Checkup After First Fill

Today I had a checkup after my first fill a week ago. I weighed in and lost another 2.4 lbs which puts my total weight loss at 39 lbs (current weight 322 lbs).

I had a fluoroscopy to check on the constriction of the band. There was good flow and the nurse said I didn't need another adjustment right now.

Since my fill I have been having problems eating my meals. The first couple bites of food seem to get stuck and are very uncomfortable. I have to wait a minute or two until the feeling goes away before I can eat. The nurse said the food is sitting on top of the band so my body may just need to get used to the band being there. I have been trying to make sure I eat small bites and chew my food really well, but that really hasn't helped.

I know I'll need another fill in the future because I think I am physically able to eat more than the small plate of food I should be eating -- but so far my self control has been good.

I am still using the silicon patches, although they are starting to get pretty nasty. I wash them daily and have tried to peal off the lint stuff that seems to get stuck to them. The patches seem to be doing a good job and the scars are fading slowly. I think it will take a while though before they are completely gone (if ever).

Tattoed with scars

In the last two weeks I haven't had any noticeable problems. I did notice that recently I have been hungrier. I had been told that as you lose weight around your stomach the band will become loose and you'll be able to eat more (that's why you get adjustments to the band -- which I did today)

Since I had the lapband surgery I have been using vitamin E oil on the scars two times a day. I haven't noticed any change in the scars. Other people have reported that their scars are fading... but not mine. I have had several previous surgeries (gall bladder removed, hernias repaired, exploratory surgery for suspected cancer) and have the prominent scars to prove it.

So with this surgery I didn't want to have any additional prominent scars. After using the vitamin E oil and not seeing any changes I decided to try something else. Some people recommended mederma so I decided to ask the pharmacist at Bartell Drugs. The pharmacist said from what he has been told the best thing for scars is silicon patches. I decided to try this (it's cheaper than mederma... but still expensive). They have a guarantee on the package so if it doesn't work I'll get my money back.

I cut strips of the silicon patches to put over my scars and have left them on for about two weeks now... only taking them off to clean them or reposition them. I have noticed that the scars seem to be smoother and are no longer raised up. They seem to be fading a little bit. From the instructions on the package it can take a few months for the scars to fade. I'll keep you posted!

1st Adjustment

Today I had my first adjustment. I have lost 37 lbs so far. I am down to 324 lbs now (my original weight was 361). I haven't really been doing anything except taking daily walks for about a 1/2 hour and only eating 3 meals and not eating past being full.

The adjustment is done at the clinic, Northwest Weight Loss Surgery. I didn't meet with the doctor, the adjustment was done by a nurse, Bethany.

First she has to find the port. To do this she has you lift your legs so the stomach muscles will flex and force the port upward toward the skin. My band holds up to 14cc's and initially had 4cc's inserted into it by the surgeon.

Bethany took a small needle and poked it through my skin into the port. She extracted the existed 4cc's (to make sure how much was in there) and inserted an another 3cc's of liquid for a total of 7cc's. My band is now half way full.

She had me drink some water to make sure it went down fine. She also gave me some advice:

• Don't drink carbonated soft drinks. She's had problems with this before and
evidently the air can cause the stomach pouch to expand.
• Each small bites and chew your food well. Big chunks of food can get stuck
in the band and wreak all kinds of havoc.
• After an adjustment there might be some irritation so try eating soft foods
for a day or two.

There was no real pain except for the minor needle prick.

I'm supposed to see how I do at this level for a week and go back in a week if I need more of an adjustment. If I feel hungry, don't have a good weight loss, and can eat too much then I'll need another adjustment.

Once I got back to work after my appointment I had my lunch. I didn't really notice anything different other than feeling full after eating two/thirds of my lunch. Since I've read that some people throw up -- and I don't want to do that -- I stopped eating at that point. So far so good. :)