Hi, I had my surgery done the day after Easter 09. I feel frustrated and alone in this whole journey! So grateful that I found this site though. I have yet to have my first fill yet my first fill is schedule for June 9, 09. I don't understand the cc's that everyone is talking about. I also don't even know what I have in me how much the band can hold etc. I do know this though. Now that they swelling has completely gone away I am not getting that full feeling anymore and it's not good! I haven't so much lost weight as I have inches and why that is I don't get either. So my question to everyone is this. Can I tell the Dr. how much I want him to fill it or suggest it to him? I want to make it worth my time and lose some weight. One big accomplishment for though through this process is I have not had a diet coke since begining April I never thought I would be that strong minded to give it up but I have.

Everything you are experiencing is normal! We have all have been there and understand how emotional hard it is before your first real fill. Good news is it gets better. When you go for your first fill, your doctor will know how much to give you, remember he is the expert. Your doctor can't put in to much at any one given time because there can be complications. First everyone one has a different "sweet spot" you won't know where yours is until you hit it. Second, some people tend to swell after a fill (me included) which could make you so tight you can't even swallow your own spit....been there and you don't want to be. Third, the band works best by small little fills that tighten gradually over time until you hit your sweet spot.

All you can do know is eat clean, workout and know the weight will come off on its own time table not yours.

Good luck:thumbup:

I think you should probably defer to the doc about a fill amount, especially since you don't yet know about what size band, what a "cc" is, etc. It can be dangerous if you are filled too much too fast (jury is out with docs in both camps) If your doc is one that believes fast aggressive fills can cause issues he likely won't speed up the process just because you ask. Conversely if he is one of the ones who believes in quick restriction, then you'll be getting that anyway,

And yes it's common to not lose unless you are dieting the old fashioned way until you get restriction.

Good luck; your doc can tell you about your band, what brand, how much it holds etc if you want to know. Again, some people want to know, some couldn't care less as long as it works. Both sides are right in their own way!

Good luck on your first fill!

I truly and honestly appreciate both of your responses. I went and took a walk today and started crying about how I am tired of being the fat friend at parties. Went to one of my friends 40th bday parties on Saturday night and when her sister posted pictures of facebook today I was quick to untag myself just for the fact I am so ashammed of myself. My friends ask so how much weight have you lost and I quick to say oh I haven't had my first fill yet. As the excuse that it's still okay for me to be heavy. I know I am not following the protical correctly since I have had alcohol since having the surgery done, in which I know I am not suppose to be drinking Chardonnay when I am with my friends. Will me dabbling in the Chardonnay change also once I get my first fill? :cursing::smile:

now you know why people say the band isn't the easy way out. Restriction for me has been the key but I don't like Chardonnay!

You know restriction won't stop that. you have to, if you are cheating and ashamed of it.

Restriction takes care of true physiologic hunger. The rest of it, you have to deal with. Maybe some therapy would help you?

Can anyone explain what "full" feels like with the band? I have been banded for almost a year, and I have yet to feel full. I can still eat a TON of food. At my last visit, I got into an argument with the nurse. I think she thought I was purposely cheating by trying to eat around the band. All of the things she was telling me to do were the same things you were supposed to do BEFORE the band. I thought the band would help by making me feel full so it would be easier to do those things.

When I explained the amount of food I caould eat, I think she realized I wasn't purposely eating aound the band. Here's an example. If I go to a restaurant, I can eat a yeast roll, a side salad, a 6 oz. chicken breast, and some baked potato. I still don't feel full. I just stop eating. SHe said she doesn't know any band patients that can eat an entire breast of cheicken. That's when she finally started listening.

So, my question is, what does full feel like? Is it something I could be overlooking, or would I know it when I felt it? Does it feel the same as before only higher up? For those of you that the band is working for, how long can you go between meals before feeling hungry again? I just can't understand if I am doing something wrong.

Full for me is very different from the bloated stuffed way I used to feel. Now I eat slowly and at some point hit a spot where I think...OK one more bite and I'm going to PB it back up. The "full" feeling is around my band or in my esophagus, not down in my "stomach".

And I truly don't get hungry again for HOURS. No food seeking, no stomach growling (except some normal digestion sounds)

I CANT physically eat like you still can but .5 ccs ago I could. I think you aren't properly filled yet.

Restless Monkey, how long did it take you to realize your sweet spot for your filling? Was it trial and error? And once you found what works best for you has it stayed that way and if so for how long? Also another question to put out there do they bill insurance like a regular office visit in which you just paid your copay? I promise the last question of the night how many times have you had yours filled and have you had it loosened also? And if you have had it loosened why?

