Getting more restriction now

Had another fill yesterday, of 1.4ml, taking me to 6.4ml now. I was pleasantly surprised to discover, when I got to the clinic, that the lady who filled me last time wasn't there (see my last post for an explanation!). Instead, it was the senior nurse who has seen me on and off for the last four years, and I've every confidence in her. The fill went extremely smoothly and I've no had adverse side-effects like last time. Phew! I've been on fluids and very soft foods since so it's difficult to tell exactly how much restriction I've now got. However, I definitely feel more restriction than I did before, but I suspect I will need another fill or two before I'm at optimum. With Christmas, and a house-move coming up, I'll probably wait until the New Year before going for my next fill.

I will be pleased to get some more restriction though, because I've been really struggling to control my eating over the last few weeks and have steadily been gaining a few pounds. It's such a shame because after a long time of struggling I had actually begun to start making some real progress earlier this year.

For now, my plan is simply to try to re-gain all those good habits - eating slowly, eating crunchy, healthy foods, controlling portion size, eating with a small fork (yes, really), and keeping a food diary. I'll let you know how I get on!

Horrid fill experience

Two weeks ago I had my first fill after having my band completely emptied before that. As I anticipated, my fill was 5ml, the same as it was the first time around - four years ago! However, my fill experience was not the same as previous fills at all. This was the first time I had been seen by this nurse. She said she had worked there for 18 months but I hadn't seen her before. She prodded, pushed, kneaded and pulled, and eventually stuck the needle in. Then she did some more prodding and pushing, pulled the needle out, and went through the process all over again. It wasn't what I would call painful, but most uncomfortable. She said a couple of times that it was difficult because the needle was "right on the edge". This worried me because last time I had been here at the clinic I got chatting to a lady who had had to have surgery to replace her port because it has somehow sprung a leak. She suspected the last nurse to give her a fill because it had been a difficult experience. I was starting to worry that putting the needle in right on the edge might cause a leak in my port too, and I'd end up having more surgery - at my expense of course.

Anyway, I gritted my teeth and thought of England, as they say! When I got home I did as I always do, and pulled off the plaster. I had expected to see one of those tiny round plasters, but instead it was quite a large one. This surprised me because none of the previous nurses had ever needed to use a large plaster, and also because it should have said clearly on my records that I am allergic to Elastoplast.....!

Later that day, the area where the needle had gone in was bright red and itching like mad. This was true for an area about 5cm (2inches) in diameter. It stayed extremely itchy for the next five or six days and was so bad at times I had to take a strong antihistamine to relieve the itching and swelling. The redness faded into a huge multi-coloured bruise and eventually the itching receded. The area is now finally back to normal after two weeks.

I've made another appointment for my next fill and am going to see the same nurse again. This wasn't by choice, but she's the only one available at the moment. When I booked my appointment I explained to the practice manager my concerns and she advised me to speak to the nurse on the day and tell her what happened. I'll certainly do that! Apparently the top man of the practice will be on duty that day, so I can ask for him to do the fill if the nurse starts to have any problems like last time. Not looking forward to it though!

Since my last fill I have felt a little restriction but nowhere near enough. I am eating like a horse to be honest and my portion sizes have definitely increased. I've also found that I'm eating a lot more carbs instead of focusing on proteins as I was doing previously. Hopefully the next fill will get me back on track...... Wish me luck!