blueyezzzz

OMG im with everyone else. I never noticed the "ghost arm" until you mentioned it and now its all i can see... hahaha :rolleyes

Well in my opinion the photo should be of a "bandster" not some chik that wouldnt know what the word "overweight" meant. It would be good to see a male and female together (aftershot) that have had the band.. We dont get the band done for "Sex appeal" we get it for our health and to save our lives. Or have a male and female before shot on the left and their after shot on the right so people considering the band can see that their is hope and it works.. This is only my opinion...

Ohh Danna, Good luck for your surgery.. Another thing i just remembered on the site.. If you dont like their suggested menus and want something else.. say Tuna you go to the navigation bar on the right and type in "Tuna" then it will give you the menu ideas for Tuna.. THen you choose if you want it for breaky, lunch, dinner or snack.. It take a bit to get the gist of the site, when i clicked on something nothing happenedthen when i went to the menu for the day i realised i had 4 serves of the same meal for lunch.. hahaha soo just clicking once ads it to your menu.. Dont forget to save each section otherwise you will lose it.. I figured it out in the end, it may have been cos it was late or im just thick.. lol you will get there, just click on anything and eventually you work it out.. Best of luck for monday, will be thinking of you.. Shell xx

I posted this in the general food section of the site but thought i would put it here too for my fellow Aussies.. CalorieKing has some good food ideas, i joined up and finally made my way around the site, but you can make up your own menus with their suggested food and it counts the calories for you so basically after you put in your details it calculates what your calory intake should be and works it from there. EG: (First number is cals, 2nd is Kj) Breakfast (x) 3/4 cup of low fat milk, 1% 86 361 (x) 1 cup of Uncle Toby's Fibreplus 106 441 (x) 1 cup, mashed (225g) of Fruit, fresh: banana, raw, edible portion 200 835 Meal Total 392 1637 lunch Load Meal | Save Meal Cals kJ (x) 1 serving, 100g can drained (90g) of John West: Fish, canned: Light Tuna Tempters, Onion & Tomato, Drained 81 340 (x) 3 cracker (3.2g) of Arnott's: Crackers: Jatz 97% Fat Free 39 162 Meal Total 120 502 dinner Load Meal | Save Meal Cals kJ (x) 1 small serving of fruit 50 210 (x) 1 serving of Steamed Fish with Rice and Broccoli (View Recipe) 323 1342 (x) 3 cups of tea or coffee, black 36 162 (throughout day) (x) 1 carton (200g) of Yoghurt: Fruit Flavoured, Fat-Free / Diet, Average All Flavours 94 390 Meal Total 503 2104 Snacks Load Meal | Save Meal Cals kJ (x) 1 tablespoon of peanuts 168 693 (x) 2 cups of popcorn, air-popped 54 225 Meal Total 222 918 Food Total Cals kJ Day Total 1237 5161 This is an example when i was playing around trying to figure it all out.. Then at the bottom after all that it says: You have used 1237 out of your net daily budget of 1470 calories and have 233 calories remaining. 17% of the calories are from fat, 29% from Protein, 54% from carbs and 0% from alcohol. Anyhow i thought it was great and helps when making those choices of what to eat to ensure you arent eating too much or too little.. AUSTRALIA: CalorieKing.com.au - Australian Online Diet and weight loss club. Lose weight for good! AMERICA: CalorieKing - Diet and weight loss. Calorie Counter and more. Shell

On the CalorieKing website when you choose your menu, popcorn (air popped) is on the list and is ok if you have a tablespoon, although i cant see me trying to balance popcorn on a tablespoon. Not sure if it means a tablespoon of unpopped corn or when its popped cos then it wouldnt be many pieces.. Anyhoo, Everything in this world can kill us and give us cancer and this and that.. sheesh if we stopped doing all the things that can harm us "according to science" we all might aswell live in a bubble but then down the track somewhere some scientist will discover living in a bubble can cause cancer etc.. And i agree we can walk out the front door and get hit by a bus.. I have a friend that was hit by a bus and she is still here.. lol Popcorn does not cause Diverticulosis.. My mum has it and she never eats popcorn, basically i think the thing with that is small particles of certain foods that get caught in the little pockets that diverticulosis causes. There are many foods she cannot eat, peanuts being one as the small particles get caught. For some i guess popcorn particles would do the same. I love popcorn and i microwave it but i dont eat it often. Sometimes if i get the munchies i will reach for the low fat popcorn which is healthier than reaching for the chocolate bar. I used to have a popcorn maker and do it myself but dont have it anymore. Maybe i might invest in another as its then healthier and you can do a tablespoon of kernals.. lol Popcorn is a must at the movies.. hehehehe Even when we have movie nights at home we get the good old popcorn out..

