If you are newly banded and waiting for restriction do not sit around and wait 4 weeks until you can get your next fill. If you do not feel restriction, call your Dr after a few days and say I need to come back in. Fat people always feel they are not worthy but we are. If you had lap band surgery and went through all that trouble and pain you deserve to have it work for you ASAP. Don't take no for an answer. Say I am eating way to much and I am here because I don't have self control.

Many doctors have hard policies about how often they will give fills. I think 2 weeks is pretty reasonable, since fills do have a tendency to 'kick in', but I also get what you are saying.

I agree with everything you wrote until the last sentence. I DO have self-control....to an extent. This helps me even more. But, yes, I do agree we need to demand fills. Had I not been persistent, I would not have had my second fill this morning. Instead it would have been their scheduled appt. three weeks from now! Don't wait, people!!! Call and keep asking to get in.

When I get my band, I intend to be very pushy with my fills. The way I understand it is that my insurance covers all fills for 3 months post-op, then doesn't pay anything for fills. I want to make sure I have good restriction before my 3 months is up, I shouldn't be stuck holding the bag and paying out-of-pocket for it.

Here, Here!!!!

My doctor was very good about my pushyness and going in every two weeks for fills. I didn't lose any weight until just this past couple weeks since I now finally have restriction. It may be a tad too much but I'm waiting a week to see how it goes (last fill on Friday last week). I see people here who wait so long for fills and it seems like a real waste of time if the band isn't where you need it to be.

I think is a shame is where people pay for the band and only get 3 months worth of fills included. What a sham!

It's very understandable to want to feel restriction ASAP after surgery. However, this is major abdominal surgery and allowing a healing period is very necessary for long term positive outcomes with the band. I would advise listening to the surgeon concerning the first fill policy. After that, I agree that the patient is the one who knows when a fill is needed and should be proactive in getting it.

And I would also add, don't be embarrassed about needing a fill. It doesn't make you a bad person. I didn't feel any restriction until my 5th fill and my doctor said "Everyone is different. The band is meant to give you restriction and you deserve to have a band that works optimally. Keep getting fills until you get it." It isn't a virtuous thing to white knuckle it. If I could have lost weight with willpower and no restriction I would have done it and skipped the surgery. Use your band and get your fills!!!

If you are newly banded and waiting for restriction do not sit around and wait 4 weeks until you can get your next fill. If you do not feel restriction, call your Dr after a few days and say I need to come back in. Fat people always feel they are not worthy but we are. If you had lap band surgery and went through all that trouble and pain you deserve to have it work for you ASAP. Don't take no for an answer. Say I am eating way to much and I am here because I don't have self control.

I disagree with this!! Every time I've gotten a fill I have gotten progressively tighter over a two week period! If I'd have followed your advice I would have had some serious issues! A "few days" is not long enough to judge whether or not you are ready for another fill....especially as you progress and are nearing your sweet spot.

The 4 week minimum healing period is required for the sutures around your banded stomach to heal. If you start filling your band before these sutures have healed, you run the risk of destabilizing the "groove" that the band needs to settle into in order to stay in place. More fill puts more pressure on the band and on your stomach underneath. Filling too quickly or too aggressively puts your band at risk of slipping, probably not now but down the road.

Everything that is required for banding is there for a reason. It has nothing to do with what we have a "right" for and everything to do with your stomach's health and keeping your band long term. Follow your doctor's advice. A few extra weeks waiting for a fill is nothing in the long term. We have ALL been there. It might be hard to accept this, but it really is in the best interest of your stomach and your health.

I'm not a doctor, and didn't graduate from medical school. I see my doctor for treatment and rely on his expertise. If he wants me to wait a few weeks, I trust him enough to accept that advice. Walking around with a fat chip on our shoulders, won't help us, or those who are trying to help us in my opinion.

If you are newly banded and waiting for restriction do not sit around and wait 4 weeks until you can get your next fill. If you do not feel restriction, call your Dr after a few days and say I need to come back in. Fat people always feel they are not worthy but we are. If you had lap band surgery and went through all that trouble and pain you deserve to have it work for you ASAP. Don't take no for an answer. Say I am eating way to much and I am here because I don't have self control.

As Dr Phil says " Let me know how this works out for you "

If i did that my doc would tell me to kiss his a$$ ! Not those exact words but you get my drift ! Advocate for yourself yes. But The first 6 weeks after SURGERY is there for RECOVERY not to see how quickly you can get a fill . Also fills can take several days ( in my case can take up to a WEEK ) to kick in . SO your risking being TOO TIGHT and needing an unfill.

SORRY this is VERY bad advice !

Mindy

I have a 4 week 'waiting period' between fills and when I really started getting restricted I saw why.. my band tightness varies thru the month... if I would "demand" another fill during my 'looser' time, get that fill, I would then be WAY too tight and possibly slip my band...

not good advice, IMO.

Yes i have discovered that as well. Not accounting for stressful periods , Period periods (LOL) and the band just plain being funky !

Mindy

If you are newly banded? Wouldn't that mean you're supposed to still be on a post op diet?

I think doctors know what they are doing. If you have your band for six months and don't have restriction, that's a different story. Newly banded people need to listen to their doctors. They just had surgery!

They don't call it bandster hell for no reason. Newly banded people are healing, and have to wait for a fill for a reason.

If I demanded anything from my surgeon, I would be shown the door rather quickly.

Yes, I know my body... But I also know that I have to listen to my doctor.