Parvathi

Agreeing with what Jachut said. I did lose a bit of strength post banding. Mostly from the liquids/mushies stage. But since I've started the real bandsters plan of Protein, veggies, then carbs or fruit if I have room, I have heaps of energy. Also make sure you're on a good multi Vitamin. Since I incorporated that into my daily routine, I have really noticed a difference. When I started back to the gym, I had definitely loss some muscle mass, but I started back slowly and have gained all that I had before plus some. Good luck to you and yell out if you need to vent.

Gosh Estela, all this stress can't be good for you. You and your family will remain in my prayers. I'm so sorry to hear this has happened.

Congratulations!! What an exciting time this is for you

Fantastic news, Dee!! You'll feel heaps better now that you're able to get some nutrients into you

That was the first question asked of the surgeon at my Information Evening. He laughed and assured us that drinking alcohol (beer included) would be fine in moderation. Course he didn't tell us to go on a drinking binge LOL, but I've not had any problems with the occassional few glasses of drink.

YaYYY .. you'll love him. He even called my hubby when I got out of surgery to let him know how things went, without us asking him to. He's professional and thoughtful.

Excellent news Which surgeon are you using? Jot down any lingering questions you may have along the way to take to the Information Night. They're really helpful.

Sheesh, good luck with getting that straightened out. My dietician was quite relaxed in the early stages, stressing that now was the time for healing. I was allowed pretty much anything that could be vitamized and didn't have to worry about my Protein intake until on full solids. It will get better though. How much longer til mushies?

That's fantastic news, Estela. She's so lucky to have a daughter that loves her so much - this post made me teary and I'm not even PMSing lol.

A guy at my office lost a heap of weight year before last. He had a tummy tuck done last year. He thought he had finished losing, but lost another 15-20kgs after the surgery and is having to go under the knife again, but for the excess skin on his sides/back this time... bleh. His stomach has stayed fine through out it all though, so that's good. He spoke with his surgeon about my situation and he said when I'd lost 50% of my excess to call and book in for a confirmation. I've been meaning to do it, just haven't gotten around to it. I'll definitely ask him though when I go.

When I got married 3 and a half years ago, I searched high and low for a simple outfit to wear (wasn't a big ceremony and wanted something kind of casual that I could wear again one day). This city is filled with pencil thin, boobless model wannabes lol, so my search took ages. I finally found a shop that had a lovely light lavendar skirt and top. It was just what I had been looking for. When I tried on the biggest size, the skirt was super tight Luckily, the blouse came down over my gut to hide it a little bit. I looked around at other shops though and that was the closest I could find to something that looked half way decent on me. This weekend, I fished it out of the closet, just to see if I could squeeze my big arse into it yet. Low and behold, it was LOOSE! Not like falling off loose or anything, but moving room loose for sure. That inspired me to try on a few other outfits that I had bought before I moved to Australia, in the hopes that one day I'd fit into them. They ALL fit!!! So I'm now smaller than my DH has ever seen me. Still as big as I was when I was 9 months pregnant, but I'm not concentrating on that hehehe.

The blender is your friend. I lived on vitamized Soup on the liquid phase... and there's so many different flavours to keep you from getting bored with it. A creamy potato soup was fantastic for me. Also minestrone with a bit of spice added to it. Not much longer now. I know its hard, but you can do it!

I'm still trying to decide LOL. Going to QLD for a few days next week, so we'll see how much $$ I have when I get back and go from there.

