So I signed up for this board just before or just after getting banded in Dec 2010. I hadn't been on since my second fill as I had gotten discouraged because of my lack of success. It's now 8 months post surgery and I have to say I am one of those who has not enjoyed early or rapid success. My band is now only 1.5 cc fro being full. I have a realize band that holds 10cc's. Up until my last fill I had enjoyed almost no restriction and my hunger was not in the least bit controlled. However since my last fill which was a little over 2 weeks ago it is finally working the way I always thought/wanted it to. I have experienced almost no hunger, at least not like the hunger I used to feel. I get full on about a cup of food, maybe 3 to 4 oz. and I say full/satiated for 2 to 3 hours at a time. I am having to force myself to eat at times to make sure I am getting enough protein. Also making good food choices is a breeze when you are eating to live and not living to eat. I have lost 10 lbs in the past two weeks and my enthusiasm for the band is renewed. I finally am looking forward to my next fill appt since I don't think I will need a fill and will actually be able to get on the scale without being embarrassed. To anyone who is going through the slow process of finding your sweet spot with fills hang in there! When you hit it it's awesome. Thanks to all of you out there who constantly share your experiences...getting and reading your updates in my email kept me from giving up completely.

Glad to see you are finally on the "band-wagon" yuk yuk! Good for you!

I am glad your band is finally working. 10 pounds in 2 weeks is amazing. Keep up the good work!

congrats...as we know the band works different for everyone..or at least the speed of it working! happy losing!

So I signed up for this board just before or just after getting banded in Dec 2010. I hadn't been on since my second fill as I had gotten discouraged because of my lack of success. It's now 8 months post surgery and I have to say I am one of those who has not enjoyed early or rapid success. My band is now only 1.5 cc fro being full. I have a realize band that holds 10cc's. Up until my last fill I had enjoyed almost no restriction and my hunger was not in the least bit controlled. However since my last fill which was a little over 2 weeks ago it is finally working the way I always thought/wanted it to. I have experienced almost no hunger, at least not like the hunger I used to feel. I get full on about a cup of food, maybe 3 to 4 oz. and I say full/satiated for 2 to 3 hours at a time. I am having to force myself to eat at times to make sure I am getting enough Protein. Also making good food choices is a breeze when you are eating to live and not living to eat. I have lost 10 lbs in the past two weeks and my enthusiasm for the band is renewed. I finally am looking forward to my next fill appt since I don't think I will need a fill and will actually be able to get on the scale without being embarrassed. To anyone who is going through the slow process of finding your sweet spot with fills hang in there! When you hit it it's awesome. Thanks to all of you out there who constantly share your experiences...getting and reading your updates in my email kept me from giving up completely.

Thank you for sharing! Presently am in the dumps about this band. 5 months down the road and not lost 20 pounds yet. I will continue to hang in there as I see it might finally work for me one day too. Your post helped me. Hope and pray is all I can do right now. Thanks.

It's been over a year and I still say this doesn't work for everyone. For the life of me I don't see why it works for some and not others. I wish I had never had it done. Now I am stuck with this thing in me that has never worked and never will. I was hoping with time I could say...I lost weight, but that has not happened.

Thank you for sharing! Presently am in the dumps about this band. 5 months down the road and not lost 20 pounds yet. I will continue to hang in there as I see it might finally work for me one day too. Your post helped me. Hope and pray is all I can do right now. Thanks.

Glad my experience is helpful. I guess from reading the post below that maybe it doesn't work for everyone and I actually began to think it wouldn't work for me but everyday I wake up wondering if today is the day that the hunger will return and the restriction will go down and it hasn't happened. Got stuck this morning on peas so it's still working. I see from your states that you are still ways away from your band being full...just give it time, as long as there is space in you band there is hope that you will hit that sweet spot. I guess its the folks who get to there max fill and still don't experience restriction or hunger control that it doesn't work...my heart goes out to them. I would hate to have gone through all of this and not have it work. Best of luck to you!

These posts are really encouraging arent they...even I was so low....not lost anything in the last 2 months....and I was scared of a fill....isnt that silly..i thought I would be malnourished..

finally I have got my first fill !!!I am praying hard it will help me....

