Jachut

Your story is helpful to many, I'm sure. Because its not whether or not you have these episodes, its how you handle them. We ALL have them. Just this last 2 weeks, I think I need a fill. I was at the darn doctors and elected to not have one, grrrrr. I had seven days of perfect eating, dipped UNDER 71kg (OMG OMG OMG) and have now followed this up with 4 days of carb binging. Egads! But thanks to the band, have not gained a gram. But its getting back on track that counts, not actually falling off the wagon. We all do that.

Hunger pains can be pretty darn painful for me these days, If I'm really STARVING. Dont know why but it has been like that since I was banded. Every now and then they're really really bad.

For now, I'd do gentle cardio like the bike, treadmill or elliptical until you're a good six or eight weeks out when you can start weights. Once you're back to normal, you'll find so much conflicting info on what you should do. There's so much out there to say focus on strength training, but well, experience has shown me that cardio works. The theories on why lots of heavy cardio waste your muscle away and are detrimental to your efforts to improve your body composition make sense when you read them but I'm hear to tell you that an 40 minutes of running five times a week does NOT have that effect on one's body, lol. I'm a cardio addict, so to get in the strength training that I know I need, I do circuits with a treadmill and fast, heavy weight work, takes about 45 minutes and gets my heart rate through the roof but has also built nice muscle tone (personally I couldnt give a rats proverbial about scultping individual muscles, as long as I dont wobble like a jelly and dont look hard and manly like that awful Gillian on biggest loser, I'm more than happy). I dont have the time or patience for dedicated strength training and I always worry about the running I'd not be doing whilst I'm in the gym. The bottom line is what works best is the exercise you'll do and at average every day levels - which includes 40 minute runs - the effect on your body will all be positive no matter what it is.

Yes, cotton (or better yet, hemp) pads. I tried a cup and something about it and my personal anatomy dont work. Crippling cramps, I'd move and just be struck by incredible pain. Which is weird since I used a diaphragm for years and am used to shoving things up there, lol, its not like I couldnt get it in. I'll use a tampon for convenience if I"m swimming or whatever, but overall, my cycle is lighter, more regular and less painful than when I was using disposable products, and they dont make me dry and itchy.

At goal, mine is a visible hard lump on my stomach. Its not too bad if I"m standing up - have JUST enough loose skin/pudge there to make sure it doesnt stick right out but you can see it if you look for it. But if I put my arms up or lie on my back, it looks like half a walnut under my skin.

It sounds like you're getting stuck and sliming. Is there discomfort associated - a blocked up feeling, perhaps like you swallowed a golf ball? When you get food stuck or blocked up a bit, your body starts to produce tons of thick, slimy saliva to clear it. It can be difficult to swallow this saliva because swallowing it only increases the blockage and causes more. And its nearly always a precursor to vomiting up the offending item too. If its just happening immediately after a fill, then dont eat solids. Following a fill have a day on liquids, then mushies, then progress to solids carefully. Personally, I can eat right away, but some people cant and that's why so many doctors recommend this careful progression back to solid foods. It should lessen once your fill has settled down (it can cause swelling and irritation to your stomach), and you'll avoid the episode and even more sliming if you stick with liquids for a while. Other than that it can and probably will occur at random times when something gets stuck, happens to nearly all bandsters. Myself, I rarely PB but small sliming episodes occur all the time.

Yes, vegemite is real, lol! And it was Men at Work, like Shortgal says.

