:cursing: HELP!!!! I was banded on Feb 16th of this year. My first fill I got 4cc, my second i got 1cc, and my third fill i got 3cc. I still am not feeling barely any restriction. I can definately eat more than 2 cups of food without problems. I have NO food that dont agree with me such as bread or meat. I am so frustrated:frown:... I am wondering if this was just a big waste of money... I hear people talking about this sweet spot. Will I ever get there??? Can anyone help and tell me if they have heard someone with that big of a fill with no restriction. Thanks Kari

Edited May 21, 200917 yr by karimezinger

This is very frustrating for me too. I too got 1cc at my last app for a total of 8.8cc. I always have good restriction for a few days due to swelling after a fill or BPing. I guess Im one of those people that swell a good bit. My Dr told me to do 2 days liquid and 2 days mushies after my last fill and this is the first time that I actually NEED to do that! Before by day 2-3 I felt ready for regular food. Im still on liquids today moving to mushies now because this fill feels different than all the others so Im hoping this is it!

ETA: My Dr said my band is studied for 9cc but is overfilled frequently but has to be done under x-ray.

This stuff scares me. I'm at 1 1/2 cc and a lower bmi starting at 35. It makes me think it will take over a year of fills before I start to get any benifit from this! I knew there would be a period of waiting, but I thought two or three months not a year! Has anyone had any luck talking to their surgeon about putting more than say 1 1/2 cc in at a time? If in theory most people are not feeling restriction until 8cc then why not put more in at a time!? Especially when we are so low to begin with. I've very scared. Also wondering if it's a money grab for the surgeons since I have to pay for fills after the first year...?

I honestly had great restriction probably the first 4-5 days and now it seems like im moving backwards again. I think my next fill will be the one that I really notice a huge difference with. Im not quit sure why your doctor is putting so little in your band at a time.. you could be right about the money thing. My fills were included with my surgery cost.. That could be why ive had great fills. My 1st was 4cc, 2nd 1cc, and the third 4cc... So ive been lucky with my fill amounts... Let me know how things go... Kari

. Also wondering if it's a money grab for the surgeons since I have to pay for fills after the first year...?

Talk to your surgeon...they are all different, as we are all different. Mine won't do aggressive fills, some do. In a way I was in a similar boat in that I have the 14 cc band and it took me until fill 5 to "feel it". But it's for life, it's not a race, I didn't expect fast weight loss.

May I say...if you truly think your surgeon is doing slow fills just for money, then get another surgeon. I know my surgeon needs an income (we all do) and wants to make a profit but I have never felt that he would compromise my health or success for his pocketbook. He is supporting his staff, they work for their salaries and I KNOW this. BUt they are all kind, caring, helpful. If they acted like I was a number, or tried to herd me through, or didn't listen, I would find another surgeon. You should do the same.

I always say to trust your surgeon, if you trust him. I don't mean to blindly hand over all your brain cells! BUT if you trust him, talk to him about it, listen to his side, and then make your decision. This anecdotal evidence posted here shouldn't cause you to doubt yourself. If you don't like your doc, get another. If you like him, get his take on it rather than being scared and worried about it. Your surgeon is the pro here; he (or she!) should be able to help guide you through it all.

Talk to your surgeon...they are all different, as we are all different. Mine won't do aggressive fills, some do. In a way I was in a similar boat in that I have the 14 cc band and it took me until fill 5 to "feel it". But it's for life, it's not a race, I didn't expect fast weight loss.

May I say...if you truly think your surgeon is doing slow fills just for money, then get another surgeon. I know my surgeon needs an income (we all do) and wants to make a profit but I have never felt that he would compromise my health or success for his pocketbook. He is supporting his staff, they work for their salaries and I KNOW this. BUt they are all kind, caring, helpful. If they acted like I was a number, or tried to herd me through, or didn't listen, I would find another surgeon. You should do the same.

I always say to trust your surgeon, if you trust him. I don't mean to blindly hand over all your brain cells! BUT if you trust him, talk to him about it, listen to his side, and then make your decision. This anecdotal evidence posted here shouldn't cause you to doubt yourself. If you don't like your doc, get another. If you like him, get his take on it rather than being scared and worried about it. Your surgeon is the pro here; he (or she!) should be able to help guide you through it all.

I'm not sure if I trust him or not yet.. I'm going to try to talk to him and have a frank discussion about my fears. Unfortunalty where I live there is only one place that does fills, I would have to travel pretty far to get someone else to do it. Fingers crossed that he listens to me and gives me a bigger fill next time.

I'll cross my fingers too, then, and hope he comes through with what you need! Good luck! :thumbup:

I have had similar concerns, and had posed the question to my Doc. wondering if my Band had a leak...

As of this morning I have 7.5cc in a 9cc band. Too early to tell if this is the sweet spot, but I can definitely tell a difference form the last fill eventhough I am on liquids for the next 24 hrs.

I am not sure that everyone's experience is the same but your pace of fills to get to 8cc's was MUCH more aggressive than mine. Good Luck, and Here's Hoping for Restriction!

