To fill under X- Ray or not????

Hi

I have just travelled to Sheffield which is two hours away to have my first fill. It was done under x-ray and it seems like it was very successful as the doctor could see it was too tight and released some fluid.
I am with the Hospital Group and the two following fills are done in a clinic by a nurse (not under x-ray).
I am just wondering what everyone else thinks.
Is it as successful without using x-ray???

:phanvan

I prefer doing it under flouroscope/xray, but it isn't required. I just feel better being able to check the position of my band and the state of my esophagus etc. Makes alot more sense than filling blindly when you could miss some other important signs.

I had 3 filled done by the radiologist up w/o xray and finally my final last filled with a doctor in the Hospital Group under Xray. I felt so much more confident seeing how the barium drink travels and how tight everything was. It was a reassurance to myself I needed. I will definately recommend under xray fill anytime.

Hi ukangel

When I had my first fill it was under xray and they saw that my esophagus was filling back up when I swallowed the barium drink so they only put in a small restriction. Also they had trouble getting to it so I was really panicked that if the dr couldn't get to the band that easily how the hell is the nurse going to find it doing a blind fill! Luckily, the nurse did the blind fill in a matter of minutes and I have good restriction. I have my fills with the Hospital Group so to pay to have an xray fill is about another £150 or something which I think is too much!

An experience 'filler' will be able to find your port and tell when the restriction is right for you with iced water (you can feel that going down)
Please bear in mind that XRays are not good for you all the time, so if you can get a successful fill without XRay it is better for your health.

Saying that I'm off for my first fill tomorrow and that will be under XRay, as the fill provided did not do my surgery, she wants to make sure that everything is in the right position.

I have an X-ray after every fill. Whilst it is expensive as mentioned by cookiesncream, it is much safer to check that everything is going down well. The only worry I have is that it does not show if the small "new" stocmach has stretched!? I am so scared that mine has. Any idea how that can be checked?

IMHO, X rays should only be used if absolutely necessary. They are, lets not forget, radiation after all and every dose adds to your cancer risk.

The pouch is easily identified when flouroscopy is carried out as the fluid briefly fills it before travelling through the band. Don't worry too much about the state of your pouch...

Having a fill is more about the amount of restriction that you are comfortable with.... many fill providers use the iced water method to ascertain the level of restriction you have...
Getting you to stand and drink iced water as the fill is put into the band and adjusting until you can feel it 'pooling' in the pouch before travelling down into your stomach. This way the needle is still inserted and fluid can be withdrawn slowly to reach the right restriction, without having to jab you again and locate the port if it was overfilled.
Again this is only my personal opinion....

That sounds like a good idea. I always think that my restriction is not quite right. I will chat to my surgeon about that on my next refill. This place is a mine of info...so glad I joined you bandsters!