Its the low carb that does it, in a lot of cases. The trouble with a high Protein diet is that when you increase your protein, to about 100grams a day it can DOUBLE the rate at which your body excretes calcium - which is what makes one kind of kidney stones (not to mention predisposing you to osteoporosis). Also, the increased Water loss that high protein diets cause leads to increased uric acid levels in the blood - another cause of kidney stones (and gout). What works best for weight loss and what is healthiest for your body all round is not necessarily the same thing. High protein, low carb diets can be not so great for your other body systems, dangerous for your kidney, bowels and arteries for starters. Like in all things, it would appear that despite the fast weight loss you can get from low carbing and the weight management that it affords so many people who could not manage to lose weight before, moderation in all things is really the way to go because high processed carb diets can cause kidney stones too. Protein first is a different thing, just making sure we get enough, becuase of course, we do need protein. The trouble with bandsters and the protein first rule though is that many people are full on their protein and dont get enough of anything else. But just being sure you get enough protein is different to really low carbing. If you're also getting your 2 fruit, five veg, some good wholegrains, it can also just be one of those things. But if you have to take fibre supplements to stay regular and drink gallons of water a day to flush out your kidneys and you're walking around in a daze of ketosis with foul breath, how healthy can a high protein diet really be? Kidney stones are incredibly painful by all accounts, I hope you're feeling better.

Hi there, I'd suggest paying a visit to Sign In and joining up. Its a really quiet board, and you'll find way more info here, but there's a good group of Perth bandsters there, who were done by Dr Dolan and they also meet up really regularly, it appears to be a very large, friendly group.

I know the thread you mean, it popped up today. Something wicked.

Woohoo, that must make your proud! And deservedly so!

Anything paracetamol. I'd reserve NSAID's for real inflammatory type pain (like a bad back) anyway, band or not. They're not great to be taking often. I do occasionally suffer from bouts of sciatica and heel pain and my doc said once in a while ibuprofen is OK, just not on a regular basis. What do people do who need them constantly?

I know, that's why I was reluctant to wean even at 2 years old, lol. Many many cloth diapers and menstrual products are made by SAHM businesses, which is also nice, I'd rather patronise another mum's business than the big bad Huggies company, lol. For the drool factor, have a look here: Welcome - Made By Mom Baby Co., LLC (expensive, hard to get, lol, but gorgeous work). BabyBeeHinds.com.au - Fitted cloth nappies for your little honey! - my friend Dee makes these, they're awesome. Pocket diapers were my choice, we had tons of Fuzzibuns - they have a microfleece lining which wicks away moisture - voila! a stay dry cover just like a disposable Fuzzi Bunz - THE Pocket Diaper - The mothering forums are awesome for educating yourself about modern cloth diapers: Diapering - MotheringDotCommune Forums And this is a fun place, mostly Aussies Nappycino! - Nappycino Home And here's some cloth pad resources: clothpadreviews.makeforum.org :: clothpadreviews.makeforum.org Cloth Menstrual Pads

Obviously there's the risk of frequent vomiting from overindulgence. Vomiting with a lapband can be risky. And then there's the loss of your good sense if you've had a few, eating things that will get stuck, not eating carefully etc. And lowered tolerance of alcohol. I'd have to say my alcohol tolerance is fairly normal again now, meaning 2 or 3 glasses of wine over a couple of hours is fine for me. But for ages, I really had to watch it, I'd find myself getting very tipsy from one drink. When you're used to being able to have a drink when you're out and still drive, you have to watch that. I may not have been over .05 (the legal limit here) but I was NOT fit to drive. And alcohol is a load of empty calories and affects your state of wellbeing, your food choices and exercise ability and habits. BUT - at the seminar I was at last week (for my DH) the doctor said that they find that their patients that have a glass of wine at night actually DO better than their teetotalling patients.

I'm sorry you're sick, especially with the flu. Its my pet hate when people have a nasty bad cold (which can be awful) or bronchitis or similar (even more awful) and they say they have the "flu". I've had a true flu once and have never ever been sicker in my life, so I feel for you.

For me, good restriction like that lasts only a matter of weeks - as little as 6lb is enough to loosen me up. The last fill I had though took me to a good place, and I quickly reached goal. Its lasted me about 9 months this time, and I went back to my doc on Monday but we elected to not fill and just see how I go for the timebeing, as I'm eating quite a bit more, and am hungrier but have not gained so much as an ounce, in fact am still losing in increments of about 1/100th of a lb a week, lol. But I will need another fill by 12 months, I'm certain of it. That's just the natural loosening you get with weight lost and evaporation over time. So yeah, I think it depends a lot where you are in your journey, by the end, you dont have all that fat to lose around your stomach, and you dont need to eat so little to maintain as you do to lose, so your fill seems OK for a lot longer.

