To boldly go. . .

Zoe · October 13, 2004

. . .well, not where no one has gone before, but *I've* never gone. I'm off for my first fill at 2 pm with Dr. Horgan, right next to Bloomingdale's, so I'd better behave myself and come straight back to the office instead of shopping like a madwoman.

I'm taking a camera with me and, if the doc has no problem with it, I'll take a few pictures & post them so other newbies can see what the experience is like. No fair laughing at my scars, though!

Penni60 · October 13, 2004

Great idea about posting the procedure. Just clarify if he used fluoro or not for the newbies.

Zoe · October 13, 2004

According to the guy's receptionist, he uses fluoro. If I can get a picture of my barium plumbing, I'll post it! Now I'm off . . . will report back, filled.

Iluvharleys · October 13, 2004

Good Luck! Hoping to see your pictures.

Zoe · October 13, 2004

Let me second what everyone else has said about each person having different fill requirements. I blithely thought I'd get 1.5 cc, since that seems to be average, and so far I'm your average bandster. Nope! First I was injected with 1.4 cc, then as the doc and the technician watched the fluoro (which I couldn't see because my back was to the machine at that point), Dr. Horgan said, "Oh, that's too much. Let's take out .2." So he did. And here I am with 1.2 cc of saline in my Inamed band, which Dr. H said should give me good restriction.

Even though they sprayed a "freezing agent" near my port -- I forgot to ask what it was -- I did feel the needle go in. It wasn't bad, though. The freezing agent really did feel cold, and it looked as if my belly had been in the back of a refrigerator that needed defrosting, little ice crystals and all!

I'm on liquids for 48 hours, then onto the real bandster routine. I've moved the detailed description of the fill to a "Beginner's Guide to Fills" thread.