brianb

Nice job!!! Big difference

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.

Thank you for the encouragement everyone. I know that 12 lbs does not sound like a lot and it isn't but I was starting to get scared that I was on my way up much more than that. Felt so out of control for a while. Thankfully, I think I am getting back there. Back to basics of tracking and doing what I need to do.

one small side step does NOT out weigh the giant leap you took and made......

It's an inspiration to see people pick themselves back up after a slip. I am just starting this journey and I'm a perfectionist which is not good especially in this en devour. If I fall I'll have a tendency to beat myself up, and that won't do me any good. So it was good hearing your story and know that I should not beat myself up but get back on the horse and keep riding. I'm so glad you did pick yourself up and start again. Thanks for sharing.
~~~Stephanie

The past year has been incredible. Struggling for quite a few months in the beginning to get the hang of my band and ever so slowly losing the weight. Many of us have been there. The joy at reaching a milestone. The tears when we do not.
I had never really felt successful in life at much of anything and I became so driven to be successful with this.
Once I had my confidence up and was getting closer to goal, I took up yoga and began to do that 6 days a week. It was my new addiction. Inside, I was so proud of myself and amazed at the things my body could do after being a couch potato for 20 years. I wanted more. To see more change in my body so I took up bootcamp 4 days a week at 6am in addition to the yoga. My body developed muscles that I never knew existed. I loved my body (except for the saggy boobs) more than I did in my 20s. I was confident. Reached my goal and wanted to pay it forward to other people. I decided to take my yoga instructor certification course just to show myself that I could do it and could encourage others.
Around this same time, I decided that I didn't want to keep losing as I was getting too thin and physically could not eat enough food to sustain my activity level so I got a bit of an unfill. I began my yoga teacher certification and it was intense. I was not nearly as flexible as many in the class but it didn't matter. I was there. Doing it. The very last class I pushed myself too far and tore slightly a tendon in my shoulder. I got my certification and continued going to regular classes.
A week later, I could not turn my head or raise my arm and I was soooo hungry. This was 3 months ago. Since then I have regained 12 lbs and have not exercises a minute. I was becoming so depressed and fell back into my old habits of using food for comfort. Cheesies and ice cream. I felt like all I worked for was in vain.
I got a small fill last week that feels close to how it was before I got the unfill and I am optimistic. Tomorrow, I am going to my first yoga class in 3 months but have to take it very easy.
Not sure this post will help anyone but I just wanted to share my story in the hope that it does. We all struggle at some point or another. Even us "successful" ones.
I also realized tonight that none of it was in vain because I learned to listen to my body and that I can do it.
That does count for something.

I think you should start a new thread for this. More people need to read it because 1) I'm sure that you are not the only one going through this, and 2) you will have a better chance of finding a GOOD doctor in NC.
Best of luck. Stay strong! Only you know your body.

I don't personally have plication, (wasn't offered when I had my band in 09 ) but have done a LOT of reading and talking with folks about it. There are some very successful folks on here who had both the band and plication done. It's not offered at many locations...YET. I believe it will be the standard sometime in the near future. Its still considered experimental, so difficult to get insurance to cover. Heres a link to one surgeons website explaining it and the benefits:
http://drsimpson.net...ss-surgery.html
"Gastric Plication PLUS Lap-band Surgery (iLap) - new surgical solution for the super obese
Lap-band surgery plus Gastric Plication may be the perfect surgical combination for super morbidly obese patients. Because Gastric Plication causes a quicker more complete satiety, the patient can eat much less food. The lap-band further limits the amount of food that can be initially ingested. But its most important job is to heighten the sensitivity of the nerves at the top of the stomach. Those are the nerves that send the signal to the brain that you are full. So the combination of Gastric plication with Lap-band surgery results in fast satiety with much less food than the individual surgeries. iLap surgery is a double restrictive procedure that is adjustable to keep it working over the long run as is required by super morbidly obese patients. It can result in the same weight loss as the Lap-band over gastric bypass. But the small intestine is untouched and completely intact so it will deliver all the nutrition and energy in food consumed by the patient. The energy a super morbidly obese person desperately needs to get on their feet and move. Lap-band and Gastric Plication surgeries can be reversed because none of the stomach or intestines are surgically removed. Because both surgeries are less damaging than gastric bypass, recovery time can be much shorter. Physical therapy and exercise may be able to be done sooner after surgery and with more intensity, possibly improving the patient's prospect for living."

