Reflux in Bandsters

I saw my regular doc today about getting liquid antibiotics. (Got 'em! Thanks for the suggestion. Now I don't have to be terrified every time I take them.)

My doctor asked how things are going with my band, and then mentioned that he doesn't love bands because several of his patients had severe reflux problems with them. I know a few people in our community have experienced this as well, and this worries me.

Is reflux inevitable when you have a band? Is there a way to avoid it? Once you have it, do you have to loosen the band so much that you start to regain? How is it best managed once it shows up?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Babies, Babies Everywhere

My sister called last night to tell me she's pregnant with her first baby! So excited.

And then this morning the orthopedist's receptionist called and said brightly, "Dr. V had her baby! So I'll need to reschedule your appointment."

While I am delighted for Dr. V., I didn't even know she was pregnant. And my foot HURTS. And I can't swallow the rather large Aleve Liqui-Gels right now. So I'm limping for another couple of days till I see another doc in the practice. C'est la vie.

The scale was down a bit this morning, but hard to tell how much. It skipped around, so I'll weigh again in a little while to see if I can get a solid reading.

I also want to give a special shout-out to my friend Janene, who is the only person from my real life to read my blog. We were friends when we were single professionals, we shopped and worked late and drank and got makeovers together, we danced at each others' weddings and I love her dearly. Hope step class went well today, my friend. xoxo

HAPPY MONDAY, PEEPS!

Droopy Drawers

I had a lovely NSV today. Most of the time I wear jeans, but today I put on a pair of black pants that were snug when I bought them in November. They drooped so much that the hem dragged on the ground. They were too loose in the waist, the butt, the legs, everywhere! Today is definitely the last day I can wear them. As soon as I wash them I'll take picture and put them up for grabs here, along with a shirt and a pair of jeans.

I almost PB'd again on the antibiotics, even cut in half. They sort of sat there threatening to come up for about 10 minutes, then passed through. There is no way I'll be able to get them down if I smoosh them in grape jelly or something, so I'll just hope for the best for the next couple of days.

Well, Hello! Why Doncha Stay A While?

Hello, restriction! Yay! As so many of you have mentioned before, things seem tighter in the morning and loosened up a lot by last night. I'm delighted the restriction is here and just hope it sticks around for a while.

This does, however, make taking my antibiotic a little tricky. The pills are HUGE, so I cut them in half after yesterday morning's fiasco. But even the two halves are big enough that I've had to wait till noon to take them.

Ah well. I should be done with the antibiotic in a few days.

I'm still officially on liquids today, although I did have the ricotta/tomato sauce combo last night for dinner and it went down fine. This morning, some hot tea and a few bites of very runny oatmeal. I'm working my way now through a smoothie but it's taking a while.

We ended up getting about 16 inches of snow, and it's so heavy it's still weighing down tree branches. I'm guessing we'll go out to play later this afternoon.

Snow Day! (Sound Familiar?)

First of all, thanks for all your comments yesterday. They really do help me believe that this thing will work, at some point. You guys are the best. I was telling my husband today that I don't know what I would do if I didn't have all of your advice and experiences to guide me through this.

As for the eating (drinking), so far so good. I made pancakes for everyone this morning - the boys were begging - but I really wasn't tempted by them. I had some yogurt because I need something in my stomach for the anti-inflammatories I'm taking for my foot and for the antibiotic I'm taking for the sinus infection.

Secondly, we're doing another snow day and this time it's serious! We have *way* more snow than we did during the last storm. I'll try to take a picture at some point and post it.

We're planning to get the kids all set up in their snow gear and hike over to Grandma's house, mostly to get us all some exercise and a break. I'll try putting the baby in my Bjorn. We'll see how that goes...

**UPDATE** I took my pills with a few sips of water and within 10 minutes was leaning over the toilet. Oddly, some stuff came up but the gagging seemed to dislodge the meds and they went down. Not pleasant, but I'm grateful the medicine is in my system and I don't have to start over with the pills.

So I guess that was my first PB? With pills. Ewww. Should have been something worthwhile, like pizza!

