I Have A Fill Today And Need Advice. Please Help!!!

[FLMichael 1]

I got the band May 12, 2011 and thought I would do great but I am not do nearly as well as I thought. On the pre op diet I lost around 17 pounds which was good. After that I gained some back and knew that was normal. I am now at a 7 pound loss my pre op weight. Here is the thing, I have went for 9 or 10 fills and never really got to this "green zone." A 7 pound weight loss is not where I'd like to be 9 months after surgery. After some fills I had to slow down when I ate and had to chew well but could still eat around the same amount. When my doctor comes in to give me a fill he makes remarks like I haven't been following the diet. Which I haven't. He wants that high Protein low carb stuff. Which is pretty much the Atkins diet. Well if I could have stuck to that diet I wouldn't have needed the surgery right? Don't get me wrong when I do feel restriction I am going to want to eat the right things. But as of now I don't and I'm still hungry as much as I was before the operation. This is what I want advice about. I have the 14 or 15 cc band. I always used to ask the doc how many cc's I had after a fill and he would tell me. He told me not to get stuck on a number. Well this last time I went I asked him before the fill how much I had and he said 7 cc's. Ok I think well I guess I need more. I take a drink and when it goes down I tell him and I'm on my way. Well as I leave I ask him how much I have now and he tells me 5 cc's. WTF!!!! He told me it was ok and that happens and the band will move a bit and settle in place. Well for months I have lost that slight restriction that I have had and wondering if he has just been taking some out and adding some in each time I go. I feel as I have been wasting months and money and still not in the green. I'm so pissed and I see a lot of you encourage people by telling then to go see the doc and get a cc put in. This is what I want to do. I want to tell him that every time I come in I want 1 cc added. If its too tight I will have to come in the next day and have some taken out. Does that sound ok? I have been doing it his way and haven't got that far and now would like it my way. I am also a Nurse and now how do body works but I also know how my body works. Do you think I should ask/demand this from him? I feel I have the right and I am so ready to start losing. I'm just getting fed up and a little desperate here. If not I'm ready to go to another doctor. Please tell me if you have had something like this happen or any advice. I feel like I have the right to try it my way now. Thanks for reading and PLEASE help me out. Thanks

[betheboo 40]

Sounds like you need a fill under fluoroscopy, xray, to me.

[Cazzy 725]

I think u need to discuss with the doctor how u are feeling and what is happening regarding your eating and lack of restriction. I have a size 14 band and am just over 7.25 fill, it does sound like u need more of a fill than u have but the problem is he will only put in as much fill as the Water drink test indicates, a lot of doctors would do the same. It certainly would seem a good idea to request an xray or fill under flouroscopy, here in the UK they never fill using xrays but i see u are in the US so it may well be that u can request it. Asking for a 1cc fill i dont think sounds unreasonable especially as u seem to have little restriction at the moment so i would go for it

My only concerns regarding some of your post are that you say that 'when u feel restriction you are going to want to eat the right things'.. making the right choices on food really isnt about restriction its about your resolve and comittment to making this band work for you. Some people can lose weight eating the same food just smaller amounts others have to change what they eat aswell. I look at the pouch the band makes like a shopping bag , even if u reduce the size of the shopping bag its still your choice what u put in it.. The band wont make healthy decisions for you only you can do that .. I know u probably know this and sorry for having to say it .. I really hope you do well at your appointment today and then maybe u can start again on taking control more. You dont mention exercise at all and that ofc for most is also key to making this band work so get moving if you arent doing any and maybe you can start losing again. I do eat low carb, low fat high Protein and that formula works for me along with exercise everyday .. go for it !

[elcee 3,341]

It sounds to me as though you are expecting the band to do everything. You seem to have forgotten that it is only a tool that will make eating properly and less easier. It will not do it for you.

[FLMichael 1]

Wow Elcee thanks alot. Guess you have been having better luck. And for the record I am not expecting it to do everything for me. I have lost weight in the past and then gained it back and then some so this time I have still kept it 7 pounds under my starting weight. Thats pretty huge for me. What I do expect is restriction. To get fuller faster. Thats why we got the band right? Let me ask you why you got the band? Did you have trouble losing weight too? What I am saying in this post is that its as if i didnt even get the band in the first place. I am as hungry as before and can eat as much. As for the low carb thing i did it and it worked but like everyone else who was on that diet coundnt stick to it. And as for me not eating as well as id like, thats why all diets fail. Because we go back to eating the wrong stuff. I know that if I was in this green zone I would need good stuff and protien to support my body. It would be nice to get full faster off 4oz of chicken and a side salad but I'm not there yet. I wasnt even going to put this post up because I knew I would get a comment like yours. REMEMBER YOU GOT THE BAND TOO CAUSE YOU NEEDED HELP! Stop pointing the finger!

[Dulci 108]

Regardless of whether you are eating low carb, are you eating your Protein first, followed by veggies and finally any starches? Are you getting 60 to 90 grams of Protein per day? Are you eating slowly to allow your brain to recognize that your pouch is full? Are you getting 64 oz of liquids per day? Are you waiting 30 minutes after a meal before resuming drinking liquids?

Following the above rules/suggestions will help you to feel satisfied.

[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

A couple things...

I can understand not wanting to follow an Atkins like diet. However, to lose weight, you must balance your calorie intake with your exercise. Can you give us an example of your daily food menu? What do you eat in a day and about how many calories? These things all make a very big difference in the success of weight loss and maintenance. For a male, your calories should be around 1400-1500 a day. You say in your post "when you fill restriction you want to eat right". The thing is, you have start eating right before then. It's not a diet, it has to be healthy eating habits for a lifetime. The band is only a tool, we still very much have to do the work.

