Hi Everyone,

Its been awhile.. My surgery was performed on May 29. Post-surgery I was 209 pounds. I am now 172 pounds. I had my first fill on July 12. I thought that the fill would keep me from eating as much.. but I am eating... whats wrong with me? Am I being too gready.. I am really frustrated and becoming depressed by this whole thing and need some feedback from someone to tell me what I'm doing wrong.. I am in desperate need of some advice on what to do! I am scheduled to see my surgeon on August 3rd.. :help:

really i didnt know this

i can drink my shakes faster and ive eaten tuna also for mushy foods

no chest pain, no stuck feeling? My doc said most of my patients dont need adjustment i assumed he meant filling? anything i need to know about filling up in general ive heard they do it in the office now adays or is it better at a radiology place?

thanks for the info

My MD encourages us to stick to solid foods like fish, grilled chicken, veggies, and salad after the first 4 weeks. He believes that there is the potential to get too many calories if you drink too many shakes and protein drinks. It is ok while you are on liquids though. The band does not restrict liquids so once you start on solid foods you really feel the restriction! Most doctors have a radiology machine in their office so as long as you have your fill where they can watch what happens when you swallow you will be fine. Usually, they put saline in your band and then give you a swallow of Barium to monitor how well it goes through the band. This helps them decide how many cc's of saline to restrict your band with. We are all learning as we go through this process. This is a lot I didn't know as well and I am still learning all of the time!

rivekthr6~~~

I've had 3 fills and last week had a tiny bit removed. THE FOLLOWING IS SIMPLY MY EXPERIENCE AND OPINION: My surgeon lays me on an exam table with a small pillow underneath my back, a little abuve my waist. He palpates the area slightly beneath my port incision then asks me to raise my head off the table. He inserts the needle, all the while palpating for the port. The port must offer some resistance, because when he inserts the needle in it, I can feel sort of a 'pop'. He aspirates, to be sure he's actually stuck the port. If he'd drawn back blood or any Fluid other than the clear saline, he'd know not to inject. He then injects the predetermined amount and quickly withdraws the needle. He doesn't deaden the area first,,as the stick is so minimally painful and the whole procedure so quick. I've found that deadening the area (in alot of diff procedures) hurts worse than the actual procedure itself. The whole 'fill' procedure lasts about 3 minutes. A bandaid and a handshake and I'm out of there.

banded 1/29/07

Dr Ken Cleveland-CMMC-Jackson, MS

1.8/4cc band

how do the know where to inject? is it possible to miss and inject nothing?

You should try to find your own port. I know it's kind of worrysome to start feeling around there too quickly but I think if you start feeling your port you will have a better idea of what they are working with. I also heard if you rub your port area lightly the tenderness goes away quicker. I don't know if this is true or not but I did it and I do not have the ongoing tenderness around my port that I have seen some people describe.

they should know where to inject because of 1) the scar from the port entry and 2) because you can feel the little bump where your port is.

Mine is just under the skin so I think that it will be easy to find.