Feeling discouraged!

[Beth A 28]

June 13, made one year post op, I lost 73 lbs in the first 6 months, I got my first fill in march after not losing anymore, I've got a total of 3 cc's in my band, went to dr on Friday, she gave me .50 cc, I told her I wasn't losing anymore, she replied that, maybe all your gonna lose? I don't have much restriction, she won't give me much Fluid at all, one cc every month, I asked her why so little and she said that I lost all that with no fills and she's afraid that I will get to filled and where she only does fills on Friday that I will be really sick all weekend? What do I do?

[GoingforGoal 1,734]

Hey Beth, I tried to view your profile to see how close (or not) to goal you were to see if your doc's comment was sensible or not. I figure by your post that you feel that indeed you have more to lose. I have encountered a wide spectrum of dr. philosophies here on LBT. As with any medical specialty, you will have conservative as well as aggressive docs, both have their +/-'s. However, you pointed out a couple key issues. Being at 3cc after a full year, as well as feeling like you are not in the 'green' (restricted) is not allowing the band to work to it's full potential. So let me pick in the doc for a second. Although it is 'thoughtful' of her to not want to overfill patients over the weekend (been there done that..it's not fun), she could always do fills on a more appropriate day. So I can't really buy the excuse. I'm not certain how much money she gets off of her fills, but that too can be a factor..more fills more money. But if your dr is making excuses to not give you your ideal fill opposed to her feeling nervous about overfills, you just might want to reconsider doctors. In the beginning fills are typically larger because there's much more room in the band and as you get nearer to green, 0.5cc fills are the norm. With that being said, I find it most inappropriate that your doc realizes you are not in the green,not losing etc and than wants to infer it may be all you lose. Red flags are flying for me. I personally would find a new doc as it is unlikely you'll change a MDs practice or philosophy.

[JACKIEO85 308]

June 13, made one year post op, I lost 73 lbs in the first 6 months,CONGRATULATIONS! THAT'S AWESOME! I got my first fill in march after not losing anymore, I've got a total of 3 cc's in my band, went to dr on Friday slow and steady seems to work better (***) she gave me .50 cc, I told her I wasn't losing anymore, she replied that, maybe all your gonna lose? now that isn't a very positive statement, you've proven that your doing well, so I don't understand her attitude on that . It's difficult to comment as hazel mentioned we don't know how much you need to lose? But it seems like Hazel said that's allot of excuses from your doctor, she only does fills 1 day a week? sounds like she doesn't do allot of Lap bands? ( my Doc does fills 3.5 a week surgeries 2x's a week) I don't have much restriction, she won't give me much Fluid at all, one cc every month, I asked her why so little and she said that I lost all that with no fills and she's afraid that I will get to filled and where she only does fills on Friday that I will be really sick all weekend, Being stuck isn't a nice feeling, but it sounds again like the hours are convenient for the Doctor NOT the patients. I guess I'd ask why your only at 3cc? Tell your doctor how you feel about not having adequate restriction, and ask if you can come in every 2 weeks if all she is going to do is fill .5 each time.

3 cc's seems pretty low for being banded for a year already. I know what a "pain" it is to find a new doctor but it might be something that you want to consider. What do I do ?Keep us posted please .

[Toddy 758]

Very well said Hazelsbliss! Some of the things I read on here about some of the doctors and their "practices" just makes me cringe. These tiny, little fills in the very beginning are ridiculous. Now when you're approaching the green zone, then yes, a tiny fill can make a difference.

But only doing fills on Fridays and that's the reason for giving small fills... that screams doctor more interested in making money than having successful patients. Kind of like the docs that perform wls on self-pay patients with low bmi's and only 20 or so pounds to lose...

[Kime-lou 648]

I will be one year post this coming Saturday. I've lost 60 lbs. I want to lose about 40-45 more, but honestly I think I would be ok with another 20-25. It is easy to get discorraged when I did reach our own goal. I told my doc that last week, his comment was- "so you feel like a failure because you haven't reached your goal, so losing 60 lbs isn't successful?"- ok when you put it like that it's not so bad. I've lost over half of my excess body weight in one year, which is considered an success. My doc said normally people, if they continue to do what they are suppose to, will lose weight for about 3 years. The first year it's faster, then it slows, but continues. So, I feel like I will get there.

The is a process, not a race. For me I can not allow myself to get to discouraged or complasent about this process, if I do, I will cause myself to fail. So each day at a time, make good choices and see where I end up.

I go see my NUT again next month for my 1 year, hopefully she will be able to help me tweek my eating habits a little bit to help me lose more.

As for you, I would say 70+ pounds ain't so shappy. You have done great. You have come a long way in a year, don't discount that because you haven't reached a certain goal. If you continue to work at it, you will reach your goal, not tomorrow, but you will get there.