Ok I went for my 4th fill today knowing I had 3cc in a 4cc band. I was hoping I would get .5cc today. I told the Dr I have had no restrition since surgery on 8/16/05. I have lost 50 pounds which is great but I feel like it has been an up hill struggle the whole time. I asked him if I could have a leaking port etc. He said it was unlikley and he would check. Well when checked he was able to pull out the 3cc plus. so perplexed he looked to my chard and looke up the serial number and discovered I had the Vangaurd Band. So he gave me a total of 6cc in the band. So I have two questions 1. Will I finally start lossing weight again (I've lost nothing in the last 3 months) and 2. How the HELL do they miss something like this!!:angry

Your story may at first seem like a bad one and I understand your frustration but on the other hand you can know feel comfortable that the weight loss will once again begin. Also please make sure to give youself a big pat on the back for the 50 pounds to date with little or no restriction.

Cheers

Was it your surgeon that didnt know what size band he put in you? Thats incredible!!!

todays visit was not the surgen that did the band but I had asked him before and he said "We always use the 4cc band unlesswe need the other one" Looks like he need ther other one. Mind you I dont know if its true but I was told that the larger band is mostly use on men 400 to 500 lbs and at the start of this I was 280's and 5'10"

I would have been very upset if my surgeon didnt know what size band he put in me!! I do know of some (mostly men) all different sizes that have the larger band. One man in my group had the small band put in, when they had him drink some Water in recovery, it wouldnt go through, they brought him in and had an upper GI, brought him right back into surgery and replaced the small band with the larger band...I think it depends on the shape of your stomach.

One thing that aggravates me at my Dr's office is when I see someone new, like the nurse practicioner, and they ask, so which surgery did you have, for God's sake, you would think that they would look at your chart before they come in the room!!

Good luck with you new fill level!! 50 Lbs is a great weight loss since August!!

Keep up the good work!!

Patty

I have the larger band also and I am female and started at 280. My doctor uses both bands but says he likes to use the VG band because of it shape(the inside, where the saline goes) it is shaped like little pillows instead on like a "innertube"-Round. hope that made sense. He makes the decision once he has opened you up and sees what your stomach looks like...he said with mine he wanted to use the VG but he gave me 3cc at the time of surgery because it is such a big band and he wanted me to have some restriction right away. It has worked really well for me so far.

I dont know which band I have but it does have 'pillows'. I dont know how much fill I have, but I dont have any restriction either and I am scared that I have a leak or something. You have done so amazing with your weight loss,having no restriction especially, :clap2:, I've barely lost a thing in 6 months!!

I keep reading about people not really loosing weight...is this normal? What is the purpose of having the proceedure then if it's such a struggle to loose the weight...this is a last resort for me~ HELP! Not banded yet!

Thanks Jack for that!

Ok, so I understand there are ways around the band so to speak! High calorie foods, too much food, not excercising and expecting the band to do all the work! Right?

Sooo, we need to participate also...eat proper portions, right foods, make better choices and excercise...it's still a battle but we have added a tool to help us along the way.

Thats what I thought but was getting so concerned with people complaining about not loosing..if it's a problem with the band I can understant that...I hope I have the will power to make it work for me.

But guys, the thing that gets me is - if I could think about this healthily, eat healthily and make more healthy choices then I wouldn't need the band in the first place!

Actually I'm going start a new thread so I dont hijack wwhyknots post.

(see 'working with the band' about to go up in Support.)