Proactive/agressive "filling"

[imalene 0]

It seems to me that some people are more proactive when it comes to their "fills" and that being this way keeps weight loss progressing along. Am I right?

What I'm thinking is that if you go for a period of time with no wgt loss - and you are not feeling restricted or much of a restriction - it's time to line up a "fill".

Am I seeing different levels of comfort in the progression of weight loss? Or am I dead wrong, that there are some people that no matter how much they "fine-tune" their band - their wgt loss is going to be slow?

I've read about people loosing 20 lbs in a year and then there are those that have lost 10 lbs. a month consistently. And I'm speaking of people who appear to be of comparable wgts/BMI's.

Any thoughts on this??

Thanks!

Patti

[JAYGERL05 0]

I had my first fill on 11/17 and I have no restriction. 1.5cc I have lost 30 pounds since surgery 9/8. Since my fill I have not lost any weight. Gain 2 pounds lose 2 pounds kind of thing. I am scheduled for another fill 12/30, I hope and pray that will give me a jumpstart to weightloss. My doctor will only give you a fill if it has been 4-6weeks since your last fill anyway. I am hoping I can lose 10 pounds by Jan 8 which will be 40 pounds in 4 months.

[La_madam 20]

I've never been agressive with my fills.

I only had 3 fills and lost 104 lbs in 19 months.

If you are losing 1-3 lbs a week then in my opinion I see no need for a fill.

[vinesqueen 2]

I don't think we honestly know why somepeople are turtles and some are rabbits. As a turtle, I have to think there is something else going on with some of us. I know that some of us have issues with PCOS and other issues. Some might have medications that affect our loss.

Some of us have great restriction, even though we are not losing.

I don't know if there is an answer to your question. I know I've been looking for one.

[Bellina925 0]

Im having the same kinda thing going on Iive been banded almost 4 months & have only lost 24lbs. Which Im not to happy about I will be 4 months on the 22nd of Dec which will make 122 days & Its just not happening for me ????? In the past prior to trhe band I could loose 39 lb in 120 days. Makes no sence to me. The scale has been playing tricks on me also thats why Im trying to stay off of it right now .It makes me feel like a Yo-Yo playing in the +2/- 2 range. I do have a fill set for the 13th but not sure if thats the problem. I still feel restriction some of the time & not all that hungry ??????

[vinesqueen 2]

Well, Sally, you are averaging 1.6 pounds a week, sounds good to me. The average bandster loss is 1 to 2 pounds a week, although I must admit to bringing that total average down a bit

How much do you expect to lose a week on average?

[CCBSTX 0]

I imagine there are many reasons for aggressive and not-so-aggressive fills. Money, time, surgeon problems, not knowing what to look for, etc are just some of the issues. At one point, I was losing my 1-2 pounds a week but I could eat alot (no restriction). However, I stopped myself from overeating, as if I was on a diet (willpower). I thought, I am losing weight but this is not why I got the band. I didn't want to diet and feel hungry. Hence, I recieved my first fill.

My goal is to lose 1-2 pounds a week. Lapbanders are recommended to lose about 1-2 pounds a week. Some are slower and some faster (turtle power).

Shawn

[Rockin' Robyn 15]

CCBSTX-I tend to agree with you. I have been losing weight much better than I expected throughout this 4 month journey. But I have always been of the philosophy that since reading so many posts on LBT that it was obviously going to take a great deal of time (3.5 months for me to be exact) to get to my sweet spot. Therefore, I wanted my doc to be agressive in getting me there-weight loss or not! I know a lot of docs won't fill you if you are still losing weight. But my doc is great and takes many factors into account when making the decision to fill (including can you still eat bread/meat, how long are you satisfied after a meal, how much can you eat at one time). I like the fact that he doesn't determine whether or not you need a fill based on your weight loss for the week/month. You can lose 2 pounds a week on Weight Watchers, but the stamina to stay on the program, and maintaining the weight loss was always the problem for me. I, like you, always lost 2-3 pound per week in the weeks/months following my surgery, but never experienced much of any restriction until just two weeks ago.

In the back of my mind I thought of my first few months as a very strict "diet" so to speak, and like all the other millions of diets I had been on in my life, I knew that my success would at some point come to an end if I didn't have my band to help me. And when that point DID come, I wanted my band to be there to back me up so I could truly use it as my tool. I therefore was filled every 2-3 weeks until I experienced restriction (I didn't wait for my weight loss to slow and THEN get a fill).

I know others will disagree with me on this philosophy, but all I can say is that it worked well for me and each and every person here has to do what is best for them. I have loss 78 pounds in just 4 months, and I feel fantastic! I realize that this is an unusually high amount of weight to lose for bandsters, but I have worked very hard and I believe I truly owe it all to my 'assertive fill' philosophy.

My relationship with food has completely changed. I now view eating almost as a chore, instead of a recreational sport. I have only been able to "feel" the effects of a restrictive band-therefore being ABLE to use it as my weight loss tool-for the last two weeks since I have gotten to my sweet spot. Had I waited all this time to start my fills or be more agressive/assertive with them, I know that at some point I would have fallen off the wagon and desperately BINGED repeatedly just as I have so many millions of times before, gaining back what I had lost. Knowing what I know now...Had I taken that road, it still would have taken me the 5 more fills and 3 months to reach my sweet spot since our bands get filled incrementally.

I personally never felt the band was truly a "TOOL" for me until it was perfectly adjusted. The difference now is #1, I have no 'desire' to binge. And #2, even if I had the desire-I couldn't because my band is perfectly adjusted and she wouldn't let me even if I tried!

[MerryHearted 20]

I think both are true. Managing your fills is important -- the band is useless without any restriction -- and I'd agree with the word "proactive" but not "aggressive". Being too tight leads to a higher chance of problems. I am being proactive with my fills but definitely not aggressive. I want the least amount of fill possible and I'll ride it until I'm sure I need more fill. i.e. making sure that my weight loss stopping is not because I'm eating crap and/or not following the rules, that it's really because my band is needing more fill.

But even someone who has the right fill level and is doing everything right might lose slowly. Our bodies are all so different.

I'm of the opinion that anyone who is reading this who is still researching should make sure they know the fill policy of their surgeon's office prior to getting banded. You want one you lets YOU manage your fills, not one who makes you jump through lots of hoops (like putting you on a diet) or wait some arbitrarily long time between fills (like 6 weeks). I feel so grateful for the wonderful folks at NWWLS when I hear some of the stories that get posted here.