Off the wagon

I know I haven't written in a long time, and truth be told, I fell off the wagon.

From my last blog I put on half a stone, I felt it and I looked it. Horrible and felt totally defeated. After new year was going to be a fresh start for me but it took a long time getting started again. All you have to do is log on to your facebook account and watch how everyone has joined a slimming club. I don't really have that option, nursing shifts and total exhaustion make it nigh on impossible to get to a regular meeting, going it alone really is the only option. But a couple of weeks ago I decided enough was enough. Since then I've been doing my best, also helped out by a stomach bug for a few days!

Anyway, yesterday I took some more 'naked photos' I thought it might be fun to compare them having since lost another two. Oddly enough I still feel the same as I did when I was nearly 17 stone.                    

Now (12 stone 12lbs)         Before (15 stone)

So anyways, thats me now! Still apparently another 4 stone to go, oh joy! Thing is now I'm about a size 14-16, im left with a horrible ugly tummy, it looks like I've had 4 children :(  So still cant wear a bikini, After I brace having children in the future, I think a tummy tuck is the way forward. More $$$$ and a big old scar which doesn't particularly seem to stick to pubic line at all. But that is a long way off.

In the mean time I am flying to Asia (in about 7 weeks) to meet up with my best friend in the whole wide world ever! Hopefully my band will be problem free as long as I get it deflated before I fly! Needless to say the band is still giving me no restriction what so ever! God job I can occasionally deploy some will power! What a total waste, I appreciate I should be getting it tightened but there seems no point just before I fly!

Anywho! Ramble over! 

Hope your all getting on ok, and your bands are being more helpful than mine!

xxx

Just a quickie!

 

Here I am a few weeks ago for my friends wedding,

I am getting their my lovelies!

 

 

 

And yes, I finally braved the scales....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So the current statistics:  

January 2011 - 16 stone 12 lbs
Pre gastric band  -  15 stone
Today! - 13 stone 0 lbs! 

A final thought...

I must just say this, last night at work my colleague asked me how if I had lost so much weight, how comes I didn't have loose saggy skin, it made me laugh, then I she told me I should tone my arms!!! 

Got to love diplomacy! xxx

Debrief!

Hello fellow Bandits!

I am starting this blog with yet another apology, sorry its been so long since I have written, no excuses, just laziness!

Two band fills and de-fill since I last blogged. I went back about a month after my last blog and they put 0.25 mls in my band! It was fine for the first day and a half, but then things got bad, really bad. It got to the point where I couldn't swallow my own saliva, I hadn't eaten or drunk anything in nearly two days and I felt, well, off my face to be honest!
I spent all of the final night in tears, being sick and calling the hospital where I had my op done. They were point blank useless! It was obvious even to someone that wasn't a medical professional that the band had over tightened and that I needed to get it deflated. They seemed too scared to say that it was over tightened and tried fobbing me off with Gavsicon (not an option when you cant swallow your own saliva!) and to wait till the morning. On reflection it was probably laziness, the paperwork probably seemed like a major hassle at 1am, then 2am, then again at 4am! After a lot of hard work on my behalf at around 10 am I finally spoke to a competent practitioner who tried to get me into to some clinics to get it deflated, none of their clinics could fit me/ had a clinic running. So in the end I had to go to a good old, trusted NHS Trust who fitted me in fairly promptly but charged me for the ability to drink again (£80, but worth every penny!)

The nurse who saw me said that patients who have this done on the NHS have their ports in a different position which would have been great, mine often catches on my bra when I sit down. Apparently, I have since found out you can have your port moved after you have finished loosing your weight under a local anesthetic.... I will consider it if I ever get to my goal! Banding is far from a quick fix. Infact, it's making weight watchers look like a quick fix in comparison to my weight loss at the moment! Still I am holding on to the fact I have lost nearly four stone (only half of which is thanks to the band), but I'm too scared to get on the scales at the moment.

When I had my band deflated they took 1.5mls out, back to square one, so utterly gutted. So for a month I had no restriction at all and it felt like I put half  a stone back on. When I had my band topped up a couple of days ago, she assured me I had only put on 1kg (approx 2.2lbs). She advised me to stay on a liquid and soft diet for longer post band fills, 2-3 days, so the over tightening didn't happen again. So I am entering day three of liquid, though I may branch into a little scrambled egg for lunch!

