Wondering When it works

[gramfunk 0]

Hello I have a Q Can anyone tell me, I am at 7CC and banded surgery was 4-22-2009 I lost the 1st mo 14lbs or so then stayed the same until last month at 6cc I lost 4 lbs. The reason I choose the band was I was always starving it was a battle 24 7. I wake up in the middle of the night with hunger pangs and have to eat. I was hoping the band would help me, but my body is still releasing this hunger signal. The band is helping some what as I have not gained and lost a little. Do I need to go the full fill to reach a balance or will I live with this hunger? Dieting is so hard for me I do not seem to be able to go below 1400 calories without being hungery all the time. Is there another reason for the hunger hormone to never shut off? Is there somthing additional I need along with the band?= to help me find a balance? It is frustrating. I will go for another fill in a week. Are there people out there with a similar problem? Any results that may help

[red2267 0]

I just got my 4th fill in my 11cc band yesterday. Whether I like it or not I am at 11.4 cc. I was just banded the first of October 2009 so I am a little disappointed that I am already at max. capacity (although my dr. says not to worry at this point it only takes little adjustments from here on out since it took so much for me to finally get a "restriction"). I am like you in that I didn't think I would ever get that restriction but FINALLY have it. I am at my sweet spot and some people just take more to get it. I am one that takes more. I feel like at least it is finally working for me.

[rena347 0]

I just had my 4th fill and am now at 8 cc's. Here is my fill history:

1st fill - 4 cc's - no real restriction

2nd fill - added 2 cc's for a total of 6 cc's - some restriction

3rd fill - added 1 cc for a total of 7 cc's - good restriction but loosened over time

4th fill - added 1 cc for a total of 8 cc's - good restriction

Next week will be 1 year with the Realize band and I have lost 2/3 rds of my weight. Hopefully, with this restriction, will be able to have the rest of the weight off by summer.

[peachwood 0]

Yes there are people out here in band land just like you! I initially lost 25# and then I stayed the same until my first fill 90 days after the surgery. I then had an 8cc fill which lasted about 8 weeks and I lost 10# then I gained it back until my second fill 4 months later. After the 10.2 cc total I am glad to say it is working. I have lost 60# and next month is my band anniv. I only have .8cc left in the band. but the second fill has lasted over 5 months with great restriction. I have heard from many that the REalize band takes patience to get the restriction. Good Luck.

[dschweig 0]

Hi.

I am relatively new to this. I had surgery on December 28, 2009. I have had 2 band fills and now have a total of 6cc in my band. I am finally feeling some restriction - and am feeling full on less. I have already made an appointment to have another band fill on March 10. I will try another 1 to 2 cc. My surgeon explained to me that our goal is not to completely fill the band, but to keep filling it gradually until we achieve a weekly weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds a week. Every person is different he said. I think that we have to be patient with this. I also meet every 6 weeks with his nutritionist and take her advice.

Unlike with gastric bypass, slow and steady wins the race for realize band users. :smile:

[pennreporter 12]

I was banded June 1, '09. I had three fills which brought me up to what I thought was 7cc in September. My weight lost is satisfactory but the fill was extremely tight, lots of throwing up PBing, getting stuck and not so healthy food choices...ice cream goes down real well...lol. Went last Tuesday to have some of my fill removed. When he brought it out it was 8cc (out of an 11 cc band). I only wanted to have .5 cc removed but because I had been so irritated , he took a full cc out...so supposedly I'm at 7cc...well, when I was at 5cc I had absolutely no restriction at all. I'm kind of feeling like that now...can eat just about anything...so I go back in on Monday to have some more put back in, but this time the PA will be doing it. My surgeon is extremely inexperienced at the band..he does mostly bypasses... and he even admits that he was not pulling all of the Fluid out so that some was being left in the tubing and he was compensating for that...so basically he's not real sure what he's doing, but I trust him in the sense that I do think he's a good doctor, just new at the whole banding process. So I have no clue what I'll end up at come Monday, I guess it depends on how much they pull out to see how much is really in there. I know I don't want to be as tight as I was...that was a pretty tough 4.5 months..

But I'm on track with where I expected to be with weight loss, especially since exercising is not real high on my priority list, although that has to change because I have a 42 mile bike ride coming up in NYC...so my sluggy butts gotta get on the stationary bike and ride..:smile:

Good luck. I don't regret having surgery done (even when PB'ing...lol)

Trisha

[pennreporter 12]

Went back in and had PA put .5 cc back in band, but can't really tell yet if there's a difference as I always do a soft food diet on the first day. So I'll know tomorrow, but PA did say to come back in if I felt I still needed maybe a quarter, to go gradually back up on the fills. He did say that even thought I was really tight at 8cc, that taking some out and going back up to 8cc, that it might not be as tight going back up if I lose more weight before I go back to 8cc. So we'll see how the 7.5 goes. Would prefer to not go back up to that level of tightness.

