When do I get 1st fill? Please help me folks!

[Liz1531 3]

OMG... I was approved for solids and holy moly my swelling must be gone because the hunger is BACK with a vengance! How long should I wait until my 1st fill. Please help me I'm eating everything but the kitchen sink and even that is starting to look good! Agh!

[Dave01 0]

Put down the sink....they dont taste too good. My surgery was 8/30 and my first fill will be 10/15. I cant wait. I'm still on mushies for another week, then soft foods for a week.Still no hunger for me but I changed my diet 2 weeks prior to my surgery.

[wanabthin 0]

My first fill was not up to me. The surgeon said no fill until 6 weeks following surgery so I had lots of time to fill. Yes it was a LONG 6 weeks! Hang in there and talk to your doc. about what they require.

[Goldie 0]

Ask your surgeon when is the earliest he will give you a fill and that is the day to get it done! I found that I had no significant restriction until the third fill. Up until then, it was virtually pure will power. High Protein, low carbs, and drinking lots of Water (except of course for after I ate) really helped me.

Good luck!

[claramae 0]

Ask your surgeon when is the earliest he will give you a fill and that is the day to get it done! I found that I had no significant restriction until the third fill. Up until then, it was virtually pure will power. High Protein, low carbs, and drinking lots of Water (except of course for after I ate) really helped me.

Good luck!

I asked my surgeon and he told me when I start getting hungry. WELL, HELLO!!!!! Does he mean a hunger that I cannot satisfy, or just a tiny growling in the tummy. I am thinking 6 weeks out and that will be the 2nd week of October. And I have a very important question. Please answer:DOES THE NEEDLE HURT???? AND HOW LONG DOES THE PROCEDURE TAKE. I AM REALLY FREAKING OUT ABOUT THE NEEDLE:help:/

[Wendell Edwards 73]

OMG... I was approved for solids and holy moly my swelling must be gone because the hunger is BACK with a vengance! How long should I wait until my 1st fill. Please help me I'm eating everything but the kitchen sink and even that is starting to look good! Agh!

I am going to paste two different posts that I have made in the past, the first one is about the importance of staying on the post-op diet, the second one is an overview of how the Lap-Band actuallt works, including information about fill times.

"How Important Is The Post-Op Diet?" It is critical. Most doctors prescribe a post-op diet of weeks of clear fluids, followed by weeks of full fluids followed by weeks of mushy food. My doctor said 2 weeks clear Fluid, 2 weeks full fluids and 2 weeks of mushy food. The time following the operation is for your stomach to heal. The Lap-Band needs to form a groove on your stomach. That groove makes the Lap-Band resistant to slipping. Eating food during the post-op period before you are supposed to be eating food could cause the Lap-Band to slip, or increase the risk of a future slippage. Food causes the stomach muscle to "Work" to digest the food. The "Work" could cause the band to not seat properly on the stomach. Weight loss is NOT to be expected during the recovery time after the operation. If you lose weight, wonderful, but don't expect it. The time between the operation and getting an EFFECTIVE fill that causes restriction is called "Bandster Hell" for a good reason. Without an EFFECTIVE fill, our hunger is just as strong, but the band does not work to help us. Getting an EFFECTIVE fill sometimes takes multiple fills, it is not unusual for it to take 3-5 or even MORE fills to obtain restriction. Because the band has to seat into the groove to hold its position, and every time the band is filled the fill adds extra pressure on the band, most doctors choose to let time pass between fills. Most doctors will not fill a band before 4 weeks after the operation, 6 weeks is common and 8-12 weeks of healing time is not unheard of.

"How does a Lap-Band actually work?" This may help you in understanding the restrictive mechanism of a Lap-Band. The INAMED protocol for Lap-Band fills calls for a six-week delay after surgery, prior to any fills. The purpose for the six-week delay is for the patient’s stomach to heal from the surgery, as well as allowing time for the Lap-Band to “Seat” or “Nestle” into the fat pad between the stomach wall and the interior wall of the Lap-Band. Prior to receiving an EFFECTIVE fill, it is VERY uncommon to have any restriction from a Lap-Band. Some patients will NOT lose weight, or may even GAIN weight until they have received an effective fill in their Lap-Band. Normal weight loss with a properly restricted Lap-Band is between 1 and 2 pounds per week.

The normal cycle of fills, restriction and weight loss is as follows:

1. The patient's Lap-Band constricts when the patient receives a fill. Swelling for a few days after receiving a fill is very common. Many doctors require a patient to go on a liquid diet for a day or two after receiving a fill. A fill may have a “Delayed Action” of up to two weeks. A “Delayed-Action” means that the fill may not become effective for up to two weeks after the fill. That is why the INAMED protocol states that fills should not be performed on patients who will not have access to medical care for at least two weeks after a fill.

2. The patient's stomach capacity is lessened as a result of the restriction caused by the Lap-Band.

3. The patient loses weight because they cannot eat as much food.

4. The residual fat-pad between the inside of the Lap-Band and the outside of the patient's stomach reduces in size because of the overall weight loss in the patient.

5. The reduction of the residual fat-pad causes the Lap-Band to become loose again.

6. At that point, the patient needs another fill, because the Lap-Band is loose, and the patient has a loss of restriction, which allows the patient to eat larger amounts of food.

