Ladybug

Monday, October 12, 2015

Good, Bad, & Ugly

Lots can change in a week. When last I checked in, I had just gotten a partial unfill of my band and was having horrible tension headaches.  Gradually over about 5 days after the unfill, my headaches faded. Turns out that the headaches were my body's way of screaming at me that there was something wrong.

The good news is that headaches are gone.

The bad news is that a heaping helping of acid reflux has taken their place. I will say, I can handle the reflux better than the headaches, so that's good. But long term, it is really bad for me, which brings me to...

The ugly news is that likely I will need to have my Lap Band removed. Not going to sugarcoat it, it sucks. I was unsuccessful for years in trying to lose weight and finally I found something that helped me enough that with diet and exercise, I could do it. I have kept off almost 70 pounds for years now. I do not regret this journey in any way, shape or form.

But now comes the big unknown. I will be meeting with a surgeon soon to first rule out any other possible issues and confirm that the problem is indeed, my band. Then comes the hard part, what to do next.

I'm not sure if it is coming across very well, but I'm actually in a wonderful mood. With the headaches gone, I feel like myself again. I'm bummed that I have to deal with the band issue and reflux, but I'm in a place in my life where I know that I can.

My ultimate goal is to be healthy and at peace in my life. Now I just have to determine the best course of action to make that happen long term.

I will keep you posted.

Hugs!

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Quick Check In

Checking in to say that all is well in my Never-ending Questland. While it is true that the frustrations of the "never ending" part are high, it is also true that I remain steadfast in my belief that my life is awesome and if this is the worst I have to bear, then I'm truly lucky.

I've had a series of unfortunate things occur. (1.) When I ramped up my weight training, I developed shoulder tendinitis. (2.) As I was treating the tendinitis, I started having tension headaches. (3.) Monday night I got some sort of stomach bug and spent the entire night heaving and cramping. (4.) Yesterday it became clear that the stomach bug had caused a problem with my Lap Band.

Today I went and had a cc of fluid removed. It was weird because it was actually painful when they removed the fluid which has never happened to me before, even in emergency tight situations. I was uber swollen. But almost immediately I had relief, so hopefully the stomach issues will all be sorted in the next day or so.

My shoulder is most definitely healed.

Now I just have to figure out the headaches. A little of me is hoping that they will just go away. I have NEVER been a headache person so it is a bit frustrating. Why does one all of a sudden start getting tension headaches? I'm working with a chiropractor and sport massage therapist to see if that will help. I have another appointment with them tomorrow. My PCP has referred me to a pain management doctor but the appointment isn't until late November. That is a long time so I really hope the appointment ends up not being needed.

All that being said, things are really good. I'm enjoying the Rangers in the post season. We have been doing all sorts of fun stuff like was always do. Tonight we are going to a 90s band concert which should be fun! The weather should be nice and it is a great time to hang out outside in Texas.

My point of this post is to document for myself that I'm having a tough time focusing on weight loss (which is fine) but to make sure I don't go off the rails somewhere. I have had a rough (easy to feel sorry for myself) week and sometimes that can mean that I "deserve" a shit ton of carbs. I don't want to let that happen so I decided a reality check blog post would help.

Hope all is well with you out there!

Hugs!