Band size versus cc size

[vangirl]

I apologize if this topic has been posted before.

I have a 10cc band, and I have a vague recollection of Dr. Ortiz telling me after the surgery that I could have up to 4ccs in a 10cc band. I was still loopy on medication, so I didn't really understand or trust my memory of what I was told, but I made sure to tell this to the fill doctor I went to for my first fill, as this gave him a guideline of where to start. When he put in 3ccs (which I have right now), I was able to drink water no problems, but when he increase it to 4ccs, the water started to gather at the pouch and a few drops started coming up. So he reduced it back down to 3ccs. I now have an appointment to see him next week to see if I can increase it by .5 ccs or something because I don't have enough restriction with just the 3ccs.

But it got me to thinking, why did Dr. O say up to 4ccs in a 10cc band? I guess he would have known from operating on me that that would be around where my 'sweet spot' would be. My experience during my first fill suggests he was right on the money with that. But I am curious as to why I'd need a 10cc band if 10ccs was more than what I could have. Maybe I was just on the borderline, and 4ccs would have been too little?

I guess this is a question best asked to a doctor, but I'm really curious about how they decide what size band is best, and why that doesn't necessarily correspond to how many ccs you can have. I assumed that it did. I.e., that a person with a 10cc band could potentially have up to 10ccs.

[CindyLou]

Your band is probably 10CM (which is the length) which holds 4CC (which is the volumn)--this is the most common. I think the 10CC band is like 13CM long or something......

All you need to do is look on the card they gave you. This is VERY important. If your fill Dr. thinks you have a 10CC band and tries to put more than 4CC there could be damage to the band. I'm very surprised that your Dr. filled you without seeing proof of what you have.

[snowbird]

I think you are confusing band length/size with fill capacity. I have a 10 centimeter (cm) band with a 4 cubic centimeter (cc) capacity. Some bands have a 10, 12 or 14 cc capacity. The card Dr Ortiz gave me says I have a 10 cm band, but that does not indicate how much fill I can hold in it, which is 4 cc. Hope that clarifies it for you a bit.

[ckiki]

So what size is the VG? On my card it just says "VG" but no sizes. Anyone know?

[sawdawg]

may card reads VG that it so what does that mean?????????

[vangirl]

This makes so much more sense now. It says 10cm on my card. I did show it to my fill doc but I think I confused him by saying I had a 10cc band which I thought I did. It doesn't say on the card how much it actually holds.

So I have a 4cc band, not a 10cc one. Crap, I really hope that upping it to 3.5ccs will give me some restriction because I don't have a lot to play around with now.

[BrandNewDawn]

Yes, you may be getting CM (centimeters) confused with CC (cubic centimeters). If you have the 10 CM band, it holds 4 CC's. If you have the VG band, it is 13 CM in length and it holds 10 CC's in volume.

Regardless of the length of the band or the volume, they both close to approximately 1/2 inch when fully filled. It may take longer to reach an optimal fill level if you have the larger band (more fills) but either band will get you to the same place eventually. The doctors decide which band to place once they are inside and have a look around so to speak. More fat around the stomach or just larger in general (men) get the larger band. My husband has the larger band, I have the smaller band even though I was more overweight than he was.

If your card says VG, it is the 10CC band. If your card says 10CM it is the 4

CC band. If you cannot find your card, you can email OCC and they will look it up and email the info back to you.

Dawn

[vangirl]

Ok it helps to know that they both close to about 1/2 an inch irrespective of the size. I'm just confused why I have so little restriction compared to what I hear from others, especially when I'm now filled 3/4's of the way through. Not to say that I don't have any, but I know that I'm doing all of the work right now. Yes I'm frustrated... And worried too... What if 4ccs is not enough? What happens when I lose the stomach fat and the band gets looser and I've used up all my ccs?

[nicolek]

hi

The VG band holds 10ccs of saline. I don't know how long it is.

Hope this helps.

[crazycoolbutterfly]

Ok it helps to know that they both close to about 1/2 an inch irrespective of the size. I'm just confused why I have so little restriction compared to what I hear from others, especially when I'm now filled 3/4's of the way through. Not to say that I don't have any, but I know that I'm doing all of the work right now. Yes I'm frustrated... And worried too... What if 4ccs is not enough? What happens when I lose the stomach fat and the band gets looser and I've used up all my ccs?

You mean to say that your FIRST FILL was 3 CCs? OMG That is what they call a "aggressive fill" , I am willing to bet that your fill hasn't kicked in as of YET. But when it does, and it will, it is going to come with a vengeance. I have a 10cm band with a max fill of 4cc and I JUST got up to my 3cc this past Thursday which was my 4th fill and I ALREADY feel the difference from the 2.5cc and the new 3cc's. Or MAYBE, just maybe, the id card was mislabeled? I mean it's just a possibility, but maybe? Sometimes people do make mistakes when labeling.

