Ok, can someone please answer this questions for me.. I am somewhat confused. If my band holds only 4cc's and I am currently at 2cc's 7 weeks out, how does the band work forever? My question is what happens when I am at 4cc and I need another fill? I am half way there now and I don't feel restriction the way I think I should. Sometimes this is very scary. I often think this is not going to work for me.

i am at 2.2 cc's with some restriction (not 1/2 cup) and i asked my dr the same question. he said he has never filled anyone to 4 cc's.

from what i understand once you get close to the sweet spot the .1 of a cc make a huge difference like you may be to loose at 2.8 but maybe 3 will be perfect.

it is pretty common to have doubts/worries/concerns at the stage you and i and alot of the others on the board are at. we have all of this pre-surgery build-up and even though i was told dont expect to lose until you are properly restricted. i expected it. (lost 11) but then all of the swelling goes down, there may be a few weeks/months before 1st fill and we are able to eat...some people can eat the same as before surgery... i think i could have but stopped after 2 cups from GUILT. but anyhow this is a hard time for us...we are used to all diets failing so our brain is telling us fail fail fail you have to keep the prize (skinny-healthy you) in your mind because until we are at 1/2 cup restriction the band isnt working to its full potential!

i had lost about 20-30 before surgery and let me tell you without this band i would have done gave up and i'd be sitting at home with a pizza, 2 liter coke, and a bag of hershey kisses.

we've made it this far...we just have to tough it out a little longer!!!

Michelle, Thanks for the pep talk.. LOL , I guess we all need that from time to time.. I don't know why I do that to myself.. I am down 33 lbs and my doc says that I am doing great. Like you said it's a tough time cause you feel you are still eating to much. Thanks to this web site I understand my band better and better each day.

33 POUNDS!!!!!!!!! THATS AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i had lost 15 pounds from the liquid diet but i gained back 4... i can completly admit that i havent been dieting since surgery. i dieted all summer with no carbs so having surgery and being told not to diet my body needs calories to heal- i have just eaten what i wanted potatoes, chili, bread, pizza (veggie), hot wings, potatoe salad... and i have enjoyed every bite! but all things must come to an end and it is time for me to cut out carbs because while i didnt gain anymore than the original 4 back i sure as heck would have liked to seen the scale drop! instead i had relief because i thought i had gained...

i am going back on the atkins starting tommorrow...tonight my best (skinny) friend is coming over and she'll be leaving with any food that has more than 5 carbs per serving! i did this last time i started and she got 6 bags of groceries...

I am 3 months post op and just had my 5th fill. My doctor believes in going in tiny increments and since he is around the corner and the price of the fills is included in my surgery cost (self pay), I didn't argue with him.

I can tell you that I had absolutely no restriction (could eat a whole steak) until my 4th fill which brought me to 2.25 cc's. But eventhough I had some restriction, I could still eat 2 cups of food at a sitting (easily). So this past week I went to 2.5cc's. There is no question about it, there is a big difference. I still am not at that "sweet spot" as I can easily eat 1-1/12 cups per sitting, but we are making progress.

The MD told me that at this point each fill will only be 1/8th of a cc, as when you get past 2.5 each 1/8th of a cc makes a BIG difference. So I am going to set up an apt for next week for an 1/8 of a cc and see how that goes. Each one of us want a different level of restriction. I don't want to be able to only eat 1/2 cup, some people like that idea. I want to get down to 1 cup per sitting and if I lose a little slower because of it, so be it.

I have to be able to live with the band forever.

I think the key word for all of us is "patience." I have to keep reminding myself that I have been heavy forever, an extra month or two doesn't spell "failure."

Lori in PA

Laura,

I am certainly no expert on fills, but I can assure you that there is no such thing as running out of fill space in your band. If you were to fill the band to 4 CC, you would not be able to swallow!! If you were lucky enough to find a fill doc who could fill it up to the max and then remove Fluid incrementally so you would feel comfortable to know what total restriction is, you would see what I am talking about. I presently have 1.75 CC and have some restriction. I know if I went to 2.00 I probably would be very restricted and might lose faster, but I like the fact that I am comfortable eating 6 -8 ounces of food without barfing. In fact, I have never barfed and I intend to keep it this way. The difference from 2.00 to 2.25 is extremely different. Finding the sweet spot is always difficult because each person is starting from a different place. Some have the band higher on the stomach and have more restriction immediately. Some people have a bigger/ stomach. Some people have a band that tightens or loosens when they are stressed. There are so many factors that determine where that sweet spot is for every person. Just rest assured that you will not run out of space!!!!!

Babs in TX

334/284/180

Babs, Thanks for putting my mind to ease. I have to be prepared for this rollercoster we are all on.