My Dr. is way too timid with fills

[aroundthetown 8]

I was banded on June 20th of this year. I have a 10cc band. On my first fill I got .04 cc's. Yes you read that correctly LESS THAN 1/2 a cc. And that was 6 weeks post op. Now I went in and the dr. gave me another .06 cc's. That means in total I have 1 cc in my band. I have not been experiencing the "green zone". I am hungry ALL the time. I can, and occasionally still do eat breads.(Though not very often, like once a week.)

I get hungry just a little while after eating my solid Protein. I know that I am following all the rules my dr gave me. No soda, no drinking with meals or 1/2 hour after meals. I am just bummed because I wanted to be further along in the process by now and my weight loss has stalled. I'd really really like to have a more aggressive fill done, but my Dr. flat out refused. He also makes us wait 2 months between fills. So my next fill won't be till November, and at that point I know that he'll try to give me another .05 cc's getting me to 1.5 cc's. YUCK. I think I want to see another dr! Sorry for the rant. I'm going to stop pouting now.

[NYdad 21]

I understand your feelings. my doc does 1cc at a fill. I have a 14cc band and it took forever for it to get to restriction. I made it to restriction but went to far and had 1/2 taken out due to problems. Take your time and pay attention to the small changes you will notice once you get close. Dont over do it by getting it too tight. I was so mad when he took my Fluid out. I can tell you this. even though my fills were small I still lost weight. follow the rules and it will come off. focus on what you can control and eventually the band will be tight enough. According to my doc, he says that smaller fills give you a better chance for success and reduces the chances of a slip. he could be blowing smoke but hey what else can ya do. I called around looking for a new doc and it wasnt much different. Good luck.

banded Sept 28 2010

starting weight 306

current weight 224

[sandiburn 23]

I agree to call around and see if ther is another dr for you. You OFFICIALLY only have to wait 2 weeks before you can have another fill. My dr believes that it is good to fine the green zone as soon as you can. There is a better success rate then. Remember its your health and your body. But also be patent. Be sure to drink lots of Water in between till you can get a resolve. good luck with your jorney.

[Humming Bird 275]

Of course I'm not a Dr., but here's my 2 cents worth:

OMG! At that rate it will take forever to get to the green zone so your band will work properly. In my case, the doc put in 2.7cc during surgery and by my 2nd fill I was at 5.3cc and found my green zone there. I didn't need another fill again for 10 months. I believe that alone was the key to my success. Because I hit the green zone so early in the process I saw success with very little effort on my part. I dropped 100 pounds in the first year. I am one of the few who believe it is all about restriction (proper restriction). I really frrl my success has been 90% band with proper restriction and 10% food choices on my part. The proof is in the pudding. If your doc refuses to bring you to proper restriction, I would seek out a new doc.

[Acadia 20]

AroundtheTown: Be glad that your Dr is going slow. I hit my green zone at 1.75 cc. But I thought my Dr was crazy for only doing 1 cc at a time. All because I read on the boards that people were getting 3-5 cc in a shot. If I had that done I wouldn't have been able to swallow my own saliva and would very likely have caused serious damage to my stomach.

Yet that didn't stop me from going back for a second fill after my first and being too full for several months. Fortunately I didn't cause damage but it was horrendous.

Take it slow. Up your working out and eat between 1-2 cups of food at each meal and you'll do fine. If you're hungry, eat an apple and a piece of cheese. Both will keep you full. Drink Water, crystal light, tea, etc.

You'll do fine, it's a life change and it doesn't happen over night.

If you want to help your Dr. understand that YOU understand, keep a very detailed food diary including what you ate, how much, and how you felt 30 minutes after, one hour after, two hours after, three hours after, etc. So you know how long it was before you felt hungry again.

You should get to the point where you aren't hungry for about 4 hours between meals. Assuming your meals are proper meals and not sliders or junk.

"You OFFICIALLY only have to wait 2 weeks before you can have another fill."

--

NOT TRUE

Fills can take up to 4-6 weeks to distribute and if you get fills only two weeks apart you will very likely end up over filled and causing damage.

[Rachel412 116]

If I were you I'd be looking for a different doctor. Slow & steady is fine, but that's not slow, that's S L O W.

[Humming Bird 275]

The capacity of the pouch is NOT 1-2 cups.

[xavier 153]

I loved my surgeon and had no complaints about him or the fills but it was too far a drive so I went for a fill to someone closer...OMG she fills you WHILE you are drinking Water and when you choke she says, "Perfect!" She has been exactly right the two times I have gone to her! Perfect restriction, about 5 or so pounds lost per month, and then after I lose 15 or 20 I get looser so I went back. The second fill helped me lose the last ten to normal BMI.

[THEgeorgiaPEACH 3]

Wow, I guess Im lucky. My Dr does 4 cc's at a time, so I've had 2 fills and Im up to 8 cc's in my 14 cc band. Maybe try a different doctor? Or just ask him to do more! You can always come back for an unfill, so I dont see what the problem is.