I had my surgery on 10/15/09 and I am three weeks out of surgery. So far so good. I went to the Dr yesterday for my first post-op appointment and he told me to come back in two months. I told him what about a fill? ( I just have the band on, no fill at all. He said 25% of patients never need a fill and just to come back in two months for a check up. Has anyone heard of this? By the way. I have lost 24 lbs in 3 weeks! Im so happy and can feel it.:thumbup:

Wow.... how do you guys lose so much weight....I am 7 months and have lost only 33 pound and 3 fills............(4.5 cc's in a 10). I exercise everyday, but am always hungry.

Oh well, at least I have lost 33......but everyone including me is waiting for the big lost!!!!!

I have never heard of anyone not getting a fill.

What kind of band do you have with all thos restriction? I went to Mexico and got the Allergan VG band, It holds 14cc, I am 2 months post op and have only lost 18 pounds, I feel like I have no restriction! I have had 1 fill and have lost no more weight, should I ask for more saline?

From the stuff I have read on here, it sounds like you will need a lot more fill to get to the point where you have restriction. My band only holds 4cc. so I started with more restriction. I am going to get a little more Monday, so I am excited to keep on losing.

sandi1011--> you should pretty much NEVER be hungry! You absolutely need more fill if you are not losing and are hungry....my those are the two signs that we are supposed to look for to let us know that it's time for a fill....

I've heard that in very few cases, the band is enough restriction by itself. It's rare but it does happen. My surgeon actually has a patient like this....she's been to some of the support group meetings and is losing a lot of weight and isn't hungry...she won't get a fill unless that changes...

Thank you....but my doctor will only see me every 6 to 8 weeks.........I just got a fill 2 weeks ago. Am do for another Nov 27. When I am at the doctors office, they make me do the water thing usually they have to take some out, but when I get home it seems like I can eat everything, so who knows!!!

I have to chime in here. I went for my first fill on 10/26 (banded on 9/3) and my surgeon didn't want to put a fill in at all. He said since I was doing so well without any restriction (at that time I was already down 52 lbs) he felt I didn't need it. I was adament that I wanted something so he gave me 3cc's. (I have a Realize band that holds 12cc's) Anyway, that didn't do squat and I called and asked more more and he said he does not want me reliant on the band--it's just a tool and that I don't need a fill. Regardless, I am getting another one on 11/17 because my insurance is changing on 12/1 and I will need to pay for fills on my own because of the new insurance. So, yes, there are doctors that don't want to give fills.

I just had this same conversation with my surgeon today. I was banded 10/23/09 and had my post-op appt today, I lost 8lbs since surgery. Which my dr said was terrific. I have my next appt Dec 7th and when I asked if I would possibly get a fill then, he said maybe but maybe not. If I lose another 8lbs by then, he'll leave it alone and then see the next time. He said the highest weight loss in their practice (like 300lbs) never had a fill, so it really isn't something he will commit to until they see a reason it becomes necessary, like not losing weight due to plateuing, or no restriction, gaining weight...

Good Luck on this wonderful Journey! I am looking forward to mine.

Peace~Love~Happiness

Wow.... how do you guys lose so much weight....I am 7 months and have lost only 33 pound and 3 fills............(4.5 cc's in a 10). I exercise everyday, but am always hungry.

Oh well, at least I have lost 33......but everyone including me is waiting for the big lost!!!!!

I have never heard of anyone not getting a fill.

Why do you only have 4.5cc's if you feel you have no restriction? At 7 months out people are often much higher than that. I was at 5 cc's at my 2nd fill 2 months out and stayed there through most of my weight loss. Everyone is different and most people do seem to need more than 4.5 to find their "sweet" spot.

I have to chime in here. I went for my first fill on 10/26 (banded on 9/3) and my surgeon didn't want to put a fill in at all. He said since I was doing so well without any restriction (at that time I was already down 52 lbs) he felt I didn't need it. I was adament that I wanted something so he gave me 3cc's. (I have a Realize band that holds 12cc's) Anyway, that didn't do squat and I called and asked more more and he said he does not want me reliant on the band--it's just a tool and that I don't need a fill. Regardless, I am getting another one on 11/17 because my insurance is changing on 12/1 and I will need to pay for fills on my own because of the new insurance. So, yes, there are doctors that don't want to give fills.

That sounds ridiculous because we got the band to rely on it!! We realize it does not do it for us, but it needs to be set to do the job it's designed to do! Crazy Dr.

Funny this subject just came up with me. I was banded on Oct 1st. I called my facilitator yesterday and she said she knows several people who have never gotten a fill and some have lost up to 200 lbs.

That doesn't surprise me. My doc said that the band itself will cause some restriction, even after the swelling goes down. For some people, that's enough. It causes them to slow down their eating and feel full long enough that they no longer overeat. It may depend on what food issues the person is dealing with.

My doc and I already discussed future fills. I told him as long as I'm not hungry *and* not overeating, I'd rather not have fills and just learn self-control. Some might say, "well then why get the band?" My response is that it's sort of a head game with me.

Prior to the band, I had difficulty finding the motivation to not overeat. It just felt too darned good (well until the carb overload kicked in). Now, my motivation is that I didn't just go through all of this and implant a foreign object in my body just to overeat. We'll see how well the head games work if/when I get to the point where I desire/am able to overeat.

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