Mrs Husker

Hi Momlambert, Thanks for you kind words. I am signed up for sparkspeople and am going to try and stick to it with journaling my food and exercise. I think that sparks is a great program, but it is really busy in all the stuff that they have on there and it does sidetrack me. I guess I am just scattered brained. Blessings,

Hey people, Hope no one minds that I started this months thread. I am looking to get serious about this weight loss again. Granted, I don't plan on getting a fill until I lose my chemo port, but I have got to start somewhere. I can't do much along the lines of exercise because I can't breath, but I was thinking about getting a treadmill and setting it up in the living room and just walk and walk and walk while I watch TV. I have to start losing weight or this last year of fighting for my life will be for nothing as my A1C is going up and my knees are starting to hurt again. So I really need to get back on the "band". I am also going to start coming in here more often and going to our monthly meeting here in town. I was thinking about doing Slim-fast for a while but just can't seem to commit to it. I like eating my food, not drinking it. I just hate counting calories and fat grams. Guess I better get over it or I am never going to lose this weight. I know I can count on you guys to keep me going and get me going. Blessings

Hey everyone!! Just thought I would check in and see what was going on with all you. It looks like things are slow. Hope things pick back up soon. Well, last month had a scare that the cancer had spread to my liver. After an MRI and a very long weekend, I found out it hadn’t! So right now I can say that there is No Evidence of Disease (NED)!! Still short of breath when I do to much and that includes walking at t normal pace for more that a few minutes. I keep plodding along. My new motto is “Not as good as I was but nowhere near good as I am going to be”. So needless to say I haven’t given up. Now on to band related stuff. I have been unfilled for a year and I put on pretty much all the weight I had lost. Granted, this has been a year from hell so I am not too upset about that. I was told that it takes 6 months to a year (sometimes longer) for the chemo to get out of my system so trying to keep my energy level up is kind of hard. I do work for 8.5 hours a day (which I am grateful for) and when I get home I am ready for a nap. I have no energy to even cook supper. I am trying to get up earlier so I can walk in the morning. When I do that, I am good till about 6:30-7:00. But none of this is any excuse for not eating right. I do fine during the day, but I am back to my old habits of grazing after super. Heck, super is mostly carbs with very little veggies. That is something I am also going to work on as my A1C is creeping back up and I don’t want to have to go back on my diabetes meds again. I have yet to decide when I am going to remove my chemo port because of the scare last month, but until I do have it removed I can’t get a fill because I have to take horse pills for everything to prevent infections. I have to take them just to have my teeth cleaned. If I can get the antibiotics in liquid form, I might go for a fill next month if my band checks out ok. I also have another hernia that I need repaired. Oh, before I go, Momlambert, I didn’t even recognize you!! You are looking good!! Way to go!!

I know that it has been awhile and I wanted to send you all an update. I really don't remember what I posted last, so this might be a recap also. I did my 5 weeks of 5 days a week radiation (it sucked, it just zaps all your energy) and I did one day of chemo each week. That infusion was only 3 hours long. After that was done, I continued with chemo, but it went to only once every three weeks and was three time as strong and took 5 hours. I was giving Adivan to make me sleep through it and that was nice. Two weeks to the day after the first triple infusion, I lost all my hair. This includes my eyelashes, eyebrows and the hair up my nose. When I say all hair, I mean ALL of it. I just started wearing hats since its gone cold but before I just went around bald. You get the best service when you are a bald woman. I mean it. At restaurants there is no wait, in the store everyone wants to help you. So in a why it's been kind of fun. I still hate looking in the mirror, but soon my hair will be back and I will look like my old self. Had my last chemo on Sept 24 and will be going in for scans on Oct 23 getting the results back on Oct 26. Keeping my fingers crossed that it they show no evidence of disease. Still working, but I gave up cleaning my house. Was able to do some canning this year and that makes me happy as I love gardening and canning. Granted, I had to cut the garden back by half as I knew I would not be able to keep up with it. All, in all, I think I am doing fine and kicking cancers butt. I will let you know what the scans show after I get the results. I was unfilled at the beginning of this process and I've put on about 15-20 lbs, but with all the drugs and the fact the only things I could eat were not the best choices (mashed potatoes with corn became a staple because everything else tasted really bad), I don't think I did too bad. Once all the drugs are out of my system I am hoping to start walking again. I have to build up my strength and stamina. Brightest of blessings, Barb

