I made the mistake of being cocky and thinking "I've got this!" since I hit the green zone after my third fill. If an appointment was made for me in August, I missed it and they didn't give me a reminder call. So I scheduled an appointment for September 30th, got busy at work and didn't go because I was still going for 4 hours on a small amount of food. Well this week it hit me that I'm eating much more than I should and that I'm making poor food choices. I'm afraid I can't tell if I'm in the green zone anymore and I'm falling back into bad habits (the tops of 3 slices of pizza for dinner last night, a McDonald's filet of fish AND medium fries for lunch today - YIKES!!!!!). I was supposed to start doing better today, but that's shot now. However, I did call to schedule an appointment, unfortunately they can't see me for another week and it's not the center that I'm use to going to, which isn't very comforting. I'm almost on the verge of calling my surgeon and asking him to give me a fill because I just don't want to wait that long.

I said all of that to say this: even if you think you're fill level is okay, go to your monthly follow up visits. Your band might not need tweeking, but there is something about going to the visit that keeps you on track and well aware that YOU are accountable for your actions and that YOU are ultimately responsible for the success or failure of your procedure. I'm happy to say that I haven't gained any weight YET, but if I don't visit a counselor soon I'm sure it's only a matter of time before I do. The band is a tool and like all tools, you have to give it a certain amount of attention and maintenance. Along with that, your counselors serve a valuable purpose in the psychological aspect of having this procedure done. Because owning up to your bad behaviors and celebrating the good you have done all have it's place in this journey; it all works together and in your first year, you have to do EVERYTHING that is required of you: eating right, drinking right, physical activity, follow up visits and maybe support groups. Otherwise you could end up feeling guilty and disappointed in yourself...much like I do right now.

Yeah, but I sure do dread next year when the copays go up. Ugh!!!

This helped me greatly. I had my first fill on 8/29 and was not told when to schedule another appt. I spoke to the nurse today and she told me I needed to get in ASAP. I have an appt on tuesday and hopefully will get another fill as well. I can definitely feel my appetite increasing. I wasn't sure when I needed another fill, but I think it's time.

I'm looking forward to my next monthly appointment. I'm still a bit confused do I call to set up the date on when it is or do they?I had my surgery 8/28 my first fill 9/28 and my second fill 10/14 but as of yet I haven't had any counselling.I feel like I'm not in the right zone for all of this and after my 2nd fill I'm still hungry all the time.I'm trying to control my eating but old habits seem to creep back in before long........

I'm looking forward to my next monthly appointment. I'm still a bit confused do I call to set up the date on when it is or do they?I had my surgery 8/28 my first fill 9/28 and my second fill 10/14 but as of yet I haven't had any counselling.I feel like I'm not in the right zone for all of this and after my 2nd fill I'm still hungry all the time.I'm trying to control my eating but old habits seem to creep back in before long........

I would say you need to call. I was waiting for the dr's office to call me and they never did. I won't let that happen again.