I've heard so many different takes on this, and know what my surgeon does... thought it would be interesting to gather all this information in one place.

*No Numbing shot which I've read others have... it's not even offered

*Injection into Port

*Complete Fill of the band

*Drink Water until I feel it "backup"

*He starts removing some fill until I tell him the water went down

It's hard to feel and I'm not sure I like this method since I either talk to fast and have too much fill or I can't get my words out and he takes out too much.

It's Dr. Lusco - Louisville, KY

Oops! Sorry, I meant to post the poll quicker but someone stopped by my office to chat.

I should add - my first fill was done with lidocaine and the lidocaine hurt pretty bad, considering. The pain from it isn't that bad, it was more the pushing/going deeper that hurt. I felt it all the way. Tolerable, but unpleasant. I have another fill next week & am tempted to tell him no numbing (since a lot have said that hurts less than the numbing shot). I want to see what the majority rules is on this one.

Had my last fill Monday, no numbing shot, just layed down, needle in port took out the sline that was in it to see how much I had in it, replaced the saline with some extra, all together a 2.2 fill. sat up and drank a glass of water with no problems and went home.

I don't think the numbing shot hurts all that much. It is a quick pinch and then it is over. My port is a bit hard to hit and I would prefer the numbing. I hate the feeling of the needle actually penetrating the port, it is the noise that gets me I think. ~Mandy

Had my first fill on Wednesday. No lidocaine, PA had to search around for Port opening (but left the needle in and just poked around on the inside)

Did not realy hurt but I got a huuuuge bruise on my tummy after that and that hursts more the the shot itself. :faint: AAAOOOWWWW

Got 2cc in.

NOISE???? I had no idea you could hear it enter the port!!! I am SOOOO glad I have all you guys and LBT.....hell I would have likely freaked out thinking something broke off in me!!! Thanks for the info!

Kat

It's not really a noise that anyone else can hear, it is more of an internal noise. I hear it but the doctor says he feels it but does not hear it. I think it is something you have to experience to understand. Maybe I am crazy, maybe not, but fills don't bother me, but I hate the bandaid that I have to remove later that day. ~Mandy

My surgeons PA did my first fill, and is scheduled to do my next one on May 10. The first one was done with no local, and my last ant bite hurt much worse. It was surprisingly painless--much less pain than a local injection. (but, i have a small upper torso. my port is very close to the surface of my body. it is pretty clear that they will not likely have to gamble on whether they will be able to hit it the first try...)

It's not really a noise that anyone else can hear, it is more of an internal noise. I hear it but the doctor says he feels it but does not hear it. I think it is something you have to experience to understand. Maybe I am crazy, maybe not, but fills don't bother me, but I hate the bandaid that I have to remove later that day. ~Mandy

YES! That was kind of odd for me, too. And hard to explain, but you did it well! On my last fill, he found the port no problem, the needle just wouldn't go in so he did a little tap tap thing until it slid in...ewwwww. Wierd.

I got my first fill on Wed and did not have a local and it was quick and painless. No problems. I think I would rather them just stick me once and be done with it. Got 1.6 cc's and drank the barium and had no problem. 15 minutes max!

Kristi

Mandy, I call that "visual" noise. My doctor knows I freak when I see the needles, so they have the tray covered when I walk into the room. He even gave me a presc for Valium, which I don't use anymore and a cream to rub over the port area b4 I arrive at his office. So I really don't feel much, but the pressure when he's sticking the needle into the port, but it is like you can see/hear the needle when it goes through the port, keep in mind my eyes are closed from the time I lie down until it's over.

I could handle a quick lidocaine pinch - no problem. What got me was that it wasn't quick & then gone, it kept going, and I could feel it getting deeper and deeper. I'd say the "quick sting" lasted probably -- 12 - 15 seconds. And I don't think it was the pain from the medicine going in that really became uncomfortable, so much as feeling it going deeper in. Blech!

The local is like a bee sting sort of thats why I won't get one, and really, the needle doesn't hurt.

I asked the doc about the popping noise too, he said its the membrain of the port. I heard it the first fill but after that I didn't. Its not gross, just strange.

First fill today. Did not hurt at all! Felt like she was pushing on my tummy with her finger. My port was a lot lower then I thought it was. She put this butterfly looking thing attached to a needle in my port, then had me go to the xray machine with it still in. She put 2cc in first, then backed down to 1.5cc. She took out the needle and had me drink water. The water didn't go down, so she put the needle back in and backed me down a few times drinking water. 1.1cc was the majic number. She then took the needle out again. I never felt the needle through all of this! She said I would probably need another fill in 3 weeks because the band would obsorbe some of the water.