I have an appointment Monday for a fill with my doctor. Since last month I have had at least 3-4 stuck episodes but I can honestly say that each time it was because I was not chewing enough or eating too fast.

That being said I'm afraid of becoming too tight but can eat more than a cup of food. I generally am not hungry for 4 hours. So I'm torn.

Opinions?

Perhaps a very small fill? I truly believe overfills cause many problems...

You sound like you are close to where you need to be...

Please ask the doc ... And trust yourself to not overdo the fill.. You can go back later.

Many of us have been on both sides of too little and too much... Gotta be just right and it works well!

My own way was never to have a fill unless I was 100% sure I needed it. I have seen too many people suffering serious problems from being overnight.

How about postponing the appt for a couple of weeks?

I know this fence! I had an appointment for a fill yesterday evening and called after lunch to cancel it. I had taken a sliver of a flexeril for some pain issues the night before and so my lunch, a small piece of salmon and some salad with ricotta crumbles, did not go down well. Red flag! I want to work through this recent pain spike before I assess whether or not I need a fill. Whole inflammatory system is "up" for me right now. Plus it is allergy season here. Anything like that muddies the waters for me. The fills I've been getting are .5 cc -- it is a nuance game to be sure. Hey, I just had an idea! I'm going to use my co-pay savings to get a massage! So stressed lately and, yes, that effects my band, too.

What I have done. My last few fills were 0.01 each. Now I think it's perfect. For now. I've been at perfect a few times for awhile. I'm still losing so I expect it to change over time.

Pro tip: the tightest part of my day is first thing in the morning. If I can swallow two Tylenol arthritis caplets with a sip of Water, I am happy that I am not too tight.I actually do that during my fill under fluoroscopy as well.

Here's what jumped out at me from your post. You should not be eating until you feel like you can't eat any more. You've already eaten too much then. What works for me, is to slow it down a lot. As you approach finishing one cup of food, ask yourself with each bite: Am I satisfied? Is it possible that the next bite might make me feel full? Be honest with your answers. This is difficult to do for people who love food. But if either answer is yes, stop. Physically get up, walk away, go to the bathroom, wash your hands, come back, sit down, wait for a minute. Timing is everything. It takes time for those signals that you ate to reach your brain. It doesn't take long. Two or three minutes at most. Once that happens, and you are no longer starving, you can make this decision objectively.

Good luck. The band is now working for you. Now we need to work with the band. This is the tricky part.It truly does give us our signals. We just need to learn to listen to them. And then to actually obey them.

I was completely where you were when you posted this! Today is Thursday, and I was scheduled for a fill on Tuesday. I had been experiencing good satiety (solid 3 hours between meals) and no stuck episodes (except when I was stupid and ate too quickly or something I should not have). I also have seen my scale stuck at between 217-218 for 3 weeks.

What to do, what to do?? Like you, I was scared I would be "fill-greedy" and overdo it, thereby undoing all the good that has been done these past 4 months since being banded. On the other hand, how do I know if I'm in the green zone if I've never been there?

So. I decided to go for the fill, but thoroughly explained EXACTLY what was happening for me before that needle touched me so the bariatric nurse could make an informed judgment call. She thought a small fill might be beneficial - so I had .2ccs.

I'm glad I went for the fill. What a difference! Since Tuesday I've been experiencing a bit of "restriction" for the first time ever - actually feeling the band putting a limit to how much I can eat in partnership with listening to my own body signals - and my feeling of satiety between meals is waaaay up - I ate a small dinner at 5:30 pm last night, went to bed at 10pm (no Snacks, not even the thought of a snack), woke up this morning not hungry. Began to wonder if I'd ever want to eat again!

I've since had a yoghurt and and a salad with chicken, and feel great.

I say listen to your body, and ask your surgical team (surgeon, nursing staff) for advice or guidance. If they are truly professional and excellent at what they do, they should be able to offer you some expert advice.

I'm glad I went for the fill. What a difference! Since Tuesday I've been experiencing a bit of "restriction" for the first time ever - actually feeling the band putting a limit to how much I can eat in partnership with listening to my own body signals - and my feeling of satiety between meals is waaaay up - I ate a small dinner at 5:30 pm last night, went to bed at 10pm (no Snacks, not even the thought of a snack), woke up this morning not hungry. Began to wonder if I'd ever want to eat again!

My Dr. used to refer to to the "Yellow-Green-Red" Zone chart on the wall...ask me a few questions such as hunger, cravings, etc, and determine where I was on that chart....compare my current weight to my last visit and calculate weight loss, (or gain)...then determine if I needed a fill or not.

The goal from day one was always to get to that Green Zone, where everything was functioning at it well tuned peak.

No hunger or cravings, portions under control, (cannot binge or overeat), and steady weight loss until I reached my body's normal fat range....

I could never have gotten to this place without getting my band properly adjusted, and that took the right amount of fills...

(and I had to adjust my habits to meet that)

My last fill was 4 years ago....everything has been "Heaven:" ever since....smooth effortless sailing.

A tip my doctor gave me for stuck episodes is to try a tablespoon of sour cream or olive oil. It does seem to help make food go through. I get in trouble if I don't chew well enough or eat too fast. I am also on the fence about more fills and think I am just about at the green zone. It is coming off but much slower than I had hoped.

I ended up getting another .5. There's a total of 5cc right now.