I don't know if this is how I should feel or not...

gina s. · 07-15-2008, 07:33 PM

I got my first fill today, 4 cc's in 10 cc band. I was extremely nervous, but my nurse shot the needle home and had me filled within a minute or two, and without numbing meds. It was practically painless. Then I had to drink four ounces of water before I left, and as soon as my first sip went down I got that tightness in my chest, like something is stuck..... but water can't get stuck. It eased after a while and I kept taking sips and letting them go down....it took me a good ten minutes to drink that little bit of water. When I got home it was lunch time, and I made some soup since I have to be on liquids for twenty-four hours. I took a little sip, waited for the feeling to go away, repeated about ten times. I got down maybe a fourth of the serving before giving up. So my questions are these: Does everyone feel that way after a fill, and does it get better once the swelling goes down?

lyndzileigh · 07-15-2008, 07:43 PM

I don't have a band yet..BUT my doctor told me he will not give more than .6 cc's in any one fill...sounds like you got a lot for your first fill. However, every single doctor is different....

sweetpea51 · 07-15-2008, 07:46 PM

i get 1 or even 1/2 of a cc when i go - sounds like alot to me.

Z430 · 07-15-2008, 07:54 PM

I got 2 cc's on my first filll. Lost 3 pounds fairly quick. I am scheduled to get my second fill this Friday. I am still loosing weight however not as much. I waited 4 1/2 weeks between my first fill and my second. I may have waited too long.

After a fill, I am to be on liquids for two days, mushies the third and then back to solid foods.

lyndzileigh · 07-15-2008, 07:57 PM

My surgeon says that 1 pound a week after you are feeling back to normal is a good rate to lose weight. To me, that doesn't sound like a whole lot, but I'd rather be losing 1lb a week than gaining a 1lb a week. How long did you wait until you got your first fill? They are telling me at least 6 weeks before the first....

**Kat817** · 07-15-2008, 08:03 PM

The small fills referred to by Dr.'s are usually in reference to the smaller bands. They have a max fill of around 4cc's. The larger bands of course get larger fills, and some even during surgery---so it is hard to compare the 2.

You may be dealing with some swelling. Until liquids go down easier, I would not attempt food. Give it a couple to 3 days, drink some protein shakes, stick with liquids. If you are too tight at the end of 3 days to drink normally, I would call them. If you try to eat, and it won't go, then you end up with a nasty PB, and swelling, and if you are already tight, any swelling could put you in the dangerous position of not being able to swallow your own saliva. When you start those swelling cycles they are really hard to break. Better slow and steady--------and if you need a slight unfill, go get one, it is better to be able to eat hard protein and lose your weight in a healthy manner. The problem is everyone is built differently inside as well as outside, and the Dr. cannot see inside to know what is too much for you.

Good Luck, I hope you ease some soon. Til then.....drink up!!!

Kat

gina s. · 07-15-2008, 08:04 PM

I'm four weeks post-op, and I get another fill in two weeks.....I'm just wondering if anyone else has felt this way after their first fill? Or any fill for that matter...

lyndzileigh · 07-15-2008, 08:05 PM

My surgeon only uses 9cc bands. I don't know if they are comparable to a 4cc or not. Occasionally when a patient has a BMI over 50 he will use a 14 cc band.

lyndzileigh · 07-15-2008, 08:22 PM

I'm four weeks post-op, and I get another fill in two weeks.....I'm just wondering if anyone else has felt this way after their first fill? Or any fill for that matter...

Since I don't yet have a band I'm not sure, what I can tell you is when my sister gets filled (she is about 4 months post op) if she feels tight, they take some fill out. She has a 9cc band and uses the same surgeon as I do so she never gets more than .6 cc's and sometimes even that is too much and she only gets about .4

Z430 · 07-15-2008, 08:42 PM

I got my first fill 4 weeks after the surgery. The Dr told us that he wanted me to loose 2-3 pds a week. If I did not or if I started to get hungry again, I was to come back in for another fill.

My sister who was also banded plans to return two weeks after her fill if she does not start loosing weight. She also decided to wait between her first and second fill and was told that she should have come back in sooner.

She plans on going back in within two weeks of her second fill if she fails to loose.

ImaGoofball · 07-15-2008, 09:02 PM

I had my first fill at 5 weeks. I have a 10 cc band and was filled 1.5 cc at time of surgery. At time of fill, my Dr. put another 1.5 cc in so my band is now filled at 3 cc total. I felt like you did after the fill. It was hard to even get soup down. My fill was on a Thursday afternoon and I couldn't eat anything solid until Saturday night, when I had chicken, but chewed really well. Now it's Tuesday 5 days later and i'm doing good. I eat normal again, but have to chew SUPER good or else it gets stuck. If I take too big a gulp of water, same thing. I am getting a LUMP FEELING in my throat a lot and I hate it, it's so scary, but in a few hours it'll go away. I'm telling you, it's so scary to have that feeling. Anyway, hope that helped... it does get better :)

lyndzileigh · 07-15-2008, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ImaGoofball

I had my first fill at 5 weeks. I have a 10 cc band and was filled 1.5 cc at time of surgery. At time of fill, my Dr. put another 1.5 cc in so my band is now filled at 3 cc total. I felt like you did after the fill. It was hard to even get soup down. My fill was on a Thursday afternoon and I couldn't eat anything solid until Saturday night, when I had chicken, but chewed really well. Now it's Tuesday 5 days later and i'm doing good. I eat normal again, but have to chew SUPER good or else it gets stuck. If I take too big a gulp of water, same thing. I am getting a LUMP FEELING in my throat a lot and I hate it, it's so scary, but in a few hours it'll go away. I'm telling you, it's so scary to have that feeling. Anyway, hope that helped... it does get better :)

Fills seem to be the most anxious and nerve racking part of having a band. I sitll don't have my band and I am on the fence due to the whole fill procedure. I am afraid of my food getting stuck and my band erroding. I guess it is something that you learn to live with! I'm glad to know that it does get better. Thanks!!

ssundevill · 07-15-2008, 11:03 PM

Wow, I am to have my first fill on the 21st and I admit I am scared. I am wondering if it will hurt or if I will start to choke and vomit.

gina s. · 07-15-2008, 11:09 PM

It honestly did not hurt one bit.......those little Lovenox shots that I had to take for a week after surgery hurt worse than getting filled today! I was so nervous about it that I didn't sleep much last night, but I laughed at myself today because it was totally nothing to be nervous about!

lyndzileigh · 07-16-2008, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssundevill

Wow, I am to have my first fill on the 21st and I admit I am scared. I am wondering if it will hurt or if I will start to choke and vomit.

Lots of doctors give some kind of topical numbing before they give you the fill. I've heard the first one is awful, but after that they are a cinch. My doctor (Magee in Pittsburgh) gives you these little patches you put on your port site an hour before you go and it numbs it up nicely. Ask your doctor for something and see what he or she recommends. Good luck!