Bel

hi, Just my opinion but i think you should explain it to her, explain you are doing it for your health and with your changed eating habbits by the time she gets to a stage where her peers would tease her she would be eating like mummy and exercising with mummy and be a healthy, happy little girl. I was banded when i just turned 16yrs and i was tormented at school, the best thing you can do is help her understand you are getting it because you want to be healthy and that health is important :-) Bel

It can also depend where you are in your cycle my doc said to weigh yourself once a month on the same date so you are at the same time in your cycle and get an accurate weight....unless your like me and need your scales taken off you to be able to do this lol Bel

That sounds yummy Bozzi! Will have to try it. Just wanted to let you know, i have been taking a Protein powder the last 3 days and have lost 5.8lb...have also had a fill so that has been a huge help! And please dont say that is too much too fast, i know it is but its just my body adjusting to smaller portions :-) I'm finding the Protein Powder is great in the morning when im tight! Bel

i totally agree with you Ang, it's better to have something then nothing! Julie - I havent tried any protein powder yet but i am thinking of that one, my fill went great thanks! i have already lost weight since i got it yesterday and i actually remember what restriction is like!!!

Dr Fielding is an Aussie export, he used to be my Dr...his ex wife does my fills. If he says you can then take his advice, he is fantastic!!!

Are you eating solid food for breakfast? liquids usually wont last you long unless you are super tight, they slip straight through the band. You need good nutritious foods with Protein, if you are eating well and still hungry in that time frame you need a fill :-) Bel

totally agree with you marimaru - without my parents i couldn't have done it, that simple

Thankyou everyone for taking the time to post, it has been very helpful. Im getting my fill in a couple of hours and will be picking up a Protein powder for my brekky. THANKYOU again Julie, try going to a health food store, musashi make heavy protein powders, they have one called p40 it is fairly cheap, a normal shake is 60g and 40g protein but they say that cutting that in half makes it a great weight loss shake. You shouldn't drink the full one because they say it is for bodybuilders half is fine :-) Bel

It's not a matter of setting a regular date, you should get a fill when you get hungry in less then 4 hours of eating a cup of food :-) General rule. Take it slow with size of fills so that you dont get an overfill and have to have some taken out. Hope i helped a little Bel

thanks! I have been banded 6 yrs, this isnt my first fill but i havent had one in so long i forgot what i need to do, it has been 2 yrs since my last fill!

Hey all, So heres the thing. I have been banded a looooooong time but i haven't had a fill in 2 yrs due to some bad experiences. When i had the band not a lot was known about it by the doctor and nurses who operated on me ( it was a new technique to them) . I was never told you actually have to get filled regularly, you shouldn't be able to gulp food blah blah blah. The thing is i got an adjustment last time and it was tight for me...now i actually know this is 'restriction'. I went home and ate as normal while i now know i wasn't supposed to do because of swelling....don't even get me started on how i didn't know all of this! So i ended up in emergency with a chunk of chicken stuck and havent been filled since, i am struggling to maintain. Working out for an hour a day and eating really healthily but because i have no restriction and havent had for a very long time i am always hungry. What i need your help with is i dont know how much is too much restriction? should i be on fluids for a week or two, mushies? as my band has a tendency to swell like a balloon when it gets the slightest of fills. I panicked when i couldn't eat but now i know that i was eating too soon, and you forget you have to chew when you have been loose for a while. Also i would like to know...do you have restriction when drinking Water? i gulp water because i havent been tight enough not too which makes me think the band has never been tight enough! How long does it take to get a glass of water down? I know this is a lot of questions but i have just seen the light and realise HEY! the band is meant to restrict a fair but (was never really explained anything) Hope you don't think im a complete idiot for being so ignorant for so long, i really appreciate anyone who can help Belinda

I will tell ya, the weight loss more then makes up for the ape tits! Besides its nothing a good surgeon cant fix....i want to marry one to save some money lol I always think i am my surgeons masterpiece and damn he's a lucky boy for seeing me naked on the table! lol I am sure you are already a beautiful person and im sure when you have the lost the weight you will be a stunner! Ape tits or no ape tits. When you think about it we are very similar to apes anyways lol Take care Bel ps. if you have any questions send me a pm and i will help in any way i can

i do eat my greens but im just too tight in the mornings and figure something is better then nothing, i have found one that is 103 calories a serve and has 20g protein, for weight management. Do you think this would be ok?