So I signed up for this board just before or just after getting banded in Dec 2010. I hadn't been on since my second fill as I had gotten discouraged because of my lack of success. It's now 8 months post surgery and I have to say I am one of those who has not enjoyed early or rapid success. My band is now only 1.5 cc fro being full. I have a realize band that holds 10cc's. Up until my last fill I had enjoyed almost no restriction and my hunger was not in the least bit controlled. However since my last fill which was a little over 2 weeks ago it is finally working the way I always thought/wanted it to. I have experienced almost no hunger, at least not like the hunger I used to feel. I get full on about a cup of food, maybe 3 to 4 oz. and I say full/satiated for 2 to 3 hours at a time. I am having to force myself to eat at times to make sure I am getting enough Protein. Also making good food choices is a breeze when you are eating to live and not living to eat. I have lost 10 lbs in the past two weeks and my enthusiasm for the band is renewed. I finally am looking forward to my next fill appt since I don't think I will need a fill and will actually be able to get on the scale without being embarrassed. To anyone who is going through the slow process of finding your sweet spot with fills hang in there! When you hit it it's awesome. Thanks to all of you out there who constantly share your experiences...getting and reading your updates in my email kept me from giving up completely.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!! I have been on here several times the past few weeks whining about my non-existent "restriction" and the fact that I'm not losing and I'm hungry....stomach hungry, not head hungry. I have expressed my frustration with feeling like I'm on yet another diet roller coaster and I got the band because I didn't to be put on a diet...I wanted that restriction and lack of hunger so I could control it. I don't mind working with my band but my band isn't working with me yet. Will power has never been my strong point obviously, or I wouldn't have resorted to surgery. Anyhow, reading your posted has given me a little silver lining and I'll keep chugging along. Everyone on here is so awesome when it come to support and suggestions and although I hate to hear others are struggling, it is comforting to hear that others are in the same boat and that I'm not the oddball.

I'm so thrilled that you have found your "Zone" - - - can't wait to find mine. I also have a Realize band and I think that it is 11 cc's, and I only have 4.5 in mine....gosh it is going to be a long haul to get there if they only give me .5cc's per fill.....ugh! I just want to not be hungry, I want that cup of food to satisfy me, I just want to feel something happening, other than the port digging into my ribs.

Thanks for the information and knowledge that you have found......

Staci

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!! I have been on here several times the past few weeks whining about my non-existent "restriction" and the fact that I'm not losing and I'm hungry....stomach hungry, not head hungry. I have expressed my frustration with feeling like I'm on yet another diet roller coaster and I got the band because I didn't to be put on a diet...I wanted that restriction and lack of hunger so I could control it. I don't mind working with my band but my band isn't working with me yet. Will power has never been my strong point obviously, or I wouldn't have resorted to surgery. Anyhow, reading your posted has given me a little silver lining and I'll keep chugging along. Everyone on here is so awesome when it come to support and suggestions and although I hate to hear others are struggling, it is comforting to hear that others are in the same boat and that I'm not the oddball.

I'm so thrilled that you have found your "Zone" - - - can't wait to find mine. I also have a Realize band and I think that it is 11 cc's, and I only have 4.5 in mine....gosh it is going to be a long haul to get there if they only give me .5cc's per fill.....ugh! I just want to not be hungry, I want that cup of food to satisfy me, I just want to feel something happening, other than the port digging into my ribs.

Thanks for the information and knowledge that you have found......

Staci

Staci,

You and people like you/us are exactly the reason I wanted to share my experience. I remember when I was at 4 - 5 cc's and was still hungry all the time...and I know what you mean by stomach hungry not head hungry. Let me tell you...even head hunger gets controlled once your band hits that sweet spot. Not that it goes away, I think most of us are in the place we are because of head hunger in addition to stomach hunger. But it's a lot easier to shut the head hunger out when your stomach is always full/satisfied. I still struggle with it...like yesterday when I wayyyy overindulged on my wifes Cookies...she's a baker :-/ Still, I know that I didn't do near as much damage as I would have done if my band wasn't working. It simply becomes way more painful/uncomfortable to overeat when your band is fighting for you than when the food goes down with no problem. Trust me Staci when it works it works GREAT! Just be patient and have faith. If your current fill place isn't working with you the way you think they should then find a new place. I had the luxury of deciding where to get my fills here in the states because I had my surgery in Mexico (that's a whole other story). Anyway, the hospital I go to (Stamford Hospital in CT) has a great woman that does my fills who works with me. She won't do more than 1CC at a time but will schedule me more frequently if I/she/we think its necessary (within reason, usually at least 2 weeks in between fills as opposed to a month). The reason in my case that it took so long to get to my sweet spot was because I got discouraged and stopped getting fills. So talk to your fill place where they do your fills and request a 1 cc fill. Make sure you ang around for a while afterwards and drink a couple of glasses of Water to make sure you aren't too tight. But whatever you decide to do just keep getting your fills and give it a chance and above all don't get discouraged, it all happens when and like it's supposed to. It's not a race except in our minds (trust me that was my frustration). Best of luck to you and please keep us posted.

This thread is just what I needed to read right now. I have been whining on here in the last couple of days after having a .5cc fill and went from tremendous appetite and hunger to not being able to eat 1/2 cup of SOUP BROTH. I have lost 7 pounds in just a few days and I think now I am a tad too tight, but it just amazes how me how I went from wheret I was at before my fill, to this. I have been very discouraged along my journey and it has been very emotionally draining on me. At times I have felt like giving up, but I feel like I am so close finding my green zone and I cannot wait till I am there.

