IWTB: Second Fill was the Key!

After staying at the same weight for months, I FINALLY have started losing weight again. What's my "secret" - I got another fill in my lapband! 

A gastric band is different from other weight loss surgeries in that it requires follow up. If I had gone in on October 8th, had the surgery and did NOTHING else, the lapband would not work.

So what is a fill? 

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A fill is when the surgeon (some offices allow their nurses to do fills, my surgeon does his) injects saline into the port. The saline expands the band, tightening it around the stomach and creating a narrower passage way for the food to travel through. 

My surgeon (Dr. Knapp) does his at the surgery center where I had the procedure done so he can view the whole thing via x-ray. A nurse walks me back to the operating room in my lovely paper gown and I sit on the table, reclined just a bit. Dr. Knapp finds the port with the x-ray machine gives me a quick warning, then sticks the needle through my stomach into my port. (It doesn't feel much different than getting a shot, but it is weird to see a syringe sticking out of my stomach for the next few minutes.) He then removes all of the fluid from my band to make sure it is all still there and has not been leaking. Once he's made sure it is all still there, he injects new saline into my port. 

I take a few swallows of barium (YUM!) to make sure the band isn't too tight, then I'm on my way! It's very quick, easy and pretty painless. 

For two days after a fill, I am on liquids only to allow everything to adjust. Once I start solid foods, I measure out 1/2 cup, take tiny bites, chew like crazy and eat s-l-o-w-l-y. Before my fill, I was still able to down large quantities pretty quickly. With a tighter band, I'm noticing a BIG difference. Now when I eat too fast, eat something with a bread-like texture or take too big of a bite, it gets "stuck". I get a knot in my chest and waves of pain that last a few minutes until my stomach is able to process what I've just tried to eat. If I try to push it and eat another bite too quickly after being stuck it is extremely painful and can result in the food coming back up. (Technically it's not vomiting because the food never reached my stomach. But it's gross nonetheless!) 

If I follow the rules, eat what I'm supposed to how I'm supposed to, it's no problem. I'm being forced to learn a new way to eat - which is exactly why I chose to have gastric banding in the first place. 

It hasn't been easy getting used to the lapband actually doing it's job! But I have a renewed sense of hope that I CAN and WILL actually lose this weight.