confused about restriction

[demsvmejm 5]

Hang in there, your restriction will arrive!

I'm happy to say that I have found my sweet spot. I think i'm one of the lucky ones that has found it after only 2 months.

I had another cc added last week (total of 2cc in 4cc band) I started feeling restriction on Friday. It has been a long weekend.

You have to remember up until now, I could eat without thinking, didn't have to chew really well, didn't really eat that slow and took normal size bites without problems or complications, could even chug a 20 oz h20 in 5 minutes.

All that has changed!

for lunch I had 3 broccoli florettes, 1/2 asparagus speer and around 10 bites of tilipia fish (maybe 1 1/2 ounces??) That took me around 10 minutes to eat, then I ate 1 tbsp of hummus with 2 reduced fat triskets and ate those too fast....The worst pain in my life! I really wanted to PB, but I haven't done that yet.

My brain needs to get in touch with my pouch cause I really need to slow down! This last few days have been the hardest so far in my band journey, except of course the few days after surgery.

I guess I got what I wished for, now lets see if some of this weight will come off!

You'll get there soon enough, everyone hang in there.

[seafindings@yah 0]

Hi, tomarrow will be week 4 after surgery and I am starting to be able to eat. Has this happened to anyone? I'v lost 25 lbs, is it time for a fill?

[sherilynn 1]

Hi, tomarrow will be week 4 after surgery and I am starting to be able to eat. Has this happened to anyone? I'v lost 25 lbs, is it time for a fill?

There is alot more involved than your question asks. Be sure to read through these forums. There is a wealth of information - make sure you don't miss anything. After just 4 weeks, its unlikely you 'need' a fill; you're loosing more than 5 pounds a week! You are supposed to be able to eat! Just not in mass quantities. What did your doctor instruct you? At 4 weeks, you are barely healed. Should just be a week into solid foods! Tell us more...

[lapband4meNOW 0]

Hi all.

I just got my first fill today. A little late, but I was traveling a lot and didn't wanna be out of the area after I got a fill. The fill went good. I saw on the moving x-ray the Fluid going down and it seemed like it was gonna be good restriction. I have a 10cc band and he put in 1.4cc's. We are gonna see how this does. He said to stay on liquids today and go back to regular food but I am super curious if I notice a difference after I eat. I will keep you posted.

[mabunga24 2]

All I know is that all I've gone through to get the band - I'm really starting to get p*'d off with the lack of restriction. I know that 'in time'…I'll get my sweet spot. But in the meantime, I'm hungry. I'm trying to eat small amounts; because I'm horrified of stretching my pouch. But small amounts aren't cutting it. Ahhhhhhhhh, I'm starting to feel like this is just another failed diet attempt. I can even deal with 1 pound a week. I know all the sayings "I didn't put it on over night", "Rome wasn't built in a day"…I'm just really down on this whole thing now. Even questioning why I didn't just go for the bypass.:help: :eek: :cry

Sherilynn!

I totally know how you feel! I have been feeling like this is just another failed diet attempt too....but we have to just keep trying! Keep in mind what you have accomplished so far! Hang in there!:nervous

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I am SOOO glad that others of you are as confused about this "fill" thing as I am!! I just had my second fill and I still can't fill any restriction. Things never get "stuck" for me. I feel like I am getting full faster, but I can definitely eat more than the 1 cup of food I am suppose to be eating. The frustrating part is that my roommie, who was banded 2 months before me, has only had one fill and has really good restriction. In fact, she has lost nearly 70 pounds in 8 months. I am at 20 pounds in nearly 6 months! YIKES!!

I will keep trying until my next fill and hopefully that will make a difference for me!:nervous

If you have no restriction, why have you only had two fills in six months? If it is a cost issue then find a new fill doc. Also, are you exercising? Are you only eating until you are no longer hungry or are you trying to get full like a T-day turkey?

As for your roommie, according to Dr. Ortiz 70% of people don't need a fill for six months. It's the luck of the draw on that one.

