I went for my first fill yesterday and Doctor Slikkers was amazed with my results. I was shocked! I guess I've lost quite a bit of weight but it has seemed to be a slow process more recently. I was down 30 pound yesterday; that's since my pre-op diet started on August 30.

The fill didn't hurt what so ever, just a little pin prick. After my fill he had me drink a dixie cup of water. I took my first sip and my stomach made a high pitched squeak sound while I felt an air bubble come up. When the doctor heard that, he told me I was drinking too fast but also I am probably close to my "sweet spot" which really excites me! I didn't know it but he put 3cc's in my band at surgery and 2cc's yesterday so I have a total of 5cc's in a 10cc band. He said most patients need about 7cc's to be at their "sweet spot". Next appointment is in 5 weeks. (they couldn't get me in for 4 weeks)

Anyway, motivation is fully here and I am ready to help motivate anyone else needing it!

A Pretty Good Week

This week I was determined to get the scale moving. I went on liquids Monday, ate on Tuesday, back to liquids on Wednesday, and ate on Thursday and Friday. I also did my workout M-Th for 45 minutes. The liquid days were not easy, I was starving!! I knew it would be worth it, I lost 4 pounds this week. I am down a total of 29.1 lbs, so close to thirty!

My first adjustment is on Monday, I can't wait for a little restriction!! They are only going to add 2cc's for my first fill since I am going on vacation next week ( I want to be able to eat). I will go back 2 weeks after the first fill to get 4 cc's injected. At least that is the plan.

Going out for my brother's birthday tonight. I'm going to try to eat well, it shouldn't be too bad since we are going to a pretty nice restaurant. I will need to watch the alcohol consumption. My sister-in-law already asked me if I would have a drink with her. I should be alright with one.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my SUCCESSFUL week to everyone and hope you all have a great weekend!

Can't Wait for my First Adjustment

Well, I've had a taste of what people call "bandster hell". The past week and a half have been very trying. The swelling from the surgery is gone and I am no longer restricted what so ever. I can eat any thing I want and quite a bit of it. I have developed pretty good will power, I will need it even when by band gets adjusted. I have done well at not gaining, and slowly losing, but it hasn't been easy. I just remind myself that I went through all of this for a reason, I'm not going to throw it all away! I have goals in mind and I really want to reach them by the date I have given myself (I am VERY goal oriented).

I am going to start my ab lounger tonight, I will have to wipe the dust off it before use. lol I'm also going to move my walking up to 40 minutes instead of 30, and see how I do.

We have a friend's wedding in Arizona at the end of the month and I want to be down to 185. I have 2 weeks left to lose 11 pounds. eeekk! If you have any great pointers, I would love to hear about them! I usually do pretty good with my eating during the week, it's the weekend that really get me.

First Week at Home

By the time I returned home I had gained 6 pounds since I'd went in for surgery (just 1 day earlier). I read that weight gain is common post-op, so I didn't panic too bad, but I certainly wasn't very happy. My surgery was on a Thursday so it was recommended by my doctor to take the remainder of that week and the next full week off of work.

The first week post-op I started back on my liquid diet, and walking on the treadmill. At this point, I couldn't sleep in my bed. I was sleeping in the recliner. It just hurt to sleep in the bed, and who likes pain? At the beginning of week two I added full liquids, and by the end of the week I added a few mushies.

I was pretty much healed by the end of week 2. By this time, I finally lost the six pounds that I gained when I left the hospital, and an additional 4 pounds. I weighed 200 when I went in for my 2 week follow-up visit. I didn't see Dr. Slikkers, just the nutritionist, Mary Kay. She told me I was healing well and doing great with my weight loss. It didn't feel great to me, my weight only went down by 4 pounds (even though I did lose 10 pounds). GOOD NEWS.....I began sleeping in my bed by week three with very minimal pain.

The Actual Surgery

My mom and I traveled to Traverse City the night before surgery (September 16, 2009) to stay in a hotel since I lived an hour and a half away. We decided to go to the casino that night to kinda take my mind off of things. Of course, we didn't win anything but did have fun. :)

The morning of surgery I weighed in at 204 pounds. I arrived to the hospital 2 hours before surgery for prep. During the 2 hours I met with Dr. Slikkers, 2 anesthesiologists, and an assistant surgeon. My surgery was at 9am. I believe I woke up in recovery about 10am, the surgery took about a half an hour.

I was in recovery until 5:30pm waiting for a room to be available since my surgery was to be inpatient. Mom was able to visit me a couple of times; finally around 4:30 they let her stay in my "area" with me as long as the curtain was drawn.

