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harliquinn

LAP-BAND Patients

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Blog Entries posted by harliquinn

  3. keeping track of fills.

    · harliquinn · 09/29/2010 14:37

    previously i was way too tight and ended up in the ER for a complete unfill.
     
    one month ago, we started my fills all over again and started slowly with .6 cc. yesterday i got an additional 1 cc. so right now i have a grand total of 1.6 ccs in a 10 cc band. and thats fine by me since i need to take things slowly.
  5. this has been a rough day. the surgery clinic called, not to ask me if i wanted or needed a fill this month but to TELL me that i have a fill appointment this month that i need to attend. nevermind the fact that my last fill was less than 2 weeks ago and that im STILL not technically allowed back on solids yet! why my surgeon insists on being such a bully and insists on a week of liquids and a week of mushies after every fill, ill never know. :bored:
    but im tired of being bullied and pushed around by him! ive been eating right, counting calories, and exercising DAILY and he still gives me hell. :smile2:
     
    and then our last pet rat (who was 3 years old) had to be euthanized tonight due to having a large mass on her belly and her quality of life was going downhill.:wink:
     
    since i had so few calories all day (65 for breakfast and about 100 for lunch), i had half a cheese steak for dinner. and the stupid cheese steak place managed to completely muck up my order and it tasted awful.
     
    i might take a walk later tonight, i dont really know. this has been a really upsetting day and i just want to crawl into bed.:eek:
  6. when i asked him how many calories a day im supposed to be eating (when i had a tight fill), he said 1200-1500. eating healthy food choices in the recommended amounts, im only getting in between 600-800 calories a day.
     
    and he tells me that tuna salad, fat free cottage cheese and eggs are 'bad choices' and 'should be avoided'. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? theyre high in protein in low in fat and sugar which is what he told me to look for.
     
    there is just NO pleasing the man!
    then again, he also tells me that theres no way my band could be tighter during 'that time of the month' and i KNOW thats complete BS.
  7. so i officially started a week of mushy foods today. half cup of oatmeal for breakfast. 1/4 cup Egg Beaters with cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese for lunch. still have no idea what im going to for dinner! could tuna be considered a mushy food? does it have to be mixed with mayo or something or can it be eaten plain and considered a mushy food?
     
    its such a weird feeling to feel full on such a small amount of food! weird but GOOD!:smile:
  8. ive gotten into the bad habit of hoping on the scale every morning. after losing 11 pounds between monday and wednesday, i was thrilled. on thursday i hopped on the scale only to have it tell me that i GAINED a pound! and that little bit of news resulted in a terrible day and a terrible mood. since then, despite counting calories and exercising, the scale wont budge from that cursed number!
     
    ...i think the scale may have sentience. and it may be trying to drive me mad.

  9. bad day

    · harliquinn · 09/03/2010 23:26

    im officially having a bad day. the scale told me i somehow gained a pound, i have a stress induced headache, i attempted to draw something on my digital tablet only to have the damn thing remind me how much i suck and am unworthy of owning hands. i hate everything.
     
    i want to crawl back into bed. and in fact, i might just write today off as a loss and do that because im not sure i can deal with anything today.:confused:
     
    im 29 years old. id love to know when these miserable teenage-style mood swings will END!

  11. ALL water weight??

    · harliquinn · 09/01/2010 07:20

    i had a .6cc fill on monday morning. i was 279 then. yesterday morning i was 273. and just now im 270.
     
    ive been on a full liquid diet (with protein powder added in) since monday. am i just losing water weight despite all the liquids im ingesting or do you think some of this is actual progress?:tt2:
     
    whatever it is, im happy to see the numbers going down!:thumbup:
  12. shortly after my last blog post, i ended up going in to have some of my fill removed. it helped for a short time. in june when my "girly time" arrived, my band ended up getting so tight that i was forced to go to the ER, was admitted and had my band fully emptied the following morning since i couldnt even swallow water.:thumbup:
     
    my band has been completely empty since then.
     
    i had a small fill yesterday (.6cc) and will be getting very small fills, about once a month, until i am in a good place with my band.
     
    i wish my surgeon listened to me. he really doesnt and it has lead to a lot of frustration and trouble that could otherwise have easily been avoided.
     
    anyway, after a fill, he insists on liquids for a week and then mushies for a week. kind of extreme, in my opinion but im sticking with it.
     
    ive started keeping a food and exercise journal so i can keep track of my calories, eating habits and exercise. so far, so good!:tt2:
  13. i called my bariatric coordinator and told her that i cant eat solid protein. even now, i can only sometimes get down tuna salad and cottage cheese. thats the most solid protein i can eat. vegetables are a HUGE no-no. they wont go down. no matter how long they are steamed. and today, even pureed chili wasnt going down.
     
    long story short, my band is too tight and i need a partial unfill. she passed the message to my surgeon and then called me back.
    they REFUSE to take anything out of my band. they refuse to see me until May 13th. they want me to go back on liquids for a week and then see how im doing.
     