My doctor explained to me that plication is where they take and fold your stomach up around the band to help keep it in place. It helps the reduce of slips. He does it as a standard procedure with the band automatically. He says that the band manufacturers recommend it for better results. I am 6months post op and have lost 67lbs so I think it must be working. I know CarolinaGirl has plication as well. Best of luck at your appointment

I had a fill yesterday and am 9cc too now. Dont feel much of anything although I may get full a little sooner so to speak??? hard to say yet...give me a week. I am 8 months out and this is taking forever to work for me and it is a HARD diet yet for me. Plugging away but so slow on the loss. I am only at about half the weight loss of what many others are who had surgery the same time but still a loss none the less-frustrating reading everyone else praise their band and how it is working for them?- YES!!! I was just so hoping it wouldnt take this long but she is confident that i will get there soon I mean I have to with 9 ccs already so will wait. I guess at this point it is what it is so will wait patiently. My dr said out of the 600+ patients she has at this point...only one other person has had to have over 11 cc to start feeling any restriction and that was at the 10 month mark so I guess I will be another one who she can use as a statistic it looks ...LOL. I am confident I will get there....a few months ago..i wasnt so sure but my frustration has been there and gone and cant dwell on it that I am a super slow loser. So it is not unheard of and you will hopefully get there soon too. Take care and best wishes

I have an 11cc band. About 2 weeks ago I took my fill from a 9.25 to 10.80. I ended up having way too much restriction and went back the next day and took my fill to 10.50. I'm off liquids and I do feel restriction. I will get a cup of Soup and finish only half! When I was at 9.25 I could pretty much eat the entire cup with no problem. I guess this is what they call the "green zone". In the 2 weeks since the fill I have lost 9 lbs. I really at this stage have to chew,chew, chew and take my time. You will get there it just takes time. I was getting frustrated too but, now I'm super happy
~Linda

I finally feel like I have the proper amount of restriction. My problem is, my first bite of a meal usually gets stuck for a few minutes. After a few minutes it passes or I will have a PB, then I can eat normally. I talked with my Doctor about it and he said it happens to some people. Has any of you had to deal with this? If so, do you have any tips? I have a 3 day meeting coming up and I am worried that I am going to dealing with this at my business dinners.
Thanks

Try sipping liquid right up until you start eating, and make the first bite tiny tiny!

Thanks, Jean, for this thorough response. I also think that given the radiation does one incurs with fluoroscopy, it is perhaps not a good idea to do more than one fill/year this way.
I'm particularly grateful to read your last paragraph, as today I'm quite uncomforable with this fill (I sense I've very sensitive to restriction). I can drink fine, but trying to get mushies down is just not happening. I will wait a few days to see if the band / stomach settles in, if not...back to the radiologist to get some saline withdrawn.

Your surgeon's comments are very interesting, and explain a bit more about the phenomenon of how microscopically different fills in the same size band in different patients can have such different effects on the patient.
I have to say, for the sake of bandsters reading this thread whose surgeons do not routinely do fills under fluoroscopy, that while fluoro fills can help ensure a tolerable and effective fill level, they don't guarantee it. I have never had a fill under fluoro and don't feel that my band's effectiveness was compromised because of that. Fluoro gives the radiologist or surgeon a snapshot of your esophagus, band and stomach at one point in time. A few hours or days or weeks later, the effect of that fill can feel quite different because of perfectly ordinary physiological events and processes, including hydration, hormones, time of day, allergies, medications, etc. etc.
Often bandsters get what seems to be a "perfect" fill under fluoro and a few weeks later feel as if they didn't get a fill at all. The stomach expands and contracts to aid digestion by breaking food down into pieces that can be absorbed properly by the intestines, and that necessary movement can affect the position of the band enough to affect the patient's experience of restriction. Also, as you lose weight, the visceral fat clinging to the stomach shrinks, so that your band feels looser and you need more fill. And finally, a new fill can feel extra tight in the first few days but feel less tight as the patient learns to adjust their eating skills to accommodate the new fill level.
