I WANTED TO KNOW IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE THAT HAS A NEEDLE PHOBIA AND THAT DID OK WITH FILLS... THIS IS THE MAIN THING THAT FRIGHTENS ME ABOUT THE SURGERY ARE THE FILLS!! I DON'T WANT TO GET BANDED AND THAN NOT BE ABLE TO HANDLE THIS!! SO PLEASE SO ONE LET ME KNOW! ARE THESE BIG OR SMALL NEEDLES. ARE THEY VERY PAINFUL!!:help:

It is a long needle but a thin gauge. They numb you first, but of course with a needle but the numbing needle is very small.

It does not hurt. You do feel pressure.

I also have a phobia. I just don't look.

Lol.... Ohhhh I Hope That Won't Be Too Bad!! Do If Feel Pain After You Leave?? I Just Hate Needs ... I Once Freaked Out On This Lady In A Lab Taking My Blood Cause She Walked In With This Big Ass Needle ... I Was Like Where's The Butterfly Needle Lol!!

AppleSmith,

I'd rather take a good a** whoopin than face a needle that looks like it's two foot long, but I do it on a regular basis by giving blood. I just keep telling myself that it's for a good cause, and "yes" look the other way!

I havent been banded yet but have watched a video where they num the spot with spray before beginning the fill??? Maybe your Dr. does it different, ask how he does it and see if he could use the spray. Dont let a small thing like that stand in the way of a brighter future! Toughin' up and go for it, it's mind over matter!

I'm one of those people that the nurses can never find a vein until they've poked me 3 times in 4 different places. So I was worried about the fills to.

I had my first one this week, the doctor numbed it and put the needle through my port incision. There was pressure but no pain.

Hope this helps.

It is really not that bad. I just don't look at it. My fill doc has topical numbing medication that she can spray on the site, but I have not needed since I really don't have any feeling in that part of my stomach where the needle goes. It is over the scare from the incision where they placed the port and I guess the nerves haven't grown back or whatever happens. But it doesn't hurt. It does feel kinda funny when you feel/hear the click click of the needle going into the port site, but other than that it is not that bad.

yeah U R right Steve no doubt about it I am getting banded... I just hope that I am one of those people that only need a few fills. Cause the way I hate needles man it's bad LOL!! Just hope the numbing stuff works 100% ... It's won't be too bad if I don't feel and don't look at it.

It's just a pinch, I was scared too. I even got dizzy,which had nothing to do with the fill. The doctor said that I was just nervous and it went away.

I didn't even feel the pinch. Am I the only one that doesn't have sensation in my port site?

I look away when he does my fills. The only thing that hurts is when they put the numbing agent in with the smaller needle. It stings a little bit. The filling needle is long. I look away and that helps me. Good luck.

My doc doesn’t use numbing spray or a shot. I just focus on a spot on the ceiling and take slow, steady breaths. I don’t like it when she pulls it out, the tugging bothers me.

I have the worst needle phobia as well. And to top it off I needed 14 fills my first year. But believe it or not all except the first one have been perfectly fine. Infact after the first 4 the doc stopped using any kind of numbing medicine and didn't even tell us patients. Actually I was kind of pissed he didn't inform me even thoug I had to admit I couldn't feel a difference if anything I felt less.

Still everytime I go in for a fill I literally bite my knuckle to focus my mind on that pain and away from any potential pain from the needle. You might give it a try it does seem to help me.

Try not to worry. Each person is different but remember whatever you end up feeling during a few second fill is a SMALL price to pay for the resulting weight loss potential.

AppleSmith, I HAVE to join in on this conversation. I am deathly afraid of needles. I stressed so much before the first fill. It was a heck of lot better than I thought. The doctor was so nice to talk to me (I told him I was scared) while he was trying to find the port (stuck me twice) and I only felt a sting and PRONTO it was over. I was so happy I could have kissed him. The 2nd and 3rd was just the same (he says that my port moves, so he has to poke around for it). I have a little restriction, but I'm hoping that I reach that "sweet" spot soon, cause I'd still like to NOT have get the fills. I look at the ceiling and think that I'm somewhere else, he's talking and I'm not hearing a thing, "blah, blah, blah". LOL

I HATE needles. He used the lidocaine on me, which really was a little teeny pain, and I didn't even feel the burning. After that I felt NOTHING, I mean Nothing at all. The whole process was virtually painless. After the lido wore off, about 2 hours later it was a little sore that night, but I really didn't let it bother me. All that worrying for nothing.

I hate needles because my veins like to hide in my fat ever since I gained weight. It's horrid getting blood drawn. I almost always get poked 3-4 times before they hit a vein right. I have only had 2 times since I got heavy that I only got stuck once and they hit it right on. So that's what I think of when it comes to needles, even though I knew the fill would be different.

So I had my husband holding my hand on the one side and the NP on the other side to poke the needle in the port. It didn't feel great, but I did okay. She had me lie with a pillow under my back. I just chose to not look. I don't like people touching my stomach, anyway, so that made it even harder. Not looking actually helped. I can usually look when they draw blood, but I couldn't look while I got a needle to the tummy. Go figure.

there is numbing cream that your doctor could give you a prescription for...you put it on about 1 hr before accessing your port. The brand name is EMLA but its lidocaine and prilocaine....I THINK... anyway in my office we have a lot of pts who use it for their mediports and they all say it works wonderfully.