I don't mind answering AT ALL! Just remember everyone is different so my answers are all about me; your experience may be something else altogether.

I was banded on 8/29 (after an unfortunately unsuccessful attempt on 8/11 when my liver was too thick) and on 5/7 I weighed 378.5. I got my latest (7th fill) that day and since then have lost 23 pounds...I now weigh 352. So for me obviously restriction is the KEY!

I am not sure exactly what dates I had fills but my doc won't give them earlier than 4 weeks apart and some stretched because of school, holidays, he was at a seminar etc (My port is flipped and he does the fills, not his NP). I have had fills since 6 weeks after 8/29 as follows: (listing my level, not the fill amt)

1.5 cc, 3.0 cc, 4.5 cc, 5.5 cc, 6.25 cc (got that in march and PANICKED. Last semester of nursing school, PB'd constantly, MISERABLE! so I got a slight unfill the next time) back to 6.0 cc and then up to 6.5 cc on May 7 (school was over may 5! LOL)

I realized that my panick in March wasn't really because I was TOO TIGHT but because I was TOO STRESSED. I would forget and eat too large a bite or too fast; I just didn't have ANY patience to mess with it. Because at 5.5 cc I could eat essentially anything...an entire chick fil a, a whole steak and a good portion of baked potato, etc. at 6.25 apparently I had enough restriction to put a halt to that and it was the exact wrong time in my life.

After the unfill I ate whatever whenever and graduated.

I knew though that immediately afterward I wanted to work on my band so my doc reluctantly put me to 6.5. He said "but you were vomiting at 6.25" and I said Doc, I've trusted you all this time. Please now, trust me. I will not PB, I'll lose well, and if I don't I'll come and get an unfill asap. So he did as I wished.

And It has been marvelously successful. I had scheduled another fill for 6/4 but have cancelled it (though I think i'll go weigh) and will see if I need to keep my 7/2 appt.

I have heard as we lose our restriction tightens so once my loss slows drastically or I can eat too much, I'll get more.

For me adequate fill is like just sitting in the roller coaster car versus going down the drop. You can just sit there FOREVER but once you take that drop you know what all the fuss is about. That's "sweet spot" for me.

And I'm tricare; it isn't standard ins. I have a $150 deductible then I pay 20% of all covered services until I've reached a catastrophic cap. Therefore my fills are 80 each. Sometimes I pay it; sometimes they bill me.

Some people feel restriction at the first fill (rare lucky devils!) some it takes a LONG time. That was me. But I didn't give up, I kept at it, and I am so glad I did. I haven't lost as much as I'd hoped at this far out, but by the same token I am stunned to have actually lost 26.5 pounds in 25 days. Not water either; I take a good diuretic and am not usually puffy any more. (some of it's water but we store water with our fat) I'm thinking now I can maybe do some catching up! :smile:

WOW this was long! Sorry!

Thank you so much for your response restless monkey! I took all info in and believe I will remember it! So I looked at this little card my Dr. gave me to keep in my wallet. It states max fill is 11cc. Do you happen to know what that means? And if so what is your max fill it also states the brand I have is realize band.

Christine

Christine it sounds like you have the "newest" Realize band. The "old" style holds only 9 cc, the "new" one 11 (I believe). So it means your band can hold 11 cc of saline.

Think of the cc's as being comparable to the length of a belt like you'd wear around your waist. If you are a smaller person, a smaller belt works for you and with the holes in it, if you lose you can tighten it adequately because you're already small; odds are you won't ever need to lose a lot. If you are larger, you'll need a larger belt, and as you lose, there is still room to "tighten it up". (although the lap band doesn't have excess "belt" hanging around, you know! LOL)

REALLY large people (as I started, and still am) need a BIGGER belt but again as I lose it can still be tightened.

They found that the original Lap Band belts that only held 4ccs were too restrictive initially for some people (like me; I'd have probably had to have it removed). They've realized one size does NOT fit all; so they have options. Lap band now has belts that hold 10 cc (AP Small) and 14 cc (AP Large) , and the older 4cc belt is also still in use, although largely in Mexico and other countries. Apparently Realize has come up with their 11cc model, I assume to complement their 9cc model.

Options are good. I'm feeling very tight restriction at 6.5 ccs (I'm losing over 1 pound a day!) in my 14 cc band...I have a LONG way to go before it is totally tightened for me.

Docs usually decide which band, they ALWAYS decide what size, once they get "in" there.