CalorieKing has some good food ideas, i joined up and finally made my way around the site, but you can make up your own menus with their suggested food and it counts the calories for you so basically after you put in your details it calculates what your calory intake should be and works it from there. EG: (First number is cals, 2nd is Kj) Breakfast (x) 3/4 cup of low fat milk, 1% 86 361 (x) 1 cup of Uncle Toby's Fibreplus 106 441 (x) 1 cup, mashed (225g) of Fruit, fresh: banana, raw, edible portion 200 835 Meal Total 392 1637 lunch Load Meal | Save Meal Cals kJ (x) 1 serving, 100g can drained (90g) of John West: Fish, canned: Light Tuna Tempters, Onion & Tomato, Drained 81 340 (x) 3 cracker (3.2g) of Arnott's: Crackers: Jatz 97% Fat Free 39 162 Meal Total 120 502 dinner Load Meal | Save Meal Cals kJ (x) 1 small serving of fruit 50 210 (x) 1 serving of Steamed Fish with Rice and Broccoli (View Recipe) 323 1342 (x) 3 cups of tea or coffee, black 36 162 (throughout day) (x) 1 carton (200g) of Yoghurt: Fruit Flavoured, Fat-Free / Diet, Average All Flavours 94 390 Meal Total 503 2104 Snacks Load Meal | Save Meal Cals kJ (x) 1 tablespoon of peanuts 168 693 (x) 2 cups of popcorn, air-popped 54 225 Meal Total 222 918 Food Total Cals kJ Day Total 1237 5161 This is an example when i was playing around trying to figure it all out.. Then at the bottom after all that it says: You have used 1237 out of your net daily budget of 1470 calories and have 233 calories remaining. 17% of the calories are from fat, 29% from Protein, 54% from carbs and 0% from alcohol. Anyhow i thought it was great and helps when making htose choices of what to eat to ensure you arent eating too much or too little.. AUSTRALIA: CalorieKing.com.au - Australian Online Diet and weight loss club. Lose weight for good! AMERICA: CalorieKing - Diet and weight loss. Calorie Counter and more. Shell

HI there, I am taking Centrum, It was suggested to my after surgery and i break them in half and have since the day i came home from hospital. They are good actually.. but i think even after my liquid stage i will have them broken in half.. They are HUGE..... Shell

Awwww Shux.... you made me blush... Dont know about European babe though.... hehehehehe :bounce:

Aww you poor thing. I know what you mean and have had the embarressing days before... I used to hate going to the hairdressers and sit in the tiny chairs and with the wrap on you look even bigger and then getting your hair washed.. ohh sheesh... Hang in there, you will look back on that day and chuckle to yourself once you reach your goal.. I wish you all the best and here is the best place to vent about it because most of us can relate to it..

Thats horrid, i had a thing stuck on my forehead which reads the brain waves during surgery to ensure there is no activity and you dont wake up. My cousin woke up during a ceaserian she was meant to be totally knocked out for and she felt it all but couldnt move or screem.. It can happen but these days is generally rare... you must have been one of the rare ones.. Hope you get over it soon but i would be speaking to the surgeon when you see them again and explain it to them..

Ok i thought i would add my pics.. This is me pre-band and im not sure if it was at my heaviest. This is taken in June 07 And with my new man (taken week pre-reband)

Hey Susannah, Yeah i was banded by Professor O'brien (had to take the details off my signature as it was too long) doh!! I was rebanded by Dr.Skinner at the Alfred Centre but he is an Avenue surgeon aswell and works from the bariatric centre. (he does public patients and private, Prof is private only and i no longer have private cover) Anyhoo.. Too be honest with you in regards to your questions.. I have no idea.. I dont recall eating too much and i was that depressed and jumbled in the head i dont know what i was doing so i cant really answer your questions. It was from last year and i just remember feeling hungry all the time and getting fills. And then i started gurgling alot and couldnt keep much down.. Then i would gurgle with every mouthfull of drink.. i would go to bed and be gurgling.. and then wake up vomiting acids from my nose... not pleasant.. i just couldnt keep anything down so i went back and Anna sent me for a barium swallow wich revealed the problem.. Im glad to be on my way to betterness now with the new band but i will know that if something doesnt seem right, then it might not be and i will make sure i will get it seen to.. Anyhow..

