My doctor REFUSED to give me a fill!

[Nena 0]

I was banded on Aug 25. I went for my appt today expecting to get a fill. Dr said NO. He said that I have lost 9 lbs in this last month; therefore, I don't need a fill. He does not want any of his patients to lose more than 2 lbs per week and since I'm doing that then I don't need a fill.

I was flabbergasted! I eat EVERYTHING! pizza, soda, rice, bread, shrimp. I don't feel any restriction and have never thrown up. I admit that I'm full with smaller portions but I cannot believe that I lost 9 lbs. It's a flipping miracle! I go back in a month for him to evaluate me and CONSIDER giving me a fill. Has this happened to anyone else?

[Fanny Adams 7]

Well done, Nena! That's awesome! Don't be in a hurry to get fills. If you're losing weight, you must be doing something right and banding doesn't have to mean living on a teaspoon a day! Go with the flow while it's working for you and leave the fills till the weight loss stops and the hunger starts to take control again. You'll appreciate them when you need them.

Some people NEVER need a fill - who knows, you may be one of those lucky ones! Meantime, why fill the band up and risk making yourself uncomfortable when it is working? (If it ain't broke, don't fix it!)

Edited September 26, 2008 by Fanny Adams

[tigerlilyhair 0]

hey nena

my doctor also refused to give me a fill after losing 3 lbs in 2 weeks i eat all types of things also not restricted definatly get fuller faster but not like i expected i was anticipating the feeling similar to immediately post op - i jst keep believeing that this is the process and i keep going to the gym you are not alone !!!!!

[Irish76 0]

I was banded on Aug 25. I went for my appt today expecting to get a fill. Dr said NO. He said that I have lost 9 lbs in this last month; therefore, I don't need a fill. He does not want any of his patients to lose more than 2 lbs per week and since I'm doing that then I don't need a fill.

I was flabbergasted! I eat EVERYTHING! pizza, soda, rice, bread, shrimp. I don't feel any restriction and have never thrown up. I admit that I'm full with smaller portions but I cannot believe that I lost 9 lbs. It's a flipping miracle! I go back in a month for him to evaluate me and CONSIDER giving me a fill. Has this happened to anyone else?

Nena. I am so afraid that this is going to happen to me, too. I'm going to be mighty unhappy if it does. I met with the dietician yesterday and I've been losing about 1 lb a week on about 900-1000 cal a day. Now she wants me down to 500-800 cal a day. My next Dr appt is 8 Oct and I was hoping for a fill (I can eat everything and lots of it!). I asked if I would still get a fill if I was losing and I never did get a straight answer. I am afraid that I am going to starve myself for 2 weeks and then the Dr won't give a fill cause I lost weight.

How much are you eating? Are you hungry? Hang in there, hopefully that month will go fast and you'll have your fill before the holidays. I won't make it through the holidays without a fill...:thumbup:

[heartfire 4]

Nena, I agree with Fanny. Don't panic, you're doing great!

I go for my first fill on the 7th and I'm not sure I'm going to need one. I'm losing a lot faster than I thought I would at this point. A fill would just mean A LOT faster. I like losing fast but I don't want to lose too fast. I lost 4lbs this week. To me, that's just amazing! I don't expect that kind of loss every week but the week before was almost 3lbs, so I know I'm doing amazingly well for myself. I'm not hungry unless it's been a few hours and it's time to eat. A little bit of food and I'm fine again.

I don't know if any of that is happening to you but it sounds like you're doing a fantastic job! Keep up the great work. And again, don't get too caught up in the fills. Get one when you and your doctor feel you need one, that's usually when you stop losing altogether.

[Nena 0]

I appreciate all of the positive feedback. I really need it. I feel like this is my last chance to lose weight and am afraid of failure.

I am hungry but not all the time. I'm full with less food. Today I ate half of a Breakfast sandwich. For lunch, 2 ck strips and maybe 6 french fries. I give away the rest of the food to co-workers or whoever else I can get to eat it. My son made wheat Cookies. I ate one and now I'm full so I don't think I'll eat any dinner.

I am grateful for losing weight. I should not worry about whether or not I get a fill- you guys are so right. Thanks for helping me.

[heartfire 4]

I appreciate all of the positive feedback. I really need it. I feel like this is my last chance to lose weight and am afraid of failure.

I am hungry but not all the time. I'm full with less food. Today I ate half of a breakfast sandwich. For lunch, 2 ck strips and maybe 6 french fries. I give away the rest of the food to co-workers or whoever else I can get to eat it. My son made wheat Cookies. I ate one and now I'm full so I don't think I'll eat any dinner.

I am grateful for losing weight. I should not worry about whether or not I get a fill- you guys are so right. Thanks for helping me.

With your further explanation, it makes even more sure that you are where you should be right now. I think you're doing great!