[PAMMIE]

You mean to say that your FIRST FILL was 3 CCs? OMG That is what they call a "aggressive fill" , I am willing to bet that your fill hasn't kicked in as of YET. But when it does, and it will, it is going to come with a vengeance. I have a 10cm band with a max fill of 4cc and I JUST got up to my 3cc this past Thursday which was my 4th fill and I ALREADY feel the difference from the 2.5cc and the new 3cc's. Or MAYBE, just maybe, the id card was mislabeled? I mean it's just a possibility, but maybe? Sometimes people do make mistakes when labeling.

LOL I WAS THINKIN THAT SAME THING. I'VE HEARD OF SOME GETTING 2.0 THEIR FIRST FILL BUT 3? WOW!!!

[ckiki]

Thanks for the info on the VG band, no one at OCC told me any info on it. Kind of sucks I will require more fills though.

[vangirl]

You mean to say that your FIRST FILL was 3 CCs? OMG That is what they call a "aggressive fill" , I am willing to bet that your fill hasn't kicked in as of YET. But when it does, and it will, it is going to come with a vengeance. I have a 10cm band with a max fill of 4cc and I JUST got up to my 3cc this past Thursday which was my 4th fill and I ALREADY feel the difference from the 2.5cc and the new 3cc's. Or MAYBE, just maybe, the id card was mislabeled? I mean it's just a possibility, but maybe? Sometimes people do make mistakes when labeling.

It's been more than a week now, so I thought that it would have kicked in by now. So far I haven't noticed any change in the level of restriction since I got it on the 16th. My appointment to get more fill is on the 30th, so I'm hoping that if something were to happen, it would happen by then.

In any case, I am going to give OCC a call on Monday. There are so many possibilities as to why this could be happening (e.g. fill not kicked in yet, a leak, mislabeling, or fill just not being enough) that I officially need some expert opinion on what I should do.

I am curious, though about the idea of a fill kicking in later. I've heard that from a number of people, but the fill dr. I went to said that I should feel it pretty much right away. What is the mechanics behind a fill kicking in later? My thought was that once the saline is there, it's there, it can't really move anywhere else, can it?

[BrandNewDawn]

Ok it helps to know that they both close to about 1/2 an inch irrespective of the size. I'm just confused why I have so little restriction compared to what I hear from others, especially when I'm now filled 3/4's of the way through. Not to say that I don't have any, but I know that I'm doing all of the work right now. Yes I'm frustrated... And worried too... What if 4ccs is not enough? What happens when I lose the stomach fat and the band gets looser and I've used up all my ccs?

Vangirl,

Every one is different when it comes to first fills. Some people end up feeling restriction and others do not until their second fill or even later. Believe me, I and others can testify that those small increments can be a big difference. I had to have 0.5 removed from my band because that was the difference between the restriction I have now and not being able to drink water.

Do not lose hope. You will get there. Anyway, I wish you good luck with your next fill. Let us know how it turns out for you.

And ckiki

As to the VG band and fills, once again, everyone is different but when I got a first fill of 1.4 cc's, my husband got a first fill of 2.5cc's in his VG band. He has had good restriction with three fills only and I think he is at 4.5cc's now so you just never know. Now, my first fill was more than 25% of capacity but he quickly caught up and surpassed me on his second fill and he is now at almost 50% capacity (he might have 5.5 which would put him over 50% capacity) on three fills.

Good luck to you as well.

Dawn

[CindyLou]

People talk about it "kicking in" but I can tell you that I didn't feel much of anyting after my first fill and it never kicked in. Then with my second fill, I felt great restriction immediately.

In your case I would do two things. Call the OCC and verify your band size. The chances of mislabeling are slim because the card they give you is from inside the implant package. They take it out when they open it up for the surgery, but I would double check to make sure.

Secondly, I would verify with your fill doctor that you got 3cc and not .3 cc or 1.3cc, etc.

Something isn't adding up here. 3cc is a very agressive fill for a 4cc band and I can't imagine you wouldn't be filling major restriction.

The other thing to consider is if your fill doctor could have missed your port and the fill didn't even go in???? Or possibly the saline came out when he withdrew the syringe?

I"m going to bet you are going to find a really good explanation for this and you will get another fill that will be satisfactory!

Keep us posted,

Cindy

[vangirl]

People talk about it "kicking in" but I can tell you that I didn't feel much of anyting after my first fill and it never kicked in. Then with my second fill, I felt great restriction immediately.

In your case I would do two things. Call the OCC and verify your band size. The chances of mislabeling are slim because the card they give you is from inside the implant package. They take it out when they open it up for the surgery, but I would double check to make sure.

Secondly, I would verify with your fill doctor that you got 3cc and not .3 cc or 1.3cc, etc.

