I Will See Your Port....And Raise You Two Balls

So when they take out your port, they replace it with two gauze balls. These balls are to prevent the area where the port used to be from filling up with fluid. They will be with me for two weeks. It made me think of this quote I saw on pinterest.

And please excuse the orange skin, they won't let me wash that area until the two weeks are up, hince the weird wrinkley effect made by the tape. I swear my stomach doesn't look like that normally, just my thighs. :(

Hope everyone had a happy Thursday. I went back to work today and got rewarded with an extra long evening, as we have reading night tonight. Should be fun, but I am dead dog tired. Will sleep well tonight.

I seem to have a few new followers as well, so if I don't follow you please leave a comment and I will rectify the situation asap!

The Plan

So I am feeling much better. The surgery went well and I came home pretty doped up. I am feeling pretty good today and will be going back to work tomorrow.

Now for the plan!

Once I realized that there was a possibility that I wouldn't be able to keep my band, I went in to action. When I first started researching having weight loss surgery, I was torn between having the sleeve and the band. However, my insurance didn't cover the sleeve so that made my decision easy. Now that I was faced with the possibility that I may not be able to keep my band, my mind turned back to the sleeve. I know that Jacquie, succeseful bandster turned "sleevester"(not a real word, I know), had a revision to the sleeve so the research began. At this point I knew I would not be able to afford the revision surgery out of pocket, but I would be willing to do some hard core saving to maybe afford it in a year or so. Which got me thinking....a year is a pretty long time. It has been almost two years since I had my surgery and maybe just maybe, my insurance company had changed their minds about covering the sleeve. So I called them up, discussed the situation, and it turns out that they DO cover the sleeve. So, now I had a contingency plan. Now I knew that if they were not able to fix my band, and had to remove it, that there was a possibility that I wouldn't be out there on my own.

Now, we just wait for the insurance approval and hopefully I will have revision surgery in March during Spring Break. Until then, keep my meals in check and exercise, exercise, exercise! I made a committment to change my life 2 years ago and with out without the band, that commitment is still in place. I will go back to accountability blogging and will keep you posted on the insurance process.

Now for those of you who are reading this who are thinking about getting the band or have the band. I want the record to show that I DO NOT REGRET GETTING MY BAND!!!! Even with the complications that I have had, this has been the best decision I have ever made. It helped me get my life back. It led me to this amazing support group, and it taught me that I can do anything I put my mind to.

Thank you all for your amazing support. You guys are awesome and are a big reason why I have been able to lose 120 pounds and keep it off!

Exercise starts again in two weeks! Boot camp here I come!

It's Out

I am no longer banded. But don't fret. I'm not. I have a plan, will share with you when the drugs aren't so powerful.


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Accountability Days 5 & 6

Day 5
No exercise - needed to rest my knee and hip (I sound like a grandma)

Calories - 1645 a bit higher than I would have liked especially with no exercise but I went out to get more laundry detergent and was seduced by the giant chocolate chip cookies in the deli, and when you are supposed to be on liquids it is sometimes hard to resist.

Day 6
Exercise - 8 mile walk

Calories - 1570

Tomorrow's the day. I go in at 11:30, but I am already working on my contingency plan.

Going to bed soon. Going to hit my 5:00am boot camp before surgery tomorrow. Who knows when I will get to do it again?


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Accountability Day 4

Calories - 1100ish

Exercise - Bodyworks class at the gym
I didnt go to boot camp this morning, because I ended up going in to work about an hour earlier than normal to prepare for a parent meeting so there just wasn't time for both.

I may or may not run tomorrow. It will be 7 straight days of working out and my knee needs a break.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Accountability Day 3

Exercise - 5:00 am boot camp
Calories - 1370

Boot camp again tomorrow, 3 mile run on Saturday, 8 mile walk on Sunday

Surgery on Monday.


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Accountability Day 2

Exercise: 2 miles in 22 min, could have done 3 but I really had to use the restroom and once you stop running, it's hard to start up again.

Calories: 1400 - I am pretty sure it was lower than this, but there were some unknown items in there so I guesstimated on the high side to be safe.

Going to sleep soon, have boot camp at 5:00 tomorrow.




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True To My Word

5:00 am bootcamp - done
1380 calories consumed

A little high but I am trying the "I am not eating enough calories" theory.

Been asked to stick to mostly liquids until surgery. Did that today, except for the granola bar and crackers with my soup. Will do better tomorrow.

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. Love you all.

Here's a pic of me on the way home from work. My nine year old niece and I were talking and she wanted me to send her a picture because she didn't believe I was on my way home. (I tend to work late.)



Love the sun flare. :)

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The Date Has Been Set...

Pending insurance approval, I will be having surgery in one week to fix my slipped band, and if it can't be fixed....then they will take it out. I am a very odd combination of freaked and calm. My dream would be for them to fix it and I never have another problem for the next 40 years of my life, but in my heart of hearts, I am so scared that it will not work out the way I want.

There is a plan here and as much as I fight it, it is His plan, not mine. So all I can do is pray and keep with the course. Bootcamp tomorrow morning, and a 3 mile run on Wednesday. Keep my calories in check and just keep going. I did drown my sorrow and smother my fears with a blizzard, but it stops now. I am no longer that girl. I will not be gaining back 120 lbs. with or without my band, but I prefer with.

Thanks for your thoughts and encouragement. It means the world to me. I will be blogging each day this week to keep myself accountable for food and workouts. It is the best way to keep myself from old habits, especially since I have NO restriction right now.

I hope everyone has a great rest of the week and let me be the cautionary tale. If you are too tight, GO TO THE DOCTOR!!!!

Here's the Deal....

So to say that I am beyond frustrated would be an understatement. Last January, I experienced some pretty severe tightness with an inability to get anything, including fluids, down and after some tests, it ended up with me having a slipped band and having all of my fluid removed. The remedy was to wait a week, see if the band moved back (which it did) and then start slowly refilling the band. In June, things started to get tight again and so I went in for an unfill and from June until now I probably did this about 4 or 5 times. This last time, the PA said we needed to go for another Upper GI to check for a slip and indeed it has slipped. So unfill, wait a week, have another upper GI. If it has not moved back then we move to surgical revision. She said I could have popped a stitch and we would just need to repair it. I asked what happened if it wasn't a popped stitch and she said that they would remove the band but not to think about that right now.

I am at a loss right now. I have been struggling with losing weight since October. I have been working out 6 days a week, 3 bootcamp, 3 running a minimum of 3 miles each time. I have stayed between 1100 - 1200 calories and I only lost 3 pounds. So frustration has been with me for a while. Maybe this is the answer as to why I haven't been losing.

So here I sit waiting for my second upper GI. I should find out in the next 45 minutes whether or not the band has moved back in place. If it hasn't, then surgery is on the horizon. If it has, I still have some questions....mainly, how likely is it that this will happen a third time? Who knows. Sorry for the absence from blog world. My days are pretty crazy, I get up, work out, go to work, come home after 8:00 most days and go straight to bed, only to get up and do it all over again. Will let you know how the upper GI goes.

Deja Vu...

My band has slipped.....again. Just got back from getting my band deflated and I am sad. :(

Will post more details after work.