I was banded back in January 2010 - 9 months ago - with a Realize band. I have had 8 fills and still have no restriction. My doctor has pulled out all the Fluid twice now to ensure it is all in there and there is no leak and it is fine. He also ordered an Upper GI and checked the band placement and confirmed it hasn't slipped and my pouch hasn't stretched. He said he could tell that things are flowing through quite easily with very little restriction.

So he did an aggressive fill adding a full cc bringing my band to capacity (10cc band filled to 10cc). That was about a week ago and I still have little to no restriction. My doctor said that some people just have thinner stomach walls than others so it takes more fluid for them to feel restriction. (How ironic that I am overweight and have thin stomach walls! Sorry but I digressed. :laugh:)

My doctor keeps saying, 'but you are losing weight." And I am happy about my weight loss (60 pounds) but feel that I have done it all on my own without the help of the band thanks to permanent diet and exercise changes. I know I need the band to keep going to reach my goals and then to maintain.

I am not sure what my options are at this point if my band is already filled to capacity. Has anyone ever heard of this and/or know what options there might be? I am going back to see my doctor again in a few weeks and want to be armed with information and questions.

Thank you and best of luck to all of you!

I have read on this forum that bands can hold more than what they are labeled as. I hope this is true and you can get another fill. It must be terribly frustrating. Good job on your weight loss! I hope restriction happens soon.

It sounds as though your doctor is very, very conservative with fill amounts.

I have an 11 cc Realize band, too, and didn't start feeling restriction until I hit 8.5 cc--and I've had several fills since to fine-tune. I don't know exactly how much is in there (I've stopped asking because the number doesn't really matter)---I do know that as I've started toeing the line, the amounts have been much, much smaller ---and have had a far, far greater impact.

It's too early for you to give up hope. Your doctor is getting you there very slowly...but it's not at all unusual to have as much fill as you do and still not be where you want to be.

My doctor keeps saying, 'but you are losing weight." And I am happy about my weight loss (60 pounds) but feel that I have done it all on my own without the help of the band thanks to permanent diet and exercise changes. I know I need the band to keep going to reach my goals and then to maintain.

It sounds as though your band is working fine. Even when it feels like you are doing the work it is something that you probably wouldn't have been able to do preband.Having a band requires permanent diet and exercise changes - the band just helps you to stick to that because it helps to reduce your hunger.

When you say you have no restriction what do you mean?

If you eat the recommended amounts of proper food do you feel satisfied(not full) and are you able to go 3- 4 hours without feeling hungry?

It sounds as though your band is working fine. Even when it feels like you are doing the work it is something that you probably wouldn't have been able to do preband.Having a band requires permanent diet and exercise changes - the band just helps you to stick to that because it helps to reduce your hunger.

When you say you have no restriction what do you mean?

If you eat the recommended amounts of proper food do you feel satisfied(not full) and are you able to go 3- 4 hours without feeling hungry?

+1 to this. Just because your not throwing up and sliming all day, doesn't mean you haven't hit your sweet spot. In fact, it probably means you are past your sweet spot.

My understanding of the sweet spot is that you feel satiated after eating. If you have managed to lose 60 pounds through changing your eating habits then it seems to me the band has been effective for you.

OP, let me ask you this. Were you ever able to lose this much weight without the band? If not, then why are you not attributing your weight loss to the band?

I'm at 10.3ccs in an 11cc band and I had the same question for my doctor as I was worried that I wouldn't get to my sweet spot. He said that he has one patient who has 18ccs in her 11cc band, so it's possible!