:help: Hi all. I need some advice. I have a Vanguard 9cm band (holds 8cc total). Surgery was the end of June. I just had my 3<SUP>rd</SUP> fill and am now up to 7ccs! and I feel no restriction!!! (Nothing has ever gotten stuck, no acid reflux/ heartburn, never pb’d- nothing). My doc has confirmed all three times that the saline is all there and nothing has leaked. I have given it almost 4 months now and have tried to be very patient. But it’s just not working. I was self-pay, and obviously have a lot of money and time invested into this and I feel like I’m getting nowhere. Weight loss has been very minimal (15 lbs. in all) and almost all of it was lost in the two weeks following surgery. My doctor is baffled. All three fills were done with fluro and this last one looked like the band was tight (the liquid I was drinking was moving down pretty slowly). Has anyone had this problem? I’m scared to death because I only have the capacity of one more cc, then I’m done! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Have you tracked your eating and your exercise on fitday.com. It might help for some of the more seasoned bandsters to see what you eat in a day and how much exercise you are doing to help identify the problem. Also, are you eating Protein first and not eating with your meals? I am just guessing as I've only been banded since July 10 of this year. I am also not familiar with that band.

I have the Inamed 9.75 cm band that holds 4cc's and I got my 3rd fill on Tuesday. I'm at 2.65 cc's so I'm over half full which sometimes makes me nervous but so far am losing very well. But, I've dieted a lot of years and I know it can stop with the drop of a hat. Give us this info and maybe we can be more helpful. I wish you better luck and hope you start losing. I know how upsetting it can be as I am self pay myself and all of my fills as well. So we do have a lot of money riding on this. So far I've lost almost 50 pounds in the last 2 1/2 months. I hope myself or someone can help you out. I've had to ask for help on here more times than I'd like to admit, so your not alone. Keep up the faith.

Hi,

I think we need a little more information to be helpful to you. Restriction is different for everyone who is banded. The fill amount is a random amount and means nothing if you dont have ANY restriction. I have friends with nothing in their bands that have great restriction and folks with their bands almost completely filled that dont have much restriction.The question is do you have ZERO restriction or little restriction. Theres a difference. Alot will depend on what you are eating (solid Protein vs mushies) how much you are able to eat etc....If you tell me yo uare able to eat 2 cups of mostly solid protein in less than 20 minutes, I would say you need more fill. Just because you are not barfing or sliming, doesnt mean you dont have good restriction. I dont barf either, but I have good restriction.

FYI: The VG band like all other lapbands holds more than the maximum they say . As an example, the 9,75 Inamed band holds 4 CC, but actually can hold twice that amount. I have heard of folks having 4.50cc in a 4CC band, so I wouldnt worry that you will "run out of fill space" in your band. If it was placed properly in the first place that wont happen.

Are you a liteweight or are you a high BMI patient? Usually the VG band is placed on folks that have very big stomachs or really high BMI's which could mean that this may not be the right band for you. Also realize that the difference between 7.0 and 7.25 could mean the difference between little restriction and being completely blocked off. I am surprised that your doc hasnt filled the band up to see what happens when you drink the barium with fluro with a maximally filled band.

I know this information may not be helpful, but it would help us if we know how much you are eating, exercising and contributing to band success.

Babs in TX

Banded 3 yrs 3months and dunno nothing!!!

Restriction is so subjective. I thought I didn't have restriction for the longest time because I was basing my concept of restriction on what others posted about it. And because I had no PB's, sliming etc. I figured something wasn't right.

But now I know that restriction for me is simply the concept of being satisfied between meals. It means that I can eat a normal portion of food and be satisfied for 2-3 hours. That's all it means to me.

When you eat solid foods...i.e. chicken breast, veggies and a little starch how long does it keep you satisfied?