I was banded on April the 11th. I have had 4.3cc in a 10cc band. I had ABSOLUTELY NO restriction after the surgery, none, really after my first fill, and only a little restriction after my 2nd fill...and that is only if I really think about it and try to convince myself that I am full. I take that back. I am often full after my 3oz of protein, but it doesn't last very long. My stomach is usually growling 3 hours later. I am also questiioning if I have the right amount in my band, because there is NOTHING that I cant tolerate. Bread...no problem(don't eat much, but half/a hamburger bun this past weekend didn't phase me...1/4 of a waffle last week didn't either) The promise of having harldly ANY appetite between meals, just hasn't been true for me. I have only lost 10lbs in the 8 weeks since my surgery. I am working out 4-6 days a week with either aerobics or walking for an hour or more. I will be including strength training starting today. I'm not going to lie and say that I have been perfect in changing my eating habits. on a good day I have between 1200 and 1500 hundred calories. I may or may not have ALL 60 grams of protein that is suggested. On a bad day, I may only hit between 4--50 grams of protein. On a really bad day, I might have as many as 2000 calories, but this is still WAAAY fewer than I had without my band. And I try to increase the exercise on the days when I slip. What could I be doing wrong. Is it going to take a Zero tolererance for mess-ups on my eating program. If so, that''s discouraging. If I could've done that, I wouldn't have needed the band.

I have been told by the nurse in my Doctors office, that most people don't feel the type of restriction that they hoped for until somewhere between the 3rd and 6th fill. I am trying to not get another fill, until I figure our what I need to change on my end...besides...I'm too ashamed.

:confused2:Any advice?

I'd say just keep doing what you're doing. You're doing wonderfully. Just keep positive. When your third fill comes around you should feel more restriction, that's how it seems to be for almost everyone. I wish you luck.

Don't be ashamed if you need another fill, call your doctor and see if they can fit you in. It may take more than a couple to get you to where you need to be. I'm sure they hear all sorts of things and would rather you be there and asking for help than afraid to call them and not have the band do what it needs to do.

Keep in mind everyone is different. You haven't done anything wrong either. Don't be so hard on yourself. Ten pounds is still ten pounds. I went three weeks too and did nothing but gain. I changed things up a bit (changed my exercise and diet a bit) and lost what I had gained and then some. Our bodies have to adjust to changes. Perhaps yours is taking a little extra time.

I haven't had a fill yet (due to a flipped port which is getting fixed this friday) and know it is so hard not to go back on our bad habits. I had a really hard time this past weekend staying on track. I woke up this morning and told myself it is new day and a new week.

Keep your head up and don't be ashamed or afraid if you need a little help. <hugs>

Willbefine,

Whoever promised you that the band would keep your appetite away, was way wrong and not truthful. My Dr was very specific that it would HELP but that I would still have to be strong and follow the instructions and diet. It sounds to me like you keep pushing to see how far you can go and eat. What you are doing is restretching your stomach and making it harder for the band to do its work. If you are really working out as much as you say, then you have to be taking in too many calories to lose anything.

You have to keep to eating mostly proteins. Weigh your food, drink all your water and no calorie liquids, keep track of your calories but most of all watch your portion control.

We all know how hard it is to diet but the band won't do all the work for you. You will have to tough it out. Good luck to you!

Yvonne

the one thing alot of dr's and nurses forget to tell you is, if you are going to have lapband, and you want it to work, YOU HAVE TO EAT RIGHT! you are on a diet, but a diet of healthy eating. the lapband helps you to not be able to eat as much. for me it took a few months for this to sink in. i had surgery nov 28 2007. lapband isnt magic. it helps us live like other ppl do who eat right. EVERYTHING IN MODERATION. MODERATION is something i couldnt control, and now i can. i follow simple rules from my dr, eat meat first, then veggies, then carbs. i have lost 89lbs to date. however, dont expect miracles.. get your' fills they will help. until i felt restriction i swore this thing doesnt work. i promise it does, but dont beat yourself up, you may need a few more fills. then DING DING DING.. you cant eat alot... and it will work! good luck to you, you can do this, get those fills!!:biggrin:

You have nothing to be ashamed of. It's a process. I felt them same way until my 4th fill...now I have 5cc's in a 10 cc band and I feel that it's working. But, everyone is different - you can't compare yourself to anyone but yourself unless you know you had the same appetite as them before. You said you're eating less than you were before, so it's that's good. I feel full quicker, but foods that others have problems with (like bread and pasta) I don't - so that's not a gauge. The gauage is whether the weight is coming off (there are plateaus - but it doesn't sound like you're at one) So, it's good that you're eating less than you were, but (especially since you are working out) - you may need a fill - I don't think there's anything to figure out...if you're still hungry - you need a fill. The band is a tool, and if you're doing your part then you need to have the tool adjusted.

