Had my first fill today and it went so smoothly!! I was very pleased. Only pain was the anesthetic they inject first, and that only lasts about 3 seconds. The doctor hit the port immediately and successfully injected 1.0 ml. My wife got to watch the whole thing (in fluoroscopy) and said she could see the band and see the barium I had to swallow hit the band then trickle on down. It's really in there!! It really works!! I feel sooooo relieved now that I've gotten my first fill overwith. Let the Games begin!!!!

Glad to hear it went well, Larry!

Larry,

Congratulations on your fill. I'm glad everything went ok. Now the real fun will start!! Just take it slow!

Congrats!!!!! I am so glad to hear that everything went well!! Keep us updated on what your feeling after your first fill.

~Dawn (preband)

I stuck to clear liquids all day of the fill, but felt HUNGRY. I had some soreness at the port site and felt sort of like someone had punched me in the stomach. But not too bad. The next day I was supposed to be on "full" liquids, but was just too hungry, so I ate mushy stuff. Did just fine! I'll keep moving forward. Just hope I notice a difference!

I'm getting my first fill tomorrow and I am really looking forward to start losing weight. I had no restriction what so ever after surgery...so I don't think I lost any significant weight.

I did have a question. How does the doctor know that the saline goes into the band and doesn't just stay in the tube that leads from the port to the band.

Mine will not be done with flouroscopy. My port is very close to the skin and you can easily feel it.

Lori

The tube and the tube in the band are all one long tube. If 1cc goes in the port it is all throughout the entire band. Not just the small part that goes around the band.

So a fill of 1.5cc is always in the whole tube not just the diameter of the band. The fill size is talking about the whole tube.

Susan

How many mls does the typical band hold? I don't know what kind I have, but it is probably just a "normal" one....

The Bio-Enterics Lapband System holds 4 cc's of fluid.

Wow Larry! They let your wife watch? I asked if my friend Vonna could come in with me to watch. She's a pre-bandster and she was my support person in Monterrey. I was hoping she could come watch and take pictures so I could post a real fluoroscopy on my website. But no such luck. They wouldn't allow her in because of the radiation exposure. (?) And pictures weren't allowed either. So lucky you that your wife got to watch the whole thing. I was hoping to post pictures to my website so the Newbies could see what it was all about. And I would have LOVED to have gotten a picture of that big needle sticking out of my belly and making me look like a human dart board! That would surely be a determining factor for some Newbies if they really wanted to go through with becoming an official Bandster or not.

Keep up the good work Larry!

Lori in Oregon

Dr. Rumbaut 07/09/03 (265/243/140)

http://www.cascadeaccess.com/~kbauer/Lori/lorilapband.html

They let my wife have the "special privilege" of watching partially because she used to work at that hospital and has been in the medical profession for 20+ years. Also helps that she's known the doctor since he was a resident! They did make her wear a lead apron for her safety, though. It went so fast I'm not sure she would have been able to take any pictures, tho! I'm just glad she could see it all and describe it to me since I wasn't able to see the screen from where I was on the table. I'm thinking I already need a 2nd fill, so maybe I'LL get to see it this time!!

Thanks for the info Larry. Well, no wonder she was able to go in and watch. I'm going back for a fill adjustment on Thursday because the 1.6 fill I got this last Tuesday wasn't enough. I'm thinking that maybe around 2.0 will be a better restriction.

Wishing you well,

Lori in Oregon

Had my first fill today and it went so smoothly!! I was very pleased. Only pain was the anesthetic they inject first, and that only lasts about 3 seconds. The doctor hit the port immediately and successfully injected 1.0 ml. My wife got to watch the whole thing (in fluoroscopy) and said she could see the band and see the barium I had to swallow hit the band then trickle on down. It's really in there!! It really works!! I feel sooooo relieved now that I've gotten my first fill overwith. Let the Games begin!!!!

I too had my first fill and I'm feeling great. Lost 36 so far. Had no pain yet.