Here is info will come in handy when thinking about fills/adjustments. Great information. I have seen this information before and it is really good.

How to Tell When You Are Perfectly Adjusted

You are losing 1-2 pounds per week.

If you are not losing 1-2 pounds per week:

A. You may need an eating adjustment

1. Are you eating 60 grams of Protein a day

2. Are you eating 25 grams of Fiber

3. Are you avoiding all liquid calories

a. Soup can be sign of “soft calorie syndrome”

b. Alcohol contains a lot of calories – 7 calories per gram

(1) It’s also a stomach irritant

c. fruit juice is just sugar Water

4. Are you making healthy food choices from a wide variety of

foods?

a. Are you avoiding soft foods

b. You can’t just eat what’s easy

c. cheese is glorified fat

5. Are you drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day between meals

6. Are you eating too much junk

a. chips, chocolate, nuts, ice cream, Cookies and other highly

processed junk foods are too calorically dense to be regular parts of a

healthy diet. But don’t avoid them completely to the point where you

feel deprived.

b. Stay out of fast food places

7. Are you getting in two servings of Calcium daily

8. Do you always eat the protein first

9. Then the vegetables or fruits

a. Five servings a day

b. Potatoes are NOT a vegetable

10. Is your portion size appropriate?

a. meat or fish

(1) 3 ounces – the size of a deck of cards

b. Vegetables

(1) ½ cup – the size of your fist

c. Starch

(1) If you eat the protein and the vegetables first you don’t need

much

(2) Avoid: rice, potatoes, Pasta

11. You might try avoiding artificial sweeteners

a. Some people think that artificial sweeteners stimulate the

appetite

b. They are HUNDREDS of times sweeter than sugar

c. They teach you to like things too sweet

d. There is no evidence that people who use them are any thinner

than people who don’t

12. Avoid most diet foods

a. Real food usually tastes better

b. Real food is more satisfying than low calorie substitutes

c. When you are only eating a tiny bit the caloric savings is not

that great

(1) Use a teaspoon of real butter instead of a tablespoon of diet

margarine

(2) The body has no way to break down artificial fats

a. They may go into permanent storage

b. Some people think liposuction is the only way to remove

hydrolyzed fats from the body

B. You may need a behavior adjustment

1. Are you eating only when you are hungry?

a. If you’re not sure drink 8 ounces of water and wait.

2. Are you eating three meals a day?

a. With maybe 1 or 2 small Snacks

3. Are you sitting down to eat?

4. Are you eating consciously?

a. No distractions, turn off the TV, put the book or newspaper

away, pay attention to your food and your companions

5. Are you eating slowly?

a. Put the fork down between bites

b. Take 20 to 30 minutes to finish a meal

c. Taking longer might cause the pouch to begin emptying

6. Are you taking small bites?

a. Tiny spoon, chopsticks, cocktail fork

7. Are you chewing well?

8. Are you drinking with your meals or too soon after your meals?

a. Practice water loading between meals

b. You won’t be thirsty if you are well hydrated before the meal

9. Are you stopping at the first sign of fullness?

a. Sometimes it’s a whisper: not hungry, had enough

b. Hard stop versus soft stop

10. Do not eat between meals. Stop grazing.

11. Do not eat when you are not hungry

C. You may need an activity adjustment

1. Are you getting in 30 minutes of physical activity at least 3

times a week?

a. Over and above what you would do in the usual course of your day

b. Could you make it 4 or 5 times a week?

c. Could you make it 45 or 60 minutes?

2. Are you taking advantage of opportunities to increase your

physical activity?

a. Taking the stairs instead of the elevators or escalators

b. Walking on the escalators instead of riding

c. Parking your car further away from the entrance

d. Getting out of the car instead of using the drive through

e. Getting off the bus one stop before your destination

f. Washing you car by hand instead of the car wash

g. Playing with your kids

D. You may need an attitude adjustment

1. Are you committed to your weight loss journey?

2. Are you totally honest with yourself about how much you are

eating and exercising?

a. Log your food and activity on ww.fitday.com for 3 days

3. Are you using food inappropriately to deal with emotional

issues?

a. Have you identified what the emotions are that drive your

eating?

b. Can you think of more appropriate ways to deal with those

emotions?

c. Are you willing to seek help from a qualified counselor?

