How the Lap-Band actually works, fills and refills This is a discussion on How the Lap-Band actually works, fills and refills within the Lap-Band Fills forums.
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09-24-2007, 05:20 PM
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#1 | | Hiker on "Mount Normal"
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 645
City: Aberdeen State: Washington |  How the Lap-Band actually works, fills and refills
This may help you in understanding the restrictive mechanism of a Lap Band.
The ALLERGAN protocol for Lap Band fills calls for a six-week delay after surgery, prior to any fills. The purpose for the six-week delay is for the patient’s stomach to heal from the surgery, as well as allowing time for the Lap Band to “Seat” or “Nestle” into the fat pad between the stomach wall and the interior wall of the Lap Band.
Prior to receiving an EFFECTIVE fill, it is VERY uncommon to have any restriction from a Lap Band. Some patients will NOT lose weight, or may even GAIN weight until they have received an effective fill in their Lap Band.
Normal weight loss with a properly restricted Lap Band is between 1 and 2 pounds per week.
The normal cycle of fills, restriction and weight loss is as follows:
1. The patient's Lap Band constricts when the patient receives a fill. Swelling for a few days after receiving a fill is very common. Many doctors require a patient to go on a liquid diet for a day or two after receiving a fill. A fill may have a “Delayed Action” of up to 4 weeks. A “Delayed-Action” means that the fill may not become effective for up to 4 weeks after the fill. That is why the ALLERGAN protocol states that fills should not be performed on patients who will not have access to medical care for at least two weeks after a fill.
2. The patient's stomach capacity is lessened as a result of the restriction caused by the Lap Band.
3. The patient loses weight because they cannot eat as much food.
4. The residual fat-pad between the inside of the Lap Band and the outside of the patient's stomach reduces in size because of the overall weight loss in the patient.
5. The reduction of the residual fat-pad causes the Lap Band to become loose again.
6. At that point, the patient needs another fill, because the Lap Band is loose, and the patient has a loss of restriction, which allows the patient to eat larger amounts of food.
7. The patient receives another fill and the process starts all over again.
Most Lap Band patients receive several fills to adjust the Lap Band as their weight loss progresses, and there is less and less residual fat-pad between the inside of the Lap Band and the exterior of the stomach wall. Once a patient has lost all of their residual fat-pad, fills become less common. As the Lap Band patient progresses in their weight loss, the effect of very tiny fills (Less than .2ccs) becomes greater and greater.
It is not uncommon for a late-stage Lap Band patient to experience a significant difference in restriction with as little as .05cc of fill.
__________________ See my before & after photographs
Starting weight was 570 pounds
Banded 09/13/2004 by Dr. Neal, in Shelton, WA
"Why are you letting a number on a scale determine your level of happiness, and would it MATTER what the number on the scale said if you were at your perfect goal SIZE?" | 
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09-24-2007, 06:40 PM
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#2 | | I love Red Green!
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,693
| Thanks for posting this, Wendell. It is GREAT information to have. Maybe it will become a Sticky.
__________________
Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati
(When all else fails, play dead) H371/S327/C297
Fell off the wagon in a big way, got back on with my first fill ever 4/29/08
Small AP June 21st, 2007 by Dr. James Wagner @ Hurley in Flint, MI | |
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09-26-2007, 02:38 AM
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#3 | | Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2007 Age: 43
Posts: 4
| Beautiful post and to the point I love it and it is the best | |
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09-26-2007, 08:22 AM
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#4 | | Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 51
City: Ajax State: Ontario | Thank you for posting this information Wendell. An informed lapbander is a happier lapbander!
__________________ Lianna 
:whoo::clap2::whoo::clap2: Surgery Date - Sept 20/07 - Dr. Mumford Weight Loss Surgery Clinic, Mississauga, ON I'm getting my sexy back:kiss2::kiss2: | |
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09-29-2007, 06:01 PM
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#5 | | Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2007 Age: 43
Posts: 7
State: Texas | Wendell, how far are you from your goal weight? | |
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09-29-2007, 06:04 PM
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#6 | | Hiker on "Mount Normal"
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 645
City: Aberdeen State: Washington | Quote:
Originally Posted by Barkeep  Wendell, how far are you from your goal weight? |
I use a goal size, not a goal weight.
My goal size is 38-inch slacks and a man's extra-large shirt. :)
__________________ See my before & after photographs
Starting weight was 570 pounds
Banded 09/13/2004 by Dr. Neal, in Shelton, WA
"Why are you letting a number on a scale determine your level of happiness, and would it MATTER what the number on the scale said if you were at your perfect goal SIZE?" | |
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09-30-2007, 07:40 AM
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#7 | | New2Tch
Join Date: Jul 2007 Age: 48
Posts: 46
| I am glad I read your thread Wendell. I have not had my first fill yet and I was discourage. I would gain 3-4 pounds, lose 3-4 pounds. People who knew I had the surgery would ask, "how is it going?" because they could see I am not loosing any weight. I was hoping to go from a size 22 to 18 by the winter holidays. Thanks for the reassurance.
