Bravo if you caught the Barenaked Ladies reference. Ok, so this was a week filled with new experiences and lots of work, let's start at the top...
I didn't post this on my last post but I was really stuck for the first time last Friday. I came home from work and my sister had made chicken and noodles (which is a fave) with green beans, yummy. Well, at least until I decided that I wouldn't pay attention to chewing my chicken. I felt it stop, as all banders have and spent the next 15-20minutes just trying to remain calm and sip some liquid to try and get the chicken to move down. A wise woman once told me to try as hard as I can not to bring it back up, (sorry for the graphics,) so I didn't. I calmly just stood in the bathroom and waited for it to pass. And it did, and it was a HUGE relief. Sometimes I think it just serves as a reminder that we have the band. You get used to smaller portions, you get used to not drinking during meals, you get used to eating in a certain order...but once that food passes the lips, it's sometimes hard to remember the obstacles it will have to pass to reach your stomach. That's where you have to really really retrain yourself and the way you eat. So, once again, after 5 weeks (at the time) of being banded I decided to start counting how many times I chew again.
After that excitement, on Tuesday, I went to have my first fill. The really exciting part was seeing Karen's (my NP who I saw in the office pre-op and in the hospital) eyes light up when she saw what the scale read out. She exclaimed, "Oh my goodness Jordan, you have lost 30lbs since the first time I saw you!" And she took my hand. I almost cried. Before the appointment, I was scared of the fill but also extremely apprehensive that she would look at the scale and say: "Really, Jordan, just 18lbs since surgery?" So when that expression crossed her face and her mouth said the word THIRTY out loud, it was like a wonderful dream. I haven't been at this weight since before my Dad died...over 5 years ago. Wow.
Now on to the fill, if you are squeamish about needles, don't read. So, I've heard all these horrible stories about people's ports (see diagram below) being twisted or turned so the doctor's can't access them and so I was a little freaked before the appointment, also, would I feel like someone was tightening a viscrip around my stomach?? First thing she did when we got in the exam room was just talk to me about my diet and how I was feeling (which is amazing, btw!) Then she asked me to lay down and act like I was going to do a sit up so she could feel for my port. It was precisely where I thought it would be...where I had the most pain while I was healing. Then she pulled out a needle...a very large needle. I believe it was 4" in length. She put it in and honestly it was totally painless, it was more uncomfortable when she was pushing on my abdomen to feel my port! So, then I really got freaked. I felt her moving the needle and she had me partially sit up again and nothing...she couldn't hit the port. All those fears of port torsion rushed into my head and I started to get really really frightened. She pulled the xray over and could see the port and viola...she was just over a little too far. She wanted to go get a LONGER needle so after about 1 minute she stuck me again, about 1/2" to the right of the first stick and IMMEDIATELY she got the needle into the port. All my fears faded away and then I just became amused. She hooked on a syringe and pulled all the way back. She said that usually there is some fluid left in the band from when they test it during surgery. To my amazement, there was 3cc of fluid in my 10cc band! She pushed that back in (during which time I could feel my stomach moving, almost like when it's growling) and added an additional 2cc. So I am officially 50% full! Here is a picture of the complete lapband system.
So, for the next 24hrs post fill I was on liquids. I could have any liquids I wanted as long as they weren't too thick, the stomach swells a little after the fills. Then the next day I could advance to soft solids that didn't require chewing. Then on Thursday at lunch, I was back to normal. I don't feel much different than I did before the fill. It's a wee bit tighter but not much which is why they schedule you for 3 biweekly appointments after your first fill. I will have another a week from Tuesday, hoping that I will hit my sweet spot after that appointment! It can take up to 2 weeks for your body to adjust to a fill, so this is all a new experience for me!
Other than that, I am working a ton at my 2 jobs and enjoying it. I get worn out at the end of the day but wouldn't have it any other way! I just need to find time to work out! My 24Hr Fitness membership hasn't gotten much, well any, use. I need an accountablility buddy...any volunteers??? Lol
Well, that's it for now!! Can't wait to update with more weight loss soon!!
Oh and my girl, Tamera is having surgery in 14 days, 41mins and 20 seconds...just fyi!!!
Peace, love and cupcakes,
Jordan
