I am scheduled to go for my first fill tomorrow. I am excited and scared at the same time.

Hello,

Why is it so long after your surgery that you are getting your first fill? i did my surgery a week ago today and will get my first fill in three weeks? Curious...

ps wow on your weight loss keep it up EXCITING

I am scheduled to go for my first fill tomorrow. I am excited and scared at the same time.

I had my first fill today... eight weeks after surgery. My doctor said that they don't like to do fills before 6-8 weeks. I am very disappointed. He put 3.5 ccs in my band and I have no restriction, I have been starving all day. I am so emotional because I have got to start losing but how can I when I am hungry all the time? Ahhh.. my doctor yelled at me today because I had not lost weight since surgery, I am motivated to do this but I need my hunger to stop.

There are a lot of doctors out there who are very cautious with fills, waiting 8 weeks or even more to give the first fill, and giving small amounts at fills. Luckily, my doctor did the first fill at 4 weeks and took me to 3.6 on the first fill and did another one 4 weeks later. At 3.6 I wasn't really feeling any restriction but I was working very hard at following my eating plan and basically "white knuckling" it until I got restriction. No, it's not easy. If it were, none of us here would have gotten the band in the first place. Just stick to the eating plan and if you get hungry in less than 4 hours eat PROTEIN. Protein takes longer to digest and that way keeps you feeling satisfied longer than a bit of fruit or a cracker or whatever else you might be snacking on right now.

My first fill is this Fri and my surgery was Sept 28th. I am scared and excited. I am hoping it will at least help me not feel like I am starving myself. lol I had m&m's last night....my neighbors invite us for card games and they had candy and I ate some. It was laced with guilt. lol

Hello,

Why is it so long after your surgery that you are getting your first fill? i did my surgery a week ago today and will get my first fill in three weeks? Curious...

ps wow on your weight loss keep it up EXCITING

Everyone pretty much answered your question. My doctor typically wait approximately 8 weeks after surgery. He filled me half full. It was a bad experience. He had to stick me like 8 times, and it was somewhat painful...

i had my first fill today, surgery was on 7/31. i was paranoid about the whole process due to some of the things i had read. it went very well with one stick of the needle and no pain at all. they actually inserted the needle into one of my surgical scars which i thought was suprising but other than that it was nothing like what i thought it would be. they had me do an immediate swallow study to make sure that everything passed through the band just fine. i thought that part was so cool to see the actual band and your stomach and how it all works together. i had 1 cc initially inserted in the band during surgery and had 3cc's added today. so we'll see where that leaves me at in a few days when i start to eat regular food again.

My first fill was also today and It went smoothly...I need to call and ask how many cc's i have. lol I'm curious. But ya, I thought it felt funny when they did it, but it didn't hurt too much.:thumbup:

When your surgeon feels your band, how do he tell where it is? Like mine just felt around and put the needle in, but seriously how does he know the saline actually went in the band? Like it could have just been inserted somewhere in my stomach?

When your surgeon feels your band, how do he tell where it is? Like mine just felt around and put the needle in, but seriously how does he know the saline actually went in the band? Like it could have just been inserted somewhere in my stomach?

They can feel it and when they insert it they have to apply more pressure to get through the port. I actually felt the vibrations of it going into the port.

my procedure yesterday was done in the urology department part of the hospital. there was some kind of imaging machine that was positioned directly over my stomach and you were able to see the port. they also felt around for it as well and then applied a lot of pressure as they inserted the needle.

They can feel it because of experience but also they will withdrawl some fluid out to make sure. My Dr commented one time the she can feel the needle go in and hit the metal , the back of the port. But I think withdrawling fluid is proof they are in the port.

I had my first fill Thurs. I think it was 3.5 in a 10cc band. First lidocaine which stung briefly and then the fill needle which felt more like pressure. I could easily swallow the water throughout the fill. My surgeon did the fill. It was not scary, and I immediately felt increased restriction. I had been very hungry the past 3 weeks and had increased snacks. I have lost 30 lbs. since the pre surgery 2 week diet. I was banded Aug. 21, 2009.

I had my first fill yesterday. (WooHoo!!) Six weeks after surgery. My Dr gave me 3cc's into a 12 cc band. And today I'm a little uncomfortable after I eat almost anything. And I've been on liquids since the fill.

It feels like I need to burp but can't. I'm not sure if this is what restriction feels like or not. It could just be my stomach adjusting to the change in the band. I guess I need to give it a couple of days to settle in before I know.