I went in bright and early for my first fill this morning!! I was excited and not nervous until I got there. My BP was up and my pulse was 101, lol.. gee!? They got me back immediately and I got weighed (down 1 lb since 2 weeks ago) and all that jazz. After the RN was done the NP came in with a resident following her (the NP does the fills but is moving to Boston so the surgeons will do the fills until a new NP gets comfortable with things). She explained everything to the resident (and me) as she went. She cleaned me off, felt me up... err, my port! She let the resident feel my port and they talked about how easy it was to feel but that that doesn't always mean it will be easy to get into... I told her that was an inappropriate time to talk about that. :D She said there was no making me feel better after that, lol.
So she gets started and feels me up some more and explains that in the early stages you want to be sure you've got the port and not scar tissue or swelling. She's got the right spot and sticks me with the needle.. no sweat, no pain. Once she's in it took about 2-2.5 minutes of up and down action before she found my port entrance. Each time she'd try to find the entrance the needle would scrape against the plastic on my port and it felt like she was shaving some bone off in there. I could "hear" it within my body and it felt like a horrible nails on chalkboard type situation within my body. It was just short of awful. I closed my eyes at one point and had to remind myself to open them because I was about to pass out. I was breathing weird and she kept asking me if I was in a lot of discomfort or if I was doing ok. I didn't want to stop so I just kept breathing through it and said I was fine. Finally, she pulled the needle out and breathed a deep breath and said, "we're done!" OMG.. thank you! LOL!! Then I had to sit up on the edge of the bed and relax a minute so I didn't stumble down the hall like a stupid drunk.
She gave me 3 ccs and told me that the surgeon "primed" the port tubing so that all 3 ccs would go directly into my band. That was reassuring since it was one of the things I was confused about. How do you know what's actually IN your band if they don't "prime" it first!?
OK, so the reason it took so long to find my port was that it is apparently "tilted" downwards instead of flat. GREAT... gotta be *something* wrong, right?! LOL. She did say now that we know this it will be easier to fill me up later on so that was a relief. She said that I should mention it to anyone that fills me and you bet your sweet ass I will!!
She said if I feel nothing I can come back soon but otherwise I have to wait 4-6 weeks for another fill. I made an appt but the newbie at the front desk didn't seem to know what she was doing and only found ONE fill appt available and, of course, it was at the 6 weeks mark. I'll be calling soon to talk to the coordinator to see if she can squeeze me in someplace. They managed to get me today's appt two weeks ago so there MUST be more appts available. I know I'm not going to want to wait 6 weeks though so we'll see what I can do.
I should mention... I'm on mushies today but have had NO problems with stuckage or anything to speak of. Does it take a few days to feel a change?! I had meatloaf and asparagus for dinner with not a single issue!! Tomorrow it's on to solids. How long do I give before I call back and say.. "hey, I can't tell I had a fill!"??
Sorry that got so wordy, I just wanted to get this in for my own reference and any newbies that might want to read about a weird fill experience. :)
After my first fill, which was 4.5cc's I felt nothing. I gave called probably one week later and got in two weeks after my first fill. After that, I still didnt feel much restriction so I called back just a few days later and went back in again...just one week after my second fill!
ReplyDeleteI didnt want to wait forever for restriction and luckily my doc doesnt want us to wait either!
Excellent story telling!
I got 2 cc's my first time (I apparently already had 4cc's in the band from surgery?). Didn't feel anything. The next time around, she gave me .75 which made a big difference. I go on Friday - not sure how much she'll give me this time - we'll see! I would give it a week or so. just my two cents!
ReplyDeleteMy first fill was like a lot, like 4.6, I think. Didn't feel anything. Second fill a couple weeks later, still not much. 3rd fill, too tight,then some taken out....long story. By the 4th fill and I think 8cc, I'm finally where I need to be. Be patient and go in when you need it or it just prolongs the process.
ReplyDeleteI GET MY 1ST FILL TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL can you tell I am beyond excited! anyways I get 4.5 tomorrow and Ive got tonnnnns of questions...Ill let you know how mine goes!!!
ReplyDeleteHow much of a fill you need to "feel it" depends on a bunch of different things - the size of your band, the fill level when it was put in, the amount of fat lining around your stomach, etc.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, I have a 14 cc band, and I was at 8.5 cc's before I felt restricted, whereas other people have felt restriction with just 1 cc. I'm currently at 10.5 and feel perfect.
My suggestion would be that after your fill, once you've been on solid foods for a couple days (assuming you have to do a short liquid- or mushy-only diet after your fills like my doctor has me do), if you aren't feeling restricted, call for another fill.
Just be careful after each fill when you start eating solids. You may not physically _feel_ tighter, but when you take a big bite of soemthing and all of a sudden it doesn't go down for the first time ever, it's not a good experience! :( Trust me...
Anywho, you should feel restriction as soon as you start eating solids after a fill, if you don't, schedule another appt.