Also, bandsters can get what seems to be a perfect fill and hours or days later find themselves struggling even to drink liquids. That can be because the fill itself, and the newly increased pressure of the band against the stomach, can cause enough irritation to cause the patient discomfort. Eventually the band settles more comfortably against the stomach, everything calms down, and life goes on.
Jean

8 weeks post op today, 18 pounds down since my surgery. My band was placed unfilled but still I respected all postop directives and I'm pleased with my loss and my level of restriction felt by the band alone. I went to get my fill reluctantly, because I'm quite fearful of getting stuck or having PB/vomiting issues and frankly, I'm fine with a slow loss.
My fills are down under fluoscopy and I told the radiologist that I didn't want a dramatic fill, something small, particularly because I travel a lot internationally and do not want to have to find myself seeking an unfill in a place where I have no insurance coverage.
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. If you have more tubing, some of that 4 ccs will be in the tube and not in your band. So you just can't "order up" 4 ccs because someone you know found their green zone with 4 ccs. This is why filling under fluoscopy is so important...the radiologist can see how the liquid flows and judges a fill "adequate" based on speed that it exits the pouch, and no reflux occuring.
On the summary, he noted that 4 ccs was done per my request and that ideally he would have put in 5 ccs. I'm glad he didn't do what he wanted and listened to my needs.
So now I'm home, spooning down some applesauce VERY SLOWLY and seeing how that goes down. It can't be any thicker than that cursed barium, right?
Wishing everyone good success with their band!

My nutritionist and Dr. said 1 cup 3 x a day .. I have a 1 cup bowl and a small plate that has a portion area for Protein, carbs, veg's (non carb) I doubt I could eat 2 cups of green Beans after eating my protein.. I also use My Fitness Pal.. it really helps keep me in check.. my weight loss isn't fast but I feel really good and am steadily losing... Good Luck to you on your journey...

I bought 1cup bowls to serve myself in so that I don't over eat n I make sure to have lots of Protein with every meal even Snacks. I'm not perfect but I try cause I don't want to feel hungry. I'll have string cheese with Turkey deli meat, cottage cheese and fruit, a piece of chicken, a salad with egg or imitation crab (these can all b meals or snacks). This helps me stay satisfied longer. I've learned the band is here as a tool but we still have to make good choices. Good luck on your journey

I was banded 7 months ago and I have lost about 65 lbs (beginning weight of 225 down to 160 now) I used to measure all my foods, and was never satisfied at 1/2 cup. It always has taken me 1 - 1 1/2 cup to make me feel even satisfied. I've had 7cc in my band for 2 months, and am feeling it is taking me about 2 cups to feel satisfied. I was recently laid off of work and have no insurance, so I can't discuss this with my doctor, but I would like real advice to get back on track. I am SO scared to stretch out my pouch. I need help!!! Suggestions!?!?

I feel your pain. Have not felt satisfied since the day of surgery. Never has 1 cup of anything done it. I have 8cc in a 14cc band. Tonight was the last straw, had 2000calories today.

I can do tiny sips, if needed, but as B-52 said, anything else will cause me to have a problem. It has been known to cause me to have pb problem. I try to stay with the no drinking rule!

like the others have said and my dr told me again last week (when i go to the dr, i write down things i read on here and ask him) and he said like TMF said, the Water just pushes it on through to make room for more.....best to listen to the dr as they advise us what works best for the band and to have good results..each to their own i guess..i agree with B52, learn your band

For me, it will overfill my pouch causing everything to immediately come back up, or create a lot of pain as if the pouch was stretching....which it probably is.....it happens to me every time.
Think of a funnel....where the narrow passage is the band....food accumulates in the upper portion of the funnel and passes through the narrow section slowly...depending on how much restriction you have...adding Water to whats already there overfills the funnel quickly ...what happens when you add too much to a funnel too fast? It overflows....
BTW, this is a technique used by many when they get stuck...introduce some water..slow sips...and it will come back up bringing the food with it having no where else to go....
I can see for those who do not have much restriction the Water washing down the food...and they can get away with it without noticing or feeling anything....
But for me, being in the Green Zone...I do not dare drink while eating...from experience I know this is a big mistake without causing adverse effects...I do not want a dilated pouch,and pain, nor do I want it all to come up.....I have learned the hard way, as so many other things living with the band...

Drinking fluids with each bite can wash the food through the band without stimulating the vagus nerve. That's the theory. My doctor prefers his patients to adhere from drinking and eating but said he knows of some that are able to drink, eat and still lose or maintain their weight. So, he's flexible. He said, as long as I'm losing and I'm feeling satisfied for 4 hours, do whatever I want. tmf