:crying: HELP!!!! I was banded on Feb 16th of this year. My first fill I got 4cc, my second i got 1cc, and my third fill i got 3cc. I still am not feeling barely any restriction. I can definately eat more than 2 cups of food without problems. I have NO food that dont agree with me such as bread or meat. I am so frustrated:frown:... I am wondering if this was just a big waste of money... I hear people talking about this sweet spot. Will I ever get there??? Can anyone help and tell me if they have heard someone with that big of a fill with no restriction. Thanks Kari

Kari, My first fill was 4cc, my next was 2cc, and at 6cc, I thought I would have good restriction, but NO! for 4 months I lost barely nothing! Then, I had 1 more cc put in and Hooray! At 7cc, that did the trick. I just had that fill last Thursday, and I lost 3 lbs. this week. I can eat only 3 or 4 bites out of a burger and I'm done! Everyone is different. I heard of a person who lost all her weight and never even got one fill. Just the band. So, you may need 1 more cc. Who knows? Before my last fill, I could eat 1-2 cups of food no problem, too. (just like you). So, don't get discouraged. You're just beginning. Patty

you are so sweet... Thanks for what you said.. You made me feel alot better.. I agree with you.. I really think the next fill will do it.. I can still eat about 1-2 cups, but after my last fill i started to feel some restriction.. So cross your fingers for me. It does scare me though that im at 9cc and i have an 11cc band.. My next appointment is on june 10th... My doctor is great... He is located in cinncinati ohio.. He has placed more realize bands on patients that anyone in the u.s.... I totally trust him.. It makes you feel good when you have total trust in your surgeon..

:crying: HELP!!!! I was banded on Feb 16th of this year. My first fill I got 4cc, my second i got 1cc, and my third fill i got 3cc. I still am not feeling barely any restriction. I can definately eat more than 2 cups of food without problems. I have NO food that dont agree with me such as bread or meat. I am so frustrated:frown:... I am wondering if this was just a big waste of money... I hear people talking about this sweet spot. Will I ever get there??? Can anyone help and tell me if they have heard someone with that big of a fill with no restriction. Thanks Kari

I FEEL YA!!!.... I have a 14cc band and its filled with 10cc and I just now feel restrictions and have problems with certain foods. Stick with it. It takes time I felt really discouraged for the longest time since I was able to eat I didnt lose much weight but now I found my sweet spot and I have lost 5 lbs in a week!!

For those who have had a really long wait to feel restriction.. how did you keep up a good attitude? What kept you motivated and hopefull?

For those who have had a really long wait to feel restriction.. how did you keep up a good attitude? What kept you motivated and hopefull?

For me it was just that I wasn't GAINING any more weight. I was grateful to put those gains to a halt. Also, immediately after the surgery, I was taken off my diabetes medication, and I am no longer diabetic. There is a big difference between 281 and 228 and how you feel! I was hopeful because I felt that even if I never lost another pound, I was off the meds and feeling better than before the surgery. I knew that if I had the right fill, I would start to lose again. I had a 4 month period with very little weight loss. Then after my last fill, I started to feel the restriction. I lost 3 lbs. this week!

I've been extremely frustrated at not having any restriction as well. I have 7.2cc in a 10cc band. I am going tomorrow for my 5th fill. My band was replaced 11/12/08 from a 4cc band to the bigger one. I lost my weight fast the first go around and kept it off for 3yrs. I've actually gained weight since the surgery. I only needed to lose 20 but instead gained it so now I need 35-40 off!

What's been motivating me is journaling my food (for accountablilty) and exercising 4-5 days a week. I have been doing a lot of weights so maybe some of it is due to that. They did tell me to make sure and eat solid meats as protein instead of protein shakes/smoothies as I had been told before. There are the many ways to eat emtpy calories and not lose the weight as well. Believe me I know them all!! I couldn't eat crap with my old band! But I also don't miss that nast acid reflux either!!

Hopefully, we can all get to where we are filling restriction soon and fight this battle of the bulge!! :crying:

For those who have had a really long wait to feel restriction.. how did you keep up a good attitude? What kept you motivated and hopefull?

I kept a pretty positive attitude. Even though it took forever to reach the restriction I at least didnt gain weight. Every month when I went into the doctor I lost 1-3lbs so at least I was loosing something! you gotta have a positive attitude about that!!

I've been extremely frustrated at not having any restriction as well. I have 7.2cc in a 10cc band. I am going tomorrow for my 5th fill. My band was replaced 11/12/08 from a 4cc band to the bigger one. I lost my weight fast the first go around and kept it off for 3yrs. I've actually gained weight since the surgery. I only needed to lose 20 but instead gained it so now I need 35-40 off!

What's been motivating me is journaling my food (for accountablilty) and exercising 4-5 days a week. I have been doing a lot of weights so maybe some of it is due to that. They did tell me to make sure and eat solid meats as protein instead of protein shakes/smoothies as I had been told before. There are the many ways to eat emtpy calories and not lose the weight as well. Believe me I know them all!! I couldn't eat crap with my old band! But I also don't miss that nast acid reflux either!!

Hopefully, we can all get to where we are filling restriction soon and fight this battle of the bulge!! :crying:

I never knew they made a band that only held 4cc's. I hope you don't mind me saying this, but if you only needed to lose 20 pounds, why did you have surgery to do it? Just curious.