First Band Fill Last Wednesday + Results

I had my first band fill last Wednesday in Olympia.  I've decided to make the best use of the hour-long drives by listening to Byron Katie's audiobooks.  I was able to finish "A Thousand Names For Joy:  Living in Harmony with the Way Things Are" .  What a mind-bender this book is.  She goes straight to the big scary things in life (cancer, death of a child) and using "The Work" challenges the reader/listener to see the Tao in all of it.  The beauty in all of it, just exactly the way it is.  Never the way you think it should be.  Promise me, if you get interested in Byron Katie's work, please start with her earlier books like "Loving What Is:  Four Questions That Can Change Your Life" so you have a foundation in her concepts. 

Onwards to The Fill:  My band, model AP Standard LAP Band has the capacity to hold 10 ccs of saline.  I received a 4.4 cc fill on Wednesday.  The procedures was done under the guidance of a seated flouroscopy machine (a streaming xray machine), similar to this picture.  There was a nurse and a technician with the nurse administrering the barium and band fill.  The procedure was simple: 
1. drink barium,
2. watch the flow through rate between the upper pouch and the lower stomach
3. add saline until the flow through rate looks right and the contents of the upper pouch empty very slowly into the lower stomach.

The nurse and technician were amiable and were happy to answer technical questions and followed sterile technique.  I was grateful this practice uses a flouroscope to help the nurse know specifically how much to fill the band by direct visualization and not guessing or sensing the pressure by hand.  All around a pleasing experience.

How was the pain?  Bigger than a bee sting for sure but not as bad as some dental novacaine experiences I've had.  No involuntary tears leaking out the corners of my eyes.  That's a large gauge needle and I certainly felt it pierce my skin and connect with the lap band port.  I didn't flinch and the nurse asked if had a high tolerance for pain.  Ma'am, flattery will get you a compliant patient.  The sensation of the actual fill was startling; a strange, electrical shock-y feeling as the saline is put in and drawn back and put back again.  Not horrible, but not nothing, either.

The reccomendation is to eat a full liquid diet for the next 48 hours after every band fill.  I continue to struggle with this reccommendation as I did the first two weeks after the surgery.  Shhhhh.

The experience of eating, getting full with a small quantity of food, and staying satisfied longer with that small quantity has been interesting.  More to tell later.

A Recent E-Conversation... (Three Weeks Post Surgery)

Kim, Let's put all your research and experience to work! I need a favor. I have a lot of patients that need the kind of help that you yourself have sought out for conscious eating. Do you have references, groups, etc that you'd suggest?  Thanks!!  - K

Thanks for asking, K, I’m doing great!  Started working out at the gym again this week after an almost six week hiatus (blah!!!!) and the only thing that’s a little trouble is lying down on a mat and holding position on a training bike for more than 20 minutes.  The little port that is sewn into my upper abs is still a little sore and likely has another 2-3 weeks before it’s completely healed. 

My first fill is on the 16^th  and I’m quite looking forward to it since I can (and want) to eat everything and I’ve had lots of night-time and emotional eating urges return.  I can’t say they are at the forefront of my brain, but as I get tired and especially at the end of the day, I want that “release” that food so faithfully provides.  So, onwards towards lifestyle and mental changes that prevent some of the needs for those “big releases” at the end of the day.  How about a bunch of little releases accomplished via means other than food?  Onwards, I say. 

And tying in the above to your question, here are my greatest resources for lifestyles and mental health changes:

Greenlake Nutrition:  http://www.greenlakenutrition.com/  Specifically their women’s emotional eating support group.   The counselors are excellent and the prices are right.  New group starting in two weeks!

Intuitive Eating:  http://www.amazon.com/Intuitive-Eating-Revolutionary-Program-Works/dp/0312321236?&camp=212361&linkCode=wey&tag=myqua04-20&creative=391825  The book that started it all for me.

Nourishing Wisdom:  http://www.amazon.com/Nourishing-Wisdom-Mind-Body-Nutrition-Well-Being/dp/0517881292?&camp=212361&linkCode=wey&tag=myqua04-20&creative=391825   When I started studying how the mind and body interact and how emotions come into play while eating, this book was helpful in sorting everything out.

The Work of Byron Katie:  http://www.thework.com/index.php  This is the real mental work I do to find out what’s going on inside my head and to release suffering.  Super good.  Hard to get at first, but it works really well for folks who respond well to the cognitive behavioral therapy approach, which I do.

Anything by Karen Koenig:  She’s a great CB therapist who writes crisp, enlightening books and articles on eating normally.  Love her.  Love her books.  Anything she writes is excellent.  http://www.eatingnormal.com/

Good Information on Gastric Banding

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjustable_gastric_band