Hi all!

I was banded 1/24 and I have my first fill tomorrow. I have several questions:

1- How much of a fill should i ask for (assuming i have a choice)? I have had almost no restriction since the swelling went down, and have only lost 7 pounds since the surgery, so i would like to be as aggressive as possible.

2- Is it going to hurt?

3- Should i eat before? If so, any particular kind, soft, mushie, Protein??

I would also appreciate any suggestions or advice on this subject, as I might have not known the right questions to ask. Thanks!

Your Dr. or Nurse will probably fill you to the first max. Mine was 3 ccs in a 10 cc band. let them know you have no restriction and they will give you their max. You may feel nothing after or you may feel tight. In my situation, I always feel really tight right after a fill and then within a few days it loosens a little. It doesn't hurt. The only thing you feel is the needle prick when they first inject. You don't feel the band tighten. Definitely eat before. Don't eat too much, but you can eat solid food. You will most likely be on liquids for the remainder of the day at least (depending on the Dr.). You want to eat enough so that you aren't starving the rest of the day, but not so much that you are too full as it may be uncomfortable when the band is tightened.

I have a 10cc band and my first fill was 3cc and the only thing you feel is the the prick of the needle but it is only a small sting. I got a fill of 1cc this morning at 10:30am and I ate breakfast at 7:30am and that wasn't a problem. It really is a lot less painful than you build it up in your mind. Just dont look at the needle, that works for me. Best Wishes

Jack, I have a question about the band size. I had my first fill and was told he put in 1cc. He said I had a 10cc band but that it would only hold a max. of 4cc's. How does that work?

Kat

MY SURGERY WAS 01/15/08, AND I, TOO HAVE MY FIRST FILL ON TUESDAY **02/26/08..YES I AM A LITTLE WORRIED...AND I WONT LOOK AT THE NEEDLES??????? MORE THAN ONE???? I SURE HOPE I FEEL MORE RESTRICTIONS....IT SEEMS LIKE I AM DEVELOPING AN APPITITE...DOTN WANT THAT.. WISH ME LUCK:biggrin2:

Jack, I have a question about the band size. I had my first fill and was told he put in 1cc. He said I had a 10cc band but that it would only hold a max. of 4cc's. How does that work?

Kat

Kat: Something is definitely confused there! A 10cc band holds 10ccs (actually a little bit more as they can be overfilled.) There are 4cc bands as well. I wonder if he told you the diameter of the band (say, 10 cm?) instead of the volume. You might want to clear it up the next time you see him.

MY SURGERY WAS 01/15/08, AND I, TOO HAVE MY FIRST FILL ON TUESDAY **02/26/08..YES I AM A LITTLE WORRIED...AND I WONT LOOK AT THE NEEDLES??????? MORE THAN ONE???? I SURE HOPE I FEEL MORE RESTRICTIONS....IT SEEMS LIKE I AM DEVELOPING AN APPITITE...DOTN WANT THAT.. WISH ME LUCK:biggrin2:

My doctor uses two needles -- one to inject lidocaine and the other to inject the saline. Because of the first needle, which is just a very slight sting, I can't feel the second. :biggrin2:

By the way, all caps is considered shouting on message boards. And I do wish you luck!

Biggrin2,

Thanks for the info on the "fill" and also on the "SHOUTING" I am a newby, still learning the ropes...I am very excited with my lap band. I really look forward to a new life. All my family is supportive and friends are in awe! My surgeon is Jeffery Lord at Sacred Heart in Pensacola Fl. I live in Panama City Beach, so its a hundred mile trip one way....We have no doctors that specialize in this surgery.....yeah, some would perform it, but I didn't feel comfortable. So I try to obtain any and all information I can. So any advise is appreciated!

oh, by the way, congrats..and again...THANKS!

Biggrin2,

Thanks for the info on the "fill" and also on the "SHOUTING" I am a newby, still learning the ropes...I am very excited with my lap band. I really look forward to a new life. All my family is supportive and friends are in awe! My surgeon is Jeffery Lord at Sacred Heart in Pensacola Fl. I live in Panama City Beach, so its a hundred mile trip one way....We have no doctors that specialize in this surgery.....yeah, some would perform it, but I didn't feel comfortable. So I try to obtain any and all information I can. So any advise is appreciated!

oh, by the way, congrats..and again...THANKS!

We were all newbies at one point, if not here, then somewhere else.

I think you're wise to go with the doctor with whom you feel the most comfortable, even if he's a little further away. You may want to schedule your fills early in the day and stay in town (maybe do a little shopping ) the rest of the day to make sure you're not too tight, especially if your fill is on a Friday. Sometimes you can't tell for several hours, though some folks don't realize that they're too tight until the next day or even later. However, I've had three fills with no problems and most of us don't get so tight that we would need an unfill so you should be fine.

You're wise to learn all you can. And while it's good to know about the negatives, understand that there is an overrepresentation of negatives discussed on this board because this is where people come to get help or just to vent. People who are having no problems are less likely to post, "Hey, I had another great day!" :biggrin2:

Again thanks,

All the encouragement is great. I am going to look on the forum to see if anyone has hypothroid??? I seem to be having a lot of problems with my TSH levels...and it really hinders my weight loss.

So hopefully we will be back in touch.

Have a great one,

I have some input into how much I get for each fill but in the end it is the nurse practitioner who is in control and holds the needle! There are guidelines from the manufacturer as to how much should be put in at each fill and my doctor followed those to a point. He also asked me a lot of questions and went from there. I was in the same situation as you - not losing at first and discouraged and when I finally reached my point of breakdown (!) they put an extra 1/2cc in (my fills were 1.5, 1.5.1.5 and then 2) Some doctors are much more aggressive, which I get jealous of sometimes, but when I really think about it I am glad my doctor was more conservative. There is a big difference between getting 1cc and getting 4ccs at one fill. Some doctors start out with a 4cc fill and to me that is just too fast - I am thankful that I had time to get used to each new level of restriction (even though I was frustrated at the slowness of weight loss that came with it) When your fills are 1-2 ccs each time there is a lot less chance of you getting home and being so tight you can't get anything down (I have talked to people who had to have unfills because they couldn't even get water down - scary) I think it is smarter to have small fills more often, and my doctor allows us to come back in for more after ten days if we don't have restriction after the fill.