Okay. It's not much of one, but I had lap-band surgery on May 26th of this year. I hit the wall after Danny was born. I was weak, tired, and looked like hell. I spent almost 18 months investigating weight loss surgery, and decided on the lap-band. You can read about the procedure, and my surgeon Dr. Horgan, here.

Anyway, it's been a bit of a rocky year for me. I had one really bad fill, one better one, and nothing since August. I seem to lose about 10 lbs after a fill and then stop. However, I wasn't able to go back in October for a fill because of my eye surgery & complications, followed by pneumonia, added to financial difficulties.

The doctor's assistant called me a couple of weeks ago to berate me. She is unimpressed with my "slow" weight loss. I'm down about 38 lbs from my pre-surgery weight, and almost 50 from my all-time highest. I let her know I felt 38 lbs in seven months was just fine, and that if I hadn't had the surgery, I wouldn't even have done that. I also let her know that the expense of a fill is a big reason why I don't go in more often. (Okay, that and I tend to pass out, but that's neither here nor there.)

So I have my next fill this afternoon and I'm nervous. Besides it being a nerve-wracking procedure, I have to weigh in and I'm due for my visitor today so I'm all bloated and yucky, not to mention about five pounds heavier than my lowest weight post-op.

To ease my pain a little, I went down to the fitness center and pulled the card that has my measurements on it, and went into the ladies' room to retake them.

Here's what I've got (you may have to scroll way down; tBlog is acting up):

Area	11/2003	12/2004	Change
Neck	16.5"	16"	-.5"
Upper Right Arm	18.75"	15"	-3.75"
Upper Left Arm	18.25"	15.25"	-3"
Right Wrist	8"	7"	-1"
Left Wrist	7.75"	7.25"	-25"
Chest	44"	39"	-5"
Waist	47.25"	42"	-5.25
Hips	55.25"	49.5"	-5.75"
Right Thigh	28"	26"	-2"
Left Thigh	28.25"	25.5"	-2.75"
Right Knee	17"	16"	-1"
Left Knee	17"	16"	-1"
Right Calf	18"	17"	-1"
Left Calf	18"	17"	-1"
Right Ankle	11"	9.5"	-1.5"
Left Ankle	10.75"	8.5"	-1.25"

That means a total loss of 36.25 inches since last year. That's a LOT of fat. I'm disgusted and proud all at the same time! I have no idea still what my final goal is, but I'd like to lose about another 70-80 lbs and get my chest/waist/hips down to something closer to 38/30/38. We'll just have to see. Anyway, wish me luck on my fill, and pray I don't pass out again!