Side effects, I still get the shoulder pain, STILL! But I have come to except them as my new hunger pains! And eating too much gives me a stitch, the only way is to lie down on my side, just like the Romans!

I will endevour to do a better job of keeping you all posted, and I may brave the scales at some point, untill then Bandits, night night xxx

Restricted, at last!

Hello everyone,

Due to our recent flat move, we are now without the Internet, hence a distinct lacking of updates!

Last week I had my second band fill, I went from 5.25mls to 6.75mls, a total of 1.5mls added to my band, I was told to sit in the waiting area, drink one hot and one cold drink... I got to the end of my coffee and something was not at all right... Hello heart  burn with vengeance! I told the receptionist and I was whizzed back in to have some removed (sorry to everyone who was waiting!)... classic case of overfilling apparently! A bit scary, but it soon eased when she took 0.5mls out. So now I stand with 6.25mls in my band and at the moment the restriction is just right for me. The nurse was explaining how normally you get a good restriction for the first couple of weeks and then it starts to slacken off a bit. So I am currently booked in for monthly band fills, so glad I went for a package that included all my aftercare.

Before I saw the nurse I had my first face to face with a dietitian who gave me a good telling off about not drinking enough fluid... as a nurse I hang my head! I am going to try and buy a fun bottle to take to work, hopefully it will encourage me a bit more! But generally all is well, I am allowed to start eating rice now, which I have missed a little but not as much as I thought, mainly I guess because I hate cooking it! It seems to take for ever! The nurse also told me as a treat every now-and-then I can have a fizzy drink, I haven't tried it yet, but may have a sip when I build up the courage!

Since my last band fill aside from noticing a restriction...FINALLY! I have also noticed eating to soon after you get up is a no no, apparently because your body relaxes overnight, and then when you wake everything contracts so the band gets even tighter for a while, I brake my self in with some fluid and leave food for a good few hours at the moment. I have also noticed dry foods, i.e pasta without a sauce, tuna etc are also a no go, it gets stuck, totally stuck, I get terrible heart burn and subsequently it makes me sick, not great when your on a night shift! I have also finally laid peace to my left shoulder tip pain that I have been getting, the nurse explained to me that I should be eating every 4 hours, if I don't the stomach acids start to ferment and release gas which builds up and results in the referred shoulder tip pain, so eat regularly is my answer!

Thats all for now folks! Will try and add some photos on the next blog, lets see if theres any change from my photos pre banding, hopefully will have lost 2 stone by then!

Much love xxx

The Big Band Fill!

Better late than never, apologies for not having written in such a long time, madness continues to ensue in my life!

Last week I had my first band fill done under x-ray, up near Kent. Aside from the waiting room having three huge fans rotating round making me feel like I was in a wind tunnel at the North Pole, it was quite a nice little trip!

When I went in I had a long discussion with the Consultant and Radiologist who thought I may have been.. er... with child..... Having finally convinced them otherwise, signed a disclaimer and had a lead skirt put round my abdomen I was good to go!

I had to stand against a vertical table with a little lip at the bottom which I stood on, they x-rayed to check where everything was and then they told me to hold on as the table tipped backwards and into a horizontal position! The scariest thing ever and shameful though it is to admit, I did have a little scream lol! They then aspirated the fluid out of the band  only a couple of mls, despite being told I had about 4mls in it, they topped it up to just over 5mls and then was tipped up again, given some Barium to swallow and x-rayed for a final time to check my restriction, was fascinating watching it on a screen they had positioned so I could watch too! I left with 5.25mls in my band and excited about my new portion sizes!

Post band fill I had to return to a liquid diet for 3 days, soft diet for a further 3 days and then as of yesterday back to a normal diet! Were going on holiday tomorrow so I am planning on having a little treat to get us in the mood and make fajitas, I can not remember the last time we had that but I cant wait!