I made it to my room and felt GREAT! I wanted to go for a walk, I did and then I wasn't so great. I over did it. Mom went home since she had to work the next day. I was very thankful that she was there.(She took me in for surgery and I told my husband to work 1 more day because someone has to bring home the bacon (he also works away from home) and mom would have been there if he was or not). I woke twice in the night, once for pain and once for a headache. They gave me dilated which made me nauseated, so they gave me anti-nauseating meds. The rest of the night I slept pretty good. I was very worried about snoring and keeping my room mate up but she said that I didn't snore at all.

My husband, Jason, showed up to the hospital first thing in the morning. I seen Dr. Slikkers and did my swallow study that was required before I would be released, which looked great. By 11:45am, I was released and on my way home. I rode the hour and a half with a pillow on my stomach to hold things in place.

Pre-Op Diet

My pre-op diet went really well. I was determined to shrink my liver and lose some weight to prove I was serious about the decision I'd made to change the way I live my life. My husband Jason, was very supportive of my pre-op diet. The morning of surgery I weighed in at 204 pounds. I lost 17 pounds in my pre-op diet, how awesome is that!!

PCP Clearance & Pre-Op Appointment

On August 31, 2009, I had my PCP appointment and my Pre-Op appointment. I worked a half day and the rest of it was full of doctor visits.

I traveled 20 minutes south to my PCP to get clearance for my surgery. She cleared me with out question. I didn't need to redo labs or have an EKG (since I'm in my early 30's).

I then traveled and hour and a half north for my pre-op appointment. I weighed in at 221 pounds. The highest I have ever been in my life! Dr. Slikkers went over the lap band procedure with me and then I met with Mary Kay (nutritionist). She talked with me about my pre-op diet, high protein - low carb - low sugar - low calorie. I am to start my pre-op diet on September 2, 2009.

Pre-Surgery & Insurance Approval

I researched bariatric surgery procedures through my insurance company. I found out that my insurance company covers the majority of the procedure at 100%. (I asked the insurance company to send me the detailed benefit information and criteria for the surgery.) I spoke with my family about the surgery, they weren't real supportive at first. They believed I could lose weight on my own. I did have one great supporter, my sister-in-law. She was interested in weight loss surgery also.

I went to the informational seminar on January 13, 2009 with my husband and sister-in-law. The information shared with us was great! This is when I decided bariatric surgery WAS for me.

I had my first initial visit with Dr. Slikkers and Mary Kay (the nutritionist) on March 12, 2009. I told Dr. Slikkers that I was thinking about the lap band. He said that was a great choice for me, that he could see me being very successful with the lap band. That day I was scheduled for an endoscopy since I had such bad heartburn at that time. The dr. thought I may have a hiatal hernia. The procedure was scheduled for April 10, 2009. I had the procedure and no hernia was found.

I had my psychiatric evaluation on April 21, 2009. The first portion of the evaluation was a psych test which was 580 questions. I was having a hard time staying awake for the test. :) The next day I returned to meet with the psychologist. She asked me about my family, my job and eating habits. The only thing I had left to do is get an approval from the insurance company.

Grand Traverse Surgery sent my pre-op requirement that were met to Blue Cross of Minnesota (my insurance company). On May 15, 2009 BCBSMN sent me a letter stating that coverage was denied and it was not medically necessary for my condition. I had not met the criteria for the lap band procedure for the following reasons: 1. My BMI must be 40 or greater for 2 years or between 35-40 with documentation of a co-morbid condition. 2. I must participate in at least one medically-supervised attempt to lose weight within the past 2 years. This attempt must include 6 consecutively monthly visits with a doctor. Luckily I asked the insurance company to send me the criteria back in March and still had that information. The criteria had changed to the above since then. I appealed the decision and sent the previous criteria into the insurance company along with all other criteria required. On July 20, 2009 I was sent a letter stating that the original decision to deny coverage was reversed and determined that BCBSMN would pay for laproscopic banding. YAY!!! I opened the letter and broke down into tears. I was SO HAPPY! It was real now!

I called Dr. Slikkers office and they said they did receive the approval and it would be 4-6 weeks before I would receive a surgery date because the surgeon would need to look over my file and make sure everything as far as lab work, EKG, X-Rays were in order. Six weeks later, August 26, 2009, I received my surgery date of September 17, 2009. I would need to get clearance for surgery from my PCP and have a pre-op appointment with Dr. Slikkers and the nutritionist Mary Kay.