So I went about 6 weeks post-surgery before my first fill. I lost about 20 lbs. before surgery but nothing in the 6 weeks since. Of course there was no restriction at all and I maintained the loss through willpower.

I have the large size lapband. The surgeon said I had .8 cc's already in it and he added 6 more after the Water drinking test during my first fill last thursday. I'm now feeling a little help from the band but can still eat an almost normal sized plate of food but maybe half of what i used to. It does feel like i can go hours between meals without getting hungry though. My next fill is about 3 weeks away.

Does all of this sound pretty typical?

When you say a large size band do you mean it holds 14cc? If so, then yes, 6cc seems like a good starting place. Just because you CAN eat a "normal" plate of food, doesn't mean that you SHOULD! Don't expect the band to do all the work for you. You still need to exercise some self control.

Yeah, I'm ordering much less than I normally would. It is taking me a while to adjust to what the new 'normal' food quantity should look like. I'm so used to the years of crazy portions.

I got 5cc in my band at my 6 week visit. I have a 10cc band. I have pretty good restriction. I also had some in my band from surIgery. You will notice the first fills will range all over the place depending on the doctor.

Yeah, I'm ordering much less than I normally would. It is taking me a while to adjust to what the new 'normal' food quantity should look like. I'm so used to the years of crazy portions.

"Normal" portions will start looking weirder and weirder to you I'm at the point where I look at a plate being served in a restaurant and go "woah, that's gross" because there's SO much food on it.

I have a 14cc and I got 4cc on my first fill Friday....I wanted less, but I'm glad I got that amount because I can really feel the difference.....

I also have the "Allergan Large" band, that holds 14cc. My doc started at 4cc, and although I "felt" it, I didn't really have restriction. The next time I went in I got 2cc, and again, I didn't really feel it. I got 1cc, 1cc, 1cc, 1cc (I have a total of 10 in my band) I would say, that I started feeling GOOD restriction at 7cc. I think there was about 2-3 months between 7cc and 8cc. I sat with 8cc for about 10 months, and then went to 9cc for about 4 months, and then to 10cc. I've had 10cc for about 8 months now, and still feel like I'm in the green zone.

Love this band!

I guess you are in the green zone. 200 pounds lost in less than 2 years! GREAT JOB!!!!! Congrats!

Thanks for the feedback. I hope to jump to 8-10 cc's with next month's fill.

I have not had surgery yet. Just picked out surgeon. Lots of questions, what determines whether you get a 10cc or 14cc and are thosethe only sizes?

I have not had surgery yet. Just picked out surgeon. Lots of questions, what determines whether you get a 10cc or 14cc and are thosethe only sizes?

The 10cc and 14cc are the Allergan (Lap-band) sizes. Realize band has slight different sizes. You can go to the lapband.com and the realize.com sites and get more information.

The surgeon decides which size to place depending on your anatomy when he gets inside you.

You'll get more and better replies if you start your own thread with your questions.

I had my first fill yesterday..only 2ccs but I feel the difference today. I just had a 1/2 cup of chili at around 6 pm and 2 hours later I can't imagine eating again. I believe I'll be fine for 4 hours.

It feel i'm in a really good place..i can eat without any sign of choking/pbing and yet i really don't feel like eating any more than a 1/2 cup. I DO measure it though instead of eye balling it..because i'm still not used to what a 1/2 cup looks like in all different foods. I couldn't decide whether to weight the chili or just put it in a measuring cup...i wound up measuring it in a plastic measuring cup. I'm still not sure if that's the right thing to do. i think I would weigh solids...like fish/chicken. Cause the 1/2 cup was more than 4 ounces because it was dense. It was almost 5 ounces. so I'll have to figure this out.

How does everyone else do it? Measuring cup or weight? I bought a new shiny scale to keep myself on track weighing food.

I really really hope I'm not just swollen from the needle and when that goes...my appetite comes back. I dont think a needle would really swell me up all the way down to the pouch, though. Who knows?

I want to think positively.

On a side note...it's almost Friday and I get to start to eat solid foods tomorrow! wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!

hugs to all,

BandedKitten

My first fill was 5.5 cc's, and my next one was .6. My surgeon said it was like blowing up a balloon, you need a lot of air to get it going, but after the initial fill, you just need small amounts to make a big difference.

