Taking A Poll, How Much Was Your 1st Fill?

[FutureSlimMe 0]

OK, Gang...I am taking a poll. How mcuh was your first fill? Mine was 1.5 in a 10 cc band. My doc said that was not a small fill.Got a question too. Is 10 cc the amount of Fluid it hold or the size of the band. I was shocked when I asked how large my band was and he pulled one out of a drawer and it was about the size of a 50 cent piece.

[Guest Gayle]

Phyllis,

I think you have the stats wrong. The band is 10 cm. wide. That's the part that goes around the stoma part in your stomach. The fill level is only 4 cc's total. One is cc's, and one is centimeters. The 10 cm. is the width of the ring around you (the length of it if you straighten out the circle). The fill volume (of the Inamed band) is a max of 4 cc's. So with that being said, a 1.5 cc's fill is about right.

[blossom 2]

OK, there is a 10 centimeter band, and a 9.75 centimeter band and they both hold 4cc's of saline. Then there is the VG (I think it is 11 centimeters) which does hold 10cc's of saline. Yes, these are all Inamed bands. It's easy to get the 10cm confused with the 10cc (I did it!), so it is very important that you clearly understand which one you have. Otherwise, you will just be confused everytime you try to talk to your dr.

Having said all of that, I have the 10 centimeter band and my first fill was 1cc which did absolutely nothing for me. My second fill was 1cc which also did nothing for me. My third fill was 1cc and I finally got some restriction. It's different for everyone. Some people can get tiny fills and have restriction for months and some have a very hard time getting restriction at all!

[DeLarla 22]

I currently have 1.7 in the same size band, but I don't have much restriction.

[paula 4]

My first fill was 1.6cc's in a 4cc band.

[shellyj 5]

first fill was 1.6 cc in a 4.0 band

[Iluvharleys 15]

First fill 1.5 in 4cc band

[ladiebird 0]

i have a swedish band and it holds 10cc. my first fill was 4.2cc and restriction is good.

love tracey

[taylorrae9 0]

My first was 1 cc and he thought of putting 2 but said it was a long weekend and feared it would be to much. I have some restriction but wish I had more.

[NancySmiles 2]

My first fill was 1cc in a 4cc band. But then when I went back and he tried to give me another 1/2cc, we found that there was only about 1/3cc left of the first fill. It had dissipated or air was in there. So now I think I have 1cc again. Why do you ask?

[Guest Ed M]

My band is a 10cc band. Doctor was cautious about how I would tolerate first fill. So he filled 2cc, waited one week (I had no difficulties) and then added 2cc more. Total fill is 4cc out of a possible 10 cc maximum.

I find 4cc fill to have a noticable cutailment of quantity I can eat. If I overdo it, I'll get the hiccups, and a heartburn type pain. I then know I was a bad boy. Discomfort passes in about 20 minutes, but I usually don't feel like resuming eating then.

The key is eating measured quantities and eating slooowly. I am 7 weeks out of surgery and have lost 60 pounds. I am losing about a pound a day. I eat 1200 calories a day with no special food restrictions. Need to drink lots of Water and exercise as much as possible.

[Guest MINNIEMIMI]

MY FIRST FILL WAS .8CCs IN A 5CC BAND, THE SECOND WAS 1.5CCs. I HAVE LOST 34 LBS SINCE OCT. 29 BANDING AND FEELING GREAT.

[Guest derocas]

I'm not sure how much my band holds. I had it done by Dr. Bertha in Florham Park, NJ. Anyway my first fill was 3cc. I had no restriction after the surgery now I have plenty. I'm not complaing but wow what a difference. The doctor said it was an aggressive fill I didn't realize how much until after I read the boards. :cheeky

[DeLarla 22]

I just got back from my 4th Band-related surgery (actually 6 surgeries if you count the two times they cut me open without putting me to sleep first.)

I'm somewhat of an expert at this point, and I learned something while in the hospital that I feel is important to share here.

My current surgeon hugely discourages any of us to compare ourselves to other people. He says the problem with the boards is that we can pick up too much bad or useless knowledge that will only make us feel bad about ourselves. Tons of banded people get it set in their minds that they want a certain amount of saline in their bands, for example, some people demand a full cc during their fill appointment. They'll tell him that their friends all have more saline than them, or that they have a band with a larger capacity than most people. But each one of us is different. The way he explained it really sunk in deep. Penni was with me at the time, and we both have the same band. But then I got on Penni's scale and we both weigh exactly the same weight. When you look at Penni and I, we look completely different. I'm way taller than her, and she's got nice big boobs, while I have huge feet next to hers. Even Penni's sweetheart, John, was blown away when I told him that Penni and I weigh exactly the same.

The point our surgeon slammed home was for us to stop comparing ourselves to anyone else. A fill level is really only important to the surgeon. Each person is different, each has different DNA, genetic make up, metabolisms, needs, hydration... each and every one of us reacts completely different. And each doctor is different, too. They each have their own plan for filling bands. Some follow Inamed's recommendation of giving small fills to gradually "sneak up" on restriction. Other doctors give aggressive fills to make restriction really tight.

He just shook his head at the sillyness of the "sweet spot" that every talks about because there is really no such thing. Some people feel they reached the sweet spot because they are able to eat and stop eating after they are full. But that is not the band, or the sweet spot, doing the work. It's the person, who has learned what the correct band portions are for their specific needs. He sent me and Penni home with homework to do, which we are posting on a separate thread, and this was sort of part of the homework. We are not allowed to compare ourselves to others, which is why I thought this might be a good place to share this newfound information.

Now I gotta do my homework - uggh... it involves taking responsiblity for what I put in my mouth! As if I didn't know, but sometimes we gotta be reminded that the band is only a tool, and the band will only work if we work the band!

[Vera 7]

I can agree with "there's not a real sweet spot" but I can tell you, when while your eating you can feel the food just sit there in your pouch and you've only eaten about a piece of chicken the size of a deck of cards and you feel full for a long time. To me that's a perfect "sweet" restriction. (which I so miss) I want to add, you can eat the same amount of ice cream and not feel a thing.

The myth that you can eat anything but in smaller amounts does not apply to everyone who's banded.You have to look at what you eat, how much, and it's nutritional value.

All good stuff Lisa, keep um coming!