macleay

Where do you live?

There is a link on the OCC home page for Fill Centers USA and their website shows fill doctors all over the US. If you can't find a recommended one in your area, you might try that. I live in Oregon and found a great doctor who was recommended by a few on this forum as well as by some of the staff at OCC (they wouldn't actually "recommend" her, but they gave me her name and said they'd heard nothing but good things about her).

But if you post where you live, you may find someone here who knows a good doc in your area.

How awful--I'm so sorry this happened to you!

This is the only downside of having our surgery in TJ. I was so worried about aftercare, including fills. I'm very lucky--I have an experienced fill doctor within an hour's drive, but if I didn't, I'd do the same and fly down to OCC for my fills. Hopefully, you won't have to have many more fills.

I had my 11cc Realize band put in in December 2009. I finally had my 5th fill which took me up to 7.8cc. NOW, I FINALLY know what restriction feels like!! I am now having a hard time with hiccups after this fill. I can drink water and tea, but if I try to even eat any soup (broth type, no stuff in it) I can't get down more than a couple of spoon fulls before I get a case of major hiccups. They will last for about 1/2 hour. I also do a few PB's with some slime (I know, gross). I had the fill on Tuesday, so I might need a couple of extra days on liquids. I am not to worried yet because I can keep down clear fluid, especially warm fluid like tea. So I know I am being hydrated OK. Has anyone had a similar experience? I think I'll call my fill doctor's office staff tomorrow and make sure I do not need to do something before the weekend. Their office is closed on the weekend. I hope I do not need an unfill!

So, for anyone who has a 11cc realize band and does not feel restriction yet, it took till this fill before I really felt restriction. I think that for some of us, our band has to be pretty full before we feel a real restriction. Before this last fill, I would feel kind of restricted but the feeling would go away after a couple of days. I don't think that is going to happen this time.

Glad you finally got restriction! But I hope it's not too much. I think we're supposed to be able to eat some solid foods, but not sure how long that takes after the fill. I just had my 4th fill and am on full liquids today with no problem. I expect to be able to eat solids tomorrow, though, three days after the fill. Let us know what your doctor says--you may need a slight unfill?

I can't answer your question, but just wanted to say good for you to have lost enough weight that this is a problem!!!

Do you have other options for fill doctors? He shouldn't be asking you how many cc's you want, he should be able to tell you what is right for you. Everyone is different. I was only able to take 3ccs for my first fill in my 11cc band. My daughter took 4ccs with no problem. I had fluoroscopy the first time and blind fills the rest of the times, but in all cases, the doctor figured out what was right for me, I didn't tell him/her.

Too little is better than too much, I guess, but shame on your doctor for putting you on the spot and expecting you to know how many cc's is right for you.

I'm just a little worried and hope there is another doctor nearby you can go to if you choose to.

The good news is, you're on your way! You have your first fill and maybe you'll get some restriction.

I really like Leslie Sansone's Walking Away the Pounds DVDs. She's got a bunch of them. The one I keep going back to is the one with three complete workouts--one mile (20 min), two mile (30 min) and three mile (40 min). It's cardio, plus strength training because you use free weights while you're walking.

I've got a treadmill and a bowflex, plus have tried Curves, etc., but always come back to the Sansone DVD because it's easy, fun (I wear my ipod since I know the routines), and convenient.

I did a very brief google search this morning, and it seems like I remembered correctly. There's a lot of results that say the same thing. Here's one from John Hopkins.

http://www.johnshopk...trol_813-1.html

Thanks for the link. I had heard that before, too, but wasn't sure if it was true. That's just great.....

To all my fellow banders. I would like to know how much of a fill you received with your 11cc bands. Please let me know

My first fill was at the OCC and was 3ccs. I got no restriction from that fill, but from what I understand, that is pretty normal.

30 days to go. This is going to get very real soon. I read Dr.Otiz's book and it was very informitive. Especially for family members who are supportive. It's funny how some try to talk you out of it. I'm going any way.

That's the way I was. Once I made up my mind, I told people--I didn't ask them

Thanks Angie, I am going to try to stay away from the cottage cheese for 24 hours Yesterday & last night I was ravenous! Hunger seems a little bit more managable today.

A little off topic, but is cottage cheese considered a slider food??? I just bought some for my between meal snack, but wanted something that would stick to my ribs and help keep hunger away.

Back on topic--congrats on your fill--I'm at 5.7 after 3 fills and still don't have any appreciable restriction. I'm hoping with my next one I can get up to 7-8ccs.