Banded 2/4/08 and feeling great!

Hi and congrats. I could have written this thread myself. It has been my experience almost to the letter. The biggest difference is that I am on my 5th fill with little to no restriction. I got my last fill 5/14 and just now feeling some restriction and fullness. But within an hour to so, I feel hungry and can eat again. It never lasts more than that. I just don't eat between meals so it doesnt' really matter. I got my surgery back in October and have the large 14cc band and now have 11cc's in. Doc said I had a small stomach so it will probably take me to 12cc's before I have restrictions. Everyone has good and bad days. Try to have less of the bad ones though. It's hard without restriction but if you put yourself on a strict regimen it helps. I pre-portion my meals, I know what I am having for breakfast each day and usually lunch so there is no straying from anything. Dinner is always up in the air but I portion out my plate and that's all I will eat. Never eat between meals and for a snack I will have a sugar free popsicle. Not saying I am perfect because there are days that I don't stick to this, but I would say 95% of the time. Depending on what you weigh, you should be eating anywhere from 1,200 to 1,600 cals a day - talk to your nutritionist. I am suppose to eat 1,400 a day but probably eat more like 1,000 - 1,200. Nut. said if you eat too little, body will reject and go into starve mode causing you NOT to lose weight. If you are exercising, you should add about 200 cals so it gives the body fuel to work with. So you may not be cheating as bad as you think. As far as the restriction goes, that goes by your doc, your stomach and your band. It could take 3 or 4 fills - or more in my case. So you aren't doing anything wrong - keep up the good work.

I know what you mean...some of us will need more fills than others. 4.3 of saline is really not a lot for a 10cc band. That is less than 1/2 full. It is not you and you shouldn't have to convince yourself that you are full. I have been banded since October 07' and have had 7 fills AND I still need more( I am actually scheduled for one in two weeks). Ive only lost 44 lbs. My doctor is very conservative with giving fills and sounds like yours is too. So you are not alone. Although I have some restriction I am not at my "sweet spot". I stay full for about 3 hours and the doc would like for me to stay full for 4-5. Well what can you do, I'd rather be a slow loser than overfilled, sick and dehydrated! Look on the bright (because there is one) it will only get better.

Thanks everyone, so much for your support. I needed the encouragement more than you could know. Isolating myself from reciving (and giving) support has been my biggest pitfall throughout the years in my efforts to lose weight. I think for the next week I am going to keep a written log of my food. Maybe that will give me a better picture of what I need to do before I decide whether or not to have another fill.

However, regarding yvonneb3 comments:

"It sounds to me like you keep pushing to see how far you can go and eat. What you are doing is restretching your stomach and making it harder for the band to do its work. "

I do not intentionally "push" to see how far I can go. I generally eat until I am "satisfied" not "Full", but to get to this point, it can take anywhere from 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of food...sometimes much less, because my band is tight in the morning. I thought that I should be feeling satisfied at 1/2 cup of food, but that has not been the case so far.

"If you are really working out as much as you say, then you have to be taking in too many calories to lose anything.

I have no reason to be anything less than 100% truthful on this forum. Lying to myself and others about food is how I ended up 100 pounds overweight. As I stated above, I am going to start keeping a food log. There is obviously something I am not seeing. I have a toddler and I have a bad habit of taking a bite here, or a bite there of whatever it is that I am trying to coax her into eating. Maybe over the course of a week, that could be what is holding me back. We'll see.

We all know how hard it is to diet but the band won't do all the work for you.

I never thought it would. Nor am I trying to get it to do all the work for me. I assumed that my success would be based on 80% my effort and maybe 20% the band. SO FAR, it has been 97% my effort and maybe 3% the band.

I apologize if I sound a little irritated. I'm fighting off a chocolate craving as I type this. At this point, I would gladly give up the toddler that I mentioned in the paragraph above, in exchange for a Godiva Truffle. Any takers???

it can take anywhere from 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of food...sometimes much less, because my band is tight in the morning. I thought that I should be feeling satisfied at 1/2 cup of food, but that has not been the case so far.

That's actually pretty normal. Some doctors will tell you that you should only eat 1/2 cup of food but not all do and it's not really realistic. Some times you'll need more. Other times you won't.

Also, earlier on you said you get hungry after 3 hours and the nutritionist I saw for my nut. eval. said that normal hunger is every 3-4 hours. (I get hungry every 1-2 hours right now without a band--not normal.)

It may be that you need a bit more fill to get to the sweet spot. If you feel like you are still a prisoner of your hunger, then you probably need more restriction. Or maybe if you are eating 1.5 cups a lot instead of just occasionally.

