becky57 Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 I see alot of fills and then unfills on the posts why is this. Does anyone get a fill and not have go back and have it unfilled. It's all starting to sound very expensive since fill centers are going to chg for both procedures. How can I limit the amount of procedures or is it njust a hit and miss gamble Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoWorry Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 I see alot of fills and then unfills on the posts why is this. Does anyone get a fill and not have go back and have it unfilled. It's all starting to sound very expensive since fill centers are going to chg for both procedures. How can I limit the amount of procedures or is it njust a hit and miss gamble In Dr. O's book, he says that most surgeons use the rule of threes. 1/3 of all patients need 1 fill, 1/3 need 2 fills and 1/3 need 3 or more. It's just that the patients who need only 1 or 2 fills have little need for posting their experiences here, while those who need 3 or more require more support. So the results seems skewed if you look only at the users posting in this forum. The vast majority of patients never need an unfill at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna34 Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 Becky, NoWorry is exactly RIGHT! It is important to GET an unfill if needed, but it's not something that happens that often, at least that's been most of what I have read, and heard. My suggestions...First TRY to find a doctor in your area that does lap band fills for MX banded patients. Fill Centers are EXTREMELY high! It was going to cost me 700 dollars for my FIRST FILL! I started calling ALL lap band surgeons in my area, and asking if they would do it. FINALLY, a lap band doc in Chicago said he would do it for me. He uses fluoro, and only charges 150 dollars! And he is GREAT! I'm so glad I found him! Second suggestion...make SURE they use FLUORO. It makes a WORLD of difference. You can see it ALL, the port, the band, everything! It felt really funny, because I could SEE what I was feeling at the same time. Even when he put in 2cc's, and I nearly threw up! LOL As I drank barium, he timed how long it took to pass through the band, while adding and subtracting saline. He asked a lot about how I felt, was I comfortable etc. He had me to drink several drinks of water before I left too. My fill was perfect! Then after all the air seeped out (this is normal) I was loose again. That's where I'm at now. I need another fill. But he told me, I would probably need to come back in 3-4 weeks, and that was right on! So hopefully my next fill will be right on the money! Donna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoWorry Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 Then after all the air seeped out (this is normal) I was loose again. That's where I'm at now. I need another fill. I thought that they flush the air out during the first fill. Did I get this wrong? I'm hoping that a second fill won't be necessary until either significant weight loss or one year after banding. Second question. When you say 'loose again,' are you describing a physical sensation from the band? Or is it that you can now eat more so you are concluding that the band is now loose? Just trying to prepare for my own experience with my first fill coming up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna34 Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 I thought that they flush the air out during the first fill. Did I get this wrong? I'm hoping that a second fill won't be necessary until either significant weight loss or one year after banding.Second question. When you say 'loose again,' are you describing a physical sensation from the band? Or is it that you can now eat more so you are concluding that the band is now loose? You're right! They do an initial purge of the band when they install it. LOL However, they say it is impossible to get ALL the air out of the band, and tube, which is understandable. So, when you go to your fill doctor, he will once again atempt to purge the air out. Still gonna be a little there, and when the saline is added, it somehow get's out, over the next couple of weeks. I'm not exactly sure how, but it does. I think there is a section about it in Dr. O's book. Maybe in the fill section, I'd have to look to be sure. To answer your second question...No, it's not a physical sensation from the band. Generally, the band causes very little sensation at all. No more than you feel in the A.M. when you take a drink or a bite of something, and you might notice a little tightness. (you may not have experienced this yet either) The reason, I know it's gone is I CAN EAT. After I had my fill, I could only eat about 1/3 of what I normally ate. Now, I'm back at the point where I can eat almost anything. Just like I felt when I started back on solids. My fill doc says most people end up coming back in about 2-6 weeks for the 2nd fill. This again is one of those YMMV instances. Maybe you won't need one for several weeks, or months. But, I'm not losing, and therefore, I WANT to get more saline! LOL You'll know when it's time. :-? I hate to get real graphic, I don't want to gross you out... I think I was really not as tight as I thougt after my first fill, because I was bloated. (PMS) When that was over, and the air being gone too....whew. I could EAT. A LOT. Be thankful you don't have to deal with that aspect! Donna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoWorry Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 My fill doc says most people end up coming back in about 2-6 weeks for the 2nd fill. That's a bummer. