Filled 3/4ths of the way, and still not enough restriction

[Vangirl 0]

I had my first fill a week ago and have 3ccs in a 4cc band. But I'm finding I can still eat everything and definitely more than a cup of food at a time. I haven't had any of the soft or hard signs of fullness that other people have reported. It's purely willpower that is keeping it under control, not the band.

I'm concerned that even with this much fill, I am still not having restriction. I have an appointment to see the fill doc again next week to increase it by .25 or .5ccs in the hopes that I'll see some results. But being so close to the maximum, and so far away from my goal weight, I'm worried about whether even reaching the maximum fill amount will give me the restriction I'm looking for, especially if I start to lose more stomach fat and the band gets looser.

And just to clarify, I've followed all of the rules. I didn't cheat even once on the pre-op or post-op diet. I know a lot of people mess up their band because of not following the rules, but I have followed them, so I don't know what could be the reason why I'm not getting the restriction I should be having.

[LISAMARIE1158 0]

are you sure they put 3cc in your 4 cc band already? Seems a bit tooooo fast to me....On your first fill? Where do you go from here...perhaps you have a 14 cc band, not 4cc..

[Vangirl 0]

Do you have any other signs of being less hungry when you do eat? Have you had any PB episodes, or any difficult to manage foods?

Is there any chance your Band, port or tubing is leaking?

It seems odd that he would jump to 3cc in a 4 cc band for your very first fill. That's a bunch. And my own first fill seemed almost unnoticeable--for the first 2 weeks. Then it seemed to get tighter. Much tighter.

I was 6 months postOp before my first fill, which is much longer than typical. I've still had definite TOO full signs at 1.7-1.8 cc, so I don't have your kind of issue.

What does your surgeon have to say about this unusual circumstance?

I am able to eat everything (including breads, pastas, and popcorn) and I haven't had any of the soft or hard signs of fullness (e.g. sliming, pbing, hiccups, etc.) And volume-wise I can definitely get down more than a cup of food. I do know there is increased restriction because I twice had a large capsule get stuck while taking my morning meds, although it was with cold Water and first thing in the morning when restriction is tighter. food does go down a bit slower too and I have to be more careful about my chewing.

The dr I went for my fill isn't the same person that did my surgery. I originally thought that I had a 10cc band and told him so, when in fact it was a 10cm band, which only holds 4ccs (I only found that out today). That's probably why I got the 3ccs in there for the first time. In any case, as it turns out, it's not enough.

I think that if I don't get more restriction with the increased fill next week, I'll look into the possibility of a leak somewhere. From what other people are reporting, I should be a lot more full and unable to eat past a certain point from the amount of fill I do have, and that is not the case. It's only willpower that's keeping me from overeating.

[canadagirl33 0]

Hi Vangirl :w00t:

I didn't ask you at the meeting the other nite just how much of a fill you had gotten....and I must say that I'm ~very~ surprised that he gave you that much !!! With a 4cc band it the fills are usually quite small because the volume is so much less. I have a 4cc band and it took me 5 fills over the course of 9 months to get as high as 3cc's. Granted, I had wanted to go slowly because I did not want to PB etc but I certainly felt more restriction after each little fill. That said, as we all know, everyone is different...

I personally would ask him to withdraw all of your Fluid when you see him next week as that would certainly rule out a leak (or missed shot when you got the first fill) right away. My clinic will often withdraw my whole fill at a visit just to keep tabs on any leaks or 'evaporation' so asking him to do it is no big deal.

All of that said....your 4cc band will actually probably hold about 8cc. Yes, the manufacturers recommend a 4cc maximum but that does not mean that once you reach 4cc's it is the absolute top fill. Finding a Dr who will go above the 4cc's could be another story however... I know at my clinic we have talked about this and they said they would cautiously go higher than the 4cc's if needed.

Keep me updated after your fill so I know how you're managnig !!!

Patricia

[Vangirl 0]

Hi Patricia,

It was a mix-up that I take full responsibility for. I misinterpreted the information on the card that my clinic gave me and though that a 10cm band meant 10cc. So when I went to the dr., and he asked me what kind of band I had, I told him I had a 10cc band. I also remember my surgeon telling me I could have up to 4ccs, and told this to my fill dr. as well. So I think we were both under the impression that I could have up to 4ccs in a 10cc band. That's why we started out at 3ccs and then actually tried increasing it up to 4, but I was unable to get Water down as easily with 4, so he brought it back down to 3ccs. Probably if I had told him I only had a 4cc band, we wouldn't have gone so high that time.

I'll definitely ask him to unfill me completely when I see him next week, just to check if there is any leakage. Given that there was so much trouble finding the port, I'm kind of hoping maybe some of that saline didn't make it in, and that's why I'm not having a lot of restriction. Otherwise.... Well, I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Maybe fluoro or a trip back to Mexico, just to see if all is in working order. Which is what I was planning to do in the first place, and in hindsight, should have done. But I guess live and learn.

I'll keep you updated for sure!

Edited January 25, 2009 by Vangirl

[Vangirl 0]

Here's the update: I called my clinic this morning and they patched me through to one of the doctors. I explained the situation, including the difficulty the fill doctor had in finding the port. He told me that the reason I might not be getting enough restriction could be that the doctor emptied the saline into the scar tissue surrounding the port, or there is a leak in the port, or I could just be one of those people that need bigger fills. But he reiterated what everyone else has been saying, which is that 3ccs in a 4cc band is a very aggressive fill, and they usually start out with .7-1.5 or something along those lines (I can't remember the number). He said the only way to know for sure what is going on is to do the fill under fluoroscopy. I can save some money and go to a place three hours away and across the border, but I figure that I just want to go to the experts who know what they're doing and were the ones who operated on me, and could potentially fix any problem if there is one. So that's what I will be doing.

On a side note, it was very reassuring to talk to the doctor, and he told me to call them anytime if I have any concerns about anything. Many people worry about the lack of aftercare in going to Mexico, but I felt like I was in good hands talking to him. It felt good to know that I wasn't alone, that they cared about what happens to me and want to make sure that everything works the way it is supposed to.

Now to look for some good fares...