I went in yesterday for my first fill. I was surprised to hear he had put in 4.5cc at surgery time! I've been feeling full on much less food but I haven't had any trouble with any type of food except one bite of chicken that was stuck very briefly. Seems like I should have felt more restriction with that much already in there. She put in another 1cc (10cc band) so after I finish the two days of liquids we'll see if it makes any difference or not, I really need this to kick in, I'm getting very frustrated with my slow weight loss.

It was much more of an ordeal than I expected, she said I already have a lot of scar tissue built up around the port so she had some trouble hitting it, I was very glad I was numbed up cause she was really poking around and I felt a lot of pressure. I was a little sore after the lidocaine wore off, but not too bad.

I am so scared about my first fill!! I'm glad that they numbed you first. I already have some lidacaine they prescribed for me....

It really was ok once it was all done, even though there was more to it than I expected. Be sure to ask for more lidocaine if you need it, at one point I started to feel the needle and she stopped and gave me more, didn't feel anymore poke after that, just pressure.

I get my first fill in a couple of weeks but last time I saw my doctor I asked if he will use lidocaine. He responded positively and said of course b/c sometimes it can be like a pin cushin trying to find the port.

I would like to know; how far from your surgery date did your first fill occur?

4 weeks :wink_smile:

I got my first fill 9/11/08. I was a little nervous not knowing what to expect. Dr. Rantis explained my band would hold up to 14cc, he would put in 4cc to begin with; which he said was a pretty agressive fill. He told me to do a mini chrunch with my hands behind my back and with just barely a pin pick - really - he said he was first going to draw out any air left in. Then he filled me all in 1 smooth move. It couldn't have taken more than a minute not even close to two. He didn't numb me, no exray, no machines and absolutely no pain. Just 1 simple mini chrunch. He had me drink a glass of water to make sure it wasn't to filled and told me baring any complications, he'd see in 4 weeks.

I hope the same for all my band sisters

goodbody out

I hope mine goes as smooth as yours did :thumbup: I have my first fill on the 25th and got banded on the 22nd of August. :frown:

I received my first fill today and was a little nervous not knowing what to expect. A physician's assistant did mine at the Outcare Center. She said the dr. put 5cc in during surgery and she added one more cc to it. The procedure was very easy, just one little pin prick and it was over in about 20 seconds. She didn't numb me and there was no pain. I also had to drink a glass of water to make sure it would go down okay.

Don't believe that since the dr put in cc's during surgery that you have any kind of restriction! In most cases, that volume only fills the tubing from your port to your band so that your first fill actually goes into making the band tighter. You may be fooling yourself into believing that the band isn't working for you before your first fill. Other than the first week or so when your stomach is swollen it's not likely that the band itself is doing anything for you at this point.

Like I said, this is in most cases...but you can ask your doc if you have questions. My PA told me that I got 4 cc's at sx, but that it was to prime the tubing only and that the dr doesn't put in any for restriction until the first fill. They don't even count that volume when they record the volume that I have at any one time, since they start from '0' before the first fill.

So I'm wondering......does a 10cc band actually hold more in it when you consider the tubing or does the 10cc include only the restriction area around the stoma area?

Gosh I hadn't thought about how much was in the tubing, I'm going for my second fill this thursday, I'll ask. That makes me feel better if a lot of that 4.5cc was in the tubing, I was wondering why I felt so little restriction.

So I'm wondering......does a 10cc band actually hold more in it when you consider the tubing or does the 10cc include only the restriction area around the stoma area?

The volume of the tubing is not counted in the volume of the band. This means that a 10cc band holds 10 cc's in the band itself, not the band and the tubing.

I never really thought about the tubbing. So, how does one know how much is really in the band and how much is in the tubbing? There must be a logical answer, but I tired right now after a long stressful day and I can't seem to make sense of it.

Does everyone have the same amount of tubbing? Or, does the doctor adjust it based on the patient?

just got my first fill today! goodness! he put in 2 cc's...and i'm trying to drink my dinner shake. can you say...wow! i feel like i did right after surgery. i feel everything i'm drinking as it goes down...talk about restriction! wonder how i'm going to feel tomorrow when i start back on mushies again. i wasn't numbed before he stuck me with the needle and he did have a little bit of a problem finding the port but it wasn't so bad.

woo hoo!!! let's keep it going!!

I just had my first fill on Tuesday 9/23. 4 ml and it felt pretty tight for about the first 12 hours. I guess that it cause a little inflammation. That has since subsided and I'm feeling pretty good now.

I'm looking forward to my first Phase III diet meal for dinner tonight. We're going to Qdoba for a naked chicken burrito (in a bowl, no tortilla, no rice, no cheese, no sour cream). At least I'll get to eat a little chicken and black Beans without being pureed into mush, AND MY FIRST TASTE OF salad in a whole month!

I've lost 22 lbs so far.

Bryan