Just had to give you a hard time on this one. I remember how upset I was about my hair falling out because of the band. Well, this past Thursday, I was at work and I ran my hand through my hair and it came out covered in hair. By 1:00 I had a bald spot the size of an plum. That night I had my husband shave it to the nub. I can't say I am bald, but there is less than 500 1/4inch hairs left on my head. To tell the truth, I think it is kind of liberating, not having to worry about my hair anymore. When it is all gone, I will just go around with my bald beautiful head showing, until then I have some pretty funky scarves and hats that I am going to wear. I should be all gone by Tuesday this week. I really am looking forward to it. Other then being bald, I am doing great. My new chemo is stronger then the last round but it is a walk in the park now that I don't have to do radiation with it. I only have three more chemos left, Aug 13, Sep 3 and 24, then I will get new scans to see how everything is going. Take care my fellow Marchies. I hope to hear about all of your progress soon. Just remember, when all is said and done, I am going to get a fill then I will play catch up. Can't wait.

I debated if I should start the new months thread as I am not truly "active" right now. I just wanted to stop in and see how everyone was doing and let everyone know that I am still alive and kicking cancers ass. I started a stronger chemo and it isn’t that bad. It is only once every three weeks, but it does take 5 hours. I will get new scans to make sure the cancer is gone late September or early October. I can’t wait until I am done so I can get refilled and jump back on the band wagon.

I was banded by Dr McBride March 07. She is an amazing woman. I ended up having to be unfilled this past April due to cancer and when I went in for surgery to remove the cancer, she stopped in to see me in pre-op and even came by while I was in the hospital. She cares about all her patients. Hope to be refilled when chemo is over.

Just checking in and so far it looks like everyone is doing good. Keep up the good work and remember "I'll be watching you". That didn't come off as creepy as I was hoping, just do it in a slow Boris Caroloff voice and you'll get it. Take Care,

Juli you look great. Congrats on all you have done.

Gwen, It is so nice to see that you are back. I am so sorry for all that you’ve had to go through and I hope that things pick up soon. My5, That is so great that your sister is joining the band wagon. With your success, it should make it easier for them. TammyJ, I hope they find out what is going on with your band. Wasn’t there a talk somewhere about filling a band with a thicker solution. I cant remember what it’s called, but I think it was for leaks. Good luck and keep up the good work. Juli, Alright woman, where the heck are the photos? I will have to check your surgery thread. You are still my motivation. Congrats for doing so great. I do come on and read from time to time just to check up on everyone. I kind of feel like a stalker . Know that I am praying for you all to succeed. Take care all,

Hi all, I just wanted to check in and see how everyone was doing. I was also hoping to see some photos of Julie post op. So where are they? I bet you look hot!! Just a quick update-had the upper lobe of my left lung removed on April 29, was home by May 2. Not a walk in the park, but with the right amount of pain meds, its doable. Yesterday was a good day, not much pain and even went out to lunch with my husband. Granted, I havn't been eating much since surgery, but it was nice to get out of the house. I really love coming back here and seeing how my fellow Marchies are doing, it gives me hope that when all is said and done, I can and will get a fill and get right back on the band wagon. Once again, very happy that I got the band instead of RNY. Take care all, Barb

Now more then ever I am grateful that I got the band instead of RNY. I just had a complete unfill this morning. There is now easy way to say this but on Monday, April 6, I was diagnosed with lung cancer. I am going to have part, if not all, of the upper left lobe removed than on to chemo. They think that we caught it early enough and my outlook is good. Now with an unfill I don’t have to worry about being able to eat or take meds. To be honest, what is worse than finding out you have cancer is telling the people you love that you have it. I will never forget when I told my folks. I have only twice in my life heard my dad cry, well, I heard it a third time last Monday and knew that I was the cause. If you wouldn’t mind, please keep me in you thoughts or prayers. I could use as many as I can get right now.

