lapband34 Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 This is my first time posting to this forum (actually, this is only my third forum post ever). I was banded Oct. 01/07 by Dr. Leung in Vancouver, BC, Canada. I am already up to 14cc in a 10cc band (no exaggeration), yet I feel little to no restriction or satiety. Dr. Leung attributes this to a "strong stomach" - whatever that means. Having said that, I was wondering if anyone had information regarding how long food is suppose to stay in the upper pouch before passing through the banded area. I realize that there is probably a great deal of variance depending on what you eat, how much, etc. But I imagine there must be some "normal" range. Thanks for taking the time to read this and passing on any information you may have. Given how overfilled my band is already, I am becoming quite concerned about my inability to achieve any real restriction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w84taj Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 I recently got my first fill. I had to go in three times to get it to where i felt some type of restriction. Ive only got 2.5 cc in but it feel like foods stay in the pouch for about a 10-15 mins. Im sure it feels longer with a bigger fill. Im alittle concerned on why your not restricted. Have you had a Barium fill to see if your band is defective or if it has slipped??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clynn Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 How can a band with 10cc capacity hold 14 cc's? Perhaps you should question your doctor further and find out what he means by strong stomach. I am also reminded of a story told to me about a fill doctor here in the states who said he was putting in much much less than he told his patient in order to get them to come back and pay for fills more often. If the same doctor has done all your fills I would defiantly suggest a second opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolittle Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 This is my first time posting to this forum (actually, this is only my third forum post ever). I was banded Oct. 01/07 by Dr. Leung in Vancouver, BC, Canada. I am already up to 14cc in a 10cc band (no exaggeration), yet I feel little to no restriction or satiety. Dr. Leung attributes this to a "strong stomach" - whatever that means. Having said that, I was wondering if anyone had information regarding how long food is suppose to stay in the upper pouch before passing through the banded area. I realize that there is probably a great deal of variance depending on what you eat, how much, etc. But I imagine there must be some "normal" range.Thanks for taking the time to read this and passing on any information you may have. Given how overfilled my band is already, I am becoming quite concerned about my inability to achieve any real restriction. Here's info straight from Inamed/Allergan The 9.75 cm and 10.0 cm LAP-BAND® Systems have a recommended maximum fill capacity of 4 cc’s. The LAP-BAND® VG and the LAP-BAND® APS have a recommended maximum fill of 10 cc’s and the LAP-BAND® APL band which has a recommended maximum fill of 14 cc’s. A lot of bandsters have been under the assumption they had more saline then what they really had. Have you thought of going to a different fill center and having all the saline removed to see how much you really have in it. Also, when refilling your band, have it done under fluoro with barium. A good fill doctor, as they inject the saline, can see the restriction as the barium flows through the band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feefee Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Here's info straight from Inamed/AllerganThe 9.75 cm and 10.0 cm LAP-BAND® Systems have a recommended maximum fill capacity of 4 cc’s. The LAP-BAND® VG and the LAP-BAND® APS have a recommended maximum fill of 10 cc’s and the LAP-BAND® APL band which has a recommended maximum fill of 14 cc’s. A lot of bandsters have been under the assumption they had more saline then what they really had. Have you thought of going to a different fill center and having all the saline removed to see how much you really have in it. Also, when refilling your band, have it done under fluoro with barium. A good fill doctor, as they inject the saline, can see the restriction as the barium flows through the band. How do I know what kind of Lap-Band system I have? I have been banded since 9/28/07 and have been really stuggling. I have had 2 fills with 2cc's each for a trotal of 4 cc's. I am still able to eat a lot of food. My weight loss has not been good. Since surgery I have only lost about 13 lbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolittle Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 How do I know what kind of Lap-Band system I have? I have been banded since 9/28/07 and have been really stuggling. I have had 2 fills with 2cc's each for a trotal of 4 cc's. I am still able to eat a lot of food. My weight loss has not been good. Since surgery I have only lost about 13 lbs. I can't tell you which brand of band you have or which size. Your Doctor should have told you at the time of your surgery. You might want to give the clinic or surgeon a call and ask. I'm not trying to be a smart A#$, but its good to know this info. You didn't say where you were banded? I know when I had my lap band surgery at the Obesity Control Clinic, I received the box in which my band came in. On the box is the size and the serial number of my Inamed band. Also they give me a small credit card size card that gives me the same info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapband34 Posted January 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Thanks for your replies. There have been a few developments since I lasted posted. I went in to Dr. Leung for a follow-up and it seemed that 5cc of the 15cc had disappeared, which suggests that the band is leaking. We decided to swap it for a new one, which means going through it all again - arghhh. What complicates matters further is that he replaced the missing 5cc bringing it back up to 15cc and now, for the first time, I am experiencing some restriction. It remains to be seen if this will continue and whether a replacing it therefore still makes sense. I guess this moves me over to the lap band "complications" forum string. Oh well, life is good otherwise and stuff happens. Just have to deal with it I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapband34 Posted January 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 How can a band with 10cc capacity hold 14 cc's? Perhaps you should question your doctor further and find out what he means by strong stomach. I am also reminded of a story told to me about a fill doctor here in the states who said he was putting in much much less than he told his patient in order to get them to come back and pay for fills more often. If the same doctor has done all your fills I would defiantly suggest a second opinion. I don't really know, but I watched the saline go in (kinda of fun to see). Even after