Hey Susannah, RE: Band slippage... For me... I think it was a combination of both. Im an emotional eater and suffering depression doesnt help. During my stress stage of divorce and custody battles i would eat and then i got a fill, and i would still eat and then would get a fill until the band was so tight and what i was eating (not chewing correctly and just shovelling it down when i did eat) caused the hole to become blocked and the food just kept banking up and making the pouch bigger and bigger i guess. Then the pouch was swollen and enlarged creating a space that required more food to get the "full" feeling. So yeah it was a combination on both overfill and food. But all good now and i am aware of what can happen i will ensure i am more careful next time.. Take care Shell

Danna, well done, looks good so far and im sure once you begin your journey it will help to keep you motivated and be an inspiration to others following the same dream.. I wish it was something i did when i was first banded in 04 but i didnt and now i only have one photo of me from "those days" unfortunately after i separated from my husband he threw everything personal to me out.. Even photo albums my mum put together for my 21st from when i was born til i turned 21. It devistated me. It will also remind you of the reasons you took the step into banding and how far you have come and the battles you have fought along the way.. Kepp up the good work and i wish you all the best for your banding date.. Shell xx

Hey all, Im a newbie to this site but not to banding.. My name is Shell, Im 31 from Australia. I was banded in July 2004 and have been rebanded last week November 2007 due to slippage so im still on my liquid stage.... ohhhh sooo over it!! lol I have joined some Aussie sites and then stumbled across this one so i htought why not.. i love hearing and seeing everyones progress.. Good or bad.. In my signature i have written it in our Kg form but also converted to lbs aswell... Thanks for your time Shell xx

Optistarve... hahahahaha love it.... :heh: Well your time will be here soon enough for you and i wish you all the best for your banding and the journey ahead.. For me it was the case of being a size 24-26 and going into the stores, crying in the dressing room cos nothing would fit (im sure everyone here will know where im coming from). I would visit MySize, 1626 and BIB stores that only went to size 26.. I thought.. Where do i go from here, Rays Tent City? so i thought i have to do something.. Having my son and battling 15years with depression i researched banding for 2 years. Then i found out my aunty had it done and it really set it in concrete that this was the way to go if i wanted any happiness in my life. I have a very active 5year old son so it has been a godsend to me and im sure many others on here.. Once i lost weight i would go into ANY store and pick something off the shelve and just try it on.. then i would cry cos it fit me.. lol i cant remember ever being a size 12.. Currently im a 12-14 depending on the store. Sometime i still pick up clothes that are sizes to big and try them on and think "what are you doing, its too big" now i wave as i pass those stores.. Occasionally i look in the mirror and still see the "old me" looking back, especially if im naked as i have the skin on my stomach. So for a reality check i have kept a pair of size 24 pants i used to wear to work pre-band, i get into one leg and then i reaise... "im not the same as i was".. I love my band!! As im sure you will too... Regards Shell:biggrin1:

Hi Sades, Thanks for the welcome.. In 2005 i managed to get down to 72kg.. that was a 60kg loss but due to my band slippage i gained and went up to 85kg.. Since having my band redone last week i have dropped to 80kg so i hope i can get down to where i was before and then hopefully further.. Im not in any rush, im happy where i am.. I battled for 10years at around 95kg and just couldnt get past it.. Im happy being under 90kg.. Im 5'9 so its not that obvious on me.. (well so i have been told) lol Best of luck with your journey.. Im sure you wont look back and even though i had to have my band redone... its worth it.. IMO Shell

Ahhhh cut and paste job... i wont tell anyone BUT i would like to know how you did it, I have always wanted to try it but dont know the programs to use.... Any tips..

I wouldnt think so as to my understanding you have to be an Australian Citizen to be eligable for a Medicare Card and without a Medicare Care card you cant claim Medicare... lol If that made sense.. Shell

There are alot of Melbournians (me included) on Yahoo! Groups OZBAND (just click link and it will take you there). and this one... VictorianLapBandingGroup : Victorian Lap Banding Group Take care Shell:biggrin1:

Hey everyone.. Im new to this site, not new to banding.. (well i am and i arent) hehe My name is Shell, im 31 and from Melbourne. I was banded in 2004 and rebanded last thursday 15th Nov due to my band slipping.. I am currently on week 2 of liquids.. soooo over it but it has to be done.. Anyhow thought id say hi... Take care Shell

As mentioned by previous poster it depends on the surgeon. I paid for my banding via private health cover and was out of pocket just over $3,000. This covers me for the life of the band and i do not pay for fills (they are handled via medicare) or anything else to do with the band. I was rebanded last week and was not out of pocket. Best of luck Shell :biggrin1:

Hi there, I have been banded since 2004... Over the last year i was having this same issue.. I couldnt even keep Water down and would find id waking up vomiting out of my nose etc.. I went back to the surgeon where they did a barium swallow xray and it showed my band was too tight and it took 5 minutes for the liquid to pass through. Do to the tightness of my band it caused the upper pouch to swell and last week i had to have my band replaced. If you are finding you are having reflux etc i would go back to where you have your fills and explain this to them.. They will more than likely removes some fill until the reflux settles. Good luck..