theresa2mum

Wow what a great thread!! I had a BIG career change and have started as a teacher this year. I was banded while at uni and the weight never really fell off unfortunately. Lots of sitting around drinking coffee etc lol. Even a band won't do much for that I found. Lots of late night eating while rushing assignments didn't help. Then I started work. Where I work in Australia, permanent teaching jobs are rare so I was very fortunate (most graduates are given contracts to start with) AND unbelievably it was at the school my two children attend. This was a dream come true for me...so fantastic I hadn't even allowed myself to hope for it... HOWEVER...I had always planned to teach middle school (years 6 - 9)...and the principal offered me YEAR ONE OMG :faint: I had avoided all early childhood discussions etc at uni...so to the absolute HILARITY of my uni friends I began the year as a year one teacher and while I never imagined this job could be so hard I am absolutely loving it. In the first term (10 weeks) I lost 18 lbs!! All that bending down tying up shoelaces lol. It's certainly an active age group which has been great for me. All the clothes I started the school year with are too big now. I found the "risky" eating had to end. There is now way I would EVER risk a block, so I am very careful with what I eat which means it's usually healthy which is great.

It's been 17 months now for me and I regret telling as many people as I did. They were certainly people I was close to, but as time goes on and people drift apart I worry that their motivation to keep my secret might not be as strong as it was...

Hi I've been banded around 17 months and began teaching this year. As you can see from my stats I'm a slow loser...WELL...I've lost 5 kilos in 8 weeks! I think this is for a number of reasons. 1. teaching is quite physical 2. I am soooo careful with what I eat as I just CAN NOT risk something getting stuck and 3. as mentioned earlier no where near the tea/coffee and associated yummies as before. When I get home I'm just too tired to sit in front of the telly and eat cheesecake lol.

I voted yes, but there are days I wish I hadn't done it. Some of those reasons are in other peoples posts...such as worrying about eating in front of people and the constant fear of getting "stuck." Things like cheesecake slip right through but lettuce OMG let's not even go there! The thing that plays with my head the most is Water... When I was doing all my research it was made clear - do not drink with meals it will wash the food straight through...YEAH RIGHT. If I eat something that is going to sit in there for a while not even water will go down. I can be SOOOO THIRSTY and not able to get water down. That's my gripe LOL

Well it took well over a year before I felt this is "normal." I feel that I eat whatever I want whenever I want. The only thing I miss is going out for dinner and having a big steak. I automatically choose safe foods now rather than feeling that I am compromising. It took this long though.

:biggrin1: I had CHEESECAKE! Was so long ago...I think I might have even justified it as a mushie lol. It was goooood!

As I'm in Australia, I stay away from all the Mexico etc threads. BUT I just wanted to let you know that this is one of the first things my surgeon told me!! Positioning has changed drastically from how it was placed originally - which was quite a while ago in Australia. I'm sure it must be changing all over the world. :bananajump:

Oh wow!! :omg: Your band journey was one of the first I followed before my op. I look forward to following this one...maybe one day I'll be brave enough too lol :clap2:

Welcome back. I did feel for you that you left due to pressure from somebody else. I hope everything is going well now.

Unfortunately, I don't know how much is in my band. The surgeon and I agreed last visit that at least one of my earlier visits may not have been successfully injected into the band. I have a 10ml band and the last fill should have taken me to 12ml OMG. He put 3ml and overfilled me and took 2 out. I guess I'll never know but figure I'm around 1ml off the 'sweet spot'. I don't want the fill withdrawn and reinjected as this can change the 'pleating' inside the band.

<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008_ZNxdm917YYAU' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/13/13_10_1.gif' alt='Birthday Balloons' border=0></a>

I had exactly the same situation. I went with my surgeon because he is an EXTEMELY experienced and RESPECTED surgeon. My GP advised against another experienced band surgeon because of his reputation as a surgeon in general. I feel like my doctor and I are both on this journey. I have no regrets.

I have the swedish band (SAGB). I know it is quite common in Australia. I think they are very similar. My surgeon likes this one as the balloon inside goes all the way around (some have a gap) and I think it's a little wider. If you google Swedish Adjustable Gastric Band and the full names of the others you will find some documents that compare them. Good Luck

Please be careful of waiting too long. Last week I was overfilled...I knew it was tight straight away but thought it might loosen up. 12 hours later I was in the worst pain I have ever felt and couldn't even swallow my own saliva...I was getting tighter not looser...possibly from dehydration. When I finally had some out the next day it was INSTANT relief. That was the longest night of my life though I know now that I should have called the surgeon at home. I don't plan on there being a next time lol.

Hi Emily. Most bandsters find that a warm drink loosens the band a little and a cold drink tightens it. With room temp you should be fine. You will notice a difference straight after surgery while you're healing of course.

I had my first fill 3 weeks after surgery...and several fills later (3 months since banding) I'm just getting somewhere near restriction. My doctor is not conservative with fills either, so don't place too much hope on that elusive first fill, I know it was a bit disappointing for me. I know when I was on mushies I was always thinking about food - could it be 'head hunger'?? Good luck and don't forget those mushies are probably just slipping straight through. The band is not really working yet. Good luck :rofl:

I was the biggest wateraholic before I had my band :rofl: It's really hot where I live and I love very cold Water and would drink a whole glass in one go easily and usually top up a bit more. I would drink 3 litres at least each day. But since having my band, the really cold water tightens my band and I'm lucky to get a couple of mouthfuls down. I know it just takes longer, but that was definately one side effect I was not counting on. Since I'm getting closer to nice restriction of course it seems even worse. I know...sip sip sip But I like to guzzle lol

I drink up to my meal time and then wait a 1/2 hour (most times ). I do find when I eat a meal that is "not so healthy" that 1/2 hour is soooo long. It has become an indicator for me....if I'm dying of thirst straight after a meal it could have been a healthier choice. If I eat a nice healthy meal the 1/2 hour is no problem at all.

Congratulations on your big day!!

Oh yeah!!! I phoned my surgeon the next day VERY concerned. My second fill was 6 weeks post op and he thought it was a 'timing' thing with healing kicking in and having a fill at the same time *sigh* I was also told my some looooong term banders on another forum that this is normal. So, another fill Wednesday and we'll see what happens. In the meantime I'm able to eat most things and well....making the most of it lol.

Oh that's lovely. My husband knows I have a band...that's about the extent of his knowledge lol. Good luck to both of you

Hi Sorry I can't really answer your question. I've been banded for 2 months and had three fills and I'm still waiting....

Wow! That's an amazing result. Congratulations!!

Can I come too???

(((hugs))) please take the time to heal physically and emotionally. I look forward to hearing how you go.