hi all... i was banded on 3/3 and was filled a little earlier than usual. unfortunately, starting early just meant i started having problems sooner.

my otherwise extremely skilled surgeon (as well as his pa and another doctor in his practice) has had lots of difficulty accessing my port. apparently, due to the way my weight loss has gone and the slope/shape of my abdominal wall, my port tilts downward in a unusual way. translation: i've been, poked, prodded and left black and blue each and every time i've gone for a fill. i wouldn't have minded any of it if i'd reached restriction. sadly, i had squat to show for any of it.

then yesterday, we finally resorted to a fill under fluoroscope. you'd think that would have made things easier and less painful, right?! alas, it took my surgeon, a radiologist, a fluoroscopic specialist, 2 lidocaine injections and nearly one hour to access my port, empty and refill it with 5ccs of saline. it was the most painful session to date. i'm a pretty stoic woman, but i locked myself in the bathroom stall afterwards and had a good cry.

i'm on liquids for another day, so it's hard to tell if it worked. but i'm optimistic. they had me do a barium swallow afterwards to see what kind of restriction i have and from what i saw on the monitor, i should be at my sweet spot... at least for awhile!

here's hoping the rest of you have less painful fills!

I go for my first fill next friday. woo hoo!!! I swear, the 6 weeks between the surgery and first fill have been worse than the year it took to get approved. I have this thing in me, I went though the pain and suffering of liquid diets, missing work, being sore and not feeling myself , co-workers asking "Oh Beth, how much have u lost", no more, thanks for asking!!! lol for it to stop working 2 weeks out. Needless to say the past 4 weeks have been torture!!! My question is for those of you who have these horror stories of painful, long, prodding fills, do you carry most of your weight in your stomach? My stomach is my biggest part, I have NEVER felt a port. it must be buried sooo deep. Which makes me nervous about the first fill and the possibility of it moving after some weight loss......... Thank God I've never had a fear of needles, and I know it is a big, long needle....thanks to youtube!! But I also know its only going to be pushed through nothing but fat. So no big worries, ie, poking or hitting something that it shouldn't. ........wow, I really rambled on!! sorry guys. :blushing:

went in for another fill yesterday (.5ccs) and it was my first pain free experience. my doc found my port in 1 try! it was such a relief. going in i was worried about the pain but also that i might have developed a leak with all the poking and near misses during previous attempts. luckily the 5ccs were still there.

we added just a bit and i definitely feel more restricted, but am prolly another .5 away from being at my sweet spot. it's close, at least i hope it is.

i hope everyone else is having a pain free time of it.

I am so sorry to hear of y'all who are having so much trouble/pain with fills. My Doctor has used flouro Every time. Still, I'm the biggest baby, sweaty palms, sweaty soles of feet. I count my self very fortunate after reading y'alls posts though. A little history in case any one's interested. Banded 12/06. Two fills, then one slight unfill, then one slight fill July 2007 to a total of 3.25 ccs in a 4 cc band. Waited way too long to get another fill. Gained from 183 (my scales) up to 195 Drs. scales and had another fill today (.25) hope I get back that sweet spot that was helping me loose avg. of 1.5 # a week! Will see soon. Best of luck to all you who've had those awful fill experiences. KB

Wow Im surprised at alll the weight everyone is lost! I had my 2nd fill today. I had my first in August 25th. I found I have a 4cc band. Thats not much... And it s not even filled to the rim. lol. Let s see how it does. I m pretty satisfied with the results though. :thumbup:

