Hi! I was banded March 1st, and am scheduled for my first fill the 28th. I was just wondering, how many fills did it take u to get adequate enough restriction to where u started losing regularly? My fill doc uses fluro, so will that help me get into the "green zone" faster? I've heard it's best not to put too much fluid at a time, easy does it. I think he does about 4 weeks between fills. Will I have a little more restriction each time? I am very impatient! It's soooo hard right now to eat without restriction, and I DON'T wanna gain back the 20 lbs I've lost! Thanks!

hi sarah.

i was banded in may of 2011. i had 3 fills that took me to good restriction, went in for fill 4 and was too tight for 2 weeks. got 2 emergency unfills and a 5th fill and now i feel like i'm at good restriction. i dont think using fluro helps you get to the green zone faster. my doc uses it also. everyone is sooo different and if anyone tells you that after a certain fill you will have the right restriction...dont listen to them...no one can tell you that at a certain number of cc's in your band is when you get restriction. yeah dont get caught up in the how many cc's are in your band either cuz it's only relevant to your band. i know i am close to 8 cc's in my band but for someone else that could be too tight or not tight enough. i hear you about the being impatient, but unfortunalty with the band we have to be patient. best wishses in your journey. feel free to PM with any questions, i am more than willing to share my experiences so far.

jennifer

Everyone is different. I have read of people who get 7 or 8 fills and still don't feel they have enough restriction. I am extremely lucky, as I've only had 2 fills (3cc in a 10cc band) and I already have great restriction.

For whatever reason, I've always been tight, even when the band was still empty. Oddly enough despite always having been tight, so far I've never once thrown up either. I've had a couple stuck episodes and thought I might throw the food back up, but so far I've been able to avoid it.

I also can eat anything. Some have big problems with breads or other dry food. I eat bread (whole grain wheat) almost every day. I have to eat very small bites and chew it until mush- but I can and do eat it. So far I've not found any foods I can't eat as long as I'm careful.

Everyone is so different! I hope you find your 'Green Zone' and restriction soon

I have had two fills and have a bit of restriction. I am hoping number three is the charm!

Few things.....it's not the # of fills, but how much you get total, and what size your band is.

2nd..we are all anxious, but there is a reason they have to build it up gradually. You have to get used to the chnages slowly, otherwise you will be a failure.

Imagine if there were no fill process, and everyone got a non adjustable band, at surgery, with full restriction from day one.

It would be a disaster, No ONE would be able to handle it, and I would imagine there could even be some deaths due to people not coping with swallowing.

Ok, so much for my lecture....My first fill was 4 weeks after my surgery, 4cc in a 10cc band.

Second fill was 4 weeks after that, 8 weeks from surgery. After the first fill I felt NOTHING! As a matter of fact, I GAINED WEIGHT between my first and seconfd fill.

So, 2nd fill was 2cc, now have 6cc total. Nothing for a few days, then started to feel restriction, had to start adjustaing my eating habits, etc. But the feeling would come ad go, not very consistant.

3rd fill was 4 weeks after that, 12 weeks from surgery, 1cc for a total of 7cc. This one was the charm! That was May 2011, and it lasted me untill last month.

But I have to warn you, it was not very pretty. It took me at least a month to figure out what was happening. All those little things they teach you about chewing, putting the fork down between bites, bno drinking with eating..everything suddenly became a neccessity to survive. many people here have said at that poiunt they went back for a ufill. But I stuck it out, hell or high Water, untill I found my groove.

That was last May....was in theGreen Zone ever since. Met my personal goal weight. happy as a clam with my new life.

This past Jan., my Dr put in 1/2cc. I did not need it..but I had plateaued for a month or two and he wanted to "Experiment" and see what would happen. Well since then, I dropped 15 more lbs.!

I go back to see him in May, and may ask to have that 1/2cc removed.

Thank u all so much for your replies, and I don't even mind being lectured...lol. I'm a very straight up, no nonsense person, and appreciate when ppl are straight forward.

From what I'm gathering, we're ALL different, even with the same band. My band is empty, and still I found out very soon certain no no's. White bread being one. I get stuck even with an empty band! I have learned the hard way to take smaller bites and chew the u-know-what outta food. I read an article abt ppl allergic to certain foods, such as peanuts. They knew if they ate them, or even came in contact with them, they would have a SEVERE reaction...even resulting in death for some. The moral of the story is, treat foods u can't have just the same. They are just that, foods u can't have. Y would u choose to eat something if u knew it would cause such a reaction?

It is a lifestyle change, but well worth it.

I waited until my 3rd fill for restriction. About 4 mths after my surgery. I lost maybe 5 lbs during that first 4 mths. Then I got my 4th fill about 6 mths later - magic. I didn't need another one until 15 mths later. I've lost almost all my weight (sans about 10 lbs) and can hardly remember life without restriction. Altho I can eat almost anything I want (pizza crust doesn't do too well), I do eat MUCH less of it

Marci

I am down 30 pounds in 3.5 months since banding... BUT I don't really have restriction. 5.3cc in a 10cc band. Most of my loss has been due to dieting. Why?? Because I told people about my band and they are expection big results from day one... :/ I can't let them down... But we know better right!! It takes time to get to the green zone.. I have fill number 4 scheduled for March 27th at 9:10am and I think that this one is going to put me in the green zone!! Right now I can eat 1 cup of food and be ok, not satisfied, but ok... Does that make sense??

Makes perfect sense to me.. I am going through the same thing.. Hoping this next fill does the trick...