and how long have you been banded. Just curious.

I am at 1.65, and have been banded 8 weeks.

I'm a little worried. I have finally hit restriction for the first time in the almost 6 months I have been banded. the thing that worries me is that I am 3.9cc filled in my 4cc band. I'm worried that when/if this ever loosens up with weight loss that I will not be able to reach restriction as I am pretty much at capacity now. On a lighter note. I am loosing !!!!! gonna focus on that right now.

Unforuntately I had to change doctors which also meant I had to change cities. I was driving 4 hours to Reno to get filled by a nurse who was not ever sympathetic to my plight. She was worried I had stretched my pouch which I thought was impossible to do if you have never had restriction. I am now traveling to Salt Lake City Utah, which is 4 hours the other direction. I was referred there by Fill Centers USA and after my first visit I have reached my sweet spot. And everytime I go I will be seeing an ACTUAL DOCTOR. Which I prefer. He was wonderful, sympathetic, and super nice. His name is Dr. Muse. He is in Salt Lake City on Highland Drive. I would reccomend him for anyone's aftercare.

P.S. My pouch was not stretched in the least!!!

I am glad you found an awesome Dr to do your fills.

I read somewhere that a 4cc band will hold MORE than 4cc's. Think balloon. I am not absolutely sure though, so if you find out, let me know.

Also, a question if I may. How do you know that you never stretched your pouch? I am curious as I worry about this too and wonder how one can check... TIA

I am glad you found an awesome Dr to do your fills.

I read somewhere that a 4cc band will hold MORE than 4cc's. Think balloon. I am not absolutely sure though, so if you find out, let me know.

Also, a question if I may. How do you know that you never stretched your pouch? I am curious as I worry about this too and wonder how one can check... TIA

My new doctor did an upper G.I. that is how I found out I had not stretched my pouch. Also, my surgeon told me that it is very common to put 5cc's in a 4cc band. I thought I read earlier in this thread that someone currently has 6cc in their 4cc band. If that's the case then I wonder why they don't call it a 5cc or a 6cc band. Go figure.

My new doc told me something about how he is not allowed to put in over 4cc's in my band because he is regulated by fill centers not to do so. Good luck!

I just had a fill on 1/11/07 and it was my 4th fill. I now have 4.6cc in my 4cc band. I don't know why they call it 4ccs. I asked how much more I could have before I coudn't have anymore and I was told that they could put in twice as much as as I have now which would be over 9ccs. I am a nurse and I do know that in catheters they say the inflatable bulb is 5ccs but you can put way more than that in. HTH.

Linda

OR 6/5/06 294 lbs

4 fills

-77 lbs

How interesting to hear all this from everyone. My doctor won't fill me more than .5 cc every three months and he told me he won't fill me more than 3 cc in a 4 cc band. I guess my doctor is too conservative on his views of the band. What do you think?

I'd rather a cautious doctor than an overly aggressive one. Very tight fills and having more in than the capacity of the band is not something I'd want to try without having crept up on it very slowly.

Been banded almost 16 weeks and I am at 2.5...I am almost thinking it is too much, but I haven't really lost any more weight.

I don't consider my doctor to be overly aggressive. I have had good weight loss avg 2.4 pounds a week. I don't PB or slime, and I don't throw up. There really isn't any type of food that I can't eat. Each patient has to be individualized. He fills according to each patient's needs. I know several of his patients and we are all different and have different amounts of fill and different numbers of fills. The bottom line is we are using the band in the way that works best for us. If I had gotten .5 fills I would have never made the progress I have. Someone else would probably not be able to eat a bite with the fills I have had.

Linda

It's interesting how some people react or don't react to a fill. We are truly all built differently and yes we all like it different.

Personally, I like a tight fill, not tight that I am pbing, but tight that I can't eat much more than 1/2 cup.

I have been taking note of my band fill the last few days and I can definately feel it empty too soon after I eat. So I am looking forward to my fill on Monday. I have to really be sure because it means a 4 1/2 hour drive, an overnight stay away from my family, then a 4 1/2 hour drive home the next day.

Damn, had to cancel my fill. It is snowing like crazy here and the drive through the mountains to get to my fill doctor just isn't worth the risk. So I am booked for Feb 19.

In the meantime, I will focus on exercise and eating well, fresh meats, fruits and veggies.

I have maintained this weight now for 2 months.....and wanna see some movement.

ONE POUND, JUST GIVE ME OWN LOUSY POUND....LOL

Have a good one....

I am at 1.7cc in a 4cc band. I was banded June 12, 2006

I am a little over 6 months out. My current fill is 1.6 cc. I was at 2.0, but I started getting bouts of nausea that wouldn't subside. After a week, I got scared and went into , "OMG it has to be the band mode", I went to my surgeon. She removed, .04cc's and I was fine within a few hours...

thread bump

Well, I just got back from my first fill a little bit ago.

The doctor was awesome, but the fill wasn't smooth. It wasn't terrible either, though!

Apparently, my port is deep in and she had a hard time finding it. I thought I did it under fluoro, but it sounds different than others' experiences; it was still difficult. It hurt the first time she put the needle in so she sprayed me again and the second time it went in. I kept praying she'd find it.

Finally, she said she thought she had it and that if she was able to remove fluid it meant she was in. Thankfully, she was able to insert and remove fluid! We were both relieved at that point.

She ended up putting 2.5cc in, which thrilled me. I was afraid she would only put 1cc in.

I'm on clear liquids for two days and full liquids for two more days. I just ate a sf jello and didn't feel restricted, but I'm hoping that's just because it's liquids. Unless, I'm still waiting for that stuffed feeling.

But I'm happy I got as much as I did and I really hope the scale starts going down again!

As for my port, I'm sure it's all the fat covering it! But, I do still feel a bit weird when I bend over and I have major scar tissue at the incision. It's very hard. I may e-mail my doc about it.

I am 15 months out and have 2ccs in my band. I dont have much restriction, but I have been happy with slow loss.

Went for a band consult - really to get the thing out and was surprised that my one fill without floro resulted in an inaccurate fill - i thought i was filled to 2.4 and found out only 2.1 was in there. The doc had nothing bad to say about the other doc but he did say when you don't have floro (sp?) it is really blind and sometimes when you take the needle out you lose fluid. Also, had a long consult over lack of weight loss and they agreed my loss was 'pretty bad' but at least i haven't really gained - And, they suggested even more of an unfill so i could eat regular meals and snacks. i've been thrilled in just two days cuz even tho i have to exercise some restraint in my eating i've enjoyed bandster meals - heck even if i don't lose still at least i feel like i'm eating. every meal before was a struggle to get it down and i was till pbing regularly. so many bandsters don't eat but one meal (solid) a day it seems like the norm but for me i can't hack it - i need food - solid food to be happy. So even after 13 months i'm still struggling to find the right fill - i will assess in one month and see what happens. Wish me luck, i need it.