I have my first fill next week, and I'm wondering what to expect. I'll be 6 weeks out.

Does it hurt?

I'm a big baby, and I was scared. It really was just a pinch though... a tolerable sting.

My surgeon pushed around, found my port right away (which I was worried about him finding it), told me the pinch was coming, and for about ten seconds there was a sting, slightly more prolonged than a blood test stick, but pretty quick. Then he told me it would just be a little push to engage the port, and that was it.

So yeah, a pinch, but big baby me didn't cry or scream. ha ha ha

Yay for your first fill!!! Happy New Year!

I have my first fill next week, and I'm wondering what to expect. I'll be 6 weeks out.

Does it hurt?

I was really freaked out as well.:cursing: Almost did not let the nurse give me a fill. But I actually felt nothing. Just a little pressure. The 2nd fill I received I felt a small prick. That was it. It really does not hurt. I think it just freaks me out thinking about it. I feel a little pressure also where my band is when they are filling it. Who would of thought that we would let someone stick us in the stomach with a needle to put in Fluid that fills a band around our stomach? The things we will do to be thin. If someone would have told me I would be doing this years ago I would have laughed at them and told them they were crazy. :confused:

I'm not a baby. I'm pretty tough. I didn't expect mine to hurt and it didn't, exactly...but my port was tilted and it took the doc a few tries to get it right. It felt kind of "fingernails on a blackboard" to me while he was trying to get it. That wasn't fun. HOWEVER, since then he's hit it right on the head the 1st try each time and it's nothing!

:frown:I just recently went for my second fill, I don't want to scare anyone but it was horrible, the doctor could not find my port, It was tilted and he said I have a lot of scare tissue.. It really hurt. I am going back next week, so he can try again.. Which me luck, I had my band on Sept 4th I have lost 30lbs. Is that good? I feel I should be down more than that..

Thank goodness after my tilted port, and the 1st time (which the doc found it, it was just weird feeling while he was searching) he's hit it spot on each time for #2 and #3. AND .... it's worth it!

My surgeon uses a bit of lidocaine to numb the area before he does the fill. I've read a lot on here about fills and I think he may do it a little different than a lot of surgeons because he doesn't use a bent port needle, he uses a straight needle, but he tells me to push my belly out, finds the port and then when he hits the site, I can relax. It's a pinch and then pressure, but definitely manageable.

My dr. gave me something to numb it and told me that it was going to feel like a bee sting. It literally didn't even hurt that bad. Then when he did the fill, I did not feel a thing at all. It was a cinch.

I also receive a numbing agent. The quick sting from that is all I feel. He does leave the needle in a while, once he hits my port, as I have to drink successfully for a while before he's satisfied it's not to tight. Then he will pull it out. Even then, I have to sit in the waiting room for 20 minutes and drink even more water before I can leave. He wants to make absolutely certain I'm not overfilled. I appreciate that. I have a little buise on my tummy for a few days, about the size of a quarter, but it's not sore.

I had mine earlier this week. The PA pushed around and gave me a small shot to numb the area. Was a very slight sting and that was it. I really expected a lot of pain, but there really wasn't any. Even if there had been, after 6 weeks of bandster hell, it's worth it. Make sure they give you some water before you leave. I had too much restriction and nothing would pass. She had a harder time finding the port to take fluid out because of swelling, but there was no pain at all still since the numbing agent hadn't worn off.

I had my first fill last Tuesday and it didn't hurt at all. Doc numbed me up with Lidocaine and that was it... I thought it was going to hurt a lot more. :biggrin:

GL!

to be honest....NO.

I have a pretty low tolerance for pain and it was OK!

I was SO totally scared to have it done and was SO anxious- after it was over I felt silly for having been so scared.

One thing that did surprise me- the needle going in didn't really hurt, don't get me wrong you can FEEL it but it wasn't painful. What was wierd was the "pop" sound it made when it went into the port. THAT was wierd. Good luck- you will do GREAT!

I've had three fills now, and it gets easier every time. The needle does not hurt, it is the doctor pushing around with their hands to find the port that hurts. It is still pretty sore, even after almost 4 months. The needle is the easy part, you really don't feel that. Just brace yourself for some pain and discomfort while they palpatate the area around the port to find it and judge exactly where they want to poke you. My doctor does not do any numbing. The good thing is once they find it it's over in a couple of minutes. Barring any port issues, like flips or tilts or something of that nature, it should be ok. My doctor puts a pillow in the small of my back to arch up my stomach, arms behind my head and asks for a half situp to use the abdominal muscles to push the port as close to the surface as possible. It's over in 3 minutes. Good luck!!

The first time it was done I found it very painful - that is just me mind you. So being that I found to be that painful I asked for lidocaine for the next two fills, although I get picked on for that I am a much happier camper and wouldn't do it any other way :thumbup:

Hey! I have been filled 3 times. The first was with Lidocaine to numb it and it really burned but i didnt feel the fill needle. At the second fill, the doc told me he had stopped using Lidocaine and the patients preferred the stick without it. It hurt for just a second (the mashing on my port area was more uncomfortable than the stick). It's really not as bad as I thought it would be, but everyone is different. I work in Labor and Delivery and some people say they felt only a prick with their epidural and others scream and cry. So, I guess it's hard to say since we all perceive pain so differently. But in my case, it wasn't that bad.

Banded 11/04/2008 Start:305lbs

Hello, there!

My experience with fills has been great, and I have very little pain tolerance. There is a slight prick when they numb the area around my port (and I mean slight) that lasts for only a second or two. I feel pressure when they inject the saline (my doctor has me do a "mini sit-up") but it is not painful at all. With the needle still in my port, they have me sit up and sip Water to make sure it is going down and either stop or fill a bit more while I am doing that. I feel numb for a few hours after that, but when it wears off I am not even very sore. I actually love how it feels after a fill because I feel full without even eathing anything. It's really very easy-I hope that your experience is as good as mine. Good luck! :-)