7. The patient receives another fill and the process starts all over again.

Most Lap-Band patients receive several fills to adjust the Lap-Band as their weight loss progresses, and there is less and less residual fat-pad between the inside of the Lap-Band and the exterior of the stomach wall. Once a patient has lost all of their residual fat-pad, fills become less common. As the Lap-Band patient progresses in their weight loss, the effect of very tiny fills (Less than .2ccs) becomes greater and greater. It is not uncommon for a late-stage Lap-Band patient to experience a significant difference in restriction with as little as .05cc of fill.

[Wendell Edwards 73]

I asked my surgeon and he told me when I start getting hungry. WELL, HELLO!!!!! Does he mean a hunger that I cannot satisfy, or just a tiny growling in the tummy. I am thinking 6 weeks out and that will be the 2nd week of October. And I have a very important question. Please answer:DOES THE NEEDLE HURT???? AND HOW LONG DOES THE PROCEDURE TAKE. I AM REALLY FREAKING OUT ABOUT THE NEEDLE:help:/

DOES THE NEEDLE HURT????

I have had a total of 9 fills now. Only ONE TIME did I even feel the needle. And that one time wasn't too bad.

My fills are done with fluoroscope in under 10 minutes.

[lainee 0]

:hungry:I AM SIX WEEKS POST OP AND HAVE BEEN TOLD I HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER TWO WEEKS!! STILL HAVE TO EAT SOFT FOODS AND MY HUNGER HAS JUST COME BACK WITH A VENGENGE TOO:hungry: HOPE I HAVE ENOUGH WILLPOWER!! I TOO AM ANXIOUS ABOUT THE FILL WILL IT HURT HOW MANY DO I NEED BEFORE I FEEL RESTRICTION? :help:

[Wendell Edwards 73]

:hungry:I AM SIX WEEKS POST OP AND HAVE BEEN TOLD I HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER TWO WEEKS!! STILL HAVE TO EAT SOFT FOODS AND MY HUNGER HAS JUST COME BACK WITH A VENGENGE TOO:hungry: HOPE I HAVE ENOUGH WILLPOWER!! I TOO AM ANXIOUS ABOUT THE FILL WILL IT HURT HOW MANY DO I NEED BEFORE I FEEL RESTRICTION? :help:

Getting effective restriction is something that is really hard.

First off, many doctors do not use INAMED's recommendation to use a fluoroscope to obtain a visual confirmation of the effects of the fill.

Plus, some patient's stomachs have a very dense fat-pad which resists the pressure from the fill at first, then it gives way, resulting in a delayed-action fill.

Plus some patient's stomachs are more reactive to the pressure cause by the fill, and those people will experience reactive swelling caused by that irritation.

In those people, a fill that would provide normal restriction in another patient will completely swell the stoma shut, sending them back to the doctor for an unfill.

Some doctors use an arbitrary number for a fill amount. Like the INAMED standard of a 4CC fill in a Vanguard Band, followed by 1.0CC fills.

Some doctors use the amount of resistance the feel on the plunger of the saline syringe to determine fill level.

Some doctors fill a band to obstruction, then have you swallow Water, which pools in your esophagus, then they slowly back out the plunger in the saline syringe until you feel the Water going down your neck.

Some doctors have you drink water before you leave the office after a fill, and some don't.

Some doctors tell you no solid food before a fill, some don't.

Some doctors tell you to go back to solid food immediately after a fill, some say take it easy or put you on a Clear liquids or full liquids diet for a number of days.

Some doctors will fill as close as 2 weeks, some will not fill unless 12 weeks or more have passed.

Some doctors will not give a fill if you are still losing ANY amount of weight.

So yes, getting to a "Sweet spot" (What I call "Effective Restriction") is not only tedious, time-consuming and expensive....

IT'S FRUSTRATING, AS WELL.

[missy 0]

DOES THE NEEDLE HURT????

I have had a total of 9 fills now. Only ONE TIME did I even feel the needle. And that one time wasn't too bad.

My fills are done with fluoroscope in under 10 minutes.

First of all, Wendell Edwards, congrats! What a huge difference! You are an inspiration to all of us! I saw your My Space pics, what an amazing story! Thanks for sharing it with all of us.

I do have a question though regarding fills. I will be ahving my first fill on Oct. 25th. Are there any restrictions regarding eating before your fill. I know some docs require 1-2 days after to be on liquids, but is there anything before the fill that I need to do. Thanks!

[Wendell Edwards 73]

First of all, Wendell Edwards, congrats! What a huge difference! You are an inspiration to all of us! I saw your My Space pics, what an amazing story! Thanks for sharing it with all of us.

I do have a question though regarding fills. I will be ahving my first fill on Oct. 25th. Are there any restrictions regarding eating before your fill. I know some docs require 1-2 days after to be on liquids, but is there anything before the fill that I need to do. Thanks!

Thank you!

My doctor says no solid food for 8 hours before a fill and full fluids for 2 days after the fill.

[lessnless 1]

I just got my first fill today. I was on the table for < 2 minutes.

I didn't feel the needle at all. The nurse handed me the barium to swallow, and I said I wanted to wait until after the needle went in, in case I jumped. The Doc looks up and says, "It's in, kiddo".

I was honestly more concerned about the row of "internal staples" I saw just along the edge of the pouch on the fluoro screen. Turns out, it was my bra closure (big ol' dummy).:faint:

I am a LOT tighter after my fill, and I can't imagine eating solids right now. I had some broth and warm chai earlier, so I think everything is OK, but this must be what restriction feels like. :whoo:

[missy 0]

Thanks for sharing your fill experience! I am glad to hear that I can eat some before my fill and that hopefully I won't feel like having solid food after. Let's just hope I have the same restriction as you did!