[sherilynn 1]

I'm flying tomorrow for the first time since my band. Will it affect how my fill feels?

Right now; I have minimal restriction. First fill one week ago. I AM SO FRUSTRATED. I want to get full on 1 cup of food - and it IS NOT HAPPENING!!!!!! So now I'm getting discouraged, and found I turned to 'comfort food' this a.m.; taylor ham and cheese on a croissant...and I don't even LIKE croissant...didn't eat them before the band. Just wanted to see if I could get it down; sure enough; gulp gulp gulp. NO problem. A real snap. I'm hating myself for it. I know it's not the bands fault. lol It is MINE. But if I don't get restriction soon; I'm afraid thse little lapses will continue.

Anyway, I'm just grasping at straws, hoping to get a miracle before the next fill. Hoping my first one 'sets in'...over a week later. Slim chance, huh?? lol

[Syrah 0]

Sherilynn, listen to yourself! You've lost 23 lbs in 3 mos. I happen to think that is awesome! Particularly if you -- like me -- would diet your butt off and lost about 2-5 lbs per month (in the past). Don't be so hard on yourself, but try to make better food choices. Crossants are full of unnecessary fat.

Good luck!

[Syrah 0]

As for your roommie, according to Dr. Ortiz 70% of people don't need a fill for six months. It's the luck of the draw on that one.

Is he in Mexico? This makes me wonder if he installs the band too tight, to begin with, so his patients don't have to travel all the way back so often. (Or can his patients get fills closer to home?)

My surgeon's theory is that people who lose a lot without fills have a band that's too tight, to being with.

[ginger3151 0]

For those of you that don't feel any restriction, how much food are you eating at each meal. I'm right there with you and wondering if I'm eating too much? I just don't want to have to be hungry - that's almost worse than not loosing. I eat till I'm full, but is that eating too much, for example, I ate a 4 oz hamburger, about a cup of broccoli and two slices of tomatoes for dinner last night. At 9:00 I felt hungry so I ate a pudding cup(low fat) and a couple of low fat pretzels. I try to talk myself out of eating the snack by drinking more Water or tea, but the hungry feeling wins out!

I've had 3 fills - I'm at 2-1/2 ccs in a 4 cc band - - -

[ljwilgenhof 0]

I have a question about the fill..I had my surgery on April 4, 07 and have lost 32 pounds. My doctor gave me my first fill of 6cc for a band that holds 12cc. My doctor said the most he ever filled was 9.5cc. Do you think I had to much filled to soon. I am not eating that much, it's a strange feeling when I eat and it's hard for me to drink, it's takes me about 1 hour to drink 8 ounces. Is that normal???? I feel good, a bit tired and I think when I start losing about 40 more pounds I get get some taken out..I don't know..what do you think..

[DebLPN 0]

Today has not been good for me.

I was banded 1/29/07, have had one fill in March(he wouldnt tell me how much he put in cause he said i read too many websites and i should concern myself with what is right for ME)and so far i've lost 51 pounds. THe fill didnt make me feel any different. My desire to eat alot disapperared since surgery. If I try to swallow a gulp of anything liquid or dont chew something well,,i DO get a 'globby' feeling in my lower esophagus,,but that only occurs in the mornings. I rarely eat rice,,never Pasta, TINY amounts of any kind of breads. I exercise 2 times a week. I had a nursing job that kept me hopping. This past Tuesday,,,my beloved 13 yr old chihuahua, CHia was attacked by a neighbors dog and was in hospital for a week. SHe seemed tobe recovering, but then quickly took a turn for the worse. I held her in my arms as htey gave her the drugs and she quietly slipped away. I hd to go to work that evening,,,i rarely get to eat during my shift and have been so miserable since that i've not eatten much at all. Today,,i went out and bought crap like a bag of chokkie caramel cups, a tiny watermelon and some bbq porkskins. Needless to say,,i've had my first episode of bing eating and unfortunately no PBs. GOd knows i wish i could trhow it all up. Oh yeah,,i also bought some crabmeat-cheese won tons and general tsos chicken and refried rice. My emotions grabbed me hard and i've consum,ed alot of the avoe in the past 24 hours.

