SageTracey

Plenty of people stay overnight. It depends on your surgeon and your hospital. Mine was overnight and I was very pleased to have the pain relief, oxygen and assistance of the nursing staff!

I've definitely noticed that my band is tighter when I am stressed.

The key is to stop eating when you are satisfied. If you keep on eating you will suffer pain - that is the band doing it's job. But you should stop before the pain, otherwise you are simply repeating and reinforcing poor eating behaviours. Good luck in making these changes.

All sounds normal. Just stick to the dietary guidelines given to you and these tough days will soon be history. PS You need your protein!

I was fortunate to have steady weight loss from the start although I find't achieve restriction until I had several fills. In those early months I was very careful about following my surgeon's rules re eating and exercise. J still follow them but they are easier now with restriction and I am still losing, albeit at a slower rate than early on.

Medicare in Australia is our government healthcare system - not perfect but definitely makes access to healthcare affordable for all.

Are you in Australia? My fills are covered by Medicare as long as I have a current referral on file with my surgeon. Referrals expire after 12 months unless you get your GP to write indefinite on it. If you are not in Australia and your Medicare is different to ours, then I don't know.

I grew up poor and the risk of food deprivation was very real. My brothers and I learned to grab food whenever it was available - just in case it wasn't there later. Unfortunately I forgot to to stop grabbing once the risk of missing out was gone. the band has helped me to learn that I don't need what I see, that food will always be there if I need it. Food deprivation was a real fear that I had to unlearn

I'm 12 months post-op and aim for 1400 calories per day. I use myfitnesspal.com which has calculated that this number will allow me to lose 1lb per week. Plus I do plenty of exercise and, in accordance with MFP, I mostly eat those exercise calories burned. I have lost 60kg, about 135lb, so it's working for me. But it will vary for everyone depending on your weight, height and activity level. for the record, my surgeon has never said how many calories I should eat, and he has excused me from having to see a nutritionist\dietician because I am doing so well.

I was wondering the same thing. If it is not causing you any issues, why not just leave it in and save yourself the money?

Congratulations on your success so far! It is really up to you and your medical team as to whether you skip fills or not. If you don't need one at this stage, then don't get one, but consider how easily and what cost is involved if you have to make another appointment because you reach a point where you decided you need a fill. I am fortunate that my visits and fills are fully covered by the healthcare system here in Australia, however, I can have a wait of several weeks to get in for an appointment. I have come out three times with no fill in my first 12 months. Each time I have gone into the appointment knowing that I didn't need a fill and my surgeon has agreed. Best of luck for moving forward.

Soup. Plus you can pretty much blend anything and turn it into a liquid by adding milk and/or water. Just add enough to get the consistency that you need.

A week and a half post-op is a little early to be losing motivation but I can understand that the build up to the surgery and the high of actually having the band is waning. Now on, it's all hard work. Don't just look to the scales for reinforcement and measuring success. Take your body measurements and you will see changes there. Feel your clothes getting loser and celebrate. Set goals, short, medium and long term and celebrate your successes (non-food celebrations!) Remember, it took you a long time to get to where you are today, it will take a long time to get back to where you want to be. Focus on taking small steps and suddenly your journey will be flying by. Best wishes.

Just go carefully and take it easy. If you feel the slightest sign of getting stuck, stop eating immediately. It really is a case of trial and error for us to work out what works for each of us. Good luck.

Yes, it is about shrinking your liver. Concentrate on doing your best with the pre op as that is really important to getting your surgery for the surgeons who order it. Plus it is an indication of your ability or willingness to make the necessary lifestyle changes to success with your band.

Definitely off to the bathroom, sometimes clutching my mobile phone and complaining about workmates in different time zones. Lol. I have also learned my early warning signs and am becoming better at listening to my band. Now, if I could just remember to ALWAYS eat slowly,I would probably be fine.

It is normal to gain some weight between surgery and your first fill. My first fill was two months post surgery so all dr are different. Hang in there.

I put my utensils down between bites, I only use a teaspoon if I am eating soup or other foods that need a spoon. But as others have said, I really didn't get the whole eat slowly thing until a major stuck episode last week. I had a later than normal lunch so was very hungry, gulped down the first two bites, and then couldn't eat for 24 hours. It was a painful lesson to learn!

Like Elcee, I am in Australia and also had to attend the ER a couple of weeks ago. I had a nasty dose of gastro and was worried that I would end up vomiting violently and possibly cause my band to slip. At that stage I had diarrhoea very badly and had started dry retching. I don't vomit easily with gastro so once the dry retching started, I knew it was time for help. I went to my local ER, which happens to be one of the hospitals where my surgeon operates. The ER docs treated my nausea and dehydration but didn't understand why I was concerned about my band, they only wanted to know how much weight I had lost! Fortunately I was able to seek help early enough to prevent any band issues but the experience did raise my awareness of the need to know my body, my band and my rights to insist that they call my surgeon if necessary. Yes, we must all be advocates for our own health!

Hoosier by default! I was a high school exchange student to Hamilton, Indiana. Currently wearing my class ring because it fits again! (Class of 81)

I get excited when I can't eat everything on my plate and I leave some of it. It means that I have learnt to stop when I have had enough. Now, if I could only just learn to serve up smaller portions..... but my dogs don't mind getting my scraps. I mentioned to my surgeon last visit that I was leaving food on my plate and he was very pleased. Not sure how to tell my Mum, though. LOL

To dance all night (I do) To look awesome in my son's wedding photos (I did ) To get off my blood pressure medication (hopefully tomorrow) To no longer have aching knees To complete the Great Victorian Bike Ride (I will in November) To complete the Lions Ride for Sight (I will next March) To live a longer, happier and healthier life with my husband (we are)

Definitely. And photographs! I just received a new bunch of pix from my son's wedding last week and am still amazed at how I look! Makes it that much easier to keep focussed after passing such a big goal event. I was worried that I would fall off the wagon after the wedding because it was something I was working towards but it's still onwards and downwards to my next goal.

Being nervous is understandable but you really don't need to be. You can make your mushies a bit runnier by adding more liquid at the start and then reducing the liquid amount progressively. Drinking with your meals will only push the food through faster and leaving you less satisfied. Good luck.

I wrote a list of all the reasons why I wanted to lose weight before I started on this lifestyle change. Everything I wrote down, from no more aching knees, dancing all night long, to getting off my blood pressure tablets, as well as a few more personal reasons, have all come true and my life is now such much happier, healthier and more exciting than it was before. I keep that list in my purse and still look at it from time to time to remind me of why I chose WLS and why I changed my lifestyle. My attitude and motivation came with my success.