In one of the posts I read, Julie from NYC mentioned that she went for three fills in three weeks to get to a good level of restriction quickly. My surgeon takes a different approach and works patients up to a proper level of restriction.

Having been banded for 5 months and not feeling ANY restriction at all until fill #3, I wondered what other peoples' experiences were with getting to an acceptable level of restriction. At this point in my post operative course, I would have liked the process to move along at a faster rate as I think I still need a small fill to get to where I will be at MY optimal level.

Please share your thoughts.

Thank you,

My Dr. waits at least a month between fills unless you need liquid removed. There are several reasons. For me, I don't usually feel fills right away. I guess your body needs time to adjust. It usually takes 2 weeks for me to fully feel a fill.

My Dr. is also somewhat strict on his fill schedule. At my first fill, which he wouldn't do as long as I continued to lose without it (which I didn't mind) he put in 1.25 cc. He said after a month if I was still able to eat more than a cup of food at a sitting, we would adjust it again. Well I could, so off I went for my 2nd fill. He located my port, removed the previous fill, showed my DH, that he had removed almost all of what had been put in originally. My DH said it was so close to the line, he would have never realized there was a difference! Anyway, he then added 1.75 cc. Which was only a change of .50 cc. But man what a difference!! Hello restriction!!! It has been 6 weeks now, and I still have good restriction, so I cancelled my next appointment. He would not have filled me again anyway, because I am still losing weight well. I am hoping to have been lucky enough to have found my sweet spot with 2 fills!!!

Kat

For my personal experience I'm with Julie and Jacqui - I had my first fill 5 weeks post surgery, and my second one week later, and my third a week after that, have good restriction now. My Dr. takes his cues from his patients, I was wide open up till the third fill, and I'm not a sweller, I don't swell from injuries usually. First fill was 4 cc's, second was 1cc, 3rd was .5cc's for a total 5.5cc's in a VG band. If I tended to swelling, or felt any restriction, I wouldn't have gone for a fill so soon and close together. I was losing weight consistently throughout, but at the beginning it was because I was dieting, not because I had restriction. I think it's something you have to sort out between you and the person doing your fills. We're all different.

Elizabeth, I wish Dr Giess was a little more agressive with fills, i'm 9 months in, 47 lbs down, 4 fills and 8.5cc into a 10cc band with minimal restriction now after the last fill.

Hello!

I think this like so many other topics related to the band are different with each doctor and each patient. I had my surgery in Mexico with Dr. Rumbaut and he said that if I were to return to Mexico for a fill I would get a good fill under fluoroscope the first time to ensure that I had a good restriction level. He also said that in the United States most doctors prefer to go a little at a time to find the sweet spot. I was also told that just like your watch gets looser as you lose weight, so will the band. This means we may need adjustments from time to time as we lose weight and really makes perfect sense.

Good luck and take care!

Andy Liz

I'd rather be more agressive with the fills but my doctor is more conservative. He filled me once and it was perfect... I was losing about 2 pounds per week and things were great. I could eat with out a PB and loved it. Then one day I got chicken stuck and bad... then I had acid for a week and felt bad... He unfilled me and now I can't get back to that perfect sweet spot. He's being super slow now and making me wait 12 weeks.

Hi everyone! I got my first fill 9/1/06. 2cc in a 10cc band. everything is going good. I have not had a PB since my surg. the only probem I have is that my Dr. wants me to eat 3times per. day and I would be o.k. with that but, to keep my matbo. up. I know that I will have to eat 6 small meals per. day to keep my body from going in starvation mode. So should I just do what my Dr. say or keep doing what I need to do?

I've had one fill and that was only 1cc. I think one of the benefits of flourscopy (and an experience surgeon) is that I had good restriction from the word go. I'm sure some of it was luck, but you know what? I'll take it!

I wanted to go slow so that I wouldn't PB. Six days after the first fill I had a PB and had to have a slight unfill. Then a small fill and things were fine, but I was hungry. Another fill and 9 days later, PB. I just had another slight unfill.

I have been very careful and only eat what I'm supposed to, but still had PBing. Once I get into that syndrome I can't stop until an unfill. I am going to see how this works for me and don't be so quick to get a fill. All of mine have been under fluro.

My doctor takes a very slow and cautous approach. I have been banded now for almost 11 weeks and still I have no fill. He says that the longer you can go without a fill its better on the band. The chances are smaller of slipage. I go back on Thursday and I am hoping and praying for a fill I have no restriction at all right now. But as long as I lose 1-2 pounds a week he won't give me one and being on a 1000 calorie a day allows that to happen but my gosh its hard. I am hungry most of the time.

My doctor has changed his protocol since I was banded in 2004. Back then he did blind fills in his office (no fluoro) whenever you felt you needed one. Then he started making you wait 4 weeks between fills. He said he was tired of people coming in for fills every other day, then having to unfill them.

Now he will not do fills without fluoro. He feels that blind fills contribute to over-fills, which lead to slippage, esophagus dilation, etc.

My DH's fills take 1-2 weeks to "kick in". I, on the other hand, always swell and have to live with being a bit over-tight for a couple of weeks. Either scenario makes getting proper restriction a real challenge.

You just have to work within whatever guidelines your doctor has established, and what works best for your body. There are no universal standards, and if there were, my body would probably just refuse to cooperate!

How much weight have you lost? i just got my secound band yesterday. The first was way too tight. My Dr. adjusts with a upper gi, which is a very good idea. I dont feel like i have any swelling, i can swollow much better now. What do you mean by it takes 1-2 weeks to kick in??

I was banded May 26th and have only lost 40 lbs. I haven't found my sweet spot yet and it really gets frustrating. I thiught is last fill was it but unfortunatly it isn't. I live in Las Vegas and my Doctor is in Mexico which is a 4-5 hour drive. It seem as though I loose a few pounds right after the fill then I maintain. It really is frustrating! This was way to expensive not to work.

My surgeon fills by weight loss. I was was banded 12/05 and I have lost steady, down over 100 lbs. , so with that I'm still not filled. I have restriction with no fill. The only problem with that is that when the time comes to fill me I will have emotional as well as other issues with not being filled. I think every one should be filled on there first visit, even the smallest amount. This will let the odd ones like me, that have not been filled, not feel like they have failed the band with needing a fill this far in the game. But htis is my opinion. I have friends that have the band and they think it is great that I don't have to be filled, almost at time a bit jealous. But I would never want to give up my band with out a fight.

It is such an individual thing, really. I dont really know why fill level matters so much. I might wear a size 12 at 175lbs and someone else wears a size 12 at 185.....or 165. You cant compare fill amounts because there are too many variables. I started with a BMI of 39 and when I went to 1.5cc fill it had me spitting up my saliva for days. It doesnt MATTER if you reach restriction "fast or gradual" the weight will come off. This is (IMO) not a race, it is how you can live and adapt to the process.......