Hi all, Ok, here's my story. I have my 3rd fill next week and almost 4 months out from surgery (banded 2/19/2008). Really I have hardly any restriction and can eat anything (even tho I know I shouldn't and try willfully not to eat it) like bread, rice, etc. Am NOT eating chocolate, fast food, or twinkies - the things I ate before surgery. I am losing inches and some weight as I work out almost daily. Of course I have more restriction then before I was banded but just not what I need/want. Not even close to my sweet spot. Its my will alone that's floating me. So my question is, will it happen? Will it get to the point where physically I CAN'T eat bread, my nemesis, and not have to really just on will power alone? Can 1/2 cc make a difference? Is my stomach the size of a watermellon (just kidding). Thanks! :confused2:

Thanks for the update, slenderella. I'm glad you were able to get an accurate accounting of your fill, and it sounds like you may have found your optimal level for now. It's amazing how head hunger can "disappear" when you're not physically hungry.

Greetings, Does anyone know the average cc. content to reach full restriction of the 9cc Realize band? I've had 5 fills totaling 4cc & I don't feel hardly any restriction at all. My Doc.will only give me .5cc per fill at this point.

Most people find their sweat spot between 6 and 8 cc.

I have 6cc in my band and I had surgery on October 29th and I am doing just fine - starting to get some good restriction.

I have a realize band also, I just got my 3rd fill and finally feeling the restriction, I LOVE it. the first fill was 3.2, the second got me to 6.2 total and the last to 7.8 cc's total. Hang in there everyone, I know it is difficult to wait. I wanted to get there as fast as possible since I am a self pay and only get 5 fills with my program without having to pay for more. I got banded 9/19. Now starting to see the scale move downward.

I'm glad to hear that you have restriction. I am about 2 months out and definitely not losing much at all. I'm not sure how much is in my relize band because the PA got air into the syringe while he was filling it. He thinks maybe 3.5 or so but not sure. I definitely eat less than I did and I do exercise but it is getting frustrating. I don't get another fill for 4 weeks. I had my first one 3 weeks ago. I hope I get there sooner than later.

I am so glad I found this post. You all have given me hope. I went in today for my 4th fill. I am at 7.2 in a 10cc band. Still feel no restriction. So maybe my next one which is scheduled next monday will do the trick. I thought I was the only one that was not feeling anything.

Believe me you are in good company here...I go for my next fill on Tuesday and I am gonna ask for another cc instead of half a cc the last time I was there 2 months ago. I barely get restriction and the scale definitely aint moving. so I know exactly how you feel.. I am losing in my arms, my thighs, my breasts but my stomach is stubborn as all hell. I was looking into body wraps and sauna belts today to see if there is someway to heat up this fat in my stomach so it starts to go away..but I dont know if I trust any of it..I sit in the sauna at the gym and I do sweat because I find it hard to sweat when I'm working out. but I dont think the sauna is reaching my stomach and I dont want to lay down because I dont wanna risk falling asleep in there. I have pcos and insulin resistance so I'm am climbing a very steep up hill battle!! or should I say downhill battle...lol I dont know I'm tired I probably aint makin sense...lol

blessings to all

dolphin

it's interesting to me that everyone's progress is slow until they reach restriction...um, yep, that's what the band is supposed to do...so whether we have a realize band or another band, it appears that restriction is the key. I was banded on Aug/08, have 5 cc after 5 fills and am only now starting to stay fuller longer. I can eat a whole lot more than 1/2 cup, but what I do eat stays with me for a long time, a lot longer than BB (b4 banding). When I started this whole journey, I was expecting restriction immediately. The first few days after surgery were EXACTLY what I expected, then whammo, the real world hit. I was so excited to start losing the weight that I started walking every day as well as curves 3-4 times a week. I dropped weight pretty quick early on, then the dreaded APPETITE returned!!!! AGH!!!! I stuck with it for a while, but being hungry was the same as BB and staying the same weight zapped my willpower. See when I was losing I was so ENCOURAGED and it helped, but now w/ only 5 cc and hunger my willpower is what it was before, and that is why I was banded in the first place...to bring it all to a close, I need restriction, I need all the things my band can do to help me fight this battle...I can only get max:1cc every 4 weeks so the waiting is killing me...

Still pretty new at this stuff but I've had a very rough time. I got my Realize band 12/2/08 and while I lost around 30 lbs the first month I had bad side effects of having surgery. (Massive PE, but that's not the point of this post)

My surgeon has been extremely supportive during this rocky period and I had my first fill 3 days ago. He prefers to do fills in the hospital so he can floro but insurance is fighting that till 90 days out. He agreed to do a free fill in his office and the experience was very interesting. I have not seen any other threads showing how the fills are done so I'm going to share mine. (Not in detail as it would be too much to type.)

While lying down he connected up to my port and then injected saline. He disconnected and then had me sit up while this metal thing is hanging out my side.