OOPS did I go on too long? Or help? :frown: anyway that's what ccs are...the amount of sterile saline that is injected into the band is measured that way. Just FYI

30 cc's is about 1 ounce, so you can see that 10 ccs isn't a lot of Fluid.

Okay first off a pound a day! Now that's what I am talking about! I weigh right now 250 and am 5-8 wow I would be beside myself to be so lucky to lose a pound a day once I get my band tightenend. With that said you losing a pound a day how is your hair? Have you noticed losing more than usual?

Christine

I've only been losing like that for just under 4 weeks but hair/skin/energy etc are all tip top. I lost hair post op as many patients do; my doc said he thinks it's a side effect of surgery.

I am careful to get enough Protein daily, Fiber daily, I take a good multi and some other supplements daily. I stay well hydrated (I am a recent RN graduate, I know what to check!) and would not continue if I felt I was harming myself. On the contrary I feel less sluggish and look better (out of the eyes, etc) than I have in a while. So I'm just enjoying it while it lasts.

Hi, I had my surgery done the day after Easter 09. I feel frustrated and alone in this whole journey! So grateful that I found this site though. I have yet to have my first fill yet my first fill is schedule for June 9, 09. I don't understand the cc's that everyone is talking about. I also don't even know what I have in me how much the band can hold etc. I do know this though. Now that they swelling has completely gone away I am not getting that full feeling anymore and it's not good! I haven't so much lost weight as I have inches and why that is I don't get either. So my question to everyone is this. Can I tell the Dr. how much I want him to fill it or suggest it to him? I want to make it worth my time and lose some weight. One big accomplishment for though through this process is I have not had a diet coke since begining April I never thought I would be that strong minded to give it up but I have.

Christine! I am sorry you feel alone in this journey. I do understand that there are somethings that only bandsters can understand. Have you read any of the bandster blogs out there? I started blogging right before my surgery date on 1/27/09 and have "met" wonderful ladies. For real, I have learned so much from them and you really feel like you have a circle of people that understand you. If you click on my blog link in my signature it will take you to my blog. Once you get there, you can click on the blog "followers" and find more bandsters with their own blogs. Just an idea.

As for how much of a fill you should get..I got 4.5ccs my first fill. I have a 10ish cc band. I didnt feel anything and went in 2 weeks later (bc I called and asked for one) and got another cc...still didnt feel anything and called again and went in a week later for .5ccs and finally felt a difference. it would be hard to recommend what you should get bc we are all so different. Just talk to your doc and tell him what you are feeling and what you can and can't eat.

Good luck!

Can anyone explain what "full" feels like with the band? I have been banded for almost a year, and I have yet to feel full. I can still eat a TON of food. At my last visit, I got into an argument with the nurse. I think she thought I was purposely cheating by trying to eat around the band. All of the things she was telling me to do were the same things you were supposed to do BEFORE the band. I thought the band would help by making me feel full so it would be easier to do those things.

When I explained the amount of food I caould eat, I think she realized I wasn't purposely eating aound the band. Here's an example. If I go to a restaurant, I can eat a yeast roll, a side salad, a 6 oz. chicken breast, and some baked potato. I still don't feel full. I just stop eating. SHe said she doesn't know any band patients that can eat an entire breast of cheicken. That's when she finally started listening.

So, my question is, what does full feel like? Is it something I could be overlooking, or would I know it when I felt it? Does it feel the same as before only higher up? For those of you that the band is working for, how long can you go between meals before feeling hungry again? I just can't understand if I am doing something wrong.

i agree with Restless Monkey on what full feels like. Trust me, you would know. How many CC's do you have in your band? have you ever PB'd? I have a pretty good restriction, but if I eat slowly and the chicken is moist enough...I can polish one off. Not a huge one, but a small to medium sized chicken breast.

Okay first off a pound a day! Now that's what I am talking about! I weigh right now 250 and am 5-8 wow I would be beside myself to be so lucky to lose a pound a day once I get my band tightenend. With that said you losing a pound a day how is your hair? Have you noticed losing more than usual?

Christine

Although you didnt ask me (lol...)I will respond to this one too. I started losing my hair about 2.5 months after surgery. Suprised by this I was (I sound like yoda). I am still losing hair and I am now 4 months out. I started taking prenatals and really am keeping with my Multivitamins (I get plenty of protein). I asked my doc about it and he recommended a few other meds to help, but I already have a prob with facial hair and I dont want more of that!

My hairdresser swears she can tell when someone has had WLS. In fact, the first time I went she was touching my hair and asked me if I had had WLS. I said yes. She says the hair feels different, gets a little more dull, and of course falls out. But she also added she sees this a lot after any major surgery.