Frustrated with my (lack of) fills..

[Daisalana 33]

I have been anxious (overly I'm sure) to get the restriction going and being on my merry little way to skinny. First fill, I told him to fill the sucker up! I promised if he over filled, I would drive back down, don't worry about it, etc.. he gave me the 1.5cc. I expected a miracle.. No change, read about how it can take a week or so to 'kick in', so I gave it the fair chance.. never came. I called and the doctor doesn't like to fill more than once in a 4 week period.. feh. So I go back in July, I had lost some saline, and it was right before my wedding. I asked him to please just fill it up!! He said he didn't want me to be sick for my wedding.. I told him, really... just FILL IT!

Well, he didn't.. I started to feel the little bit of restriction in the mornings and late at night. It's a start.. but I knew it wasn't enough because during the day I could eat more than I needed to. And I don't always have the will power to make myself stop when it feels like I have no band.

I go back in August.. told him, my restriction is not enough, again PLEASE just fill it. Well he poked in there, and some CC's drained out (I don't remember the amount, he had poked around 7-10 times and different amounts each time). So I had to get fleuro fill done, and he let some other doctor I've never met do it (who worked at the hospital). He filled me, and I said, so how much is it now? He said 2cc.. well 2cc is what I had last time I was filled.

And it's been a couple weeks and now I feel RIGHT BACK TO THE BEGINNING. I don't have any restriction, and I'm getting extremely frustrated and helpless. I keep saying please fill me up, and he doesn't, and I feel like it's wasting my time right now in the bandster hell for this many months.

I really just needed to rant, but does anyone have suggestions on how I can get the message across so I can get a more aggressive fill? Or a way to deal with this time period? I'm thinking of getting the legal speed pills (Ephedra stuff) just to deal with the hunger until I get a good fill. :think

[Daisalana 33]

I just went to vent to my mom about this.. she said when I came out of surgery, my doctor told her the band he put on (the smallest) fit pretty snug and it should only take 1-2 fills to get me proper restriction.

So, maybe this is why he's so slow to fill.. but since that ended up NOT being the case, why won't he just be aggressive with fills? :faint:

[kaboom 13 0]

Hi, lauraj23!

What a nightmare to keep having to go back. I guess I think each person requires different amounts according to their weight, height and really what your needs are? I believe my doctor does fills on any patient referred as I heard someone mention. All the fills are done under the fluro. (for a fee of course) so that you don't have to get poked around a million times. This can hurt. My first fill was very uncomfortable because my port is completely flipped over so the doctor had to position me a certain way. Now we know for future fills. I think it makes a huge difference if your under the fluro. because you can tell how much restriction you have when fills are done hence having the restriction you need. Not sure but you might want to check if your just throwing your money away and not really getting what you need. Anyhow, thats my own opinion but you should check around. Good luck!

Banded 12/20/07

Dr. Huacuz

Pre-opt weight 196

Current weight 145 reached within 6 months

1st fill 02/10/07 .5cc

2nd fill 04/14/07 .5cc

complete unfill 07/13/07 -1.0

[Wendell Edwards 73]

I have been anxious (overly I'm sure) to get the restriction going and being on my merry little way to skinny. First fill, I told him to fill the sucker up! I promised if he over filled, I would drive back down, don't worry about it, etc.. he gave me the 1.5cc. I expected a miracle.. No change, read about how it can take a week or so to 'kick in', so I gave it the fair chance.. never came. I called and the doctor doesn't like to fill more than once in a 4 week period.. feh. So I go back in July, I had lost some saline, and it was right before my wedding. I asked him to please just fill it up!! He said he didn't want me to be sick for my wedding.. I told him, really... just FILL IT!

Well, he didn't.. I started to feel the little bit of restriction in the mornings and late at night. It's a start.. but I knew it wasn't enough because during the day I could eat more than I needed to. And I don't always have the will power to make myself stop when it feels like I have no band.

I go back in August.. told him, my restriction is not enough, again PLEASE just fill it. Well he poked in there, and some CC's drained out (I don't remember the amount, he had poked around 7-10 times and different amounts each time). So I had to get fleuro fill done, and he let some other doctor I've never met do it (who worked at the hospital). He filled me, and I said, so how much is it now? He said 2cc.. well 2cc is what I had last time I was filled.

