Parvathi

Excellent - thanks so much. I'm going to speak with my doctor about preparing my surgery notes for me and writing a recommendation, just in case. I'm not usually a very prepared person lol, but I'm so looking forward to having a winter Christmas with my family again, that I'm starting a bit early Unfortunately, I won't be able to eat the sausage gravy and biscuits on Christmas Eve morning (my absolute favorite family tradition), but I'll survive LOL.

.. NC (near Charlotte)? I'm going to the states in December and while I don't anticipate any problems with my band, I want to have the name and number of a good doctor who can do fills/unfills in my area, if need be. Also .. will be heading on to Vegas after that for a short stay, so if anyone knows of any Vegas doctors, that would be helpful too. Thanks in advance

Thanks everyone! Kel, I'm always looking for a reason to get away lol, so we can absolutely meet in middle, or heck, I like going to Sydney too Jachut - Mr Crosthwaite is fantastic. He's experienced, mature and professional. Of course, that makes him a bit dry as well lol, but I shopped around as far as surgeons went and decided to go with him in the end cause he seemed to really know what he was doing. Another one I saw was a young handsome thing that I could have talked to all day, but I figured to go with experience, rather than someone I'd invite over for tea and perv on heh.

*completely ignores the spam above this post, so as not to be called a jerk later tehe* Kel, that's absolutely fantastic!! I'm sooooooo happy for you Double digits feel wonderful hehe. That plateau really feels like a thing of the past now, huh

Thanks heaps, Kathy Like I said, hopefully, I won't even need a doctor while I'm there lol, but knowing my luck, I best be prepared heh...

hehe .. while I probably shouldn't laugh, after reading through the entire posting history for this one, I reckon that was definitely called for

Fantastic photos, Audrey! As the others said, its inspiring. Congratulations

Its amazing what a difference 0.1cc can make lol. I generally tend to wait about a week after a fill, just to see if it settles any, before going back to have some removed, but that's just cause I'm impatient and want this weight off yesterday. If its really uncomfortable for you, I'd say have some taken out. If you feel like it will settle soon, wait a couple more days. Good luck with it all and welcome to LBT

Yup, what Rae said heh. I think a good many of us ordered medic bracelets a few weeks ago, saying basically the same thing.

Congratulations Jodie! Just imagine what that last year of high school is going to be like, as the new you. Even makes me excited hehe Take it easy and happy recovery.

Had my first fill at 5 weeks post op, but in hindsight, I probably could have gone a bit longer without it. I was just in a hurry to get the ball moving, lol. Take advantage of it for as long as you can As for the throat thing, mine was sore for a good two months after surgery, unfortunately. Hope yours feels better soon.

Depending on what medications you're on, it could be some stuff you'll eventually go off of after surgery. Most pills I've had to take though, can be crushed, chopped, or bought in a liquid form. Probably something you'd want to discuss with your doctor.

I lost a heap of hair after surgery. Only within the last month has it really stopped falling out. I've also increased my protein a good bit within the last month though, so I'm not sure if its that, or if its because of the surgery, for me.

I can't answer most of this, but I have run into one or two people who have managed to lose weight with the band, having no fill. That said, I'm so not one of those people and I really need my fill to hold me back.

While I know that I should be following every rule I was given, there's not a rule out there I haven't broken atleast once lol. There have been occassions, where in a social situation, I've drank with my meal (or directly after my meal). There have been occassions where I've had liquid calories (I'm a big fan of fruit smoothies for Breakfast with a bit of Protein Powder added for good measure). There have been times when I haven't chewed properly .. and let me tell ya, it bit me on the arse for sure. I was eating about 1 cup of food at a sitting before my first few fills. Now I'm lucky to get half a cup down on a normal day. I'm fine with that. Like La_Madam said though, once you've hit restriction, you'll chew better. It's all a learning process.

Patience is a virtue. I think that lack of patience has been my biggest downfall with the band. Like nearly everyone, I want the weight gone .. yesterday lol. But I'm learning, slowly

My DH, bless his heart, is super supportive. He wasn't too keen on the idea of WLS at first, but after my mom went to the information evening with me and came back raving about it (she's a RN and he trusts her judgement more than mine lol), he was fine with it. Had I not had comorbidities, such as sleep apnea and borderline diabetes, he probably would have been a bit harder to turn around on the idea though. Jachut, you just do what you know is right for yourself, and everything else will fall into place

... and has the band helped you to overcome those cravings? My food weakness is the potato, in all of its various forms. More specifically though, chips. Potato chips have been my favorite food, for as long as I can remember. In the past, I've been known to sit down with a large bag and finish it off in less than 30 minutes. I'd have still been hungry afterwards. I'm amazed by how long a bag of chips can last in my house now lol. The bag currently sitting in the cupboard, has been here nearly 3 weeks and is still half full. After picking my daughter up from school one day, I was having a huge craving for chips, so we stopped at 7-11. Got two tiny bags. Less than halfway through my bag, I was completely stuffed. I'm loving this band heh

Good luck in whatever decision you end up making, Jachut. And know that we're all here, anytime you need support or to vent or whatever. Which surgeon are you seeing?

LOL fantastic!! Pretty soon you'll be able to put on his clothes and be swimming in em. Well done, Kel

I haven't tried Xenical, but just wanted to say, you've lost 70 lbs since February!! LOL, that's an astronomical amount - well done! Perhaps your body just needs some time to adjust and is doing that in the form of a plateau? Plateau's suck, that's for sure .. but you'll start losing again in no time at all :eek:

Sending some happy thoughts your way, Dee Dee. You'll be fine And we'll see you in band land heh...

LOL .. yup, I can still eat them, but very slowly and one at a time, rather than a small handful at a time. It takes alot of the pleasure out of it, thankfully. I have a real problem eating hot chips now though, so that's a good thing.

Zoe, well done. Sixty-five pounds is nothing to scoff at. You deserve a pat on the back and a shopping trip hehe. Keep up the good work

Hi - my name is Jess and I'm a scaleoholic. There, I said it LOL. Its a nasty habit, I know, but I'm only up for quitting one thing at a time and right now, its eating bad foods I've been really good the past month. I've gone to the gym 4-5 times per week. I've eaten really well. I'm feeling pretty darn good and even a tad bit sexy lol. My weight has held steady for about a week now, but before that, I had been losing very slowly and steadily. So this morning, I step on the scale, as per usual and there it is ... I've put on 0.3kgs (a lil over half a pound). Now I know that's a very tiny amount and I know that weight fluctuates and I know that I've been working out, so quite possibly, I'm building muscle and last but not least, I know that dear ole Aunt Flo has been staying at my place this week and I've been bloated as hell. (Holy run on sentence Batman)! But it still made me feel just a bit, like crap. So I thought, why not share my crappy day with those kind people over at LBT heh. Soooooo .. if anyone else has read this and is having a crappy day and would like to vent, feel free to hijack this thread, as if you've made it this far, you deserve it We'll have our own lil pity party LOL.