Thursday, August 28, 2008




posted by Julie's Journey @ 8:05 PM 0 Comments


MY WEEK BY WEEK LOSS


week 1 - 5 pounds
week 2 - 5 pounds
week 3 - 12 pounds
week 4- 2 pounds
week 5- 8 pounds
week 6 - 2 pounds
week 7 - 2 pounds
week 8 + 2 pounds ;(
week 9 - 3 pounds

posted by Julie's Journey @ 8:02 PM 0 Comments

comparison photos_ preop and week 9




posted by Julie's Journey @ 8:00 PM 0 Comments





posted by Julie's Journey @ 7:58 PM 0 Comments

Just can't get to that 40!!!

I was hoping I would be to 40 pounds by week 8. Well. that didn't happen. I am close at week 9. i just can't seem to reach it.

I am going for my third fill tomorrow. I am going to see Dr Metz. This will be the first time seeing him since Dr Mel left. I am hoping he will take over the care of my wound from the abcess surgery too. I have to take Kayleigh with me, since my appointment is at 10, and her preschool starts at 12:30. She is really good when I get blood tests, she also gets right up on the bed to watch when the visiting nurse changes my bandages, so she should be just fine with it.

I am wayyyy too loose, in my opinion. We went for rides into the mountains yesterday and today. Both days we stopped at McDonalds, and I was able to eat a chicken sandwich (bun and all) both days. I want restriction!!!!!

I will post about my fill tomorrow....

posted by Julie's Journey @ 7:46 PM 1 Comments

Wednesday, August 27, 2008
no post last week

I didn't post or add my weight loss (or should I say gain?? ;( last week. I decided I needed to quit drinking protein shakes and switch to all food meals.

I gained 2 pounds!!!

I just didn't want to post it...even though it was a fact. I am back down again and will be posting more tomorrow. I went ahead and posted my before and 9 week pictures. I can really see the loss in my back end!!!

More tomorrow...

posted by Julie's Journey @ 3:20 PM 1 Comments

Friday, August 15, 2008
Shar-pei and other wrinkled things

I had. my second fill on Monday. I now have 6 cc's. It was fairly traumatic, it took 3 or 4 pokes, but at least I did not PB all over myself this time. I told Dr Mel I had told my husband while we were in the ER that I have decided that after I lose my weight I will just have to have super loose skin, and look like a shar-pei. He looked at me and said "You will need a tummy tuck,,, no doubt about it" I know seromas are very common after tummy tucks. I know it is a couple of years away, but I am stressing about it already.

I am also starting to worry about when I start living a "real" life. By that I mean working, going out, being exposed to food. It is fairly easy now, since I rarely leave the house. I feel I have much better control of my food intake here. I will absolutely need another fill before I go out "into the world". I guess that is when the real work will begin...

posted by Julie's Journey @ 7:49 PM 2 Comments

Sunday, August 10, 2008
More craziness

Well, I had been in pain since my fill last Monday. I figured it was just from Dr Mel poking a whole in the seroma, or putting on the vac wrong. So...I just lived with it! Friday the pain got significantly worse, and I had Ron take me to the ER. They stuck and stuck and stuck me til they got in an I.V. started Then they took blood!!! They were giving me I.V. diladud. I went in for a CT scan. They said my seroma was still quite big. They called the surgeon who had done the surgery 3 weeks previously. He only works a couple days a month, and he was 100 milles away in the mountains. So.... they called his associate that was covering the ER. They decided to admit me (big suprise, with my luck lately!!! NOT ;) Yesterday we were just in a wait and see thing. The surgeon told me he may have to go back into the OR and cut big and deep over my belly button!!!

He came in today, poked a long, thick needle into the seroma three times!!! He got out about 50 cc's of fluid. Luckily it was just what you expect to find in a seroma... no infection. Yayyyyyy.

He told me I could come home, he also said the vacuum wasn't really helping any...so he took it off. Double Yayyyyyy.

I had to wait around for a couple of hours, it was no problem with them. I am feeling better already. I was able to stand up in the shower as long as I needed to wash and condition my hair. It has been weeks since I could do that!! It felt great to be able to do that.

I go tomorrow for my second fill. I am hoping I get some restriction from it. I will write more tomorrow after the fill....

posted by Julie's Journey @ 6:20 PM 2 Comments

Monday, August 4, 2008
my first fill

I went to see Dr Mel today. Before we left the visitng nurse called and said she was on her way. I told her we were on our way to the surgeon. She suggested I take some supplies, in case he wanted to change my vacuum. He did want to change it. He was none to happy since the girl who changed it on Friday (from the visiting nurses) put the black filter directly on my skin, as opposed to over the tape you use. Evidently, this is a big no-no. He said my skin was already beggining to break down from the filter material.

He decided I no longer needed the higher smaller wound on the vac (yayyyyy..that was the one causing most of my pain) He also agreed I have another seroma. He actually went in the wound and made a hole between the two. (the seroma is right above my navel, and the wound is directly under it...down across my belly button.) It was quite painful, but I have had crap just pouring out of it since he did that.

Then we moved on to my fill. He numbed me up (thankfully ;) and went for the gusto. It took 2-3 tries, and got somewhat painful at times. He put in 6 cc's (I have a 10cc band) He pulled out the needle, helped me sit up, and got me a cup of water. I was doing OK after my first 5-6 sips. He told me to keep drinking. All of a sudden I was in pain... a lot of pain. I could only say "too full" between pains. He told me to lay back and he would remove some. I couldn't. I knew I would choke if I laid back. Here it comes.... the big PB... right down the front of my shirt. (For those who are not lapbanders a PB is a productive burp. Basically bringing back up whatever you just ate/drank. It is not really throwing up... you have no bile come up and your stomach doesn't convulse) So, after the PB I laid back down, he stuck in the needle again and he took out 1cc. This time the water stayed down just fine. I go back in a week for another fil!!!

We discussed the need to log all my food. He reminded me nothing white (bread, potatoes, rice, tortillas etc.) He also told me not to use milk in my protein drinks. I used water today, and am drinking it as I type. It leaves even a bit more to be desired than having it made with milk... but it is doable. Right now I am using a scoop of high protein slim fast (7g protein + 1 scoop of extra high protein powder 20g protein + a teaspoon of peanut butter) I have been doing this 1-2 times a day, though I might have to make it 3 times... depending on what I eat.

He was not really specific on what to do post fill. I tried to pin him down. He was kind of casual about it...wouldn't give me actual instructions. He basically told me to go to liquids today (though I can have something soft tonight... like cottage cheese or yogurt, if I feel like it) then move onto soft and work back to regular foods. I wish he was more specific on a schedule. I will stay on fluids today, also possibly all day tomorrow. Then I will go to mushies for a day then soft. I figure by Thursday-Friday I can start on some thin sliced turkey or something. I am soooo anxious to see what kind of restriction I have ;))

So... that is my story. More later...

posted by Julie's Journey @ 2:14 PM 2 Comments
Julie's Journey

About Me
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Julie's Journey
Location:
aurora, CO, United States
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Previous Posts

MY WEEK BY WEEK LOSS week 1 - 5 pounds week 2 - ...
comparison photos_ preop and week 9

Just can't get to that 40!!!
no post last week
Shar-pei and other wrinkled things
More craziness
my first fill
vacuum pic
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