And it's been a couple weeks and now I feel RIGHT BACK TO THE BEGINNING. I don't have any restriction, and I'm getting extremely frustrated and helpless. I keep saying please fill me up, and he doesn't, and I feel like it's wasting my time right now in the bandster hell for this many months.

I really just needed to rant, but does anyone have suggestions on how I can get the message across so I can get a more aggressive fill? Or a way to deal with this time period? I'm thinking of getting the legal speed pills (Ephedra stuff) just to deal with the hunger until I get a good fill. :think

The reasons that my Doctor, William Neal, M.D. quoted for using fluoroscope were these:

1. Easy to locate the port.

2. Increases likelihood of a one-stick fill.

3. Decreases the likelihood of puncturing the tubing.

4. Decreases the likelihood of tearing the septum, the thin membrane that goes across the port.

5. Verifies that the fill needle is in the port before saline injection.

6. Prevents saline injection into abdominal viscera.

7. Verifies the position of the port, and allows port flip to be seen easily.

8. Visually confirms lack of esophageal spasms.

9. Visually confirms lack of pouch enlargement.

10. Visually confirms an open stoma at the conclusion of the fill.

11. Allows tighter stoma because the tech can add saline until the stoma closes, then BARELY OPEN IT back up.

12. Allows checking for a slipped band, and verifies correct placement of the band with each fill.

Dr. Neal believes in fluoroscope so strongly he bought one when he opened his new office in Olympia, WA last year.

http://www.pacsurgical.com/

Quoting:

"We have nutritional and psychological counseling resources, scales (2) to 1000 lbs., an IV Fluid hydration suite, a fluoroscopy suite for band adjustments and a large conference room for informational forums and support groups, all under one roof."

Now then, about fill frequency:

Think of the band as a hydraulic pressure device, which it is.

When the band is tightened, pressure is applied to the stomach wall from the interior surface of the band. An equal and opposite pressure is applied to the band itself. (Newton's law)

The pressure to hold back, or restrict, the food going into the stomach is equal to the pressure on the band to slip down the stomach. (Band prolapse)

The greater the fill, the greater the pressure to slip.

The band makes a groove around the stomach organ, which is usually covered in a layer of fat.

That groove in (At first) the fat pad (Later the actual stomach) provides resistance to slippage.

When you are starting out, the groove is shallow, and not very resistant to slipping.

As you go along and time passes, the groove gets deeper, and more pressure can be safely applied to the band with less danger of slipping.

That's the way I look at it.

[Betsyjane 2]

Hey, you sound jsut like me! First fill...nothing. Second fill...part of the first one was gone...normal. Got that second fill...nothing. I kept wanting a lot of fill and they wouldn't do it. Third fill....and OMG I was living the life of a bandster! I loved it! But it was a bit too much and I stretched my pouch. Now all is well and I'm a happy camper, but I figure with as much as I had to learn once I had a REAL fill, I would have screwed it up royally if they had filled me full the first time! Now I figure I was just supposed to keep studying and learn patience until we got to the sweet spot. But I feel for ya...bandster hell feels like it lasts forever!

[ButterflyKisses 0]

Hi laura ! LOL at your thread, you just sounded cute telling him to "FILL YOU UP" anyway, I just got my first fill on the 26th of this month and I don't feel any restriction either. One thing I have learned from starting the lap band journey is to be patient . Reading about everything on here is so helpful and a bit scary . Right now I feel like I don't have the band at all and that seems how alot were after their first fill. So for now I am just like I was any other time I lost weight. I'm hungry. I'm not giving in though because being hungry will not kill me. : ) I'm still happy and am looking forward to when I do hit the "sweet spot" hang in there!! Also,does everyone knoe how many CCs the doc put in? I guess I didn't ask. It was a very quick procedure and I did fill the tightness at the fill. Our time will come ..WE CAN DO IT!!!!! : ) : )

[Daisalana 33]

He did 2 of the fills under fluero due to the fact my port is tilted in some fashion and harder to get into now.

