10/18 -- 1 month post surgery

One year ago October, 2007

The end of steak...

Sunday I made carne asada for dinner. Thin slices of beef spiced with "Mexican" flavorings. Yummo.

I had one bite--and it was a small bite--I chewed. I chewed some more and I swallowed. It got stuck.

I had a golf ball in my chest for 24 hours. Right when I knew I was "stuck" and the "slimes" started, I did try to get it to come back up, but it wouldn't. I was miserable for 24 hours until that little morsel of steak finally went down. I drank some acidic juice in little sips to break down the meat and was able to eat some oatmeal on Monday. By the time the food passed my band at 7:00 p.m., I was ravenous. I ate a couple pieces of string cheese and went to bed.

The fill nurse told me to "eat foods that will stay above my band for awhile." I don't think she meant 24 hours of time above my band.

I ate some steamed garbanzo beans and tomatoes w/ black pepper and a little Parmesan cheese this morning for breakfast. About 1 cup. I can tell they are sitting "above my band" but hopefully not for 24 hours.

The "golf ball" thing hurts and I am going to miss steak! Oh, well. I'd rather have my band be my best friend than a steak.

Darr

Another NSV (non scale victory)

I did something yesterday I have not done in...forever.

It was a dark and stormy night. And I'm not kidding. The weather was most foul. Cold, cold, cold, biting hard rain and wind. We took the kids (the daughter and her boyfriend) to a movie last night, deciding to have dinner at a Mexican place first. I was looking forward to carne asada or some kind of soup. I had already prepared my "no rice no chips" mindset. The wait would have been too long, so we decided to head up the street (about 2-3 blocks) to Round Table Pizza.

Somehow, by the grace of the weight I've lost and my ever-increasing ability to walk upright, I literally dashed up the street. I did not waddle. I did not amble. I did not whine and ask my husband to get the car. My ankles did not hurt. My hips did not hurt. I felt so good pushing through that nasty weather I actually felt like running. Holy cr*p! I WANTED to run!

I could hear my daughter and husband behind me going, "Mom's running! Look at mom go!" I made it into the restaurant before any of them. My husband was so proud of me he gave me a hug and let me catch my breath in his arms. It took only a few moments for my body to return to normal (no hard breaths, racing heart) and I made it through the dinner eating a personal-size extra crispy crust chicken garlic pizza. Comparing my itty bitty four pieces of pizza to "regular" size pizza slices, I think I had about 1.75 slices. Nothing got stuck. I had no trouble because I CHEWED and took little bites.

I had a huge snack at the theater. Three Milkduds. Not a whole box. Not two boxes. Three. And I was done. It was wonderful to taste a little chocolate and caramel again. A little goes a long way!

Saw "30 Days of Night." Both the daughter and I are hankering for more back story on the vampires. They were wicked little beasties!

Darr

My first "fill"

10/17, 4pm, I had my first "fill." I'm not going to go into the specifics of what a fill is. That can be looked up via a Google search--and apparently the doctor left "3cc of primer" in it, which means I've been working with a slight fill since being banded. I knew that. I've had cold salmon and noodles get "stuck."

The nurse had me lay down on a table top and lift my legs with knees straight after asking me numerous "banding" questions.

She scolded me for not getting in enough "chewy" protein (like chicken) and for not drinking milk. I'm also supposed to add a high fiber cereal to my yogurt. I am "off" smooth things and need to eat solids that will "stop at the band." I thought I was doing that, but apparently not!

As I lifted my legs she poked around to find my port, than jabbed me with a needle and withdrew the 3cc of saline already in my band. She then added 2cc more. I sat up and drank some water. The water got "stuck." My band, filled to 5cc was too tight. I had to endure another poke so that the nurse could remove 1.5 cc, leaving me with 4.5 in my band.

I got the water down, went home and ate dinner, did fine with breakfast and then had my "snack" at 10:30 a.m. I couldn't eat my 10 grapes. I made it through 7 of them (chew chew chew) and was "finished." I waited awhile, then ate the last three. I was ravenous at 11:40, so I ate my handful of spinach leaves, salsa and garden burger. Everything went down OK. I made it through the day, cooked dinner and didn't run into a problem until I popped some Ibuprofen to get rid of a headache and STUCK! I think I need to get smaller pills!

It took awhile, but the pill went down and my evening snack of a handful of blueberries has been fine.

My fill hurt. It bled and I had an allergic reaction to the adhesive on the bandaid and have a rash. I suppose it will get easier and easier to be filled--but hopefully my sweet spot will be found right away and I won't have to be poked once a month for the next year!

I weighted 324 fully clothed with clogs at 4:00 p.m. at the "fill" clinic. I weighed 333 fully clothed the day of my banding. That's 9lbs lost or 3lbs a week, which is exactly what I'm suppose to be doing. My starting weight was 347 on August 1st. Last time I weighed myself without clogs, in the morning wearing lighter clothing, I was 320.

I'm on my way!

My next fill is 11/7. I'm going to increase my walking from 10-20 minutes per day to 30, too.

Is that me?

I know it's not a huge difference--but damn, I think the weight I've lost shows. I'm almost inclined to say I've lost one chin. Three to go...

Darr :)

Another night of sleeping for hours

I'm wondering when the exhaustion will pass? I felt really funky after lunch yesterday, skipped walking, and went to bed. I slept for about four hours, got up, watched CSI then went back to bed.

I swear I feel like I'm still drugged! And my surgery was 21 days ago!

All my clothes are feeling loose, as is my watchband.

Darr

320

I hit the postal scale on a drive-by last week.

3 2 0

full clothed.

That's a good thing!

I ate three 2-inch squares of extremely crispy pizza last night. Just like eating a cracker with cheese, onions, peppers and beef on it. I was full after that, and I stopped.

I had a chai this morning and know I need to put some "real" food into me before I toddle off into my day. Not sure what. Beans and salsa sounds good!

Darr

Exhausted!

All righty then....I am back at the day job and by 1:00 in the afternoon, I am done. Stick a fork in me D O N E. I've been getting up to walk around the interior of the building around 11:00, and continue to write on my lunch hour.

I ate an egg today. It is a banner day for Darragha! I had about 1/4 cup of polenta and an egg for breakfast! I got to chew!

Darr

Whoohoo!

7:30 a.m.

322 fully clothed, no clogs

Darr :)

October 1st

Minus about 25lbs