Fill Me Up

Yesterday was my first appointment to have my deflated band inflated. I would like to report that I had absolutely no apprehension about this endeavor, but I would like to be honest. For those who have no clue about this band, let me give you a brief lesson.

I liken it to a napkin ring that is placed around your upper stomach. It is put in place with a little clamp. Think of plastic handcuffs they use at amusement parks when you have been naughty, or the ties they put on toys to keep them in place. Ok. Inside of the napkin ring are little pockets that are filled with the saline solution. This allows for the band to tighten around your stomach and make your stomach pouch smaller. Therefore, you can eat very little at a time, become fuller faster and stay that way longer and lose weight.

Now onto my first fill.

I busied myself in order to not really think about what was going to happen. Then, as they left me in the room before Dr. Boe came in I saw the table. Two packaged needles, both with liquid. I didn't see past the needles. I was mesmerized. I look over to Max and Mikaela, the baby and toddler who have accompanied me on my journey. " I don't even LIKE needles? Why would I even sign up for this?" Max responds with "na na na na naaaaaaaaaa". Mikaela looks at me like I have four heads. and opts not to respond.

WONDERFUL! Perhaps, I should have gone for gastric bypass. Granted, they rerout your insides, and you might miss some important nutrients, but its a one shot deal with no needles involved.

Then there is the fear of throwing up. I have read too many posts where some people are too tight and they can't even swallow their own saliva right after a fill. What if this happens to me? I can't afford to vomit. It's so unfabulous and Tim just cleaned my car. Oh my GOD what have I done?

Before I can have a full on anxiety attack, Dr. Boe comes in all goodness, cheer and light.

"Mikki! How are you?"

I tell him I am doing well, he congratulates me on my 14 pound weight loss (I will stop for applause here. I am not too proud to prompt.) and tells me to lie down. I can no longere see the needles, but I know they are there.

"Ok, you know, I am not a fan of needles." I blurt out.

Dr. Boe laughs and tells me not to worry and he will talk me through it. And he did. First is the betadine, the next will be the first needle. You will feel a pinch, a sting and burning, and then it will be over. Then will be the needle with the saline and we will fill you up.

The whole ordeal took about two minutes from start to finish, give or take thirty seconds. It was relatively painless and I even told the Doctor he remained on my Christmas card list. He laughed and said he was relieved.

I drank some water before I left to make sure I was not too tight and then I was released into the wild world of food with a partially filled band.

So far, so good. Yesterday, I existed off of two Dannon Lite N Fit vanilla yogurts, some fish chowder, and a protein shake, a far cry from the six small meals and 64 oz of fluid I am supposed to consume per day.

Today I have done better. Ok, thats not entirely true. I had my yogurt, and a protein shake. I just am not hungry. Its very hard to think of food when you are not hungry. I can't say I feel too much restriction yet, but I can say I could easily forget to eat.

I just need a couple of days to adjust and I will keep you posted.

Your recovering fat girl,
Mikki