question about fills

Liz5660 · October 19, 2005

I was wondering why it is that when you get a fill it may be really snug and then sometime in the future you may need another fill? Does your upper stomach stretch or does your body just adjust? I got a fill yesterday of 1.4cc and I'm so snug I'm doing good to sip liquids today and only small sips at that. I'm wondering if in a few weeks I'll stretch enough so that I can eat or am I going to have to have some cc's taken out? I was just banded 7/29/05 so I'm new at all this! I did have one fill by a different doctor about 3 weeks ago but I didn't think he did it correctly because I had absolutely no restriction.

the best me · October 19, 2005

Liz, during your second fill, did the doc take out all of the first fill you got, before he/she put 1.4cc in? How much came out?

Here's some feedback from me...sometimes the first fill doesn't work at all and you need another, or another! to start feeling the restriction. The size of your band also plays a role. Folks with the VG Band tend to need more fills, not always, but usually.

You will know if this fill is too tight if you get any reflux symptoms or if you are not able to eat small quantities of regular food after a few days of liquids...moving to mushies, slowly working in the real foods. Be very careful of PBing as that causes swelling and then you are really in need of a small unfill.

When you get filled, some folks experience a bit of swelling in the stoma from the "squishing". After a few days, and eating carefully, it usually goes down and you are able to feel your new level of restriction.

As for needing another fill in the future, when you lose weight, you lose it from the inside, too. You have less fat surrounding your internal organs (whew!) including your stomach. The fat goes down, the tightness of the band descreases, but you can bump it up again as you lose.

It's not a matter of stretching the pouch...you shouldn't do that!...and you can't, really, eating small quantities of liquid/soft mushy foods. It's a matter of losing enough internal fat that the fill loosens.

If you go another few days and are still only able to take small sips of liquids, you may be in line for a small unfill. Keep posting and getting feedback. Too tight is not good and it's miserable! Keep sipping, see if the swelling goes down and you open up a bit. Good luck!

Liz5660 · October 19, 2005

Thanks for the input! As I understand the doc totally filled the band up first so I could see what that felt like and then took some out and had me sip Water to see what they felt like. So I don't know what happened to the 1 cc I supposedly had the first time elsewhere. And it was an unpleasant visit, if you've read any of my other posts - I was banded in Mexico also and this doc had a very bad attitude towards Mexican banded patients. So I was out of there in a hurry and didn't think to ask if there was any in the band already!

debyo · October 24, 2005

I just got my third fill. My doctor doesn't do a lot at a time. After the fill I feel very restricted as you mentioned. Then it is so strange, because about three weeks goes by and all of a suddent I realize I could eat more if I tried. Time for another fill! I am losing rapidly right now, so the fat around my stomach is shrinking, and that is the reason the band feels loose. It's a good thing!

When I am really tight after a fill, I have found that drinking hot tea before eating helps a lot.

Best of luck!

Deby