January 23rd rolled around and it was time to get my port fixed. This time, the surgery would not be a big deal. My surgeon didn't even need to put me completely out for it, just gave me some light sedation so I fell asleep. Fifteen short minutes later I was waking up in recovery with my port where it was supposed to be and my first actual fill!
Yep, it turns out I had NO saline in my band. The doctor figured that the flouro doc completely missed my port when he tried to give me a fill in radiology. So I'd gone five months now with absolutely no fill. No wonder I wasn't feeling restriction and could eat like normal. So my doctor gave me a nice big 2 cc fill. And man could I feel it! I had to go back to a liquid diet for two weeks, which I wasn't at all expecting, but it certainly jump started the weight loss!
Finally I knew what true restriction felt like. When I tried to eat anything without chewing really well, or take too big a bite, it felt like I was going to vomit. And yep, sometimes I did! Not too pleasant, but nothing like getting the stomach flu. Just a little "urp" and whatever it was that got stuck came right back up again. Sometimes something would get stuck halfway and I'd have to have my husband smack me in the back to get it to go down. Not sure what's more painful, getting something stuck or having to ask my husband to burp me! But, it's a surprisingly effective method.
My husband has been great through this whole process. Sure, he was nervous about me having surgery but he completely understood my reasons. He has watched me struggle with my weight through our entire relationship. He knows how low my self-esteem is. And he's stood by me through it all. And he's definitely getting the rewards as he's loving the new body that is emerging!