Trisha

P.s. there's also a thread on here, the Cinco de mayo Challenge..to see how well we can do by May 5!!

[west LA gal 0]

I was banded in Mexico at the OCC on 11/13/09 & today is my 4 month bandiversary. I have the Realize 11cc band (This is the one most people at the OCC get per doctor's preference) and have had 3 fills so far and I am at a total of 6.6cc in my band. Like most of you am struggling with the fact that I have no restriction whatsoever and I am only loosing 0.8 pounds per week on average. I am going back to Mexico this week for my fourth fill in 4 months and I suspect I will be back in April for my 5th fill in 5 months. I am angry & depressed. I self paid $6800.00 (not including cost of fills at $100 each) and I have YET to see a return on my investment. It is like I threw my money away. I am a dedicated and addicted Weight Watchers Online member and have followed the rules to the "T". My dedication to WW has allowed me to loose 19 pounds in 4 months. I thank God every day that I had the intuition to join WW a week before surgery as something told me I would need it as a tool to fall back on. Did I get the right size of band for me? Did I get the right surgery? Will my investment kick in before I hit goal of 125 pounds? I feel that I am being mislead by the doctor and I resent having a large band. Can anyone recommed a support group I can attend in Southern California to offset the weird vibe I get from the OCC? It seems like the adage one takes away is "use them, do not let them use you." I started at 185 pounds and I am now at 166.4 and I am 5 ft 2.5 in tall. So yes, I am a low BMI however, according to everything I have read I should be loosing 1-2 pounds per week with diet & excercise and that is not happening for me. What gives? I have had my thyroid checked more then once, I work out on the elliptical 30 minutes per night, I drink 6-8 glasses of Water per day, I eat 3 square meals per day and stay within my 22 point range, I do not eat/drink at the same time. How long did it take you guys before your band kicked in with restriction? How many fills did you have? Sorry about the long post but I have so much to get off my chest. A lot of pent up hostility and anger at the process and lack of support from the OCC.

[peachwood 0]

HI, Yes I understand your pain!! I too have the Realize C band (11 cc). It took me 7 months to get it kicked into gear. My fills were all under flouroscope and I have had only 2. My band fill level is now 10.2 cc. and has lasted since Sept.09. I think this may be the sweet spot in only two fills. Many people complain about exactly what you are about the band. I feel that fills under flouro are so much better because you need less of them and they are very accurate. Less time wasted getting fills, and probably overall less money in the long run.

At your next fill see if you can get one under flouro. I have a thinner stomach (as per my surgeon) and therefore it took more saline to feel the restriction. My first fill was 8cc! and it only lasted 2 months but the next one was perfect! Good Luck, Be Patient, and you are losing weight!!

Edited March 14, 2010 by peachwood

[west LA gal 0]

Thanks for the inspiration Peachwood:thumbup:

All 3 of my fills have been done under fluero. Unfortunatelly the fill doctors do not seem as agressive in Mexico as they are in the US when it comes to the bigger bands. I will be lucky to get up to 7.5cc at my next fill on Thursday. I have to learn to be okay with this as there really is not any place here in los Angeles that is going to give me a fill under fluero for $100.00 or even $150.00. So I will keep going back to Mexico once a month until I get to where I need to be. To everyone posting, out of curiousity, do you fast before your fills? If so, for how long? I have not and I am thinking that may be the problem with getting a good fill.

[pennreporter 12]

West LAGirl, at 6.5 ccs I didn't have any restriction. My fills went 3cc/2cc/2cc (actually the last one was 3cc by mistake). Then I've been tweaking it for the past one. One more tweak downward and I think I will be in a good spot. I had to lose 10 percent of my body weight pre-surgery. I was 218 on day of surgery. I'm at 165 now. So my weight loss hasn't been huge but I gave myself a year. I take a lot of the blame because I hate to exercise. Winter is not good for me because of being indoors. I do much better in the summertime. My average weight loss as been a pound a week, but that's not consistent. I average 12 pounds for three months when I go to nutritionist. A friend had her surgery one week after me and she's lost 10 more lbs than me, but she exercises every day. I know that's my biggest stumbling block. I've also found if I don't keep my Protein count up, I don't lose as well. So I have an app on my iphone, Lose-It, it's free. If I keep calories down around a thousand and my Protein as close to 60 grams as possible, I do much better. Gawd forbid should I get a half hour of exercise...lol.

So hang in there.

Trisha

[Alex Brecher 10,496]

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