Fill 'er up

I wish I had taken pictures today to capture such a monumental moment, but really I was so scared to death about the whole experience that the thought didn't even cross my mind.

Today was my first fill!

I've been dreading this day since I made the decision to have band surgery and now I know that no one is lying, getting a band fill truly doesn't hurt.

I had been following a thread via the smartbandsters group on yahoo, hoping that I could overcome my fears. A couple of people suggested lidocaine ointment. I called my surgeon's office last Friday and yesterday the called in a prescription for my-new-best-friend.

I put my-new-best-friend on in the car as Ben was driving over to the surgeon's office. It takes 30-45 minutes to work. We got to the office and I started to get extremely nervous. I watched the clock like a hawk, hoping they were going to get me in before my-new-best-friend stopped making magic. At 30 minutes, I asked the guy at the front desk if they were running behind and I should apply some more. He suggested I do that. So I did it.

Then, they called me back and explained that the NP that is supposed to do my fill (who I love) has a couple more surgeries and wouldn't be able to do my fill today. I could see a different Doc or come back on Thursday. I said that I would let him feel my port and if he thought he could hit it easily, I would consider letting him do it.

Ben and I went into the office and Ben got to step on the scale (he's been dying to do this) that tells you a ton of information, like what percentage is body fat, water weight, etc. Ben, of course, is 17% fat. So crazy. So, Doc came in and explained that he had done hundreds of fills. He felt for my port and said it was easy to find. It really hurt, quite a bit actually, when he continued to push down on it. I freaked out and one of the staff came in. She was also afraid of needles and knew just what to say to get me to calm down. I calmed down and we did it.

They have you lay down. They put a needle in your stomach. They put a couple of ccs in, take a bit out (to make sure they've hit your port). Have you sit up and drink some water - to make sure you are not too restricted. Pull it out and walla.

I've started with 2 ccs. They don't want to put too much in you right away, they want you to get used to the restriction.

I've lost a total of 16 pounds in about 5 weeks. This is nice steady weight loss. I've even gained some muscle mass.

I met with the nutritionist who said I was doing great and that I should continue to keep up the good work.