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and hope that I don't need another one that soon after. In addition, I have the VG band which is supposedly a bit tougher to get to the sweet spot. Do you think it might have something to do with the experience level of the fill doc? I know you did a lot of work to find a good one, but do you think it's possible that Dr. Romero's high degree of experience makes a difference? I hate to get real graphic, I don't want to gross you out...I think I was really not as tight as I thougt after my first fill, because I was bloated. (PMS) When that was over, and the air being gone too....whew. I could EAT. A LOT. Be thankful you don't have to deal with that aspect! I'm certainly hoping that that's the reason you need another fill so soon... so it won't apply to me. Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FurEllie Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 I see alot of fills and then unfills on the posts why is this. Does anyone get a fill and not have go back and have it unfilled. It's all starting to sound very expensive since fill centers are going to chg for both procedures. How can I limit the amount of procedures or is it njust a hit and miss gamble I could have sworn I replied to this exact thread, but it must have been on another board. The mind is the first to go.... The OCC is very conservative on fills so it's rare that someone is overfilled. That said, I happened to be one of those people I had 1.5cc on my first fill which was less than ANYONE else I've heard of - my bandbuddy had 1.8cc and she's going back for another fill. Unfortunately, not only was it too much, but not knowing what "too much" was, I didn't realize it for several days. Looking back and knowing what I know now, if the same things happened, I would have headed back to OCC the following morning when I was still in TJ at the hotel. I went back the following Monday (by Friday I couldn't hold down water) and since I was leaving the country on Tues, had a complete unfill. I went back a few weeks later, he put 1cc in but I knew from the feeling before it was too much. He reduced it to .8cc and right now, it's the perfect fill Yes, it's trial and error. No it's not free. But for me personally, it's been worth it. BTW, fills are $100 but unfills are just $30 - I was excited since I thought they would be the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna34 Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 Maybe, with Dr. Romero's experience, you will need less fills. We will hope so anyway. Dr. Vitello (my doc) however has done a lot of fills. He seemed to be very familiar with Dr. Ortiz, and his patients as well. It would be hard to compete with the number of fills that Dr. Romero has done though. I doubt many US doc's could even come close. However, when he injected the 2cc's of saline. We watched it, and it just sit there. I drank a little more barium, and began to get sick. It still was not moving. He pulled out maybe .5cc and I was still SICK. He pulled out 1cc. Still sick, he was very gradual about taking it out. Finally I was getting SO sick that I told him it was going to come back up, and of course on the monitor it WAS backing up my esophagus. He immediately pulled all the saline out, and it was INSTANT relief. He then injected 1.7cc's. I drank more barium, STILL too tight. At 1.2cc's I felt like I would be ok, and the barium was going through slowly enough. He injected just a tiny bit more, and I immediately felt sick. He pulled it back out, and I was happy with 1.2cc's. It's funny how finicky the bands can be. I'd never gues that .5cc's could make that big a difference! I felt like he knew what he was doing, and I didn't feel like he was scrimping on the saline! LOL My cousin's doctor gives her maybe .2cc's each visit. It has taken her FOREVER to get to the sweet spot. She lost NO weight at all the first 6 months! MAYBE your VG band will be more beneficial to you than you think! Maybe the extra leeway, will be just what you need to get to that sweet spot sooner. I think there is a varied opinion on the VG bands. Some people think they are harder to adjust, and some people think they are the BEST! This is just a suggestion... When you go to TJ, plan to stay a couple of days. After your fill, go eat solids! See if you can eat,(about 1/3 of what you could eat before) and see if you have good restriction. You might want to do this in your hotel room, just in case. It makes me nervous to eat out right after a fill. MAKE sure you have good restriction before you leave TJ. They will adjust it for you the next day, if you didn't get enough on the first day. I get my next fill on the 22nd. Next Friday, so hopefully I'll have good restriction for quite awhile after that one! Donna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoWorry Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 Donna, It certainly sounds like he totally fine tuned your first fill to your exact needs on that first trip! Turns out that I'm getting my first fill on the same day as you get your second one - the 22nd. And I'm definitely staying overnight to ensure that I have as many opportunities as possible to get additional adjustments, if necessary. (My itinerary is posted at http://www.lapbandforum.com/index.php?showtopic=3310) I'm going to stay on the San Diego side of the border and take care of my own travel and logistics. However, that means that I won't have the option of eating my first meal after the fill in private in my hotel room. It's going to have to be in public. :shrug: I'm pretty sure there's a McDonald's right around the corner from the clinic and I know exactly what my old capacity is at McD's which should help me make an accurate comparison of my new capacity after the fill. Just no soda. And then, if I walk back to the border, that should take care of working off some of those bad calories! