1st fill question?

[igiawhoyou]

Hi Everyone .. Im scheduled to go for my first fill here in Washington state on Thursday at a fill center USA location. Ive read both good and bad things about the fill centers but i cant make it down to OCC until mid to late April so im hoping for the best. (If anyone knows of a good fill doctor in Western Washington state please let me know)

My question is how do they know how much fill to put in? Do you tell them? Or do they just pick a random amount? I noticed alot of people have a 4cc band but on my card it says 10cc - why the difference? Should i ask for more fill?

Also are there any things i could do to get a better fill?

Thank you!!

Regina

[fat2nrml]

Hi Everyone .. Im scheduled to go for my first fill here in Washington state on Thursday at a fill center USA location. Ive read both good and bad things about the fill centers but i cant make it down to OCC until mid to late April so im hoping for the best. (If anyone knows of a good fill doctor in Western Washington state please let me know)

My question is how do they know how much fill to put in? Do you tell them? Or do they just pick a random amount? I noticed alot of people have a 4cc band but on my card it says 10cc - why the difference? Should i ask for more fill?

Also are there any things i could do to get a better fill?

Thank you!!

Regina

If you go to the section on the board called 'Fill doctors and fill trips to TJ' and go to the pinned topic 'How to increase your chances of a good fill' that'll explain that part of your question. :yes:

I've only gotten my fills at the OCC so I can't comment on Fill Centers. I'm not sure if they do their fills blind or with fluro. With fluro, the doc's at the OCC make you drink barium and watch it go through your band. That's how they decide how many cc's to put in your band. If your card says 10cc's then I THINK you have the bigger band [there are 2 sizes that I know of 10 and 4 cc.] If you're unsure you can email or call the OCC and they'll tell you for sure. Hope that helped... best wishes, Darlene

[PAMMIE]

Hi Everyone .. Im scheduled to go for my first fill here in Washington state on Thursday at a fill center USA location. Ive read both good and bad things about the fill centers but i cant make it down to OCC until mid to late April so im hoping for the best. (If anyone knows of a good fill doctor in Western Washington state please let me know)

My question is how do they know how much fill to put in? Do you tell them? Or do they just pick a random amount? I noticed alot of people have a 4cc band but on my card it says 10cc - why the difference? Should i ask for more fill?

Also are there any things i could do to get a better fill?

Thank you!!

Regina

HI REGINA, I'M JUST ON THE WEST HILL OF AUBURN, FW AREA AND USE http://www.northwestfills.com/ AND I HAVE NOTHING BUT GOOD THINGS TO SAY ABOUT THEM. THEY KNOW HOW MUCH FILL TO PUT IN, THEY'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR YEARS. I HAVE THE SMALLER 4CC BAND AND MY SISSY HAS THE LARGER 10 CC BAND WHICH HOLDS MORE SALINE. WE'RE GOING UP ON THE 17th FOR A FILL IF YOU'D LIKE TO JOIN US.

ON AT NW FILLS, READ THEIR WEB SITE, ALOT OF GOOD INFORMATION ON FILLS.

THIS IS A GREAT POST ON FILLS:

The following suggestions are good rules of thumb and will greatly increase your chances of getting a good fill.

1. Be sure you are very well hydrated when you come in for your fill appointment. That means at least 8-10 full glasses of liquid every day for at least several days before the fill.

(You really need this amount at all times anyway).

Drink especially well the morning of the fill. If you're flying in, it can be much harder to stay hydrated, so take a drink bottle and drink very often! Those little "to-go" packs of Crystal Lite are ideal - ask the flight attendants for a refill of your water bottle, pop one in, and then you will have plenty to drink. Those little 4-oz cups of liquid they give you during flight are useless.

(Hint - If you fly for a fill, While you're on the plane, also take home a couple of those white barf bags –

good to keep one in your purse or car, both now and later, for "emergencies".)

2. Be sure not to have any solid foods for at least 6 hours before the fill. Don't eat a huge or late dinner the night before. If you're having any trouble (reflux, possible slip, etc)

please have nothing but fluids after dinner the night before.

In some cases, food can still be in the pouch for 12 or more hours.

ANY food in the pouch will make it impossible to give a good fill, or get a good fluoro

3. Don't drink COLD fluids for an hour before the fill. That will shrink your stoma and give a false fluoro reading, and a poor fill. Room temp fluids are fine. Let the ice in your drink bottle melt and hour before a fill,

and then you'll have room-temp fluids to drink right up to the fill time.

4. Avoid getting a fill during a menstrual period or a few days before an expected one. During this time, we are usually retaining water, and the fluoro will not be as accurate, and the fill will not be either.

5. If at all possible, hang around for at least a few hours after a fill. Don't run right back home or to the plane. It takes the normal swelling after a fill 1-2 hours to develop, and by that time you might be too tight and need to come right back.

6. If you fly in, If at all possible, stay overnight and catch a plane out the following late afternoon or evening. If you are too tight, this will allow time to get a small unfill before you leave. This is not very convenient, but sure beats having to possibly return to TJ in a few days, on short notice, in pain, and at high last-minute plane fares! This is "prevention!" Overfills are not common, but they DO happen, even under the best of conditions. Be prepared, and think about this overnight stay.

7. After a fill, please have liquids only for at least 24 hrs. This allows the stoma to rest and heal. Then, a day of soft foods, then back to regular foods. Full liquids are fine, no need for clears.

