Here's the scoop....

I went in Friday for a fill. I had it under Flouro and everything went fine.

I'm back to solid foods and I don't notice any more restriction than I had before the fill, so I contacted my doctor about it. He said that he could try and put another .2cc's in his office (at no charge) but if he can't hit the port then I would need to go over to Radiology at the hospital so that he could do the adjustment under Flouro.

Now, I'm a huge proponent of using Flouro. I can't simply imagine someone "guessing" where my port is and "hoping" that they hit it.

What are the chances/risks of him missing the port and hitting the tubing?

I also have the Swedish band and am not real sure about the port and how different it is vs. the Inamed band. I believe it's larger, but I could be wrong.

If you get your adjustments without Flouro, I would like to hear about how often they find and "hit" your port or do they have to poke you several times to find it?

I have never had mine under floro, and they hit it the first time every time. So far, no problems at all!

I have had both, without the fluro he hits the port everytime, first time!! Just my experience!! Best of luck to you!

Betty, does your doctor use a set amount and/or schedule for your fills? How can he tell if you're restricted enough or too much? I'm sure he has you drink water before you leave to make sure it passes through the band?

Thanks Kelly, good to hear. I'm also wondering how much experience Dr. Houston has will doing adjustments without using Flouro. I'm assuming that this is probably a technique that gets better with experience.

They say that how much pressure is pushing against the syringe when doing the fill the dr can tell how much restriction you have....not sure if i explained it to where it makes since.............my dr does have us drink water and sit for a while to make sure that it goes down and we don't have a problem.

I have never had mine under Flouro

At this point have not had a problem with them finding the port the first time.

i have had 1 fill under flouro and 2 with out. He got the port both times with out, I would do it again. saved me money, and have had no problems.

Trish, he schedules me every six weeks, but tells me if I don't feel the restriction to call and he will work me in. I have called every time early, and this time they were booked. The first time I think he gave me 1.5cc (it's at the bottom here) and each time after that has been .25cc. He does have me drink water afterwards, and if everything goes o.k. he tells me liquids the rest of the night, and back to solids the next day. He also tells me ANY SIGNS of pbing or throwing up to call immediately. The last time I was there, I ask if the fill could be a little more and he said "no, when you do too much at a time you take the chance of closing a person completely off, and that is not a good thing for you or your band."

Mine doesn't use fluro. No problems at all.

Thanks everybody!

It sounds like everyone has had good luck getting adjustments without using Flouro. I'm already feeling better about the situation.

Betty, sounds like you have a really good doc there!

Yeah Trish, I really do like him. He seems to know what he is doing, at least I hope so!

Trish... off the topic but where are you staying when your going to Dallas. I will be staying with my brother and his family but I def would like to meet and hang out!

Mine never uses floro either. I have only had one fill and he had to bring in another Dr. to find it. They gave me 1cc in a 4cc band. I have been losing about 2 pounds a week. some pbing if I eat to fast or any bread.

On the other hand my DH has had three fills. the first time they missed his port completely. Second time-they brought in the Dr. who found mine after poking him for 15 minutes. He still had no restriction, so yesterday he went in again. And again it took both Dr.'s to get the job done. He is now at 6cc in a 4cc band. He said it was a little rougher with finding the port yesterday.

But today he is doing good and can feel some restriction.

Our Doc. always numbs us really good, I didn't feel a thing when they were searching for mine. My port shifted an incision length over-I had fallen on the ice 1 week post-op. They think that might have moved it around.

Rica,

I'm not sure where I'm staying in Dallas (yet). I haven't made reservations. I'm assuming that most people that are coming in from out of town stay at the same hotel? I guess I need to email Patti and ask her. I'm sure they'll have a dinner where we all get together and meet. I can't wait to finally get to meet you and the others. I'm really looking forward to it.

Larae,

It sounds like you and your DH have been through quite a time with fills, but sounds like they were still successful. I hope you're both doing well and congrats on the weight loss!!