Hi everyone,

Checking in happy, happy, happy. Went for a follow-up today (I took so little at first fill that the Dr. didn't want to do one for a while). Down 45 pounds!

It was a roller-coaster visit. First, chatting with the nurse, she tells me that I'm eating too much at a sitting (I can eat anywhere from 4 up to 8 oz depending on the day because me restriction seems to change day to day). She scared me about stretching the pouch down the road if I'm not careful. She even said I drink too much- that I have to sip very slowly and drink less than 8oz and hour. OKAY. Deep breath.

Then the resident came in because the Dr. was in a meeting. He told me that maybe I could eat more because my band had slipped slightly!!! He said they can slip slightly, not enough to require surgery and then the scar tissue forms around the slightly slipped band and so you can eat a bit more than others. OKAY. Deep breath.

I told him I planned to wait until my Dr. was out of his meeting (that was scheduled when I had an appointment (!). That's a pet thing of mine. I like to see the Dr himself.

SO.....he finally comes in, listens and tell me

1. Not at all concerned about my stretching out my pouch and liquids go right through- not an issue.

2. Your band did not slip at all. You'd feel it and would have pain and/or vomitting. So much for the resident standing there, eh?

3. HE SAID I'M DOING GREAT- WAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE AND EVERYTHING'S GREAT.

He said schedule a fill, although I many only be able to take 1/2 a cc or so. He said I'm working too hard not to eat a lot and that he wants to make it easier for me. That's okay with me. He also said that he thinks I won't be really happy until all issues are truly dispelled so he'll look at the x-ray with me when he does the fill and show me that all is well.

So, another story of how information changes and lots of good news- I felt great when I left.

Hope everyone's having a good day as well!

Brenda, Hi- good question. I'd like to be able to say that I've got the "not hungry" signage inbedded in me, but so far, that's my toughest challenge. Especially at dinner. I try to make just enough for my portion, and I'm not too bad when I do that, although I always need something later at night. But if I'm eating out, it's very hard for me not to eat until I'm uncomfortable. How much is that? Really, not much more than the 6 oz they prefer. I'm still eating way less than I ever did prior to banding. And I'm a big fish eater, so my calorie counts are still reasonable. But I'm still not proficient at leaving food on the plate in a restaurant, so I've got to do better at doggie bags.....I should really ask for one and cut away 1/2 the food when before I start.

Need to work on head vs. body hunger as well.

Hi Leslie,

That much! I'm shaking my head because it would seem to me one would have to work in a laundry to use up that many calories. For me it's a couple of lifts and loads and then sitting on the bed folding. Are you sure that's not scrubbin' with a rock down by the river calories? LOL.

I'm down a 1/2 pound. Not much but I'll take every 1/2 pound I can get. They add up....

I'm finding that counting calories and putting it all down on paper (I use myfooddiary.com) is making a difference. It allows me to see what I'm doing, and for once, I'm looking at the day and seeing if I need to make changes the next.

You're right about people. You really are. I guess I'm a little sensitive right now and am hungry for hearing how I look (low in calories, high in emotion).

Gwen/Leslie- You know, I get what you're saying. But I'm with Gwen, I might like to hear it once in a while. I only told a few special people and I hadn't seen the one in months. I would have thought a encouraging word or shock and surprise at my new look would have been appropriate! LOL Even if she had to lie, it would have been nice to hear.

I guess I just feel like I'm behind the 8 ball somehow. Even though I'm really not. You're right about the statistics...I know that in the end things will balance out. I did some math today to try to psych myself up and this is what I came up with. It's been 17 weeks since surgery and I've lost a total of 40 pounds. That averages out to 2.35 lbs. a week. That's not too bad. I would like more, but I'll take that for now. It's steady and in the right range of healthy weight loss. Now if I can keep that up, I could technically lose another 40 pounds by the end of the year!

I haven't measured myself since surgery. I wanted to save that for a long plateau. I need to do it though for giggles anyway! Might be a way to lift my spirits.

Oh, and my hair is falling out.

~C

2.35 is fantastic! It's .35 more than my surgeon wants his patients to lose a week. Weight Watchers says more than 2 is too much. I can't remember- did you have a 3 week liquid after banding, or were you back on foods quickly? To tell you the truth, I lost much of my weight in the 3 weeks of liquid I was on. Clear liquid. No Soup. My doc is very strict and I followed it. So I got a big push to the loss because of that. Now it's slower. I'm probably somewhere between 2 and 3 a week also. I remember diets where I couldn't lose that much and it drove me nuts. I know you're not really believing it yet, but you're doing great.

