Till Death Parts Us...Is the Lap Band worth risking death?

Me and SAL, SAL and me.  I love my band, and respect it.  There are rough times (umm...learning experiences), but overall, things generally go okay.


Some of you from Myfitnesspal.com and lapbandtalk.com might be aware that one of our own passed away.  Of course there's no 100% safe surgery, but I never thought I'd know (virtually) one of those statistics.  Two weeks ago, she posted that her band slipped, she went to the ER, the compression of the band pinched nerves, causing seizures and she was clinically dead for 4 minutes. She was shocked back to life.  She went home, awaiting a doctor appointment on 5/1 to have the band removed.  She logged her food a few times, posted her usual positive comments on our posts, and passed away a few days later. I could go on with details, but in reality, it was complications due to the band.  You will be missed, Shirley.


I have to ask myself, "Is the band worth dying for?  Is it worth taking that risk?  Is it better to die trying than to not try at all?  This blog is meant to encourage others to think.  Feel free to post your response, or just think to yourself.


My answer, yes.  If the device that I had put in to save my life ends it, then so be it.  At least now I know that I can do this weight loss thing.  It ain't pretty.  There are frustrations and struggles every day of this journey.  I don't regret it.  No matter what, I'm not focusing on statistics.  I can try to make it "less awful" by saying..."but she had the band in 2006, and things are better now" ... but in reality, that's the chance we take.  It scares me.


SAL, the name of my band, stands for "Saving Amy's Life."  And you know what, he has already done his job. My labs are normal, I'm 95 pounds down, and I feel better about myself.  I will continue on.


If something happens and the band has to be removed tomorrow, I*REGRET*NOTHING.

Fill Appt & Pic of SAL!

click on enlarge

Well...here he is.  Good 'ol SAL.  I got a "peace of mind" picture today (even though I'm eating fine since the "orange chicken from hell" incident).  The top, middle area of the picture is the band (side view) and the dark squiggle under it is the barium.  The flow through the band looks good and the position is fine.

I got a .10 fill today, which has me at 6.35cc/10cc band.  

As soon as I'm back to "normal" food (post-fill), I'm changing a few things up in my daily diet.  Since I know that I can eat corn without a problem, and that's one of the few veggies that I like, I'm going to try to eat some  every day at dinner.  Dinnertime is when I'm most likely to overeat, so if I eat some corn at the end, maybe it will help with my evening temptations.  I stopped by Smart & Final today to grab some Torani Sugar Free Caramel Syrup and individual restaurant-sized containers so I can buy a big bag of corn and freeze containers individually to take to work.  If something isn't convenient, I won't eat it.  No more excuses!

Don't forget to ask for a picture from the doc.  :)  I keep mine taped to the fridge! 

Adjustment Appointment Tomorrow!

Last month was the first month since banding that I didn't lose weight.  There were quite a few factors:

• switched birth control pills (different hormone levels)
• too much dining out (back to my personal rule of 1x/wk max)
• the "stress" of being in looooooooooooove

So.....tomorrow morning....getting more fluid put in and also requesting a barium swallow to make sure that the band is still in the correct position (after the "orange chicken from hell" incident).  I'm kind of dreading my weigh in, though.  I'm not too proud of that!  I've been hungry lately and seriously contemplated devouring the fingers and toes of those around me.


I'm enjoying the last of my solid food for another day.  On the good side, I'll get to eat mashed potatoes and ABC's and 123's for dinner tomorrow night.  Mmmmmmmm!!

9 Month Post-Op Update! Lab results, ultrasounds, oh my!

A BIG NSV (non scale victory)!!!
**Only ONE area (of three pages of labwork), was "out of range" --- HDL (the good cholesterol)**

Area of Concern                    Labs from 4/1/11                   3/14/12 (8.5 months postop)

Fasting Glucose                             80                                                        75 (yeah!)
LDL (bad cholesterol)                  146                                                       116 (yeah!)
HDL (good cholesterol)                 28                                                         37 (boo!)
Total Cholesterol                           185                                                       171 (yeah!)
TSH                                              1.90                                                      2.87 (boo!)