I totally get the fear of failure or not using the band to it's full potential. It's a fear of mine as well. I think it's a fear most, if not all, of us fatties face. We've tried so many things with failure as the end result that we just expect the next "thing" to fail as well. I think that constant failure with our weight sets us up for the fear and sometimes even more failure. We just don't consider ourselves as possibly being successful with weight loss and shoot ourselves in the foot. Doesn't help if we don't have a good support system either.

I was just thinking tonight, while I was fixing dinner, that there will be no more munching or "tasting" while cooking. No matter how hungry I am, because if I did that, I wouldn't have room for dinner for the next 3 hours!!! It also made me realize how much snacking I actually did without even thinking about it. I also have realized that it's okay to feel a little hunger. Before surgery, as soon as I felt hungry, I was heading for food. Didn't matter if we were going to be eating soon or not. I'd eat anyway, then less than an hour later (or whatever) would be sitting down to lunch or dinner and eating it all!

When people say this is much more of a head game than anything else, I really understand what they mean. I've been learning as much, or more, head-wise as I have stomach-wise.

[Lanakila 1]

Very, very well said Heartfire!

[heartfire 4]

Very, very well said Heartfire!

Oh. Thanks! :thumbup:

[lindar172 1]

I went for my first fill on 09-18 and didn't get one. I was a little upset by it, but knew I was losing weight and inches so I didn't get too up set. I was asked if I was hungry and I said no. That was the deciding point I guess. The very next day, I noticed that by 11:30 am, I was getting a hungry feeling and again at about 5:30 pm. My lunch is at 12:45 and I eat when I get home around 7 pm. But it wasn't that I was starving, just a little hungry and it made me think about what I had always heard when dieting. It is when you are hungry that the body starts to use your body fat. Now whether this is true or not, I don't really know. Is this an old wive's tale we have heard for years? At any rate, I decided that I wasn't going to worry about getting a fill as long as I was losing, either weight or inches, until I was getting to the point that I was starving between meals. Please give me some feed back on this as I would like to know I am going in a good directions. Thanks for all the help this website has given me all ready.

[Fanny Adams 7]

Sounds like you are exactly on the right track to me. We have to learn not to be afraid of feeling a little hungry for a little while. The band is not supposed to mean that you don't feel hungry EVER. It is perfectly normal and perfectly ok to feel a little hungry as meal times approach. What the band is supposed to do is to stop you eating a meal sized for 3 people (as I used to do every night) and to stop you feeling like you're starving in between meals. By the time you tighten it up to the point that you feel no hunger at all, you are almost certain to be too tight and won't be able to eat properly, leading to dependence on generally high fat/high carb/high suger slider foods and weight gain.

It's meant to be a tool, not a miracle cure, so it does require a little work on our part. I think you are doing exactly the right thing - controlling mild hunger before meals. When it starts to get to raging hunger or the meal sizes start getting large again, that's the time to tighten the band in another notch.

[Roheryn 0]

Yep that raging hunger is my reason for needing a fill...bring on Oct 20...

[dwrd73 0]

I'm glad this threas was started b/c I am having a hard time deciding if I should get a fill. I see my doctor this Thurday. I'm still losing 1 - 2 lbs a week but at this point I am starting to feel like I'm on a diet. I'm getting hungry more often and I am eating more. I'm definitely not eating the large size meals I use to eat before banding. So, I don't know if I will get a fill on not. It will be interesting to see how this week goes.

Part of me feels that fills are part of the process so why not. Last time i saw my doctor he said he usually starts people off with 1-2cc. That really is not much.

It also depends on how much time until my next appointment. If I have to wait six weeks then I may insist on the fill. If it's only four weeks and I lose some more this week then I may just wait and see how it goes.

Thanks for everyones advice. I'll let you know what happens later this week.

[neomie 0]

Hi ....

I was banded on the 29 of August and I'm suppose to get a fill on the 15th of Oct but I still can't eat regular food as it blocks after a couple of bites. I've put myself back on full liquids for a couple of days to see if that would help. Last night I had some Cereal I still feel full this morning I hope everything is o.k. last week I lost 6 pounds, the other weeks it was more around 2 pounds, maybe I won't get a fill either.

Has anybodyelse had the same problems of feeling full after a month so easily, I feel hungry occasionnally but not often.

I'm pretty happy with myself as I'm walking every day and it's not a natural thing for me, I'm up to 30 min. and my goal is 60 min., sometimes I have to kick myself but I've been trucking on.

Does a wii really help and is it kind of fun and also what does the wii fit consist of.

I want to congradulate all of you that are doing so well and I know you will keep going , we are all afraid to fail but I think we need to believe in ourselves and really believe we can do this and change our life for good.

I'll be thinking of all of you and sending you some positive energy and I hope you'll be doing the same for me.

All of you keep going....:wink_smile::smile2::teeth_smile::redface::biggrin:

[skinnymike 0]

i know the feeling even though im losing an extrordinary amount of weight (46 lbs) and its not even two months. doctor told me i was so far off the curve i didnt need a fill and that was 13 lbs ago i guess i wont be getting one in november either. as long as youre losing enjoy it. some others dont have your luck