    *cries* this is SO frustrating! they also had the nerve to tell me that im making poor food choices. HOW am i supposed to eat solid protein if solid protein gets stuck every time i eat it!? the best i can do is tuna salad and cottage cheese! nothing else will go down! i could understand getting lectured if i was eating chocolate and gummy bears...but this? how ridiculous!
     
    i called the patient advocate on base (military) and theyre going to try and get me a second opinion.
     
    arent overly tight bands more prone to slippage? im scared.
  14. i had a fill on the 2nd. total of 4ccs in a 10 cc band.
     
    i was just eating mashed potatoes, nice and slow. was about to take another bite when i realize that i could eat it...or i could leave it because i actually feel FULL.
     
    i left it. :thumbup:
     
    this is a first! im so happy!!!
  15. i got a 2 cc fill 17 days ago, bringing me to a total of 4 ccs in a 10 cc band and i find myself getting stuck nearly every day.
     
    things that go down okay:
    soft pieces of beef jerky (the dry stuff doesnt go down well even if chewed like crazy)
    egg salad
    tuna salad
    cottage cheese
    bagel chips (trying to stay away from these. too many carbs)
    chocolate (again trying to steer clear of this but its been tough this week as its my girly week and the chocolate helps my mood and cramps)
    shrimp
    cheese
    cashews and walnuts
     
    turkey and chicken and beef dont go down well. even ground turkey breast, cooked and mashed into tiny pieces in gravy....yeah even the smallest most well chewed bite gets stuck. steamed summer squash gets stuck.
    string cheese gets stuck. most solids get stuck. i think i might be a bit too tight? ive gained a few pounds due to only being able to eat soft/slider foods.
    my surgeon thinks ill need a fill in a week or two. i think thats possibly the worst idea ever. i cant imagine being even tighter.
     
    does this sound like a too-tight band?
  16. my utensils from Portion Control Concepts (http://www.portioncontrolconcepts.vpweb.com/Products.html) arrived today. hubby bought them for me. :wub:
    i chose the sleek set. theyre beautiful, very well made and an absolute joy to use! shipping was also very cheap (less than $3) and quick (arrived in just 3 business days!). what more can you ask for? i highly recommend them. normally im not a fan of advertising for companies but im really impressed with these folks.
     
    im eating slowly and eating smaller portions and for the most part, making smart choices but i think im still overeating. ive got 4ccs in a 10cc band and ive got a fair amount of restriction. i could probably do with an additional 1cc.
     
    im eating roughly 3/4 of a cup to 1 cup of food per meal and stopping when i feel full but a few minutes after i stop, i feel even fuller. i dont like the sensation at all. im going to cut my meals down to a half cup or so and see how that goes.
     
    my surgeon asked me how long im taking to eat each meal. i told him about 30 minutes and he told me i should be taking an hour. try as i might, i cant drag a meal out for that long. its difficult to make a meal last 30-40 minutes. an hour seems way too long! at that point, my pouch would be emptying, wouldnt it?
     
    im curious to know how many ccs you guys have in your bands! also, about how much food do you eat?
    and how long are you taking to eat your meals?
     
    i welcome any and all input!:scared2:

  17. rice is evil.

    · harliquinn · 04/13/2010 05:18

    i had shrimp and rice for dinner. the shrimp went down fine., the rice did too. until the last bite, which promptly got stuck. :thumbup:
     
    an hour of extreme discomfort later, im finally unstuck.
     
    good lord. ill be avoiding rice forever i think.

  18. so very thirsty!

    · harliquinn · 04/07/2010 04:20

    dinner took 37 minutes to eat. it was 2 scrambled eggs. definitely feeling some restriction. i think ill hit my sweet spot at my next fill....which is next month.
     
     
    it is REALLY hard not to drink while eating and waiting an hour for a drink is HELL!
     
    so thirsty...

  19. first fill: DONE!

    · harliquinn · 04/02/2010 18:10

    i just got back from my first official fill.
     
    i had 2 ccs in my band, the surgeon wanted to put in 3 more. i told him id rather ease into it and just get 2 more rather than 3. he agreed that was fine.
     
    fill was done with the fluoroscope. i felt a tiny pinch and some pressure. no pain at all. drank a cup of water and IMMEDIATELY felt the restriction! :w00t:
     
    then i watched him pull the needle out. HOLY JEEZ! big freaking needle! it didnt hurt one bit tho!
     
    im hoping this will help jump start my weight loss again.
     
    im back on a week of liquids followed by a week of mushies before starting solids again.
     
     
    and the journey continues!

  20. is this normal???

    · harliquinn · 03/29/2010 14:03

    im 4 and a half weeks post op. i havent lost any weight in at least 3 weeks. i can eat pretty much anything (tomato is problematic.)
     
    is it normal to stop losing weight so early on? will a fill help this?
     
    it seems like once i started mushies and then solids, the weight stopped coming off. :thumbup:

  22. One month!

    · harliquinn · 03/25/2010 07:52

    it has officially been one month since i got my band. <3 already its my best friend. even tho i dont have restriction yet, its teaching me how to eat properly. tiny bites, chewing well, eating slowly.
     
    i hope my band will be with me for years to come.

  25. belly pic!

    · harliquinn · 03/21/2010 02:25

    3 weeks post op. pic taken just before i removed the last 2 steri-strips. p.s. im not really yellow. its just bad lighting. :mad:
     
    all the steri-strips were removed a week ago and 2 new ones were placed over the port incision. those are now gone. :eek:
     

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