thankyou for your responses, i still have the question of is it filling and does it make an adequate substitute? I exercise at least 30mins heavy cardio, normally 1 hr a day but i want to make sure im not going to gain from too much Protein :-) Bel

ok, i had the band when i was 15 which i know is very young but in my case it was life or death. I think if the kid is in a bad way health wise, has tried other methods to no avail then maybe...i must say i am still adjusting to having been through something like that at a young age and im now 22. At the time i did understand what i was getting into but it was hard. In the end, if it saves a life then who am i to argue but it is not something that should be done without a LOT of consideration and research. The other hand, it is sooooo hard for kids to control their intake, they dont generally have the understanding or willpower. I also think that they can always have the fill taken out should they find it difficult and then have it back in when they are older if nessesary. Just my opinion, i do not regret the surgery but it was HARD Bel

I find that any time i have surgery i get these symtoms after. It may well be that all the drugs are leaving you system and its not fun! I would contact your doctor immediatly as it could also be that you are getting an infection and if that is the case it is dangerous. Check your temp, if it is really off you need to go to hospital Bel

Ya know, i reckon as long as it holds those babies down you can buy one from any department store, especially if you get one of those crop top type ones without the cups. lol to be honest they may well end up looking like ape boobs any way if you lose a lot of weight (dont mean to offend :-) Bel *big smiles*

Stacie i totally know what you mean, i can't wait for a boob job, sometimes i worry they flop around so much they will choke me in my sleep lol Chelsey your body after losing weight will be different but im sure you will think your even more beautiful then when you had the weight on, you will be amazed how much confidence you gain!

Denise, you are so right about easing into it, i think because my last fill was so large i wasnt used to such a restriction and ended up getting things stuck because i forgot how to eat properly! Thankyou for taking the time to respond!

thank you so much for the reply, its nice to know someone else on maintenence has the same problem with still needing fills, i always thought once i reached this stage i wouldnt need another adjustment

i have been drinking pepsi max since 1 yr out, i didnt want to risk it before then :-)

I had to have surgery to remove excess from my stomach, legs and soon my arms ... and a boob job lol As another poster said it depends on how much you have to lose. It also depends on your age as the elasticity in the skin becomes less as you get older. Having said that i was 15 when i got the band, i still had to have the surgery after waiting a few years to see if it would shrink because i lost such a large amount :-) Unfortunatly if you lose more then 45kgs chances are you will have excess, it will shrink over the years but it can only shrink so much. I don't nessesarily believe in the hole " if you lose it slow you wont get excess" i lost weight very slowly and still had a tone! Bel

Hi, just wanted to say in regards to your friends and family maybe you should explain about BMI and how it is healthy for you to keep going. Even if you need a doctor to tell them. I have had the same problem with my close friends and family thinking i look like a rake when really im still a bit of a chunky monkey (healthy but a lil over my ideal BMI) Sometimes it just takes some explaining and in the end they should realise that you are doing it because it is better for your health :-) Bel

Hey im 22, had the band before i was legal so i had a different experience on my 18th (legal age in Oz) but i still drink. I find i cant drink a lot very fast because my stomach swells like a balloon and it tends to come up cause the band is stuffed full but i drank while i was losing weight ...every weekend and usually pretty hard core ... have settled down a bit now lol I still lost weight it just meant i needed to make sure i made really good choices food wise during the week. The mixed drinks are full of sugar but they are what i drank...come to think of it i drink anything without problems. If you find your gaining weight just up the exercise or cut back the booze. I figured i got the band to help me change my life but i still want to enjoy it!!! Bel

Sounds like you are definatly too tight, i went through this for months before getting an unfill,dont make that mistake! Your body wont lose weight because it is in starvation mode, it doesnt know when or if its going to get food so it uses everything you get down and stores it as fat. Bel