Greetings! First off, I just tried Fill Centers USA and I have to say I am impressed... the people at the center are wonderful and the Salem, OR provider is TERRIFIC. She was thorough and has a great bedside manner - even though I live 3 1/2 hrs away I may make her my new primary care provider in addition to using her through Fill Centers USA!

She did question a lot of how my surgeon handle their procedures, which concerned me a little. She said that she hadn't heard of anyone receiving a fill at the time of surgery - which I received 3 ccs; she said he never heard of anyone ever receiving a fill of more than .25 cc at a time - I have received up to 1.75 at once.... she had to actually see the fill record from my doctor because she was so surprised. (My surgeon also gave me a medical card at the time of orientation that said the band was 4ccs and I actually received the 10 cc AP.)

I really like this "fill technician" (for lack of a better title) and the care she and Fill Centers USA have provided - but what or rather who should I trust? My instincts say the new provider, however I also feel very connected to the staff at my surgeon's office because they have all been great too - I live 3 hours from them too (in the other direction) so I don't have much/any follow up care from them except when I contact them. Fill Centers USA even called me the day after my appointment to see how I was doing!

The one downfall with Fill Centers USA is that there are ONLY 30 providers in the US! Fortunately there is one relatively close to me.

How much fill have you received during a fill visit?

I have a AP large band and received 4 cc at my first fill. Feel great. Just right. Each person has a different experience.

The fills at .25 seem very small. especially for the 10 ap or 14 ap bands. I asume its because they are a fill only center they like to make as much off each client as possible. I have a 14ap band. I had 2cc at time if surgery. 5 weeks out I got a fill for 3cc, one week later I had a 2cc fill the one week later a fill of 2 cc. I have some restriction although I dont think I'm quite there. I have decided to wait 1 month and see what how I feel. We are able to have a fill as needed, because we need restriction as soon as possible after all thats why we got the band. By the way we are self pay, but at least our fills are free . We are from alberta Canada ad we get our fills at the hospital where they are covered by Alberta health.My daughter has the 10 cc band and she had 1cc at time of surgery. She got 2cc first fill,2cc second fill, 2 cc third fill, and had 1cc taken out because she was too tight . We have ours done with flouro . I can see doing a .25 fill you have a 4cc band or if you are almost full. There is no need to fill .25 cc at the early stages because you wont probably notice a thing. with a 10ap band it will cost you a budle and take for ever to get good resriction, Just some thoughts

Lizzieann

I went for my first fill on Saturday morning 5/31 - it was so intriguing! Fill Centers USA in Roswell, GA. I loved watching on the Monitor screen as the liquid went through. First it was completely closed and nothing went through, then Dr. Zebley drew saline out until she liked the way it went through and I felt that it seemed right, 1.5cc total, so amazing! I then sat for the 15 min., drinking water at room temp., no problem...so we left. I have been slightly uncomfortable today, mostly the new feeling of tightness and also I'm so hungry! I have not been this hungry at all since I was banded. I hope this goes away quickly. I tried broth, swallowed perfectly, but just felt yucky and did not want to smell it. The jello was better. She said - clear liquids(warm) today, clear cold and warm on Sunday and then soft liquid food Monday. From there, add foods one at a time, insuring I'm good with each one. They gave me a nice packet with a special book enclosed that is most helpful, plus a magazine and instructions galore! I hope tomorrow is better, now if I could only sleep!!

0.25 cc is a normal fill for a 4cc band. 1.75cc is reasonable for a 10cc band, which you have. I have a 4cc band, my first fill was 1 cc and the rest have been either 0.5 or 0.2 cc depending on how close I was to a good fill level.

But this shows how hard it is to compare fill levels with all the different bands out there now, and everyone reacts to them differently. I've heard it said that there are only 3 fill amounts:

• not enough
  
• too much
  
• just right
  

Just like the 3 bears!

I have a 4 cc band and have had 2 fills the first one was three years ago at 1.6 which didn't really do much except I couldn't eat bread or cake without throwing up. I'm now 2.4cc and I am able to eat smaller and stay full 3-4 hrs but I think I'm learning to deal with the head hunger.....sometimes I'll be bored and have gone 4 hrs without eating and think "I should get something to eat." Even if my stomach isn't growling. What is a good fill level for a 4 cc band?

I'm really glad to hear about the positive experience at Fill Centers- my husband and I are moving to Florida in the fall, too far away to continue seeing my surgeon on any kind of a regular basis...besides, he has a rule that you can't fly within 2 weeks of having a fill, which kind of knocks that out of the box. There is a Fill Center within 15 miles of our new home, so when we go down in July for vacation, I'll definitely check them out.

Best, Christine