Question for those with the Realize band.

[bling 0]

Here's my story. I would like some input and support as I am just about to give up on ever losing any more weight...

I was banned in mid April with the Realize band. I have gone in 3 times for fills since - 4cc for the first fill, 2cc for the second fill and 2cc for this last fill. If my calculations are correct, that's 8cc in a 9cc band - RIGHT???

So, if I am already up to 8cc and not really feeling a whole lot of restriction and my weightloss is almost non existant, what's next for me? Am I at the end of the road and this is as good as it gets? I've only lost a total of 32 pounds since pre-op and I have another 50 to go.

I asked the nurse while she was doing the fill to please check and make sure everything looks right on the screen and she says it does. I even saw the barium crap go thru the band and it looked OK to me.

Realize bands only hold 9cc and I'm at 8 with barely any restriction. What's next?

Have any of y'all gone to the max fill and finally felt restriction?

[SueAZ 3]

I have the realize band and I was told it holds 10cc. I've read both 9 & 10 on this site. I was banded late May and have only had one fill 4.6. I really noticed it the first few days but now not so much. I still can eat anything but really try to watch quanity. That's the harder part. I have to realize how much I've eating and stop. Once I do I realize that I'm satisfied. Not stuffed but satisfied. I also try to eat slower and chew. The slower I eat now, seems like I eat less. My snacking has also ALMOST stopped. That can be my downfall. Stress can trigger eating and I know now that I have to have something ready to eat when that happens or else a lousy snack choice is made. (chocolate of course)

I have decided to get back to basics at least once a month. Counting calories and Portion Control. Like using 1/2 cup Protein and 1/2 cup vegies or fruit (it seems like almost no food at all) and taking my mulit vitaman. Weight loss is slower than slow but I still am going in the right direction and don't feel that I'm on a diet or missing alot.

Most people will ask how is your exercising going, me I'm not that great at it. But I do like to swim, just not as much as I should. Hope you journey becomes easier. This is a great place for info and venting.

[Northwest_Nance 0]

I have the Realize band (all the literature I've read, and also the doctor stated, it holds 9 cc's). This past week I finally reached 8 cc's of saline in it and I finally have restriction. I had to recognize that it was restriction, because it didn't really hit me like a ton of bricks as I expected it to. I can eat anything I want, but I do have to take small bites and chew carefully, or it gets stuck going down. I don't eat until I feel "full". I eat until I feel satisfied. I've read that so much on this forum and was afraid I wouldn't be able to do that. But especially with this last fill, I haven't had any trouble doing so. Yes, I could eat more if I wanted to, but I don't feel the need to.

I was concerned also, about already having 8 cc's in a 9 cc band. The nutritionist told me that once you reach your sweet spot, the next time you need a fill it usually only takes a little bit (sometimes just .1 cc) to get you back to your sweet spot. She also said they can put more than 9 cc's in it, but they do it under fleuroscopy to make sure they are very careful about it.

I don't know why it takes more of a fill for some of us to feel it than others. I've pondered that. Have I stretched my stomach out so many times over the years that it's like loose skin.... really stretchy and needs more of a fill to control it? I don't know! All I can tell you is, if they checked out your band and it's fine, hang in there... you WILL get restriction! In the meantime it's more or less willpower, or won't power. Before I felt restriction, I definitely noticed that the slower I ate, the more time my brain had to get the message that I was satisfied, and I stopped eating sooner than I would have if I had eaten faster. Also, I tried hard not to drink for 30 minutes before a meal or one hour after, because I wanted that food to sit in my pouch as long as possible, even though I didn't feel like I had restriction.

Best of luck to you!

[HeatherO 7]

I hit my sweet spot at 8.3 in a Realize band. Before that it was really easy to eat anything.

I would not worry if you are up to 8 and need a little more. You probably do not have much further to go before you are there. Next time you go for a fill, ask them to pull out the Fluid and see how much you have in total just as a check.

[4crazyboys 0]

My doctor and nurse both told me my Realize band was a 10cc. I currently have 8cc in it and need more, which concerns me since there is not much more to add. After my last fill, I had great restriction for about 2 weeks then it loosened up. Going in for my 4th fill next Tuesday and I hope I get to my sweet spot. My weight loss seems slow, since I have been playing with the same 2 pounds for the past month. I was 252 when I started this process back in December, had surgury on 3/28/08 at 230 pounds and am at 212 now. That is 40 pounds gone so I guess I should be VERY HAPPY but I've only lost 5 pounds in the last 2 months and I wish it was more!

[Lisa65 3]

I'm so glad to read this thread! I was concerned because until today, I had 8cc in my Realize band, and only felt minimal restriction. I went today and they did a barium swallow to make sure everything looked okay and to see how fast the barium went through the band, then gave me .4cc and said they believe that will really give me restriction. Of course I'm on Clear Liquids for tonight so no real test, but when I swallowed the Water there, it felt like air went down with it. The guy who gave my fill said, "Yeah, I believe you'll have restriction now! So be careful."

I've heard that the Realize band is a lower pressure band, so I'm wondering if it just needs to get fuller than the others to really put much pressure on the stomach. This was my 4th fill, and I'm hoping for great things now. I've lost 55# since April, but it's basically been by conscious choices and small portions, not because I had a lot of help from the band...yet. I'm hoping I will now and it will help with the 2nd half of what I have to lose. Good luck to all.

Lisa

[jkhawk8 0]

Hey Lisa - I see Dr. Curry did your surgery. Do you live in the Cincinnati area?

