just found out my plan (self-pay) will only cover 3 fills. After that I will have to pay $200 for each fill. Wondering what the average number of fills needed to get to the green zone is for each of you. I know there is no one right answer for this so any other info explanation would help...

Depends upon your Dr. and how aggressive He/She is, and how you react to moving fast or slow....

I know someone whose Dr. only puts in 1/2 cc per visit, per month...at that rate one year would be 6cc's.....she felt he was milking the insurance and went to a different Dr...got on track real quick...and started meeting her goals much to her pleasure.

But to answer your question, I had 3 fills...the first was 4cc's, 2nd was 2cc's, and the 3rd...was 1 cc....

Each fill was one month apart, so it took me a little over 3 months.....and don't get me wrong, it was not easy during those first few months...a lot of adjusting and behavior modification...but I have not had a fill since, and that was over 2 years ago....

And everything became as easy as can be about 6-8 months after surgery.

My doctor is very conservative with fills. I have had 3 for a total of under 2cc's. Because I have lost 60% of my BMI he is thrilled with me. I see him in 3 weeks and I want another fill because lately I have been eating too much, sometimes and my weight has been the same for about 5-6 months.

Like people on this site say, every doctor is different and they all have their own fill rules etc.

My doctor leaves it up to me.. I mean he watches my weight and as long as Im happy with where Im at and speed, he will put in minimal, when I ask or more. (which didn't work out as he had to take it out a few days later). You will get to recognize your body's language and know what you need.

I got to green on my 4th fill - it brought me to a total of 5.5 in a 10cc band.

Congrats on the band and doing it even though it is self pay. The cost of those fills definitely hurt. Mine are $150 a piece.

It took me 5 fills to hit the green zone. I was sure after almost every fill I was there, but after a few days, my horrible appetite would come back.

It's been weeks since my last fill and I have almost no appetite until dinner. And dinner is 1/4 of what I used to eat with little to no snacking after. Definitely in the green zone.

In my opinion it seems like it's more the amount that is in the band than the number of fills. I did a very rough check of other people on this site and on average it seemed most hit the green zone around 6.5 CC. Some as little as 0 CC and some as much as 12 CC. But, to me, there seems to be a trend around the 6.5 mark.

thanks! brianb - that's very good information to know. surgery in 1 week.

thanks! brianb - that's very good information to know. surgery in 1 week.

Awesome! You have so much to look forward to!