I got the band May 12, 2011 and thought I would do great but I am not do nearly as well as I thought. On the pre op diet I lost around 17 pounds which was good. After that I gained some back and knew that was normal. I am now at a 7 pound loss my pre op weight. Here is the thing, I have went for 9 or 10 fills and never really got to this "green zone." A 7 pound weight loss is not where I'd like to be 9 months after surgery. After some fills I had to slow down when I ate and had to chew well but could still eat around the same amount. When my doctor comes in to give me a fill he makes remarks like I haven't been following the diet. Which I haven't. He wants that high protein low carb stuff. Which is pretty much the Atkins diet. Well if I could have stuck to that diet I wouldn't have needed the surgery right? Don't get me wrong when I do feel restriction I am going to want to eat the right things. But as of now I don't and I'm still hungry as much as I was before the operation. This is what I want advice about. I have the 14 or 15 cc band. I always used to ask the doc how many cc's I had after a fill and he would tell me. He told me not to get stuck on a number. Well this last time I went I asked him before the fill how much I had and he said 7 cc's. Ok I think well I guess I need more. I take a drink and when it goes down I tell him and I'm on my way. Well as I leave I ask him how much I have now and he tells me 5 cc's. WTF!!!! He told me it was ok and that happens and the band will move a bit and settle in place. Well for months I have lost that slight restriction that I have had and wondering if he has just been taking some out and adding some in each time I go. I feel as I have been wasting months and money and still not in the green. I'm so pissed and I see a lot of you encourage people by telling then to go see the doc and get a cc put in. This is what I want to do. I want to tell him that every time I come in I want 1 cc added. If its too tight I will have to come in the next day and have some taken out. Does that sound ok? I have been doing it his way and haven't got that far and now would like it my way. I am also a Nurse and now how do body works but I also know how my body works. Do you think I should ask/demand this from him? I feel I have the right and I am so ready to start losing. I'm just getting fed up and a little desperate here. If not I'm ready to go to another doctor. Please tell me if you have had something like this happen or any advice. I feel like I have the right to try it my way now. Thanks for reading and PLEASE help me out. Thanks

I didn't get tight enough to truly restrict my food until I had about 8cc in a 10cc band. At 5cc in a 14 cc band, it's very possible you're not feeling anything. If you're hungry, then he needs to know that you're nowhere near feeling the band. And if he doesn't listen, you need to find another dr.

I agree too that the band is only part of it. I lost almost all my weight before I achieved real restriction. But not getting even close to feeling it must be very frustrating - you need to know there will be light at the end of the tunnel or its very hard to keep your motivation up. So I hear you on your frustration.

The band is not doing anything for you right now, so if I were you, I would try to do it yourself until you either do get restriction and until your dr listens to you or you get another dr.

Got my second fill today and this was so helpful! I was expecting something to click and me NEVER be hungry again like when I first had surgery. Thanks to this post I know I should appreciate the weight I am losing and work the band and not wait for the band to work!