All the problems I had been experiencing seem to have settle down this week, the shoulder tip pain has gone off a lot and some days I don't get it at all but sometimes I still need to take pain killers, very variable but I find I find I run into problems with the pain if I let myself get to hungry, missing breakfast is a big no no, I suppose its just trial and error, but am just delighted with the results so far! And here's why...



So the current statistics:  
Jan 2011 (starting weight) - 16 stone 12 lbs
Pre gastric band  -  15 stone
Today! - 13 stone 9 lbs!


Big smiles all round! Am off to pack for holiday, and pack the flat up for our move the day after we get back from holiday! Can not wait, happy times ahead! Much Love xxx

A bit de-flated!

Week Three = Texture and Joy, supposedly!

Feeling, well a little bit rubbish, having moved on to food seems to have shown that actually I have no real restriction to portion size, clearly a band fill is needed... easier said than done!

Last weekend I went out for my family meal and managed not one but three shameful courses, and to be honest I was full but by no means bursting! It has felt this week like there is no band there at all, aside from one little reminder.

Having not had a visit from 'Aunt Flow' in over a year and a half due to a rather genius invention that is Cerazzet (POP contraceptive pill) I have been, well, visited! Having spent 3 hours at the walk in GP waiting to see someone I was told that my pill 'was probably working' I left even more mystified, thought the GP seemed pleased with his diagnosis, clearly all those years of medical training have paid off! The Hospital Group re-assured me it was not a malabsorbtion problem as it is absorbed in the gut rather than stomach. I suppose it is just one of those things, but my god does it suck! So I guess this is my body saying, enough already, just work out what you want woman! (Sounds familiar!).

So on to getting my band filled, having been given a number to arrange my band fill, (which I started trying to do three weeks ago with the said person), I find out she left, just no one felt the need to tell me that! Finally I get the name of the guy who has taken her role over! Yesterday he was away, today having lunch , but he will call me back! Does he? Does he boll**ks! So I am still no further in my desperate band filling mission.

Life would be so much easier if there after care actually existed! I have to have a check x-ray which my local clinic doesn't do, so that means a trek to London for me, not the biggest deal in the world, I would just like some peace of mind, so I at least know its booked and things will look a bit better. I can't call them now till next week as I am working the next two days. I am also waiting for my dietitian call or any contact at all, which was supposed to happen last week... would be nice really seeing as I just paid £6k for these supposed privileges!



Chin up though eh! (Which chin, when you have more than one?!)
Rant over, I will go to bed, psych myself up for my second day of my new job, de-grump and de-hormonafie!

Peace! xxx

Week Two: Looking Forward to Texture!

Week two (post op) has so far been pretty good...

We have found a new flat :D Big Grin! Free, I am hoping, from bread knife wielding, drug taking neighbours! It has an outdoor space, so were going to buy a picnic bench for some summer BBQ's... which left me to wonder will I ever be able to eat a BBQ? I'm sure I will, will just avoid the bread!

So like I said physically feeling alot better this week, still the occasional shoulder tip pain which is far from pleasant, I may just forget myself at times and drink a bit too quickly, but it reminds me its still there.

As the swelling has started to go down, especially the last couple of days I have been able to feel some lumps and bumps below my skin which I am guessing is the port, annoyingly its almost pretty much on my bra line which does make certain bras, well, a no-goer!

 

So that's bras and BBQ's put on the back burner, worth it??
Oh Yes! Well, you can judge...

In total since the start of my pre-op diet I have lost 1 stone!

So, this is what 14 stone looks like! I am getting there!

Despite the pain, the scars (which are really minimal), the ups and downs and upsets, I feel like I am making my peace with my little band 

(which I am yet to name.. any suggestions?!)

But I must say, I have never regretted getting it done!

So the next few weeks are looking significantly more textured, I have been super busy this week and made loads of food (with texture!) and frozen it in little boxes. I also have the ultimate big test coming up, of eating out, sensibly I checked out their menu online, which was filled with so many lovely things, but none were band friendly, so I have just given them a quick call, explained and apparently I will have a few options on the night, more band friendly, fingers crossed! I am also starting my new job next week after having had two weeks of sick thanks to my medical note!

Will keep you all posted,

Lots of love xxx