Post-Op 5 Month Update

Wow, I can't believe that it's been five months since I had the lap band. Time has flown by quickly, although sometimes not quick enough. It has been a long process so far. Last month it was one year since I applied for the surgery. When we go through this process all we focus on is the light at the end of the rainbow. The day that we can feel fit, healthy and not fat!
Although I am so happy with the lap band so far, I definitely wish the weight was coming off faster. I still haven't lost any weight since the beginning of January. My pants are bigger and I can now fit into some clothes that were too tight for me but I want to see the scale go down.
Last week I had my third fill. I have 5cc in my 10cc band right now. I had been on the fence about getting another fill as I was feeling some good restriction with my last fill but the last month my hunger and the amount of food I could eat had increased. I'm feel very good, and hopeful about my latest fill. Hopefully this time next month I'm bragging about a 6 pound weight loss. Wouldn't that be nice? :)

Enter to Win a $500 or $100 Visa Gift Card

How would you like to win a $500 or $100 Visa Gift Card? I am 1 in 1000 of the house party hosts for the American Idol and Ford House. What I need is your help in making me the ultimate winner. The more votes I get, the more entries I have to win a 2010 Ford Fusion and trip to the American Idol Finale.

What's in it for you, besides helping me? You'll be entered to win either a $500 or $100 Visa Gift Card.

Just visit my house party page at https://fordvehicles.secure.emipowered.net/idolrocksfordrolls/register/index.php?SITE=vote&ID=136498. Once there you'll need to fill out the form. You do not need to fill out the section about buying a vehicle. You only need to fill out the info with an *.

If you have any questions on the contest, please let me know. Thanks so much for voting for me!

Show me some Bloggy Love

I am in a contest to win a $200 Gift Certificate to The Children's Place. The one with the most comments on their "Children's Style" post will win.

I'd love it if you could stop by and leave a comment on my post about Kendra's style. It's on my other blog, Front Porch Reviews.

http://frontporchreviews.blogspot.com/2009/04/show-and-tell-kid-clothing-styles.html

If I win the $200 GC, I will be giving it away on my blog. So help me out and maybe you'll be the lucky one who wins the Gift Certificate in the long run. :)

Twitter Moms: The Influential Moms Network

Necklace Giveaway

Through my networking on Artfire, I ran into a wonderful woman, Desiree. She sells beautiful jewelry and more. She has graciously offered a custom created necklace for my giveaway. It's a 3-strand necklace made out of acrylic beads that are lapis lazuli colored with silver nugget beads. It's 18" long with a 3.5" extender clasp. Retail value $25. If you're the lucky winner, you'll be able to own this beautiful piece.
You can find her other items at Jewelry by Desiree.

This giveaway is open worldwide and will end on April 19, 2009 at midnight EST. To enter, stop by my other blog Front Porch Reviews.

NSV = Non Scale Victories

How often do you stand on your scale? Once a week, once a month, daily, maybe never? I step on mine each morning before I jump into the shower. Why do we care so much about the number on a scale? Is that the only thing that shows how successful we are with our healthy eating and exercise? I have been very discouraged lately because the number on my scale doesn't seem to be moving. Since December I have weighed the same amount, give or take 4-6 pounds. I keep bouncing from 252 to 246. It's been very frustrating. I was recently reminded that it's not just the number on the scale that I need to pay attention to.

I have been going to the gym anywhere between 3 - 6 times per week. I have noticed that I can walk two miles alot easier on the treadmill than I did when I first started working out two months ago.

I have also gone from a size 24 down to a size 18, all the while the scale has stayed the same. When I run into family or friends that I haven't seen in a month, they always tell me that I look like I have lost weight. It is nice to hear that and it does help keep me motivated. Especially when I'm stepping on the scale and seeing the same number.

Today I had an appointment at my lap band doctors. We talked alot about the lack of movement on the scale but the other non-scale victories. They reminded me that I really need to stay positive and focus on the other good things that are happening. Since I had lost 40 pounds prior to surgery, I actually may be in plateau stage. I'm going to keep track of everything that I eat. I start off the mornings good journaling but by the end of the day, I forget to write things down.

On February 23rd I had my second fill. About two weeks later I started feeling some restrictions. Enough restrictions for me to pass up my fill that I was scheduled for this month. I normally eat a piece of toast with peanut butter in the morning. For the past couple of weeks I have only been able to eat 1/2 of it. I'm not sure if it's the peanut butter or the toast but it feels like it gets stuck in my pouch. I have changed to eating two Weight Watcher cheesesticks on my way to the gym. After working out I eat another cheese stick and a piece of fruit. That tieds me over until lunch time. Usually for lunch I eat leftovers from the night before. I have tried to cut back the amount of carbs I'm consuming. For supper I usually have a protein (usually chicken) and vegetables. I'll cook myself a 4-5oz piece of chicken and eat 1/2 of it. The other half I'll eat for lunch the next day. Then I usually have 1 cup of vegetables. Occassionally we'll have rice or potatoes but not very often. I find that 2oz of chicken and the 1 cup of veggies fill me up. If I get hungry later in the evening (sometimes around 8pm), I'll grab a handful of almonds and eat them. It's enough to take the edge off the hunger.


So, is your scale hiding from you? Do you stand on it too often trying to see those numbers going down? It's time to step away from the scale and take advantage of those non-scale victories.

Leave a comment here letting me know what your NSV are.

Flipped Port

A friend of mine who had the lap band placed in January just found out that her band flipped. After doing some research online I wanted to put together a post about what happens when a port flips. What are some of the causes and how do they fix it.

Remember, I am not a medical professional. I'm just sharing some of the info I found online.

Dislodging or Flipping: The access port is sutured in place on the fascia (gristle) and muscle of the abdominal wall. If the sutures pull out of the muscle, the port can become loose or even flip over. The port then becomes difficult to access. Fixing the problems requires a return to the operating room for minor surgery.

Only 2% of band patients experience flipped ports.

Usually a port flips after a traumatic event. For example, if you were in a car accident and your air bag went off, there is a chance you flipped your port. I read about one person who bent over in the shower and they heard and felt a "pop". That was actually their port unattaching itself and flipping over. Since your port is just held in place with sutures, there is a possibility of it becoming unattached.

If your port does become flipped, you will unfortunately need another operation. They say that the surgery is very quick (10 minutes), is done on an outpatient basis and is alot easier than the actual lap band surgery. They do not enter the abdominal wall nor do they do anything to the band itself.

I read on a lap band forum that one person who had the surgery said that within 8 days she was back to normal and couldn't even feel that she had surgery. That sounds alot better than the original surgery recovery time!

If you have experienced a port issue, please leave a comment and share your story.