How often do you get a fill?

[melanndoll 92]

I had my 3rd fill today two weeks apart. 4th one will be in a month. Just wondering if this is common?

[HealthyNewMe 1,935]

My appointments and fills are about four to six weeks apart. I'm getting my fourth fill next Monday (1/13), and I was banded on August 22, 2013.

[terrydumont46 1,954]

once a month. i don't think i could do it any faster. being on a 2day liquid and than a 2day mushie and than getting used to a tighter band. ughhhhh.

[Countryheart2000 18]

I had my 3rd fill today two weeks apart. 4th one will be in a month. Just wondering if this is common?

I was banded August 5 2013. I have had one fill of half of a cc...

[cheryl2586 3,053]

I have not had a fill in two years. I have only had two fills in my banded life of four years. The first year I lost most of my weight without a fill. My suggestion is this: the problem with getting fills frequently doesn't really give you time to get used to the last fill. Some take a few weeks to take affect. Also when you get fills and you're getting near your band being almost filled up, then you have nothing left to work with. I have only 3cc's in my band and it works fine. Sometimes I think best practice is to go slow. I know you all want to get in the green but sometimes if you don't wait it out, you end up having to go back to get it out. Just pace yourselves slowly.

[B-52 7,113]

# of fills is not the question...I have a friend who has had about 10 fills,,,,bet her Dr. only gives 1/2 cc every month....so after all this time she only has 5 cc's total....

MY Dr, had no reservations about what his goal was once after the surgery and all healing has taken place...and tat was to get me into the Green Zone so the band would start to do what it was designed to do.....

One month after surgery, he gave me my first fill of 4 cc's....a month after that was my 2nd of 2 cc's, and one month after that was my third, and final fill, of 1 cc....total of 7 cc's in 4 months after surgery...put me in the Green Zone, although it took me another 2 months at least to adjust myself and get everything in "Sync' for it to become all leveled out and easy.....

That was over 2-1/2 years ago...have not had a fill since....and have not had any difficulties with stuck episodes, sliming etc, for about 2 years now...once I got it all figured out and learned how to live within that Green Zone....

But those first few months were hard and frustrating as hell, sometimes getting stuck 2-3 times a day...but I knew it was me, and not the band...it was me who had to change if I wanted this to work....and it was Hard!!

Since then it has been the EASIEST thing I could have do to loose all my weight and return to a normal weight and healthy lifestyle....no more struggles....

I do not regret this decision at all....although in the beginning I was not so sure....

[Rojasanoll 920]

I also haven't had that many fills and they have been spaced apart by my doctor. He wants me to adapt and learn from the band. He is the type of doctor that doesn't rush into losing weight. He wants a gradual loss over a longer period of time.

Sometimes its frustrating to me and I think it's been way too long between fills and I expected them closer.

Best wishes and Keep the Faith.

[Terry Poperszky 2,784]

After the first 5 weeks I got a fill every two weeks, never more than a 1 cc, and less toward the end. Final fill of .25 cc put me too close to the red zone and I had it taken out a month later. I think I am 5 or 6 cc in a 10 cc band.

[MandaMom23 684]

I went once a month. I needed 3 before I hit the green zone.

[Bandista 7,466]

I've had four fills -- latest one yesterday. First was six weeks after surgery, then the following week, two more weeks and two more. I will go back in two weeks to reassess. My band was not primed and I believe these are small fills but frequent whereas some surgeons do larger fills less frequently. My doctor does not share the amount of the fill with me. He thinks I'm right on track and that it takes most of his patients 4-5 fills to reach the green zone and we will just do it a step at a time til we get there. No fluoroscopy. He also doesn't believe in dieting -- repeats that the point of the band is to eat when you're hungry and not eat when you're not hungry. Amount he describes is the size of a tennis ball and duration is 4-5 hours.

[PrettyThick1 1,860]

I've had three fills:

Banded with 3cc's.

Six Weeks (First Fill) - 1cc (not enough, still hungry...went back)

Six Weeks and 2 days (2nd Fill) - 1cc (Total 5)

August 2013 - .5 cc (total 5.5)

GREEN ZONE

No fill since, average loss in green zone: 12 lbs. per month.

Edited January 7, 2014 by PrettyThick1

[PrettyThick1 1,860]

I use to have regular stuck episodes, too. I'm glad I've learned how to eat correctly now, I had it all wrong in the beginning...even after all the research I'd done and all of the advice I had gotten from experienced bandsters. I've learned many lessons: don't eat when cold, don't eat and drive, don't eat fast, if you look at something and you get the idea that it's going to get stuck...then it will. So much more, I'm just glad I figured it out and have more control over stuck and sliming episodes.

# of fills is not the question...I have a friend who has had about 10 fills,,,,bet her Dr. only gives 1/2 cc every month....so after all this time she only has 5 cc's total....

MY Dr, had no reservations about what his goal was once after the surgery and all healing has taken place...and tat was to get me into the Green Zone so the band would start to do what it was designed to do.....

One month after surgery, he gave me my first fill of 4 cc's....a month after that was my 2nd of 2 cc's, and one month after that was my third, and final fill, of 1 cc....total of 7 cc's in 4 months after surgery...put me in the Green Zone, although it took me another 2 months at least to adjust myself and get everything in "Sync' for it to become all leveled out and easy.....

That was over 2-1/2 years ago...have not had a fill since....and have not had any difficulties with stuck episodes, sliming etc, for about 2 years now...once I got it all figured out and learned how to live within that Green Zone....

But those first few months were hard and frustrating as hell, sometimes getting stuck 2-3 times a day...but I knew it was me, and not the band...it was me who had to change if I wanted this to work....and it was Hard!!

Since then it has been the EASIEST thing I could have do to loose all my weight and return to a normal weight and healthy lifestyle....no more struggles....

I do not regret this decision at all....although in the beginning I was not so sure....

[kshannon 69]

I thinking I am finally learning that I need to slow down ... It seems I be the hardest thing to wrap my brain around. I had a 2 cc fill a month ago & this is the fill I've felt restriction since I had the surgery 5 months ago. I'm discovering that this cold weather is makes it harder to eat anything. I didn't realize that until PrettyThick mentioned it not only above but in another post.