Bamagal

On the liquid part of the diet we tend to lose alot of water weight and we all know water weight goes up and down.In the first 3 months I had good restriction from the swelling of the surgery,and yours being open and you being in the hospital I am sure you had as much if not more swelling.Now when the swelling goes so does the restriction that came with it.Some of us often lose and gain the same 5 pounds a few times before it actually goes away.Just be patient you are doing great and when you reach the sweet spot, and that make take a few fills to stick for more than a few weeks you will do fine.

For some it can take two weeks for the fill to kick in,for me takes me about a week for the swelling to start to subside as I swell immediately,what I have found helps me is Pepsid AC,I took just one and in a day I was fine.

A week in now and it is much improved,thanks for asking But I know this is the fill we have all waited for.Before now I have been able to eat chicken,steak,some breads,nothing really gave me a problem if I was careful.Now believe it or not stupid things are a problem like oatmeal and Greek yogurt they seem to just cove the hole and block the air so nothing goes down unless I drink and thats a no no.But for the most I can still eat chicken and a good cut of steak as I said just have to be very careful and chew chew chew.The amount I can eat is much improved,I could eat a cup or more if it was kinda mushie ,not now oh hell no believe it or not 4 or 5 bites and I am done and very satisfied,so yes I think I have finally found the "Sweet Spot":thumbup:.So as long as you can get liquids down and soft veggies I would give it a week,takes me that long for the swelling to go down so I know where I am at.But Tracy if you can not hold your liquids and you have alot of pain please just call doc and see what he says cause I do not want to advise you to wait if you are real uncomfortable,I just know how I swell with a fill and hoped it would get better in a couple weeks and it did.So good luck and remember small bites then chew well and wait a few minutes before taking another bite .

Mine was originally about 3 inch above my bellybutton and a little to the left.After losing 60+ pounds now it is about six inches above my naval and almost right under my largest incision.Yes if press down I can feel it now in the beginning I could not really feel it at all.I was fitted with the VG band that comes with a low profile port so my doc says I will not likely ever had a problem with it protruding.

Yes if we do not get enough liquids to flush the toxins from our system our urine will get really dark.Just to update my fill from Friday is tons better today so I feel you will be fine if you just give it a little more time.It always takes about a week for me after a fill for the swelling to go down and I can see where I am gonna be.

Guys I am not a Mod. but if I were I would lock this topic.It has been hijacked and has gotten way off topic.All this he said she said is not doing anyone any good here.

I agree Greek Yogurt is thick,I just got a fill too and can not get the yogurt down but I am fine with scrambled eggs and ww toast so I would not base my decision on just the Greek Yogurt.I am gonna give it some time myself as I can still tolerate alot of different things.Oatmeal,eggs,toast,Soy Crisps,tuna,egg salad.My protein drinks go down slow too but I love to add ice and whip them thick,I am sure in a week as it get looser I will be fine as I do not throw up or PB if I go slow and chew well,this fill will definitely teach me the rules and make me stick with them.

No it is not right,not by most doctors standards anyway.He says 1/2 to 3/4 cups.So yes I think you need a fill if he dont want to fill you I would find a new doctor.How much have you lost in a year?

It is not unusual for your port to move,as you lose weight your body changes and moves things around.My port is maybe two inches higher now than it was at the start.If you look there is plenty of topics that refer to the port moving.

for the first three months when I got fills they were all under flouro and at that time I was checked for leaks placement ect.and as I said this time it was just .1 lost so little most would not even notice much less make a note of it but he is very attentive to ever small detail but yes if it much at this point I would be concerned after 8cc all the air should be gone.

Had a fill today took me to 8cc's and boy am I tight,I may have even past my sweet spot,I think I will just try liquids awhile to see if it loosens up some because I have lost really slow for the past three months and really want to lose some weight. Water went down slow but no problems , I did try a few bites at lunch and it came back.Just liquids for me now till I see if its gonna loosen up a tad.

Today had another fill he took me to 8cc's and I had 6cc's of the 6.1 that was suppose to be in there so I am not really concerned I have a leak,ask the doc about the lost cc's and again he assured me not to worry he don't really know where it goes.He said fills are not an exact science sometimes we have air in the band that has to work itself out,and maybe sometimes he loses part of a fill pulling it out and it is even possible for the port to lose a smidgen while it is healing so unless we lose alot he just don't worry about it.Dr.Wizman is not only a doctor but a Proctor aswell so yes I do trust him and his experience.I am sure in his years he has seen it all.

You know some people get a fill while they are in surgery,so to me it don't sound that odd getting a fill at two weeks.I think most of us would have liked a fill at two weeks cause by then we were so hungry from just having liquids.So unless you just think you are over filled I wouldn't worry so much.My doctor or his student doctor always does my fills,but his nurse is always there and she seems to have the deciding vote as to how much I get.I wouldn't even be opposed to her giving my fill I trust here that much.My doc has never not seen me but has often been as much as a two and half hour wait.

oh lord me too,I had 6.1 cc's in a 10cc VG, today he took me to 8cc's and boy am I tight.I can get liquids down fine if I go slow but tried some lunch had two bites of chicken a bite of slaw and a bite of potato salad and had to PB thick with mucus,got it back out.I think I will just stay with liquids a few days and see if it will losing up a bit because man this is tight.