The scale started moving for me finally. I've been bouncing around between 338-341 since my surgery on April 28th. I've been losing everyday for the last several days and got down to 335 and change. The next fill in 2 weeks should get me to a good level of restriction.

I had my first fill yesterday..only 2ccs but I feel the difference today. I just had a 1/2 cup of chili at around 6 pm and 2 hours later I can't imagine eating again. I believe I'll be fine for 4 hours.

It feel i'm in a really good place..i can eat without any sign of choking/pbing and yet i really don't feel like eating any more than a 1/2 cup. I DO measure it though instead of eye balling it..because i'm still not used to what a 1/2 cup looks like in all different foods. I couldn't decide whether to weight the chili or just put it in a measuring cup...i wound up measuring it in a plastic measuring cup. I'm still not sure if that's the right thing to do. i think I would weigh solids...like fish/chicken. Cause the 1/2 cup was more than 4 ounces because it was dense. It was almost 5 ounces. so I'll have to figure this out.

How does everyone else do it? Measuring cup or weight? I bought a new shiny scale to keep myself on track weighing food.

I really really hope I'm not just swollen from the needle and when that goes...my appetite comes back. I dont think a needle would really swell me up all the way down to the pouch, though. Who knows?

I want to think positively.

On a side note...it's almost Friday and I get to start to eat solid foods tomorrow! wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!

hugs to all,

BandedKitten

Sorry to be so late in responding to this.

IMO you did right to measure the chili in a measuring cup rather than weigh it. And you're right in the thought to weigh solid Proteins. And MOST of the time, I measure my veggies in a measuring cup (my doc says 1/2 cup lower carb veggies). I've started weighing them too, just out of curiosity, and different veggies weigh different amounts. I know some bariatric surgeons say it's really more important to go by volume than weight when managing food intake.

Your doctor or nutritionist may have other ideas, but when it comes to weighing food, I don't worry if it's 2.7 or 3.2 oz.. as long as it's close to 3oz, that's fine. And if I've been working out extremely hard or if the Protein is a very low calorie one.. like fish, I will sometimes have 4oz. I try not to increase my protein very often though as it could be a slippery slope back to weight gain.

It can be a very confusing thing to try to decide how to measure your food, but you, your doc and your nut or dietician should be able to come up with a method that works for you, the individual. Remember the band "rules" aren't really all that rigid.. they can be modified to work with the individual. That's why I much prefer to call them guidelines.

All this is based on my experience.. others might have differing views and that's ok too.

Wow, the volume I can take in after 1 fill is still much more than you guys are eating. I've been eating "unwich" sandwiches from Jimmy John's subs for lunch every day. They are just breadless subs with lettuce where the bread would be but they are huge compared to the volume you guys are measuring out. With the pickle that I get, I'd guess it is 4-5 cups worth. But I've been losing .2 - 1 lb/ day every day that I've switched to the unwiches for lunch (no cardio either).

Sorry to be so late in responding to this.

IMO you did right to measure the chili in a measuring cup rather than weigh it. And you're right in the thought to weigh solid Proteins. And MOST of the time, I measure my veggies in a measuring cup (my doc says 1/2 cup lower carb veggies). I've started weighing them too, just out of curiosity, and different veggies weigh different amounts. I know some bariatric surgeons say it's really more important to go by volume than weight when managing food intake.

Your doctor or nutritionist may have other ideas, but when it comes to weighing food, I don't worry if it's 2.7 or 3.2 oz.. as long as it's close to 3oz, that's fine. And if I've been working out extremely hard or if the Protein is a very low calorie one.. like fish, I will sometimes have 4oz. I try not to increase my protein very often though as it could be a slippery slope back to weight gain.

It can be a very confusing thing to try to decide how to measure your food, but you, your doc and your nut or dietician should be able to come up with a method that works for you, the individual. Remember the band "rules" aren't really all that rigid.. they can be modified to work with the individual. That's why I much prefer to call them guidelines.

All this is based on my experience.. others might have differing views and that's ok too.