Hi everyone...I had my surgery on February 8th and haven't really lost much weight since. I've been loosing inches because I still exercise but not really any weight. I just had my first fill a few days ago...and they told me that I won't feel restriction until my 3rd or 4th fill...so this means that I have to wait another 3 or 4 months? They do a fill every month...it just seems like that's soooooo far away.

I have no restriction yet. And trust me I know that I need to wait it out and see how it goes like everybody tells me...which I am prepared for...but it just doesn't seem right that I have to wait this long for restriction..does it?

No it sucks...thats why its called Bandster Hell because its like not having a band. I got to 6cc in my 10cc band with three fills and that was my first green zone...you do lose it as you lose weight so I had to get fills twice more to get to to more green zones to lose it all.

On the bright side some docs give 1cc or half a cc every six weeks, I suspect some of them make money doing this but it is shameful to put us through that!

Best of luck, the waiting is the hardest part!

it took me 4.5 months and 4 or 5 fills to get restriction - push for as many ccs as your doc will do - some will let you have a "say" in how many cc's they give you. The first 4.5 months for me was just willpower - like any other diet. Just as i was getting sick of the diet and would normally give up and start regaining the restriction kicked in.

Ugh Geez! I gotta run to work but I just wanted to mention real quick that they put 3 ccs in my band! And its a 10cc!

I was about 13 months out before I felt any real restriction. Bandster hell was a long time for me. lol.

My dr told me when u go for ur fill they keep filling it and having u sip water until u feel it "gargle or like u can't keep it down" then they back it off just a spec. Does that sound right?

I feel your pain, my surgery was 12/16 and I have NO restriction what so ever. I'm going in today for my 3rd fill, so I'm praying that I will finally feel like i have a band...

I know, it's frustrating to have the surgery and then have to wait so long for your band to really start doing its job. Sometimes the careful, incremental fill process seems endless, but it's safer to do it that way because overly aggressive fills can cause very unpleasant complications.

I started feeling a little bit of restriction after my 1st fill, a little more after the 2nd, and the 3rd fill really did the trick. Looking back, I'm glad it was gradual because if they gave me that much fill (2.5 cc in a 4 cc band) all in the 1st visit, my eating problems would have been unmanageable. The way it worked out made it possible for me to practice good band eating skills and slowly adjust to the fills.

Hang in there!

Edited to Add: don't assume your surgeon gives fills only once a month just because they automatically schedule appointments for you once a month. My surgeon will do fills at 2-week intervals if you ask.

_{I didn't feel much restriction until 4th or 5th - I think maybe on my 6th were I found my sweet spot. Way too many people on this board think they will immediately lose weight after surgery. Until you feel restriction the band is a plastic but expensive ornamanet on your stomach. Exercising didn't do much for me - once you see how little you have to eat to lose weight esp when you are close to your goal weight you see why it will take 5 or 6 fills to get there. Plus going slowly on the fills will help you learn how to eat and not choke/get stuck as much.}

My dr told me when u go for ur fill they keep filling it and having u sip Water until u feel it "gargle or like u can't keep it down" then they back it off just a spec. Does that sound right?

Some surgeons do it this way, but most do not.

Mine did a larger fill for the first then smaller ones to "sneak up" on my green zone or sweet spot. He says in his experience his band patients do better that way than filling too tight, unfilling, refilling, then unfilling. He doesn't like chasing the sweet spot if he doesn't have to.

Six months for me!

My dr told me when u go for ur fill they keep filling it and having u sip water until u feel it "gargle or like u can't keep it down" then they back it off just a spec. Does that sound right?

Yes, some docs do that but some seem to have an incentive ($) for giving tiny fills. They will tell you its so you can adjust but if you dont have restriction I'm not sure what you are adjusting to! My fist doc gave small fills but at short intervals which was fine. But I found a doc 4 hours closer to me and she does the fill you till you choke method...love her!

Thanks everybody for the advice I really appreciate it. I do notice a tad bit of restriction from this fill...really not much to mention but I guess its something. I am going to ask the doc if they can give me fills sooner than every month...maybe I'll wait about a week or so and see what they say. I have a feeling that they don't but who knows we will see...maybe they will do it in like 3 weeks or something...or maybe I have to reschedule a week earlier than my appt! LoL They'll probably catch me on that one though. I really don't want to wait until the middle of summer to finally have restriction...I want to be able to have the restriction with my exercising right now...I'm doing so good with that part of it, I just need the rest to get me started! I know I will do great once I do!