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna34 Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 Sounds like you've got everything planned out! As with ANYtime you eat in public, make sure you know where the bathroom is, before you even take a bite! LOL I've only had one public episode, and it was on my daughter's field trip, of all places!! It was before I even got my first fill. We were like 1 mile from the bathroom! I thought I was going to DIE. I immediately took a little walk, hid behind a building, and started spitting like a rabbid dog. After, I walked a bit longer, it went down, and I was able to go back to the rest of the group. As far as eating though, I WAS DONE! I really don't think anyone even noticed though. Thank goodness! You'll be fine! Bet we won't be eating much at all the July 4th festivities! Donna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoWorry Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 You'll be fine! Bet we won't be eating much at all the July 4th festivities! That's definitely fine with me. I and 3 others are involved in a fairly big bet and our weigh-in is on July 16th. I have another 7.5 lbs to go to hit my target and I'm seriously motivated. I'll save my celebration for July 4th next year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna34 Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 There you go! Next 4th we should be where we WANT to be! Good luck with your remaining 7.5. I've been on a week, and a half plateau, and the scales are FINALLY moving again! Yippee! Donna One thing that you might be interested in...I use this and it really encourages me! It's at www.weightcommander.com It's a downloadable program that you can try for free, for like 10 days or so. If you opt to keep it, the guy will send you a bill for 9.95. I bought it a few years back, and it's been kinda neat to have. You enter your weight everyday. It graphs your weight loss, and predicts your weight for the future, based on your rate of loss. Has lot's of diet tips, and just some fun stuff. Check it out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoWorry Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 Do you weigh yourself everyday? I wind up getting on the scale every morning, but I am going to force myself to stop. It so hugely impacts my day, especially when I have gained a little weight and even though I KNOW it's just water gain, I get depressed and often wind up making bad decisions throughout the day. I know I have to stop doing that. The only thing I can think of that would be worse would be to record a 3 lb weight gain into a software chart and have it show me a projected weight gain of 90 lbs over the next month! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna34 Posted June 15, 2007 Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 Do you weigh yourself everyday? I wind up getting on the scale every morning, but I am going to force myself to stop. It so hugely impacts my day, especially when I have gained a little weight and even though I KNOW it's just water gain, I get depressed and often wind up making bad decisions throughout the day. I know I have to stop doing that. The only thing I can think of that would be worse would be to record a 3 lb weight gain into a software chart and have it show me a projected weight gain of 90 lbs over the next month! LOL, yep, this is true! However I don't really tend to pay a lot of attention to the graph that predicts the future. It's not very accurate until you have really entered a LOT of figures. It's kinda slow thinking I guess. The reason I weigh myself DAILY, is sometimes I forget what I weighed 4 days ago. If those scales are not moving, I sometimes exaggerate it in my head, and think, I haven't lost a pound in a MONTH, or I haven't lost in 2 weeks, etc. It helps me to be able to go back, and SEE how much I've actually lost, and that keeps me from getting discouraged. Plus if I only weigh one day a week, say on a Friday, and the previous Friday I weighed like 217. Then suppose on Wednesday of the following week my weight drops down to 215, and maybe due to water, etc. it jumps back up to 217 by Friday, then I'm ticked off, because I think the scale never moved. I would never have known that I actually got down to 215. Plus I like to see if there's a pattern. I've always been that way. Say I might have 3 losing weeks, and plateau for a week. I want to see how frequently that plateau week comes around. Of course, there's seldom an accurate pattern. I just like to see it in writing I guess! But, I'm crazy like that! LOL I've always been a scale addict! I just can't stay away from them, that's the FIRST place I head to, when my feet hit the floor in the mornings! Donna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoWorry Posted June 15, 2007 Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 But, I'm crazy like that! LOL I've always been a scale addict! I just can't stay away from them, that's the FIRST place I head to, when my feet hit the floor in the mornings! Yup, I know exactly what you're talking about! Except I always take a pee first; I figure that's got to be good for another 1/2 pound off! ROFL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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