Progress

Friday, October 15, 2010

First Fill Report

I had my doctor's appointment yesterday.  I'm down 7 lbs from the last time I was in their office so they were all pleased with that.  He said all the scars look fantastic (at least as far as scars go) and then he said, "Hop on the table for your fill."  So I laid down.  He started poking around and then asked me to lift my legs a few inches off the table so I did.  Incidentally, that's not as easy as he made it sound.  Anyhoo...he's feeling around and feeling around and then he said "Your port is twisted."  I said "Uh oh." Yes...that was my brilliant reply to that.  I didn't know what to say so I start freaking out a bit.  So he's moving stuff around on my stomach and it's sorta painful and then he says "OK...you're done."  I asked "You filled me up?"  He laughed and said "Yep."  So I asked him if that whole twisted port thing is something I should be concerned about.  He said that as long as he can access it, we're OK.  It's not completely flipped around just pointing more towards the inside of my body than the outside. Then he said if it does flip, it's just a real small procedure to get it turned back around.  But he told me we'd worry about that when it happens.  He did say that it'll make fills a little more painful for me than other people since he has to feel it out more and twist it up to get at it.  And it did hurt a little bit but it really wasn't so bad.  I've seen pictures of some bandsters who were actually bruised after a fill and it's nothing like that.  So while I'm still kinda freaked...I guess it's OK.

So how much do I have in my band?  I have no idea.  LOL.  A couple things here...I keep forgetting to ask how big my band is.  Dumb, right?  Outside of that, my doc doesn't really seem to do fills like everybody else.  He doesn't have a standard..."On your first visit, you get 2.5 cc's; on your second visit, you get 1 cc..." kind of thing going on.  He adds fill until he feels pressure back and then he backs off a little.  Doesn't sound very scientific but he's one of the best here in the state so I don't doubt his method.  He's a fantastic surgeon...my scars aren't too horrible and his patients tend to do very well.  I guess it just seems odd that all of you seem to know how much is in your band at all times and I don't even know how big mine is.  Then again, I kinda like it this way.  This way, I'm not obsessed with the number and I won't start freaking out if the amount of fill it takes to hit the sweet spot is more than others.  Hmmm....something to ponder.  I remember when I was pregnant with my first baby (hang with me here...I have a point...I promise), and it got near the end and I would go in and the doc would tell me I was 1 cm dilated and then 2 cm dilated and then I just stayed there for weeks.  The lack of progress was REALLY frustrating.  So with the second baby, I told the doc I didn't even want to know.  The baby would come when she was ready and there was no point in obsessing over it.  And sure enough, she did.   So in a way, I feel like the amount I have in my band is something that I don't need to worry about.  I think it's more important how I FEEL with the fill.  Right?

So how do I feel with the fill?  Exactly the same.  At least right now because I do liquids for 24 hours after a fill.  I'll let you know how I feel after dinner of real food.  I go back for my second fill a couple in a month.  Off to work now.  Hope y'all have a fantastic weekend!

7 comments:

Alison said...

You're doing great, hope that this fill works for you.
I think that not knowing is good, less to obsess about, I often think that standing on the scales 4 times a day is not a good idea but I just can't help myself!

~ Katie ~ said...

I'm glad your first fill went well, despite the twisted port. I agree with Alison, not knowing is less to obsess about :)

Patrick said...

First fill milestone complete - congrats. Look forward to hearing how you feel after 24 hours, keep on feeling good and have a great weekend!

Phil said...

Manda, i apologise for my ignorance of banding here, but what is a fill. From your description it sounds like a solution the doc injects into you....i'm just curious as i have heard the term quite often since entering blog-land, but have not been able to find a good explanation on the web.

Anyway, it sounds like the band is working it's magic for you, and 7lbs is a great loss. I agree with Alison and Katie above - the less numbers and statistics you have to obsess about, the less distractions from the bigger picture of you getting down to your goal weight.

Jess said...

Glad your first fill went decent! That's great! Hopefully you get some decent restriction when you start solids again too!

Amanda Kiska said...

Glad it went (pretty) well. Sending good restriction vibes your way!

Amanda said...

I cried big fat tears from the ammount of positive support that I got yesterday! Thank you so much for making me feel better. You are right I am doing the things to change the bad! I will email you when I start to fall again! :) Thank you, I mean it, it meant the world yesterday!