Fill or no fill? Opinions needed!

[ErinMarie 186]

Ok people, I have a fill appointment coming up in a few weeks and I can't decide if I need it. I want your opinion on if I should even keep this appointment or if I should cancel it (its an hour away) and save my gas.

I currently have about 6 cc's (I think) in my band. I got this fill under fluoro in March or April. I'm roughly 2 cc's away from my green zone pre-pregnancy. Currently, it still takes an average sized meal for me to be full, although I can stop after about half of it and be okay for a few hours. I get stuck easily if I'm not paying attention or take too big of bites (which is more often than I'd like to admit). I have NO IDEA if I'm losing weight because I also moved in April and forgot my scale. I've not been the best bandster lately because I crave chocolate almost everyday but its finally easing up!

So, should I go to this appointment and attempt a fill? Should I go and just get weighed and talk to the nutritionist? Or should I just save my gas?

Thanks in advance!

Edited September 30, 2014 by ErinMarie

[lisacaron 5,075]

@@ErinMarie I'm going to say go see the Dr. It will help you get back on track and you can talk with the Dr. about how your feeling/eating etc.

If you need a fill at that time, then get one at least let them check it out for you on the fluro to see how things are moving past the band and that can help you and the doc to decide what's best for you right now.

Good Luck!

[2muchfun 8,928]

This is a process and the learning curve on how to eat slower and chew more can be a long one. Tweaking your band is a must in my opinion. Self discipline to eat slower and chewing food to a mush consistency is how almost every successful Bandster has succeeded.

A visit with the nut is also very healthy for you if you have issues of any kind. I highly recommend staying the course with fills and appointments and being brutally honest with doctor and nut.

tmf

[labwalker 1,177]

Second TMF's post above. Staying on course is important, and you will need fills as weight comes off.

[Jim1967 3,569]

I agree with Lisa and tmf. I would go in at least for a sanity check and also to weigh in so you know exactly where you're at. You at least need a baseline in order to gauge future progress but I suppose there always NSVs to go by. Looser clothes and such. I know it's not all about numbers on a scale but when it comes to measuring real progress numbers are important.

As for needing a fill I guess the questions I would ask myself is...

1. How long can you go in between meals before getting hungry?

2. Are you grazing throughout the day?

[ErinMarie 186]

Thank you for all the advice everyone! You are all right, I just needed to hear it from someone else. My husband is very hesitant about me getting fills because he has seen me too full and needing emergency unfills and it worries him.

To answer some questions:

@@lisacaron I probably won't ever get a fill under fluoro again unfortunately. I loved getting it done that way but my insurance does not cover anything lap band related anymore so its all out of pocket for me if I get my fills that way. (Thankfully they bill as an office visit if I get it in the room.)

@@Jim1967 I was grazing, but now that I'm busy at work I'm not anymore and am starving by the time I get home from work and make dinner...then I shovel it in and probably get stuck 50% of the time after a few bites (you'd think I would have this down after 3 years). I am staying full between meals by at least 3-5 hours depending on how much I eat.

Thanks again everyone! I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to touch base with everyone there, especially my nutritionist!

[Jim1967 3,569]

Thank you for all the advice everyone! You are all right, I just needed to hear it from someone else. My husband is very hesitant about me getting fills because he has seen me too full and needing emergency unfills and it worries him.

To answer some questions:

@@Jim1967 I was grazing, but now that I'm busy at work I'm not anymore and am starving by the time I get home from work and make dinner...then I shovel it in and probably get stuck 50% of the time after a few bites (you'd think I would have this down after 3 years). I am staying full between meals by at least 3-5 hours depending on how much I eat.

Thanks again everyone! I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to touch base with everyone there, especially my nutritionist

Erin,

Are you skipping meals? I hope not. I used to skip lunch at work because I was too lazy to prepare something and by the time dinner came I would over eat and end up sick and a lot of times stuck. My weight loss was slowing as well because my body was going into survival mode from lack of food.

I now bring a Protein shake for lunch every day and it really helps get some form of nutrition and I am no longer over doing it at dinner.

Just a thought..

[ErinMarie 186]

I don't purposely skip meals but I'm usually too tight to eat Breakfast in the morning. I never skip lunch or dinner.

[JustWatchMe 7,117]

I'm only six months banded but I advise getting checked. I've also started the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet and I find that my band feels tighter the day after my low cal fasting day. So two days a week, I get more restriction. I can feel the difference and I know I won't need a fill this month. I've been getting fills every month and have four so far. This is my fourth week of 5:2.

[Bandista 7,466]

Hi there, on fills, my surgeon looks for being satisfied on a tennis-ball sized portion (his lingo) and not hungry again for 4-5 hours. I can tell I need a fill when I don't "last" or if I find myself looking for food, having cravings, etc. In the green zone I can admire yummy food but not have to have it -- a sort of ambivalence prevails. Or I just have a teeny bit and that's fine. On getting stuck, if I have real hunger and get too hungry I tend not to chew well enough, bites too big, etc., and then a stuck episode will inevitably occur. I like to think I'm learning! Good luck with all. You're doing great. Whole point of the band is the adjustability.

[ErinMarie 186]

Thanks ladies! I kept going back and forth on if my clues on needing a fill are in my head or not but I'm going to go anyway so I can talk to my nutritionist and get a professional opinion.

[send2steph 26]

On the chocolate thing, I get my fix via my Calcium supplement: Adora Dark Chocolate

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B7V1Y24/ref=pd_aw_sims_1?pi=SY115&simLd=1

[ErinMarie 186]

Going to see my lap band dr tomorrow! Wish me luck!