I think i'm over the emotional eating binge now,,,but needed to admit it in writing. Tomorrow, i'll got to the gym,,come home adn plant some flowers and stuff i bought today and try to get some fresh air and sunshine. Please pray/light a candle/ whatever it is you do for me. I'm divorced, my daughter is 24 and along way from home, I live alone and i need the support of each of you to help me not wallow in my grief and sabatoge my sucess sofar. Pity Party? Table for one? Time to move on,,,,,,,thanks for listening.

Banded 1/29/07

Dr Ken Cleveland-CMMC-Jackson, MS

331/280/150

one fill to date

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

As for your roommie, according to Dr. Ortiz 70% of people don't need a fill for six months. It's the luck of the draw on that one.

Is he in Mexico? This makes me wonder if he installs the band too tight, to begin with, so his patients don't have to travel all the way back so often. (Or can his patients get fills closer to home?)

My surgeon's theory is that people who lose a lot without fills have a band that's too tight, to being with.

Many docs will disagree with your doc. Think about it, you suddenly have a hole in your stomach that is the size of a dime. You didn't have that before. You will likely be full much faster than when you could hold a gallon of food in your stomach.

If someone is too tight they often times can't even drink Water. If the band is placed too tight the patient knows the first time they drink Water.< /p>

I've lost 70lbs in five months and my band isn't tight. Lots of people lose weight quickly, it is a matter of dietary choices and exercise as well as restriction.

Yes, Dr. Ortiz is in Mexico and the rumor that Mexican docs have tighter bands and do fills before 4 weeks is as true as it is in the US. It is a myth, a rumor. Ask any Mexican banded patient. If they are too tight, they KNOW it immediately.

Keep in mind, US docs lose a LOT of business to Mexican docs due to sheer cost. They are resentful and make up big stories and pass on rumors that simply are not true. If a Mexican doc claimed that US patients are typically banded too tight, would it make it truth or a rumor?

[Syrah 0]

WABB, you say "Think about it, you suddenly have a hole in your stomach that is the size of a dime," yet I also see you saying here repeatedly that until you have your first fill, there is no restriction. Can you elaborate?

I'm not sure I buy the whole theory of US docs making stuff up. US docs only lose business to patients who can't get insured and are self-pays. Judging from the number of these surgeries performed, and the number of obese people in the US, I don't think many US doctors are hurting for business. (I wonder - do people have more faith in a doctor from another country who they sought only because insurance would not pay, or a surgeon who works for a BC/BS Bariatric Center of Excellence in the US, such as mine?)

I was told that initial restriction from the band is a bit smaller than a 50-cent piece. I've never heard the "dime" comparison.The pictures I've seen of the partially-inflated band look larger than a dime. The Lapband® and its Placement It's clear that my surgeon is a bit more conservative than some Mexican surgeons, however. Maybe that's because he's only an hour away from me. :mad:

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

WABB, you say "Think about it, you suddenly have a hole in your stomach that is the size of a dime," yet I also see you saying here repeatedly that until you have your first fill, there is no restriction. Can you elaborate?

For some people they have a great deal of restriction after being banded. Others can eat around it. We all know this. If someone is trying but they don't have enough restriction, they aren't going to be as successful. It's a fact, without a band you have no restriction, with an unfilled band you do have more restriction but for some it is enough, for others it is not. We are all unique and we all have individual needs. The one size fits all band did not work for everyone, it worked for some and not others. Is this more clear for you?

I'm not sure I buy the whole theory of US docs making stuff up. US docs only lose business to patients who can't get insured and are self-pays. Judging from the number of these surgeries performed, and the number of obese people in the US, I don't think many US doctors are hurting for business. (I wonder - do people have more faith in a doctor from another country who they sought only because insurance would not pay, or a surgeon who works for a BC/BS Bariatric Center of Excellence in the US, such as mine?)

