Brandychick

I think it is fair to say that we all wish we had it done much sooner...like before we got fat in the first place! lol! I, too, put on masses of weight between making the decision to go for the op and the actual op itself. I did not have to go on liquid diet or such like before the op so every day was my final supper! God was it fun!! Now I regret it a bit cause you then have to lose that before you lose anymore. The effect of yo-you dieting is terrible. For every diet I embarked upon I would end up putting on a stone eventually! Now, even though I have been plateauing for ages, I am not putting it back on and that is such a positive!

That is exactly how I feel. Maybe we all need a lobotomy to take care of that problem! LOL Anon so sorry to hear. As you say you owed to yourself, it's in the past and it isn't as bad as it would have been pre-banding! Glad to hear that you are bouncing back.

I am gobsmacked! I thought knoledge was power but I guess there are cases where it doesn't apply! Keep going you all, we will be happy in the end! (67lbs down and sooooo happy already!)

Welcome Mrdowntown, good luck!

I guess you keep going by knowing how much weight you are losing. Have you weighed yet> And if so have you lost anything? Let us know your progress. My trick at the moment, is to come on the forum and have a yap if I feel like eating, it takes the stress away as your brain is occupied and it also is full of information which really helps to carry on.

I wish! The band helps you adjust your portion eating. But let's face it, if all you eat is salad, you will falter! That is not the point of the exercise. We have to keep this up for years, so the main thing is to have a balanced diet but that also means having the odd treat...or in my case, far too many treats...oops!!! LOL No on the whole I eat much more veg and fruits than I used to! I cut down on sauces and mayonnaise in particular. A little of what you like don't do you no harm though!

That is so well put musicalmomma, it puts in word what I have always felt! Why can't people just love us for us!

Never heard about that particular problem myself. I will tell you an amusing tale though...when I woke up from the op, the nurses were asking me how I was feeling. Now I am french having an op in France. Apparently I started shouting things to them in English. They could not understand a word I was saying and I was too out of it to comprehend why they looked at me blank...so they put me out again!!! Good thing too cause I was shouting that I was in pain!1! LOL! Anyway the second time round of waking up I was feeling much better and no pain at all so all was well in the end! Good luck for the surgery. I sooo hope that it brings you all sorts of happiness! Lots of bandsters love!!!

2 eggs for breakfast is about as bad as I can get. And anyhow my breakfast is about 9.30am byt which time I have been up 4 hours and had a pint of water and a cup of green tea. There is no way I could eat first thing when I get up. Couldn't before the op and still can't now. I don't feel that my restriction is great. It is one of the things that I want to discuss with my doc. I always feel that I am eating too much...but there again this could be me feeling guilty! I normally feel guilty if I eat anything at all. That's a throw back of being obese: cause everybody tells you that it's because you eat too much, you end up believing it! My problem is I like my food, the more fattening the better and dripping in sauce please! LOL Writing down what I am eating on this thread helps cause I don't feel like I have to lie here. I normally always lie on what I have eaten. It;s programmed in me after years of binge eating in secret!!! LOL I have to learn that I don't need to anymore!! Is anyone else still wanting to eat until they explode when things get a little stressy..then you can't (well not as much as you used to anyway!) and then you feel even more stressed and frustrated as well as guilty for what you did manage??? Please answer with all your guilty secrets..that would make me feel so much better to know I am not alone!

Today I have been very good so far: 1 cereal bar for breakfast, 1 low fat yoghurt and a small tuna wrap for lunch. Hope I can keep it up through the evening. That is sooo my worst time for grazing...particularly if my husband is out for the evening! Wish me luck!! LOL!

I was on liquids, mushies from 2 days post-op to 1 week post-op. My surgeon then told me to go on solids. When I told him that I understood that I should be on mushies for 4 weeks, he said that we all have to learn to chew sometimes, so just as well be now whilst he was at hand to help me if something got stuck. He did not want me to go back to the UK (got banded in France) and then have a problem and I would be somebody else's problem! My husband was livid cause he got me a liquidiser as a welcome home present! LOL!

well done you..keep it going!

BRAVO indeed! That should be the way to live one's life! Very much agree with all the comments here. We have to look after number 1!!

