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My Journey to a Thinner Me

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January Problems

The first week of January, PMS came upon me, and with all the bloating, my band was very tight. I wasn't really surprised by this. It happened in December too. But it was tighter than December. But I figured I would get through it. So the PMS stopped and then it was "that time of month"... I started taking water pills to offset the bloating. Seemed to help, maybe...???? But then when I lay down at night I started coughing and coughing and coughing... nonstop. Coughing so hard that I would vomit. 1 night of no sleep. Next night, same thing happened. I am soooooo tired... I decided that I need sleep so bad I would sleep upright but I didn't have enough pillows. Ended up sleeping in the recliner. That worked. Got a few hours of sleep that way. Next night I decided to sleep in the recliner again... Coughed more that I had the night before but I did get some sleep. I see my doctor at work and ask for his recommendation and he said he thinks its acid climbing up my esophagus while I am sleeping that is causing me to cough. "That time" has been over for a few days now but I am still not over the tightness and I am still coughing. I have an appointment in 2 weeks for Dr. Martinez to remove some fluid and check my band. Hopefully everything is ok. I could have gotten an appointment sooner, but the last 2 weeks has made me loose 15 more pounds, and while I know its not good for me, I kinda like the fast weight loss. I figure I may loose a few more pounds in the next two weeks. Go over my 50 pound weight loss mark... stupid I know, but I can't afford to go down right at this very second anyway. I am getting more liquids down now, so thats better.
cnicholl

cnicholl

1
 

From first fill until January 2006

So after the fill in November, I can definately tell that I have restriction, but I can also see that Chocolate goes down way too easy. I am eating fine except for the tiny halloween chocolates that are everywhere. Thanksgiving was a joke. Everyone else ate 2 helpings of everything and I ate a slice of turkey and a scoop of mashed potatoes. Even with holiday candy abounding, I still managed to loose about 15 pounds from mid november to the 1st of January.
cnicholl

cnicholl

1
 

First Fill

I got my first fill in early November... 6 weeks after my surgery. My mom and I flew in to San Diego and decided to save some money by taking the bus and the trolley to the border. Cost 3-4 bucks each way and it was a piece of cake. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Took a cab from the border and almost got killed cuz the driver was crazy and he cut off some other cabbie and the other cabbie cut him off and started screaming at him in spanish about whatever... All i got out of the conversation was that they would discuss it again later but that my cabbied had "la passaga"... I am assuming that is the passengers?? *US*... The office was hot, and the only thing on TV was in spanish, but not a big deal. Dr. Martinez talked with me and mom for a good 15 minutes before he put 2.2 cc's in. It was very cool to watch them do it with the flourescopy.   I had no problems after the fill, and we even had lunch in TJ before taking the trolley back to the airport... Did it all in 12 hours... very cool!
cnicholl

cnicholl

1
 

Synopsis of first 6 weeks post op

Really nothing to tell. I wasn't hungry, wasn't thirsty. I did lose about 20 pounds... that was great... the last week I was finally getting to the hungry stage.
cnicholl

cnicholl

1
 

First Day Post Op

So I am up and ready to go. Dr. Ortiz's mom picks us up and takes us back to the hotel. I drink the juice from the care package they gave me but later that day, my husband and I walk down to the grocery store (about a 1/2 mile each way) to get more liquids... lots of CLight the equivilant of crystal light. A driver takes us back to the airport and we fly home... no complications.
cnicholl

cnicholl

1
 

My Experience in TJ for Surgery

So my husband and I fly down to San Diego where a driver picks us up and drives us to the beautiful Hotel Lucerna where we will stay for most of our trip. On the 14th, Dr. Ortiz's mom picks us up and drives us to the MD's office for labwork and a cardiology check, as well as to discuss diet with the dietition. While there, Dr. Ortiz calls in and asks if I want to do my surgery today instead of tomorrow. Ok, guess so... So we drive over to the hospital which is in a huge commercial center, many stories high. I get into my private room and watch little people driving around in golf carts on the golf course that I see from my window. The nurse comes in and gives me something under my tongue to calm me down and then I get an IV drip bag... Dr Ortiz comes in and chats with me for a while, explaining everything they plan on doing. Finally, they bring me to the surgery room, and I look around, nothing out of the ordinary... I lay down, and I am out like a light. Next thing you know, I am in my room again, and ready to walk around... its only been about an hour... I get up and start walking around for about 5 hours, finally the nurse comes in and gives me a sleeping pill... I guess I was annoying them. Next morning, I am up, out of bed and ready to go back to the hotel.
cnicholl

cnicholl

1
 

Next Option for Surgery

So I decide to look into who else does the surgery. I found out that Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana actually taught Dr. Atkinson how to do the surgery. Hmmm... very interesting. And its 6 grand cheaper... Even better. So I call up his office and they set me up for September 15th for surgery.
cnicholl

cnicholl

1
 

My first Choice for Surgery

So with Lapband as my surgery of choice, I decided to go to one of those seminars on WLS. Dr. Atkinson here in Vegas had a presentation. I went... everything seemed fine to me, I did my labs and went in to speak with their pyschologist. She wouldn't let me do the surgery. She says I have issues with my mother that need to be fixed before I should undertake the procedure. Basically, I put my mother's needs before my own. In theory, this could be a bad thing. But my mom puts my needs before hers too, so we are both looking out for each other. Anyway, the shrink says 6 months of therapy and then I can petition for reevaluation. Excuse me but 6 months of therapy won't change something I don't want to change... so I have to look for other options.
cnicholl

cnicholl

4
 

Synopsis of Me before Surgery

Ok, I am 29 years old. Married, no kids, 2 great danes, and a cat. I started gaining weight back in 6th grade... I was wearing size 16. By the time I was a Senior in high school I weighed over 210. I am 5 ft 8 inches tall. I play tennis competitively and I love being active, but I still gained weight. By the time I turned 29 last May, I weight 285. I have been dieting since I was in the 6th grade too... Being that close to 300 scared me to death. I started looking into WLS and the band was my best choice.
cnicholl

cnicholl

1
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