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Originally Posted by patricia5901  Andy, you have just made my night! I am so thankful for your post!! I will call his office tomorrow to find out when the next seminar will be.
Did you have any problems after your first fill and how do you know when it is time to get a fill? I know this probably sounds dumb, but I have really worried about if I would know when it was time for a fill. Have you ever heard of a port flipping, I know I hadn't until I was reading on this forum, but it wasn't here on the Alabama forum. I didn't even realize there was a forum for Alabama until Mindy a very kind moderator gave me the information.
Thank you so very much!
Patricia |
Patricia:
I am glad my post helped you. I have not encounter any problems after a fill thus far. Of course, I have only had 2 fills with my third scheduled for June 12th.
The following is information was provided by Dr. Britt and his office staff during my pre-op class concerning adjustments or fills:
Dr. Britt follows the recommend guidelines from the manufacturer which is 6 weeks between fills. He will adjust the schedule based on individual needs of the patient. My fills have been every 6 weeks apart. He did say this time after my fill, that if I needed to return early to just call the office. He did ask that I give this new fill 2-3 weeks to work. So if I need another fill, I will be going back early.
The adjust-ability of the Lap Band is one of the great advantages of the Lap Band over the gastric bypass or duodenal switch. The Vertical Band Gastroplasty or VBG, is a restrictive operation but is not adjustable. After a period of 6 weeks following Lap Band placement, a patient may require an adjustment known as a "fill"
Three main factors are used to determine whether or not to add fluid to the Lap Band: 1. weight loss, 2. level of hunger, 3. degree of restriction.
If the patient is not losing adequate weight (less than 1-2 lbs. per week), is ravenous, and seems to be able to eat more with meals, then it is time to do a fill.
Most adjustments can be done in the office in less than 15 minutes. Fluoroscope or X-ray is only necessary if the adjustment port cannot be accessed in the office.
Dr. Britt uses the Fluoroscope over at X-ray for each fill, which makes a fill take less than 2 minutes. It takes longer to get on the table and the prep than the actual fill. It is so cool to watch your fill on the Fluoroscope. The 1st adjustment is done no sooner than 6 weeks post-operatively and is a 1cc volume fill.
My 1st fill was a standard amount of 2cc. Subsequent adjustments are done at 4-6 week intervals based on the aforementioned criteria. The second and third fills may measure 0.5 cc to 3-4cc.
My second fill was 2cc. I now have 4cc in my 14cc band.
It is important to look out for negative symptoms after an adjustment. Symptoms of chest pain after eating and drinking, nausea, vomiting, and reflux can mean the Lap Band is overly tight. More subtle signs can be night time coughing and choking, and inability to eat a range of foods. It is important that patients remember that weight loss is to be gentle and gradual. Patients must resist the temptation to be too tight too fast. This can lead to dysfunctional eating habits, in which the patients convert their diet to liquids calories. If obstructive symptoms are present, then fluid should be removed from the band.
Each doctor is different in how he/she proceeds with your fill schedule and the amount of fill. Just remember to work with your doctor, you are a team working together to help you meet your goal!
Yes, I have heard of some having their port flip after surgery. The port is attached to a muscle and as you lose weight it may flip. I believe the incidents of this happening are very low. I do not know of any of Dr. Britt or Dr. Groves patients that have encounter this problem.
As a surgical team, they have performed approximately 300 Lap Band procedures in the last 3 years. They average about 100 or so Lap-Bands per year at the present rate. I really think you will love them and their staff. As I stated, I drove to Guntersville to Marshall North for surgery and it was a very good experience. The hospital staff took good care of me.
If you have any more questions, I would be glad to try to answer them.
! This forum is definitely what I needed to find as most of my family thinks that I just don't have any willpower, they say just eat right and you won't look like that - there are no overweight people in my family other than myself and my oldest daughter and I feel as though I have to set an example for my daughter in order for her to loose her weight. She is so much heavier than I am and she is so young and beautiful, but she has put her life on hold because of her weight. She has so much potential and she finds that her weight has actually kept her from advancing in her job. She has pretty much isolated herself from society other than her work and her little dog. My heart just breaks for her so I must be the leader and show her that we are fixable. Don't get me wrong, I need to loose 102 pounds so I need to do this for myself - but she is closing in on 350 pounds and diabetes runs in both mine and my husbands families, so she feels like she is just a ticking time bomb. She is also fearful of having a fatty liver, have any of you heard of this?
Toofat4me
Banded 02/28/2008 
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