To fill, or not fill.... that is question...

[labwalker 1,177]

My last fill was about a year ago. Since then I've been holding, and not using weight. Recently, I started watching my diet more closely, and pushing up my time at the gym. That has resulted in a what is starting to show as a trend for a 1 pount a month weight loss, maybe a tad more. I guess that is far better than gaining! I've lost 50% of what I'd like to use. I feel a lot better, and even at this point I'd consider the band to be a success... only because it would be an effort to put on weight!! Being able to maintain loss is a big plus, but I really want to shed another 50 pounds... my BMI says I need another 100 gone, but with the lapband that would be a hard row to hoe.

Besides increasing my time at the gym, I've been watching my diet and trying to sub Protein calories for carb calories, with some success. My band allows me to eat almost anything, providing I eat slowly and chew properly.

I have a follow up in July to judge my progress. My band is working to a good degree, but a smaill voice says to add .3 or .5 CC and to see what happens. I think a small fill my curb my need to nibble carbs at night (tablespoon of Peanut Butter, etc.) On the other hand, I like the freedom to be able to eat what I want, even in moderation with some attention to chewing properly, etc.

I don't want to end up being stuck drinking coffee in the morning, or being punished for eating the "wrong" food.

How do you determine when the best compromise has been reached--too tight vs. too loose?

Edited June 30, 2014 by labwalker

[Kitt3000 757]

That's been a tough call for me. I am trying to make sure I am eating healthy,hard to do, forcing drinking greens plus. When I start eating sliders because it is easier, or more satisfying, I have to make myself stop, evaluate the restriction or or lack of planning.

[2muchfun 8,927]

I had not been filled for a year and had similar feelings and thoughts as yours but scheduled a fill anyway. I'm so glad I did. I am tighter, I am eating less, I am losing more. I'm much tighter in the mornings than before but if I go slow, I can still eat eggs and ham.

I saw today on another thread where they were talking about fills being an art and not science. I agree. I got a .5 fill and that sort of scared me!! But it's turned out for the good.

[parisshel 1,892]

This is such a timely topic for us veterans! For me, I know I need a fill when my old behaviors around food re-surface. I know my fill level is good when I'm not that interested in my food--I can basically eat and get on with my life. But if I'm thinking about food, craving stuff, spending too much mental bandwidth on eating...that's a sign I need more restriction.

It's much easier for me to know when I need an unfill, however! If only knowing when to fill was as easy as knowing when to unfill!

[catfish87 3,471]

I had a partial unfill (for the first time ever) a few months back. (End of Jan/begining of Feb if my mind remembers correctly)

I THINK I my problem was I had gotten sick, took some cold medicine (with NSAIDS in them) and found it a struggle to even get down liquids. Possible inflammation in my stoma area?? Third day of that and I called my Doc...He did the usual fluoro and HE DECIDED I needed "some" removed. He said the fluoro showed signs of some slight reflux. I didn't ask how much he took out as I just figured he knew best. IMMEDIATE relief...no problems whatsoever, except as expected, HUNGRY/eating too much and of course started gaining a few pounds....actually about 15 over the course of the next two months.

I went back in Aprl, and discussed with him my eating habits, and then found out he had removed .8 cc's. He added back .4, and said see you in a couple of months. I was still eating too much (although better) and finding it somewhat of a struggle to not snack, especially in the evenings. I went back last Thursday and had lost 4 pounds, discussed my eating/etc with the surgeon again and he checked everything again and added .2cc's this time. He did say my band looked PERFECT, so that was the best news. Then he started chatting about other things, running/cycling and life in general....almost as though he wasn't even concerned in the least bit about my band. I guess that is a good thing...

So for me, as others have said, it's really about the restriction being tweaked until everything just "feels right"..... and it doesn't take much one way or the other to make a substantial difference once you're close. Best wishes Labwalker and congrats on your successes, both on and off the scale!

Edited June 30, 2014 by catfish87

[parisshel 1,892]

I had a partial unfill (for the first time ever) a few months back. (End of Jan/begining of Feb if my mind remembers correctly)

I THINK I my problem was I had gotten sick, took some cold medicine (with NSAIDS in them) and found it a struggle to even get down liquids. Possible inflammation in my stoma area?? Third day of that and I called my Doc...He did the usual fluoro and HE DECIDED I needed "some" removed. He said the fluoro showed signs of some slight reflux. I didn't ask how much he took out as I just figured he knew best. IMMEDIATE relief...no problems whatsoever, except as expected, HUNGRY/eating too much and of course started gaining a few pounds....actually about 15 over the course of the next two months.

I went back in Aprl, and discussed with him my eating habits, and then found out he had removed .8 cc's. He added back .4, and said see you in a couple of months. I was still eating too much (although better) and finding it somewhat of a struggle to not snack, especially in the evenings. I went back last Thursday and had lost 4 pounds, discussed my eating/etc with the surgeon again and he checked everything again and added .2cc's this time. He did say my band looked PERFECT, so that was the best news. Then he started chatting about other things, running/cycling and life in general....almost as though he wasn't even concerned in the least bit about my band. I guess that is a good thing...

So for me, as others have said, it's really about the restriction being tweaked until everything just "feels right"..... and it doesn't take much one way or the other to make a substantial difference once you're close. Best wishes Labwalker and congrats on your successes, both on and off the scale!