• Vitamins D and B12 are both normal, but I do have to continue to take 50,000 IU once/week to keep the D level up.  Iron level is good!
• I had an ultrasound of my thyroid to check the size of the nodule that was there prior.  It is still there (0.6 mm) but has not increased in size.  Good!
• Another ultrasound - this one was of my nether lady parts - the ovarian cyst that was "watch and see" is gone.  No gyn concerns at all.  Good!

What's changing?
-start taking fish oil to help the HDL get to a higher number
-increase dose of thyroid medication to get TSH down to 1.0

Newly Banded Blogger Alert (another Phoenician...woohoo!)

Christine is a recent post-op and lives in the Phoenix area.  Check out her blog and send some love!  This lady was on a bicycle within a week of banding.  Go GIRL!!  

http://nobodyherebutusadiposecells.blogspot.com/

Random Stranger: "My sister had the Lapband....and....."

I was discussing ring resizing with the sales lady at Jared (Mr. X bought me a "Just Because" ring, but that's a whole 'nother blog).  I explained that I was still losing weight and that I would need it to be resized at least a few more times.


Lady: "Oh wow, that's great that you're losing weight.  How are you doing it?"
Me:  "Watching what I eat and exercising."
Lady:  "My sister had one of "those" surgeries (she points to her belly), you know....a Lap Band."
Me:  "Oh?"
Lady:  "Yeah.  She only lost 10 pounds and she throws up after she eats almost everything."


SIGH.  I really wanted to grab her hand, push down on my port, and say, "TELL YOUR SISTER TO CALL ME 'CUZ SOMETHING AIN'T RIGHT!"


Whew.  I feel better.  Just had to get that out.

Never. Take. The. Lap Band. For. Granted. Never. Ever. Ever.

Every once and a while, SAL reminds me not to take him for granted.  A swift kick in the ass to remind me that I can't just eat however/whatever I want.  99% of the time, I don't even remember that I have a band.  The other 1%....well......read on. I follow the "rules" and try my very best to make good choices.  I am human, though, and with that comes the occasional time when I let down my guard.  Just because something is sold at Whole Foods does not mean that it is band friendly.  I mean, DUH.


Ok, so I have to tell a horror story.  Mr. X and I ate dinner at Whole Foods.  I was stupid.  Stooooopid.  I ate orange chicken right off the bat.  I thought I chewed it well and waited in between bites.  What did I already know (and ignore) about orange chicken?  Well, it was not fresh.  It sat under a heat lamp until some unsuspecting bandster walked by and grabbed some.  I'm not talking a huge quantity -- I'm talking 3 thumb sized pieces.  And that's all it took.  This was my worst ever puking episode that anyone has witnessed.  The other one was about two months post op but I was home alone.  


We had to leave dinner earlier then planned because my chest was so tight.  I was sliming so bad that my eyes were tearing up.
I puked in the bathroom at Whole Foods.  
On the way to the car, I puked on myself (shirt). 
I puked in the parking lot.  
I puked out the car door at a stoplight.  
I puked in the front yard at home.  
I puked in the bathroom at home.  
It. was. horrible.  I couldn't drink warm water.  Nothing.  The orange chicken obviously got stuck and every single thing that entered my mouth after that came up.  I suggested a walk down the street - maybe that would help work it through (the jogging in place and jumping jacks while holding my floppy belly hadn't worked).  Wrong idea.  Puked in the middle of the street.  Luckily, not on Mr. X.  I mean, no warning, just BLAHHHHHH ..... the warm water that I had attempted.  It was mortifying.  And all of this was in front of someone who isn't especially crazy about bariatic surgery.  


Can we say STUCK?  Eventually, I calmed myself down, relaxed and was able to get down some water.  The next day, started with liquids and then to mushies, and was fine.  My pride was very sore the following day.


Next time I get the urge to ignore the rules, I'm just going to drink some glue.  It has the same effect, and fewer calories, I'm sure.