Begging for fills!

[Miss hungry]

I had my band fitted with THG. I have only had two fills so far, the second of which I practically begged for before they agreed.
I don't know how other providers work but with THG, every month the dietition rings, and they decide if you need a fill or not.
Every dietition I have spoke to so far seems dead against fills. They always try and convince me that everything I'm doing is fine even when I KNOW when I need a fill!
The dietition I spoke to last week said I was at my sweet spot.....Rubbish. I ended up not bothering to ask for a fill, I will give it another few weeks.
Why don't they trust that we know our bodies and know when we are ready for a fill. I could understand if I have had loads of fills but as I said two is not excessive! Two fills in 6 months is not too much.
Does anyone else have these issues? How easy is it for other banders to get fills booked?
Thanks xx

 

[BlueDiamond]

I had my band fitted with THG. I have only had two fills so far, the second of which I practically begged for before they agreed.
I don't know how other providers work but with THG, every month the dietition rings, and they decide if you need a fill or not.
Every dietition I have spoke to so far seems dead against fills. They always try and convince me that everything I'm doing is fine even when I KNOW when I need a fill!
The dietition I spoke to last week said I was at my sweet spot.....Rubbish. I ended up not bothering to ask for a fill, I will give it another few weeks.
Why don't they trust that we know our bodies and know when we are ready for a fill. I could understand if I have had loads of fills but as I said two is not excessive! Two fills in 6 months is not too much.
Does anyone else have these issues? How easy is it for other banders to get fills booked?
Thanks xx

Sorry to hear your having trouble getting the fills, What size band and wat capacity is it filled too??? I myself am a Nhs patient but when I have wanted a fill ( haven't needed one since feb 2011) but I ring my needle lady( thats what I call her, lol) and say I ring on a Monday I will get a fill in the same week) What portion size and food are u eating?? Is it normally Thg practice that the dieticians do the fills?? I know I have to speak to my dietician if I needed a fill and then if I did she would refer me to my surgeon who does all my fills xx

 

[The Chopster]

Hi Karen, I am with THG and my aftercare is done at Dolan Park the same as my op. I am hopefully having my third fill tomorrow. I have 6.2 ml in a 10 ml band. My dietician is Pam and she likes to see me face to face after my initial talk with her was over the phone. When I saw her last time she booked me in to see her tomorrow and also for a fill at the same time and said if I didn't feel I needed it I didn't have to have one. She said it also depended on how much I was losing. Where do you see your dietician?

 

[Mgoody]

Hi Karen - I had first fill at 4 weeks which happened just by chance when I went for a check up on my port wound - I had 3ml put in a 9ml band - didn't make much difference so I changed my food choices and went for more textured stuff which gave me a bit of restriction but was still hungry between meals. I emailed the dietician told her what I'd done etc and she booked me in for 2nd fill this coming Tuesday plus I already had booked an apt for 5th sept which she said to keep.

What is your "sweet spot" ?

Michelle xx

 

[Loooy72]

Hi

I am the same as you, I am with National Obesity Surgery Centre and when i had my last fill (2nd) the nurse said to ring up and book my 3rd for 4 weeks time. Well when i phoned the advisor nearly bit my head off and said that i needed to wait at least 4 weeks to find out if i needed a fill, then it would be a 6-8 week weight for the hospital to give me an appointment!
I did eventually persuade them into getting me one sooner, but it makes me mad that If you have an all inclusive package you have to wait so long inbetween fills.
I am a nurse and have read lots of research before deciding to have the band and research shows that the quicker a patient gets to proper restriction the better they do re weight loss.
I hope you get another fill soon x

 

[MrsPill]

Biting your head off isn't exactly the kind of attitude you want from your provider is it! My first fill with Spire was booked as I left the hospital after surgery which I wasn't expecting and I'm not sure I'll need it anyway. Not sure how often they do them yet so can't really comment but I wouldn't like the feeling that they weren't supporting me. Isn't that their role? It almost seems like they are the "bandfill police"!!

 

[Miss hungry]

Thanks for the input everyone. I have 6.4mls in a small band.
I don't see the dietitions face to face, only talk on the phone. I'm too far away from Dolan park you see.
I speak to the dietition monthly and if she thinks I need a fill (hasn't happened yet, I have to convince her) she books me for an appointment at the Bristol clinic with the fill nurse.
I was curious to know really if your dietitions were as against fills as mine seem to be.
It's funny how it goes though, last week I had no restriction with anything I ate. But the last two days I have. I think my band is female, she is very changable!

 

[The Chopster]

Who is your dietician? Pam is very pro-fill. Every month I see her she books me in to see her the following month and also books a fill at the same time. She weighs me, goes through my food diary and we have a chat about what I am doing wrong, should be doing. I need less snacking, more exercise like swimming (!) and more water. My fill today feels really strange. When I drank my test water then coffee I could feel/hear it going down passed the band. I went back in to see the nurse just to check it was ok for it to do that and she said that's the restriction working - she reckons that I should be spot on now. It is a very weird feeling tbh, I can't wait to feel what it is like when I am eating normally again - at the moment it feels like 1 ryvita would fill me up.

Perhaps you could change dieticians, Pam is great - firm but fair. We had a good chat today about my slow weight loss and why I got the band in the first place etc etc

 

[Miss hungry]

Who is your dietician? Pam is very pro-fill. Every month I see her she books me in to see her the following month and also books a fill at the same time. She weighs me, goes through my food diary and we have a chat about what I am doing wrong, should be doing. I need less snacking, more exercise like swimming (!) and more water. My fill today feels really strange. When I drank my test water then coffee I could feel/hear it going down passed the band. I went back in to see the nurse just to check it was ok for it to do that and she said that's the restriction working - she reckons that I should be spot on now. It is a very weird feeling tbh, I can't wait to feel what it is like when I am eating normally again - at the moment it feels like 1 ryvita would fill me up.

Perhaps you could change dieticians, Pam is great - firm but fair. We had a good chat today about my slow weight loss and why I got the band in the first place etc etc

That all sounds great. I think I do want another fill now!

 

[chunkyboo]

Pam is great at THG! She has booked me in for a face to face appointment every month, followed by a fill! She even asks me my opinion on what I think a good fill would be! She's very easy to talk to and will tell me straight if and where I Am going wrong .. Can you not change your dietician? It doesn't seem fair for you!

 

[magicbeans]

sorry to hear they are being annoying, put ur foot down, u are entitled to them and u know ur body best