I've been checking the drain for hair every shower, but I think I'm losing about the same as usual.....enough to stuff the top of the drain so that I have to remove it to let the shower Water go down- LOL. But I have very very thick hair, so I'm never upset to see some come out. They said we could lose some.....but that will stop.

Is anyone else even posting under April anymore? I've got to look.

Gwen/Turler - I know what you both mean. People have stopped commenting on my weight loss as well. They've also quit asking how much have I lost. I've only lost maybe six pounds in the past two months. It's depressing but I know I have to keep pushing forward.

I'm losing my hair too. With a thyroid condition - it fell out anyway, though medicaiton had improved it. Now when I put hair products in it in the mornings my hands are covered in hair. I wish it would stop.

I think the hair is supposed to stop falling out within a few months so hopefully the two of you will have an end to it.

Today I'm just tired. My legs and back are hurting. But the good news is had my mammogram and all is well. With some loss in the boobs, I was feeling all kinds of different stuff, and the cysts I have were feeling bigger, so I made an appointment and got it done. I go yearly anyway. My mom is a 28 year survivor of breast cancer. The radiologist, who knows me almost 20 years, didn't recognize me immediately! That was great too.

See ya later.

It's funny...after I did that math, I felt so much better about the amount of weight I'd lost. I was talking to my best friend last night who will be banded soon, and I heard myself say "If I hadn't of gotten the band, I would not be down 40 lbs in less than 4 months". I mean seriously! I'd tried all the diets, like everyone else, and I wasn't able to stick to it. I could lose a few pounds here and there, but I couldn't lose steadily and certainly not this far out!!!!!!

So yeah, I'm starting to see things in a different light. I need to do what Leslie is doing and get on the C2K program! I'm sure that would help.

Oh, and to answer you question about the liquid diet....No, I didn't have to stay on liquids. Only the first day in the hospital I had clears, then full for a few days and on to mushies right away. I lost the majority of my weight in (like 24 pounds) the first 2-3 weeks!

I love you guys...I'm glad you're here. **warm fuzzies**

~C

Someone tell me what C2K is? And you sound much better today!

I'll be off until tomorrow night. See you then.

LOL...C2K = Couch to 5 K program. Leslie is doing it. It's a running program that gets you literally off the couch and out running! I will hopefully engage in such craziness at some point too!

Yeah, I am really trying to see all the good things. I really think that saying it all out loud to my friend last night made such a big difference in my attitude. I just realized how far I'd come all of a sudden and could see that I would not have made it this far without the band.

I still wish it were faster/more weight loss, but I'm gonna take what I've got for now and keep trying!

~C

Hey guys I'm back. Been away at work for a few days. I'm loosing my hair in handfulls too. It used to be thick and full of body, now it just kinda lays there. I'm pretty stressed out so that might have something to do with it too.

I'm graduating with my Master's in Nursing and Women's Health Practitioner in 8 weeks and am studying for 3 final exams and traveling 4 hours from home for my clinical rotation. I've pretty much determined that emotional eating is my downfall!

I'm gonna call tomorrow for a fill appointment. I'm tired of having to tell everyone that asks that I'm still at the same weight. It's depressing to tell them the same thing week after week.

Welcome Back Mama!

I'm jealous of your degree! I'm starting school in a few weeks to finish my BSN. I hope to go on to get my NP also. Are you excited??? You've got to be so glad this is almost over! Are you working right now? What kind of nursing background do you have??

~C

I've been a labor and delivery nurse for 15 years. Love my job, but wanted to be able to do more. I absolutely love what I'm doing now. I do distance learning through Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing. I am being trained in Women's Health and hospital midwifery and have delivered 22 babies in the last 2 months and get to do work at the office with annual exams, contraceptive counseling, prenatal care. I hope to be able to do it forever!!

You should check out their website...midwives.org. They have a 12 month bridge program where you finish your BSN online then go straight to your MSN studies. You can specialize in family practice, women's health and midwifery.

kathy

Thanks for the info...I've looked into several programs like that and most are very expensive. More than I can afford at this time. The program I am entering is unique. My hospital offers it one day a week. They pay for 50% of it and it's done in 12 months with NO pre-req's. Your degree is the pre-req. It's being offered by Ohio Northern University.

I will go on after this is done. This is the most affordable way for me to go at this time! I'm excited to be finally moving forward...I'm just so far from being done!

~C

Wow, if only someone would have paid for half of mine! Good luck with your studies!

Thanks...I'm pretty excited about it. The program starts out pretty pricey, but ends up being more like community college price for one year at the end. I can handle that much better and my clinicals are done in my department (except for the community one). I just want to get this finished so I can move forward, have a career change doing something like what you're doing!

~C