Jump to content
×
Are you looking for the BariatricPal Store? Go now!

My Dr. is way too timid with fills



Recommended Posts

I was banded on June 20th of this year. I have a 10cc band. On my first fill I got .04 cc's. Yes you read that correctly LESS THAN 1/2 a cc. And that was 6 weeks post op. Now I went in and the dr. gave me another .06 cc's. That means in total I have 1 cc in my band. I have not been experiencing the "green zone". I am hungry ALL the time. I can, and occasionally still do eat breads.(Though not very often, like once a week.)

I get hungry just a little while after eating my solid Protein. I know that I am following all the rules my dr gave me. No soda, no drinking with meals or 1/2 hour after meals. I am just bummed because I wanted to be further along in the process by now and my weight loss has stalled. I'd really really like to have a more aggressive fill done, but my Dr. flat out refused. He also makes us wait 2 months between fills. So my next fill won't be till November, and at that point I know that he'll try to give me another .05 cc's getting me to 1.5 cc's. YUCK. I think I want to see another dr! Sorry for the rant. I'm going to stop pouting now. :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I understand your feelings. my doc does 1cc at a fill. I have a 14cc band and it took forever for it to get to restriction. I made it to restriction but went to far and had 1/2 taken out due to problems. Take your time and pay attention to the small changes you will notice once you get close. Dont over do it by getting it too tight. I was so mad when he took my Fluid out. I can tell you this. even though my fills were small I still lost weight. follow the rules and it will come off. focus on what you can control and eventually the band will be tight enough. According to my doc, he says that smaller fills give you a better chance for success and reduces the chances of a slip. he could be blowing smoke but hey what else can ya do. I called around looking for a new doc and it wasnt much different. Good luck.

banded Sept 28 2010

starting weight 306

current weight 224

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I agree to call around and see if ther is another dr for you. You OFFICIALLY only have to wait 2 weeks before you can have another fill. My dr believes that it is good to fine the green zone as soon as you can. There is a better success rate then. Remember its your health and your body. But also be patent. Be sure to drink lots of Water in between till you can get a resolve. good luck with your jorney.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Of course I'm not a Dr., but here's my 2 cents worth:

OMG! At that rate it will take forever to get to the green zone so your band will work properly. In my case, the doc put in 2.7cc during surgery and by my 2nd fill I was at 5.3cc and found my green zone there. I didn't need another fill again for 10 months. I believe that alone was the key to my success. Because I hit the green zone so early in the process I saw success with very little effort on my part. I dropped 100 pounds in the first year. I am one of the few who believe it is all about restriction (proper restriction). I really frrl my success has been 90% band with proper restriction and 10% food choices on my part. The proof is in the pudding. If your doc refuses to bring you to proper restriction, I would seek out a new doc.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

AroundtheTown: Be glad that your Dr is going slow. I hit my green zone at 1.75 cc. But I thought my Dr was crazy for only doing 1 cc at a time. All because I read on the boards that people were getting 3-5 cc in a shot. If I had that done I wouldn't have been able to swallow my own saliva and would very likely have caused serious damage to my stomach.

Yet that didn't stop me from going back for a second fill after my first and being too full for several months. Fortunately I didn't cause damage but it was horrendous.

Take it slow. Up your working out and eat between 1-2 cups of food at each meal and you'll do fine. If you're hungry, eat an apple and a piece of cheese. Both will keep you full. Drink Water, crystal light, tea, etc.

You'll do fine, it's a life change and it doesn't happen over night.

If you want to help your Dr. understand that YOU understand, keep a very detailed food diary including what you ate, how much, and how you felt 30 minutes after, one hour after, two hours after, three hours after, etc. So you know how long it was before you felt hungry again.

You should get to the point where you aren't hungry for about 4 hours between meals. Assuming your meals are proper meals and not sliders or junk.

"You OFFICIALLY only have to wait 2 weeks before you can have another fill."

--

NOT TRUE

Fills can take up to 4-6 weeks to distribute and if you get fills only two weeks apart you will very likely end up over filled and causing damage.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If I were you I'd be looking for a different doctor. Slow & steady is fine, but that's not slow, that's S L O W.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The capacity of the pouch is NOT 1-2 cups.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I loved my surgeon and had no complaints about him or the fills but it was too far a drive so I went for a fill to someone closer...OMG she fills you WHILE you are drinking Water and when you choke she says, "Perfect!" She has been exactly right the two times I have gone to her! Perfect restriction, about 5 or so pounds lost per month, and then after I lose 15 or 20 I get looser so I went back. The second fill helped me lose the last ten to normal BMI.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wow, I guess Im lucky. My Dr does 4 cc's at a time, so I've had 2 fills and Im up to 8 cc's in my 14 cc band. Maybe try a different doctor? Or just ask him to do more! You can always come back for an unfill, so I dont see what the problem is.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Trending Products

  • Trending Topics

  • Recent Status Updates

    • LeighaTR

      I am new here today... and only two weeks out from my sleeve surgery on the 23rd. I am amazed I have kept my calories down to 467 today so far... that leaves me almost 750 left for dinner and maybe a snack. This is going to be tough for two weeks... but I have to believe I can do it!
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Doughgurl

      Hey everyone. I'm new here so I thought I should introduce myself. I am 53y/o and am scheduled for Gastric Bypass on June 25th, 2025. I'm located in San Antonio, Texas. I will be having my surgery in Tiajuana Mexico. I've wanted this for years, but I always had insurance where bariatric procedures were excluded. Finally I am able to afford to pay out of pocket.  I can't wait to get started, and I hope I'm prepared for the initial period of "hell". I know what I have signed up for, but I'm sure the good to come will out way the temporary period of discomfort and feelings of regret. I'd love to find people to talk to who have been through the same procedure or experience before. So I look forward to meeting you all. Hope you have a great week!
      · 1 reply
      1. Selina333

        I'm so happy for you! You are about to change your life. I was so glad to get the sleeve done in Dec. I didn't have feelings of regret overall. And I'm down almost 60 lbs. I do feel a little sad at restaurants. I can barely eat half a kid's meal. I get adults meals often because kid ones don't have the same offerings at times. Then I feel obligated to eat on that until it's gone and that can be days. So the restaurant thing isn't great for me. All the rest is fine by me! I love feeling full with very little. I do wish I could drink when eating. And will sip at the end. Just a strong habit to stop. But I'm working on it! You will do fine! Just keep focused on your desire to be different. Not better or worse. But different. I am happy both ways but my low back doesn't like me that heavy. So I listened (also my feet!). LOL! Update us on your journey! I'm not far from you. I'm in Houston. Good luck and I hope it all goes smoothly! Would love to see pics of the town you go to for this. I've never been there. Neat you will be traveling for this! Enjoy the journey. Take it one day at a time. Sometimes a few hours at a time. Follow all recommendations as best you can. 💗

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
  • Recent Topics

  • Hot Products

  • Sign Up For
    Our Newsletter

    Follow us for the latest news
    and special product offers!
  • Together, we have lost...
      lbs

    PatchAid Vitamin Patches

    ×