Lap Band fills.

From Dr. Rachael Keilin:

A word about Lap Band fills. When we see patients in our clinic in their routine follow up after Lap Band surgery they are often very interested in fills; how much they have, how much they will get today, how much they can have altogether. Dr. Hekier has said it before, but I think it bears repeating: fills are as individual as shoe size. One size does not fit all. One person can have a single fill and have no hunger between meals. Another person may need three, even five fills after their surgery to get to their “sweet spot.” (See the earlier posts on lap band surgery fills and lap band surgery sweet spot.) And also remember that there are five different sized bands out there and each one takes a different volume of fluid. Weight loss is individual for each person.

There is also a phenomenon we see fairly often, but really can’t explain well. Some people will have a delay in the “tightness” of a fill by as much as two weeks. This is why we won’t fill one day and then fill again three days later. Because there is sometimes a lag in the perception of hunger after a fill (and remember: it’s hunger control we’re aiming for, not bulimia!), we don’t want to end up over-filling patients, especially if they live out of town. Spitting into a cup is just not fun. You're meant to have gradual weight loss with the Lap Band from eating less. You're not meant to be on a liquid diet or pureed food diet. We want to eat more or less a regular diet, just eat a smaller amount of food so that you can lose weight.

While filling the band is certainly important, it is not the only reason we want to see you in the office and it is not the object of every visit. Based on what we hear you telling us about hunger, eating habits, frequency of productive burps (PB’s) and what foods you are-and aren’t-able to take in, we’ll decide whether to fill or not. Remember, sometimes it’s the mind that has to be adjusted, not just the lap band.

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