Cyndi | |
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09-30-2007, 10:58 AM
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#8 | | Paula
Join Date: Jun 2007 Age: 38
Posts: 36
City: luton, beds, UK | thanks for explaining all about the fills. can i ask you a question.. at any stage in the process did you ever think the band wasn't working.. i have just had my 3rd fill - its early days. but the medics have said i have a 6 mls capacity ,swedish band, and there is no more room in it. so they can't add anymore saline.. they say its now got 10.25mls in it.. i feel a bit tighter when i drink ,but haven't tried a proper meal as yet, as am worried i won't feel restriction and i will be so upset.. i never pb'd .. or anything, i am worried this band has been a waste of time and money
well done on your success
__________________ 
Paula, Beds UK
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09-30-2007, 11:07 AM
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#9 | | Hiker on "Mount Normal"
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 645
City: Aberdeen State: Washington | Quote:
Originally Posted by pjrugby thanks for explaining all about the fills. can i ask you a question.. at any stage in the process did you ever think the band wasn't working.. i have just had my 3rd fill - its early days. but the medics have said i have a 6 mls capacity ,swedish band, and there is no more room in it. so they can't add anymore saline.. they say its now got 10.25mls in it.. i feel a bit tighter when i drink ,but haven't tried a proper meal as yet, as am worried i won't feel restriction and i will be so upset.. i never pb'd .. or anything, i am worried this band has been a waste of time and money
well done on your success | Thank you for the compliment.
Yes, before I obtained effective restriction with fill number 4, which was given 24 weeks after surgery, I thought that my Lap Band did not work and that the entire thing was a cruel joke at my expense.
I don't know anything about the Swedish Band, but I do know that a Band that would not provide restriction when filled to capacity is exceptionally rare.
Best wishes on your journey.
__________________ See my before & after photographs
Starting weight was 570 pounds
Banded 09/13/2004 by Dr. Neal, in Shelton, WA
"Why are you letting a number on a scale determine your level of happiness, and would it MATTER what the number on the scale said if you were at your perfect goal SIZE?" | |
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09-30-2007, 01:25 PM
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#10 | | Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2007 Age: 37
Posts: 41
City: Amarillo State: Texas | Wonderful info. I will get my first fill on Tues. and started to get a little discouraged. Again because of the wicked wicked scales. Your post lifted my spirits. :) | |
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09-30-2007, 02:52 PM
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#11 | | Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2007 Age: 48
Posts: 67
City: Ottawa | I just had my first fill this past monday and have experienced 3 pb's so far- not chewing enough!!!!! Very not fun!
but I also don't have a sense of a smaller stomach, in that if I chew well I can still eat a good amount of food- almost as much as before the band. I have 2.5 ccs in a 4cc /10cm inamed band. My weight loss has stalled since I went onto solids.
__________________
Chris
Ottawa, Canada:canada:
Tijuana, Aug,15,2007
[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/wKzh5r5/]  | |
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09-30-2007, 03:48 PM
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#12 | | Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2007 Age: 32
Posts: 12
City: New York City State: New York | My doctor told me after surgery that he put 3 cc's in with the surgery. He said that this is something that they are staring to do with the new surgeries when the capacity is 10 cc's and above. Has anyone else had this.
__________________  Banded 8/27/07
:whoo:
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09-30-2007, 04:03 PM
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#13 | | Hiker on "Mount Normal"
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 645
City: Aberdeen State: Washington | Quote:
Originally Posted by coolrn2000 Wonderful info. I will get my first fill on Tues. and started to get a little discouraged. Again because of the wicked wicked scales. Your post lifted my spirits. :) |
Scales are a tool for weight loss, but the problem is that most people who are starting out with a Band are too emotionally fragile to deal with the normal ebb and flow of fluctuating weight.
Confidence that the Band actually works for us takes time, and in my opinion, based on the hundreds of posts that I have read over the last 4 years, weighing in the post-op period is not a good idea for most people, because it leads to stress, anger and frustration due to a lack of understanding that even small fluctuations in a person's weight can wipe out what is, in reality, a good month of weight loss for the average Band patient.
__________________ See my before & after photographs
Starting weight was 570 pounds
Banded 09/13/2004 by Dr. Neal, in Shelton, WA
"Why are you letting a number on a scale determine your level of happiness, and would it MATTER what the number on the scale said if you were at your perfect goal SIZE?" | |
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10-01-2007, 07:48 PM
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#14 | | 1 COR 10:13
Join Date: Jul 2007 Age: 50
Posts: 145
| Sounds like my wedding ring!
When I lose weight even my fingers get skinnier and my ring gets loose. When I gain (I am pre-band) my ring can get so tight it won't budge. Sounds like the fat pad on my stomach works the same way and band fills serve to fill in where the fat used to be. Interesting. Thanks for the info.
Jim | |
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10-02-2007, 12:12 AM
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#15 | | happy moderator @ goal!
Join Date: Dec 2006 Age: 55
Posts: 3,508
State: Oregon | Isn't there a way to keep this post front and center? I don't want it to get buried. All the newbies need to have easy access to this post.
__________________ 20 lbs lost on Atkins before banding. 70 lbs lost after for a total of 90 lbs.
banded 12-29-06 by Dr. Steven Tersini Coos Bay OR
goal in just under 16 months
Definition of insanity: doing the same things over and over and expecting different results!
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