I expected 1st fill not to do much from what I've read, but after 3 fills I am getting frustrated about it.. and because 2nd fill put me at 2cc and 3rd fill put me at 2cc. Can I get above 2cc pleeeease

Anyway, I just needed to rant, my next fill is Sept. 13th and it will be another begging him to just crank it up. I understand over-fill is bad and can cause slipping, and like I told him, if it was overfilled, I promise to drive back down and have some taken out.. but I truly am becoming impatient.

Thanks for all the info

[Wendell Edwards 73]

He did 2 of the fills under fluero due to the fact my port is tilted in some fashion and harder to get into now.

I expected 1st fill not to do much from what I've read, but after 3 fills I am getting frustrated about it.. and because 2nd fill put me at 2cc and 3rd fill put me at 2cc. Can I get above 2cc pleeeease

Anyway, I just needed to rant, my next fill is Sept. 13th and it will be another begging him to just crank it up. I understand over-fill is bad and can cause slipping, and like I told him, if it was overfilled, I promise to drive back down and have some taken out.. but I truly am becoming impatient.

Thanks for all the info

Here's a suggestion:

1. Have them put you on the fluoroscope.

2. Have them put in the maximum fill amount of saline your band can handle.

3. Drink barium. It will pool in your stomach, very visible on the fluoroscope screen.

4. Have them SLOWLY withdraw the saline in the band until that barium BARELY TRICKLES THROUGH THE BAND.

STOP THERE.

5. Drink a glass of Water before you leave to make sure it will go down.

But hey, what do I know?

[Daisalana 33]

Well, if my doctor doesn't do that already, if I suggest it, would he comply? I know doctors don't like being told what to do (ran into this at the ER a couple months ago!).

[Wendell Edwards 73]

Well, if my doctor doesn't do that already, if I suggest it, would he comply? I know doctors don't like being told what to do (ran into this at the ER a couple months ago!).

Don't ever forget, your doctor is your EMPLOYEE.

And all that implies.

[Daisalana 33]

I've never looked at it that way!

The ER doctor had told me 'Are you going to trust the internet or my medical degree?' Made me feel like an idiot, but I still think I knew what I was talking about..

I will try asking my doctor to do the fluero the easy way.. thanks for all the info again!

[StephM 0]

Lauraj23 - I know you are anxious to be "filled up", but take it from me, going slow is the best way to go. I have been over filled several times and the vomiting and numerous trips back to the clinic for unfills are a pain. BUT, on the other hand, if you doctor is not filling you more than what your last fill was, it might be time to find a new doctor.

Your doctor should listen to you since you are the one that is living with the band each and every day. Although he can put an MD behind his name because of a piece of paper on the wall that says he "knows what he is doing", you are the one that KNOWS what your body is doing. I am lucky enough to see docs in a practice that one of the docs is banded himself so he KNOWS what the band is truely doing on the inside.

Like I said before, take it slow as being overfilled is just as frustrating as being underfilled, but find a doctor that will listen to YOU.

Good Luck!

[jbates 0]

I know exactly how you feel. I feel like giving up. If I could have done this on my own I wouldn't have had the surgery. It's so hard to take the time to go back for fills. Even when I do go back I have to beg for a fill and he says that I don't give it enough time.

I was banded on April 30th and have had three fills that I had to beg for. I sometimes feel slight restriction, but very little and only in the mornings on occasion. It's definately not what I expected. Everytime I go back he schedules my next visit in Three Months! When the fill is not adequate, I have to beg for another visit. I'm getting so mad about this. I don't think it's fair to do this.

[Wendell Edwards 73]

I've never looked at it that way!

The ER doctor had told me 'Are you going to trust the internet or my medical degree?' Made me feel like an idiot, but I still think I knew what I was talking about..

I will try asking my doctor to do the fluero the easy way.. thanks for all the info again!

You're very welcome!

[bgrand 0]

banded 6-5-07 just had my second fill aug 30, still no sweet spot my port is in a weird spot they have to stick me about 3 times they finally decided to use a longer needle. I am so tender after I get finished