Weigh-in

I went in yesterday for a "fill" in my lap-band. I've lost almost 50 pounds so far! Soooo exciting! I bought some new clothes this weekend but still need more. Not much that I have still fits! Woohoo!

Ophelia

The last few weeks have been hard. On May 3rd we had to put my sweet kitty Ophelia to sleep. She was 16 years old. I'd been worried about her of late but she still seemed like herself. She was still eating and drinking and pooping and all of that good stuff. But Saturday she was laying in the hall and I could just tell something wasn't right. I picked her up and held her and just cried and cried. Brandon called the vet and they said to bring her in right away. We didn't have anyone to keep Brenna on such short notice so I wasn't able to go with her. I told Brandon when he left that I thought she'd had a stroke and the vet said the same thing. He stayed with her until it was all over and that made me feel better knowing she wasn't alone. It was probably for the best that I wasn't there, I would have been sobbing uncontrollably I know.

Morrison, our dog, was at the groomer when all of this happened. When he came home I think he could tell something was different. He seemed sad for several days. I think he's still looking for her, he goes to the places where she would sleep and looks for her. It breaks my heart.

I still want to cry whenever I think about it. I know she had a good life and she was loved very much.

Update

Brenna had tubes put in her ears yesterday. She's doing great. It was harder on me than it was for her! We saw an ENT on Tuesday and he wanted to do it ASAP so he scheduled us for Thursday morning. She had 7 ear infections in the last 12 months. Poor baby! She was cranky and sleepy yesterday but today she's been her happy self again. Well, except for the fall-to-the-floor fits she had a couple of times today. Don't know who to thank for that bit of excitement!

I know she's getting to the "terrible two's" stage and I'm afraid we are going to get there a little early. I told Brandon we will not have "that kid" that throws themselves to the ground and has fits. She's become familiar with her time-out spot already and if she's acting out she will become very comfortable there! LOL!

So far so good...

with the latest fill. I can tell a difference in the amount I have eaten the last few days. This was a good weekend. Mom and I went to see "The Other Boleyn Girl", it was really good. I read the book years ago and was very excited to see they had made a movie. I love that historical stuff, the fiction and the non-fiction. I also just finished reading "The Boleyn Inheritance" and it was great. It makes me want to read more. I used to read a lot, but that was BB - Before Brenna! LOL!

We booked our Disney trip today! Woohoo! We will be leaving December 5th and coming back the 15th. My BFF Sonya and her DH James are going with us too and I am sooo excited! Brandon and I sat down with Brenna today to watch the Disney Vacation Planning DVD. Not like WE need a DVD to plan a trip, LOL! But Brenna was just enthralled with it. Anytime Mickey was on the screen she'd yell "MICKEY" or "RELLA" if she saw Cinderella.

I'm such a sap, if you know me in real life you already know this. But watching her watch the DVD actually made me cry! Seeing her excitement over the characters on TV, and thinking how much MORE excited she will be to see them in person.... UGH! Waterworks! Unless of course she takes after her Aunt Reenie and is terrified of people in costumes. Then we might be in for a different vacation! I think she'll do great though, we can't wait!!

11 pounds!!

I went for my 2nd fill today. I was sure I'd lost something since my last visit but was shocked that I'd lost 11 pounds! That is awesome! Tooting my own horn here but what the heck! I've now lost 27 pounds total since surgery. I got another 1.5cc in my band, for a total of 3cc now. I'm on liquids for 24 hours then move on to mushies and back to regular foods slowly to see what I can tolerate. I was so happy when I left the doctor's office today. I had to call my mom, my sister - DH was still at work so I got to tell him later. I am so close to being under 200 lbs, it's been YEARS since I could say that. And to know that when I lose a pound it's not coming back, that's HUGE!

Yea me!

Fill #2

I'm off tomorrow to get my second fill in my band. I really need it too! I have been able to eat WAAAAYYY more than I should. I really haven't had problems with anything, sadly. The doctor said it could be 3 fills before I hit the "sweet spot" where I have restriction. Honestly, that kinda scares me too. So far with the band I haven't had any bad experiences, no getting sick or getting anything "stuck". I've heard that is extremely painful and not something I am looking forward to. I know that the more fills I have the more likely it is I will experience something bad. But I know the reason I had the surgery in the first place is to be healthier and happier. So if it takes me eating something I know I shouldn't, and then having a bad reaction, to keep me on track I guess it will!

I don't know for sure how much I've lost because my scale doesn't weigh the same as the doctor so I will find out tomorrow. All I know is that I can take my jeans off without unbuttoning them! That's fun! LOL!

Lamest blogger EVER!!

To anyone that actually reads this blog my apologies! I started this blog to keep everyone updated on my progress with my lap-band and then just sorta forgot about it..LOL! It's been about 2 months since I posted last... seriously lame!

Since my last post...we had Christmas! LOL! Since I didn't have a fill I completely enjoyed myself during the holidays. I could eat anything I wanted, just not as much of it as I usually would have. I went in on January 17th for my first fill. I had heard of others that had rough times with their fills so I was worried going in. It was all for nothing, it was completely painless. I was in and out in about 10 minutes.

My doctor uses Flouroscopy when doing a fill. Fluoroscopy is like a moving X-ray. I took a sip of some barium while standing in front of the machine (I'm sure it has a name but I have no idea what it is) and I could see it going into my stomach. It was kinda neat! Then he had me lay on the table and he started feeling around on my stomach for my port. I asked him if he was going to numb the area at all before and he said NO so I was freaking a little but it was ok. My skin at the port-site is still numb from the surgery. He said I may or may not ever have feeling in that area again. Weird huh?

So he put about 1 1/2 cc of saline in my band and had me do another barium swallow. It was so neat to see the difference in how the barium flowed into my stomach after the fill. It was quick and painless, just like I like it! I go back at the end of February for another. He said it may be 3 months before I am where I need to be for restriction.

I haven't been able to tell a huge difference in my eating yet other then just the portions. The only thing I have had a problem with was a burger from Wendy's. Yes, I know I shouldn't be eating that anyway so it served me right! I learned my lesson!

I'll try to do better with my posts. Maybe I'll figure out how to add pics to my blog, that would make it more interesting at least!