8. Review the eating and food guidelines again before every fill. You’ll need to refine your eating more and more with higher fill levels, and there will be less and less room for goofs. As you reach a higher fill level, you'll no longer be able to "get away" with things you might have before!

9. Please don't get a fill if you are having ANY trouble with the current level of fill. This means ANY regular pain, PB or barfing more than maybe once a week at the VERY most, not able to get enough

calories in, not able to drink enough, able to eat only soft foods or fluids.

More fill will NOT help, and will make things worse. Discuss all this carefully with your doc. You may even need an UNFILL, to keep your band and stomach safe.

10. First fills are not routinely given at 6-8 weeks - but only as you need them. Many people do, some do not. We'll help you decide if you need a fill - just ask. There is no rush for fills. Too much can very easily get you in trouble, and you end up further "behind" than if you had gone slower with fills.

11. Give a fill at least 2-3 weeks to test it. Some fills don't "settle in" for a week or two, and sometimes more. Your weigth loss is what determines how a fill is - not any feeling of restriction, necessarily.

12. One of the most impt things in determining if a fill is good is choosing proper band foods. Soft foods, liquids, junk foods, sweets, etc will NEVER be well-resticted, and will never tell a thing about having a good fill or not. Only solid foods give useful info.

A good test meal is 2-4 oz of solid meat or chicken - be sure it's soft and moist - and about 1/2 cup veggies. You should be able to eat about a cup of food (no less) and this should keep you satisfied (NOT "FULL", but simply "satisfied, not physically hungry". for about 3-4 hrs.

13. Plan regular meals. A good fill will keep you satisfied for 3-4 hrs, but no longer. If you are hungry 5 hrs after kunch, it is not becuase you have an inadequate fill! Reular meals aty planned times are important for a number of reasons, including avoiding snacking, maximizing calorie burn 9which = wt loss) and normalizing metabolism, which is essential for wt maintanace later on.

14. Learn to recognize YOUR "soft stop" sign . Common ones are chest tightness or "fullness", a sudden runny nose, a single hiccup or burp, an eye twitch, back pain, left should pain. All mean the pouch is full enough and we should TOP eating, even spitting out the bite that may be already in our mouths. If we do not, wqe can progress to the "hard stop" - sloning, pb, barfing.

Please remember that good fills are very elusive, even with highly- experienced docs and fill people. There are just too many individual factors involved that the docs cannot control. Even the fluoro is only a clue, and not entirely accurate - for some of the reasons above.

It usually takes 3- 5 fills to slowly and safely creep up on a good level, and they can be safely given a month apart.

Trying to go faster with a bigger fill is not the solution, and the stomach rebels at big sudden fills. The goal of th first few fills is NOT to achieve a good resticrion, but to gradually get your stomach used to some pressure so you can tolerate a GOOD fill later.

SLOW and GRADUAL is the key!

Going slowly with fills can be frustrating, but is well worth the wait to avoid problems.

[AngelaAnn]

Hi Everyone .. Im scheduled to go for my first fill here in Washington state on Thursday at a fill center USA location. Ive read both good and bad things about the fill centers but i cant make it down to OCC until mid to late April so im hoping for the best. (If anyone knows of a good fill doctor in Western Washington state please let me know)

My question is how do they know how much fill to put in? Do you tell them? Or do they just pick a random amount? I noticed alot of people have a 4cc band but on my card it says 10cc - why the difference? Should i ask for more fill?

Also are there any things i could do to get a better fill?

Thank you!!

Regina

Are you sure that it doesn't say 10CM on your card? That means that you have a band that HOLDS 4cc's of saline but it's 10cm in diameter. If you had the 10CC band, then it would say VG Band on your card and I believe it's 13-14CM in diameter. Most places will give you 1.5-2.0 on your first fill. Don't expect too much, most people don't get any restriction until their second fill. I had 2.0 on my first fill and felt absolutely nothing then on my second fill they added .8 and voila! I knew what restriction was. If it's not under flouroscopy, then they will probably start with a smaller fill since they can't visualize how fast or slow things past through your band.

[igiawhoyou]

If you go to the section on the board called 'Fill doctors and fill trips to TJ' and go to the pinned topic 'How to increase your chances of a good fill' that'll explain that part of your question. :yes:

I've only gotten my fills at the OCC so I can't comment on Fill Centers. I'm not sure if they do their fills blind or with fluro. With fluro, the doc's at the OCC make you drink barium and watch it go through your band. That's how they decide how many cc's to put in your band. If your card says 10cc's then I THINK you have the bigger band [there are 2 sizes that I know of 10 and 4 cc.] If you're unsure you can email or call the OCC and they'll tell you for sure. Hope that helped... best wishes, Darlene

Hi Darlene! Thank you!! The article was helpful!!

Regina

[igiawhoyou]

Are you sure that it doesn't say 10CM on your card? That means that you have a band that HOLDS 4cc's of saline but it's 10cm in diameter. If you had the 10CC band, then it would say VG Band on your card and I believe it's 13-14CM in diameter. Most places will give you 1.5-2.0 on your first fill. Don't expect too much, most people don't get any restriction until their second fill. I had 2.0 on my first fill and felt absolutely nothing then on my second fill they added .8 and voila! I knew what restriction was. If it's not under flouroscopy, then they will probably start with a smaller fill since they can't visualize how fast or slow things past through your band.

Hi Angela .. It does say 10 CM so thats helpful to know!! Thank you for writing back

Regina