WHEWWWWW.....

Well, I'm THRILLED to say, my Lap-Band is FINE. No leaks, no damaged port, no slippage, erosion or stretched pouch! I'm SO relieved. I went to Chicago last night, and Dr. Vitello thoroughly checked the system. I saw it all through fluoroscopy, and was happy to see it working as it should.

However, my band WAS completely empty! That is exactly what I had suspected. The first time my "home doc" (we will refer to her as that from this point on) managed to access my port she pulled out 2cc's. Then she injected me with 2.6, which actually went into my flesh, and NOT my band. That's why as soon as I left her office, I had NO RESTRICTION at all. The short needle was not long enough to inject saline into the right place in the port.

The next time I went back she pulled out .5cc. That would have been the last of Dr. Vitello's fill. The WHOLE 2.5cc's. So, she didn't add anything at that point, and I've been completely empty for over a week!

Last night, my band was only able to hold 2.25c's. He first tried 3, and I almost threw up. Nothing would go down at ALL. Then at 2.75, STILL too tight. 2.25cc's seemed to be the magic number last night, so we'll see how that goes. I'm "thinking" that since ALL saline was removed, my stomach walls thickened up a bit, since they were not being squeezed anymore. So, I wasn't able to handle as much saline as before when my walls were thinner. Make sense??? It's the only logical thing I could think of...LOL Or it could just be the fact that I gained 4 pounds when my band was completely empty! Ooooops! *blushing*

Once again...if you CAN use fluoroscopy....DO IT. The peace of mind is worth the extra $$$.