i still havent felt restriction. is this normal?

I was told by my surgeon that as a guide I will probably have 6-8 fills/unfils to get restriction. I'm hoping it's more like 2-3 tho ;0)

There really is no normal. Some lucky people feel restriction with no fill at all. Others require multiple fills. Some surgeons will only fill in very small increments, others are more aggressive. And it seems that sometimes people do not recognise when they have restriction until they get too tight and have to back off a little.

Hang in their angieband, I think I will be just like you! I have had only 1 fill and called the other day to move up my next one. I am clearly in bandaged hell because I feel like I could eat a side of beef!!!

Yes! It took me 6 months to really get relative restriction and then went back about 6 months later and needed to get .3 more. Over a long period off time saline can evaperate which is why bandsters do need to go back occationally even after they reach restriction.

Honk, you have to have more fills as you lose weight, because the fat pad around the stomach shrinks as well, and that causes the band to loosen off.

I had my 6th fill 10 days ago. I started feeling restriction with fill 4 but 5 and 6 really did it for me. I'm only out about 6 months from surgery. Many of us have to tweak the band a little. In fact, I may have to untweak mine by .2 ccs if I can't find the foods that won't get stuck.

tmf

thank you all very much. i appreciate all your comments. i had my surgery in september and ive lost 30 pounds. im "stuck" at my current weight and its frustrating!

Someone else once said, "It's just a diet until you have restriction". Then it's still somewhat of a diet. You just need to eat nutritious foods after restriction to lose weight.

You may have to be aggressive with your doc if this fill did nothing. Call them and tell them you need another. 9 months is too long for only 30 lbs.

tmf

It depends on the size of your band, also. The larger bands can take more fills to reach the green zone.

A note on 30 lbs in 9 months. It is slower than the 1-2 pound average that the Lap Band Company says we should lose, but it is an average of .83. Not too far off from 1 lb per week. Frustratingly slow while in the fight, yes. But downward. Plateaus suck. I went through many on my way to a normal BMI.

I hope this helps...when all was said and done, my average weight loss 0.75 lb per week. It took me 2 years to lose a little over 70 lbs. I'd have liked it to happen quicker. But time passes no matter what. I decided I'd take a 3/4 lb loss any day over gaining like I was doing before my band. Once I got to my green zone (fill 4, by the way in my 10 cc band), it was easy. I did not have to diet. It was still slow, but I could live with my new eating habits forever.

Maintenance has been a dream for me.

Keep working with your surgeon to find your green zone. If you have a larger band, that can take some time.

what could be the reason that my weight loss is slower than most peoples weight loss? and thank you both.

Everyone is different. How much do you exercise? How hard do you exercise? What do you eat? Are you eating around your band? If you have no restriction the band isn't doing much for you I assume?

tmf

i have 10.1 cc's in a 14cc band i had my surgery 7/11/11 i think i have restriction, but i will take a fill every tine they give me one

Byrd, if you have restriction you would know it so maybe not? If you still feel like you need a fill then you don't have enough restriction? For example, I know I don't need one as it's hard enough just eating an apple, tuna fish, deli turkey, salad, most any meat.

tmf

i didnt start excercising until january. i excercise everyday for an hour and as far as eatting. i have some good days and some bad

There is no answer to the age old question of why do I not lose faster. For me, I didn't exercise much and I ate about 1500-1700 calories a day, or thereabout. I rarely tracked food.

Even if you could say I eat 1000 calories per day, I exercise off 700 per day, and I've had all my blood work checked and my metabolism is normal, we still could not guarantee you would lose 2-3 pounds per week. Our bodies just don't work that way. Personally, I think you are doing just fine, keep up the good work. There are plenty of us slow losers on here. Don't compare yourself to others. Just do your thing and get to where you want to go.