This is an interesting comment, @@catfish87, as it confirms what I've been suspecting lately. It doesn't take much at all to feel a "difference" in our bands--restriction or non-restriction can sometimes be, as you experienced, a mere .8ccs away. That's like a teardrop! (Of course it also depends, proportionally-speaking, on the size of the band.)

I WISH my fill team would do smaller increments but they really are stuck on their 1.0 (.5 if I beg them) increments and don't go any smaller. I would love to have a fill team who, when refilling, took it very slowly. I'd gladly go back in every two weeks to be stepped up incrementally until I am at my perfect fill level. But I suppose this would be financially onerous for the French National Health system, although lucrative for those bariatric practices in the USA who have self-paying patients.

Wishing everybody perfect fill and appetite levels, combined with good eating habits made easier by our bands! <3

[B-52 7,113]

In the early stages, first few months post-op, my Dr. would refer to the "Yellow-Green-Red" chart on the wall in the exam room....he would ask me to point to EXACTLY where on the chart I felt i was as far as hunger portion sizes, possible problems, etc....he would then compare my current weight with that room the last visit....ask a few other questions regarding exercise, etc, he would take it all into account, and then determine whether or not I needed a fill....and how much.

I had 3 fills, one month apart form surgery.....the last fill was the charm, putting me into the Green..granted, it was not easy...I had to change my ways fir sure if I was going to continue...I could not continue eating the way I used to if I wanted the band to work optimally....

That was over 3 years ago...Since that last fill I lost weight steadily and consistently until I bottomed out....lost as much weight as possible...all fat, and no muscle, etc.

I simply stopped loosing, but at a optimal place where my body determined it should be, not me....

I have not gained nor lost any weight in over 2 -1/2 years....

A short time ago I asked to have .5cc taken out....I started to take the band for granted, feeling like it was not even needed anymore.....My Dr. felt I was crazy, and should leave everything alone...if it's not broke, don't fix it....but he agreed to do it, perhaps to prove a point....

Immediately, things got turned upside down...my appetite returned, along with cravings...I began to eat more than normal at each sitting.....portion sizes increased....

Long story short, I went back and got the .5cc put back in within 3 weeks...now everything is back to normal, and I am happy as a clam again....

Do you need a fil??? Only you can answer that question....What is your comfort level? Your weight loss? Is the band working for you, at least the way you want it to??

Of all the posts I read here, I see many people have found their success stories and weight loss to completion following different avenues....

Bottom line, if they are 100% successful and have no complaints, then what else matters???? That is what it is all about anyway, right?

[labwalker 1,177]

Comfort level can be compacency... with a BMI of over 40, and at my age, that is not acceptable. There was a story about a lady in the UK who had her lab band removed because she was more comfortable at her starting weight and felt it was normal.

To be realistic, I really need to see my my BMI in the mid 30s. And even at that I would way over the charts for my correct BMI. I'd need to drop below 200 lbs to be under 30 BMI--that will never happen! 250# will get me to a BMI of 35, which to many folks is grossly overweight. I can only do what I can do.

I'd be happy to lose another 50 or 60 lbs. Yes, I feel a lot more comfortable where I am at, but I still have clothes that I fit into several years back when I lost weight the old fashioned hard way--extreme physical activity and a very limited diet--nothing that could be substained over the winter months. If I could lose another 1103 I'd be in heaven, but that will not happen, at least for my body.

I really want the band to work... I'm considering a fill to achieve my goal, or even to see some movement in that direction. What I don't want is to screw what I have, or to risk the band or my health by pushing the fills too far and ending up with short or long term problems.

LW

[labwalker 1,177]

Some typos above... complacency misspelled, need to lose 110#, didn't hit shift on the hash tag key...

[parisshel 1,892]

Here's my latest "truth" as it relates to band restriction (and calories):

1) Lose my weight at the lowest fill level possible, so I have some room to fill when the situation truly merits it. For me, a fill is merited when hunger returns, satiety is not prolonged, and my old, bad food behaviors surface. Ideally, any fill would be a tiny fill, again, with the goal to keep my band at the lowest fill level that affords me the benefits of the band: small portions of healthy food, and no hunger (or a reasonable, manageable hunger) between my meals. Like you, labwalker, I'm concerned with the short and long term side effects of a too-tight band.

2) Lose my weight at the highest level of calories that permits me to lose 1-2 pounds a week, so I can smoothly move to maintenance when the time comes, and not suddenly regain. I know from traditional (non surgical) dieting that when I do a really low calorie diet, maintenance is unsustainable because the calorie differential between losing and maintaining is just too wide, and I can't realistically sustain it.

Number two has been an essential point for me, and I saw the virtue in this when I was unfilled for three months. Because I lost my weight at the highest level of calories that still lets me lose weight (for me, this is 1200 cal/day), when I had to shift over to maintenance for three months, I "only" gained 5 pounds. I know that had I practiced a tight band with very low calories (let's say, 900 cal/day, which for many bandsters is normal), the unfill/maintenance period would have seen me jumping in weight like whoa. I would have gained 5 pounds a month, at least!

[SandyM 1,956]

Definitely a timely topic. I scheduled a fill just this morning for the 24th. I haven't had one since November. I've debated a fill for awhile and kept deferring cuz I didn't want to risk being too tight, but I'm thinking more and more that it's time.

[labwalker 1,177]

I've made up my mind. I am going for a .3 to .5 cc fill on my visit on the 12th. I need to cut back on carbs, while holding on the Protein intake. That means controlling my urges to snack between meals. I hope it works.