Most of the time I can eat 3/4 cup of food but I think ideal is just a 1/2 cup and even then it depends on what I eat so I try ad stay with solid foods like meat and veggy.If I have eggs I can eat two eggs and 1/2 slice of ww toast or a cup of yogart so soft foods do allow me to eat more if I eat slowly.At 6.1cc in a 10cc band I think I still need a small fill which I have scheduled for Friday,I hope this fill will get me to 1/2 cup.

I am glad to hear you are doing well,complications is something we all fear,just be careful and pay attention to what your body is saying to you.This is a 3 year plan so don't worry what others are losing just take your time and go slow and easy.

well I have to admit I often feel they are just bleeding money from us on fills and this is why.If fills are included in the price of banding I have noticed they get bigger fills and find their level of restriction sooner than those of us that pay for fills. Then there is the the odd thing of losing a 1/2 cc of fill ever time from the last fill so even though they say they gave you 1cc it only raised you .5 because they say you lost that .5 but yet they are not concerned about it as it is normal?Then you have to wonder are they bleeding by giving you only .5 or are they being cautious?And why the tale of the lose of .5 cc is it to keep you happy thinking yo got 1cc when you really only got .5? Who knows but we have to trust them to take care of us so they do have us over a barrel in ever since of the word. I pay $75.00 for an office visit and then another $75.00 if I get a fill,I do see the NUT.

Hello and welcome to LBT,I am no expert here only being banded about 7 months,but I do alot of research and based on my own experiences I have found it can take months to get to a comfortable level of restriction. In the first couple months I had restriction with no prefill,I am sure now that was due to the swelling from surgery and even then it would depend on many variables,how big your stomach is,how big is your band and how much swelling you had.But then when the swelling went down so did the restriction.I then had to be patient and wait for a fill level that worked for me as everyone is differant when it comes to fills.In the mean time we are to practice good eating habits as best we can but do not beat yourself up if you slip once in awhile but by no means allow this to become the norm. Now for my assessment,most doctors go slow in bringing us to our comfortable level of fill because it takes time to make new habits and break old habits so they take us slow and easy so we do not hurt our band or our body in the transition.The band is different from Gastric bypass in that Lap Band is 3 year plan not 1 year.So when you see people who got big fills right off I would question the logic in this.Because there again I ask are they ready and trained for that drastic a change in a couple months time.So just be patient your day will come in the while I say fake it till you make it.But trust me nobody knows what normal is. Good luck and just start the journey and stay the course as best you can,be honest with yourself about your eating habits.

60 pounds from band date or 72 from highest weight but I only count from band date myself,I hope everyone is a "Big Loser for 2009"pun intended:thumbup:

I am sure you just need a slight unfill but that is your chose anyway I am sure Fillcenterusa has a center in Houston 866-345-5872.Great job on your weight loss and good luck

My PC doctor suggested B12 shots to me today weekly or Bi-weekly he also ordered blood work first so I have to wait on that first to see how much and how often.I have also heard B12 with Lipid tropics aka fat burners aid in weight loss.

Sweetz I see you are still in your first month right?If you are still on liquids and or mushies I would suggest Muscle Milk 2 times a day that would give you 60gms of Protein and 600 calories,you should be able to get in the other 600 in what ever you are allowed to have.As to how do we decide it is trial and error.

I too, aswell as alot of others are still struggling with the right amount of fill.The question is not how much can you eat, but how little can you eat and not fill hungry.My suggestion to you and anyone else who has trouble controlling your portion size is do not put more on your plate than you should have.Maybe 4oz of meat 1/4 cup of veggy and 1/4 cup of fruit.Take small bites,chew slow and savor the flavor.After 20 minutes just stop eating.Wait an hour if you are still hungery drink a glass of Water wait another hour if you are still hungrey eat an apple or snake. The band has not failed you,you need to make some adjustments in your bad eating habits.It is not the purpose of the band to be so tight your eyes pop out when you over eat.It is to help you feel satisfied on less food for a longer period of time,and you may never feel that full tight feeling you are looking for,just not stomach growling hungrey.

my surgeon said wait 3 weeks,the only discomfort I have is after a fill the port site,so maybe a change in position if you know what I mean :biggrin:

For my last two fills I have had my throat burn and irritated,it started both times about 1 week after the fill not in the first week and both times I had a headache with it.I was not as concerned the first time as I had Pb'd a couple nights before and put it off on that.But the second time it was just outta the blue.I was able to use an old fashion remedy for acid reflux and knock it out both times.Milk and honey works wonders for acid reflux.But it does seem to be related to the fill and maybe the swelling from the fill,I am thinking my esophagus swells from fills now that I am getting to the true restriction stage.I am currently at 6.2 in a 10cc band so I think after my next fill if it happens again I will hold off awhile before I go for another.