My first fill?

[mariahmathea_ 0]

Tomorrow I go into my first fill and I am just wondering what to expect and if need to not eat anything before I go?

Any information will be greatly appreciated:)

-thanks in advance

[meggs353 118]

Exciting times! I couldn't wait to start getting fills and feel full sooner with less food.

There is nothing special you need to do before. Eat whatever you would normally. The fill itself is really easy, just a tiny pinch and then it's over. You'll likely talk with your dr or nurse about how much to add. The practice I go to, I believe, starts everyone out with about 3 cc's, then does smaller fills after that. I think a lot of people reach green zone between 5-7 cc's, but everyone is different so don't worry if you're on a different path!

After the fill your dr will likely have some specific instructions for you. Mine says to have liquids for the rest of the day, and the next day, then have soft foods for 2 days.

Once you start getting fills the most important thing (at least for me) is to eat slow! This is really hard to do when I'm hungry, but if I eat too fast or don't chew well enough the food will get stuck and have to come back up. It's really unpleasant and can lead to lasting long term negative side effects it happens too often. So make sure you're eating carefully. Also, eating slow will help you brain realize it's full with less food. That's the best part, and what you should be looking for. You don't want to be physically restricted from eating.

It might take a few fills to get to the right place, but keep practicing good, slow, eating habits from day 1.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

[Bandista 7,466]

Hi there and congratulations on everything. I remember my first fill and how I didn't realize the surgeon had done it already. Very easy! And yes, eating slowly and chewing very thoroughly are definitely where it's at. Best wishes!

[WLSResources/ClothingExch 3,444]

@@mariahmathea_ --

I'm a firm believer in "I don't want surprises." Your experience may be as easy as the tiny pinch described before or, depending on the skill of the person who does it, there may be a couple of attempts to hit the port head on. In any case you shouldn't find it painful beyond belief. Just some discomfort at worst, and it's over quickly.

You'll probably be told to do a moderate crunch so that the port becomes easiest to hit (depends on how it was positioned during surgery) on first attempt. As soon as the needle is in, you'll be told to relax. Most fills are successful on the first try. Some practices do them under fluouroscope, which makes it even easier (my practice doesn't as a rule). Some give a little local anesthetic by needle. It's dumb, in my opinion: Needle is a needle is a needle, as Gertrude Stein was fond of writing.

As soon as it's done, you'll be given a little Water to be sure it goes down comfortably enough. That is, to be sure it doesn't feel like a lump in your chest or that it doesn't gurgle too much. In either case, a bit of the saline might be extracted on the spot. They don't want to send you home if it seems the band may turn out to be too tight. My practice bills as though for a separate visit if a patient returns after the next day for readjustment; I don't know if that's the usual.

You'll be fine.