I was at my sweet spot with 6cc in my 10cc band in April- 3 months ago. I was losing about 10 pounds a month and very happy.

Suddenly (well maybe not suddenly but it felt like suddenly) I stopped losing any weight at all. I thought I had the same restriction but was now used to my band and eating around it. I thought so anyway.

So I go to the nurse today and my fill is down to 5.75cc's- it evaporated! So she filled me back up to 6cc's and I am nicely restricted and happy again.

Okay I didn't know you had to have your band checked like every 2 months to see if you still had enough saline in there. Now I am marking my calendar and planning to see them every 2 months.

I wasted 3 weeks not losing because I thought I was just "eating around the band" and screwing up. Not true. Maybe all the exercising I'm doing made the saline evaporate?

Maybe everyone else knows this but I didn't. Hopefully others will learn from this too.

Success on your lap band journey to all!

Sadie

Oh, I hope that I don't have to go in every 2 months! That will get very expensive for me. I'm self-pay. Are your check-up-adjustments free? My first fill is in September.

me too. i am self pay and thought i only had to go in 3 - 4 times per year.

I haven't had a fill since december and mine is fine.

I am a self pay also but it's only $50 for a fill appointment.

I have to say that the fact that I might have to go in for fills 4 to 6 times a year was not obvious to me when I was investigating the lap band. It's okay but I wish I had know this.

And AthinnerDenise --maybe being at goal means less pressure on the band so fewer fills? I hope that's true.

Also it is an hour drive each way to get my fills- takes all afternoon.

In spite of my whining, I am thrilled that I am losing again. 1 pound gone this morning after 3 weeks of no loss. Yea!

Sadie

I don't mean to pop your balloon but, I would be concerned how that much fluid just "disappeared" from a supposedly closed system. I mean if it was say .1 or something but, for most of your fill to just not be there would concern me greatly. I would make sure at your next appt they check the volume of saline in your band again. If that amount or a similar amount is just gone again, I would think there is something wrong with either the band itself, the tubing or the port. From my understanding and from discussions with my surgeon and getting to actually handle a filled band in the doctors office, I don't see how saline would be able to come out without there being a hole somewhere. Being a closed system means it should not just lose volume or that fluid would be able to "evaporate". It would be similar to getting a breast implant and one or both were to lose volume. The only way that could happen would be a leak. The packaging may shrink or expand due to pressure adjustments but the actual volume would never change.

I hope everything is fine or there is some other explanation. I just know that saline doesn't just "evaporate" from a closed medical device.

I don't mean to pop your balloon but, I would be concerned how that much Fluid just "disappeared" from a supposedly closed system. I mean if it was say .1 or something but, for most of your fill to just not be there would concern me greatly. I would make sure at your next appt they check the volume of saline in your band again. If that amount or a similar amount is just gone again, I would think there is something wrong with either the band itself, the tubing or the port. From my understanding and from discussions with my surgeon and getting to actually handle a filled band in the doctors office, I don't see how saline would be able to come out without there being a hole somewhere. Being a closed system means it should not just lose volume or that fluid would be able to "evaporate". It would be similar to getting a breast implant and one or both were to lose volume. The only way that could happen would be a leak. The packaging may shrink or expand due to pressure adjustments but the actual volume would never change.

I hope everything is fine or there is some other explanation. I just know that saline doesn't just "evaporate" from a closed medical device.

I only lost .25% which is less than 4% - and the saline does evaporate even though it is a closed system.

The plastic used in the ring has some minor permability so it is flexible according to the nurse. I have no idea about implants - maybe they can use a harder plastic.

I am happy I found my solution.

Hi Sadie, I got banded by Dr. Brown too on June 23rd. 20008. Do you wait once a month for your fills? I had my first fill on July 25 (3.4cc in a 10cc band). Did you fill a lot of restriction from your first fill or did you notice more at your second fill. Did Sherry or Alison do your fills? Did you ask for more of a fill? I am so glad you got to your perfect fill at 6cc. I hope I experience that too. Hoooray for you

Hi Sadie, I got banded by Dr. Brown too on June 23rd. 20008. Do you wait once a month for your fills? I had my first fill on July 25 (3.4cc in a 10cc band). Did you fill a lot of restriction from your first fill or did you notice more at your second fill. Did Sherry or Alison do your fills? Did you ask for more of a fill? I am so glad you got to your perfect fill at 6cc. I hope I experience that too. Hoooray for you

Both Sherry and Allison do my fills- they are both great and very knowledgable. They will be aggressive with your fills. My 2nd fill was so tight I couldn't drink any Water so they had to take some out. So I am happy with Dr Brown and the nurses. Lots of people complain that their dr's/nurses are not aggressive at all.

The receptionist doesn't like to schedule you before one month. She says it's because of "infection" whatever that means. The receptionist is not the best in my opinion. She doesn't like her job I think. I was insistent that she schedule me after 3 weeks after the first fill. Call early and lie about the last date and she'll schedule you. The nurses don't care about the date.

I can't remember how much restriction I had after the first fill but I was losing 2+ pounds a week so I had some. It went away after about 2+ weeks so I called for another appointment and got my 2nd fill after 3 weeks.

The other thing about Dr. Brown is that he is very careful to place the band right over the appetite hormone glands at the top of your stomach. I have had very low hunger and my taste for sugar and some other foods has changed for the better. He has a lot of experience and I think he places the band correctly. Reading the posts from others makes me feel that not all doctors are so careful.

Good luck - we are on a terrific journey! I am thrilled with my band!

