Sorry all, I still don’t have my four weeks post-op pictures taken. There’s been a lot going on and I’ve been slacking. I’m not usually so flaky.
Next order of business: I had my first fill today. It was an adventure! Several things happened and I’m not going to put them in chronological order, for the most part; categories make more sense to me right now.
First, let me explain: My surgeon doesn’t typically do fills. There is a doctor (Dr. S) who is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the facility (fills, checkups, etc.) and the surgeon (Dr. N), who does surgeries and post-op checkups. There are also a number of nurses and physician’s assistants who work there. This will make sense as I tell my story, I hope.
Overall, Dr. S was pleased with my weight loss to date. She says that I’ve lost about twice as much as she would have expected me to at this point, which pleased me!
I talked to her about what my goal weight should be. She said she wants me to get to a BMI of 27 or lower, but that’s open to variables like how much muscle I have on my frame at the time, etc. I was able to make a ticker at Ticker Factory (does anyone know where I can make some that aren’t so cheesy looking?), complete with my history to date when you click on it:
We discussed my trip to San Deigo (we’re leaving in about 36 hours!) and decided to go forward with the fill, as it’s my first and is not likely to bring me to restriction anyway. “Besides,” she pointed out, “it’s not like you’re going to Cambodia. There are lap-band doctors in San Diego.” The typical immediate post-fill diet at this office is one or two days of liquids and then one or two days of soft foods before advancing back to solid foods. This gives the patient’s stomach time to get used to the new fluid and reduce the swelling that can occur after adjustments. Dr. S wants me to stick to liquids tonight, mushies tomorrow morning, and solids tomorrow afternoon so that we might be able to tell if there’s a problem before the drive.
If I had been flying instead of driving, I think we would have waited until next week because the changes in cabin and air pressure can sometimes cause discomfort for bandsters. As it was, I laid on a the flatest table ever with a hard, rectangular pillow under my back to create some tension in the port area. Dr. S had me do a crunch to help her find my port better and numbed the area. Then came the actual fill needle, which was kind of big. In it went. And out it came. And in it went. And then there were some clicking feelings (not sounds, just feelings). And out it came.
“There’s a lot of scar tissue,” Dr. S told me. “I’ll numb the area again and then give it another try.” Sure, let’s do it!
Aaaaannnnnndddd…still no fill.
I had to go into the other room and lay under a live x-ray machine, called a fluoroscope. Another hard pillow under me and a third numbing shot later, we find that my port is flipped on its side. Even under the fluro, she had difficulty accessing the right place on the port to insert the needle. She was eventually able to get my 1cc in, though! I had to reschedule my next fill appointment so that Dr. N can take a look and determine whether he wants to perform my fills from now on or if he’ll need to do a revision. A revision would consist of making another small incision in my port area, turning my port to the right position, and re-suturing it to my abdominal muscles. It’s really not a big deal at all, from what I’ve read and understand. Dr. S also said that a flipped port can straighten up as the patient loses weight.
It was really interesting to watch the fluro–the needle going in and out, my port, Dr. S’s hands. I’m kind of weird like that.
Have questions about my experience or want to tell about your first fill? Leave a comment!