i had my first fill this morning under fluro...it took all of 15 minutes and i was a nervous wreck prior...it proved to be all for nothing. the worst part was having to have all my piercings taken out prior to the procedure! here's what went down...
i laid on a table and had a pic taken of my belly that showed up on a small screen beside my bed
i saw my port and the how it was attached to my abdominal wall with hooks (that was weird)
i saw my band which is nowhere near the port and in between all sorts of other inside stuffs!
i was given a shot of lidocaine to the numb the area-it burned a little like the heparin shots
the NP stuck a needle in my port area and felt for the pockets on the band (which i did not feel but could seen on the screen) the needle was attached to some tubing but i could not see what was in the end of it...
the bed was placed in a standing position and i was given a cup of contrast that i watched flow freely down my esophagus
she injected some saline i think about 1 cc and i drank some more contrast...the flow was a littler slower
she injected another cc and i drank some more contrast...the flow was slower still...
she injected another cc and i drank some more contrast...i felt like it was going to come up...
she removed a 1/2 cc and i drank some more contrast...i felt like i had to burp...
she removed another 1/2 cc and i drank some more contrast and then some water...and i felt ok...
so i got a 2 cc fill today on top of the one from surgery...so 3 total in my 10cc band
i felt like a had a lump in my throat for the first hour afterward, but i feel better now...
i am now back to mushies for two days...she said it appears i am tighter in the morning and i should try to drink a shake or yogurt in the mornings...
that's it:) now the fun begins...i must remember to chew...
lets start there because that's what matters here right!!! when i went into surgery i weighed 233# and today i am 221. i have been down on myself for these numbers mostly because it is easy to get into a comparison game with other wls folks and this is absolutely silly. i have lost 12# in a month and this is indeed spectacular! if i continued to lose at this pace i would be at my goal weight in six months! however, i know this may not be a realistic goal as my weight loss has been extremely slow over the past two weeks...according to my surgeon a 1-2# weight loss a week is what is expected with the lapband and any more than that is phenomenal. i have not been as diligent in tracking my measurements which will be key for me because let's face it, we all need some way to measure success, and if the scale is not moving it can quickly become...well, depressing. i picked up some new vocab while perusing this site and found that NSV's are also a cause for celebration! this may seem like a no-brainer, but i have never thought of doing this the past 800 billion other times i have tried to lose weight. so here are a few of
my NSV's...
doing some type of physical activity---> daily!
sticking to allotted food items--->daily!
logging my food, mood, and exercise-->daily!
testing my blood sugars-->daily!
trying to be encouraging and supportive to at least one other person on this journey--->daily
fitting into a pair of jeans that are one size smaller!
needing to wear a belt with all of my other pants!
improving my time and distance when walking outside
finding ways to celebrate that do not include alcohol and food
my pain...
my pain is virtually non-existent and i can pretty much do everything i was doing before surgery. i still have some discomfort and pain in the area of my largest incision at times. i am still not able to sleep/lay on my stomach and i still have some swelling in this area...(anyone else have this 4 weeks out)? also, i seem to have developed a slight headache issue...this happens at least once daily and i am not sure of this is due to my sugars dropping too low, a sign that i'm not drinking enough, or that i'm letting too much time go by between meals...i'm keeping an eye on it.
a lump...
i have had what feels like a lump in my throat for the past 3-4 days...i'm also trying not to read to much into this as i have had this feeling before pre-band and it has been attributed to anxiety...anxiety! what anxiety?! i have been off work for almost a month, completed school a week ago, have been eating better for almost two months and have been exercising daily for the past month...what gives? being on this forum i have come to understand that this is sign of other things, like being stuck, being too tight, reflux, gas, and on and on...i have not had a fill yet and i am able to get down liquids and foods just fine...i'm going to see my primary care physician this friday who is also banded and i will discuss this with her.
burping...
ok...so i am finding that burping has become...weird! about half of the time when i burp instead of going out they go in and then i spend the rest of the night expelling this gas from various places or burping outwards all that i burped in several hours later...does this make sense? anyone else experience this? burping outwards is grand!
support...
my biggest supporter in this journey, my husband, was banded yesterday! i am so happy for him and happy to have him take this journey with me! he has decided to name his band "wife #2"!!! i am thankful for this site and other social media that i use and for all that have commented on anything or reached out in any way! i am on fitbit, mfp, and youtube as phatkatblue please add me if you use any of those outlets...the more support and encouragement the better:) i have also found that getting on these sites encouraging others and reading their stories has been good for me as well...
