As i have surpassed the 2.5 year mark since receiving my band 1/19/07 I have a question-

what are your long range expectations and how often are you still going to the doc for appts and fills? Do you think that is it possible to just max out of what the band can do for you? Are there people out there who were banded way before us who still go to the doc for appointments and fills??

I have the "old" band which is 4cc. I had my last fill April 2009 and I have about 3.25 cc in my band. My doc gives fills in .25cc increments. My last fill showed some reflux and she took some out so I know that they are not going to give me any more anytime soon b/c I am still experiencing some reflux & just a little bit of fill makes a difference. I have been on a prolonged plateau-many many months. I have tried every combination of caloric intake vs. exercise i can think of and nothing has made a difference. While I am grateful that i have not gained, I feel that I am doing too much to just be maintaining. I need to see some downward movement. Is becoming harder to stay motivated but I am afraid to totally give up b/c I don't want to fail and go back to what I was. I try to focus on the NSV's such as overall improved health, blood sugar and blood pressure good, cholesterol going down, even better clothes etc. But it is getting harder every month that the scale does not change. My doc says that I have been 'fat' for so long that my body is fighting it. All I want to see is 199 after an all time high of 368. My body will not let me stay under 220. So my question is what I stated in my opening. Will there come a time where I will totally drop off and not go to the doc for follow ups/fills and that be the end of the road??

Well, I have the same band and have had for almost four years, my fills in the past year or two have been 0.1 cc

After my weight loss stopped, I was a BMI of 22 (I wont say I hit "goal' because honestly, it was my body's decision, not mine), and I went 12 months without seeing my doc.

Over time, I thought I'd like to lose just a few pounds more, and I felt I'd loosened off a little, so in I went. I had a few appointments all about 3 months apart, just getting to a new comfortable fill (3 cc for me) and now I havent been for six months.

My instructions are to check in once a year. I've been to my doctor several times over the years just to check in, without wanting a fill.

What do you do for exercise now?

I know for me, to lose those last couple of pounds I wanted to, exercise had to be completely ridiculous. I was doing really hard, intense interval training and circuit training with heavy sandbags. That's what it took to shift weight at that stage and it still works for me now - had a super sexy tight pair of jeans I wanted to wear to a function in 2 weeks time, and had to get into them, lol.

But for normal day to day stuff, I just head out and run for 40 minutes - 7kms or so. That is maintenance exercise for me, I put some effort in but its quite easy for me, I dont tire myself doing it, etc, but even a regular 7kms a day run isnt enough to shift weight from my body anymore - to do that, I have to do vomit inducing HARD exercise.