I told everybody about my surgery and was very upfront about it. Some people do look at you like you have gone mad, others are just really reproaching your decision. However within a couple of months of the op when the weight is dropping they all act like it was their idea in the first place. So don't get discouraged, just hang in there. They will all change their minds when they see how well you are doing and how happy you are becoming!

I am completely in agreement, I went to France for mine cause my GP kept telling me to count calories. After a weight gain of almost 5 stones in 2 years I think I was way past counting calories. If it was that easy, we would all be thin right?? LOL I paid £3300 in France for the op and the surgeon there told me that I was a prime candidate with a BMI of 46. The NHS board refused to refund the op cause they said that I would not have had it on the NHS if I had been patient enough to go through the year long process of seeing all the specialist pre-op so I am glad I went abroad! Surely it is about time they realised that being obese is as much an illness as being boulimic or all those other thin illnesses around! They are advertised as ill people to be pitied, we are put up as a figure of shame to be ridiculed???!!!!!

This article just proves what we have experienced first hand! Only a shame that the UK NHS do not see it as such and do not give it more freely on the NHS, so many of us are having to go private for an operation which would save them a lot of money in the long run! I was in the doctors every other week for months before the op as I was so unwell all the time, now....the last time I went to the GP was the first time in over a year and that was for a smear test! That should do all the talking???

Don't forget that the band can come off at any time, with bypass you are stuck really! So I don't think they can really say that the lapband causes problem....do they really know? They can takeit out if something goes wrong! It is worth the extra expense and you recover much quicker from the op!

The gas pain is the worst in the first 2 weeks then all of sudden it disappears. I took quite a mixture of pain killers in the first few days but found that nothing really works. I found it was much worse when I was sitting down but once I found a good lying down position, it eased up a lot. Don't worry too much about it. This is the start of it all and in 2 weeks time it will be a distant memory. Well done on getting the band and welcome to the LBT. Leave the scales alone. take them round to a mates so you won't be tempted to use it everyday. Just relax and let you body recover. Good luck!

That is the best way to go. find out as much about it as you can before the op then you know there will be no nasty surprises. Welcome to LPB and let us know what you decide!

This was soooo me pre-op! I was on and off anti-depressants. I had no energy and no will to find any. I was suffering with swollen ankles, acid, I was in pain everyday of my life cause my legs would not support my weight. I am left with a ver manageable and painless damage in my legs. In response to your question, it really is down to you. Nobody can make such a major decision on your account. I now for me it was life changing, but it is no easy road! Please read about it, see the threads on this forum before you make up your mind, then if you are still thinking about it then go for it! That's what I did and I haven't looked back. But once again it has the be the right decision for you. Welcome to the LPB!

well done you! Week one only, you have done so well. Give it a couple of weeks and everybody will know something is up what with the new figure!!! LOL! Wish you all the best for the new you!

My husband was way against it when I thought about it. I had to tell him that it was about me and not him! As for my mum, she thought I was mad. Yet after speaking to people who had it done, she was the one who found my surgeon, made all my appointments and looked after me post op. My husband now says that it is the best thing that I could ever have done as he can see how much happier I am! I would suggest finding a bandsters meeting near you and taking your family with you so they can speak to people who have had it done. The main thing is for you to be determined. If you are serious about it, they will see this and start being more supportive. Good luck.

It's catch 22! I feel for you. How about getting referred from scratch? My surgeon said that I will be in his care until the band is removed so I am surprised that they discharged you completely with the band in! I fear that my pouch has stretched too and will discuss it with my surgeon in July. I will let you know the outcome! Good luck!

Well done you. You took the first step. Hope you are not suffering too much from the air they put in. I can remember my shoulders hurting a lot!

I have thinned out in the front. If I put my hair in a ponytail you can definitely see a balnk space on the left hand side of my head. With some careful hairdressing you should get away with it. I have very thick hair so it is quite notceable if I am not too careful. Anon is right, make sure you get your protein. Post-op I am not able to eat too much meat as I keep getting "stuck" when eating it. I tend to have meals with low fat mince, it helps make sure you get the right intake. I am 18 months post-op and it has not come back but again it is def my own fault for not making sure I get the right nutrients! Good luck. Give us an update.