Banded but not losing weight

[Rainbow Days 0]

Hi there. I had a lap band fitted on the 7th of February and had my first fill on the 26th of March. I still seem to be able to eat large amounts and am not sure why. I will be receiving my next fill at the end of April. I feel like a real loser as it seems to work for everyone else. Has anyone out there had the same experience or has anyone found that it did not work initially but then started working? This is what I hope will happen with me. I should say that my surgery took place in Scotland and it may be that the the fills here are done slower, starting with smaller amounts but I don't know. I am looking for any reason just now.

[fabfatgrl 10]

That's very common. Many people do not see a change in eating habits until their second or third fill. I know for me, my first fill did not seem to last very long. Don't worry, although I know it's frustrating! Things will get better.

[Rainbow Days 0]

Thanks for that fabfatgirl. It can be very disappointing and frustrating when you are waiting for a miracle. I hear of so many people losing weight straight away. I will keep my fingers crossed and hope for a better result after the 2nd fill. :phanvan

[lizrbit 0]

Rossi, we are basicly on the same schedule!

i was banded feb 13, first fill 1.5 march 19 and next fill is april 27th. Ive lost some with working out and REALLY TRYING to keep responsible about diet. (www.fitday.com) but in the last week its come to a screeching halt. Ive been sick and not too attentive about food, no working out since cant get to gym. depressed cause theres snow all over my truck and im going nowhere. IT WILL GET BETTER.

im going to TRY to get to the gym today and at least do some cardio. i also chose oatmeal this morning instead of other stuff so im trying again today to get atop of it as best i can. I know what you mean though, yesterday i ate FOUR pieces of toast in oil and balsamic vinegar an hour after eating lunch. its tough. I hope our next fill is better. I love my dr, and im sure its just first fill and winter blues...

[StephC 0]

I was the same, first fill I expected it to work, 2 weeks later I called the dr and the pa convinced me I should wait and see.. 2 weeks later I got my 2nd fill, it helped but I still wasn't at full restrictions, I went back 2 more times until finally with my 4th fill I feel real restriction and am losing about 2 lbs a week. I was in every 2 weeks until I felt this one was the one. Good luck and don't be afraid to get fills, we got this band so it would work, don't let them talk you out of fills when you know its not working.

[Rainbow Days 0]

Thanks lizrbit. Thanks for the reply. I am not allowed to eat bread yet and surprisingly it is one of the rules that I have stuck to. Part of me acutally thinks the lack of carbohydrate is causing the problem. Prior to surgery I ate pretty healthily but I ate a huge amount of the unhealthy stuff. Now I have started picking at unhealthy stuff and my dietician thinks it may be because I am not getting enough carbs. I am trying to work on that. I guess I was under the impression that the band would be a quick fix and would remove the need for willpower. That is probably lazy of me but if I had much willpower I wouldn't need the band I suppose. People in this forum seem to know how much their bands have been filled. I am sure that doctors in America tell patients more. I feel that I need more information and will definitely try to get that when I go for my next fill. When you say you had oatmeal do you mean like porrige? Sometimes I have to try and work out what the different foods and brands are over there.

[Rainbow Days 0]

Thanks Stephanie. I am hoping the 2nd fill works as after that I have to start paying for them. The package I had only covers 2 fills and then the following ones are £50 each. Hopefully the 2nd will work and save me a bit of money as well

[juliegeraci 7]

Until you get good restriction the band isn't really doing its job. Try and get your calories to 800-1k and you will lose weight. Julie

[Rainbow Days 0]

Thanks again Julie. I know that if my calories are low enough I will lose weight. The problem is that my willpower is not brilliant. My surgeon has told me that I should not have to self restrict but that is what I feel I am having to do just now. I think this indicates that the band is not tight enough as you say. I am hoping the next fill will make a difference but if not then I will have to keep getting fills until I feel it working.

[juliegeraci 7]

You have the picture. Mine worked but once the hunger and no restriction were seen I would go back for more. I've had this fill since 1/11 which is my longest fill to date. Good luck. Julie

[itsyvonne 0]

Hey, you are in the wrong forum! This is not a Lap-Band complication ... this belongs in the forum entitled "What you can expect with the Lap-Band." You are NORMAL. Chill. It usually takes AT LEAST 2 or 3 fills to get to the point of being restricted ... longer if you've got a bigger band.

[Rainbow Days 0]

Thanks Yvonne. I honestly was starting to think it was only me who had this much of a problem. There seems to be hundreds of success stories out there but until I found this website I couldn't find any realistic accounts of what could be expected from the lap band.

[maziemommy 8]

Do you have to wait a long time between fills? It could take quite a while, to get proper restiction, if they do make you wait a long time between fills. Good luck with fill number two! You will just have to be calm. and wait as you get restriction worked out.

[Rainbow Days 0]

Hi Maziemommy. No I don't have long between fills. I had my op on the 7th of Feb 2007 then my fill on the 26th of March 2007 and my next fill is to be at the end of April, this month. I'm still a bit confused by some things though. I thought that when I ate the pouch would fill and then food would gradually pass through but if I eat too big or don't chew properly it can get stuck straight away after eating. This has happened a couple of times. I thought though that the whole point was that food would stay in the pouch and it would take some time for it to pass anyway. Sometimes I feel that, even with all the research I did pre-op, there is still much I don't know.

[sharon bell 0]

hiya all,

i had my band fitted 7th feb 07, had my first fill 4mls,to date i have lost 18lbs nothing since my fill, what i find happening to me, i get hungry and eat, no signal that i'm full but can feel that the band is tighter than before, but the next day i get this tight feeling in my throte which is horrible, then i have to go on liquids untill it go's again, this is happening all the time i try to stop eating but i am still hungry, i just wish that i got the feeling of full, i would stop eating straght away the full feeling comes way too late, i am trying to judge myself which i'm not to good at, can anyone tell me is this as good as it gets or with more fills you do get the full signal straght away so i can stop eating i desperately want to loose my weight it just isn't happening for me, can anyone give me some advice please just don't know what to do thanks

sharon.:phanvan