I posted this in the wrong place earlier so am going to post it again here. I called today to confirm my appt for next week for my first fill. While talking to the scheduler she said that the Dr will access the port then have me sit up and drink while he injects the saline. I asked about doing it with xray and she said he only does it that way if there is a problem accessing my port. I also asked how does he know if the band is still in the right position and so on and she replied...again...that if he has problems with the port he will send me to xray. Just curious if anyone else has theirs this way because I hadnt read anywhere that this is how others are getting theirs. It seems in all that I read that there is other equipment used. Please pass on your experiences....please. thanks

Susan

Just had my 5th fill this afternoon and ALL of mine have been done under Fluro. They have me lay down and then insert the needle into the port, then they pull out the saline that is currently there and then put that back, then put more in. After that I go under Fluro and drink the Barium (spelling??) and then they take a picture to make sure it's flowing ok and that I am not to tight. Never heard of drinking while they inject the saline. But again, just like with everthing else, all docotors are different!

Hope that helps a little. Good luck!

Kim

Banded 1/26/07

Dr Spivak

236/197/165

I haven't had fluro yet. He sticks the needle in and it only takes a second. He pulls out what's already in there. Then he adds a new fill. I asked him how he knows how much to put in, and he said he can feel how tight the band is.

Then he has me drink a glass of Water and asks me how it feels. If I was having any kind of problems, I would ask for fluro. So far, this has worked jsut fine for me.

Thanks for the responses. Denise I was glad to hear that my Dr is not the only one who does it that way. I just hadnt read about others having it this way and that worried me. Thanks again

Susan

I had my first fill today. Lying down he stuck the needle in and popped in the saline. I sat up, drank 1/2c of water and went home. I was concerned because honestly I ate solid food a bit too early and was worried about slip, snap, krackle, pop. My only concern is that as he was trying to insert the needed he said "hummmm..." So I said what is that about. The needle did not go in as smoothly as he thought it would but he was not at all concerned and injected the saline and I was out of there. So the next couple of days will tell if it took or not. :guess

Mine was under fluro - standing in the xray machine -- seeing it on the live screen -- even got to watch the barium go through.

My doctor does all under fluro--

Just got my first fill and he used the floroscope. It was cool seeing the barium empty from the pouch to the lower stomach and seeing the band inside me.

I was afraid that if they didn't use the floro that they could stick the tubing by mistake and create a leak, but I'm just paranoid, I think.

Just had my 5th fill this afternoon and ALL of mine have been done under Fluro. They have me lay down and then insert the needle into the port, then they pull out the saline that is currently there and then put that back, then put more in. After that I go under Fluro and drink the Barium (spelling??) and then they take a picture to make sure it's flowing ok and that I am not to tight. Never heard of drinking while they inject the saline. But again, just like with everthing else, all docotors are different!

Hope that helps a little. Good luck!

Kim

Banded 1/26/07

Dr Spivak

236/197/165

KimFrmSealy-

I have a question for you since you are such an experienced "filler". Does it matter what you have had to eat or drink the day of your fill? I am wondering if it makes any difference to be on liquids prior to the fill or just eat regularly? I am going in for the first fill today and didn't know if I should keep the belly empty - or if it even matters??

Thanks for the advice!

samiam- I had my first fill the other day, I called ahead and asked if I had to fast/not drink day of fill, and she said it didn't affect it.

Also, my doctor doesn't do it under fluero unless there's a problem.

lauraj23-Thanks for the response! I go at 3:00 for my first fill...wish me luck! I am ready!!

Went in for my first fill today. Of course I have been worried about it for almost 2 weeks now...sat in the office staring at the needle and supplies wondering how it was going to go..then the Dr walked in and said he wasnt going to do it today because I was doing well without one. Whewwwww. I kind of thought it would go that way because I am losing and I do feel restricted without a fill and was dreading having one because I didnt want to be too tight and have issues. So all in all it was a good visit! Thanks to all that replied to my concerns earlier.

Susan

Has anyone used the fill centers from Fill Centers USA? Anyone know of any fill centers or a dr in Hawaii?

Went in for my first fill today. Of course I have been worried about it for almost 2 weeks now...sat in the office staring at the needle and supplies wondering how it was going to go..then the Dr walked in and said he wasnt going to do it today because I was doing well without one. Whewwwww. I kind of thought it would go that way because I am losing and I do feel restricted without a fill and was dreading having one because I didnt want to be too tight and have issues. So all in all it was a good visit! Thanks to all that replied to my concerns earlier.

Susan

Hi Susan my name is stacy and i was just wondering when you where banded and how much weight have you lost. Becouse i just had my first fill and i felt the same way you did . I was loosen weight and all so why fix what is not broken. But my Dr. gave me a fill anyway. I have a vg10cc band and he gave me a 3cc fill. and i was bande April 30th 2007!!!

Thanks Stacy

Hi Stacy. I decided to be banded because not only was I overweight but I was also on 2 blood pressure meds, med for acid reflux and high cholestrol. I was also pre diabetic. My starting weight was 258 pounds and now I have lost 33 pounds. I am no longer on my blood pressure meds and my glucose levels are remaining normal. My Dr said that occassionally someone will receive the band and not have to have a fill for a while because they achive restriction with just the band itself (the smaller band) He did say that if I stop losing weight to call and get in to have my first fill. I am happy right now without having a fill because I do feel that I have restriction. So for now I am happy and doing well. Good luck on your journey!!

Susan

Actually, there are many ways that a band fill can be done to be honest. I've had practically every one that was listed on this thread :rolleyes

I had a doctor that could feel around for the port and stick the needle in and inject the saline directly in and I could actually feel the band becoming full.

Another time, I had the fluroscope done because the doctor actually lost count of how many CC's he had placed in the band (LONG STORY) and that worked out fine. And then another time was with an x-ray type of machine in the office to be able to tell about the band filling.

And then of course there are the lucky ones that won't experience this at all. Of course, my band fills were over the course of 5 yrs and I didn't need one every time I went however, the doctor still managed to charge the insurance company $300 bucks!!

So, depending on the experience of the doctor you can have the fills done all different ways or one particular way that He/She might be comfortable with. Personally, I prefer to be able to watch what is happening so things aren't forgotten about how much is injected and so forth.

As far as the band centers, I live in TX and haven't come across any of those. I would just check them out closely if its not your normal band doctor suggesting you go there. :nervous

Txbbwstrwbry