Are the fills painful?

No, least ways mine wasn't. I've heard that some doctors use a needle to give numbing solution, but my doctor used a topical that was just rubbed on. Didn't feel a thing. Don't look at the needle, it is long but in no way does it all go into your stomach/port...

No, and thank goodness! I was banded in Aug 13 and have had a fill each month for six months. Will have another in early April. My doctor only gives .5CC each fill so it's taking me a lot of visits to get it right. You will feel a little stick but the port is so close to the skin there isn't much musle for the needle to go through before it enters the cover of the port. If you're anything like me you'll be so excited to get a fill you would tolerate a little pain, but really it's not bad at all. Be brave!!

I never feel the needle but I find it an odd feeling when they withdraw the saline to control the previous fill amount...it's hard to describe...it's just a weird sensation.

Edited March 6, 201412 yr by parisshel

i dont have any pain during the fill, some soreness for the next couple days at the port site. nothing major

Do you guys have a bulge the size of a lemon on the port area?

Do you guys have a bulge the size of a lemon on the port area?

I'm almost 4 weeks post op and my port is in my chest and throughout the day it feels like a golf ball. My 1st fill is next Tuesday. I'm kinda nervous :-/

My "bulge" ended up being a hemotoma...has your doctor did an ultra sound to make sure that no Fluid (blood) has formed under your band? that is what mine was and I had to wear an abdominal belt for a week and it went away....call your doctor..

No, the fill, it's self is not painful. I received a bit of numbing creme and that was no problemo.

The part that was very uncomfortable for me was that they couldn't find my port. They palpated and dug and poked and prodded and... Oh. My. Gosh! Two different people had a go at me and couldn't find that little sucker. They finally had to take me to X-Ray and we found my port with the X-Ray. My NP tried again. Fail, again. Seroma. Finally, they put me under the Fluoroscope and at last! They got it. My poor abdomen was sore for a week and I had bruises for a month! I looked as if I had been stomped on!

But don't let my story scare you, most people don't have that rough a first adjustment. My NP assured me that I am a fairly unusual case, that most people they find the port and pop in and get out very quickly and easily. I seem to like to make it difficult on medical personnel. You should have seen what I did to the surgeon who tried (yes, I said tried) to find and remove my gallbladder.

Edited March 12, 201412 yr by The Icy One