Just checking in. I went in on Monday and got refilled and I am hoping that gets me motivated again. I haven't been doing what I should and since being unfilled I put on 5 lbs. I was shocked that it wasn't more like 20lbs. I have no energy right now and am tired all the time so my dr did a blood draw on Monday also to see if there is a problem. When people ask me if I am still happy with my band (because I am not at my goal weight yet), I tell them "Hell Yeah!!" I know that my progress is slow, but I am my own worst enemy as I haven't stepped it up and put in more effort. I will get there, in my own time. You three ladies look like you are doing GREAT!! I am proud of you, keep it up!! Well, back to work.

I can't believe that we are only one month away from our 2 year mark.

I would love to have plastic surgery, but my husbands stills says no. I guess I can live with the way I look so long as he can. To be honest, if I could have plastic surgery done, I think I would do my face first. I would love to open my eyes back up and remove the crow’s feet from around them. Also my “turkey gobbler” would be a thing of the past. But alas, it is not going to happen any time soon. Well, same stuff different day. After putting up with an abscessed tooth for almost two weeks, they pulled it last Monday. She almost had to stand on my chest to get it out. Just getting back to eating right this weekend and I can’t wait for March to come around so I can get my replacement tooth and stop chewing on just one side of my mouth. I haven’t started exercising. Well I did start walking, then stopped when my tooth started acting up as I just couldn’t get out of bed to get to work early to do my walk. I had my husband put the next set of “The Whistler” old time radio programs on my MP3 player so now I am set to start again. Not much else to report. Take care and have a great week, Blessing,

Well, 09 has not been too good for me yet. This past Tuesday my 19 yo son was going back to college (classes started back Wednesday). It’s about an hour drive by interstate. There was a bad accident and everyone was detoured though Lincoln. My son has never drove in Lincoln and Lincoln does a crappy job of not only marking detours, but streets as well. He was almost through the detour when he totaled his car. No one was hurt , but it was his fault. By the time I got there the tow truck was ready to go. He had it towed home (which I thought was stupid to pay $190 tow for a car with a bent frame), but it turned out ok as he sold the car the next day for $350. I had woken up on Tuesday with a mild toothache and by Wednesday it was throbbing. I got up Thursday and my left lower jaw as swollen. Heck, I get up before my husband and when he got up and saw me, the first words out of his mouth were “I guess a blow job is out of the question”. Granted it was funny, but smiling and laughing hurt like heck. I ended up at the dentist but all they did was gave me antibiotics. After being on the antibiotics for 24 hours, I called them back as the swelling had gotten worse and the pain was through the roof. They had to lance it. Let me tell you what, that sucks!!! This time they gave me a script for Vicodin. I am sitting here at work today ready to fall asleep (no I am not on the pain meds today). I really, really, really just want one good nights sleep, then a big chunk of prime rib. I have been on liquid/soft foods since Tuesday. Well, that’s how my year is going so far. I know that it can only get better.

I love fish. There isn't anyway that you could cook it that I wouldn't love. But my all time fav is quick, hot, smoked salmon. I have my goal of 150 by sometime in June and if I reach that goal, I am going to finish my back tattoo. I started walking my mile a day this morning. I plan on doing this Mon-Fri (I can do it at work by coming in early). When I do this for 4 weeks in a row, I am going to go get a deep cleaning facial. I am also tracking my intake on sparkpeople. Haven't set any goal/reward to that yet, but will be thinking about it. I also want to add other cardio to my exercise. And lastly, I WILL QUIT SMOKING THIS YEAR.

Thanks Carol. I have done some serious thinking about my attitude regarding my band and my weight loss. I hate to admit it, but I have come to the conclusion that I was hoping (in my heart, not my head) that the band was going to make this easy. I know that I have to work it or it doesn’t work. I am going to start the new year with a more positive (and a more realistic) attitude, I am going to take back control, not only about my weight loss, but about my health in general. Like I said, I’ve rejoined sparkpeople and plan on starting an exercise program. I have a goal set to be 150 by June this year and I am going to quit smoking this year. I AM GOING TO MAKE THESE GOAL!!!

