I'm getting my first fill in about 3 weeks and would love to hear from some of you about your fills. Do most Dr.'s numb around the port area before putting the needle in or is it really uncomfortable enough to need numbing? About how long does it take to do it? I'm anxious to get my 1st fill but sorta nervous too since I really dont know what to expect.

At least when I had surgery I was totally asleep and didn't know anything that was going on. I even told the the Dr. when he woke me up after surgery "don't do anything yet, I'm still awake!" He then told me, while really laughing, that it was all over. Boy, was I relieved! I always had a fear of waking up during surgery because that happened to my daughter a few years ago and that was a terrible thing to happen to a young person or for that matter, to anyone!

Thanks for any input about your fill experiences.

Some docs give a local, others don't. Some girls don't feel much more than a pin prick. I had one normal fill. The sensation is very strange and hard to describe, but I didn't have any pain (then again, I had been sedated the previous hour, so maybe I was numb all over.)

I just had my first fill 5 days ago, and I was a nervous wreck going in. It was done in the office (not under fluoroscopy) and my doctor palpated my stomach to find the port. Then he pulled out the biggest needle I've ever seen. I closed my eyes and felt a tiny, tiny pain (way less than a normal shot) and looked down to see this thing sticking out of my stomach. He moved it all over the place and I couldn't feel it. He showed me how much saline he was putting in (1 cc), injected it, and had me sit up. I expected to feel a tightening of my band, but my stomach felt the same. He had me drink some Water to make sure I could keep it down.

It was a fairly painless procedure, for me at least. He explained that the needle is actually very small at the tip. I know a lot of people swear by getting filled under fluoroscopy (where you drink contrast and they x-ray your band to find the port), but I personally didn't have any problems. Good luck!

my first one went very smooth-last one not so much so.