Is This Thing On?

***I want to preface this post by saying I know I've been all kinds of negative lately. Please know that I am not writing this to bring on sympathy from you. I started this blog to keep track of my emotions and frustrations through this process, so I want to be as true to my feelings as I can. I'm hoping writing it all down will help me make sense of it.***

I had fill #2 today and I've been starving all day. Before the fill, I had three soft-boiled eggs and two pieces of rye toast with butter for breakfast. I resisted the cookies at my Haiti fundraiser meeting, so yay me on that front. Had 1.5 cc's added to bring me to 5.5 cc's in my band.

I went home and had 1/2 c of roasted red pepper soup, was still hungry so had a protein shake. I haven't had one of those in at least 10 days. Still felt hungry so had 1/2 or 2/3 c of chili, blended with some beef stock to thin it out. At dinner I had winter vegetable puree soup and 4-5 bites of tuna salad. Tonight I've had a glass of wine, half of a mashed avocado and a SF chocolate pudding cup (60 cals).

I am feeling so let down by this. I know it's a tool and I need to put effort into it, but I really did expect more from this band. I can't quite figure if it's normal to have this hunger and overeating while waiting to get to restriction, or if I am a giant fuckup and going to fail with this just as I have failed with every other weight-loss effort. If I fail with this, I'll let down my husband, my children, my entire family. Which, frankly, just depresses me and makes me want to eat more.

Second Fill

The snow waited for my fill - thank you, Mother Nature. I'm up to 5.5 cc's in my 10 cc band. The surgeon didn't want to go to 6 yet, and I kind of didn't want to run into any problems where I'd be trying to trek back and have some taken out during a snow storm. So my fingers are crossed.

I've been eating allll the wrong things for the past two weeks and it has caught up to me.

At least my liquids/mushies days should help get the scale moving in the right direction.

I hope everyone is dry and warm!

QUICK QUESTION: Is it normal that I'm pretty hungry? I've had 1/2 c of red pepper soup, a protein shake and 1/2 c of blended chili in the last three hours and I'm just now full.

Too Fat to Fly, Part 2

My beloved New York Times is piling on, making me nervous about flying:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/travel/prac28fat.html?hpw

Question of the Day & More Snow

We've got a nor'easter coming! Or maybe a 'snow hurricane'! Who knows, but it's gonna be exciting, according to the breathless forecasts here.

All I know is, I WILL BE GETTING A FILL TOMORROW AT 11 AM, come hell or high water. Or a snow hurricane.

I also finally made an appointment with my orthopedist for Monday, so hopefully that'll get the plantar fasciitis and attendant foot problems on a better path to healing so I can exercise without pain and causing more damage.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: I have 4 cc's in my 10 cc band. I'm planning to ask for 2 additional cc's tomorrow. Good idea? Bad idea? Suggestions?

The People Around Us

I live in a town where virtually no one is fat, and certainly not obese. Maybe some of the 50- and 60-something women have the usual 15ish pounds to lose, but very few women my age are truly overweight. Quite the opposite, they are toned and tanned and coiffed.

So I am definitely an aberration in my town. Even in my family there are clear delineations when it comes to weight. My dad and his side of the family have always had weight problems. My mom is uber-thin (my sister teasingly calls her Lexi Anorexi), my sister is very thin and my brother has gone from stringbean to puffy and back a few times but generally is really fit.

My husband weighs 168 and hasn't varied from that by more than four pounds in the ten years I've known him. He weighs himself every day and when it's at the higher end of his allowable spectrum, he cuts back for a few days. End of story. Needless to say, I find this amazing.

On one hand, all these healthy-weight people are a constant reminder that I am not normal, and while most people can hide their issues, my "secret" weakness is broadcast to all by my heft. On the other hand, I think it's good for me to not be lulled into a false comfort by seeing overweight people all around me.

What kind of environment do you live in? Do you think it helps or hurts your weight-loss efforts?

Note: I had the Hubs pack up all the chocolate kisses in the house and take them to work. Getting it out of the house is half the battle, right?