brianb

Finally hit restriction at 6 CC here. And boy it was obvious.

It started at the doctors office. I walked out feeling like I could barely swallow my own saliva. I walked to the parking lot and stood by the car for several minutes to make sure I didn't need to go back in and have some taken out. After about 10 minutes, I felt okay and could swallow saliva without trouble.

Like you, I could eat 3 pieces of pizza no problem prior to the last fill. Actually, I could eat an entire pizza no problem and possibly go looking for oreos in an hour. Now one piece takes a while to eat and I feel very satisfied. There is no comparison.

I also immediately started dropping weight. First time since the surgery. First 4 days it was a pound a day. Now that the Water weight is gone, it's slowing down, but still dropping. I'm eating about 1/3 or less than my normal diet.

My opinion is that you still haven't hit the green zone.

That is strange. You've had the band for a while, so things should be settled, but you just got a fill, now at 7 CC and you are more hungry.

As hard as it is to believe, I vote you need another fill as others have said.

That is horrible Nici

But, easy way... I think not...

That statement reeks of an unsupportive spouse or family.

WLS was brilliant Nici. How many times are you supposed to try and beat that 95% failure statistic before enough is enough?

Easy way is just so silly. How many highly driven and successful people do we have to see struggle with weight loss before we realize that it's not about easy? For the majority of us, it's about genetic predisposition and nothing more.

I hope you can get this fixed and find success with your weight. Really feel bad for your situation

Taking the easy way out. And then be discouraged and frankly outraged that I hadn't lost any weight, cause geesh all I ever eat is soooooouuuuup!!!! ha. Then your mind starts thinking there must be something wrong,

Sorry to hear about your frustration and difficulties. It sounds like you are actually hungry if you feel compelled to eat Soup to get around the band. If you are hungry, then hopefully the fill will help with that.

Really hope it works out for you. That is rough.

But now everyone has expectations of me dropping weight real fast like tomorrow. Now I am going to have to explain how the lap-band works I guess that could be a good thing it could mean more people are getting informed, but it also is going to be a pain in the butt.

You are so right! It's a pain.

I've got to share this bit. B-52 wrote it in another post. Link is below and what he said follows. He really describes the green zone and what it's like for a band patient when they follow through with fills. I am happy to say he is dead on from my limited exp. I believe I was somewhat lucky and hit the green zone 4 days ago on my 3rd fill. I had pretty much zero benefit from the band before that. Now, hunger is pretty much just gone. Eating slow and tiny amount is a piece of cake. Today, I'm not really even interested in eating at all...

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/144728-am-i-in-the-green-zone-or-sweet-spot/

Here is a bit of what he said...

One of the characteristics of the Green Zone is "Patient Satisfaction" and you are not there yet. Patient satisfaction will happen when everything "clicks", and you stop "Struggling" Listen to what other people say, and you will see how happy and excited they get and they want to tell everyone.

I get PM's from some people telling me how excited they are reaching that point. That's how happy they are!

You are not quite there yet. GET Aggressive!

When it happens, you won't be asking if you are but telling everyone you are.

Ah, for hunger... I'm convinced that if a person is still starving or even hungry much, then this is because they aren't following through with fills.

Fills are a pain, but necessary and takes time. You have to keep going every 2 weeks to a month until the hunger is under control.

Great post and good points. I had the same questions, but now I'm a firm believer that the band works. It only started working recently for me, but here is what I've learned from reading a ton like yourself and thinking things through.

There is a lot of conflicting info online about the band. I personally believe this is because the band requires work from the patient. Lot of people aren't willing to do the following and they are very important.

- Get fills until you hit the green zone

- Chew chew chew to avoid a block which leads to vomiting and then a slip

- Eat slowly and stop when full to avoid pouch dilation which will lead to erosion or a slip

That's not much to ask in my opinion, but some seem to find this too much for them. I don't know if it's maturity or maybe some people are just so dang hungry all the time that they can't slow down enough to eat slowly and chew. We are all built different and some might have such uncontrollable hunger that the band is just not going to work for them.

I certainly don't want to judge others as we can't possibly understand unless we walk in their shoes (and live in their body).

If these things sound like too much, then I wouldn't recommend the band until they don't sound like a big deal:

- eat slow

- chew chew chew

- go to the doctor up to 7 or 8 times for fills (usually not this many, but it can take that long)

Not sure this post will help anyone but I just wanted to share my story in the hope that it does.

Helped me. Thank you for posting.

Injury is something I'm constantly dealing with. I've always found exercise to be the most effective tool for me in terms of weight loss. But it's so easy to get injured and happens too often.

Also the information about your unfill is interesting. To me it helps to show the power of the band.

Probably give it a few more days, but agree with everyone else. Seems like you need a fill.