When I was on the liquid diet and drank fruit juice, it gave me the runs, so in a pinch, you might try that. Otherwise, I use either flaxseed oil or ground flaxseeds in protein drinks, salads, oatmeal, or whatever. That seems to be working for me.

I don't eat a lot of the lunchables because of the calorie count, but I looked up the snack packs and the turkey/mozzarella are only 130 calories each, so eating the two pack is still only 260 calories. High in sodium? Um, yeah, but I don't add salt to anything that I eat, and my health stats are perfect (except for the fact that I'm super fat, of course!), so I can handle it once in a while.

I did a little better today. Not great, but better. Had purple grapes and cheese for breakfast (about 1 cup total). I did get some trail mix at work (my weakness), but much less than I usually get, so it's a start. Lunch was leftover turkey and pork & beans with cottage cheese. Dinner was two lunchable snack packs. Evening snack = 2 single servings of sugar free jello pudding. Yup, I know that some of those foods go straight through the band, but I went for the sugar free jello instead of the chocolate ice cream in the freezer. baby steps!

A few minutes ago I went to the kitchen and stared into the fridge, closed the door, and got a huge glass of ice water, because I recognized that I was thirsty, not hungry.

When I went to the big store today (that's what we call Costco & Sam's club!) I bought a package of baby bell cheeses. They are awesome for snacks because they are tiny but really fill you up. And - SOLID, unlike the cottage cheese, lol!

Tonight, instead of sitting on the sofa all night watching TV and surfing the web, I pulled out boxes of stuff that I'd moved back home with (yes, I had to move back in with my mother at 28, sigh) and they have yet to be unpacked. I went through a bunch of them and either tossed or sorted the stuff in them. Not only did I find things I'd been looking for, but I kept busy so I didn't do boredom eating, which is about 85% of what goes into my mouth.

I also pulled out my loom knitting stuff so I can start making scarfs again and keep my fingers busy and away from the snacky food.

So... small steps in the right direction with a long road left to walk!

I've been following this thread and I'm so proud of you! First for admitting you have a problem and second for writing everything you've eaten and being accountable for it. That's something I haven't been ready to do yet, but I admire you for doing it.

Baby steps are good. You're making an effort and I think it will pay off.

Im confused regarding the fill process. Does the fill Dr. tell the patient how much he will inject into the band, or does the patient tell him how much they want? Thanks my friends

The doctor will determine how much you need based upon your body's ability to handle the amount of saline injected. My first fill was with fluoro with Dr. So at OCC. He tried to inject 4ccs, but that was too much because we could see that the barium wasn't passing through the band, so he decreased it to 3ccs. However, two of my bandmates got 4ccs on their first fills with no problem. So it just depends--everybody is different.

I just had my 1st fill this morning and am having a MUCH harder time feeling full on my clear liquids after the fill than I did after the surgery. I am STARVING! I've had a box of chicken broth, a can of veggie broth, a Fusion fruit juice, coffee and just made some green tea because my stomach is audible! And to make it worse, I am working late tonight, until 10:30 and I am so hungry and grumpy that I just wanna jump through the phone and punch someone! Wow, sorry, guys. I had to vent. Anyway, this is my 1st fill so I'm not sure if this is normal. One more day of torture and on to mushies. Anyone else notice a difference between liquids after surgery vs liquids after a fill?? Just curious... Thanks!

And be cautious with you replies, I may just jump through the computer and punch YOU! haha!

I don't know the answer to your question. I had my third fill today and I'm also STARVING!!! Didn't have that with my first two fills, so whether it's normal or not, I'm not sure. Try more juice--it has more calories than broth, BUT be ready for the runs! (Now I'm trying to be like Angie with TMI--lol!)

I completly understand your frustration, I was banded on 12/11 at the OCC, I have lost a totalof 30 lbs, but have only lost 5lbs since going on solids. I had my 2nd fill two weeks ago and am at 7.5 cc and cannot keep any solids down, every attempt to eat the smallest piece of any solid gets stuck. My diet consist of Oatmeal in the morning, soup for lunch, yougart for snack and oatmeal for dinner. I repeat still not loosing.

That sounds terrible! I'm so sorry you're unable to eat solids. Here I am wanting restriction and it looks like you got that and more! Do you think maybe a slight unfill is called for? It can be difficult to lose weight if you're not getting enough calories and it sounds like you're not. And you should be able to eat solids, just not as many and very slowly.

Others with more experience in this will comment, those are just my thoughts. Hope you get it figured out and the weight loss comes!

