So I am 12 weeks post Op and have put on 8 pounds from my surgery date. I had my first fill done about 2 weeks ago and the doc took me from 3cc's to ONLY 4.5cc's. My band will hold 14cc's. I have no restriction at all. I never feel full and I can pretty much eat whatever I like. I can drink beer...no real problems!! I am certainly not hungry after eating a small meal. The only thing that bothers me is big pieces of dry meat....this sometimes feels stuck, but I can have bread etc...

Does 1.5cc's on the first fill seem like too small of an amount. I am a 2 hour flight from my fill doctor and every time I go it will cost me $1000. I do not mind going, but I would like to have the band helping me a little more than it currently is (or isn't).

Anyone else have a similar experience???

Wow I suggest getting a fill doctor close to home to save some money! But I don't think they put in a whole bunch at a time it's horrible you have to travel that far for a fill tho

if it's 2,000 a fill to fly, I'd certainly not drink beer and eat whatever. u need to establish healthy eating habits if u want the band to work. for 2,000 a fill, I'd also get used to eating the 1 cup of food restriction and you're portion size for a long while. put your mind to it, not just your band. good luck!

So I am 12 weeks post Op and have put on 8 pounds from my surgery date. I had my first fill done about 2 weeks ago and the doc took me from 3cc's to ONLY 4.5cc's. My band will hold 14cc's. I have no restriction at all. I never feel full and I can pretty much eat whatever I like. I can drink beer...no real problems!! I am certainly not hungry after eating a small meal. The only thing that bothers me is big pieces of dry meat....this sometimes feels stuck, but I can have bread etc...

Does 1.5cc's on the first fill seem like too small of an amount. I am a 2 hour flight from my fill doctor and every time I go it will cost me $1000. I do not mind going, but I would like to have the band helping me a little more than it currently is (or isn't).

Anyone else have a similar experience???

Hi, First of all beer is a no-no, the fermentation of the beer acts like carbonation in soda.lapbanders are not supposed to drink sodas, sparkling wines or beer They can expand the pouch & cause band slippage.If you eat whatever you like, you are not going to lose the weight. Remember the band is a tool & you have to work with it to achieve success.

Hey Hon

I understand how you feel. My going has been slow. It is interesting that your doc filled during surgery. I understand some do and some don't. I think that first of all, somehow we don't get all of the infomration we should have about the band how difficult it can be.

You've gone thru a great deal of time, effort and money and you want it to work...NOW!:biggrin: Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Perhaps because you live so far away, the surgeon may be conservative. If you get filled too much, it can be miserable and they may have to take you to the ER to unfill you. As I have found out, fills can take effect weeks after!:thumbup: Try your best to be good about your food choices and next time you see your doctor, be honest with him and tell him that you are frustrated. Take care and I will be keeping you in my prayers.:scared2:

nice fish btw!

So I am 12 weeks post Op and have put on 8 pounds from my surgery date. I had my first fill done about 2 weeks ago and the doc took me from 3cc's to ONLY 4.5cc's. My band will hold 14cc's. I have no restriction at all. I never feel full and I can pretty much eat whatever I like. I can drink beer...no real problems!! I am certainly not hungry after eating a small meal. The only thing that bothers me is big pieces of dry meat....this sometimes feels stuck, but I can have bread etc...

Does 1.5cc's on the first fill seem like too small of an amount. I am a 2 hour flight from my fill doctor and every time I go it will cost me $1000. I do not mind going, but I would like to have the band helping me a little more than it currently is (or isn't).

Anyone else have a similar experience???

By the time I was at 12 weeks I had had 5 fills AND they cost me ZERO dollars. Something is wrong with this picture. You MUST live far off the beaten track if you must travel so far to get a fill. Okay, so maybe that can happen, but then, under those conditions for your doc to be ultra conservative with the fills is just insane! It is true that you should be doing more to help yourself (i.e., making better food choices, exercise, etc.) but seriously, without proper restriction one can become very depressed and things can take that slippery slope downward. Keep reading this forum and take the suggestions of those that have success. If you can't get to a doc that is closer to you, then talk to your doc about a bigger fill or at least a fill more often. Don't give up! You can do this!!

Don't give up. Keep getting fills until you have restriction. Some docs are conservative, but since you live so far away that may be a good thing.

Hang in there. Achieving true restriction is worth all the time and hassle. Good luck to you.

Just because you CAN eat things, drink beer, etc... doesn't mean you have to.

Work WITH your band- it's just a tool- it can't make you lose weight if you aren't working with it.

It took 4 fills until I achieved good restriction - typically, doesn't happen the first time. Be prepared for some flying (or finding a doctor closer)

Sorry to hear that it's so pricey for your fills.... I got my surgery done in Ontario and I live in Newfoundland so I don't be traveling back out west for fills... Thankfully for me there's a fill doctor within a 30 minute drive of where I live.

