Has This Happened To Anyone Before??

[mztmom 3]

Okay so I have had my band for 11 months now. I have only lost 34 pounds. But I have had ALOT of issues with this band. I go in for a fill and they put anywhere from .5 to 1 cc in each time usually but then i end up having to go back days or a couple of weeks later to have some removed because i was too tight. the last 2 times i have gone in for a fill the lady put 1cc in each time but when i go out into the waiting room to drink my Water after my fill to see if everything fills fine, i immediately have to go rush back in to have some taken out.so yesterday when i went in before my fill they did an xray and it looked perfect then she gave me 1cc and took another xray after i drank water and it immediately was too tight. so she had to call in a "specialist" and ask what the problem is and they said I am just a unique person that can only have about .2 to .3 cc's at a time each fill. and she wants me to come back once a week to get my fills. this is a problem for me because ONE i live 1 and 1/2 away and TWO because as of next month my fills will no longer be FREE i will have to pay $125 each visit. the nurse practitioner did say it was her fault because she has been giving me TOO MUCH each time and she should have seen the reoccuring issues but didnt. I am to the point where i want to have the band COMPLETELY removed. I knew i should have had the gastric sleeve instead. I am one very disappointed overweight female right now just looking for help. HELP ME!!!

[wildrose1966 396]

My nurse called me after my surgery this week and told me that she had been to a conference re lapbads and the main point of discussion was around micro fills....only filling around .25 per fill (once they were close to being at the sweet spot) Not sure if this is going to become the new norm.

[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

Many doctors only give the very small fills like you're describing. Some complain it takes too long and they're just doing it for extra money, but the truth is it's a lot easier to ease into the Green Zone with small fills than it is to blow past it into the Red Zone and then try to back out of it.

You don't have to go every week. Why not just go once a month?

[Patience is a virtue... 5]

Maybe you should change doctors? If they are letting someone give you fills that doesn't know how or isn't paying attention to each individual patient then I wouldn't keep giving them my money or my insurance money. As soon as you said they are giving you 1cc every time it sounded like too much to me. They should not forget that how they "fill" us can make or break our diet and everything hinges on how we feel. Maybe you could ask someone else in the office to do your fills?

[rwrayne 3]

I too suffer the exact same problem. My story mirrors your completely. I have spent my 2 years throwing up more than anything else. I feel extreme frustration and the same thought of removing the band. I can't eat anything with real substance. I have survived off of icecream, watered down oatmeal and Protein Shakes. I am always hungry!!!!! I am tried all of the time and moody. I am ashamed to say I have had lap band because I am not thin.

So, I took myself down to my surgeons office and let it all out. I have been reduced to zero fill and will be starting all over. I eat off of a baby spoon. I put the spoon down after each bite and wait a full minute to take another bite. I do not drink soda or sugar sweet drinks. I now take my time eating or drinking all food or liquids. I have had to rethink my entire way of eating. I am sometimes so hungry I want to shovel food into my mouth. I have had to make myself slow down. I will have my first fill on October 16.

I told you all of this to say:

I did not apparently understand the new way I would be eating. I did not listen or hear how my life would be changing so dramatically in relation to food. I am not your traditional success story. But, I am a success; I have lost weight. I have lost 45 lbs. I now walk and or use an eliptical machine. Maybe you should speak to the doctor and put it all on the table. I think if the nurse admitted fault they should be covering some of the fills. I would most definetly be looking into that.

I wish you the best of luck and hope that you find the solution that works for you.

[DetChatt 188]

I got very small fills and very few of them (1 per month for the first 3 months after banding and then none since). Maybe some people like us just get enough restriction from the band itself and don't need as many fills (or as much in them)?

[Sojourner 2,446]

Okay so I have had my band for 11 months now. I have only lost 34 pounds. But I have had ALOT of issues with this band. I go in for a fill and they put anywhere from .5 to 1 cc in each time usually but then i end up having to go back days or a couple of weeks later to have some removed because i was too tight. the last 2 times i have gone in for a fill the lady put 1cc in each time but when i go out into the waiting room to drink my Water after my fill to see if everything fills fine, i immediately have to go rush back in to have some taken out.so yesterday when i went in before my fill they did an xray and it looked perfect then she gave me 1cc and took another xray after i drank Water and it immediately was too tight. so she had to call in a "specialist" and ask what the problem is and they said I am just a unique person that can only have about .2 to .3 cc's at a time each fill. and she wants me to come back once a week to get my fills. this is a problem for me because ONE i live 1 and 1/2 away and TWO because as of next month my fills will no longer be FREE i will have to pay $125 each visit. the nurse practitioner did say it was her fault because she has been giving me TOO MUCH each time and she should have seen the reoccuring issues but didnt. I am to the point where i want to have the band COMPLETELY removed. I knew i should have had the gastric sleeve instead. I am one very disappointed overweight female right now just looking for help. HELP ME!!!

Your surgeon or their staff will only be able to help you find solutions to your issues with fills if you communicate to them what is going on. Have you been communicating with them during the entire time you have been experiencing difficulties with tolerating your fills?

I believe that we each need to be our own strong advocate when it comes to our medical issues...and communication is the key.

My experience with physicians has not been that they are out to "soak" their patients for additional money for unnecessary procedures. You apparently have a unique set of circumstances, that's not the surgeon's fault.

Try not to be discouraged or angry...get back in touch with your original reasons for wanting to have your surgery, and focus on your goals. If you don't have goals, this is an excellent time to identify some.

Best wishes...

[mztmom 3]

all of you have been incredibly helpful in everything you all have said.I am going to talk to my doctor to see if I can work out something to receive a few more "free" fills and take one slow fill at a time. I sure hope this works better this way around because I felt like all the times before have been hell.

[shuckybucky 107]

I have the same problem. I do not get more then 0.2cc per fill and the way of thinking that it will take too long is a mental block. I only have 2cc total in my band and have lost over 50 pounds and I was a low BMI band patient. Odds are you will not require a lot of fills to hit your sweet spot. For people like us (with sensitive bands) less is more.