First Doctor's Appointment

In a state of mild panic, I decided that the first thing I needed to do (after telling Geekboy) was to get myself in to see a doctor. I was concerned that my nutritional state was probably a big issue (not to mention all of the other things I'd been doing since I didn't know I was pregnant). Also - I really had little idea how to approach the whole concept of lap band pregnancy.

I was in a bit of denial and kept fluctuating between not really believing I could possibly be pregnant and freaking out about what could be happening to the baby if I really was, in fact, pregnant. In my state, I really wasn't ready to share the pregnancy news - which meant I couldn't call anyone to ask where to find a good OB doc. After a bit of thought and research online, I opted to call a top-ranked local hospital to see if they had an OB to recommend. They gave me the contact info for a group of five female OBs with a shared practice. It sounded great so I called.

Me: "Hi, I'm a new patient and I'd like to make an appointment."
Scheduler: Takes my name, address, phone, insurance, etc.
Scheduler: "How about October 19th?" (We were in late April.)
Me (a bit shocked and alarmed): "Ummm...I'm afraid that's not going to work."
Scheduler: "Are you pregnant?"
Me: "Yes, and my situation is a little unusual so I'd like to get in sooner rather than later."
Scheduler (chuckling): "Yes, I suppose October would be a bit late. How about next week?"

I went in for my appointment, still in a fair bit of denial. I had convinced myself that the doc was going to look at me, laugh at the absurd notion that I thought I was pregnant, tell me I had gas, and send me home. That's not what happened.

I joked with the nurse about the fact that I didn't think I could actually be pregnant, but after I had to excuse myself twice to use the restroom before even seeing the doctor, she said, "Honey, better believe it..."

The doc saw me and asked a bunch of questions. Then I got my turn to ask a bunch of questions. Afterward, she fired up the ultrasound machine. There on the screen in plain view was a little bean-shaped blob inside a larger circle and in the middle of the bean, there was a light area that was flicking on and off really fast. The doc pointed at the screen and said, "There's your baby." Tears came to my eyes. That was the moment it became real to me. She said it was a good sign that the heartbeat was so visible and strong at six weeks. I was relieved.

The doctor didn't really seem to have any concerns about the fact that I had a lap band (although she admitted she'd never had a patient with a lap band in the past). And she didn't seem too concerned about all of the other things I had been worrying about. She told me that a baby's nutritional needs are minimal this early in the game and that I should probably see a nutritionist to make sure I was getting enough of everything. She also told me not to worry too much about the other things I'd done when I didn't know I was pregnant - just to do the right things from here on out. She also pointed out that most folks don't figure out that they're pregnant for a month or more so it's pretty common for people to drink, eat the wrong things, be exposed to bad stuff, etc. - and in the great majority of cases, things turn out just fine.

I left the doctor's office feeling relieved and also feeling like I needed to get over my denial lickety split!

Pregnant!

I was thrilled to have finally reached restriction after my series of fills and the pounds again started dropping off. A few weeks after the big fill, GeekBoy and I made a week-long trip to visit some extended family members of mine. I was concerned that they'd notice my weird eating habits and ask what was going on, but no such thing occurred. I even had to excuse myself from the table a couple of times and run to the bathroom for a spitting up episode, as I was still getting used to the "eat slowly and chew like your life depends on it" thing. I remember thinking, "They're totally going to think I'm pregnant or something". Funny thing is, I was - I just didn't know it at the time.

As luck would have it, on the day of my March fill (or within a day or two on either side of that date), I had gotten pregnant.

Fills

At the time of my lap band surgery, the doctor put 5ccs in my 10cc band. I've since learned that this is A LOT of fluid to have in one's band from the get-go, but at the time I hardly noticed. I remember thinking I'd have a difficult time consuming anything after the surgery based on all that I had read (and at the time, I thought my band was completely empty). A few hours after the surgery I had no trouble whatsoever consuming the stuff they brought me on my "tray of liquids" consisting of (among other things) jello, a lemon sorbet, juice, and cream soup (which I'd also read was a no-no after surgery). I would never have believed that a half full band would allow me to consume all of those things.

Over a period of a couple of weeks, I was gradually permitted to add in mushy food and then solids. I was shocked to find that I could eat most of the same stuff I had eaten prior to the surgery without any real trouble. I was scared to death to "overdo it" as I'd read all sorts of horror stories about stretched pouches and slipped bands, but on rare occasion, I did end up overeating and pretty much had no ill effects. After some time, I began to even wonder if I'd actually had a band installed at all.

It was 2 1/2 months after the surgery that I went in for my first fill. The doctor added 1 cc to the band. This was also when I learned that I already had 5 ccs in my band. I was shocked.

For a day or two after the fill, things seemed a bit tight, but then they loosened up and I could eat normally again. I started wondering if the whole band thing was a sham or if I was a freak case for whom it wasn't going to have any effect. However, I was determined to keep losing weight so I followed all of the band rules carefully despite being hungry and also physically able to eat greater volumes than I was eating.

The scale kept moving so I opted to pass on a fill the following month.

However, loss slowed and I chose to go for another fill the month after that. At first, the doctor added 1 cc to the band. When he gave me my Dixie cup of water to drink, it got hung up. I tried to wait a bit to see if it would go down, but it just sat there on top of the band - making me uncomfortable. As I sat, the doctor pulled 1/2 a cc of fluid out of the band and I felt the water immediately run down into my stomach. What a bizarre sensation! Instant relief.

While I enjoyed the idea of water actually being able to pass through the band (to say nothing of food), I was desperate to reach the elusive level of "restriction" I'd heard so much about so before the doctor pulled out the needle, I asked if he'd consider putting a wee bit back. He was happy to oblige. Doc added back .25 ccs and gave me another cup of water to drink. This time, it went through - but slowly. I decided to give that level a try, crossing my fingers that I wouldn't regret it. Doc said I'd know if there was an issue before the next day. Thankfully, there wasn't.

6.75ccs in my 10cc band was perfect for me. I could eat fine if I took my time and chewed well, but generally about 15-20 minutes into a meal, I'd just lose interest and put any remaining food away. It was a completely new experience for me as I'd previously been a "plate cleaner". On occasion, I did eat too fast or fail to chew adequately (resulting in hiccups or a spewing episode or both), but these were fairly rare occurrences. I was amazed that I could be satisfied on so much less food and I had to be careful to choose what I was going to eat to make sure I was getting adequate protein.

In the mornings, I was quite tight and could only reliably get liquids down, but it didn't really bother me and I developed a routine of having a protein shake for breakfast every day, which gave me a good jump-start to reaching my protein goal each day of 60-80 grams.

I was content and planned to stay at that fill level for a while.