Well Marchies, it's been a long time. Sorry I haven’t been here in a long, long time. Quick update-I ended up have an almost complete unfill due to what I call painful burps. It would fill like gas passing through the band, through my chest, all the way up into my ear. The pain didn't last long, but it did double me over. The pain in the ear was awful. So I have been sitting here, pretty much unfilled and I can't decided if I want to go in and try getting filled again. I haven’t gained, but I haven’t lost. Granted, I haven’t exercised in I don't know how long. I have decided that fill or no fill, it is time to get off my butt (and my pitty party) and get things going again. Yesterday I got back on sparkpeople and started tracking what I eat and will start slowly back into the exercise. I will also at least read more on lapbandtalk, even if I don't post too often. Well, that’s about it for now. Barb

P.S. Good luck Jeni, I hope everything turns out alright.

Just wanted to check in and say HI and see how the Marchies are doing. With work, kids camps (I teach archery to the 4-H kids), son home from college for 5 weeks (just went back today), projects that need to get done around the house and my garden (which is my salvation, I love to take my shoes off and get in the garden), not much time for anything else. I haven’t been on the scale in I don’t know how long, but I haven’t been exercising lately so I doubt that it has gone down any. Seeing as how quiet everyone has been, I guess I’m not the only one with too much to do and not enough time to get it done. I haven’t even been fishing/camping/kayaking yet this summer and I don’t see doing it in the foreseeable future. If it wasn’t for the fact that no one will even answer my phone when I gone from work, let alone do any of my work, I would just call in “sick” and take my dd out fishing. I might do it anyway and suck it up the next day when I am buried at work. Hell, I would love to go fishing right now, but I have to be up by 6:00am. Well, I hope to check in soon. Take care and have a great summer.

I am sitting here at work not only physically exhausted, but mentally. The physical exhaustion comes for re-shingling our house, putting in the garden and trying to keep up with the rest of the house work and yard work. The mental exhaustion comes from work. I was sitting at my desk and couldn’t figure out what I needed to do next. So I am taking a break. Still sitting at 174, but I know why. First, I’m not eating enough. I tracked on sparkspeople and I have been getting between 600-800 cal per day. Way to low. I also have been eating "easy" foods. Solid Proteins, if I don’t pay very close attention, hurts going down. I also haven’t been eating right. I have been skipping exercise. You would think that being on a roof, hauling 90 lb bundles of shingles, climbing up and down the ladder for the last week, I would have lost something, nope. I guess that doesn’t count as exercise. I got the ball rolling by going for a 3 mile walk with my gf last night and plan on getting my equipment dusted off and getting my butt back on it. I think we all must have a touch of spring fever the way we are felling lately. I hope that after this weekend, things slow down some. I don’t have a day off until next Friday (June 13) and I plan on relaxing. Hope to be able to check in more often by the end of the month. Take care

Just wanted to check in and see how everyone was doing. I haven’t been home most nights to get on my computer and work is so busy I don’t have time to check in during the day. I thought I needed a fill. At my doctors office they do all their fills under flouro and when the dr put in just .5cc, I was closed tight. So I ended up with .1cc being taken out of my original fill. She said I was too tight to begin with. I didn't understand that. I can eat whatever I want and I don’t stay full. Then it hit me, I have been staying away from what I call “hard” foods like solid chicken, beef or pork. And if I did have them, they had to have some type of sauce or gravy on it to get it to go down. I didn’t even think about it, and in the back of my mind I knew what I was doing was counter productive. At least I like to think it was in the back of my mind buried under all the other crap that seems to have taken up the rest of the space in my head. Does this make any sense to anyone? I was doing what was easy and quick instead of what was right. So I am still sitting at 174, but now have started watching what I am eating, solid, non-gravy covered, protein first, then veggies, then carbs. You would figure by now I would have this down pact, duh. Well, back to work.

Just wanted to stop in and check up on everyone. You guys are doing great. Between work, kids, Women in the Outdoors and my Relay for Lift team, there isn't much time to log-in and check up. But things are the same, still sitting at 174, but haven't done anything about exercise lately and running so much, eating hasn't been that great. Well, back to work, then teaching a bow hunting class tonight. Hope to be home by 10 so I can shower and get to bed before 11:00 so I can get up and start all over again tomorrow. Take care Marchies.

Texas-When I get the "How much weight have you lost?" question, I answer with an equaly personal question like "Fine, hows your sex life?" I don't get how people (other than very close friends) can ask people questions about their weight.