I finally get it! Or should I say I've finally GOT IT. The ever so elusive "restriction" is now MINE! Apparently my band has a slow leak. It didn't show up with contrast on the fluoro, but the saline was definitely going somewhere. I was losing at least 1.5cc's each fill. So, I would get a fill, lose 2 pounds, then gain about 5!!

I think the Omnipaque is the answer to my prayers. I had a fill Friday night, and today, I'm very tight! Usually the next day after a fill I have NO RESTRICTION. I can eat a reasonable amount, but definitley not as much as before. I just now, ate maybe 3/4 of a chicken breast, and that was ALL I could put away. I'm full, and feel great. Could I be at that "sweet spot" at last?? We'll see! With the band clenched tightly around my stomach, I'm not hungry! Amazing! I was RAVENOUS before this fill.

I'm just REALLY excited. I thought I was going to be a band failure, and I was so depressed! I'm totally inspired again now! I think I might even go exercise some more! LOL

If you haven't gotten restriction yet....don't GIVE UP, you'll get there!

Donna

Donna---so glad things are looking up for you!!! One of my friends required Omnipaque to feel any sort of restriction....go figure!!! Whatever it takes---------when the band is working, it is an amazing help!!!! There will be no stopping you now!!!!

I'm so happy they figured it out for you!

Kat

what is the omnipaque. I was banded in Feb. had 1 fill and have yet to feel any restriction. I too feel like a failure. Literally sadly to say I ate 3 pieces of pizza for dinner the night after my fill and could easily have eaten 3 more. I am very depressed and sort of wish I didn't get the band-it's not working for me.....

Kobdish,

1 fill is usually not enough for anybody. There are the minority that only need one fill but then there are the average folk...like us. I have had four fills and i'm STILL looking for that sweet spot. I have another appointment for a fill next week. You still have a long journey ahead. Also, it takes will power. You'll be ok. Just think you ate three slices and could have eaten three more....but you didn't. Next time you'll try two slices, then one, and then you'll get to the point when you only want a half of slice.

Regards

Thenume is right! One fill is hardly ever enough----and no reason at all to begin feeling like this failed!!!

All being able to eat that many pieces of pizza means is that you do need another fill, to continue searching for restriction. Since everone is built different, and weighs different, it takes different amounts for everyone, and our Dr.'s do their best to make educated guesses at where to put us fill wise. Slow and steady is the safest way to go....so you will get there!!!

Omnipaque works for someone like Donna, who gets a fill, feels the restriction, and then poof it is gone--------repeatedly!

Omnipaque is a thicker liquid--kind of a fix a flat for bandsters!!! It is too thick to leak out of the small pin holes that sometimes end up in the band or the tube--although VERY rare, they do happen, and are sometimes the result of a poke during a blind fill--one done without fluoroscopy.

Hang in there, let the process have a chance to work!!! We all go through the panic that this is going to be yet another failed attempt at weight loss---------at least everyone I know did!!!

You WILL make it!

Kat

kobdish,

Slow down a minute! LOL One fill is definitely not enough to make you doubt your band! Just like Kat, and thenume said, one fill is RARELY enough for anyone! PLUS, some of the 1st fill always leaks out, so even if you get a little restriction from the first fill, it usually dissipates pretty quickly!

Definitley go back for fill #2, or #3, or #4, whatever it takes. I'm SURE you will see some results if you do that!

Good Luck!

Donna

P.S. We did omnipaque, because my fills were dissappearing...literally. Put in 2.6cc's, and go back only to find 1cc, REPEATEDLY.

You are only human. You went through all the prep work and the operation and you wanted some results, as we all do, that is the human side of us. But you may have a bigger band (there are different ones), or you could have lost more weight while in hosp or your Doc could have set it looser then some others...who knows? What matters is that you did it!! You took the GIANT step (which consisted of many steps to get to that big Giant one). Now, sit back and take a deep breath. Do the right things (see your doc regularly, watch your caloric intake and exercise) and you will be rewarded, I promise. There will be times when the going will be rough, and you may lose your perspective, but hopefully those times will be few and far between. If you made it this far, believe me, you have the stuff in you to tough it out. I can't wait until next month, I bet we will be reading about all the pounds you have lost!!

I got banded a little over a year ago, and I thought i would be 100 lbs gone by now. I was doing well, then plateaued, had to do a lot of Traveling for work, then had deaths in the family (3 in 1.5 months (all immediate family)) so it slowed me down because of the time I had to take off from work and out of my normal routine. I was so downtrodden ed. But my mom and DH kept after me to go back to doc. I felt embarrassed because i hadn't been there in months, but, I did it. Now I am happy again as I am losing. Not as quickly as I was before, but still they are coming off. if it takes longer then I thought, it is okay, because it is still better then I was. My BMI is still obese, but not in the morbid range anymore, so I am grateful for that. Keep going, keep believing in yourself, even in spite of your self (LOL) like me, it will pay off. every pound off is a nother step to healthiness and happiness and longevity.

Whoa....3 deaths in 1.5 months! I'd be certifiably INSANE. So sorry to hear that, hope you are dealing with it OK.

It has been almost a year for me, and I've lost 31 pounds! I was REALLY hoping to have lost AT LEAST 50% of my excess weight at this point. Didin't happen for me, and and talk about DEPRESSED. I was so sick that I had wasted $10,000 on surgery (I was self-pay) and yet AGAIN was seeing no results. Just one more EXPENSIVE failed attempt at weightloss.

However, I truly believe that if my restriction stays like it is now, even if I have to have a few more fills, I will be able to get the rest of this weight off!

Donna

Sparkette,

Out of curiosity how/why does the first fill leak out and dissipate? I've had one fill and would like to know more.

Thanks!

My doctor told me that generally the first fill evaporates, or something....I'll have to find my book to get the correct terms, but basically, due to the air in the band, or something....the first fill, is "usually" only good for a couple of weeks.

Of course that's not always the case, and sometimes a first fill can last MUCH longer for other people. As soon as I find my lap band book, I'll get the specifics typed in here. Until then, someone else may give you a better answer!

Donna