Something isn't adding up here. 3cc is a very agressive fill for a 4cc band and I can't imagine you wouldn't be filling major restriction.

The other thing to consider is if your fill doctor could have missed your port and the fill didn't even go in???? Or possibly the saline came out when he withdrew the syringe?

I"m going to bet you are going to find a really good explanation for this and you will get another fill that will be satisfactory!

Keep us posted,

Cindy

I really hope there is a good explanation, because I'm not able to sleep now with the worry of what could have gone wrong. I'm terrified that maybe there is a leak or something. I know he did put in 3ccs because I saw it go in, but there is a possibility that some leaked out or didn't go in properly because he had so much trouble finding the port, it was all guesswork.

I am sorely wishing I had gone back to OCC for my first fill like I had originally planned to do. I had hoped to save money by going to the local fill doctor, but in hindsight it would have been worth to pay that extra money for the reassurance of everything being ok. I am most definitely going to call OCC tomorrow and hopefully get some advice on what to do.

This sucks.

[sawdawg]

hi

The VG band holds 10ccs of saline. I don't know how long it is.

Hope this helps.

nicolek, do you have the vg band?

[BandDiva]

Thanks for the info on the VG band, no one at OCC told me any info on it. Kind of sucks I will require more fills though.

I remember in your post that you had to get the bigger band, so I thought you knew. Glad you got that straight now!

[nicolek]

nicolek, do you have the vg band?

No I have the 4cc one ,but my husband has the VG and has 6cc in it but needs another fill.

[yoyodieter]

Thanks for the info on the VG band, no one at OCC told me any info on it. Kind of sucks I will require more fills though.

Hi, I have the 4cc and my son has the VG, we both had the same number of fills, (3) and we are both at our sweet spot, he just had larger fills than I did.

Having the Vg band dosen't necessrily mean more fills.

[vangirl]

An update: I called OCC this morning, and they patched me through to one of the doctors. He told me it could be that the saline wasn't emptied into the port but into the scar tissue surrounding my port, or there could be a leak, or I could be one of those few patients that need a larger fill. But there is no way to know for sure unless I do it under fluoro. I can save some money and go to NW Fills which is about 3 hours away and across the border, but I don't want to gamble with any unknowns now. I figure if there is anything wrong with the band, I'd have to go back to Mexico anyway, and it's just better to suck it up, pay the airfare and go to the experts who can give me a definitive explanation as to what is wrong. And fix it if necessary.

So back to Mexico I go! Have to now find some decent fares and book my ticket. It was so reassuring to talk to the Dr. He told me to call them anytime if I had any concerns about anything. Reminded me of why I was so impressed with their professionalism and caring in the first place.

[Babe]

An update: I called OCC this morning, and they patched me through to one of the doctors. He told me it could be that the saline wasn't emptied into the port but into the scar tissue surrounding my port, or there could be a leak, or I could be one of those few patients that need a larger fill. But there is no way to know for sure unless I do it under fluoro. I can save some money and go to NW Fills which is about 3 hours away and across the border, but I don't want to gamble with any unknowns now. I figure if there is anything wrong with the band, I'd have to go back to Mexico anyway, and it's just better to suck it up, pay the airfare and go to the experts who can give me a definitive explanation as to what is wrong. And fix it if necessary.

So back to Mexico I go! Have to now find some decent fares and book my ticket. It was so reassuring to talk to the Dr. He told me to call them anytime if I had any concerns about anything. Reminded me of why I was so impressed with their professionalism and caring in the first place.

hi sharon,

i'm so sorry you're going through all this drama! i booked my flight through travelocity for 215$US return flying out of Seattle instead of Vancouver. If you have a friend in the Seattle area that you can stay with for a night, it might be worth your while to fly out of there.

[ValleyGirl]

Sharon,

When I was looking a few weeks ago, it was really cheap to fly from Bellingham with Allegiant. If you decide to try Northwest Fills instead, Rhonda and I are going on Thursday and you are welcome to come with us.

Sabrina:)

[vangirl]

Sharon,

When I was looking a few weeks ago, it was really cheap to fly from Bellingham with Allegiant. If you decide to try Northwest Fills instead, Rhonda and I are going on Thursday and you are welcome to come with us.

Sabrina:)

Thanks for the tip Sabrina! They have great fares for a lot of my favourite destinations. And thanks for the offer to go to NW Fills! I may take you up on it for my 2nd (or rather, my 3rd, since I may have already had one) fill, once I get this whole thing sorted out.

[vangirl]

hi sharon,

i'm so sorry you're going through all this drama! i booked my flight through travelocity for 215$US return flying out of Seattle instead of Vancouver. If you have a friend in the Seattle area that you can stay with for a night, it might be worth your while to fly out of there.

It does suck, but my original plan was to go back to OCC anyway for that first fill. Hopefully there is nothing wrong with anything, and all it cost me was the $150 I paid for the first fill.