4. Are you attending and participating in support group meetings?

5. Have you drummed up some support from your family and friends?

6. Have you dealt with saboteurs realistically?

7. Do you have realistic expectations about the weight loss

journey?

8. Are you still obsessing about food, weight, dieting, eating?

a. Obsessive – compulsive thoughts

(1) Obsess about something else

b. Perfectionism

(1) All or none, black and white thinking

c. Patience with the pace of healthy weight loss

9. Are you acknowledging your successes with non-food rewards?

10. Have you learned how to take a compliment?

11. Are you giving up diet mentality?

a. Stop weighing yourself several times a day or every day

b. Stop dieting

c. Stop depriving yourself

d. Stop defining food as “good” and “bad”

e. Stop rewarding and punishing yourself with food

12. How do you feel about all the changes taking place?

E. You may need a band adjustment

1. You feel like you are making healthy food choices in appropriate

portion sizes but getting hungry between meals?

2. You can still eat white bread, fibrous vegetables and large

portions.

3. You are having to struggle to lose

4. You are gaining weight in spite of eating right, exercising and

having a good mind set.

F. You may need your band loosened

1. There are times when you can’t get fluids down

2. You are vomiting too much

a. How much is too much?

3. Do you have frequent reflux or heartburn at night?

a. Do not lie flat or bend over soon after eating

b. Do not eat late at night or just before bedtime

c. Rinse your pouch with a glass or water an hour before bedtime

d. Certain foods or drinks are more likely to cause reflux:

(1) Rich, spicy, fatty and fried foods

(2) Chocolate

(3) Caffeine

(4) Alcohol

(5) Some fruits and vegetables

a. Oranges, lemons, tomatoes, peppers

(6) Peppermint

a. Baking soda toothpaste

(7) Carbonated drinks

e. Eat slowly and do not eat big meals

f. If you smoke, quit smoking

g. Reduce stress

h. Exercise promotes digestion

i. Raise the head of your bed

j. Wear loose fitting clothing around your waist

k. Stress increases reflux

l. Take estrogen containing medications in the morning

m. Avoid aspirin, Aleve and ibuprofen at bedtime

(1) Tylenol is OK

n. Take an antacid (Pepcid complete) before retiring

o. Try other over-the-counter heartburn medications

p. See your health care provider

4. See your health care provider immediately (or call 911) if

a. You have a squeezing, tightness or heaviness in your chest,

especially if the discomfort spreads to your shoulder, arm or jaw or is

accompanied by shortness of breath, sweating, irregular or fast

heartbeat or nausea. These could be symptoms of a heart attack.

b. If your symptoms are triggered by exercise.

c. If your pain localizes to your right side, especially if you

also have nausea or fever

d. If you throw up vomit that looks like black sand or coffee

grounds. Or if your stool is black, deep red or looks like it has tar

in it. These are symptoms of bleeding and need immediate attention.

(Note: Pepto-Bismol or other medications with bismuth will turn your

stool black. Iron supplements can also make the stool tarry.)

e. If your pain is severe

This is what my friends and family have typically been going through.

Fun With Drugs from The Blue Group

I hope this country gets it's act together someday when it comes to the healthcare.

I recently got my fill 3/11- i was so excited and it did nothing. I can still eat whatever no restriction whatsoever. I am very discouraged!! Although I am trying hard to still loose weight because I am determined to lose weight regardless. I need encouragent!!! I a getting another fill on 4/15 hopefully this one will help!!!

Since my last fill on 3/5/08, I have reached my "sweet spot". After many trial and errors of getting here, this is it for awhile. I'm losing weight again and have been motivated to exercise. Working on losing 5 lbs by the end of the month. 16 days and counting. I'm confident I can do this.

My next appt. w/ the dr. is 4/16, at which time I won't need an a fill. Hoping this will hold me at least till July or further. Experienced the frothing, food getting stuck feeling, spitting and food coming back up. I think I now have better control at this stage of the game. There are times when I don't want to eat dinner for I'm still full from lunch. Still need to eat something, for then I'll be hungry just when it's time to go to bed. And we all know, that's not a good time to eat a meal. But, I know there's still more to learn.