Sadie

I was banded 9 months ago and have two fills total. I will not need another to reach goal.

It is not necessary to check your band every couple of months unless you stop losing or notice a real difference in your restriction level over a period of a couple weeks or more.

As you lose weight, especially the fat around your stomach, your band may become looser without an change in the saline level, so you may need another fill. But I see no reason to get it checked unless there is some reason you feel you need to do so. I'm glad you checked and got another fill, but I don't think it is something everyone needs to do on a scheduled basis.

Hey Snowbird! I was just banded by Dr. Ortiz on 7/24. Did you go back to him for your 2 fills? He told me that if I went back to him for my fills than I would need fewer fills then if I got them here in the US. Do you agree? Does he make you so tight that you can't really eat much (is that why)? Do you have the 4cc band as well? I just wanted to know because I want to see if it is worth going all the way back to MX (6 hour flight +$$) instead of a local fill Dr. Thanks.

I'm glad you found the problem and got it fixed! I haven't heard of that as a chronic or common problem though.... but I guess most of us would go get it checked out if we found we didn't have the level of restriction we had before.

I was self-pay and all fills for the first 13 months after surgery are included in the price I paid for the surgery. I've had 5 fills so far and I think I'm set for awhile. After the 13 months is up, fills are $150 each.

My doctor will let us have fills once a week if necessary.

Guess that sums all that up!

I was at my sweet spot with 6cc in my 10cc band in April- 3 months ago. I was losing about 10 pounds a month and very happy.

Suddenly (well maybe not suddenly but it felt like suddenly) I stopped losing any weight at all. I thought I had the same restriction but was now used to my band and eating around it. I thought so anyway.

So I go to the nurse today and my fill is down to 5.75cc's- it evaporated! So she filled me back up to 6cc's and I am nicely restricted and happy again.

Okay I didn't know you had to have your band checked like every 2 months to see if you still had enough saline in there. Now I am marking my calendar and planning to see them every 2 months.

I wasted 3 weeks not losing because I thought I was just "eating around the band" and screwing up. Not true. Maybe all the exercising I'm doing made the saline evaporate?

Maybe everyone else knows this but I didn't. Hopefully others will learn from this too.

Success on your lap band journey to all!

Sadie

I also had the same problem. After my second fill. Doc noticed that I only had half of my fill still there.

Good Luck

Kentucky Girl

Hey Snowbird! I was just banded by Dr. Ortiz on 7/24. Did you go back to him for your 2 fills? He told me that if I went back to him for my fills than I would need fewer fills then if I got them here in the US. Do you agree? Does he make you so tight that you can't really eat much (is that why)? Do you have the 4cc band as well? I just wanted to know because I want to see if it is worth going all the way back to MX (6 hour flight +$$) instead of a local fill Dr. Thanks.

Hi, getthin. I have a 4 cc band and did go to OCC for my fills. I had 1.7 cc with the first fill and only .2 with the second. Reaching proper restriction is an extremely personal thing. My daughter, also banded at OCC, has had about 7 fills/unfills, and only had her first one at OCC. My husband has a 10 cc band, and has needed 5 fills; only his last one was NOT at OCC, and it was the first one that really gave him much restriction.

The OCC doctor who used to do fills and did my two, was fairly aggressive, but he is no longer there. Their new doctor is a bit more conservative. You might want to go back to OCC for your first fill, just so they can do a fluoroscopy and check the position of your band and your stomach. However, I really don't think it is necessary or even more advantageous to go back there if you don't live nearby. I spend part of the year in Washington state, and have a fill clinic nearby that I trust. If I really needed a fill while I was up in Washington, I would not hesitate to use the Washington clinic. If you can find someone near your home whom you trust, I would go ahead and use them.

Thanks for the thorough response Snowbird. That is what I will probably end up doing; 1st fill there, then the rest here.

Both Sherry and Allison do my fills- they are both great and very knowledgable. They will be aggressive with your fills. My 2nd fill was so tight I couldn't drink any Water so they had to take some out. So I am happy with Dr Brown and the nurses. Lots of people complain that their dr's/nurses are not aggressive at all.

The receptionist doesn't like to schedule you before one month. She says it's because of "infection" whatever that means. The receptionist is not the best in my opinion. She doesn't like her job I think. I was insistent that she schedule me after 3 weeks after the first fill. Call early and lie about the last date and she'll schedule you. The nurses don't care about the date.

I can't remember how much restriction I had after the first fill but I was losing 2+ pounds a week so I had some. It went away after about 2+ weeks so I called for another appointment and got my 2nd fill after 3 weeks.

The other thing about Dr. Brown is that he is very careful to place the band right over the appetite hormone glands at the top of your stomach. I have had very low hunger and my taste for sugar and some other foods has changed for the better. He has a lot of experience and I think he places the band correctly. Reading the posts from others makes me feel that not all doctors are so careful.

Good luck - we are on a terrific journey! I am thrilled with my band!

Sadie

Sadie, I too have noticed that the receptionist ,Cheryl, hates her job. The other day she said she would never have an operation. I asked her if she was banded and she said NO WAY. I also like both nurses, but I have only lost 2 lbs since I was banded on June 23rd. I have had one fill of 3.4. I am glad you said the nurses would be more aggressive because I think I need more on my next fill Aug. 20th. Also thank you for what you said about Dr. Brown's positioning of the band. I had absolutely no problem with the surgery and no pain in recovery so I do think he is good. I hope I do start to lose more weight. I'm so glad for you!!