: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

My initial weight was 213 for my first surgery. I needed to lose 20 when it was replaced and I didn't trust myself enough to do it on my own. Even though I exercise and watch what I eat, the band gives me that reassurance that I need and I wasn't willing to give that up quite yet.

Yes, the first bands held 4 and 6cc's and people lost weight a lot faster but there is a lot of slippage with those. I had acid reflux all the time which ended up causing mine to slip. I love the band and what it has been able to help people accomplish!! It's a wonderful tool to help guide you to make the right choices. I was just use to having the smaller one for 3yrs so it's taking some adjusting for me. I go for a fill today though, yeah!

I know what it's like to have a band with just the right fill now. I am sooooo happy with mine. Good luck to you on your fill. I hope you get to that 'sweet' spot now.

I am so glad to hear others' comments. I had my band in on 4/14/09 - have only lost 13 pounds - most the 2 weeks after surgery! I got my first fill on 5/22/09 and actually feel less restriction than before. I called the doctor's office and they told me it's due to the fact that you get used to having the band. My weight hasn't changed but I really was hoping for it to come off faster. The doctor's office told me what everyone is writing here that it will take a few fills before I get to that "sweet spot". And my doctor does the fills on a schedule - no more than once every 4 weeks. So I have to wait till 5/25/09 for another fill. I hope this one will get me to the point where I eat only 2 ozs at a time. Right now I can eat a regular burger but it just takes me a lot longer than usual. I'm also not eating any junk because I don't have the restriction I'm soooo afraid of going to the doctor's and gaining weight! So I guess the band is teaching me patience along with watching what I'm eating.

:party:

I went to the Doctor on Friday.. He pulled out the solution in my band and I was at 8cc, so he put another 1cc in the band. I finally feel a little restriction. I have an 11cc band so Im hoping that maybe one more fill and I will be at my sweet spot. Has anyone else had these issues? He told me since my BMI was not extremely high that alot of times you need alot in your band to feel restriction. Has anyone else heard this? Thanks everyone for posting back to me.. I have been freakin out thinking was this worth it. Its never going to work.... Kari:thumbup:

That's me also!!! I'm at 10cc's in a 14cc band. I do have some restriction but I get hungry every couple of hours. I also did not have a large BMI

I had surgery on Feb. 16th. I am a little confused. I have had three fills. The first one was 6 weeks after surgery. I know that I am at capacity for fills and I don't have restriction. I had an upper GI and everything looked in place. the surgeon inquired about having no restriction and being at capacity. I don't have a leak because he pulled all the fluid out and measured it. Now they call it a phantom band. Something about nerves blah blah blah. basically what it means is that I have to do the surgery and again and have the band lowered. uugghhh! Anyone else have this phantom band?

I had surgery on Feb. 16th. I am a little confused. I have had three fills. The first one was 6 weeks after surgery. I know that I am at capacity for fills and I don't have restriction. I had an upper GI and everything looked in place. the surgeon inquired about having no restriction and being at capacity. I don't have a leak because he pulled all the fluid out and measured it. Now they call it a phantom band. Something about nerves blah blah blah. basically what it means is that I have to do the surgery and again and have the band lowered. uugghhh! Anyone else have this phantom band?

I've never heard of that. I'm sorry to hear your news. I hope all goes well for you. 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..

Hi Kari,

Have you had your fill on June 10th yet? Does the new fill give you enough restriction now? I am also very frustrated. I think we have the same band - realize C which holds maximum 11 cc. I've had 5 fills so far and is up to 6.7 cc yet I still don't have restriction. I still could eat two cups of food each meal. My next fill appointment is 6/29/09, I really hope it could push me to the sweet spot.

I also have not had any good restriction. Today's fill brings me up to 9cc in 14cc band. I hope this one does the trick!!

I have had 7.5cc and understand I have restriciton for about three weeks and than I can basically eat anything. I originally lost 130 lbs and have gained back 45 pounds I was banded feb 08

Your all lucky. I have no clue what size band I have but I was told that it's more than likely a johnson and johnson brand so I guess that narrows it a bit. As for my fill I just had my first one yesterday, bit annoyed with it really, I would rather have small fills then a huge one and I got 4cc's put in after being told that I had 4cc's put in during surgery. I was always under the impression that they go slow with fills like 1-2cc's each time but I guess not.

Your all lucky. I have no clue what size band I have but I was told that it's more than likely a johnson and johnson brand so I guess that narrows it a bit. As for my fill I just had my first one yesterday, bit annoyed with it really, I would rather have small fills then a huge one and I got 4cc's put in after being told that I had 4cc's put in during surgery. I was always under the impression that they go slow with fills like 1-2cc's each time but I guess not.

Maybe that's better than going back to the doctors every month for 8 months to get where you are. Some doctors fiddle with 1/2 to 1 cc. at a time. I think it's so you get those dr. visits into them and , of course, they make more money that way. I had 4cc put in on my first visit, then 2 cc on my next and 1 cc on the next and lastly, another 1 cc which I believe put me at my sweet spot, cause now I am losing again after 4 months of only taking off 10 lbs. in that period of time. I am at 8cc in a 10 cc band.

I have had 7.5cc and understand I have restriciton for about three weeks and than I can basically eat anything. I originally lost 130 lbs and have gained back 45 pounds I was banded feb 08

I had this same issue. I would do great for a couple of weeks after a fill and then my restriction would start to be less and less. Turns out I have a slow leak. I am only losing about 1-2cc a month, but it's enough to lose restriction. :sneaky: I'm now playing the waiting game on insurance approval to have my port replaced. :wink:

I had this same issue. I would do great for a couple of weeks after a fill and then my restriction would start to be less and less. Turns out I have a slow leak. I am only losing about 1-2cc a month, but it's enough to lose restriction. :sneaky: I'm now playing the waiting game on insurance approval to have my port replaced. :wink:

wow, that's terrible. May I ask how they found out there was a leak? Do they have a test for that?

I also had 4cc's put in during surgery then 4cc's at my first fill (6 weeks). I then had 1cc, .5cc and .5cc for a total of 10cc's in my 10cc band. My last fill was in mid November and until the last month or so I have continued to lose weight. I have lost a total of 105 pounds since 6/21/08 so I'm happy, but I still need to lose another 40-50 pounds so I'm not so happy. My surgeon assured me that the band would actually hold more than 10cc's so not to worry, but of course I worry. My next appointment is 7/2/09 which is also my bandiversary and hope to get a "tweek" at that time to get me started losing again.

wow, that's terrible. May I ask how they found out there was a leak? Do they have a test for that?

I had gone in for 3 or 4 fills and each time they pulled back the Fluid there would be a little less than had been put in before, even with my new fill. This last fill in May, it was 2 cc less than it was in April. :wink: