Had my 3rd fill last Monday...only .5 cc's...I can already tell that it is not making any difference. I can eat anything still. My practice hired a new gal to do fills/follow-ups. She wasn't very good...bent the needle on the 1st try and had to go in again (left me thinking - what did she bend the needle on? Did she poke a hole in my tubing?). One thing she did do was pull out all the fluid in my band to count it...much to my surprise I have 6cc's. Fill-wise, I have only received 3.5...there was obviously more in at surgery from the prime than I thought. I'm just feeling discouraged. I really thought 3rd fill was going to be a game-changer for me. Guess not...4th fill scheduled for Nov 15...guess it's still all me until then! I'm beginning to think I'm never going to lose this weight!!! Sorry - just a little venting to my lbt friends who I know can relate and hopefully help me feel better!

Maybe you'll have good restriction for Thanksgiving! It took me about 4 fills to really get good restriction. I will be going back in on Monday and I don't think I will get a fill. This will be two months in a row without a fill, but I am finally losing at 1-2 lbs a weeks. Hang in there, it'll happen!

Be patient...you'll get there. I'm almost 1 year postop and still haven't found the right spot. At some point I passed it (looking for the wrong thing?) and had an unfill and started working my way up again. I guess I've been fat for almost 40 years...a few months won't make that much difference, eh?

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The needle likely got bent on the hard side of the port. It's not unusual.

I know it's very frustrating, but try to be patient. After the first couple of fills, it's pretty typical for them to get more conservative with volume; smaller amounts make a larger difference.

I'm 9 months out, and Fill #4 is when I really started feeling as though I was approaching restriction. It wasn't until my last fill (maybe #6? 7?) when I hit what seems to be the sweet spot (for now).

Sometimes I think people forget to look at their own signature. It looks like you lost almost 40 pounds so far!! I don't know from when you are counting, but that seems like quite an accomplishment to me!

I've also found it very helpful to not try to see how much I can eat, but to rather see how little I can eat. If I get hungry 30 minutes later, or 1 hr later... I Eat!! You can always eat a little bit more, but it's unhealthy to be vomiting to purge when you've eaten too much!

I know it can seem very slow at times, but just remember where you came from, and how you used to look compared to now! You've come a long way!!:wink2:

Hey, you should read my post I just posted about my 2nd fill! You would be much less discouraged! LOL. We were banded very close to the same time. (Mine was 7/22) and you are already at your 3rd fill and will have your 4th fill and possibly even 5th fill before I will even get my 3rd fill! AND you are at almost 40 pounds weight loss. I am only at 26 pounds lost. You are much better off than me at this point if that makes you feel better! :biggrin: My doctor only does fills every 8 weeks and told me he usually only does .5 cc's to 1.0 cc's at a time. So I have a MUCH longer journey to get to the sweet spot than you, band sista! But good luck and hang in there! We will get there! (You might get there a little quicker than me though! :wink2:) This time next year, hopefully we will both be doing the skinny happy dance together all over the place!

Oh and my 2nd fill that I waited all this time for with such high hopes....yep, don't feel any difference either! BUT, there is always fill #3! Mine is Dec. 13th! Imagine having to wait that long between fills! Yep, you are feeling better and better now aren't you? :wink2:

I was banded in February and really didn't feel any type of restriction until September. I understand what you are talking about. I was getting very small fills like .1 and .2 every time I went in until I got feed up and changed doctor's. I am not suggesting you do the same because .5 seems to be a good amount for your 3rd fill but I was like on my 7 month and she was playing around with me.:wink2:

I don't get why some doctors go with 1cc or even .5 cc for the first fills.It is so strange and actually it doesn't serve any purpose (maybe the doctor's pocket?dunno..)

What the doctors answer to you when you ask them why they have to wait 6 months to give a 5 cc fill? :wink2:

Sometimes I think people forget to look at their own signature. It looks like you lost almost 40 pounds so far!! I don't know from when you are counting, but that seems like quite an accomplishment to me!

I've also found it very helpful to not try to see how much I can eat, but to rather see how little I can eat. If I get hungry 30 minutes later, or 1 hr later... I Eat!! You can always eat a little bit more, but it's unhealthy to be vomiting to purge when you've eaten too much!

I know it can seem very slow at times, but just remember where you came from, and how you used to look compared to now! You've come a long way!!:wink2:

Your post is right on. We should be looking at how little we can eat, instead of trying to eat the most we can. If we start with a small serving, don't drink anything, let the food settle, and we're still hungry after 30 mins, eat a little more. It's a great lesson for us to 'learn' how to correctly portion ourselves too. I try this all the time now, and it really does work to lessen the amount of food it takes for you to be satisfied.

OP - you're weight loss is great! You were banded a few wks before me, and have the same amount. Try not to be so hard on yourself. You're losing a good rate. Give your fills time to take affect and you'll start noticing a difference really soon.

Even though you seem disappointed in your fill results, from your diet ticker, you have lost 39 lbs and that is fantastic!!!!! You don't want to be over filled. I have heard that is a nightmare! Slow and steady wins the race. Great job so far!!! Be proud of yourself.

On my last fill, I called the nurse cause I thought she poked a hole in my band! I had less restriction and then 10 days later, perfection! Don't pass judgment on this fill too soon, it might just be slow to kick in. :wink2:

Those fills are frightening to me...I'm almost possitive they pierced the wrong part for me...They had to do it twice because the first time the needle wasn't long enough, even though it got through the port. The first time they tried it made a popping noise, and the second time they did it in an entirely different place and it didn't make any noise, or it didn't really feel much like they had to pierce through the port.

Freaky :-/

I'm still having issues with my fill too...I think I have too much at the moment.

I'm so glad they did my fill under fluroscopy...The doctor had no problem at all finding my port and was able to see the liquid pass through to gauge how much fluid to fill me with...

Thankfully my fills take 30 seconds and another 30 seconds of sipping Water to make sure I'm good to go. Never had any problems.

As for fills - I'm on my 5th or 6th. Oddly enough some days I am tight and can barely choke down a small piece of meat but other days I can eat a big bowl of Pasta (very bad indeed!!). Just hang in there - besides most people would kill to lose 40 pounds - heck even 10 pounds!!!

Sometimes I think people forget to look at their own signature. It looks like you lost almost 40 pounds so far!! I don't know from when you are counting, but that seems like quite an accomplishment to me!

I've also found it very helpful to not try to see how much I can eat, but to rather see how little I can eat. If I get hungry 30 minutes later, or 1 hr later... I Eat!! You can always eat a little bit more, but it's unhealthy to be vomiting to purge when you've eaten too much!

I know it can seem very slow at times, but just remember where you came from, and how you used to look compared to now! You've come a long way!!:w00t:

Your post really hits home...I totally am NOT doing that! I seem to be trying to *test* my band to see how MUCH I can eat...wrong approach to be sure! I will start incorporating that approach ASAP. I seem to be going through an all too-familiar phase right now...sick of dieting, ready to throw in the towel. Making bad choices. I was hoping I would have more restriction when I reached this inevitable phase. I just have to buckle down and try and figure out why I am self sabotaging...am I afraid to be fabulous? Maybe that's another thread, haha...stay tuned!