so, a week ago today i went in for a post-op visit and to get my first fill. i decided against getting it as i felt i was kinda doing ok and i just wondered if anyone else ever did that....refused their first fill. she said i might change my mind in a week and i could always come back before my next visit (which is in august) to get one, but so far, i'm doing ok. i am not getting really hungry in between meals, and in july i am going on vacation, so i didn't want to be too tight to enjoy some good vacation food. i couldn't see the point of getting a fill and then having it emptied a month later, and then a refill (to pay all that money for a fill, unfill and refill) but so far, i don't regret it.

has anyone else ever delayed their first fill? do you regret it? or is there plenty of time to worry about getting fills down the line?

your thoughts and comments are much appreciated.

If you aren't hungry and seem to be losing weight fine, there is no reason to get one. I did not have my first fill til I was 5 months post op and it was only 0.75cc. Which seems to have put my back where I was, so I'm happy.

As for you not wanting to get a fill and get an unfill for vacation. That is not how things work. You do not get Fluid removed to go on vacation. This is a lifestyle change and a vacation is part of your life. You get an unfill so you can eat more you will gain weight. And from my understanding a refill of the same amount will not be the same as it was prior. If you were at your sweet spot before, you may not be at it with the new fill

my doctor actually tells his patients to let him know if they are going on vacation so he can give them an unfill. he said there is a lifetime to be on a diet like this one, so you should enjoy your vacations. (he doesn't force and unfill, but he will give one if you want one. ) just so nobody thinks i came up with that on my own.

it's good to know that you went 5 months without needing one though.

i will reassess when august gets here and if i'm still losing, i may bypass that fill as well. we'll just have to wait and see.

I had surgery on march 23 2011, I also turned down my first fill 4 weeks ago, and only lost 4 pounds those weeks, I noticed I was eating more and more often, so on June 2nd ( last Thursday) I did get a good sized fill, and I'm so glad I did, I have lost 6 pounds just in 1 week.. And I would never go in for an un fill for a vacation or for any reason other then medically necessary, I figure I had plenty of vacations and plenty of fatty foods, that is why we all got this surgery is to eat healthy and lose weight right?? This is in my own opinion of course, I'm not speaking for anyone but myself

With my first band, my doc wanted to give me a fill at 4 weeks post op. Since I was still losing weight and just had a bad stuck episode with a Vitamin I decided to wait.

I then made an appointment for 2 weeks later but then changed it to 3 weeks later.

THEN when I went for my first fill, my doc wanted to give me a fill of 7cc and I talked him down to 4 (maybe 5 I cant remember cc)

So not only did I delay my fill I also reduced my first fill by almost half. Did I have much restriction.... no but the band is a tool not a magic wand. I wanted to learn how to use it a little more before I started having good restriction.

In the end I never regretted waiting for my first fill. I still lost nearly 30 lbs in those 7 weeks

that's great to hear allen. i am hoping that is the case with me.

i am really not in a huge (pardon the pun) hurry to lose tons of weight. i want to lose it pretty slowly and not drastically if i can help it, i also don't want to feel like i am depriving myself of food or anything when i am on vacation. it doesn't mean i am going to gorge, but i'm a foodie and i'm going to enjoy a bite of this and a bite of that. i totally understand people not wanting to get unfills for vacations or for any reason, but i didn't get this band to be deprived, i got it to help me make better choices and not stuff myself silly, which so far has really worked like a charm. i am kinda not the typical bandster either. my goal isn't to really lose a lot of weight. i've already lost about 34 pounds, and i feel great. if i lose 50, i'll be happy, more than that is icing on the cake. i would still be fat, but happier in my own skin. i can already tell a difference in my energy levels, clothing, etc.....my goal isn't to get skinny as i will never be skinny, plus i can't afford plastic surgery and don't want to look like a meat sack

so, i'll enjoy this one time a year that i get to let my hair hang down and eat without guilt (still watching portion size, but not necessarily calories or fat or what have you....)

also, edited to add to what kelly said " I figure I had plenty of vacations and plenty of fatty foods, that is why we all got this surgery is to eat healthy and lose weight right?"

i actually, in all truthfulness, got this surgery for vanity reasons. i had no health problems of any kind, no co-morbidiites or whatever. i am just fat and growing. i got the surgery because i didn't want to grow any larger, not necessarily get smaller. i just needed help with portion control. again, i'm probably the only person who did this for that reason. i really like seeing the scale go down, and i'll confess that a few weeks ago i was a little upset that it had stopped moving, but i'm seeing so many NSVs in my clothing and in my energy level that i'm happy the way things are. if i stopped losing weight altogether at my current size, i would honestly be ok with it...but i don't want that scale to go back up, so i will stick to my post-op diet (until vacation time of course) then i'll get right back to doing what i'm supposed to do.

thanks for your answers everyone. i feel better about my decision to forgo the fill. i'll probably have one in August if i feel the need. i'll keep you posted.

I found few 'no-fill' banders here. I chose to have no fills for as long as I am averaging 1+ lb a week.

That's a great barometer i think. I've lost about 3 pounds since last thursday, so to me that says I don't actually need a fill quite yet. I don't really have restriction, but a meal will keep me satisfied for about 4 hours or so until i am thinking about food, so that is kind of what i am going by. i really don't want to have zero apetite, so i will try that at least 1 pound per week thing and see how that works. i figure i really have the rest of my life to play with fills and all that to get it just right. waiting 2 months won't kill me. at least i hope not.

I went for my second post op visit on June 9. It was at that visit that I would receive my first fill. Well, one week prior to my surgery, which was April 21, I was 348. On June 9 i was 296, down 52 pounds since surgery. The doctor was very pleased with my progress and told me I wouldn't be getting a fill. I was down 19 pounds since my first pre op visit. He told me to keep doing what I'm doing although he wants me to eat Breakfast. I told him I'm not hungry in the mornings and never have been. Why should I eat when I'm not hungry. I am eating at lunch and dinner. I am also walking one hour daily and drinking plenty of Water. I told him everything he told me at every visit: total lifestyle change, can't eat like I did before, must exercise 45 minutes a day, take a half hour for each meal, don't drink with a meal, no eating in between meals and so forth. I don't regret not getting a fill but I guess it's up to the doctor during each visit.

so, a week ago today i went in for a post-op visit and to get my first fill. i decided against getting it as i felt i was kinda doing ok and i just wondered if anyone else ever did that....refused their first fill. she said i might change my mind in a week and i could always come back before my next visit (which is in august) to get one, but so far, i'm doing ok. i am not getting really hungry in between meals, and in july i am going on vacation, so i didn't want to be too tight to enjoy some good vacation food. i couldn't see the point of getting a fill and then having it emptied a month later, and then a refill (to pay all that money for a fill, unfill and refill) but so far, i don't regret it.

has anyone else ever delayed their first fill? do you regret it? or is there plenty of time to worry about getting fills down the line?

your thoughts and comments are much appreciated.