I had my band in April 2009. I had lost 40lbs but have gained back 10. I lost my weight in the 6 mths after banding. In January 2011 I had the band fixed. It was causing horrible pain if I needed an unfill. My band hasn't worked for 1 1/2yrs now and to get the dr to fix it last January was a horrible struggle. He felt I wasn't doing everything right. I diet and exercise to just keep off the 30 lbs. After surgery this last January my band leaks. I've gone in 4 times and each time the fluid is low and has air in the tube when they pull out whats left it band. I fight with my doctor over this. I haven't felt the sweet spot ever and don't have that full feeling either. I am hungry all the time and starting to give up. I'm gaining again in the last week so I am going back to my dr and request it be fixed for the final time or take it out. The band is not working with me. I work hard at losing but if the so called tool isn't working with me its the same as having no band at all. I'm frustrated all the way around. I paid $17,000.00 to have this thing put in and will probably have to pay to have it removed. I started at 7cc's after initial surgery, now my band won't hold more than 4 and I have no sensation of it being closed. It shows on the screen its tight and I don't feel the tightness at all. Any one having same issues?

Im so glad I made the decision to get on this forum today! You have inspired me to keep working hard. I was banded in June and have come to a complete halt in terms of weight loss. I can eat larger and larger portions and am very hungry, both head and tummy hungry in between meals. I almost feel like I never had the band, but I know that I am motivated and determined to make this thing work! I told myself and my family that this was my last ditch effort, so I will do this! It is helpful for me to read posts like yours to remember that I haven't even had a fill yet and that I am going to lose more weight when I find the sweet spot. It just seems like it is taking forever (my first fill is Aug 31). Anyway, thank you so much for sharing your experience! It does matter to those of us who are in limbo.

I am completely discouraged. I have gained 12 pounds since May. After my surgery, three years ago,I started losing weight right away and got down 45 pounds. Then, I had to have hernia surgery 4 months later, and the weight loss stopped. Over the past three years, I have been filled, unfilled, never finding that "sweet spot". The latest news is my band is partially filled. It had been unfilled in July when I was living with a too tight band since last May's fill. A couple weeks ago, I had a partial fill, though the doctor said it wasn't a "theraputic restriction' and he didn't want me to be miserable.

I'm tired of this lapband yo-yo. I paid over $16,000 for this band, and it has not been a success for me. Does anyone have any suggestions?

For all of you please remember everyone has some issue or the other with the band. I am almost afraid to say how uneventful it has been for me except when I did the wrong thing. Last summer I got stuck, up it came and I went back to finish lunch. STUPID!!! I continued for the next few days thinking all was well, it wasn't. I was having an issue, usually small every few days. Then it was every meal and I got to a point that I was only doing liquids. My husband made an appointment and dragged me in. Unfill, not much but I was swollen and the doc gave me a good what for. Then I was stupid again and waited almost 3 months to get a fill. I gained 19 lbs. lots of tears with that. It took me almost 6 months to get that off, but I couldn't get lower. In July I was the same weight as I had been the same time last year; only I had lost between 19 and 25 lbs. with on and off weight. I finally went in for a fill on the 12th and now have 5.5 cc in the 10cc band. This is what is bad for me, my only real band issue, where I struggle DAILY .... I don't get hungry. Not once since placement. It was great to follow the rules and not be hungry; pounds came off and I was happy. Down 63 lbs. in a size 12 and I got careless. I didn't have restriction and could put down a 10 oz rib eye, some salad and a veggie no problem. So I ate what DH wanted to, often my only meal and it would be wrong. In July I realized that I wasn't getting anything done. I tried to make changes, more water and such; not enough. So I got that small fill it was only .2 cc and I now have restriction. Life is very different, now I wonder if I will start to loose again. My doc said the band doesn't get looser when you are so far out and I should be very close to green. I am doing greek yogurt to start my days, but lunch and dinner are still a kick me in butt to get in. Hopefully I will get down to the goal I set in the beginning.

I am completely discouraged. I have gained 12 pounds since May. After my surgery, three years ago,I started losing weight right away and got down 45 pounds. Then, I had to have hernia surgery 4 months later, and the weight loss stopped. Over the past three years, I have been filled, unfilled, never finding that "sweet spot". The latest news is my band is partially filled. It had been unfilled in July when I was living with a too tight band since last May's fill. A couple weeks ago, I had a partial fill, though the doctor said it wasn't a "theraputic restriction' and he didn't want me to be miserable.

I'm tired of this lapband yo-yo. I paid over $16,000 for this band, and it has not been a success for me. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Yeah I do ! If you have not been filled under fluoroscope then try that route.

It's like a X-RAY machine that lets you watch the entire procedure. A Dr. or P.A.

will run the test. Your band has a FILL LINE. They can take you right up to your fill line,

and it's done... No guessing or trying and hoping, just right to the point.

You fast on liquids for 3 or 4 days, then try mushies for a couple of days, and then try food.

I had Hernia repair also, and a H e l l,,, of a time with a surgeon in aftercare.

I got a new Dr., and they ran the Fluoroscopy, and it worked. I followed the the fast, and the

diet of 800-1200 calories a day, and I am losing weight.

Were talking October,,, I will be banded for 5 years, and now it works.....

Try the Fluoroscopy, and tell them to take you straight to your fill line.

Your tired of this band not working..

Good Luck to you, Shirley.