Yesterday I had a conversation with the person at my doctor's office who schedules people for fills. What she told me got me wondering what other people's experiences have been.

My surgeon told me early on that we'd schedule fills when my weight loss dropped to less than 1-2 lbs a week for a period of three or four weeks. That's fine, that's exactly what I'd understood would be the yardstick. But yesterday I was told that their definition of "stalled" weight loss was more like 3 to 4 MONTHS without loss. Huh?

I managed to convince them that I was ready for my first fill, since the 17 - 19 lbs I've lost so far all came off in the first three weeks. I've been "stalled" for four weeks now and next week it will be five. And the facility that does fills only does them on one day a month. So if I didn't do it now I'd have to wait until "fill day" in November. I'd rather have several weeks to accustom myself to a new restriction level than several days, with the holidays coming and all.

In any event, the basic facts that: a) the band needs to be filled to work, and that each person feels a fill level differently, and c) it may be necessary to "sneak up" on the right level of restriction all seem to not be part of the equation. And I've heard the same comments from patients of many other doctors.

So why is that? What do you think is behind the common reluctance to schedule adjustments? I presume it's not the surgeon doing the adjusting, so what's the big deal? They don't balk if you want an office visit just to say hi, and that's almost as much trouble!

OK, vent over. I'm glad to be looking forward to my first fill, but frustrated to know that no matter what it will be months before I can have it tweaked if necessary. This journey may be longer than I'd planned.

Sue, that is a really brilliant idea! I'm happy to say, however, that when I met Dr. Bertha at my fill and I asked him the question, he responded as I would have hoped...that is, he said that fills are determined purely on a basis of individual need and progress. I think when I decide it's time for my next fill, I'll be asking to speak with the surgeon and not waste time with his defensive line.

But your suggestion is a good one. If I encounter real resistance later on I'll definitely consider it.