Re: First fill......delay

May 26, 2005

May I email you personally? I wrote you a looong email and it was returned.

Phyllis

mom1960cq <mom1960cq@...> wrote:

Hi all,

Went in for my first fill, but the doc had problems getting to the

right spot on my port. They mentioned that it might be " tilted? " I

was poked quite a few times. Any experience with this? Anyway, they

are calling me on Tues to schedule a fill under fleuro. Have to go

the hospital for this. I am getting hungrier by the day. Today I

felt like I was eating the way I used to and very upset. I have to

try a little harder, but really need my fill now. Thankful that we

have our assessment at the gym tomorrow...I know its time to start

moving....I have a VG band and he said he was going to put 2cc? in.

He is really a great doc and I'm not complaining about him. He's

compassionate and really cares about follow up. My son's fill went

just fine. He has a regular band. Praying that I'll get through

memorial day without going wild....Any comments appreciated.

---------------------------------

May 26, 2005

" Mom " , This is one of the reasons fills are done under fluoro - not

only to test the fill level afterward, but also to locate the port.

Especially in the beginning, it can be beneath several inches of

abdominal fat and very hard to feel. A fluoro lights it up like a

target.

Don't hesitate to ask for a numbing medicine before a fill. There is

no reason for pain, especially if the port is hard to locate. I

personally suggest never letting anyone poke a port more than 3-4

times. If they cannot get it by then, they need to use a fluoro.

Each " blind " poke increases the risk of puncturing the tubing, which

would require another surgery to fix, at a good bit of expense.

Ports sometimes tilt a bit, but they should be sutured in on all 4

corners, so this should not make accessing them too difficult. (If

you're interested, see the port pictures I downloaded to the " photos "

here several months ago)

Your doc might want to review Inamed info on the newer VG band. It

takes 3.5 cc to simply fill the band and tubing, then more to actually

inflate the band. THis last part is the real " fill. " Most first fills

with the larger VG band are in the range of 4-5.5 cc total. THis band

has a larger capacity than the others, so can be a bit trickier to get

to a good fill level.

but with all bands, it often takes 3-5 fills over several months, at

least a mointh apart, to get to " just right "

It's very common to be normally hungry, and able to eat as much as

before the band, until you get to a good fill level. Just do the best

you can to choose good foods and stop at reasonable quantities. The

band just won't be helping much quite yet, but you can still lose some

good weight if you start some daily exercise and commit to eating

better. Be sure to get the 50-60 grams of protein you need (70-80 for

your son), as this helps the cravings a lot.

Good luck with the fluoro! Sandy R

> Hi all,

> Went in for my first fill, but the doc had problems getting to the

> right spot on my port. They mentioned that it might be " tilted? " I

> was poked quite a few times. Any experience with this? Anyway,

they

> are calling me on Tues to schedule a fill under fleuro. Have to go

> the hospital for this. I am getting hungrier by the day. Today I

> felt like I was eating the way I used to and very upset. I have to

> try a little harder, but really need my fill now. Thankful that we

> have our assessment at the gym tomorrow...I know its time to start

> moving....I have a VG band and he said he was going to put 2cc? in.

> He is really a great doc and I'm not complaining about him. He's

> compassionate and really cares about follow up. My son's fill went

> just fine. He has a regular band. Praying that I'll get through

> memorial day without going wild....Any comments appreciated.

May 27, 2005

no big deal with this, you will be fine under flouro

First fill...... " delay "