Edited May 30, 200818 yr by MixKittin
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salsa, im amazed at ur loss. congrats. ive been banded since feb. 11. i have lost 30 pounds but all by will power alone. i have not lost any the last month and ive had 3 fills. a total of 4cc in a 12 cc band. i have no restriction and infact so down i just woofed down a carton of pringles in one setting. i know. its crazy. just a mood im in. but anywho, can u please tell me exactly how much and what u are eating and what and how much i should be eating at this time. i think around a cup but my will power is gone. i dont want to gain anymore back. i go tues. for another fill. with dr. gibbs. but i can eat as much now as i did before surgery. like i said it is mostly willpower an the dr. atkins diet. anyone can do that , but that is not what i wanted. i wanted to be able to eat anything and just not as much of it. thank you. looking forward to ur repley. my email is ' chubgirl2003@yahoo.com

hi all... i was banded on 3/3 and was filled a little earlier than usual. unfortunately, starting early just meant i started having problems sooner.

my otherwise extremely skilled surgeon (as well as his pa and another doctor in his practice) has had lots of difficulty accessing my port. apparently, due to the way my weight loss has gone and the slope/shape of my abdominal wall, my port tilts downward in a unusual way. translation: i've been, poked, prodded and left black and blue each and every time i've gone for a fill. i wouldn't have minded any of it if i'd reached restriction. sadly, i had squat to show for any of it.

then yesterday, we finally resorted to a fill under fluoroscope. you'd think that would have made things easier and less painful, right?! alas, it took my surgeon, a radiologist, a fluoroscopic specialist, 2 lidocaine injections and nearly one hour to access my port, empty and refill it with 5ccs of saline. it was the most painful session to date. i'm a pretty stoic woman, but i locked myself in the bathroom stall afterwards and had a good cry.

i'm on liquids for another day, so it's hard to tell if it worked. but i'm optimistic. they had me do a barium swallow afterwards to see what kind of restriction i have and from what i saw on the monitor, i should be at my sweet spot... at least for awhile!

here's hoping the rest of you have less painful fills!

I had my second fill since the first in August last year and it was horrible. I spent the weekend at the hospital, throwing up with iv fluds. Finally my dr. came by on Sunday and took out all the liquid in the band. Now it s empty.

I have to say that if Dr. Williams had known better he wouldnt have filled it so much. I have no insurance and this hospital stays are not planned or expected. I am really angry at him for not knowing what he s doing and for letting me wait two days at the hospital until he came and empited the band when he could have done it instantly. Now it s like I have no band. I am going there tomorrow for a fill. But do you think I should be the one paying for this hospital stay, thus paying for his lack of professionality? By the way I was banded Jully 2008, have lost 45 pounds by my willpower, phentermine and running. I have no restriction and the only effect of the band is not letting me swallow certain or most things, to the point of having to throw up mostly everything solid. That is also why I have lost the weight. Yes, dehydrated and weak, but thinner....

I had my second fill since the first in August last year and it was horrible. I spent the weekend at the hospital, throwing up with iv fluds. Finally my dr. came by on Sunday and took out all the liquid in the band. Now it s empty.

I have to say that if Dr. Williams had known better he wouldnt have filled it so much. I have no insurance and this hospital stays are not planned or expected. I am really angry at him for not knowing what he s doing and for letting me wait two days at the hospital until he came and empited the band when he could have done it instantly. Now it s like I have no band. I am going there tomorrow for a fill. But do you think I should be the one paying for this hospital stay, thus paying for his lack of professionality? By the way I was banded Jully 2008, have lost 45 pounds by my willpower, phentermine and running. I have no restriction and the only effect of the band is not letting me swallow certain or most things, to the point of having to throw up mostly everything solid. That is also why I have lost the weight. Yes, dehydrated and weak, but thinner....

Is there anyway you can see a different doctor? If you are a self pay then you don't have to worry about insurance covering or not covering a different doctor. Did your doctor include anything that covered problems or complications as part of his fee? My doc's fee included ANY complications for 2 years following the band...including hospital/anethesiologist/emergency room...anything. I would check into it.

Hope things are a little better.

Glad I got to read all this, I go for my first fill this afternoon. As I am excited to get this weight lost journey kicked into high gear I am a little nervous. However, I can feel exactly where my port is and am hoping that means the doctor will have no problem locating the exact spot. I will let everyone know how I do afterwards.