First Fill Issues

[mljalways 1]

So taday I was scheduled for my first fill and after being poked 6 times my doc quit and said I need it under Fluro and I have to wait until Friday. ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH I need a fill. Anyone else have issues the first time?:wink_smile:

[jmegirl 2]

I had my first fill last Friday. My doctor had me lay down and he did an ultrasound, found my port, marked it with a black marker, stuck me with the needle and he was in just like that. Did your doctor use an ultrasound machine or did he just blindly poke around? I don't think I could've taken more than one of those pokes - that sucker hurt like the dickens!!!! :wink_smile:

[mljalways 1]

no ultrasound just felt around for it. I am hoping it goes easier under xray. How long did yours take? Do you feel ant restriction now?

[jmegirl 2]

ya know, it's hard to say if i've got restriction or not. i don't feel the hunger pains that i did before my fill, so that's a plus. but i also don't really feel "full" after i eat. if i let myself, i'll sit here and eat a meal the size of what i used to eat with no problems (remembering to chew chew chew, of course). but if i eat half of that, i might not feel full, but i don't feel hungry anymore - it's hard to explain.

basically i just need to work on my portion size and i think i'll be ok. but i definitely ate less this weekend than i had been eating in the week prior to my fill (when i was feeling hungry every 3hrs) and as a result i lost 2lbs between friday morning and this morning. :wink_smile: that being said, i'm scheduled for my 2nd fill in a month (jan 9th).

[bambam31 168]

Experiences in docs finding ports is all over the map. There are some real horror stories out there. I've had 4 fills and was very lucky in that my doc has me do and hold a leg lift (this tightens the abdomen right up) and then he uses two fingers and finds the port and that's that.

Don't get discouraged about lack of restriction after fills. Everyone's experience varies, but most don't have satisfying restriction until they've had SEVERAL fills. I have an appointment with my doc every 4 weeks. The first two weeks after a fill are the tightest, then things start to slack off. My fourth fill is waning and I'm ready for my 5th next week.

They don't do a good enough job explaining this at the outset so people expect that once they have the band and a fill they'll have good restriction, and this is rarely the case - although there are exceptions. It's kinda unsettling that it took 4 months post op before I have satisfying restriction - but it takes some people even longer than that - you just have to be patient.

Brad