I was just wondering if anyone is in the medical field or has close friends/family in the medical field that do their fills or loosening.

It was brought to my attention by a fellow friend who is banded and her friend does all her fills for her, the cost is pretty high if its not covered by

insurance (at least mine is not) it could be an alternative. What is everyone's take on this?

this topic came up in Aug. of last year.... got pretty heated.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/135015-self-fills/

Honestly, I'd pretty scared to do that. My BFF is a nurse and my brother is a medic, but I wouldn't let either one do it. I get my fills with floro and I am more comfortable because of it.

The only time I would ever consider allowing this is if I was in desperate need of an unfill and couldn't get to my doctor. Then as soon as I could get to my doctor I would go!

However, that is just me. I am not judging anyones else decision.

I personally wouldn't do it. If I were to mess my band up or get a horrible infection. I would feel like this whole process was wasted. Seek a professional. Good luck.

I wouldn't. What if you accidently poked your tubing and caused a leak. Just not worth it in my opinion.

I think self-administering fills and unfills is ridiculous. If you can't afford the after-care and fills, etc. don't have the surgery. Everyone should know going in that this surgery is not a one time thing and you're done -- this is an ongoing process REQUIRING maintenance.

Not just no.... but hell no. Even if I had someone in the business close to me unless they were a trained bariatric nurse I wouldnt let them near me. And I am not sure I would then either. I dont eat where I work if you know what I mean.

In addition to the fill... my Dr visits give me the opportunity to ask questions, discuss my challenges and get the support I need. Also the Dr who put my band in holds a pretty high rank on my people I trust list.... I wouldnt dare compromise a lay person with that responsibility.

I'm sorry, but I have to blunt on this one: Only a fool would let a friend or family member attempt their fills unless that person is a formally trained bariatric nurse.

Not only do you risk missing the port and damaging your tubing, you can damage the actual port, cause the port to slip/tear away from the muscle, and even break a needle off inside the port. Not to mention the very high risk of infection from introducing bacteria and germs into the port and skin.

I don't say this to sound harsh or mean, but I agree with Toddy. Everyone knows going into this what to expect as far as cost. If someone can't afford the proper aftercare, including fills, then they have no business getting the surgery. That's about as foolish as buying a brand new car knowing there's no way you can make the monthly payments or afford gas for it.

Even if the medical friend or family member is a bariatric professional trained to do fills (which are not as easy to do as they might look), I think that in most cases it's a bad idea to have a friend or relative administer medical care. A medical mishap could turn into a nightmare (personal, medical, legal, insurance) that could ruin a relationship and turn the patient into a mess that no bariatric surgeon would be willing to take on.

Also, if I could get fills and unfills pretty much on demand from a friend or relative, my abdomen would be black and blue from so many needle sticks. I'd want an unfill at 11:42 am so I could eat fried chicken for lunch, a fill at 1:16 pm when I'm feeling regret about lunch, an unfill at 7:51 pm so I can eat birthday cake...well, you get the idea.

The cases in which it's OK (to me) to do "family" medical care are things like parents giving diabetic kids shots of insulin, spouses giving morphine shots to partners dying of cancer at home, and adult children giving meds to elderly parents who can't or won't take care of themselves.

If the cost of band fills is a big issue, I'd suggest a different WLS procedure.

It's not just the fill. It's the knowledge, expertise, training that comes with it. I have a detailed discussion with my surgeon every single visit where he learns how I am going, what my issues are etc, and I learn more about living with the band from him.

You would have to be crazy to do your own!

First off I'm impressed that this person has the correct length needle. That thing is a whopper!! And super expensive! I know they are costly because once my port flipped over and my doc ended up bending 6 needles trying to force it in anyways and he told me id be shocked how much money he had just waisted! Ofcourse i laughed..

Anyways..I ended up in an er once because of an emergency situation and they couldn't help me because they had no needles of that length they just had to pump me full of Fluid with an iv and send me on my way to a bariatric center.

I do not believe I would ever allow someone to do that not worth the risk! But I will say once in an emergency situation it crossed my mind to do it myself!!

I'm tending to agree with all of you, I think she is really risking a lot and I just thought I would get others' opinions. I'm going to print out this thread and give it to her, maybe change her mind. And the money thing isn't really an issue for her, she is a 7 year RN, making very good money, just feels its a waste of money to use it on the fills. I trust my Dr. I have been in the green zone for over a year, I wouldn't let ANYONE but him adjust me. Thanks for all the support.

First off I'm impressed that this person has the correct length needle. That thing is a whopper!! And super expensive! I know they are costly because once my port flipped over and my doc ended up bending 6 needles trying to force it in anyways and he told me id be shocked how much money he had just waisted! Ofcourse i laughed..

Anyways..I ended up in an er once because of an emergency situation and they couldn't help me because they had no needles of that length they just had to pump me full of Fluid with an iv and send me on my way to a bariatric center.

I do not believe I would ever allow someone to do that not worth the risk! But I will say once in an emergency situation it crossed my mind to do it myself!!

It's not just the length of the needle that's important. It's the type of needle. It has to be a non-coring needle (or Huber needle) or it will leave permanent holes in the port's membrane. And getting the Huber needle from a trustworthy supplier is yet another issue, because a few years ago the FDA recalled the Huber needles made by a certain manufacturer because they were not non-coring.

crazy to do that....

My next thought is this even if she somehow obtained a huber needle: is she reusing the same needle for more then one fill or unfill??!!

If not and she is actually purchasing one each time why not just go to your doc and have it done safely? The cost can't be that much diffrent.

This post got me interested so I did a little research.. a huber needle ment for lapbands (on the 7 sites i searched. Im not saying this is everywhere or 100% accurate so bare with me) cost anywhere from 139-298 dollars! My fill is only 130 and that includes the xray and a barium swallow if needed.

Something scary I read while researching was on a site called obesityhelp.com there was an open discussion and some said. "My doc gave me a needle to take home with me since I'm 4 hours from him!!" Why would they do somethin like that?!