Shoulder Surgery?

January 5 is the day for my shoulder surgery. Oh! you say didn't know I had problems with my shoulder. Well here is the story. I began working out about 6 weeks after I had lap-band surgery. It started out with Walk Away the Pounds. I would work out 3 times a weeks. In May, the local pools offered water aerobics and I managed to do that on everyday but Sunday. Then school started and summer ended so I went back to Walk Away the Pounds and occasional Zumba (when the instructor wasn't sick). When I am exercising, I notice that I had some pain in my shoulder. Not bad just pain that would be taken care of with a tylenol. September came and the pain began to get worse. In October, at my PCP appointment, I mentioned it to him. He said that I had bursitis and needed physical therapy. In my physical therapy evaluation, it was determined that I had frozen shoulder syndrome which in my case is caused by diabetes. I began physical therapy and had about 8 sessions but my shoulder was not getting better. It actually felt worse. So I made an appointment with an orthopedic doctor thinking I could get a steriod shot as all the other teachers with frozen shoulder have received. Of course not--that would be too simple. I need surgery! Apparently 2 years ago when I fell out of bed, I injured my shoulder which caused scar tissue to build up and created bursitis. UGGHHH!!!Why can things not be simple for me? Until next time.....

Needle in a Haystack

Lap band issues or stomach virus?
Sometimes trying to figure out what is going on with me is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I teach school and my little gremlins are always sharing their goodies with me like stomach viruses. I had lapband surgery so eating sometimes can be challenging,too. So Wednesday when I felt sick almost instantly when I ate lunch, knowing the difference was hard. I think I may have the answer--stomach virus. A few Zofran and 24 hours later, I feel like human again.

Peanut Butter

My name is Debra and I have an addiciton. I am addicted to peanut butter. I love peanut butter. I could eat it everyday. Now that my addiction is out in the open, I will be fine. The news reports that the prices of peanut butter will go up 40%. WOW! That's at least 80 cents a jar. I will go broke. What will I do....

Something is not right!

Have you ever had that feeling that something is not right? I have that feeling every time that I eat. I am swallowing slowly. Since my last fill (Sept 27), I have a slow drain. Not clogged--just slow. I am not sick, I am not stuck but just slow. I can't explain it and I don't want to call the doctor but I am afraid that I am going to have to. I keep waiting for this to get better but it is not getting better. I have read about esophageal dilatation but that doesn't sound like me. I know if I call the doctor, I will have to have the dreaded tests... Maybe it will work itself out and my drain will speed up or maybe I will call the doctor :(

256....256...256

Are the scales ever going to move??? Everyday I wake up (feeling like P Diddy--of course) and weigh myself. I don't know why I weigh myself every morning but I hope that the scales record something different but for the last two weeks 256 is the lowest that they will go. Is that the lowest that I will see, I hope not because I have about another 100 lbs to loose. I guess it will happen.  I suffered a plateau in June because it takes a while for your body to catch up with your weight loss. I began obsessing over calories to the OCD point. So I had to just let the band guide me through that period. So here I am again wondering if I am going through another plateau. I started a new exercise routine, so maybe I am making muscle again. There is nothing wrong with that just the scales don't move.

In other news, my primary care physcian appointment went well. He was sooo impressed with my weight loss even suggested in a year getting a tummy tuck for all the extra skin. Of course, he wanted me to have weight loss surgery for years before I agreed. So I will have time to think about it. My numbers were awesome. He even lowered my insulin. Not sure if I mentioned that I am type 1 diabetic who used 300-500 units daily before lap-band. Now I am using about 60 units a day. If I don't lose another pound that non-scale victory gets me through the day.

Full?

Well, it happened last night. I got full and then....tried to eat one more bite.  Just like a car that is too full of gas--it came straight back out. No warning at all!!  My husband and I went out shopping and then stopped at his dad's to visit. We ate lunch at 12pm and by the time we got home it was after 8pm. I was really hungry and neither of us felt like cooking. So, we went through Wendy's drive thru. To tell the truth, I am quite sick of chili at this point because I have been eating chili for about two weeks due to the fill. So I went outside the box and got a bacon burger. I wasn't sure about the bread because I have been staying away from bread since surgery. Since the bun was toasted, I decided to try it. I began eating and taking very small bites doing well and eating really slow. I gave 1/4 of the sandwich to my dog because I wanted a bite of frosty. So I  took a spoonfull of my husband's frosty and then frosty everywhere. The band is just doing its job--glad someone (something) does their job effectively. Everytime I go to Dr, Lapband, they ask "Are you getting full?" My usually answer is not really but I don't want to get sick, so I will stop eating. Last night, I didn't even finish my food--Yay!! I hope that means more weight loss. I weighted myself on Friday and 256 lbs. (down 70lbs).Woot!!

Until next time

Sleep Study--NSV

Last night, I completed my sleep study. I have been having issues with the CPAP kicking my mouth open since June. Finally, I was able to pinpoint who I needed to talk to because I haven't seen my pulmunologist in 3 years. I got my CPAP and was on my way--no follow up appointment or anything. Dr. Khajawha decided I needed to have a sleep study in order to see what was going on with my CPAP. Guess what!!! The weight loss has helped. My pressure on my CPAP was 15 and now needs to be 8. I am counting this a a NSV--maybe if I loose more I can get rid of the whole thing (dreamy eyes).

Long Over Due Blog

Hello!! This blog is long over due. I keep looking at other blogs and think perhaps my information could change someone's life like the blogs I follow do my own.
So here I am....Blogging!! My name is Debra and I am a third grade teacher who was banded on March 28, 2011.  It has been the best decision I ever made. So far, I have lost 65lbs since starting the pre-surgery diet and being banded. I started out at 326lbs and if you are doing the math I now weigh 261lbs. I have made several changes to my lifestyle as far as eating, exercising, and basically how I think about food and my weight. I am celebrating several non-scale victories daily. I am continuing on this journey, hopefully it will take me to become a BIG LOSER!