There hasn't been any recent posts from you. Everything must be okay, but let a person know. We're here to support one another with good results and not so good results. And what has happened or happening since your last fill.

Come back and let's get reacquainted with one another again. You're missed. Hope to hear from you soon.

How much did you have injected into your band and how much does it hold? I was told most people need 4-5 fills before they find their sweet spot. Mari

Hi, I had about 5/6 fills sisnce 3/07 and I'm just hitting my sweet spot. I know for I lost 13lbs just from Feb 6 - Mar 5 alone. Right now I'm holding but I'm losing inches instead of weight.

Remember you'll still need to eat small portions. That's where I went wrong when I hadn't reached my sweet spot at one time. Then I realized I was sabortaging myself and got back to bushines. Go back to measuring your foods and stick to it. Also contact your nutritionist, mine was able to help me alot at that time.

Just don't give up. You're still learning. Also you may need to change your cooking style, i.e. salt, hig fat ingredient, sugar and your gain weight foods. Mine is Pasta of any kind and rice. And of course sweets, which I'm not to much into now. They say if your Protein intake is good, your craving for sweets is low. It must be true.

Go back and regroup and rethink and reevaluate what you're eating and how they're being cooked. Just don't give up.

I have a 10cc band and I have about 6cc of fill. My doctor was not too generous with the fills. But I'm finally there. So there, the last fill he joked about being so filled that he said try not to have to call him over the weekend. I didn't but there are times I felt I should. Learning to work with where I am now. Just don't give up. You'll get there. Yeah it looks like you won't, but from reading the many posts on this site, you see they eventually made it. Theu have been where we are now and managed to get past it.

:thumbup: It's now our turn. If they can do it, We can do it. And we will.:Dancing_shocked:

I was just wandering that if a lapband gets filled to its limit, can the band be completly unfilled again and the "restriction" start all over as if you were first band or is the filled to the limit band useless after filled to capacity with no ristriction? I am at 2.75cc in a 4cc band, with no restriction and I have gained 9 pounds of the 55 that I had lost. My doctor gave me a big lecture about getting to the limit of fills on my band. Any advice?:confused2:

just a quick note. 1. yes you can get upfilled, if you should need to. talking w/ your doctor about your issues is very, very important. If you have no retriction at 2.5cc it's unlikely you'll have retriction at lesser.

2. reevaluate your eating patterns, style and food choices. Since you have no restriction you feel, you will over eat just because you can. still change your life style of eating and what, how much and when. When I had no restriciton I still followed a calorie set of what I wanted to weigh or what I way at the time. Don't eat like before the band because you can. You're still defeating the reason for the band. Inaddition you may have hit a plateu. If that's the case, you must be able to recognize that when it happens. For no matter what you do, the body will be stubbon and not lose or lose extra slow. But don't get discourage, you'll start to lose again. We've all been there and just had to wait it out.

Also, talk to your nurtitionist, they should be helpful in narrowing down, what you may need to eat to get back to losing weight. Use your food scale, it'll work wonders for you.

Some doctors take their patients through small increments of fill. You're have way filled, which of course means you need more. How often do you see/get your fills? Some people are lucky to get a fill every two weeks. I was every four weeks. You can stick this out till you get restriction.

You can do this. Look what've who've done so far. 55lbs, that's about 10 - 20 lbs you did not gain. Don't you see that as a success? I do. Be patient.

I think they should check the band they put in also. Are they sure it was a 4cc and not a 10cc band. It seems strange that you are not feeling any restriction if it is more than half way filled. I have been platauing a bit also. It's frustratating. I have been trying to up my exercise and hopfully that will help. Good luck, Mari

yes , there are no limits to fills or unfills on the band !

I have to have UGI series to be done. Barium swallow... x-ray in Maryland/Washington DC.

Could any of you recommend me a radiology office in Maryland or in Washington DC, which is familiar with adjustable gastric bands in general?

Thanks in advance.

Start/Current/Goal

lbs 230/159/130

Surgery 24 Nov 06

Dr. András Vereczkei ((he's awesome!!))

