Hi,

Here I go again asking ignorant questions but Ive been thinking about this for 2 weeks now.

My Doctor told me on my first review that he will see me in months time for my first filler. It will now be in 2 weeks and i can't help freaking out.

I HATE needles!! yep Im a chicken, lol i can put up with child birth but when it comes to needles I freak.

Can anyone describe to me the feeling to expect. Do i tell the doctor how much to put in or does he decide.

How much in enough and how much would be too much or not enough?

Will I faint? or will it be like "Oh is that all it was"

The way Im stressing is that I will rather starve myself to avoid getting a filler.

Would I be the only baby worried about this or has someone else felt the same?

@@Victoria Mora don't worry!!! I promise the fill experience is not like getting blood drawn. The Dr. or PA will feel for your port and the initial "pinch" feels like just that a pinch. The needle only pierces the layer of your skin and goes right into the port.

The Dr. will use a special kind of needle that is meant to permeate the port and not damage it or you. Once the Dr. access the port it felt a bit to me like a mechanic doing an oil change or something. The Fluid is then pushed into the port through the tubing and eventually to the band.

Some doctors are aggressive with their fills and may do up to a 1 cc or more. Some doctors like mine are very conservative with their fills and would only give a .5cc fill each time.

It can take up to a week to two weeks for the fill to fully settle into the band, so don't be shocked if you don't feel any changes right away. If that amount of time passes and you are still able to overeat, or you are eating sooner than 3 hours between meals then you will probably need another fill.

there is no way to measure what fill level will work for each person. Everyone is different. There are some who just having the band is enough and they never need a fill and then there are some that are mostly filled to the highest level of the bands and find that to be their sweet spot. The average I feel of most people seems to be between 5-6 cc's in a 10 cc band.

More than likely your Dr. will ask you to be on liquids for a day or more and then slowly move back to solid foods, this is to allow the stomach to ease into the fill and not be overly stressed out by the increased pressure in the band and the pressure of foods coming through.

Let your Dr. know when you go in your a bit fearful of the needle so they have a little more patients with you, lean back and close your eyes and you will be done before you know it.

I couldn't sleep for three days in anticipation of my first fill after surgery. I HATE needles and I have NO tolerance for pain. I have an excellent surgeon and I never really feel the needle or have pain. It is more like pressure. If I can do it, ANYONE can **smiles**

Thankyou for your replies, Im feeling better now!! Doesn't sound as bad.

Furthermore, you can ask for a numbing agent on the skin before they put the needle in. Then you truly feel almost nothing. I'm not afraid of needles, but I always get the numbing agent anyway.

I will ask for that for sure. Thanks!

Yep. Love the numbing agent. You will just be a little sore after. But yo can handle it.

You can have your Dr write you a prescription for embla cream. You rub it on before you leave for your appointment and will be completely numb by the time they do it. My daughter is a diabetic and we did this before her blood work every three months. At 3 years old, she never even blinked an eye when they stuck her.