc's of silicon into the band he had me drink a little water to make sure the fill hadn't tightened the Band down too far.  I have to say it felt a little strange, and at first I thought it had been overfilled, as it seemed to take a little while for the water to move through.  By that evening, though I was feeling pretty normal.  They do require that you go back on a liquids-only diet for 24 hours post-fill, and that you take it easy and chew carefully when you start eating normal food again as the last thing they want you to do is throw up because you can't get the food down.  For me, though, everything is back to normal.  I had solid food immediately after the 24 hour period was over, and was fine.  Granted, I do have to admit that I chew my food obsessively.  I have heard from other's who have had the LapBand that getting food stuck is truly unpleasant and am trying my best not to suffer through the experience!

Anyway, I feel back to normal, not hungry between meals or overnight.  Looking forward to losing more weight!

Filling

So, I was scheduled for my first fill on my Lap Band on February 28, a month after my first post surgery follow-up appointment.  This is the usual amount of time recommended for your first post-operative fill, but it turns out I am going to need to have my first fill done sooner.  This has turned out to be a source of frustration for me, as during all the pre-operative seminars the doctors and nurses stressed the importance of coming in right away for a fill if you start feeling hungry between meals or if you notice your weight loss slowing down.  I called on Monday of this week (Febraury 13) to try to reschedule, but had to leave a message for the scheduler (who didn't bother to call me back until the following day).  Luckily I am proactive, so I called her later in the day again on Monday but she told me there weren't any appointments available until the 24th.  Not satisfied with this answer, I told her I was frustrated, because we had been instructed to call and get fills as soon as we noticed any changes in our appetite otherwise the effectiveness of the surgery is nullified.  Somehow, miraculously a time opened up on the 20th.  Still not as immediate a response as we were promised during our orientations, but better than the 24th or the original 28th. 

In the meantime, my weightloss has slowed to a crawl, and I get hungry at night to the point that sometimes it keeps me awake.  I think this is an issue I will be addressing with the Doctor on the 20th.  If they don't have enough available appointments to take care of their patients post-op, then perhaps they need to extend their hours or hire more people who can do the fills.  Not, I imagine, they will be doing so, but I plan on being vocally aggressive in ensuring my success with this procedure.  I didn't go through surgery to have my goals sabotaged by their poor preparation.

Anyway...that's my vent for today...lol... 


Surgery date:  January 20, 2012
Pre-op weight: 271
Weight today: 250.8

Reality Bites

So, it's been a few weeks since my surgery now, and I am adjusting pretty well to the new lifestyle.  The toughest thing for me, honestly, has been facing the reality that this is a LIFE LONG commitment to change.  I was driving around town after one of my appointments with the Doctor, and was looking at all the places around town that offer food (and since I live in Las Vegas, there is a plethora of really good Foodie stuff to be had), and I realized that unlike diets I have tried in the past there is no having a Cheat-day after you've had gastric surgery.  You can't go off your "diet" for a day just because your friend is visiting from out of town, you can't binge on Ben and Jerry's when you've received some bad news, and you can't order dessert even though you know you are really full.

I find myself adopting a philosophy from the wicked food critic from the movie Ratatouille, Anton Ego, "I don't like food, I love it, and if I don't love it I don't swallow."  If you are only able to eat 4 ounces of food in a meal, why not make it delicious?  I realize our dieticians are telling us to alter our mindsets about food as a pleasurable experience, and that we should instead look at food merely as fuel.  This is a philosophy, however, that I will probably never be able to fully embrace.  I love to cook, and good tasting food is simply more satisfying.  While I do admit there are times when it is necessary to just get the meal in as we are on such strict eating restrictions, I really do feel that most of the time it will be possible to not only satisfy my new dietary requirements but to satisfy my tastebuds too. 

Surgery date: January 20, 2012
Beginning weight: 271 lbs.
Current weight: 251 lbs
Goal weight: 150 lbs

Making homemade Valentines this year

Guest post written by Chelsea Rooper
One of my resolutions for this year was to make some more crafts. I look at craft blogs a lot but never took the time out to actually make any of those crafts. I would say that I'm doing pretty well with it so far already. I also thought that I'd take advantage of Valentine's Day and make some really cute cards!
I've bookmarked so many craft blogs by now, that I decided to browse through some of them to get some ideas for cards. When I was doing that I ran across information on debtcounseling and decided that it's something I need to check out because i need to straighten out my finances.
I've made a homemade Valentine for each of my family members and can't wait to see what each of them think of them! It's just a little something that I thought would be nice and because they're homemade they might treasure them a little more! I know that I would treasure some homemade cards a little bit more! I even made one just for myself because I loved the way that they were turning out so much!