If you were in business and suddenly you realized that someone else took up to 55% of your business from you, doc or no doc, would you be concerned? Would you try to find ways to make your business more appealing to your consumer base?

According to a poll right here on LBT, 55% of people posting here were banded in Mexico. The remaining 45% were banded in the US. Somewhere around 27% (unverified) of people WITH insurance have WLS coverage. Of that 27%, not all are in need of WLS.

I doubt most people have faith in a doc BECAUSE they are from another country. I didn't have more faith in my doc because he is from another country or because he was cheaper (it would have been cheaper to go through my insurance), I had faith in my doc because:

He's Inamed certified,

He's an Inamed proctor,

He has done far more bands than any US surgeon I was considering, regardless of insurance requirements,

He helped perfect the banding procedure,

He helped perfect the band itself,

He trains US docs and has since he has been doing them longer than most US docs,

His stats are beyond fantastic for erosion, slips, and infection,

He is far more conservative than most US docs with hospitalization, post op diets, and fills,

He is a certified bariatric surgeon, general surgeon, and trauma surgeon. That means he is very well qualified to handle weird stuff patients experience during surgical and post surgical procedures,

His reputation is absolutely fantastic,

He is well respected by his peers. Matter of fact, they just elected him as the new VP of the Mexican Bariatric Assoc.

He holds the position of secretary for the International Bariatric Assoc.

I'll venture a guess his background beats your own doc's background. But yours is better because he's from the US, right? Isn't that kinda... non-PC?

All in all, yes, I think ANY doc would be happy with more business. I think most business owners would be happy with more business. Isn't that why we see advertisements for specific docs on TV each night? They have enough business but they spend big bucks advertising for the heck of it. Right? Lots of docs advertise, it's natural for any business owner to want MORE business.

Docs throw around these myths that Mexican docs overfill their patients and give them bands that are too tight but I have yet to see a stat to back up their claims. Do you have any stats other than your doc's opinion? Would you be willing to get stats from a doctor that claims Mexican docs place tight bands or overfill their patients?

Have you EVER been overfilled? EVER?? To the point that you couldn't even drink Water? That's what happens when you are overfilled. If patients were coming home from Mexico and unable to drink Water, don't you think the patients would be speaking up instead of US docs making claims they have yet to defend? If they defend these claims, I've yet to see their numbers and proof.

BTW, my doc has never overfilled me, but US medical providers have, twice. Now I only go to my doc in Mexico for fills.

I was told that initial restriction from the band is a bit smaller than a 50-cent piece. I've never heard the "dime" comparison.The pictures I've seen of the partially-inflated band look larger than a dime. The Lapband® and its Placement It's clear that my surgeon is a bit more conservative than some Mexican surgeons, however. Maybe that's because he's only an hour away from me. :mad:

I just had the opportunity to see 3 band placements yesterday. I saw the band, there is no way it is the size of a 50 cent piece. No way a 50 cent piece would fit through that hole, even unfilled. Not even close. I honestly don't think a quarter would fit through there but I'm willing to try it next time I go to Mexico. If I am incorrect I will be the first one to tell you. If I am correct I'll take photos and post them. Some surgeons describe it as a nickel, some describe the INSIDE dimensions of a placed band as a dime. No way it's a 50 cent piece.

Now, if your surgeon is more conservative than that of some Mexican surgeons, isn't it a fair statement to make that some Mexican surgeons are more conservative than yours?

You seem to have a huge issue with Mexico and Mexican surgeons. Any political reasons behind that? Because you are coming up with lots of OH issues and concepts. They are typically quite seriously anti-Mexico. You know, kinda like you. Funny how that works. :mad:

As far as photos of the lap band I can show you Inamed's own website where the photos appear much smaller than your photos. Let's get exact numbers, shall we?