I am going in this Thursday for my first fill and wondered what I should expect. surgery was October 23, 2014, so far I have lost 20 pounds.

Thank you for the input.

Hi there, twenty down -- way to go! I obsessed over my first fill. It was all so much quicker and easier than I thought it would be! We chatted then I laid down with my arms overhead. Surgeon located the port, announced a little pinch then as I was wondering when the fill would happen he was giving me an arm to sit up. It was done! I demonstrated that I could drink a glass of water. Next week a repetition of same. Every one is different but I ultimately needed several to get to my green zone. Best wishes!

Yay! First fill!

Yep, All of what Bandista said.

I can add: My PA told me to push out my tummy muscles, hard, to help him locate the port.

He administered a local pain block first. At some point, he forgot to give me the block. IMHO, the local pain block is worse then the fill itself. After that, I requested no block. It goes really quick & with no sting from pain block med.

Do your best to get that "OMG! I'm getting a needle shoved into my stomach!" thought out of your head. It's really not bad at all.

My experience was, I was still ravenous after the first 2-3 fills- no restriction- yet.

I've seen some posts on here that one or two fills was all they needed to feel the restriction- in the green zone- & lost a significant amount of weight.

It Was probably the 3rd - 5th fill before I really felt the restriction. & maybe 6 fills before the band got working really well for me.

Good luck & congratulations! You're on your way to becoming a brand new you!

Edited December 3, 201411 yr by NewLife'sGr8

Exact same experience as Bandista. 1 cc in and see you next month

I have my 1st fill next Thursday (Dec. 18th), but I have to go for an upper GI barium swallow tomorrow. Is that usual?

Also, what is the green zone?

I was sharing on another thread that I had my first fill yesterday. It was so quick. No pain…pretty much exactly like Bandista's. What was unusual about me is that my surgeon placed 6cc in my band during surgery which is almost unheard of. He said that I didn't have much of a fat pad around my stomach. So they added 0.5cc to my band which already had 6cc for a total of 6.5cc. I go back in 2 weeks. I was on liquids for 24 hours and was able to eat normally today without any issues. I stayed full almost 1 hour longer than I did with the 6cc. So maybe just half a cc more and I'll be in the green zone.

@@sandeebar - The green zone is when your band has just the right amount of Fluid to keep you feeling satisfied for at least 4 hours without snacking. If you have to snack, you're not in the green zone (or you just want to snack and are making the excuse that you're hungry).

The fill. was so fast I didn't even know it happened. It was painless and that said see you in a month. I was worried for nothing.

The fill. was so fast I didn't even know it happened. It was painless and that said see you in a month. I was worried for nothing.

That is nice to know, I have been worried about the "Fill" afraid of the needles ????

I didn't look at the needle until after. I didn't get any numbing before. Nurse said not worth it and he was right.

I'm glad to hear the fill is no big deal, but I go for that upper GI barium swallow tomorrow. The doctor said I need that before each fill. Does everyone else have to do that?

I did not have to do the swallow test and the doctor has never said anything about having to do one.

I only did the barium meal the day after surgery. First fill was done with minimal fuss . Only thing DR did was test me with a drink of water. The barium meals are disgusting... Just saying ????

did you find out why sandeebar for the upper gi? I had to get 1 before my surgery and get my first fill in 3 weeks and my dr said nothing about another 1, I hope not I dont think I could that down Hate that stuff!!