Yikes! $1000 per fill, and only getting miniscule fills? That'd frustrate me, too!

Can you find a fill center close to home? That way, even if the doctor is timid (or greedy--because I am convinced some of the tiny-fill doctors just want more $$--seriously, many of us got 4 cc on our first fills!), you won't have to spend such serious bank.

Until you achieve restriction, you have to remember that your weight is 100 percent in your hands. The band will do its job once it's functional, but for now, it's not up to speed. So YOU have to do the work.

You say you can drink beer, no problem. That many things go down easily. Well, the thing you have to accept is that just because you can do it doesn't mean you should. It's completely within the realm of possibility to lose weight as you work toward restriction.

Will you be hungry? Sure. But it's the last time you'll ever be hungry in the name of weight loss.

In your shoes, I'd work hardest on finding someone to provide aftercare in your area. (If they have postop support groups, all the better!) Getting fills locally will relieve a lot of your frustration, I suspect.

But also give some thought to the way you're using the tool. To be sure, it's not much of a tool yet--but if you start "practicing" the behaviors you'll use when you get good restriction, it will be that much easier for you---and you won't see gains that mess with your body and mind.

By the time I was at 12 weeks I had had 5 fills AND they cost me ZERO dollars. Something is wrong with this picture. You MUST live far off the beaten track if you must travel so far to get a fill. Okay, so maybe that can happen, but then, under those conditions for your doc to be ultra conservative with the fills is just insane! It is true that you should be doing more to help yourself (i.e., making better food choices, exercise, etc.) but seriously, without proper restriction one can become very depressed and things can take that slippery slope downward. Keep reading this forum and take the suggestions of those that have success. If you can't get to a doc that is closer to you, then talk to your doc about a bigger fill or at least a fill more often. Don't give up! You can do this!!

Thanks for the info. I live in the Canadian Arctic. I had my surgery done in Mexico and I need to fly to Calgary to get my fill done. My next visit, I will explain my feelings with the doctor and see his take on it. He told me before I went down for the first fill he would take me to 6cc's, but only actually took me to 4.5cc's for some reason.

Betsy B - Thank you for your words of encouragement and support. I understand what you are saying. I do need to make a better effort on getting things under control. The hardest part is not feeling any different (from hunger etc...) than I did before the surgery. I hope it will come. I will talk to the doctor on my concerns. There is nowhere else close by that does fills, due to where I live.

The one thing on this site I do not like are people that like to preach about how I should stop eating bad food and cut my portions back on my own (basically like I should know better). If this were the case, why are we all here. If I have no restriction from this "tool" this is very difficult. I know I should be eating better and having smaller portions, but if I could have done this all along, I would not needed to go through with this surgery.

Mike

Mike,

I totally agree with you about the preachy people. I spiraled out of control after my surgery because of frustration and depression. I had done major surgery and put my life on the line and for 6 weeks I felt NOTHING!!! I began to make jokes that I didnt even have a band in. I would come on here, and I was desperate, and people would say the same thing, " this is a tool, make better food choices, this surgery is not a magic cure....." I would just cry, like there was something wrong with me. If it was all about better food choices I would have just done that and saved myself the 12 GRAND!! Obveously it is about better food choices, but I needed a **** load of help.

Well good news, I got the help i needed. I am 10 weeks out and I have GREAT restriction. I had 2 fills so far and I have 6.5 cc in a 10 cc band. I can no longer eat any bread or pasta. I finally feel like I am how I am suppose to feel. In the past 2 weeks since my most recent fill I have lost 6 lbs.

I was where you are and it will get better. Like everyone else said, you should be frank with your doc. I was self pay and I got 3 months of free everything (fills, check ups, nutritionist). I explained to my doc that I wanted to be nice and tight by the time my free fills ran out. I wasnt asking him to go against his ethical code, but just give me my money's worth. He agreed and I will get one more small fill B4 my free fills expire.

Best of luck !

LOL....my thoughts exactly. You will learn to ignore the preachers.... no worries. I drink beer here and there and it will be fine. You being a fisherman and all, you may have to cut back some. It's going to be hard out fishing without a beer huh? lmao I know fishermen! I have had 6 fills now. My sixt fill was done on August 17 and I tried to drink a beer on August 27. I took one drink and it came right back up. Way too bubbley, so just waith the band will "help" you stop soon. I was also able to eat pretty much whatever I wanted untill around my 4 fill. I have a 10 cc band. Hang in there. The tool will come around. I was so frustrated for the first few fills.

Thanks for the support!! I am happy to know I am not alone in these struggles. I was down 30lbs overall after my surgery and am now only 22lbs :-( I am getting back down to see my doc in a couple of weeks. This is not very convenient as you can imagine for fills, but this is the only choice I have!!