He then told me to try and drink some Water. (Notice the word TRY) While the water went in it did not go down very easily with the trapped air fighting the water, Lots of belching and a struggle to hold the water in, in other words the band closed me off completely! He then reconnected to the metal and drew out some Fluid until the discomfort went away.

He then compared the amount injected vs the amount removed and showed me that I netted a fill of 4 cc's. (Remember this is a first fill so thats a pretty decent fill IMO)

He advised that the general guideline for this band is 2-4cc's for the first fill so I'm right in line with expectations. Back on solid food and I'm def. feeling full much sooner and I'm very diligent in eating slowly and chewing properly. Even trying to drink water too fast can be felt.

My point to all this is for those people getting small fills your doctor may be playing poke and hope or using fills to supplement his revenue stream. (Esp when I see .5cc fills!) NO I'M NOT A MEDICAL PERSON, THIS IS JUST MY PERSONAL OBSERVATION!

I agree with previous posters that a more aggressive fill schedule may be a good way to go. Seems to be for me.

Hi everyone I had my realize band surgery done on 12/23/08, since then everything seemed alright.

On 01/18/09, I just got sick. Could not keep anything down not even water. I have not taken my potien because I would have some much flem.

I ended up in the hospital this weekend dehydrated.

The doctor even took at 1.4 cc of air out of band because I could not keep anything down.

Does anybody have any issues with there realize band?

I just keep thinking was this the right thing for me.

I have lost 28 lbs to date.

Hi everyone I had my realize band surgery done on 12/23/08, since then everything seemed alright.

On 01/18/09, I just got sick. Could not keep anything down not even Water. I have not taken my potien because I would have some much flem.

I ended up in the hospital this weekend dehydrated.

The doctor even took at 1.4 cc of air out of band because I could not keep anything down.

Does anybody have any issues with there realize band?

I just keep thinking was this the right thing for me.

I have lost 28 lbs to date.

I'm very sorry that you're having so many problems. When you say you got sick on 1/18, was it a stomach virus with vomiting, or do you think it was band related? I'm just not sure if you mean your illness on 1/18 was from your band being too tight. If you caught a stomach virus and you were vomiting, you might have irritated the the area where your band was sutured to your stomach, or possibly you've just irritated the stoma (the small opening betweeen your upper and lower stomach), and you're having swelling issues. Has your doctor told you why he thinks you're having these problems? Since you were just about a month out from surgery, had you just started regular foods? Another possibility would be that you ate something solid and didn't chew well or ate too much, and irritated the area and it's caused you extreme swelling.

I hope you're feeling better soon.

I wanted to add that if you don't get very many responses in this thread, start a new thread under Lap Band Complications forum. I notice that you're new to LBT, so I wanted to go ahead and give you a link to that forum:

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f78/

Edited February 2, 200917 yr by kiz

I had the same thing as StartingOverNJ for the first fill. It was aggressive but my doctor used the same methodology. They added saline until my flow was blocked off completely, and then withdrew a slight amount.

This method got me to my sweet spot by the second fill which lasted for most of the time that I was losing the majority of the weight. I feel like I was extremely lucky in that I didn't have many months to wait to feel any restriction. I am sure I would not have lost anywhere near as much if it was .5 cc everytime.

HeatherO, I'm jealous, I only get max 1 cc every 4 weeks!!! It feels like it's taking forever...I know that is what this is about, but, it does get tiring...

Have you looked to see if another Doctor will do your fills? Not sure I could be as patient as you are!

I also have the 9cc Realize band and I didn't feel restriction until my last fill 2 wks ago. I'm now at 7cc in a 9cc band, and I really have trouble with dry meats and dry eggs. They get stuck and give me really bad chest pain. The problem for me is still portion size. I've lost 55 lbs since my surgery on 9/5/08, but the last 2-3 weeks have been very discouraging. I'm exercising 6 days a week, and that's making me more hungry. I definitely know the difference between head and belly hunger, but I've got to try to stick with what my dr wants (about 3/4 cup per meal). It's so hard!! Good luck to everyone!

Thanks for the reply! I just recently had my one year anniversary (1/31/08 banded). I am very happy with the results...........I have lost a total of 85 pounds this past year (my goal is to loose 100 pounds total). Almost there!!! I have a 10 cc band and have had four fills totalling 6cc's. The last one was on 10/15/08....I think I have found my sweet spot with this one! I am really on track..........no red meats or white products (flour,sugar, etc) as they get "stuck" and I throw up violently for hours after even trying a small bit..........which keeps me from eating them!!! My portions seem a little bit larger but all of "good" foods so even though my weight loss is slowing down now - only lost 10 pounds since Oct. - I am keeping on track and feeling great!!! No more diabetis, no more high blood pressure, no more sleep apenea, more energy, and enjoying life to the fullest!!! The best of luck to all who have just begun the program or are hoping to get banded soon!!! This has been the best decision I have ever made.....I am in control of my life, again!!!