5 weeks, 3 fills, NO restriction! Is my band a dud?

[LiseSeattle 0]

i go in for my 4th fill tomorrow - i'll let you all know if it does any good! fingers crossed!

[ronnfia 13]

I just found this site today and all I can say is thank you !!!

My name is Ron and I was banded march 17, 08. I havent had a fill yet and wont until May 14th. I was also feeling very depressed and upset over feeling little restriction. I can pretty much put down what ever I have tried. Of course I still chew every bite 30 times and was thinking that may have been too much and made the food slip right through.

I am very anxious to see if there will be any noticable feeling of restriction when I get my first fill, and after reading all of your comments I am positive that I will just have to wait and see. Sounds like everyone has had a very unique experience with the filling process.

I have had to constantly remind myself that this device that was inplanted into me is just a tool. A very expensive tool but none the less a tool that I must use wisely. It isnt a miracle that makes me thin but a tool that helps me to learn how to eat better, and slower.

I will keep coming back to read all of your very informative postings and I will keep posting myself and hopefully get the results that I was looking for.

Thank you again!!!

Ron:thumbup:

[HopefulinTX 0]

I haven't had a fill yet and its been 4 weeks and the Dr is making me wait 6 weeks. I am so frustrated. No restriction. Starting to feel like I do when I try a diet. Getting hungrier and getting harder to stay with the right things because I can eat. This site has been the most helpful but still its HARD!! By the way LiseSeattle love your blog!

[saqueen 1]

Maybe I'm too new and idealistic, but I am finding it thoroughly depressing to read about everyone overeating and eating the wrong foods. If you've been told certain foods aren't that good for your weight loss program, why are you eating them? If you know that the band is only a tool, why do you keep pushing it by forcing as much food as possible? It sounds like there might be a problem with other issues besides just "being hungry". I can understand an occasional cheat of a bite of something, but not gorging on it. I made the decision for banding to lose weight, so I make every effort possible to follow as I've been instructed. I don't think you should rely completely on the band to help with weight loss; you need to consciously make an effort every single day to watch what you are putting in your stomach. Over eating put us where we are at today, and I for one desire to change my life as it has become.

[shortgal 5]

Amen, saqueen!

[Penelope 0]

Saqueen, everything you say is true. We all know that it is a tool, and that we have to change our way of eating. My pet peeve is that everyone needs to remember that this is a support group. It is not a criticize or ridicule or point your finger group. Everyone has their good days and their bad days and this is a forum for them to vent. Do you not think they know their band is a tool? That there is no magic bullet? I'm quite sure they do. We all went through the very same pre-surgery agenda that you did.

I am among the group who had no restriction before my first fill on 4/14. I just got off the two days of liquids and Know that I have some restriction now because I absolutely can not eat like I did just a week ago. I too was depressed and was sure my band was a dud, just like Lise in Seattle. I was sure they were going to be disgusted with my puny weight loss of just 7 pounds since surgery, but they were very happy with me. They told me to quit being so hard on myself and take it slow. It is a slow process that is for sure, but at the same time I have now lost 12 pounds in the past 5 weeks and after the past four years at weight watchers where half a pound up and half a pound down, was the norm, that was quite a feat for me. I am much happier with my band now, since my first fill and I am scheduled for another fill on May 12th.

Support group at the hospital tonight, I wouldn't miss it and I recommend that everyone stay in touch with their face to face support people in addition to this wonderful support forum, also.

Have a great day!

Penny

[saqueen 1]

Very true Penelope. However, I find it difficult to understand why "waiting for the restriction, waiting for the fill" should be reason to over indulge. I was not condemning or judging anyone in particular; just commenting on the fact it is more depressing to read about "needing the fill" in order to lose weight, as opposed to following the food guidelines. If I were to post I'd just consumed an entire gallon of ice cream, I would totally expect someone to ask me why in heck did I go through all the pain and work of the whole process, only to sabotage myself.

[shortgal 5]

Yes, Penny I know your opinion on this, but you see there are other opinions as well.

There are all kinds of support, some of it is tough to hear, like when a Mother tells her kids not to do something they want to because she fears it will hurt them.

I have said this journey is hard and I have said many times that until we get restriction it's very hard. But for people that are five weeks or less post op, I would think that even if they can't control their hunger and might eat a little more than they should, couldn;t they at least make good/healthier choices.

Since the band will not prevent certain foods from going down easily, wouldn't it help our long term efforts to practice some of those eating habits, even without good restriction. I'm not talking about losing weight during this time, I'm just talking about those people that might not be making healthy choices, so soon after being cut open.

I do not try to ridicule people, just suggest that they get back on a track so they will be successful in the short term and the long term.

Tough love works for some and hand holding works for others.

[ronnfia 13]

It sounds like you are talking to a group of people and telling us to "just follow the diet" well that is the reason I had the Banding done in the first place. I can't just follow the diet, I am a lifelong grazer and overeater.

I am waiting for the restrictions to help me recognize what being full feels like, I don't think I have recognized what being full really feels like since about the age of 12....

Please don't get me wrong, even tho I only had the banding done 4 weeks ago It has made a definate difference. I feel I have been given a gift that will help me become the person I have always wanted to be and I am determined not to let it go to waste.

Let's please have some positive comments , Penelope thank you for your words, I really needed to hear that some people do get results from the fills early on. I really need this site to keep motivated as there arent any support groups in my area to attend in person.

Enuff said about past posts, thank everyone!!

[Hastings 3]

Hi, Ronnfia! Welcome to the board.

This is a good place for support and all sorts of information.

Make yourself at home.

[ronnfia 13]

thank you very much Hastings!!!

[Penelope 0]

Hi Ronnfia,

I echo the greeting. Welcome to our group. Please just try to ignore the negativity. I wonder why these people even had to get or use the Lap Band if they were so disciplined in their diet and willpower, as they purport to be here. Instead of needing her "handholding", I would like to tell her where she can put her hand, but since I am above all that I won't! LOL!

Keep it positive, and thanks for your feedback!

Be kind to yourself.

Penny

[shortgal 5]

Has it occurred to you to try to read the subtle restrictive messages your band might send you, while you're waiting for restriction? If you read my previous post in this thread, I have said this is hard. It is as hard as any diet, I've been on and I've been on many.

It is not just hard for YOU. It seems you just want validation from others for your visits to Taco Bell. Isn't that behavior one of the things that gets us fat, joining up with other fatties to over indulge?

I am not perfect. I don't have super willpower. But I am working hard to listen to my band. And it is talking to me, just not loud enough yet, that will come with restriction, but I'll be ready to listen to it, will you? I guess it's hard to hear your band talking to you, what with all the chewing going on.

[IAmWithTheBand 0]

In your picture, you look so thin!

Don't worry about it... I don't think there are "duds"... however.

Maybe the band slipped? I suggest an upper GI.

Perhaps you just need to find that sweet spot and until then, don't worry about letting yourself get hungry.

The weight loss will start when you find the sweet spot.

________________________________

My doctor says it takes about 5 or 6 fills to get it right.

When you can't finish a half of a sandwitch, then you're perfect, I hear.

Edited April 17, 2008 by IAmWithTheBand

[4evrwild 0]

Hey Lise,

Gosh, you've been so positive and have been doing so well! I just got my first fill today. It was 1 cc. I have a 10cc band and some was put in at time of surgery so I have a total fill of 3.4cc's at present. I don't feel any different with this first fill at all. Today might not be the best day for me to judge tho. Please keep us posted, and I wish you the best. Just try to do things the way you know you should from now on and hopefully that will get you thru to the time when you finally feel restriction :rolleyes2: