filled to the MAX!!

maudeispam · October 21, 2006

I saw my surgeon today and asked him point blank what happens when someone maxes out their fills and are not at their goal weight. (I currently have 9ccs in a VG band and have over 100lbs to lose.) I asked him if they take the VG band out and replace it with the smaller 4cc band. He said no that would not make a difference, even though they both hold different amounts of saline, diameter size is the same, so a person would not gain any restriction with a smaller band. He said the only resolution would be decrease calories, increase exercise and really work the band. Option b would be remove the band and have another form of weightloss surgery.

Parvathi · October 21, 2006

Like the others, I've never heard of a surgeon removing the band to put one of a different size in, when nothing is physically wrong w/ the current band.

I had my Fluid removed several times, when I wasn't feeling restriction like I or the doctor thought I should, to check for leaks. Its an easy 2 minute thing to have done. If it shows that you really do have 4cc in the band, I'd definitely opt to have flouro done to see what's wrong.

Ask more questions - that's what the doctor is there for - and good luck with it all

mommy2xp · November 3, 2006

I am close to maxing out my band as well. However, if you look at the Inamed site there is a statistic about weight loss. A very small percentage loses 100% of their excess weight.

"The average weight-loss in the US clinical study was approximately 36-38% of excess weight, 2 & 3 years after surgery"

So, for me 291-165=126 pounds more than my ideal weight. 38% of 126 is 47.8 pounds.

It's just some food for thought.

niche · November 3, 2006

my nurse practitioner, who is banded has the 10cm 4cc inamed and says that he has had up to 4.7ccc's in the band and that the 4ccs is just mfr's suggestion.

NewSho · November 6, 2006

I haven't lost much. About 20 lbs., of which I gained at least 5 back.

Hmmm... is your ticker is a bit out of date?

I thought you'd lost 30+ lbs or more, but then again you might be only counting your PostOp weight loss.

Anyway I know that your Dr Spiegel is really tough on patients - how does he feel about you having lost such a small amount in nearly a year of banding? He's known to 'crack the whip' if needed, so I'm curious to what he has said/suggested/screamed about this.

But I do find it interesting because most patients over 200# and those of certain BMI levels usually get more 'restriction' level out of less fill. A 4cc fill in a 4cc band on a patient who weighs 220 or so should really give you some pretty snug restriction.

Has Spiegel only been doing your fills or is it a Physician's Assistant or Nurse? As everyone else has asked - are these fills under Flouro?
Did you ever feel restriction since banding, or is this lack of restriction, a new feeling?
Do they have any other possibilities or theories as to what's going on with your band?

PLEASE keep us posted on your progress. Good Luck.

Jachut · November 6, 2006

I think restriction can be a very hard thing to define too. If I went by what I've read on this board, I would say I have "no" restriction. I can eat any food at all, I can eat reasonable amounts, and I have never PB'd. I have a feeling that were I to seek more fill, I would go from "no" restriction to too tight pretty quickly though. It is such an individual thing - I personally cannot rely on my band as anything more than a helping hand in making wise food and exercise decisions for myself. It just plain does not provide me with hard stops. Perhaps that's my doing and I'm misunderstanding what level of fill I really need, but I dont mind it that way.

Now, I'm not at all suggesting that its the same for you, but you do need to stop and think hard - how can you eat as compared to before the band? Can you eat as fast? Can you eat as much? Did you expect to be "stopped" automatically by the band - which is how it seems to work for some people and not others?

Of course, I"m under 200lb and pretty tall, so restriction will be harder for me to attain, but I'm just not sure everyone defines it in the same way. If I cared to, I could quite easily gain weight with this band in, simply by food choice and not exercising, it gives me that much leeway. Perhaps its my individual experience, perhaps its that I dont have good restriction, I"m not sure. But I can definitely say that how and how much I eat is different to before, just not in the ways that I expected.

barbara465 · November 6, 2006

I would guess that Jennifer has not talked to Dr. Spiegel. All his fills are being done by the PA at the surgicenter. I think the PA misspoke and doesn't know what she said is incorrect. I would have Spiegel check it out under fluro and decide what's going on. It doesn't seem that everything is quite right.

Raeck · November 6, 2006

I've had my band for 7 months - lost 50 pounds. 4 cc band - 2 fills so far (2 cc's and 1/4 cc).. my doctor (Aaron Roth - White Plains, NY) has a chart showing red, green and yellow zones... the red zone includes often hungry, gaining weight, eating more that usual. The Yellow zone is too tight, acid reflux etc. and the green zone is losing steady weight (1-2 lb's per week), feeling full and not hungrey... we use the 'zones' to decide whether it's time to fill or not...

Good luck!