What is a good fill?

What is a GOOD fill vs a fill that is too much and dangerous ?

It's important to know that, even with a fluoro, a good fill can be
very elusive. A fill that "looks perfect" on a fluoro can still turn
out to be way too tight in a hour, a day, a week. The usual swelling
that is common after a fill occurs in the next few-24 hrs, not
immediately.

The only thing that matters in the end is how well and
safely you can EAT, not what the x-ray "shows." It also takes some
fills 1-2 weeks to settle in, and we cannot tell how a fill really is
until then. this is why at least 4 weeks between fills is very
important, and this is addressed by the band manufacturer in the
professional literature they provide surgeons.

This is why many US docs rarely use a fluoro.They consider it uneeded
radiation (to the ovary area in women) that does not tell enough to
justify it's use. a fluoro DOES have it's place, though, in certain
cir****tances.

Since a fluoro is only a clue to a good fill, WE must therefore be
responsible for knowing what a good fill is, and never trying to keep
a too-tight one. Way too many people think that if the doc says "this
fluoro looks great" and sends you home, that the fill IS always good,
and they must put up with any pain or problems. Just not so! I wish
it were that clear-cut.

With a GOOD fill, we can:

1. easily drink fluids from the start, and get the minimum 80-100 oz
a day in
2. be able to eat 1-1.5 cups of good bandster food per meal most of
the time. Less than this will never meet nutrition needs for health
or safe loss
3. with good bandster choices, can meet the daily (on average)
protein, fiber, calcium, good carb, and omega 3 oil needs
4. we never have pain when eating, unless we forget a rule
5. we rarely have barfing, pb's, or sliming
6. With a good band meal, we feel satisfied (not FULL - there is an
important difference) for 3-4 hrs
7. we will be losing, averaged over 4-6 weeks, about 1-2# a week, as
long as we are being reasonable in food choices, exercise, and fluid
needs. we have to do our part too - the band is not a magic cure.

A TOO-TIGHT and dangerous fill is:

1. being unable to swallow your own saliva, and having painful burping
2. being able to eat only a few bites per meal
3. being scared and worried when we eat
4. not being able to eat a variety of foods
5. Struggling to meet fluid needs
6. ANY regular REFLUX
7. ANY regular pain or trouble, including pb's, sliming, barfing
8. Being unable to eat the soid meat/chicken/fish that is the basis
of most good bandster meals.
9. Having to rely on soft foods and liquid foods like protein drinks,
soups, ice cream , etc to get enough to eat and feel satisfied (This
applies only after we are back on regualar foods, of course, not in
the post-op diet phases)
10. a too-tight fill is harmful to the stomach, and the #1 reason for
ALL the major band problems, some requirig more expensive surgery and
even band removal. We have to take very good care of our stomachs if
we want the band to stay safe and last inside us.

One of the hardest things we have to change is the thought that the
less we eat, the more we will lose and the better we will do. this is
very untrue, and very unsafe. when our bodies are deprived of
adequate calories, they refuses to lose well - if at all. When our
calories are too low, the metabolism "et point" is way too low, and
we VERY easily regain. This is a big reason why we all reganed plus
then some after all previous diet.

The "starvation mode", when we are eating too little for safety and
stop losing as a protective mechanism, is VERY real. We must eat
ENOUGH calories, but still just a bit less than we need, to lose
safely and in a way that will STAY the heck OFF this time!!

We have all lost weight before, and sometimes a lot of weight, but we
did it in an unsafe way that caused deprivation and poor health, and
all the weght plus more just came right back again.

THIS time, we need to learn and follow better ways to be successful
with the Band, maintain lost weight longterm, and regain our health.

c. Sandy Richards, BSN, MN
Band Educator
at goal 5 yrs as of 1/09