Need help and hope

Hi Coll,

You've got some great advice here from everyone. Just like Debs says, losing inches is fantastic and no dought it will show on the scales sooner or later. The fills for everyone is so different and so are the bands, you can never accuratley compare to another banded, as theres to many variables.
If your seeing the doctor next week thats the best thing you can do. It's regular trips to the doc to discucss the progress and all those small adjustments that will be the most help. If he wants to make your next appointment 4 or 6 weeks away, maybe you could tell him that you are getting disheartened and concerned and would prefer to see him in 3 weeks. :)
If you don't drink alcohol thats a tonne of useless calories you don't need to worry about anyway, I find if I drink I can eat more.
I'm not sure how much you've changed your diet, but you could look at that too. Just make small changes. I used to love cream dishes. Cream chicken, prawns, potatoes, you name it, it goes with cream, lol. So I stopped buying it and forced myself to go without that 1 thing. I certainly didn't like that for the first few weeks, but can now happily say that in the last 6 months, I've had maybe 5 cream dishes -and a pot of cream will now go off in the fridge before I even consider using it. So maybe thats something you could look at too, it might help give a nudge and get those kilos moving.

Keep us posted on how you go

Kirsten

That's great Col. Keep us posted as to how it goes and how you're feeling...we're all here for each other, its such a great group of girls and everyone has been through different things so there is lots of help.
Glad you're feeling a bit better.

hugs
debs

Thanks Debs,
Some great advice and you have definitely given me hope that some extra fill is all I need. I know it's not a miracle cure but I do want to feel that I can only eat a little bit before I feel full. I do eat really slowly and it takes me 30-45 minutes to eat a meal but I can still eat a heap. I'm booked in on the 17th of May so hopefully after that I will have good news.

Col, i have a midband too, that holds 7mls. I was in your situation (i was banded last august) and felt hardly any restiction or even like i had a band....until last week when i got my last fill. It went from 6ml to 7ml and its made all the difference. I felt disheartened too waiting for the fills, but just keep going back until you notice a difference. Maybe you need 7ml, maybe you need 10ml. Everyone is different. As i said, mine is a 7ml midband and i was scared to go in and get that last ml because i thought my band would be full, and if that didn't give some restriction i'd be stuffed. But my doc said not to worry, he can put a lot more in than what the band 'says'...way over 7ml if i need it. I tell you, the difference between 6ml and 7ml has been huge for me. For you it might be the difference between 10ml and 11ml...you just have to keep going back until you feel that 'change'.

Another important thing to remember is eat slowly and chew well. My dietician suggested that if i hadn't finished what was on my place in 30mins to stop anyway, even if i was only 3/4 of the way through. She said we eat with our eyes and not with our stomach...meaning because it looks so appetizing we want to eat it all, even if our stomachs don't really want it, our brain tricks us into thinking we do.

The fact that you're loosing inches is great. Some people take forever for things to show up on a scale but there is a noticable difference in clothes size, or things feeling looser. That is as big an achievement as dropping kilos, you should proud of what you've achieved so far. All the advice the girls have given so far is great. I'd say follow that, keep getting your fills, eat slowly, and stop after 30 mins. If you're a quick eater stop after 20mins and see if it helps. Drinking a big glass of water before a meal can also help, or having a bowl of healthy soup before a meal can help also as it partially fills you up so you eat less of your actual meal.
Talk to your doc though, they are there to help. Let us know how you're getting on.

debs

Thanks Kirsten. My band is a midband. I'm not sure what it holds. I looks on the internet but I couldn't find how much it holds. I have 6.5ml at the moment. I have been for fills about 6 times now. I had to wait 6-8 weeks before my first fill too. I will be going back again in 2 weeks for another fill. I don't drink alcohol at all. Before the band I would have a shandy maybe twice a year. That's it. Before the band I would drink 2 litres of coke a day and I have not had softdrink since the band. I must say I must have had a bit of fluid as I have lost 30cm around hips, chest, waist etc but no weight. Food does get stuck and I sometimes throw up 6-8 times in about half an hour and then I feel fine and I too burp a lot more and my throat makes gurgling noises a lot when I'm eating.
I'm still very hopeful about the whole thing. I just want to feel like I can only eat a cupful of food before I feel full and can't eat any more.
My surgeon told me about a month after my surgery there was a new band she was using called a Minimiser (I think) and most of her patients don't need any fill at all and they are losing weight. I wish I had that one. Any help would be appreciated.

Sharon, I am going to look up those 8 golden rules, thanks

Kirsten, another person who got their fills monthly! Ange did/does too (maybe even every three weeks, if I recall) I have to wait 8 weeks.

Hi Coll,
I don't have much experience yet as I was only banded in March. I can only back what the others have said. Delia and Kirsten have indicated there's a lot of maybe's for what could be happening - and once you start talking there's going to be people here who relate (like Sharon etc already do). That may be enough but as Jo said, your medical team are really the go to guys if the situation becomes serious (even emotionally).

If you have a chance have a squizz at the article Tumultous-Tara posted (written by Dr Terry Simpson)

It's in General Lapband Chat : The fills thread.
(The key point I got from it is that the signal to stop eating is often a nudge and not a slap so you have to be ready to notice it or you may just keep on eating. )
It may not resonate with you but then again it might.

There is a lot of collective experience in the forum, back it in someone is or has been in the same place as you are now.
Good luck and look forward to hearing from you.

Hi coll,

Lets see if we can help some how. How many mls does your band hold? When was your last fill & how many fills have you had? Do you drink alcohol? Whats the doctor think about it & when do you see him next? There the question I think of, off the top of my head.
I have about 10ml in my band and it hold (i think ) 14. I had adjustments 2 - 4 weekly for about 4 months, and I even gained a small bit in this time. It wasn't until after x-mas I started to feel 'restriction' even then it's only been my last fill in march where I have really noticed the difference. -I could of eaten the same when I had that much fluid in the band. Some people don't need much in it, others like me and perhaps you, do. So shoot us some answers and we'll see what everyone thinks :)

I have 6ml in my band and can still eat a quite resonable amount. When I was first banded I had great restriction and lost quite a bit of weight but it has slowed down and has become a bit of a struggle.

I would go back and see your surgeon and see what they have to say. Keep in touch, they are there to help us.

all the best
Jo

Coll I am hearing you. You must need some more fill. I currently have over 7 mls and can still eat a reasonable volumne. Keep in touch with your doctor he/she will help you with any issues you have. I would look up the 8 golden rules of lapbanding. I think if you google it you should be able to read them. They are really handy to know.

I get frustrated at times too. I found once I got over the 7 ml mark I had much more restriction. But all that comes with stuck moments too. I am learning how to prevent them.

Good luck with it. Hope it all goes well.

I was banded on the 5th of October 2010. To date I have not lost any weight. I have 6.5ml of fluid in my band and I can still eat a whole chicken parmigana and mashed potato. What is wrong with me?