What is strange sounding to me though is that you don't mention any recent weight loss. So, I don't understand why there is a change. But, we all know the body is complicated and anything is possible.

He told me something that I found interesting; when you get a fill of, say, 4 ccs, it doesn't mean that you have 4 ccs of saline in your band. Some of that saline is in the tubing, and tubing lengths are different

I never thought of that! Thanks so much for posting that info.

It seems like in the US, the average rate for lap band is 15k. And if you are below 35 BMI, it's typically 10k from what I've seen.

If he charged over that amount, I would suggest negotiating with the office and only pay up to what is reasonable. (Might need to do some research to find WLS prices in your area.)

I wouldn't give them 1 cent though until I got something in writing that clearly states what they require to release you from any money/debt due.

Wish I could help more. Hopefully someone else who has experienced this will jump in.

Nice job!!! Big difference

Sorry to hear this Michelle

Wow, your situation sounds a bit messy. I've not been real happy with my doctor, but he at least he does do my fills and never seems to miss with the needle. Also, I like his method of doing fills... he overfills, has me drink Water, and backs the fill out until I feel the Water go down. Really like that style a lot better than doctors who put in a set amount.

So, I would be frustrated if I were you too. But, is there anything you can really do about it? I suppose you could try and find another weight loss surgeon in your area to do fills. Probably not worth the trouble though.

I think it's very normal. I was hungry and back to normal within a few days of the surgery. Just got my third fill three days ago and believe for the first time that I might be getting some significant benefit from the band. Fingers crossed.

Prior to the third fill, I had 4.6 CC (almost same as your first fill will be) and still didn't feel banded. So, hang in there. I've read countless posts of people having to get 5 or even 6 fills before they hit the green zone. But, if he is starting you at 5 ML/CC with the first fill, then you may very well start noticing a big change much sooner than most of us.

Personally, I couldn't have handled 5 ML on the first fill though. My doctor tried to give me 3.5 CC and I freaked out when he had me drink some Water. He backed off to 2.5 CC. That only gave me restriction for a couple of hours. Later that night I felt like my old self and could eat as much as I wanted and as fast I wanted. Appetite was not suppressed in the slightest.

Woke up this morning to my fiance singing a rocking rendition to "Living on a Prayer" with the specific lyrics of "ohhhh you're halfway there, ohhhh living on a prayer"...

That is too funny!!! Wow, talk about supportive. Sounds like a great guy!

Agreed jaye282, it does seem like a lot But, I've read posts on here of people with 10 CC and doing well. Hoping you hit the green zone soon.

Man, I hope it doesn't take 5 fills for me... At 3 now and starting to feel the band, but it could just be the initial swelling from the fill three days ago.

Very interesting B-52. Thanks for posting your fill amounts. I know you don't believe in that from another post you wrote a while back, but it is interesting since my experience seems to be following yours to the letter. (Same as you, I didn't feel anything significant from the band until 6 CC)

2.25 CC sounds way too low to me. Been reading and watching what people say about their fill levels on these boards for a while and it seems most don't feel any significant benefit from the band until they are around 6 CC. Some as high as 10. I have doubts of anyone claiming they have restriction below 4 CC. But, certainly anything is possible.

You said your doc doesn't give much of a fill... Seems like you are already honing in on the issue. I think sometimes you have to push your doctor a bit and be assertive with what you want. I know that is no fun though

Agree with others, going from 7 to 8.5 sounds smart, but dangerous. You don't want to be fighting to get in the green zone for ever, so it's good your doc doesn't mess around, but believe he/she might have overshot a bit.

Wow, I would have thought at 9CC you would surely be feeling restriction

So sorry to hear this. If it makes you feel any better, I read someone here didn't get restriction until 10CC. Most seem to hit it at about 6 to 7, but everyone is different. Not to mention, it seems very possible to me that a doctor could be mistaken about how many CCs he puts in. The device itself doesn't have a reading to tell them how many CCs are in the band, which seems like human error could be a real possibility.

I hope you continue to go for fills until you hit restriction (if you aren't there yet). Right now, it sounds like a regular diet to me. And we all know how well those work...

Just want to say... Well said marfar7!

You and B52 have really helped me get through the yellow zone.

Going in for a third fill today. Hope to get in the green soon.

I'm so jealous of your fill. I had my second fill a couple of weeks back and still don't feel much of a change.

Going in for a third fill today. Hope to finally hit restriction.

I'm a newbie, but have read a few posts on here that indicate with proper restriction (green zone), you shouldn't be having much head hunger if any. One poster (name on the boards is B-52) described that he just doesn't think about food much at all and has to remind himself to eat. I've read others that describe the same thing.

This makes sense to me. If you have to fight head hunger, then it sounds like the band isn't helping very much. I certainly hope head hunger goes away for me, as I'm afraid my will power is not nearly enough.

My thought is you definitely need a fill.