It was on my list of mushies - but I found fish to be rather difficult to handle, its still not an easy food for me to eat. Its something about the texture.

Sooooo untrue of modern cloth diapers. Just so untrue. Hemp is naturally antimicrobial and antibacterial, it is less environmentally detrimental than cotton to grow. Dry pailing does not smell. Solid waste goes into the toilet where it belongs, not into the rubbish bin and landfill. Wet diapers just get pailed. Twice, three times a week, a cold wash with an environmentally friendly detergent and maybe some bicarband hang them on the line to dry. There is simply no competition with disposables as to which is more detrimental to the environment. There is no need for wet pails full of special soaking water and without the filthy water, there is no smell. And funnily enough, when babies do poo, it doesnt stink the room out in a cloth diaper like it does in a sposie. Disposable diaper recycling is in place here too and its a good move, because lets face it, we all do fall back on convenience items at times. And ladies, you ought to try non disposable menstrual items. Once you get your head around the ick factor and actually try it you'll never go back. I'm of the opinion that we each have to do our bit and we all contribute some ways and fall short in others, nobody is perfect. But the world of cloth diapering is amazing now, those old misconceptions need to be thrown out with the dirty pail water!

No, he's not a big drinker. I mean most Australian men like a beer, but its very occasional and usually only a stubby or two (small bottles). Like me, he has a glass of wine most nights. I think he'll get a great result with a lapband personally, he's not a sweet eater, he just eats a lot at mealtime but he eats very healthy foods for the most part, his trouble is a sedentary job - 2 hours a day in the car, sometimes more and 9 hours at a desk. Nonetheless he's quite fit and loves to come out for a really hard walk with me (he walks, I jog slowly or I cant keep up) and he can cover 10kms pretty easily in just over an hour. He just needs to find the time to make it five or so times a week and with a band helping him to eat less, I'm pretty sure that he'll lose ALL his excess weight.

You're stats are so similar to mine - 5ft 10 and about 245 (I think in kilograms sorry) pre surgery, now 157 lb. I'd like to get to 148, which is a BMI of 21. Not sure if I ever will, I really have stabilised here and am pretty thin now, its just a matter or trimming off a few of the extra bits on the thighs, lol. Not big enough for surgery? That makes me mad. We are so used to our population in the western world being obese that overweight now looks normal to us. I was fat at 245, fat fat FAT. I looked disgusting, I felt disgusting. People on the whole arent as fat here, as much of the Australian population is overweight proportion wise, but we have so far, much less morbid obesity although probably not for long. Nearly everyone is a little bit fat kind of thing but someone really obese still stands out. But we can get banded here much more easily.

Ha, I do that too. I just hand the phone over to Eliza, she'll chat to anyone. Doug just simply puts the phone down on the bench and walks away - he doesnt hang up. It must drive them insane not to be able to disconnect the call. We get around to hanging up maybe half an hour later, lol.

WW will work Julie, everytime I've thought I needed another fill, a recommitment to being more vigilant with my diet has done the trick. I'm a good maintenance eater but a terrible dieter, lol. And you'll probably find that you wont need to be as tight to maintain as you do to lose. My band has loosened off considerably - to the point where I can now eat a whole sandwich again - buy my weight has remained steady. The old rules stand true - healthy food and exercise is all it really takes.

I love Ryvita's - especially with Peanut Butter and honey for breakfast, yum. sultanas are just little raisins - a different variety of grape. They're sweeter and softer, you know how in raisins the sugar's kind of cyrstallised? Sultanas dont really do that. They're bigger than currants though.

Hi Keri, I'm from Melbourne. I started with BMI of 36, have had great results. We're so lucky here in Australia that we are able to be banded before we become morbidly obese. Sorry the first few weeks have been rough - had you had any other surgeries before? I cry at the drop of a hat for about a week after an anaesthetic.

Lol, no I'm the exhibitionist of the family, I doubt there'll be any swimsuit pics. He has bigger boobs than me anyway, no fair! Glad to hear you're keeping on moving Jack!