Hi Schel, I have a very flexible office job, so I took two weeks off. Didn't really need it all (one week would have been suffice), but I had my laptop, so worked from home the second week. I'm not sure what you can expect 3-4 years out, as I haven't made it that far yet, but there are a few bandsters around this board that have, so I'm sure one of them will answer that for you. I'm able to eat pretty much anything - except gnocchi. I can still drink, but I do drink a bit slower. While some doctors suggest against carbonation, mine said it was fine and I've had no problems drinking carbonated drinks thus far. Here are a couple of links for you, with different threads about RNY vs Banding:- http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=7204&highlight=lap+band+rny http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=9104&highlight=rny Good luck with whatever you decide

Forgot to add - that percentage was when I first started this. Last Friday when I had mine recalculated (tape measure method), mine was down to 49%. So going to the gym has definitely helped

It's generally referred to as 'last supper syndrome' here. There are heaps of us who ate everything in sight before being banded, because our heads said, "Oh, you better have that <INSERT here choice of food>cause you'll not be able to eat it after being banded. Just try not to go overboard - there's only one item that I've found to be off limits to me since being banded (potato gnocchi). While each person varies in this, I'm able to have chicken, steak, bread (though I choose not to eat it), etc. You'll do fine

Hey Jachut, When I started looking into it, I called my fund (MBF) and they said the same thing - If the doctor says you need it, we'll cover it. There's a specific code for the lapband that insurance companies use to refer to it .. I have it in one of my books and that's what I quoted them for the procedure. Being from the states originally, I really appreciate the Australian healthcare system and especially programs like TAC. People gripe about it alot, but when my dad was here on holidays, he got an Australian motorbike license cause he was going to be here for 5 months. A car hit him one day when he was riding. Broke 2 vertebrae, torn ligament in his knee (whichever one it is the footy players are always having to have surgery for), collapsed both lungs, broke 6 ribs and his big toe. Had to have his spine fused and has to have a full knee reconstruction this year. TAC covered it all - not a penny out of pocket. Had he been at home when it happened, he would have ended up paralyzed waiting to get the money for the surgery, or had it and then gone bankrupt trying to pay it back. Taxes may be a bit higher, but in my opinion, its definitely worth it.

Someone asked that question at the Information Evening I went to and the surgeon said that no, it wouldn't matter. He said that because most people have tried weight loss plan after weight loss plan before the surgery and always gain it back (usually with more kgs added to it), that the few you had lost pre surgery would be no different.

*hugs* Estela. You and your family will be in my prayers. My sister-in-law has just gone through 6 treatments of chemo and we're now in the waiting stages, to find out if it worked. The not knowing is nerve wrecking! Please keep us posted and take care of yourself.

I started thoroughly investigating the band online, in early January. On January 19th, I went to the Information Evening. The next day I called to book my consult .. that was 2 weeks later (quite possibly the longest 2 weeks of my life lol). I had wanted to get the surgery before my parent's left in mid March, so my DH wouldn't be home alone taking care of us girls lol. My surgeon was great when I explained the situation to him and moved some things around to get me in for surgery on March 4th. Had to rush through the tests and the sleep study, but I made it. To me, it's kind of like when you know you're going on a big vacation - you feel like the day will never get there. But looking back afterwards, it really didn't take that long. You'll be starting your new life very soon. Try not to stress too much in the meantime. You'll do fine

I'm right in there with ya! Mine was exactly the same. Horrible feeling, but we're on the right track now

Twice now, I've hit what seems to be perfect restriction. Both times, after around 3 or 4 weeks, I start noticing that I can gradually eat more and more. Just wondering if this is normal...

Mine was falling out by the handful after surgery. Went on for about 5 months, but has stopped now. It had me stressed, as I was sure I'd end up bald hehe, but I've got a massive head of hair again. It will subside soon.

Just a quick off topic post - but has anyone else today had troubles with their username/password combination not being saved? I come here a couple of times a day and usually its saved (the tick box is ticked), but today, I've had to sign in everytime. No big deal really, just wasn't sure if I was the only one

Just wanted to say thank you, Alex, for everything you've done. I can imagine that being banded with out access to resources such as this site would be an absolute nightmare, as you wouldn't know what's going on with your body. You've given us all a place where we can have support, share our trials and tribulations ..and just plain have someone to relate to. I really appreciate that!