I haven't been here in a long time. I was banded April 26th.2007 at 240 lbs. (I'm 5'2",lost 20 lbs.before surgery!). I'm happy to say that I'm at my goal weight of 138 lbs. I'm haven't had a fill since Oct. So I was thinking that with summer coming on maybe I should get my band tweaked. You know have it checked. My husband said to leave well enough alone! My qestion I quess is what is the longest you have gone before you seen your Dr. again? The last fill was at the Fill Center in St. Petersburg, Fl.

Kelly C.

Are you gaining weight or having any problems with the band? I've only had mine since Jan, so I can't comment on the longevity issue, but it seems to me since you're at your goal weight and unless you're having problems, there doesn't seem to be a reason to get the band checked.

Congratulations, by the way, on your AWESOME weight loss!!! I hope to be where you are someday!

I had a lot of people warn me about Tijuana, but most of them haven't ever been there! It just sounds scary to them!

We flew to the San Diego airport, were picked up in baggage claim, and taken across the border in the OCC van. Have your passport handy in case you need it, but both times I've been down we were stopped, the driver talked to the border agent, they looked in the back at our suitcases, and let us go through. It was a lot fast going from US to Mexico than vice versa--that one takes a little longer!

I have no regrets going down there. As you stated, pretty much everyone is impressed with the facility--it's clean, the staff professional, etc. We also found the Marriott fine and went to Revolutionary Road and Rosarita Beach with no problems. The only thing is, I wouldn't advise going to Revolutionary Road at night, we were warned against that. Anyway, we never had any reason to fear--everyone was friendly. I think you need to use caution and if you're nervous, stay around the hotel, but really, once you get down there, you're in the OCC's hands and they do all the transports and you're totally safe.

I think the doctors choose the band for each person based on many factors, I don't know anything about it so I don't question them on that!

As far as fills go, I definitely think it is normal to have a bunch of fills before you are at your sweet spot. Again, I am no expert here, but they can only fill as much as your body allows. When you leave the office it looked like a good fill but then after that there isn't restriction. It's like your body gets used to it somehow, I don't really understand it, either, but I do think it is normal. My mom is on her 4th fill coming up here soon and she is feeling the same way as you. She wanted restriction the moment she got her first fill. I just don't think that happens. I think you guys will get there eventually, but it is a process.. I am not yet at my first fill so I am only speaking from watching my mom's fills and reading about other bandsters fills.

Actually, I'm getting ready for my 3rd fill rather than my 4th! And I only had my surgery on Jan 7.

Bogie, I know a gal who went to OCC two years ago and got a 4cc band. But like you, I haven't seen or heard of anybody recently who got anything smaller than 11cc. Not sure why, but one thing--the gal I know who had the 4cc band also took several fills before she had restriction, go figure.

It's on and the volume is perfect this time!

I couldn't get it either--waiting for organizer.

Hopefully they'll reschedule, or better yet, if it actually happened, we'll see it on the forum.

The three-week liquid phase is challenging, but for me, it wasn't so much about hunger, it was all that head hunger that made me crave food. The first few days, many people don't feel very hungry, and then for me, once I was able to drink the drinkable yogurt, I never had a hunger problem. It helps that every few days you can add something, ie protein drinks and then cream soups. Check out the tortilla soup recipe in the recipe section--it really helped me during my last week.

I'm one who had no restriction after the liquid diet, and in fact, didn't have restriction after my first fill. I just had my second fill and am on a liquid diet (again!), so but hopefully, I'll get some restriction after this one. And if not, then after the next one. The important thing is I'm on my to a new me and although I haven't lost more than my original 20 pounds, I haven't gained either, so that's a positive!

Don't worry, you'll do fine.

The volume was way too low for me as well. The broadcast was garbled some at the beginning and then towards the end. But overall, it was fantastic--the information was very helpful.

That is unbelievable! And you did it in less than 6 months???? You're my hero! Congratulations on having a lot of hard work pay off.

I had my surgery on Jan 7, 2010 and my first fill at OCC last Monday. I also have no restriction, not even with chicken or beef or BREAD! So I scheduled another fill for tomorrow. I know it's only a week and a day since my last fill, but I just don't want to mess around with this. I'm having a real hard time staying on a diet, although I'm trying. I keep hovering around 18-20 lbs lost and I don't want to gain any more.

The doctor I'm going to is Dr. Fitzpatrick in Eugene, Oregon. She doesn't do fluoroscopy, but she is highly recommended.

Anyway, I'd schedule a fill soon if I were you.

Yumm! Okay you guys talked me into it. I'm making one right now for breakfast!