Parvathi

I was quite lucky in the fact that when my hubby noticed I'd dropped a few sizes (cause my pants were falling off while I walked around the house), it was near my b-day, so he gave me a gift certificate to my favorite store. They were having a sale, so I bought one or two things in my current size, but heaps more sale items in smaller sizes, so I can shrink into them. A few of the things I really like, I'm going to be taking to the tailor to have altered. The one in my town only charges $5 for a pair of pants. Most of my top, I like bigger anyway. I've now gone through my closet and given a friend of mine all my old clothes that are too big now. I don't ever want to get back there again lol, so getting rid of the clothes was a good incentive.

Okay, that title may not be too clear LOL, but its late and my head isn't working right now. The last time I got a fill, I didn't really feel any restriction for a couple of days, then BOOM, I was so tight. Today, I had another fill. I was able to drink all morning with no issues, had a nice lunch of tuna salad on crackers with a mandarin, with no issues. Then this evening I sat down for dinner (Lean Cuisine Salmon Au Gratin, so it should be really easy to get down). I had my glass of Water, as I always do before eating, took one bite of the food and it stuck. Its gone now, just took a few minutes to get it down. Doesn't really bother me .. was just wondering why it takes different amounts of time to feel the restriction after an adjustment.

Wow - well done!! I'll say what all the others have said, that's such an inspiration. Thanks heaps for sharing

Sending happy thoughts of a speedy recovery your way, Donna. You'll be just fine and we'll see you on the other side

What a great feeling, aye, Kim?! Congratulations and enjoy that shopping trip - you deserve it

Thanks heaps, Sammee and La Madam

.. step on the scales when good ole Aunt Flo is visiting?? LOL .. never fails, I'm feeling great, then I get on the scales and my good mood goes right out the window. Guess I'll learn one of these days. ::end vent:: This vent was sponsored by Tampax and Mother Nature

Hi Sherri, I asked my doctor what size mine was. Some surgeons give you a card of sorts after surgery, with the information for your specific band. Mine didn't do that.

Hey Trish - Congratulations!! I struggle with some of those self confidence issues myself, as I'm sure, many of us here do. I often find myself looking in the mirror and trying to poke my stomach in, or looking in the mirror and going, "Yuck!!". I've wondered many a time what my husband sees in me. Hopefully one day, my self image will become a bit better. In the meantime, I'm trying to learn how to love me. Well done on your accomplishment. Wear those 28's with pride, until they fall off and you have to trade them in on something even smaller

YaYYY, I'm not alone. I guess its true that misery loves company hehe. Vinesqueen - I did that a few weeks back and freaked. Then the next visit, I'd lost 5kgs (about 10 lbs), so in the end, it settled itself out. Try not to stress about it. A size 18 is fantastic - bet you were dancing around the house when you got those on, huh? hehe

I remember reading a thread just a few days ago where you had said you were looking forward to starting a family - betcha didn't think it'd be that fast, aye? hehe A huge congratulations to you and your hubby. Motherhood is such a wonderful thing...

A very interesting read. Thanks for sharing, Zoe.

When I was overfilled, I had the hiccups for two days straight before I went to get a bit of the fill taken out .. LOL, quite possibly the longest two days of my life. Sure did keep my coworkers amused.

Ditto on the high school reunion thing. Mine's coming up next June and fingers crossed, I'll be well and truly at or near goal by then. Can't wait to see the looks on their faces! (and to see which ones of them were drop dead gorgeous but aren't anymore lol) Yes, quite petty, but I earned it with all I put up with in HS.

Good luck to you both, Kylie. I'm sure everything will go wonderfully and you'll come back completely relaxed from that vacation heh

How long were you out of work? A week - I have a desk job Does the band get weird if you go swimming? I started Water aerobics two weeks post op and went fine with it. Ask your doctor how long he thinks you should hold off those, as each one will have a different answer. Did you have get shaved before surgery? Only if there is hair there (on your tummy). I have a bit of light peachfuzz and didn't get shaved. Did they let you leave your underwear and socks on? For the surgery, I had to wear a hospital gown, desposible undies (hospital issued) and nothing else. Each hospital probably has their own procedure though. Did the incisions hurt more than the port? In my case, everything was sore for about a week. After that, it still hurt around the port incision a bit (for probably 3 weeks, but light pain, nothing major). Does anyone know if there's limitations once we're healed? (I mean restriction of movement or extertion). I haven't run into any yet. When I first started back to the gym afterwards, the ab stuff hurt a good bit, days after I'd done it. But I would just slack off a lil til it felt better. Nowadays, I'm fine with it. You've just got to learn to listen to your doctor and to your body. What happens if you fall or bump into something, is that reason to worry for slipage? Don't really have a clue on this one, but I've never seen falling or bumping something listed as a reason for slippage. How sensitive is the band to movement? While it's healing, it can be quite sensitive. Four months post op and I honestly, forget it's there. Has anyone been banded and not have it filled during surgery? How long before the first fill? I was not filled during surgery. I think its a very rare practice. My first fill was 6 weeks post op, but all doctors are different on this. Good luck with it all