he put the 14cc (actually it was closer to 15) in he took it back out, which suggests that the band can indeed hold this amount. Having said that, 5cc was missing when I went in yesterday, which suggests it may be leaking. With respect to your point about overcharging, I am very doubtful that he would do this. Not only do I watch the saline go in, I don't think his time would be worth the fee. And although I have had some reservations about him from time to time, I do not question his honesty. Thanks for the warning nonetheless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapband34 Posted January 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Here's info straight from Inamed/AllerganThe 9.75 cm and 10.0 cm LAP-BAND® Systems have a recommended maximum fill capacity of 4 cc’s. The LAP-BAND® VG and the LAP-BAND® APS have a recommended maximum fill of 10 cc’s and the LAP-BAND® APL band which has a recommended maximum fill of 14 cc’s. A lot of bandsters have been under the assumption they had more saline then what they really had. Have you thought of going to a different fill center and having all the saline removed to see how much you really have in it. Also, when refilling your band, have it done under fluoro with barium. A good fill doctor, as they inject the saline, can see the restriction as the barium flows through the band. I definitely have the 10cc band, but it does indeed hold at least 14 (close to 15cc). I don't know why the discrepancy between what the manufacturer publishes and what it actually holds. However, I watched him put the saline all the way in and pull it out. He did this to make sure that it indeed was holding the saline. He did my last fill under fluoro (which I assume means the x-ray with the dye) and determined that the band was working in all respects and was not leaking. Nevertheless when I went in just yesterday it was missing 5cc (i.e., it was only at 10), which suggested it was in fact leaking. So I will probably have to have it replaced - arghhh. But this does not negate that at one point it did somehow hold 15 or so cc. I personally watched that go in and out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapband34 Posted January 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Here's info straight from Inamed/AllerganThe 9.75 cm and 10.0 cm LAP-BAND® Systems have a recommended maximum fill capacity of 4 cc’s. The LAP-BAND® VG and the LAP-BAND® APS have a recommended maximum fill of 10 cc’s and the LAP-BAND® APL band which has a recommended maximum fill of 14 cc’s. A lot of bandsters have been under the assumption they had more saline then what they really had. Have you thought of going to a different fill center and having all the saline removed to see how much you really have in it. Also, when refilling your band, have it done under fluoro with barium. A good fill doctor, as they inject the saline, can see the restriction as the barium flows through the band. ...Doolittle...sorry, how rude of me....thank you for your research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapband34 Posted January 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 I recently got my first fill. I had to go in three times to get it to where i felt some type of restriction. Ive only got 2.5 cc in but it feel like foods stay in the pouch for about a 10-15 mins. Im sure it feels longer with a bigger fill. Im alittle concerned on why your not restricted. Have you had a Barium fill to see if your band is defective or if it has slipped??? Yeah, it is the weirdest thing. He did it under x-ray and I saw the whole thing. In his opinion and based on what I know about the band, it seemed to be working in all material respects. You could see the dyed liquid stopped for a about 15 seconds and then it passed through the tiny path created by the band. However, yesterday, when I went into his office, 5cc of the fill was missing. Therefore, it is now more probably than not that the band has some leak somewhere that did not show on that day (word to the wise, for all those that think the x-ray tells all). I am not looking forward to having to have this replaced, but it will probably be necessary. Thanks for the info regarding your experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolittle Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 Here's info straight from Inamed/AllerganThe 9.75 cm and 10.0 cm LAP-BAND® Systems have a recommended maximum fill capacity of 4 cc’s. The LAP-BAND® VG and the LAP-BAND® APS have a recommended maximum fill of 10 cc’s and the LAP-BAND® APL band which has a recommended maximum fill of 14 cc’s. A lot of bandsters have been under the assumption they had more saline then what they really had. Have you thought of going to a different fill center and having all the saline removed to see how much you really have in it. Also, when refilling your band, have it done under fluoro with barium. A good fill doctor, as they inject the saline, can see the restriction as the barium flows through the band. I wanted to add to this post. I was told once by an Inamed rep that their lap band is designed to last a lifetime. In other words, the band should out live you. LOL. But they also said, technically there is a 5 year manufactures warranty on the Inamed lap band. Now,, who pays for a band to be replaced in that period of time if its defective??? As far as I've heard,, the only defective bands were the ones where the doctor screwed up and or where a fill tech missed the port and hit the tube. Those bands are checked so many times in the manufacturing process that if its a truely defective band, you might be a first. LOL. Keep us posted on this if you could, Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcbander Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 This is my first time posting to this forum (actually, this is only my third forum post ever). I was banded Oct. 01/07 by Dr. Leung in Vancouver, BC, Canada. I am already up to 14cc in a 10cc band (no exaggeration), yet I feel little to no restriction or satiety. Dr. Leung attributes this to a "strong stomach" - whatever that means. Having said that, I was wondering if anyone had information regarding how long food is suppose to stay in the upper pouch before passing through the banded area. I realize that there is probably a great deal of variance depending on what you eat, how much, etc. But I imagine there must be some "normal" range.Thanks for taking the time to read this and passing on any information you may have. Given how overfilled my band is already, I am becoming quite concerned about my inability to achieve any real restriction. Hi lapband34, I am having the same problems - 12cc in a 10cc band. I'm also a patient of the same doctor, and will be going in for a follow up infrared scan Feb. 6th. I had six fills in five weeks and was banded around the same time you were and still have no restriction at all. I would like to talk further, Kindly send me an e-mail at amnc@shaw.ca Warmest regards, Abigail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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