OTOH, maybe you are just being hard on yourself. :thumbup: You are losing at the rate that is promised -- slightly over a pound a week -- and not getting hungry 1 hour later. You've also spent most of this time healing and with little restriction and still managed to lose. That's pretty terrific, really. I'm very impressed!

There are plenty of people on here with bands who got to goal eating .5 to 1.5 cups of food at a time, and not having a lot of foods they couldn't eat. I would rather be like that and lose slower than be one of the people so restricted that I'm burping up food and sliming all the time and can't eat a bite of bread if I'm in the mood.

But this is what is so great about the lap band .... we get to control how it works! If you think a little more restriction would make your life easier, you can try it out and see how it works. If you want to be able to eat most things, you can keep your restriction to the minimum. There are also some who choose to be very restricted so they get the maximum weight loss. This isn't for me, but maybe it's for you.

But I really don't think you are dong anything wrong and a 10 lb. weight loss in 8 weeks definitely doesn't suck.

I just want to reinforce everything MacMadame said. 10lb in 8 weeks is great, especially in the post-op healing phase - you don't suck at all! Just think - that could turn into 20lb in 16 weeks, 30lb in 24 weeks, 60+lb in a year! I think you'll find that it will speed up too, now that the healing is over and as you get more fills.

I don't eat 0.5 of a cup at meals and I wouldn't want to restrict myself to that! I eat around 1.0 - 1.5 for a total of 1200 - 1400 cal a day, sometimes a little under that, sometimes a little over. I kept getting disappointed at first at what I thought was my "slow" progress, but I kept telling myself that this was the game plan I had decided upon and I should give it a chance. Six months later and I am right where I planned to be - nearly 50lb gone and on my way to 100lb in a year.

I'm betting the next fill will be the one that rings the bell for you - I know the third one was the charm for me and until then, I didn't think it was working much at all! Once you find that spot, the momentum picks up and the numbers start to add up to real progress. Just don't expect to never be hungry - we are SUPPOSED to get hungry!! The trick is to only be hungry at meal times and in between times the band takes the edge off enough that we can control our urges, while we re-train our eating habits.

Hey willbefine. I saw where you are going to start a food log. I think that's a great idea! I like thedailyplate.com - it is free - if you want to keep up with it on the computer. I can log all the foods I eat and break it down by calories, Protein, fat etc. I also log any exercise I am doing. There are some other sites out there like fitday (also free) and some pay sites as well. I'm cheap - so I like anything free!

If I don't log my food, I'm not as accountable for what I put into my mouth. I've had a rough couple of days and it has been really hard to stay on track! Last night it was chips - this weekend I ate a hamburger with the bun. WTH, I've completely lost control. I've got to get it back. For me so much of it is mental. I've got to go now and log to see what damage I did last night with the Doritos...I felt SO bad for eating them after I ate them. Guilt Trip! I hope my fill on Friday will have some restriction - I need a little help here.

I too think you have done extremely well with weight loss during the healing phase, and without restriction. You have done it without the help of the band----you ARE succeeding!!! Imagine how you can succeed when the fill level in your band actually kicks in to help you along!!!

Many of us older bandsters DID lose weight during our healing phase----because we had restriction earlier---our bands are smaller. BUT---according to what I read, the larger bands are safer on you--less liklihood of erosion! Less slippage! In other words, the band is a safer, new and improved version of what we got. I am not complaining about my band, but I am ALL for the safest way of doing this as they can find!!!

Keep slowly working up your fill level, take it in small steps, and when you feel some restriction, work with it. Don't push and punish your body with too tight of restriction, it has shown that backfires!

You are learning! You are learning to eat a healthier diet, and to move more---that will do nothing but help you, and the more you lose, the better able to move even more you will see! You will be running with that toddler before you know it----and you both will benefit from this surgery! And you will be feeding your child a healthier diet!

You do not suck at this, you have not failed in any way at all!!! You have done it without help! The help will get there......and you will have already begun to develop healthy new habits....and will be on your way to losing that 100 pounds!!!

Hang in there, you are doing great!

Kat

Just to reiterate what all the others are saying, you are doing fine!

Let me just share a little of my fill experience with you.

I woke up from surgery hungry! It took me 5 fills to get decent restriction (which is where I am now). So don't give up, don't be so hard on yourself. Try and be patient, keep doing what you're doing, you WILL get the results you want!

Thank all of you guys so much for your support. Right now, encouragement means EVERYTHING to me. My husband provides encouragement when he can( or when he feels like it) but I know that there is no way for him(or anybody from my close support team) to really understand, without going actually going through this.

Thanks again everbody.