okay. I have been banded for almost 5 months. love my band. but, i had a very scarey thing happen today at work. i have had food stuck, it went down. i have had a fill a week ago. small fill. doctor is consertive. love him. okay, i was eating some tuna salad, had some boiled egg in it. small pieces and pickles, small pieces. i took two small bites and the hell began. okay, i was dropping two pounds a week , but since my 3rd fill, i have gained 2 pounds. i am addressing that with more exercise. here is my important question. the more fills i have, the tighter i am right? the less food it takes to fill me up right? the less i want to eat, right? this is what i have heard and read but i need to hear the real deal from the "pros". so, the more fills i get, am i going to pb more? will i have to eat puree and liquids forever??? and what should i do after this pb? should i stay on liquids for a couple of days? one day? i just need some advice. and i thank anyone and everyone who answers me. please help....

Yes if you PB, go onto liquids for awhile, give your stomach a chance to recover.

It sounds to me as though you did not need the last fill, and you may well be too tight. There is no law that you must get fills on a regular schedule. You should never be so tight as to only be able to eat pureed foods and liquids.

Why did you have the fill? Had you quit losing weight where you were?

Ideally if you are still able to control the hunger, with a proper diet high in Protein, low in sugar and carbs ideally----and are losing 1-2 pounds per week, then a fill is not indicated.

I am almost 2 years out, and have only had 2 fills the entire time, the last one was a year ago last July!!! I am not losing the 1-2 pounds a week anymore, but I am not hungry.....so I work on the weight myself, I feel it to be a safer approach. I have mild restriction.....but am able to eat any food----and try to get good nutrition from the food I take in.

The problem with being too tightm, besides the fact it might lead to erosion, is that when you are tight you end up eating higher calorie softer foods, that do not stay with you as long as lean protein does. If your fills are causing you to PB more, and you know you are eating properly--small, well chewed bites, then I would discuss a small unfill with your Dr. So much better to be safe than sorry!

I can see how you find this scary---I would too. Hope you get some good answers---from those who have had more fills.

Good Luck!

Kat

thank you Kat,

you know, I don't know why but I had it in my head that i needed the fill. i have a 14cc band, i have less than 3 cc's in it. i was banded 11-30-2007 and i have lost 32 pounds. I don't know why , but I had it molded in my brain that the more fills, the more weight i will lose. and I think that i was losing 1.5 pounds a week. sometimes just 1. but I agree with you, it is better to do that than to have the pbing and the sliming. I go and see him again in two weeks. i am going to talk to him and see what he thinks. i very well may need an unfill. I am going to do liquids tonight. I can enjoy the benefits of the band and lose the weight with eating right and exercising. and I have been doing that. but before thsi fill, i noticed that it was taking me longer to get full and i could eat more than 2 cups at a time and the fullness didn't last for long. and i am obeying the rules, not drinking 30mins before or after, etc. I guess i just thought that with a 14c band, a little more would not hurt and that i did need the fill. this was my first time sliming /pbing , i know it may not be my last but one thing is for sure, i learned a lesson. chew, chew, wait...chew some more and no more TUNA!!!! Kat, i have another question for you. do you think you are at your sweet spot and how can you tell? also, how much food do you eat at a sitting? thanks again for your help. i am feeling better now.

It's so interesting to hear how different this is for all of us. I have a 14cc band, had 6cc put in at time of srugery. No restriction-went for first fill, added 1.2cc for total 7.2 cc, and still very little restriction. I am hoping next fill will at least give some restricton. I have lost 15 pounds since 2/25/08 but it is because the band is around my head, not my stomach. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but if I don't get some restriction soon I am afraid I am going to lose all resolve as I have so often in the past. Afer all if I could do it on my own, I would not have had the band at all. Good luck to everyone out there on this journey. I am sure it will be a great one if we really want it to be.

You know, if you are eating more than usual, and were getting hungry sooner, you might have been ready for the fill. It may just be some residual swelling as you adjust to it.

I would take it very easy, go onto some liquids, then just feel your way along slowly--your body might just take a few days to settle back down following the new fill.

For me--I do feel like I am at my sweet spot---because I simply do not feel hunger. I can likely eat more than most bandsters because I am not very tight---I eat so much less than ever before, but more than some bandsters I know! Last night for dinner, I had a grilled hamburger on a bun, and I ate just about half of it, and about 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, and about 3 Scoop size fritos. Tonight we are having pot roast, I will eat a piece of roast---say 1/2 a cup, 1/2 of a potato and several small carrots....with the gravy it cooked in. I am tighter in the morning, I eat usually part of a container of yogurt with granola in it. If we go out for fast food, I can eat a Taco, and some pintos and cheese at Taco Bell.

I donot count calories, I try to eat healthier than the things I have mentioned here, I was just drawing on recent memory!!! I do try to make the biggest portions of my meal Protein and vegetables---less starchy foods.

I am having a TT done soon, and will have to be unfilled, I am afraid!!! I have not felt hungry to have to fight that feeling in almost 2 years! Not sure how I will do to be honest.