I have 7.3 in my Realize band, with 7 . . . count 'em, 7 . . . fills. I'm going for my 8th fill tomorrow and my doctor is going to remove the Fluid first to see how much is really in there. (He doesn't typically do that, but I pressed the issue.) I haven't felt much restriction either. I've lost 27 pounds since my surgery 4 months ago. But the "work" of dieting is harder than I'd like. I want my band to be more involved!

I think we all need to hang in there :thumbup:

Jan

[Lisa65 3]

Hey Lisa - I see Dr. Curry did your surgery. Do you live in the Cincinnati area?

I have 7.3 in my Realize band, with 7 . . . count 'em, 7 . . . fills. I'm going for my 8th fill tomorrow and my doctor is going to remove the Fluid first to see how much is really in there. (He doesn't typically do that, but I pressed the issue.) I haven't felt much restriction either. I've lost 27 pounds since my surgery 4 months ago. But the "work" of dieting is harder than I'd like. I want my band to be more involved!

I think we all need to hang in there :smile2:

Jan

Jan,

I live about 45 minutes north of Dr. Curry's office. As for them drawing out the fluid, just want to let you know. I asked Dr. Curry about that at my 3rd fill. He said that the Realize band is a much lower pressure band so when they do that, it never draws out all of the fluid. He said with the old style of Lap Bands, you would put the needle in and the saline would literally squirt out! But the newer ones are lower pressure, so you really don't draw out all of what is in there. At the time I was supposed to be at 7cc, and he went ahead and drew out what he could and got 6cc, and he said that was about right. It was enough to show him I didn't have a leak or anything, because probably about 1cc would stay in the band and not be drawn out. Just wanted to let you know that so you won't be freaked if they don't get as much out as you think you have in there.

On that same visit, he gave me another cc which put me to 8cc. That was the first time I felt restriction. It was definitely not my sweet spot, but I could tell I had some. Then yesterday, they gave me .4cc more, and the male nurse who did it said he really thinks I will be good this time. I hope he's right! I'm with you, I can diet - Lord knows I've done it enough in the past! - my problem is sticking with it for the long haul, so I am/was more than ready to have some help from the band. After all, that's why we got these things, right???

Lisa

[HeatherO 7]

The Realize band takes a lot to get full, but once it is it seems to maintain for a long time. My last fill is still good since last April.

[Lisa65 3]

I'm so glad to hear that! I was told yesterday that they think this one will do me good and for a while so I didn't need to come back for 2 months. I was a little worried about that, in case I need another fill in a month. But if what you say it true, and what THEY say is true - maybe I'm finally at my sweet spot and will stay there for a while! I'll probably figure it out pretty soon when I start eating after my day of fluids and day of puree... :smile2:

[jkhawk8 0]

Thanks, Lisa, for the heads up on the band pressure. I'll update here after my doctor appointment and let you all know how it goes.

I live in Alexandria, KY, about 15 miles south of Cincinnati. Looks like we not too far apart.

Jan

[Lisa65 3]

Thanks, Lisa, for the heads up on the band pressure. I'll update here after my doctor appointment and let you all know how it goes.

I live in Alexandria, KY, about 15 miles south of Cincinnati. Looks like we not too far apart.

Jan

I guess we are pretty close! I'm in Oxford, OH (home of Miami University). I'm about 40 miles north of the city of Cincinnati, but Dr. Curry's office is north of there, so I'm closer to him than I am downtown. I consider myself lucky. I think he really is an awesome doctor, and his office staff are all wonderful. I've had nothing but good experiences with them.

Lisa

[jkhawk8 0]

I've heard a lot of good about Dr. Curry as well. I was considering him as my surgeon, but at the time he was not in my insurance network...I had my surgery done at the Tristate Surgical Weight Loss Center in florence, KY by Dr. Thomas Sonnanstine. He and his office are really great too, I'm pleased I went to him.

Dr. T "calibrated" my band today, at least that's what the nurse called it. He was able to extract 6.2 from my 7.3 fill, so that's about right. He says my band is working fine, and gave me another .4 fill, putting me up to 7.7. Apparently I have one of the highest fills in his office. Who knows why some of us take more than others. But I did manage to lose 2 pounds since last week, hard as it was.

I guess I'll just have to hang in there on the days it seems looser. I'm just looking for a more consistent restriction. I'm sure it will come at some point, for all of us.

Jan

[2BtinyinTN 1]

I live in Tn. At my fill appts my surgeon retracks all of the Fluid and says the reason why they do that is to be sure none of it is leaking out. So far each time they have retracked all that has been put in. I am now up to 7cc's. I think I am very close to the sweet spot. On the other hand...eating slowly has been a big challenge for me so it scares me a bit the closer I get because I know the likelyhood of slimming and PBing will happen easier if I don't SLOW DOWN!! How is everyone else with eating slow?

[penturn 0]

Gosh, I'm soooooo discouraged. I think I got a placebo!!I was banded July 15 and very quickly lost 20 pounds. For the past month, however, I haven't lost any. (Actually I've lost the same three pounds three times. Shouldn't that count as nine?)

I have no restriction at all. I got my first fill this week and can't have another for a whole month. There is no telling how much I could actually eat. I try not to overdo it, but I want to feel full. I walk almost daily. Everywhere I go, people ask me how it is going. I hate telling people that it isn't working yet. I know people who had restriction from day one. I told so many people that I was having the surgery because I wanted to be accountable. Now I wish I had never even told anyone. At this point, I almost wish I had done bypass. Sorry to whine, but I needed to vent.