Dr. wouldn't give me my first fill....

Thread Starter  

Well, I'm a little disappointed. Yesterday was 4 weeks out from surgery for me. I went to get my first fill. The Dr. wouldn't do it because he said he thought I had enough restriction right now. I have lost 22 lbs since the first of June (that includes the 15lbs that I lost on the 2 week high protein pre-op diet). So, I've only lost 7 since surgery. I understand that this falls in to the 2 lbs a week guidelines and I'm OK with that. I was just so looking forward to a fill to make eating small portions easier. Yes, I am sticking to six 1/2 cup servings a day but it's only due to sheer willpower and fear of hurting myself with a newly placed band. I can eat more than 1/2 a cup. I was put on six 1/2 cup servings instead of 3 meals because of severe shoulder pain I was having a couple of weeks ago. He basically said if I continue to lose at the rate I'm supposed to, I won't need a fill. Well, I'm working hard to do what I have without what I feel is true restriction and quite frankly I could have gotten this far without the band. I feel like I have a great tool that's all healed up now, but I'm not being allowed to use it.

Has anyone else had this happen to them? Were you able to eventually get a fill???

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www.myspace.com/kyla1975
Surgery 6/30/08 10cc band
Dr. Adam Kaplan - Parkersburg, WV
12/8/08 - 5th Fill 7cc

kdlee, as long as you are losing weight, I think you should trust your doctor. If you stop losing weight and he refuses to help, then it's time to get a second opinion. Remember, it's in his best interests to have you lose weight also.

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Most doctors (at least here in Maryland) won't do a fill until at least 6 weeks post-op. You may feel all healed up, but might not be. Don't rush it. I got my first fill at 6 weeks, 3ccs, and by evening even water gave me indigestion. The next day I called and met the doctor at the hospital and he unfilled about 1.5 ccs. Two weeks later in his office I reported that soft foods were okay, but I was having trouble with denser stuff. So he took out another cc. On my last visit, I said I am able to eat way more than 1/2 cup of food and I get hungry before 4 hours, but he talked me out of the fill since I was still losing and he said I was ahead of schedule for the band, bypass, and sleeve. So I have at the most 1cc in my band (a 14cc fill volume), and I am working on my head hunger. I do eat more than 1/2 cup, but I love salads (I put chicken, ham or turkey on it for a protein source) and am still slowly losing. I plateaued for a month or so, and now it is creeping down. I was on liquids before surgery (lost 25 pounds) and I lost 10 during the 6 month diet. The rest has come off since surgery on 3/25/08.

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Pagan-one of my past furbabies)

Start/Current/Goal
252/151/150
Banded 3/25/08
Dr. Kuldeep Singh
St. Agnes Hospital
Baltimore, MD

My doctor gives fills at 4 weeks post-op too. I lost weight during that period but fortunately my doctor doesn't just look at the scale (unless you've lost more than a healthy amount). They asked me what my portion sizes were and whether I felt "satisfied" at the end of the meal, and how soon I was getting hungry again. They understood that yeah, I was losing weight but I was hungry all the time too, and I got my fill. They said if I was eating small portions and getting hungry sooner than 3-4 hours later, I didn't have enough restriction yet. I think refusing to give you a fill because you've lost weight through sheer willpower and between-meal hunger, is a punishment.

I know not everyone will agree with me, and every doctor is different but I'd be frustrated if I were you also.

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Original weight: 255
Weight at surgery: 232
Current: 198.8
Goal: 130
Banded 5/15/08

Thread Starter  

We did talk about satiety and hunger. I have not had the 3-4 hour period to experience a lot of hunger because they have had me eating basically 1/2 cup every 2-3 hours. I would have liked to have had a small fill and went to 3 meals a day. I know that I do have some restriction without the fill because I do get full sooner. The Nurse Practitioner did tell me that if my hunger was too great over the next couple of weeks to call about going back in. I guess the biggest thing is that I had myself excited for the fill and then it didn't happen. Don't get me wrong, I love my band and so far things have been great. I'm just letting off a little steam.

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www.myspace.com/kyla1975
Surgery 6/30/08 10cc band
Dr. Adam Kaplan - Parkersburg, WV
12/8/08 - 5th Fill 7cc

Are you exercising? If so, you may not be seeing a huge difference on the scale but may actually be decreasing in size. Remember that exercise will put muscle on you and although you are losing fat the scale can't tell the difference. Just ignore the scale and go with how you feel. I know, that's easier said than done, but at this point things should just be about improvements in your health overall, k?

Hang in there!

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as one of the members wrote...you may feel better but your body may not be totally healed. My doc. is from Mexico and he is very adimant about waiting 6 - 8 weeks for your first fill. He even says you may not need it then. I just had surgery on July 25 and am still on liquids. I sip on something through out the day. I have been losing weight hourly (even while sleeping). I don't usually weigh at all but since surgery I have been weighing 3 times a day (won't keep doing that) and every time I weigh I am down. I woke up this morning and weighed and had lost over a half of pound while I was sleeping. Give yourself time and like the other member said. If after 6 to 8 weeks you are feeling out of control and the doc won't help you then you need to set your foot down about the fill.

Thread Starter  

It's not about the weight loss at all. I am happy with how well I have done. In fact, that is the main reason my Dr. would not fill me, because I have lost well without the fill. I would just like the satiety portion to fall into place. I am exercising and have done so since starting the program in March. I think that has helped me to lose the amount of weight that I have. I do agree with those of you who said to wait 6-8 weeks on a fill due to the healing process. My Dr. does start them at 4 weeks though.

Thanks to everyone for the input. I wrote my original post before lunch and I was hungry and grumpy.

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www.myspace.com/kyla1975
Surgery 6/30/08 10cc band
Dr. Adam Kaplan - Parkersburg, WV
12/8/08 - 5th Fill 7cc

I know that feeling... I KNOW that the LAP-BAND^® is just a tool and it won't do the job by itself, but dang it! after paying $13k (self-pay) and going through all of this, I DO want it to do all the work and it does frustrate me at times that I'm hungry and that I can't eat whatever I feel like eating and that I will have to work at this the rest of my life. I want a magic pill. Then I come back down to the real world and realize that I will achieve my goals and I will use the tools available to me but they are simply tools and I will get out of it what I put into it. The LAP-BAND^® is helping me control my eating even without a fill (have to wait 2 more weeks before first fill) in ways that I could not control myself before the band.

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Hi All.

I went to the Dr. today to get a fill
and he couldn't find my port and sent me home with no fill.

I'm bummed because I can either pay $350 for the fill and $380 for the floro or go back to MX and pay $100 plus air fair.

So I'm going back to MX all by myself and hope for the best.

Has any one else had a Dr. not be able to feel your port???
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What a bummer! Do you think the doctor was just being an ass because you got your surgery in Mexico or he was just saying that so he could get more money out of you? Have you checked with other doctors in the area?

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