I am impressed that it was your first slime and PB after 5 months---you must be doing really well following the rules! Way to GO!!!

I would just take it easy, the fill may settle in, and be fine, but if you continue to have problems I would ask for a teensy weensy unfill ---no sense in being miserable.

Glad you are feeling better!

Kat

I ease dropped on your conversation about frequency of fills etc. I had my first fill april 28th and if I let myself I could eat a whole cow. I'm losing weight, but like you, I have the band around my head. I have always been able to lose weight but never keep it off. I got the band to keep it off, but I'm beginning to wonder. I don't feel any less hungry that I used to, am I doing something wrong. If anybody knows please tell me. Is this as good as it gets. Do people re-gain

their weight. Should I insist on more fills. Is their a magic time one should have to wait to get a second fill. I would rather feel sick than

not be successful at what will be my last chance to get and stay healthy.

If anybody has answers or opinions please tell me.

Thank you. Rlamato (Bob)

I ease dropped on your conversation about frequency of fills etc. I had my first fill april 28th and if I let myself I could eat a whole cow. I'm losing weight, but like you, I have the band around my head. I have always been able to lose weight but never keep it off. I got the band to keep it off, but I'm beginning to wonder. I don't feel any less hungry that I used to, am I doing something wrong. If anybody knows please tell me. Is this as good as it gets. Do people re-gain

their weight. Should I insist on more fills. Is their a magic time one should have to wait to get a second fill. I would rather feel sick than

not be successful at what will be my last chance to get and stay healthy.

If anybody has answers or opinions please tell me.

Thank you. Rlamato (Bob)

I know how you feel!!! I know everyone is different and I am new to this too...I had my first fill last week and I don't feel any restriction and can still eat anything ...I am not eating as much as I used to but I still eat alot more than I think I should be....I am still losing weight though so I guess I'm OK till next fill....I want to feel restriction though....

I eat tuna all the time with no issues, but I will avoid hard boiled eggs like the plague. I had my worst pb on hb eggs.

Dear Billswife

Thankyou for responding to my problem. I need recent bandsters to compare whats going on with my own situation. I don't even know what kind of band I have.

Let me tell you a little bit about me, and if you will please continue to compare notes. I am a guy, 67, married 44 years and live in N.C.

I couple of years ago I started out at just about 400 lbs and managed to lose about 71 lbs on my own. I could'nt lose any more, thats when I decided almost a year ago to do the Lap-Band. Since I started I went from 329 down to about 289, but the weight I have lost has nothing to do with the Lap-Band around my stomach and everything to do with it being around my brain. I have to get all of my weight off in a year so I can start plastic surgery. Most P.S. around here will not operate after age 70

and they will only do one procedure at a time for safety. Lets keep comparing notes and progress and anyone else that reads this who had surgery around the same time please jump in. Did I tell you I had my surgery done at Duke Univ., Durham, N.C.

Bob

P.S. I hope this does not discourage anyone from getting the band. I would do it again. I am going to be successful one way or another, I just

want to get the most out of what I have already done.

it is a very individualized process determining when to get a fill and when not too. i have not reached a point where i could lose weight and still be able to eat even partially normal, but i wish i could lose 1-2 lbs a week and still eat. if i can eat, i tend to gain.

but...if you are losing, and are able to eat, why mess with it???? enjoy it, it may get harder to lose later and require you to be tighter with a more restricted diet.

I have to agree with bandster 1007 if it ain't broke don't fix it. If you are losing and can eat why bother to get a fill. You should save your fills for when you are not losing and can eat. Fill differ for each individual one may do better than the other. Get to know your band.

Thank you Bandster 1007.

Its true I have lost weight since I was banded, but I walk 2 !/2 to 3

miles a day and workout in my gym every other day. I don't mind working

out, I wish I had never stopped years ago. One way or another I am going to lose weight, for my health. What gripes me is that it took many months to be approved for the surgery. I had every test imaginable

and then some. After waiting that long, it seems to me that if I don't feel

the fill they did is enough I should'nt have to wait 2 months to get another one.

I guess one of the main problems is all the folks in my surgery group were

gastric by-pass, I was the only Lap-Band and I don't have anything to relate to. If each bandsters fill is done on an individual basis then the

individual should decide when they need it not the doctor.

I think I am confused. If the band is not suppose to keep you from overeating why did we pay 20,000.00 to have it put on?

. the more fills i have, the tighter i am right?

Yes and no. The more weight you loose the smaller your stomach becomes so fills are playing 'catch-up' with your shrinking stomach.

my doctor makes us wait a long time for fills too because they are soo booked up. actually i have a fill scheduled for next week. i don't really want one because if i follow the rules i can't eat a lot. but i'm breaking the rules really bad, and i think i need to get that under control before i get too tight. then i will lose all my hair like i did last time because i'm not eating right.

if you do not feel that your restriction is helping you lose weight then i could understand wanting a fill. i definately would keep up the exercise though, that is awesome!!!