Hello,

Before anyone directs me to another thread link, I already know this has been done before. I have researched old threads and can navigate this site well. I would like the most recent information pertaining to this subject please. :help:

I was banded in June in Mexico and had the 10 cc VG band done by Dr. Joya. Great surgery, no complications.

My problem now is that the only weight loss I had was in the first 3 weeks after surgery, none since then and I am gaining that weight loss back at an alarming rate.

My after care doctor in my town is Dr. Helmuth Billy. He is a great, competent Dr. My only concern is that I don't think he has treated many patients with this larger band and he is very conservative with fills. He wants to make sure there are no slips or errosion by doing agressive fills. Wonderful.

Unfortunately, I have had no restriction since the first few weeks of being banded. My research on the board show that those with this band need A LOT more in their fills to reach the sweet spot. I want to take as much data as possible supporting this to my next appointment with him (on Thursday). I need to get a good fill this time. I am in a very deep depression because of my weight issues after spending thousands of dollars on this procedure. I need a jump start to get me going again and give me a shot in the arm. I don't think I'll be able to take a nother small fill and wait another few months to get to a point where I feel any restricion.

I hope you help and support me as this is tearing my psyche apart. Thanks to all of you for your help.:eek:

I have the 10 band had my first fill today it was 3 ccs I am hoping I get some restriction I really need it I feel hungry. I have another appointment in 5 weeks to get another, seems like a long time to me but I suppose its not a bad thing to adjust slow. My Dr says he has better luck all around with the 10 band so I am glad I have it.

Kim:)

i have to vg large 14cc band installed and at my first fill last week .i got 4 cc and i can feal it .its hard to eat to much , all i can eat is 1/2 my protine and thats all .its hard to drink more than a sip at a time but i find if i use a straw i can drink more, before the fill i was able to down a bottle of water. i have lost 12 lbs post band (2 weeks liquid stages) then stayed at the same weight for the next 4 weeks untill my fill so i should start loseing more now ,2/3 lbs a week would be fine with me

i dont want another fill for a long time!:faint:

Hi there, I have a 10cc band and was banded 11-29-06. I am getting completely discouraged. I have had 3 fills. 3cc, .6cc and .7cc. for a total of 4.2cc. I have only lost 30 pounds although my Dr thinks my weight loss is accurate. If I lose more than a pound a week, he won't give me a fill. I don't have restriction. I am attributing all of my weight loss to exercise. I hurt my back and haven't been able to exercise for a month. Since then I have had no weight loss. I feel like a failure.

When I get a fill, I drink water until I feel full, each time I feel full, my Dr takes some out fearing that I will have too much restriction and won't be able to eat. I guess this next fill I will ask to keep in the original amount of saline when I feel full. Can anyone relate? Shellie

I have 10CC band and am now at 5.6cc, after fill #4. Can someone please tell me when I will notice the change. Also, once I get there, what should I watch out for? I read about people getting food stuck, but since I have not experienced that I am not sure what to avoid. The doctor always says make sure you chew really good. Well, needless to say I am 43 yrs. old and learned how to chew a long time ago and so I am not sure what chewing really good means. Should I count to 50 before I swallow the food? Any suggestions on this would be great. I am down 40 pounds in 11 months, but I lost all of that the first 5-6 months. Been the same for a while now and that is with logging every bite of food I eat. HEEEELPPPPP:help:

Why do they recommend, liquid, smushies and then regular food? Is it to give the stomach time to adjust?

Yes your stomach needs to adjust. A good rule of thumb is to chew 20 times (harder than it sounds) although each person is different, some may have trouble swallowing diferent foods, it is all trial and error.

Try not to get discouraged guys. I have been in the same boat and know exactly how you feel. I went from January until now with no weight loss. I finally went for another fill and it is making a huge difference. I have 7.5cc in my 10cc band, so I know it can take alot more than 4 or 5cc's to even feel a difference. Here's hoping my #4 fill will be the magic number and hoping that you all find your sweet spot soon too. Nita

Oh wow, can I relate to you guys!!! I am at 6cc and the only restriction I have ever felt was twice, once while eating chicken and once while eating salmon. Popcorn, complete steak dinners, and everything else goes down just fine, in large amounts (on my bad days)!! I have kept hope but it is getting harder to keep it from fading, since I just weighed and found I gained back 10 of the 33 pounds I lost since my band surgery last Nov. I go for another fill next week and hope I can get enough to make this work. I have heard, though, that the first year is the toughest for the 10cc folk in relation to amount of weight lost, but that the 2nd year we catch up with the other guys whose weight loss has slowed way down. So there is that to cling to, I guess.... We just all need to hang in there and keep encourging each other!

I lost 19 pounds the first month after my surgery, but in the nearly 3 months following, I've lost only another 13½ since.

I've got the VG10 and had been very concerned that since I wasn't feeling any restriction, that I must have messed up my band's placement and that it had somehow slipped. I went in two days ago for my third fill (previous two fills were 1cc each), and convinced my doctor to give me 2cc's instead of 1cc this time because I had not lost anything since my last visit and could still each like a horse. FINALLY, that did the trick! I now feel the restriction, and have already dropped 3½ pounds in just two days since the 2cc fill.

