I am going for my first fill on March 1st. i keep reading about some people whos drs dont give them a fill if they are loosing weight. is that true? I am loosing weight (without a fill) but dont be fooled- its a HUGE struggle. i basically am just doing what i normally would do if i didnt have the band and i was on a diet. i am hungy and i want to eat i just dont bc i figure whats the point if i just went thru this surgery in order to get heathy. BUT now im worried now that my dr isnt gonna fill me when i go in... is it silly to think that? or could that be an issue?

any and all thoughts on the situation would be appreciated especially if u have been thru something like this...

No, if you tell your doctor what a struggle it is that's a start. Its testimony to your determination not whether you need a fill or not.

BUT - how much of a struggle is it really? Personally I'd rather have to use a bit of willpower and remain less filled - because the trade off to the band doing more of the work for you is that you can eat less and less variety. I'd want to save those big guns for when I really needed them personally, and health wise for you the more you can eat and the wider the variety, the better off you are.

When you think of the restricted diet of a well filled bandster, there are bound to be long term health trade offs for that - things such as osteoporosis. Because lets face it, do all bandsters eat and exemplary diet? Probably not and they no doubt do NOT get all the Vitamins and minerals they require. Nobody's been banded long enough for there to be data on that sort of thing.

My surgeon takes several things into account when deciding on the need for a fill. Are you losing weight. Are you hungry between meals. Are you able to eat more than a cup of food at one time.

There is a thread in the Fill forum you should look at which has a great checklist to go thru before you decide if you truly need a fill or not. Check that out.

My Dr. (fill nurse, actually) has always been totally supportive and cooperative in getting me a fill when we think I need it. Whether its twice in two weeks, or once a month, or months apart, it seems like when I think I need one and go in, she listens, and we quickly come to agreement and then I get it. A couple of times I asked for it to be too tight, and as a result, I couldn't pass the "drink some water test" successfully, so she would just take a little out. No fuss, no muss, no suggestions that I was bad, or not worthy. Just two people working together to try to get a patient to success. Its been a great experience! And as you can see from my sig line - as of today, I have had 12 fills (all of them free) so they really walk the talk. And I am achieving almost exactly the anticipated average of 1.5 pounds per week of weight loss!

oh yes, you generally do not need a fill if you are losing weight and are not hungry. If you are "starving" or probably more accurate, ravenously hungry, you probably need a fill. It's amazing what even a small fill can do for you.

Because you are brute forcing your way though this, it's time for a fill. Hopefully your clinic is staffed by compassionate people who are interested in your journey and not just in it for the bucks.

Good luck!

I think part of the magic of the band is that once we are filled we are no longer ravenously hungry all the time. We no longer want to eat huge portions, not simply because we can't but because something eventually gets flipped in our brains that we don't need to eat dinner at Claim Jumpers. (This restaurant chain has several locations in Washington state, I don't know if they have a wider wider market. One of their appitisers would feed me PRE-BAND for 3 or 4 meals. HUGE portions, even by American standards, which is part of their appeal)

I agree with Vines. My doctor asks how much chicken can I eat, and if I get real hungry between meals before deciding how much of a fill I need.

Speaking of which, I'm heading out the door right now to get my 3rd fill.