So, Im a cash pay patient and included in the overall price is our first fill. So I went in on Thursday and got filled up with maybe 2cc's. He said he usually goes to 3 on the first fill, but that the gurgling and burping when i was drinking the Water was a good sign i was restricted again.

Fast forward to today. Since being filled ive noticed ZERO difference. I can chug water like its nothing. and im starving. Im wondering if i should call the dr's office back and see if i should go back in? He scheduled me to come back in 4 weeks for another fill. Should i ride it out and wait?

I have read on here that it can take up to a week or two to really feel any restriction from a fill. I've only had one and I feel some difference but have felt that from the beginning, so I don't know for certain. Just what I remember reading. My advice is to let it sit a bit and see if you get any restriction. I've been reading about people who are too tight and that doesn't sound like fun either, so I would be patient.

Those would be just my 2 cents though.

It is common to take a couple of weeks for a fill to "kick in."

But in reading the boards and researching the band for months before being banded myself, one of the biggest things I took away from my research was that it usually takes a FEW fills before you get to that "sweet spot" (and sweet spot feels different to everyone) of restriction.

Good luck!

It will probably take two or three fills before you feel much restriction. It took me three to feel it. Donna

Hello Sheila... That sucks that you are not "feeling" it!!! I go next week and was hoping to "feel" it too!!!! I am definitly eating way too much (of good food though)!!!

I guess we didn't realize how much patience it was going to take for the whole "band"thing to kick in!! I feel your frustration. Wait it out. It sounds like its gonna take a couple of fills.

take care!

I dont "feel" mine either. I can also chug water and eat almost anything. But I am waiting till the end of febuary. To get my 2nd fill. I figure My next fill wont be too much. But I am going to make sure I feel restriction this time. Now that I know how the process works. lol

I sorta do/sorta don't feel my first fill. I can pretty much gulp Water, not chug like I used to. I sometimes can feel that I need to take a moment before eating anything else. But everything seems to be going down just fine. I'm still hungry and I can definitely eat a cup or so at each meal.

I'm hoping my fill next month gives me a bit more restriction.

I'm not feeling my fill to much either but im going to wait for about a week or 2 and see if any weight lost and then decide to make a call or not.

I'm feeling a little skeptical about mine too. I have a 10cc band and already had 1cc. He added another 1cc today. I wasn't able to chug my water, but was still able to get it down pretty quickly. They didn't schedule me for another fill though, said it could be two weeks or two months, to just call when I was feeling hunger and my weight loss had stalled.

I had my first fill on 1/8 and was banded on 12/06 - I am not loosing weight very quickly and I am getting discouraged. My next appointment is on 2/5 - do you think I need another fill?

How much are you able to eat at one time?

How much weight are you losing per week?

I am able to eat about a cup of food, maybe a little more. I thought that was too much, but I'm still losing weight so I'm not worried about it. Last week I lost just over 3 lbs and I've lost a total of 38 lbs so far. My surgery was 12/6/07.

Ive been losing pretty steadily, So i guess I cant complain. My dr made a comment about how "Maybe we can shoot for 15 lbs next time i see you" which is in a month. Way to put some pressure on me, doc. I guess I will just have to live with feeling hungry for a few more weeks. Heck, If i can do the preop diet for 14 days, a few more weeks of actually eating arent going to kill me, i guess.

I think we get so used to seeing that scale move and when it doesnt, it sure gets me grumpy.

I was banded on 12/21 and had my first fill yesterday. I can't tell any difference either! Did you call your doctor? What did he say?

At this point, I wish I had gotten the bypass. I have had one fill, nothing. I can eat anything and everything. There is absolutely no difference since before the surgery. I feel like this is never gonna work for me, another weight loss failure....I have already called to make another appointment to get another fill.....so we will see what happens there...

It seems like everyone on this site has lost so much in between the surg and first fill. I feel like I am just never gonna see all this nasty fat off of my body. This is the most frustrating process ever!

I asked the doc how much i should be eating at a sitting and he said, eat till u are full.....no real help there, I could eat thanksgiving dinner. I try to eat the way i am supposed to, but after work i am so weak from hunger that i end up snacking all night long....once i start i can hardly stop, and no restriction does not help.....i know it will be work from me too but i didnt get this thing to do it all on my own.....

im just praying now that this thing will actually work for me. im so sick of this waiting thing.......any advice/help/words of wisdom out there????

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::frown::thumbup::thumbup::party::thumbup:

It WILL get better when you get more fills - have faith and believe in yourself! In the meantime, the only thing I can suggest is to make sure that the meals that you eat are full of Protein and bulky. Avoid carbohydrates at all costs!! I've really noticed that eating carbs is a guaranteed sure-fire way for me to be starving hungry again within an hour. You mentioned that you were snacking all night - most snack type foods are high in carbs and this could be why you are feeling so hungry.

From what I can tell, it takes about 2-3 days of cutting out carbs to really notice the difference but once you do, that hunger daemon is much easier to tame. Unfortunately, it only takes one "cheat" with carbs to break the cycle. If I start my day with toast, I can guarantee I'll be hungry all day, but if I go for eggs, I don't have the problem. A typical day's meal for me:

Breakfast: Scrambled egg (1 egg, 1 slice FF cheese crumbled in, 1tbsp FF milk, shake of chicken herbs & salt)

Lunch: 2 oz lean ham, chopped into chunks, 1 raw tomato chopped, 2" cucumber chopped, 1/2 tbsp FF salad dressing - toss all in a bowl & enjoy!

Dinner: 2 oz any lean meat, 1 cup steamed veges

If I'm hungry between meals, I have a Protein Drink or Optifast shake.

Here's a link to the Atkins meal plan: Atkins - Two-Week Induction meal plan

I know we've all tried similar diets in the past and you may have tried Atkins before, but now you have the secret weapon of the band to help you to stick to it. The Atkins meal plan is a lot more than we are meant to eat on the band, but while you're still waiting for restriction, you may find that you can eat it all quite easily. If you have to eat more than what is on their plan, make sure you snack with protein, not carbs. I know that isn't easy because so many snack foods are high carbs but maybe try something like having some beef Jerky strips around that you can chew on for those gotta-munch-something-NOW moments?

Good luck!