My Sweet 16

Today, for the first time in over 16 years.

My Butt is COMFORTABLY in size 16 jeans!!
A short 4 months ago I was lucky to be able to sit down wearing my size 24 jeans without having to unbutton them!

When I say comfortably, I mean I didn't have to resort to my High School "tight jeans" routine.

No wire hanger needed to push my pockets into place.
No fork needed to zip the zipper.
No jumping up and down while I zipped.
No laying down on the bed and sucking in.

I stepped into a size 16,
pulled em up,
and easily buttoned the button and zipped them up!

I am so happy I could cry!
I may never take them off!
Or remove the tag! ;)

My First Fill

Last week, the Man-of-My-Dreams and I made the long drive to see my new boyfriend Doctor and his staff.

It was finally time to get my first fill.

The Lap-Band has been empty since it was put in place and it was time to tighten it by filling it w/ some saline.

The thing is...
In order to reach the port that leads to my band, they needed to stuck a large needle into my tummy!

I was nervous not knowing what to expect.
Was it gonna be really painful?
Ugh! I almost canceled the appointment!

But it was a breeze!
Here is the run-down on how it's done.

They told me not to eat anything for 3 hours before my fill and not to drink anything 1 hour before.
We got to the office, and checked in.
They did the weight check etc...

Then it was time...
They took me back to a little room and had me lie down on a table.
The nurse (who I LOVE by the way) felt around for my port, then marked the area she felt it.
They turned on this x-ray machine thingie so they could see the port on a TV screen to be sure it was where she thought it was.
Then came the needle.....
She gave me a small shot of numbing medication, it stung like a bee sting for a second.. but not bad at all!

Then came the big needle, all the while, I was watching it on the TV screen.
She put the larger needle into my port. I was surprised at how hard she had to push to get the needle in! She was really straining! I felt the pressure of her pushing, but NO pain.

She withdrew any fluid that was in my band so she could measure it.
Then added more saline.

Then they had me drink a gulp of liquid, and we watched it go through my band...
She adjusted the amount of saline in my band so it didn't stop the liquid, but did slow it down.
Then we were done!

I had to drink a glass of water before I left just to be certain I wasn't too tight, and we left.
The whole process took less than ten minutes... NOTHING to worry about!

I had to do the liquid diet thing for 2 days, just in case I had some swelling. Then back to "normal".

I have great restriction!
I'm back to eating 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup of food at a time and already have dropped 2 more pounds!
Whoo Hoo!

So far so good!
I'll keep ya posted!

Oh! By the way....
this makes 70 pounds I've lost in 4 months!
I couldn't be more pleased!