When do I get my first fill???

Katie,

You only want to get a fill when you need one .  You dont want to run and get fills when you dont need them I think that makes it hard on the person and hard on the band imo.

I am three months out and have not had a fill yet and I go by two major things .

1.  As long as I can go 4 hrs or more without hunger and I'm not talking about head hunger I'm talking about physical hunger

2. As long as I lose at least 6 pounds or more a month I will not get a fill .  Right now I lose no less then 7 pounds every four weeks when I go and see my doc.

 This is just me on how I do things.  I will always keep my band on the looser side of things I personally dont want to get to that restriction that keeps me from eating foods that I enjoy , that is not why I got the band .

There are people in the support group that cant eat chicken, that cant eat eggs, that cant eat apples, that cant eat salads and I do not want to be that way to me those are healthy foods and I want to eat them and with me keeping my band on the loose side I can still enjoy them foods, not worry about getting stuck but still lose my 7-10 pounds per month.

I got the band to help me with portion control and to help curve my hunger that is it , that is what the band is designed to do if you expect more then that out of the band then you are for a very rude awakening .

I knew going into the surgery that one cup of food is going to keep me full for a good three hrs, and that is what I prepared myself mentally when I got the band so my mind is set that when I eat this one cup of food then I can go that long without being hungry and I do .  And I love that I can have that kind of control makes me feel good that I'm not letting food beat me this time around.

I told hubby and my doc it took me 20,000 dollars to finally figure this all out , to become mentally strong to lose weight and the lap band gave me just enough restriction for that to happen to me.  I was never mentally strong when I tried to lose weight that is why I always failed , the lap and is enough reminder that if I eat over a cup of food I could have problems, if I eat to fast I could  have problems,  and if I drink during meals I will not stay full.  

But believe me Im sooo not perfect during this either.  I have my moments and I have my very bad days when I let it get the best of me but the longer I go through this process my good days are starting to outnumber my bad days and that is a good thing :o)

There is a guy in our support group got his first fill after 2 1/2 yrs this past Monday he has lost over 200 pounds .  He did the same thing as me he played a very big mental game with himself.

I dont know how long I can go without fills , but as long as I am staying full for more then four  hrs at a time and I'm losing weight then I will go without fills .  Plus my doc will not give me fills anyways , he believes that if I would get a fill it would be to much for me .

Everybody is different though some of us can go months , yrs without a single fill and then there are others that need one every six weeks it all depends on you , your body, and your mindset :o)

Good luck

Great advice Steeler fan!!!!!  and it sounds like you are doing great!!! Congrats!!! I hope I am like you and am able to not have to get a lot of fills!!!  Thanks for the  response!!!

I just had my 1st fill today.  It has been a little over 6 weeks since my surgery.  The dr only put in 1cc because I still had pretty good restriction.  My doc checks it with a barium swallow to see the restriction you are getting.

I had my first fill at 4 weeks.  For the first year I saw my dr. every month and normally got a fill each time, but if I said I didn't feel I needed one, he didn't give me one.  After the first year, I scheduled an appointment every month, but canceled one occassionally if I didn't feel like I needed a fill.  Now I'm going in about every two months.  My dr. lets me choose whether I want a fill or not.  I'm at the point where a fill for me is may .1 or .2 anything above that is too much at a time.

I will add that even after two years, and at a fill level I'm pretty happy with, I still can't go 4 hours without hunger.  I'm lucky to go 3 and my stomach is usually growling around 2.5 hours.  I just have snacks when needed.  I envy those that go 4+ hours before feeling hungry.

cat