Doctor, Doctor

Today, I had my first post-op appointment with my doctor.

It should have been my second, but last time I failed to turn on my alarm after setting it and slept late, missing my appointment. No biggie, I was feeling fine and dandy at the time so was happy to forgo the expense of driving south.

Instead, I waited to drive down in a snow storm. Woohoo! I woke up at 6 this morning to ride my bike before getting ready to go. I listened to the radio while getting ready and the announcer kept warning people to stay home if planning to drive on the freeway. Had I not missed my first appointment, I probably would have climbed back into bed (after riding my bike) and slept some more before calling to reschedule today's appointment. As it was, I kept the appointment. I'm not scared of a little snow! And, once I got through a certain pass, the roads were fine the rest of the way. And, there weren't a lot of cars on the road, which was nice.

I made it to my appointment on time (I plan ahead), but my doctor didn't (he must not). I hate waiting for doctors no matter what but especially when I'm their first patient. I can sort of understand that sometimes they have patients that take longer than expected, but I honestly believe that there are few times when a doctor should be late for their first patient. It's a sore spot with me because my boss is always late for his first patient and I think it's rude. At least Dr. S apologized for being late (my boss rarely does) and explained that he hadn't slept well the night before. What an excuse. He's lucky I was in a good mood and am such a nice person.

He asked me bunches of questions; how many meals a day do I eat, how frequently do I snack, how much water do I drink, do I exercise - what, how long, how frequently, do my bodily functions seem to be in working order, how much of my diet is protein, etc. He seemed pleased by my answers and suggested holding off on a fill 'til next month. I said that would be ok because I seem to be losing weight fairly consistently except I get hungry quickly. I eat a small amount of food and feel really full, but the fullness only lasts an hour and a half or so. Last week, I really struggled to not snack between meals because I felt hungry almost all the time. He nodded his head and said that a fill would definitely help. I told him of my worry that the band would be too tight and I wouldn't be able to eat solid protein, but he assuaged my worry by recommending "just" 2 cc's of saline.

He left to get the "fill nurse" (not their label, mine), telling me to be sure to come back before the next appointment (in a month) if I get any of the symptoms that come with having a too-tight band. Autumn, the fill nurse, came in and we chatted a little to become acquainted. She assured me that she'd explain the filling procedure while she went so I would know what was happening. I asked if there was any way I could get her to not because I didn't want to know. She laughed. She thought I was joking. I wasn't.

I laid down on the "bed" and adjusted my clothing so she could access the port. To my relief/delight, my breasts obstructed my view of the area in which she would be working, so I wouldn't be tempted to see what was going on. Not that the temptation would be great - so small, in fact, that a dust mite could step over it without breaking a sweat.

I commented on this fact, unfortunately, as she then felt the need to show me everything before using them. By everything, I mean the two needles. The first was to inject an anesthetic into the area to get it nice and numb. It poked a little going in (thank heavens I didn't have to watch) and burned as it spread, but soon I was nice and numb. Had she not shown me the second needle, I would have been sitting pretty. It was long. And thick. And curved at the end. It scared me. A lot. Bleh. *shudder*

Thank heavens for numbness and big breasts. I had no idea when she inserted the needle until she told me it was in the port. Couldn't feel the saline being injected. Didn't see the needle come out or the tiny spot of blood that arose from the puncture mark. Of course, she told me everything so I wasn't in the dark as much as I would've liked, but life isn't perfect, is it? After applying the Band-Aid, Autumn sat me up and had me sip some bottled water. Evidently, sometimes people get their band so tight that even water can't make it through. I noticed a difference immediately - the water didn't flow as easily as before, but it made it down. That was that. My first fill.

I scheduled my next appointment and was out of there. As a reward for a) being so brave through the fill and b) losing 44 lbs AND because I spilled chocolate in milk in my old one, I stopped at Target and bought a new purse. I wanted a yellow one so much. I crossed my fingers as I walked into the store, hoping they had a cute yellow one. They did. It was the last one that color in that style and I love it.

The drive home started off quite well despite the numbness fading and soreness setting in. The road was clear most of the way, which was a nice treat, but they got really bad before I got home. At times, I wouldn't have known where to drive had there not been a car in front of me. Had they gone off the side of the road, I would have soon followed. Well, probably not because I believe in following at a safe distance, but you know what I mean - I followed in their tracks. I made it home safely, and by home, I mean work. It's still snowing, so no one has come in. Our patients don't brave snow for something so trivial as their hearing.

Eating lunch was like eating right after my surgery. I had slowly started eating bigger bites of food without a problem, but today I had to go back to eating really small bites. And, I had to wait in between bites to determine how that bite affected me; could I eat another bite, how full was I feeling, was I finished? Three hours later, I still feel full. It's great. Before, I would have been starving by now. Woohoo! I wasn't going to get a fill, but now I'm glad I did.