Medical School University of Pécs, Hungary

5cc in a 10cc band

My last fill was in Nov 2007, the one before that was in April of 2007, and I had my surgery in June of 2006, yes 2006. When I went to get my fill in April 2007, my doctor got upset and told me that I was getting too many fills, so I was REALLY scared of what he would tell me when I went in Nov. 2007, well he told me that he was not going to give me a fill because I had just had one in April 2007, after I whined for awhile in his office he gave me a very small fill. Since my surgery in June 2006, I have only hade 4 fills. Am I going to often for fills? From Nov to present I have regained 9 pounds. Should I dare and schedule an appointment for a fill?

Edited March 31, 200818 yr by serisla
corrected mispelled words

serisla: Every doctor seems to approach the restriction process a little differently. Some are very conservative and take it slowly. Some choose to give you as much restriction at one time as you can handle. The best answer is what works for you.

Your doctor is supposed to be working for you. You need to be able to use him and your band to your best dieting/maximum-health advantage. Communication is the key. I would write down my questions and concerns and make sure that they get answered so that you understand why he is choosing to only give you a certain number of fills per year. If he is intimidating, perhaps you could spend some time with his nurse or assistant and relate your concerns and any related problems (like weight gain) to her. She can run interference for you if necessary.

If he is filling you to the max every time, that would explain why he only offers a couple of opportunities for fills a year. But he may just be conserving his own time, in which case it may not be the best answer for you. You're paying for his services so you should be able to give him feedback on whether his approach is working for you - or not. :crying:

My last fill was in Nov 2007, the one before that was in April of 2007, and I had my surgery in June of 2006, yes 2006. When I went to get my fill in April 2007, my doctor got upset and told me that I was getting too many fills, so I was REALLY scared of what he would tell me when I went in Nov. 2007, well he told me that he was not going to give me a fill because I had just had one in April 2007, after I whined for awhile in his office he gave me a very small fill. Since my surgery in June 2006, I have only hade 4 fills. Am I going to often for fills? From Nov to present I have regained 9 pounds. Should I dare and schedule an appointment for a fill?

HI! I got banded last January 18, 2007 and I have 15 lbs to go. As for fills, its really up to you as to when do you want it done. My doctor had me go into his office every two months. The 3rd fill really did me in- I was throwing up all over the place but I lost so much weight. I haven't gotten my fill in four months because my Dr was afraid that i might end up becoming anorexic- my weight loss was really rapid. Am going to manila in two days to get my fill and hopefully get to my goal weight. BTW, every time i get a fill, is it normal for you to lose at least 18-24 lbs? I lose 10-15 lbs in 3 days after the fill- and then 18-24 lbs there after.

lani- you've got to be kidding, right? :crying:

If true, I'd be worried like your doctor.

lani- you've got to be kidding, right? :crying:

If true, I'd be worried like your doctor.

Really its true. I live on the south side of the Philippines and I have to fly up to manila to get my fill. When I go back home, I usually end up staying in my room. Bed and toilet bowl are my best friends. Crushed ice with simple sugar sustains me at this moment because ensure(replacement meal) does not go down, I usually up chuck the whole thing. By the 3rd day, 15 lbs loss is obtained. I have called my Doctor several times and he asked me if I forced myself on a diet? How can I diet when I can't seem to put anything in??? A week after, I get to put in soups- (broth mostly! and I get to drink my watered down replacement meal) Regular constitution of the meal is 6 scoops per one cup of water. I end up with 2 or 3 scoops of the meal to a cup of water and not finishing the cup, fearing of regurgitating the meal.

Are you unaware of the dangers of band slippage? Throwing up is not a real good thing to do when you have the Lap Band. You should ask your doctor about it. Does he know how hard it is for you to consume liquids after you get a fill?

My doctor is very concerned with me getting enough protein so that my hair doesn't fall out and that I lose muscle tissue instead of fat. There are a whole host of problems nutritionally when you lose weight that quickly.

I am no doctor, I only know what I've read and been told. I hope you will be very frank with your doctor about exactly how you have lost the weight. I haven't talked to anyone who believes that it is healthy to lose weight that fast.

I believe that they say that a 1 to 2 pound weight loss per week is what is healthy and produces the most beneficial results.

I have to tell you that I am jealous that you are only 15 lbs. from your goal weight. I am concerned for your health though.