Cazzy

It is such a relief to not be paranoid that someone will take a phhoto of you when u arent ready, i am still somewhat camera shy but am not obsessing about it now

Sman is right, everyones doctor/surgeon is different, so u will need to check it with them as to what the timescales are for visits

You will need to speak to your own surgeon/doctor as we all seem to get different advice and u will need to follow his guidelines on this, good luck with the surgery

Good luck to you all getting banded this week and I wish u a speedy recovery .

If anyone questions why u did this i would remind them that is a medical proceedure, not cosmetic surgery, it is reversible should the need occurr and if u didnt medically need it your insurance wouldnt be paying for it .. would they To be honest this is between you and your doctor/surgeon, it is not a matter for discussion with people who put their own prejudices above their concern for your health

I mostly can eat chicken if its freshly cooked and i slice it very very thin, people make mistakaes with chicken of cutting small cubes, cubing protein however small isnt really the answer, that is why some can stuck on minced/ground beef.. Meat protein is and can be very stringy/fibrous to eat, u have to cut through those fibres , slicing will do this cubing chicken wont. If i cook a chicken breast, i butterfly it, ie cut it in half not all the way and open it up, then it gets bashed like an escalope then dry fried for just 2 to 3 minutes, the chicken will remain tender and moist because of cooking it quickly, I can never eat chicken cold tho .. but a good knife and good skills with it can make aall the difference as to what u can and cant eat

It may well be that u might not feel much even after the first fill, for some people it can take any number of fills before u start to feel like u have a band, untill that happens u only have yourself to rely on, hence the name, bandster hell. I was also told by my surgeon that many people during this time can put on a little weight, i chose not to by restricting what i ate and exercise ( when i was cleared to do it ) but what u choose to do during this period is your decision. Only a lucky few wake up from surgery and feel the band and some restriction, the rest of us have a bumpy ride till those fills kick in.

I was given one for compression after my plastic surgery, maybe u had a hernia repair ? it is either to prevent swelling or fluid build up or to support the muscles while they heal. I wouldnt worry about it, it certainly wont do u any harm till u go back to the surgeon and u can ask

Good.. losing all this weight and feeling 10 years younger.. Bad.... looking 10 yrs older due the wrinkles in my face showing up ..

Wishing u a speedy recovery and hope all goes well

I must admit i dont like weighing out food so i dont, protein i do around the size of a pack of cards, green veg i tend to just put on the plate 2 tablespoonfuils normally, i am not so precise that i have to use the scales but am pretty clear look wise as to what i can and cant eat We have to devise methods of being banded that will last us , hopefully all our lives, so if u weigh out things intially get used to and learn what sizes u can and cant eat then just carry opn that judgement without the scales once u get expert at it, that way u can go out for meals anywhere and know exactly how much to eat

I would say that given how diffiicult it is, so it seems anyways, to find a doctor who didnt do the surgery willing to do fills, that the cost of fills u might have to put aside and concentrate on just finding someone. Many people set this up before they have the surgery to avoid problems finding someone after good luck in your quest anyways

Yes let us know how it all went Nikki !

I was very heavy when i started this and although i wouldnt say i had panic attacks about it, i was concerned and anxious at having a 'heart attack' i gave myself post surgery a couple of months really not doing much exercise other than some leg raises and dumbells sitting on the sofa watching tv, with counting calories too the weight fell off and by 3 months post op i bought myself an exercise bike and hve been cycling ever since, i also have a road bike now and can cycle some days 25 miles .. i started off slow and steady u really dont need to push yourself to the limits to lose weight ..

I am always saddened and concerned when i read threads like this. Do surgeons really not explain to people about restriction and fills, what will happen post - op, when it will happen and why etc. Post - op is a time to heal, concentrate on what and how u should be eating, you may not feel any restrictions at all for another 4 to 5 fills some feel it earlier some feel it after 6 to 7 fills there is no set pattern here other than patience is the best thing to do right now, after all how long have u been too heavy, these few months it will take for u to get what u need from the band are nothing compared to the years most of us have been heavy.. good luck and any weight loss now is a bonus not the usual

Good luck , u might find it can take a good 3 to 4 fills to get u close to where u really need to be, but small steps are by far the best in this process, keep doing what u are doing and u will be fine

Sounds like u have done exactly what u needed to to set u up for the rest of your life, its so good to hear others getting their head and body right .. well done !

Sounds like u are doing sooo well .. u have 3 options, keep doing what u are doing and enjoy your coffee, reduce your coffee to just one a day treat and maybe lose a little faster, or cut it out completely and maybe lose a little more ... personally try reducing the amount u drink, u might find that works for you just fine

It is common to be full of gas post surgery, i know a lot have got relief from gas x strips, we dont get them here, but my heat pad was my saviour and in a few days u will find that the gas will start to move and find its own outlet

I did 600 calories low fat/carb/sugar for 10 weeks pre-op it seemed to go very quick as the weight dropped off

Good luck to you all on here, i know how hard this is gonna be for you 'younger ones' it will be worth it tho, if i had my time again i would have this surgery in a flash when i was 20 something, take this opportunity to make the rest of your life what u want it to be. This is still a medical proceedure, it isnt cosmetic, you have to meet medical requirements to get this surgery, its like people telling u not to have your appendix out, if u meet the requirements for this surgery, then u need it ..!!

Most people go through what u all are going through and believe me it does get better. The relationship with food doesnt end it just changes, no longer does food control you but u control it, food can still be a friend but not your best friend, at the cost of your health and well being. You all recently had surgery too and that in its self is an emotional rollercoaster, let alone the emotional side of having to restrict what u eat too ... just concentrate on what u can eat, not what u cant ... A year and half down the line and i am happy with the food i eat and extremely happy over the weight i lost, all the positives that will come over time as u lose the weight will far outweigh any negatvity that u are feeling now. Start walking, get out and about, and look forward to a healthy and happy future, and dont dwell on a food laden unhealthy past

I think cocoabean is right there wouldnt be much harm if u left your band empty for the few months u are away, having said that many in the UK go to Belgium for their surgery , like u have people go to Mexico, and they have fills done here in the UK, its not an issue if your original surgeon supports this

Sounds like u know what to do so just do it .. u might want to try some extra strength training, but everyone gets plateaus so donmt be too hard on yourself, just be patient and as long as u are burning more than u eat u will start to lose again , but small shocks are good for the body .. lets it know u are in control

I hope u have a speedy recovery... Well weighing ones self is a personal thing depending on how u are as a person, if by putting on a lb overnight it would motivate u to exercise more the next day be even more dilligent over what u are eating till that lb comes off then i would say weigh daily, record it weekly.. if on the other hand putting a lb opn overnight will send u into a depression or ruin your day then maybe once a week ... I weigh myself every day, am not obsessed by it, but i got to 400lbs by not weighing myself and i wasnt going to make that mistake again, i chose to make the scales my friend and my motivator , some like to think of them as the 'enemy' its entirely up to you. U are already doing the brave thing of using the photo as your control, see how u go with the scales, everyone fluctuates overnight with weight but i never fluctuated more a lb and i never since my first appointment in 2010 october have put on weight ... i did an excel sheet of my weight loss since being banded and there are a couple of weeks where the number lost is zero but every other week leading up to my plastic surgery i lost weight .. i am accountable to me now i am inmaintenance