After recently learning that Blue Cross/Blue Shield began covering Lap-Band 24 days after I self-paid for the operation, the 5cc's I have in the band now makes me feel 100% like it was worth the $12k out of my pocket and that I'm finally getting a return on my investment. Looking forward to getting the most out of my band over the next several months as I learn the ropes of careful eating like so many of you already have made part of your daily lives.

Hang in there, guys! These 10cc bands(and others with 12 and 14cc) are quite tricky to reach the «sweet spot». My band is a 10cc as well, not a VG, but an AMI Long (Austrian). I had 7 fills during these past 2,5 years and I'm currently with 8,5cc in it. Loosing weight has been quite difficult and very, very slow (approximately 11 kilos/20 pounds). I go to the gym 4 or 5 times a week, take long walkings, do the right food choices, and even so, it's been a hard fight against weight.

In any case, I'm not giving up, I still believe this band has been the best thing I did for myself. Tenacity and courage for you all.

niki

I have to agree with you Niki. I was banded 11/14/06 and have lost just 43 pounds since. I was able to lose 50 preop for a total of 93 ugly pounds gone. My Dr. has approached the "sweet spot" slowly and it took 5 or 6 fills to feel any restriction at all. Then finally--it felt teriffic for about 2 weeks. So now I will get another fill in August. I'm up to 6.2 in a 10 cc band. I can guzzle water and eat anything. It all goes down perfectly. Too bad. It really has been a long time tinkering but I think it is certainly worth the wait. I'll get there soon.

Hi there, I have a 10cc band and was banded 11-29-06. I am getting completely discouraged. I have had 3 fills. 3cc, .6cc and .7cc. for a total of 4.2cc. I have only lost 30 pounds although my Dr thinks my weight loss is accurate. If I lose more than a pound a week, he won't give me a fill. I don't have restriction. I am attributing all of my weight loss to exercise. I hurt my back and haven't been able to exercise for a month. Since then I have had no weight loss. I feel like a failure.

When I get a fill, I drink water until I feel full, each time I feel full, my Dr takes some out fearing that I will have too much restriction and won't be able to eat. I guess this next fill I will ask to keep in the original amount of saline when I feel full. Can anyone relate? Shellie

I can totally relate. I've only lost about 40 lbs since december and I have the 10cc band too.

I went in for a fill last month and he wouldn't add any. Under fluoro he said that I was already very tight. However, I can eat anything including soft with bread. I can chug down 3 cups of water.

I didn't lose any weight for 3 months! since april. Except this past week i've lost 8 by doing South Beach Diet. Hopefully that will get me off my plateau here.

But I understand, I wish I could lose faster. I think i lose slower than others because preband I had good eating habits. i drank a lot of water at least 12 cups a day, I at balanced meals, I don't eat hydrogenated oil or artificial anything (most of the time) I didn't drink soda. So I think that by not having any really bad habits I am dropping weight slower. Or.. my other theory is my IUD.

who knows.

Stick in there. I'm trying. but it sure is depressing.

Hang in there, guys! These 10cc bands(and others with 12 and 14cc) are quite tricky to reach the «sweet spot». My band is a 10cc as well, not a VG, but an AMI Long (Austrian).

Is there a difference between the VG band and a 10cc one? I thought they were the same. Can anyone explain?

Dear BeacheeGirl~

I was banded in September and had to wait 6 weeks for ANY fill. I too had trouble with not gaining during that time. This initial period is called "Bandster Hell" becasue we have been banded but do not yet have any restriction. My Dr. put 4 cc's in my first fill then had me sit 6 weeks with that one. Then I could come back every 4 - 6 weeks for adjustments. He let me get 1 cc each time and I struggled to learn to eat correctly with each fill, not causing myself to slime or choke back up any food I hadn't chewed well enough.

The best thing that helped me was INFO. I went to other bandster's sites and got info. try Tracyslapband.com for encouragement. She also has a good meal plan to follow. I printed off pages of posts/threads from people in my same situation and read them everyday to remind me that I amnot the only one waiting for good restriction. I made a 3-ring binder woth these, and created my own support book. I too got depressed that I wasn't losing quickly, or at all, in my case.

It does stink that you have to pay for each of these fills that seem to do nothing, but you WILL get there. Their reason for going slowly is to make sure you don't have erosion and eventually need to have your band removed.

Please don't despair. The band is in and that is the first step. I know you will be a success story in the future. You were brave enough to undergo the procedure, and the rest is on the horizon for you.

hi there all you 10 cc bansters.

i was banded in marchof 2007. I have not lost anything since then. i lose a few and gain it back. i do not feel any restriction. i have 2.2 cc in my band. my Dr. will only fill .6cc at a time. each fill cost me $277 out of pocket. i go in for my third fill tomorrow. I hope to feel something different. I am trying to stick to mostly protein and veggies in my diet. i will see what the scale says tomorrow.

every one hang in there, we have to reach our sweet spot some time some where.