Overcome By Food-no Band Restriction

embracelve · 08-20-2007, 02:42 PM

I need help and advice. I was banded July 26,2007 which means I'm going on my fourth week with the band. I do not feel restriction at all!! Food is basically on a slip and slide right down my throat and through the band. What's happening?!! After my first 2 weeks, I lost only 6lbs :think. I weighed myself again and in one week I've gained 5 lbs back. AAAAAHHH!! Am I really that weak that I cannot stop myself from eating even with the band? or is the band just not working for me? Someone please help me.:omg:

lyndseygal · 08-20-2007, 02:50 PM

Ok, let me clarify something if it helps, my doctor told me this. Yes you have the band but it's just 'there', there is no saline solution in it. You felt restriction for a little while because the stomach was sore, tender, and healing. But now it's pretty much healed up and can tolerate food just like before. So until your first fill, just be careful about one thing: chewing!! I just went in for my first fill and he said because of the size of my upper pouch I wasn't chewing enough. So if nothing else, do that!! But don't fret, it's normal not to feel restriction. They say before the first fill isnt for weight loss anyway! :)

lyndseygal · 08-20-2007, 02:53 PM

Sorry if I didn't clarify completely but there is nothing in the band, it's just sitting around your stomach, hasn't been tightened!! You should NOT feel restriction now. You're perfectly normal, don't worry. Just wait until fill #1! I just got mine, already much better!

Wendell Edwards · 08-20-2007, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by embracelve

I need help and advice. I was banded July 26,2007 which means I'm going on my fourth week with the band. I do not feel restriction at all!! Food is basically on a slip and slide right down my throat and through the band. What's happening?!! After my first 2 weeks, I lost only 6lbs :think. I weighed myself again and in one week I've gained 5 lbs back. AAAAAHHH!! Am I really that weak that I cannot stop myself from eating even with the band? or is the band just not working for me? Someone please help me.:omg:

This may help you in understanding the restrictive mechanism of a Lap-Band®. The INAMED 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 two weeks. A “Delayed-Action” means that the fill may not become effective for up to two weeks after the fill. That is why the INAMED 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.

ShannonRT · 08-20-2007, 07:54 PM

Thanks Wendell! That was very good information.

juliegeraci · 08-20-2007, 08:22 PM

The band doesn't work until you start getting fills. That is why they make you wait 6 weeks. You are in the healing stage. I gained in between fills too so don't worry. Just schedule your first fill and you will feel better. It took me 5 fills to finally get to my sweet spot so hang in there. It may take some time.

embracelve · 08-23-2007, 01:08 PM

Thank you so much to everyone that replied. All of the replies have been extremely helpful. I don't think I was mentally prepared to not loose weight right away. I was looking for instant gratifcation. I think my husband was right when he gave me a pep talk and told me that "this was a procedure, not a miracle. Its gonna take time." I've scheduled my first fill, and hopefully everything I've read from these posts will come true in my case. Thanks again.:o

joanne1970 · 08-23-2007, 01:39 PM

I havent found that sweet spot I have 1cc in my 4 cc band the center that I go to told me that people dont feel restricted until 2-3 fills, for my doc this would be 1.5-2cc, I cant wait my second fill is monday an dI need it! Hang in there

embracelve · 08-23-2007, 06:42 PM

:clap2:HOw much time does one usually have to wait in between fills before getting the next one? I'm kinda on a time line here...lol

marybrid19 · 08-23-2007, 07:13 PM

this is exactly what i needed to read.. i have had the same fear .. we had our surgery less than a week apart and i'm sitting here thinking to my self.. why can i eat more.. and i'm scared to death my band slipped...THANKS for the great question.. we just gotta hang in there and wait until our first fill....

LTjr · 08-23-2007, 09:59 PM

I was just talking to my surgeon about this today. I finally made it to stage 4 and couldn't be happier. He also said that even though i have no fills yet, there is "some" restriction. I mean, c'mon, I just had a band put around the top of my stomach.It's created a funnel that lets less food in than without it. Obviously the restriction isn't drastic like a fill, but I noticed that I get full quicker after a little food, but also I get hungry more often. SOme people can go up to a year without a fill.

Wendell Edwards · 08-24-2007, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by embracelve

:clap2:HOw much time does one usually have to wait in between fills before getting the next one? I'm kinda on a time line here...lol

The original INAMED/ALLERGAN protocol calls for fills every 6 weeks, ONLY if the patient has not lost AT LEAST 1 pound per week.

So, under those guidelines, if you have lost over 6 pounds in 6 weeks, you would not get a fill.

Of course, the fill frequency and fill amount is ultimately up to your surgeon.

In my opinion, getting fills with less than a 4-week lapse between fills is NOT a good idea, as some people experience "Delayed-Action-Fills" of up to 3 weeks after the fill is administered.

Wendell Edwards · 08-24-2007, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LTjr

I was just talking to my surgeon about this today. I finally made it to stage 4 and couldn't be happier. He also said that even though i have no fills yet, there is "some" restriction. I mean, c'mon, I just had a band put around the top of my stomach.It's created a funnel that lets less food in than without it. Obviously the restriction isn't drastic like a fill, but I noticed that I get full quicker after a little food, but also I get hungry more often. SOme people can go up to a year without a fill.

Some people with a tightly-fitted Lap-Band® NEVER require a fill.

It just depends on the patient's unique anatomy.

Unfilled bands are actually quite small, especially in comparison to an unbanded stomach.