Also, what Dulci said is spot on. Everything she said is really important to being successful with a Lap-Band. The eating slow and chewing well is especially important for mental success. If you hurry and eat, you can easily miss your body's full cue. If you over-eat with the band, you can stretch the small pouch above the band, thus allowing you to eat much more.

As for your doctor, I would be upset if I wasn't getting a straight answer either. It's your body and your band, and you every right to know EXACTLY how much he's putting in and how much is already in there. I would demand a fill under fluoroscopy so you can figure out once and for all exactly how much is in your band so you can keep track of it going forward.

Best wishes to you.

[honk 780]

I did not get restriction until 10.6 CCs in a 11 cc band. I would def. talk to the doctor about your fill level. As to food choices; pre band I had really modified what I ate so that hasn't really changed. I try to live by the 95/5 rule. I eat very conservatively 95% of the time and can have treats the other 5%. Yes, I understand "If I could live that way I would'nt have needed surgery" Well that's how MOST "naturally" thin people live. This is so much a mental journey.

To me restriction isn't normally I can't eat another bite it's do I really want another bite. I feel more of a satiation. Preband I would have heard that voice and just kept eating. Now I have a stronger physical feeling that helps me turn food down.

[Holly Dolly 575]

I agree with you ladies. I am a year out. Just had my last fill last week and now feeling restricition. Still waiting for the greenzone, but I am going a little more than 3 hours now before feeling hungry so I am happy with that. I have followed, for the most part, the rules of the band and for that I contribute to my success. I make my plate with my measured portions and if I am still hungry, I just suck it up and know that I have had enough. If I am still hungry I can always eat more veggies. But honestly for me, this amount of food takes me 30-45 minutes to eat anyways. I don't need to be sitting there any longer. When I start getting hungry too soon, I start drinking my crystal light to get me through.

I do understand about wanting a bigger fill. My PA thought I was already on the highside as far as my band being filled. I went from Sept til Feb between these last fills. She was also supposed to use a bigger needle to pull everything out and measure what I really have in there. Unfortunatley they didn't have a larger sized needle so I am still not sure what is in there. She says 6.9, but on my notes I should have 7.3.

Anyways, I wish you luck with your dr and success with the band.

[xavier 153]

If you think even for a moment that your doc is deceiving you ...get a new doc! I have two lap band docs and both have told me if your band is half full or less (5cc in a 10cc band) it just cant really be doing anything for you...especially if you are paying for these fills (why do you think some docs give so little at a time?) go pay somebody else!

[Humming Bird 275]

May 2011? IMHO your Doc should have had you to the green zone by now and you should have lost at least 90 pounds in that amount of time (if you have that much to take off)

If your band has a leak, it's a different story.

In my experience, when the green zone is reached (I reached mine very early with 2 proper fills), the weight melts away with very little effort. It does NOT have to be that hard. I do not follow a diet and do not do any formal exercise or working out. My band is doing what it is designed to do. If you can't get what you need from this doc, go to one that understands it does not have to be that hard on the patient.

[twi 40]

I too would check with another Dr. If he says 7cc then 5. You may have a leak if I understood your post correctly. Everyone is different but we all were told high Protein diet after the band. The protein is key to several things. Longer feeling of fullness, healing from surgery, and to decrease muscle loss over fat loss. It is a lot of work still Good luck hope you figure it out

[littlerlou 7]

The thing that really stood out to me in your post was " Don't get me wrong when I do feel restriction I am going to want to eat the right things". Not neccessarily..restriction or no restriction, its going to be up to you to make the right choices. The band isnt going to make food choices for you.

[Sharilo 6]

The thing that really stood out to me in your post was " Don't get me wrong when I do feel restriction I am going to want to eat the right things". Not neccessarily..restriction or no restriction, its going to be up to you to make the right choices. The band isnt going to make food choices for you.

Exactly! And actually, it's easier for me to eat the wrong things when I have good restriction or am a little tight. The Cookies and chips and ice cream all go down much easier than healthy Proteins that I have to chew to death. However, I make the choice to take the time to chew the right stuff instead of letting the wrong stuff slide through. Good luck to you. I hope you get the answers you are looking for.

[elcee 3,341]

That was the part that jumped out at me as well. Reading the post it sounded to me as though the Op thought that everything would just magically fall in place once she got restriction.

Well it isn't like that.

When I introduced myself on this board initially I was told that the band is only a tool and that I have to make it work. I was probably a little shocked and taken aback but I kept that info on board. I realised that in order to be successful I had to be in control.

Yes of course I needed HELP to lose the weight and keep it off but I also had to remember that it was only HELP and that the band wasn't going to do it all.

For the first couple of months I kept "chasing" the sweet spot(restriction) as people used to refer to it then. It sounded like a wonderful place. I would be able to eat tiny amounts and not get hungry in between. What I hadn't realised is that the sweet spot in the way it had been marketed to me doesn't exist. But what I also should have realised was that i was already there. I was eating smaller amounts, not getting hungry as quickly and losing weight.

If you do your part and eat the type of foods that you should be eating. Protein, veggies, good carbs, fruit you will probably find that your band is working and that you will lose weight. You may not lose it as fast as you would hope but slow and steady is good. Also noone expects you to be perfect 100% of the time. Stick with the 80/20 or 90/10 rule.

And as Sharilo says the tighter you are the harder it becomes to eat the kind of foods that you should be eating.

So yes you may need another fill but do not expect that it will suddenly turn you into a perfect eater overnight. And recognise each fill and the help it gives you and work with it to achieve the body that you hope to have.Sometimes the changes from the band are subtle, it doesn't always scream at you so make sure you are listening carefully.