Hi!

I'm thinking of having the surgery in March but I would like to ask people that have had the surgery a few questions:

How many fills do you get in a year? Is there more in the first year then other years? Do you find the fills painful at all? Do you have to get a fill after every like 10 pounds or something?

Thanks so much for your help!

:rolleyes2:

As many as it takes.

There is no set number of fills. On average it takes four fills total to lose the weight. Some people need many more and some less. Initially they slowly give you fills until you get to the point where you are losing weight and not hungry, this is usually evaluated about once a month. Like I said average is four fills to reach your "sweet spot".

Then from there on out you get a fill when weight loss stalls or you start to gain or when you find yourself eating more or not staying satisfied until your next meal. Once you reach goal weight you only go in for a fill if the weight starts coming back.

Pain is all relative of your tolerance. Some people find it very painful; personally I think it is comparable to a blood draw and I don't get any numbing before a fill.

Edited November 19, 200817 yr by Jodi_620

The band works with restriction.

You get your first adjustment 6 weeks after surgery.

(the doc has been trained and has all the guidelines so he should give you the recommended amount)

Then 4 weeks later you'll see the doc again. Are you losing weight at all? If so, you won't need another adjustment. If not, or if you are having a hard time eating right, you would get another adjustment.

[stop here- this was all I needed to get to my goal].

A few weeks later you'll see your doc again. Losing weight? You won't need another adjustment. Not losing - get another one.

It keeps going like this until you get to a point where you are losing.

in the last year i had 8 fills; 3 unfills, 1 fill.

it's all personal what it will take for you - i typically went every 4wks. i required a bit more fills for restriction than most - but i just kept going till it was no longer necessary.

i can really use one now - but am holding off for turkey day...lol

I get free fills fo rthe first year it came in the package of self pay so I get one each month, hopefully by 12 months I will be at my sweet spot but I think after this month I am already there but still I have 6 months to play with incase I need some adjustments later...

Husband and I were banded the same day. I needed two fills to essentially get to goal; he's needed 5 and has about 20 lb left to lose. He may need another or may not. I haven't had a fill in nearly a year.

Husband and I were banded the same day. I needed two fills to essentially get to goal; he's needed 5 and has about 20 lb left to lose. He may need another or may not. I haven't had a fill in nearly a year.

sounds familiar - hubby only needed 3 to get to goal. i wish it happened that fast for me..

I had restriction and reached my sweet spot after my second fill. Some people never need a fill . . . some need 10 or more . . . it all depends on your body and how aggressive your doctor is. Some doctors do very, very tiny fills and this will cause you to need quite a few to get anywhere.

I did have an unfill-refill-unfill after my second fill but this was only due to pregnancy. I suspect that I would still have been losing well on my second fill had I not conceived. However, even without fills I still saw my doctor regularly to make sure I was losing and was on track.

I forgot to mention, those 2 fills got me from the cusp of morbid obesity wth a BMI of 40 to within 3 pounds of a normal BMI of 25. Those 2 fills were enough, not only for the year, but to get me to goal as well.