I was banded 11/29/10 and have been axiously awaiting my first fill that was scheduled for this morning. I was extremely nervous because of some of the horror stories I have read about the port flipping and how many pokes it took to get the fill. I shared my nervousness with my surgeon (who is awesome!) and he reassured me that port flipping is pretty rare. I am 4 weeks post-op and still have no hunger yet, which is also awesome, but also had no feeling of fullness when I did eat, which is not awesome When I saw the very long needle, I asked my surgeon if he was going to numb me and he said no, but not to worry, it shouldn't hurt. The best part is that he was right! It took one quick poke, and I didn't feel a thing! He put in 3cc's and I was able to drink about 4 oz. of water with absolutely no problems. He said I can eat and drink as I have been. No liquid and mushy diet, but I think I will do so just to be safe and jump start my losing again as I have lost about 25 lbs but nothing in about a week. I just wanted to share my experience to help anyone else that may be as nervous as I was, I hope it helps

I was banded 11/29/10 and have been axiously awaiting my first fill that was scheduled for this morning. I was extremely nervous because of some of the horror stories I have read about the port flipping and how many pokes it took to get the fill. I shared my nervousness with my surgeon (who is awesome!) and he reassured me that port flipping is pretty rare. I am 4 weeks post-op and still have no hunger yet, which is also awesome, but also had no feeling of fullness when I did eat, which is not awesome When I saw the very long needle, I asked my surgeon if he was going to numb me and he said no, but not to worry, it shouldn't hurt. The best part is that he was right! It took one quick poke, and I didn't feel a thing! He put in 3cc's and I was able to drink about 4 oz. of water with absolutely no problems. He said I can eat and drink as I have been. No liquid and mushy diet, but I think I will do so just to be safe and jump start my losing again as I have lost about 25 lbs but nothing in about a week. I just wanted to share my experience to help anyone else that may be as nervous as I was, I hope it helps

Thanks because I am one that is scared for my first fill also !!! its not til the end of Jan but i am on mushies and sometimes i dont feel full....i go wed dec 28th I am going to let him know..

Amy

Glad you shared, I am going for my first fill tomorrow and a little nervous. I feel I am doing great though, banded 11-15-10 and down as of today 25.8 lbs!!!! 6 weeks and I think that is awesome. I am looking forward to the fill though, because I am able to eat more than 1 cup of food. I am hoping the fill will help that.

Thanks for sharing!! I go in for my first fill on Thursday and I'm a little nervous! I am excited to not feel as hungry again. I think I've done well so far, but I'm sure the fill will help. It is nice to hear that it isn't so bad after all!

Thanks for sharing! I was banded on 11/22 and am scheduled for my first fill on 1/7. I have no restriction right now and feel as if I could the house!

I had my first fill today. I got 4 cc's in my realize band. It didn't hurt at all, just a quick pinch and then the fill. The entire time was under 1 minute! I am on clear liquids for 24hours, which I hate, but a trip to GNC and I bought a bottle of Isopure protein water. It's not bad. Happy Banding all =)

Congrats on your 25 lb loss, muelle! Sounds like your fill went well... my first is a week from tomorrow (1/5) and I too am a lil nervous! They have already told me I would not have to go back to liquid or puree for any length of time after the fill. My restriction now is much less than at the beginning (since the swelling has obviously gone down) but I still feel some if I eat my protein and eat slowly

Good luck to everyone with their first fills!!!

I'm so jealous! Got my 1st fill today and I guess I feel more pain than most ...boy did it hurt! More than a pinch...my doc even said he'd change the needle and the 2nd attempt was less painful. I decided to go more conservative since I'm doing well and don't mind taking it slow. Also...I want my band to be a tool to eat more sensible but still enjoy eating socially. No stuck feeling except for my 1st experience this Christmas when I felt like my pants were way too tight and I had more of a clogged feeling. This was hours after I ate...no more cheating!

Good luck to you and everyone!

I had my first fill on 12/16/10 and like you felt no pain or discomfort....but I feel no restrictions yet either...is this normal?!?!?!...So far I've been able to eat everything...white rice, beef; etc. I'm feeling a bit discouraged because I'm maintaining my 12# weight loss...However, even though my scale isn't saying much, I must be losing in inches because all of my clothes are hanging on me :-)

Thank you for posting a positive experience! My fill was a breeze even with the white chalk beverage and I wanted to shout from the rooftops. Things can and will happen, but we need to remember that it is very possible that things will go very very well.

Well, I had my first fill about 30 minutes ago. OMG! What a relief!! No pain! I was so nervous! At least next time, I won't have to worry so much about it. My doctor filled my band with 2cc. I have been feeling great so far during this entire journey and I hope that continues!!

Thanks for sharing! I had my first fill yesterday 12/29 and it went well. Didn't hurt like yours and but he is not very experienced. He is shadowing another Doctor that has done hundreds of bandings so I take some comfort in that. He basically filled my band up all the way and had me drink until it was almost to the top of my throat then he took some fluid out and had me tell him when it started to go down. He then took out .5 cc's after that and sent me on my way.

My appetite does seem dimished a bit so I'm happy about that but I've also read on here that some are taking Wellbutrin to help curb some of their hunger. Looking at that drugs side effects scares me though so I'm not sure if I'd take it.