hello, my name is nancy i'm 38 yrs old from philadelphia. i am a mother of 3 a wife and an x-ray tech. i have been banded for 10 months (SEPT 07).i had my surgery on sept 13 2007, i was visited by mom, dad, and husband after surgery. 4 hours later my dad dropped dead of a massive heart attack and was brought to the same hospital where i stayed overnight. sept 13 was supposed to be the beginning of a new life for me but all i can think of when someone asks how long since your surgery is the day my dad died. so for the past 10 months i have had nothing but trouble with my band. i have a 4cc band and have had 10 fills(1 a month) since surgery.i lost 18 lbs from surgery until dec. oct filled 1cc,nov filled .5cc, dec filled 1cc,jan went for a fill and was told that there is nothing in my band, where could it have gone? different people have given me fills and all had gotten fluid back in the syringe when they pulled back???????? anyway the doc put back in 2cc, feb filled .5cc, mar filled 1cc, april filled.5cc (too tight took out .3cc) total 3.7cc in 4cc band, may .5cc dissappeared down to 3.2cc now. the end of may had an upper gi (fluoro) mind you i am an x-ray tech and would take pictures of myself often even drank barium and put barium in fruit and watched myself swallow!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the food would fall through the band immediately. so now i had an ugi on the books same thing the radiologist said that the food was not restricted slight narrowing but nothing stayed above the band. i even kept a food journal for 2 weeks and the office nutritionist reviewed it and said the quality of food was fine but the amount was way too much something must be wrong with the band .i sometimes would feel some restriction for only a few days then it would disappear. i went back to the office for my 10th fill and to review my ugi the nurse practioner said it was fine i need more of a fill so she gave ma an aggressive fill (4.5CC) sent me out to the waiting area to drink water which would not go down so she took out .5cc and now i am back to 4cc in a 4cc band with no restriction. i do have an appointment on aug.5 (doc on vac the month of july). by the time i see the doc it will be 11 months with only 18lbs lost. FRUSTRATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:cursing:

Hi Hopeful:

First off, I am so sorry to hear about the sudden loss of your father. I cannot imagine the pain and heartache you are going through. I can, however, empathize with you regarding the band. I, too, was banded in March 2007 with the original Inamed LapBand system (10 cm/4cc capacity). In the past 15 months, I have had 8 fills, lost just barely 51 pounds, and have struggled with restriction and eating everything in sight. This journey was MUCH more difficult than I anticipated.

I joined this site two months after being banded hoping that I would gain enlightenment, but honestly, sometimes being here is more frustrating than anything. It is very difficult to watch as others have lost so much weight very easily, with little hunger and little restriction, few fills....and others of us are struggling to stay afloat. Very discouraging.

After being banded for 15 months and being a member of this site for over a year...the only conclusion I've decided upon is this: I need a larger band. Period. I don't believe the original Inamed 4cc fill capacity band is the right one for me, and honestly, I didn't have a choice regarding which band I was given. I have had 8 fills in 15 months and am currently filled 1cc over the maximum fill amount. Even now, I barely have restriction, and am putting myself at risk for slippage by having the band filled over capacity.

My advice to you is this: continue as best as you can with fills and proper eating habits and exercise. It might also be a good idea for you and your doctor to discuss conversion surgery. Perhaps you are an ideal candidate for the new (and much improved) Realize band.

I wish you the best of luck and struggle right along with you. Please feel free to email me or send me a private message in the future.

Kind regards,

Shannon

Edited July 14, 200818 yr by zengirl227