Dear LapBand World,

Here's my story I started out at 257lbs and lost 10 pre-op. On November 30th the day of surgery I weighed 247lbs. In the two weeks after surgery I lost 10 more lbs and was down to 237. Since then I have only lost 2 more lbs. I had my first fill January 12th and haven't really noticed a differance in restriction. I have a 14 cc band and my doctor fills only 1 cc at a time.THE REASON I AM WRITING ALL THIS IS BECAUSE I'M NOT LOOSING LIKE I THOUGHT I WOULD. I have only lost 22 lbs so far and most of it was shortly before and shortly after banding. IS THIS BANDSTER HELL????? I try to eat what I'm supposed to by I tend to overeat, obviously or I wouldn't have needed the surgery to begin with. I'm worried because I see others on this forum loosing more weight and I FEEL LIKE A FAILURE. My questions are when did you start to REALLY REALLY loose weight??? AND how does restriction help with weight loss once you get it?????? I am tracking my food and exercising although i could do better with both. any other suggestions???

I was frustrated too in the beginning. I lost 13 pounds the first month and everyone else seemed to be losing so much more. Everytime I would get down on myself I would have to tell myself to be happy with the 13 pounds or whatever the amount was at the time. Had I not had the surgery I could have easily been 5 or 10 pounds heavier than before the surgery!

Well you should request for your doc to put in more than 1 cc at a time I have had 3 or more put in at a time and you can tell a big diff. So if I were you I would make an appointment asap and ask to have a bigger fill Good luck and keep us updated!

It is perfectly normal. Everyone looses on the pre and post op diet phase. How can one not without eating regular food? It's all about the healing, not weight loss.

The goal at this point is to get you back to NORMAL.....as in the way you were before you had the surgery.

That's PHASE 1.

Next Phase is to start, through a series of adjustments (fills) is to get you to were you are satisified with your weight loss journey....The Green Zone.This time is bandster hell!!! I actually GAINED weight! I was angry and frustrated at the same time because of everything I went through I though it was going to be a miraculous life changing event!

Instead it was everyone telling me I MUST do this and I MUST do that if I want to loose any weight.

Very Very Frustratiing.

Then you reach the Green Zone, in my case it took at least 4-5 months and a few fills after surgery.

That brings you into the Next Phase....Living in the Green Zone!!!

It's wonderful, it's everything I had imagined the surgery would do for me.

NO hunger, CANNOT Overeat, Steady Weightloss, and complete Patient Satisfaction.

Sure, I still have certaind complaints and concerns, but nothing like it was in the first few phases.

Hang in there, listen to your Dr., and work through it. It does take a little time.

AND DO NOT BE AFRAID OF CHANGE!!!!

B-52: Thanks so much! This is exactly what I needed to hear. I'm learning that this journey is difficult for the impatient!

1 cc at a time (considering it's early days for you) seems to little. I would recommend you buy a good digital scale and measure your protein. My doctor says 3oz others say 4 oz. When your protein is gone no seconds. The rest of your meal should be low cal/fat veggies. My doctor does allow for fresh fruit. Personally I do not eat bread, crackers,

Thsi makes me SO MAD. Why has the US gone to the 14cc band? Does anyone know the reason? I got my 11cc band in Mexico, and the general consensus there is that the US doctors make more money by giving more fills. I don't know if this is correct or what, but I've lost 48 lbs in about 3.5 months and have had no issues with my realize band. I just don't get why the US went to a bigger band..it makes no sense, except that it's a bigger money maker.

Thsi makes me SO MAD. Why has the US gone to the 14cc band? Does anyone know the reason? I got my 11cc band in Mexico, and the general consensus there is that the US doctors make more money by giving more fills. I don't know if this is correct or what, but I've lost 48 lbs in about 3.5 months and have had no issues with my realize band. I just don't get why the US went to a bigger band..it makes no sense, except that it's a bigger money maker.

It's not that the US as a whole has gone to a larger band...different bands have different capacities. You have a Realize band (as do I) but the Allergan Lap Band has a larger capacity and different surgeons have their preference on which one they use - I've even heard of some surgeons who give the patient a choice between the two...I didn't have a choice, my surgeon only uses the Realize band.

According to others with the band, my surgeon and things I've read...the band you get, size wise, depends on the size of your stomach. And HopeToBe...it takes a few months and a few fills to start losing. I NEVER lost what other people lost. I never lost fast. Mine was always a steady 1 lb a week or so. But I'm fine with that because the slower you lose, the more apt to keep it off you are. I preferred getting small fills...less chance of being too tight and slipping.

I understand your frustration. I got my band 9/15/11, and my surgeon will also only give me 1cc fill at a time & I have a 14cc band. I still don't feel anything at all from the band except for about 24 hours after a fill. I got my 4th fill Tuesday, and I found a chart online where Allergan recommends the first fill to be 4cc, the second to be 3cc. I took this with me, and showed it to my surgeon, and told him that this makes it look like Allergan thinks it will take 7cc in most cases, otherwise they would not recommend that much. My thought was that he was billing $650 per fill (including the office visit), and that it was better for him to get as many as possible - but I did not say that to him because I wanted to be polite. He was going to cut me back to .5cc, and thankfully I talked him out of that and he gave me another full cc. He told me that if it gets too tight too fast you can have problems with erosion and band slipping - and I don't want that either. He said he thinks I'm getting close to the green zone, and I asked him why he thought that - because I still felt like I was not even on the spectrum yet. He never really answered that question, but he did take the time to talk to listen to me anyway. I'm just up to 4cc now - and it's really too soon for me to tell if it's going to make any difference for me or not. In the mean time - I keep hoping!

I have been following the rules of the band pretty closely, and even though I get so hungry that I want to chew my arm off - I stop after one serving. I'm also exercising & walking so the weight is coming off pretty consistently at 2lbs a week. I just keep telling myself that it will get better, and if I can get it off, the band will help me keep it off. Not doing the right thing & making bad choices will only take that much longer to get to my goal.

Hang in there - I have to believe this is going to get better!

This could last you ten months at 1cc per fill...did your doc ever say why he uses this schedule? (if you are paying each time, he is making money and that may be why!) I would find another fill doc. I got to my good restriction at 6cc in a 10cc band after my first three fills.

People lose at different rates, DO NOT COMPARE. My surgeon did not put me on a strict diet after I was on solids. He told me to eat to my appetite. So therefore I did not lose much until my fills kicked in. I was banded in Feb. my fills took true effect in June. THAT is when my losses really started.

Like B52, once I reached restriction, it's been simple. Portion control is easy when your apptetite is under control, and the band will not allow you to overeat if you are choosing the proper foods. If I were to eat milkshakes all day, of course I could overeat, but I don't. The appetite control I have helps me to make good choices. I have one once in a while as a treat, but that's ok. Life is about living.