My doc does it on a patient to patient basis, depending on your needs and how well you're doing. Mine equaled out to:- First fill - 1.0ml Second - 0.4ml Third - 0.4ml Fourth - 0.4ml Fifth - 0.2ml Sixth - 0.2ml Seventh - 0.1ml Eighth - 0.1ml Ninth - 0.1ml Tenth - 0.1ml Eleventh - 0.1ml Twelfth - 0.1ml Total - 3.2ml in a 10cc band , which for me, is my perfect restriction I was lucky in the fact that after my first two visits, my doctor agreed to let me come in once a week until we found my sweet spot. He was very intent on not overfilling me and taking things slow, but in the end, that worked out great for me.

When I hit goal weight, I plan on taking a couple of classes at a pole dancing studio across the road from my office... hehe. Won't say what I plan on doing with my new talents afterwards though *g*

LOL .. congratulations I doubt he'd even notice the scars, as he'll be concentrating on other things, but the nurse at my surgeon's office told me that the lapband procedure is very much like the surgery for acid reflux disease, leaving pretty much the same scars. She told me if I was uncomfortable telling my co workers about the surgery, that I could use that as a cover story. That said, I think I've told everybody and their Momma about my surgery lol - I'm so happy with it that I just want to share it with the world.

Hi RainAlya, Welcome to LBT and congratulations on getting approval from your insurance company I too, am a smoker. My doctor didn't tell me to quit pre op and I'd heard a few things as well, so I asked him. He told me it wasn't necessary, but that for my overall health, it'd be a good idea to quit eventually. I'd recommend asking your doctor though, as each of them will have their own opinions on smokers and surgery I'd assume.

Hi JoAnna, My situation was a bit different to yours, in that my doctor does the first fill at 5 weeks post op. I was on liquids for 2 weeks, then mushie foods for 4 weeks. I of course, did tend to cheat a bit. I moved myself to solids a week sooner than I was meant to. I still induldge in the occassional junk food, only, a whole lot less of it than I would have had before being banded. I reckon most of us do slip from time to time, but as long as you're staying on track and motivated 95% of the time, you should do fine. The liquids/mush stages are not fun - but its a very small step in a very big journey. I agree that being on mushie stuff for up to 12 weeks sounds a bit ridiculous, but I'm not a doctor, so I don't know his reasoning behind it. You can make it through this. Congratulations on the weightloss so far - 33 lbs in just over a month is amazing.

Once I hit the perfect restriction, there's no way I could overeat, no matter how much my head says I want to. If someone ate heaps of chocolate or milkshakes and the like though (those things go down relatively easy and are not 'solid'), that could affect them.

I don't remember any of the surgery itself. I do however remember lying on the table waiting to be rolled into the surgery room. When they finally started to take me in there, I saw the stark white walls of the room and thought - "Oh gawd .. I don't think I wanna do this!!". Within 2 minutes I was completely out LOL - which is a good thing cause otherwise I would have probably jumped off the table and ran out the door. When I woke up in recovery, I was in a bit of pain and remember thinking, "What have I done?!?" That said, those few moments of panic were well worth it. I've never been happier.

When I got the referral to my surgeon, my GP was away on holidays, so I saw one of her associates. After surgery, when it was time for my regular check up with my GP, I was scared to death to tell her about it LOL. She's a very opinionated doctor, but that's one of the reasons I trust her with my health. She said to me, pretty much what your GP said to you. It felt amazing, knowing that she was behind me on that. She's also started referring people to the surgeon I used, as I was so happy with him.

I, like many others, thought of this as a last resort and figured it probably wouldn't work, but was worth a shot. The band has far surpassed my expectations. I've lost 40 lbs since early March and am absolutely thrilled with the results. I don't get as out of breath, walking down the streets or up the stairs (still a bit winded, but hey, I'm a smoker). My sleep apnea has all but disappeared. My self confidence has sky rocketed - I can now walk down the street and not stare at the ground, but rather, look people in the eye. I don't hear those little voices in my head when I'm in public telling me how disgusting I look. I have more energy to play with my daughter. I'm not tired all day. I could go on and on. The band is the best thing I've ever done for me. Its not a cake walk. It does take work - but it makes it that lil bit easier and has made my goals reachable.