Hi!

I got banded on 4/18/12 and have only had 2 fills so far, my first in June and second in July. As many of you know 2 fills isn't really anything, at least for me, I still had my normal appetite. I was scheduled to have my third in August; I was extremely busy at work and had to keep rescheduling. In the beginning of September I was fortunate to find out that I was hired at a new job, this resulted in me canceling my September fill appointment. Now my new company, I have heard really discourages taking any time off before your 90-day. So that means I can't schedule another fill appointment until sometime in December. Since my surgery day, I have lost 56lbs, I would say around 15-20lbs from the first 6weeks where my food intake was limited due to the different stages my doctor recommended. So this is where I feel I'm doing it on my own, without the actual help from the band, don't get me wrong I really believe I needed this surgery and it did jump start my weight loss and made me move forward with losing weight, I feel If I had more fills in, I would be down more pounds. I still struggle with my eating choices-have been using myfitnesspal to help, started doing a bootcamp type of class 4xs a week since July. So I'm wondering if I should get more fills come December? I have a friend who had the lapband and has 6-7 fills and says she can't eat a lot of foods like bread, rice basic carb foods. Do I want to do that? I like carbs (in moderation of course), should I just continue on doing what I have been doing? Or try for more fills? It's hard, anyone knows that losing weight is hard, it’s a struggle to make the right decisions each and every meal. So any input on people who have had the surgery and only have had a few fills and are still losing. Thank you for your time J

First, congratulations on your weight loss.

Please know that just because you have adequate Fluid in your band does not mean you can't eat bread, Pasta, rice, or anything. In fact, the band isn't supposed to physically stop you from eating anything. Many of us, myself included, can and do still eat whatever we want even being in the Green Zone with our bands.

The easiest way to decide if you need another fill is this:

-Are you no longer hungry after a cup or less of food?

-Are you able to go at least 4 hours after a meal without being physically hungry again?

If yes, you don't need need a fill. If no, you probably do need a fill.

Best wishes.

Your after care is so important and is about much more than just getting fills. Maintaining a relationship with your medical team will help you to maintain and build on your great success so far. Is there any chance you can get an after hours appointment so you don't have to miss work? I am fortunate that my surgeon offers appointments in the early evening so I can go straight from work.

Good luck and keep up the great work.