Biddy zz 🏳️🌈

I have additions to the “paranoid I am never going to lose weight” stage (which, incidentally, is a recurring stage - at a minimum you get this stage at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and I dare say there will be more. There is the “OMG I can eat anything, did he really DO the surgery” stage. This is quickly followed by the “omg I am losing weight so fast because I can’t eat much and how do I eventually stop this weight loss” stage. I have gone through the “pretty miserable that all I can eat forever is Haloumi and yoghurt” stage, as well as the “hell I am so lucky at my food because my favourites are Haloumi and yoghurt” stage. And of course the “why is no-one commenting on my weight loss” stage, and it’s cousin the “it is embarrassing how everyone is commenting on my weightloss” stage.

The Fluff fan club is stirring, wondering, hoping all is well and sending love.....

I have to agree with some of the earlier posters - I wouldn’t recommend the band to a friend. I was diligent and followed the rules to the letter. It worked great for about 5 years, then the port broke (some kind of manufacturing fault, a bad lot, hundreds broke all around the world). After the replacement, nothing worked. I knew the rules, I followed the rules, I inflated, I inflated, but there was never again that “sweet spot”. Some here have suggested the blame is on the patient - if you don’t make your lap band work it is your own fault. Not so. For many, it just won’t work. In fact, my lab band surgeon told me research now suggests that 80-90% of lab bands are not doiing their job after 10 years, which is why many surgeons won’t do them any more. In fact in New Zealand I think you can’t get one put in now. if it works, great - but the 90% of patients aren’t all idiots or lazy or cutting corners - if you choose it, you are taking a bigger risk of failure than other choices... and it is rapidly becoming “old technology”.

Hey Fluff It is 6.30am, outside a tropical cyclone rages, I have been up monitoring the city - and thinking of you. Hope the recovery is beginning. oh yes, and have you heard - sip sip sip, walk walk walk... 😁

Blimey! I would say “thoughts and prayers” but it might be too soon... 😂 Instead, I just say “good luck my friend, and may the surgeon me happy, healthy and wise”. mwa 💋

Funny. I am not really craving sugar, but this photo made me all ‘wanty’. (That is like needy but I try and stay in control!!)

One more thing, cos I am still so delighted you are on this forum asking this - clone yourself. Too many women here saying “my hubby not supportive”. More guys like you would go around nicely...

Ever since I have been here, fluff, you have been an inspiration. Eyes on the goal, I have admired you, and I have thought “how the hell can she keep this up for so bloody long before they give her the surgical tools to help?” And now, you are on the thresh hold. All of us who arrived later and you helped as we waltzed by and got The Tool before you - now you join us on the losers’ bench. I am so stoked, you will be on my mind a lot over the next few days. ❤️ (Heart emoji)

I love it that you are here, asking this. GREAT step! Yep, she will likely be a bit sore, but also very tired. And also, may well want to talk a LOT about her stuff - weight loss by the oz, food cravings/food prohibitions, things other people here are saying. I suspect it gets boring, but I LOVE my partner for listening attentively every time! Listen to her new food regime - and make sure a) the old temptations are out of the fridge/pantry, and the new ‘treats’ like maybe light cranberry juice, or unsweetened yoghurt, or blueberries - her favourites, are in the pantry/fridge. and love her, and remind her you loved her at the start of this journey too...

Me too - for several weeks I had to put some hot into my glass of water to make it a bit tepid. Cold water gave me quite a pain, even room temperature - but like you, it was fine in a Smoothie! Thankfully, now that has passed...

10 weeks post surgery you’ll be down for sure but... we’ll, it might be your bust, it might be your bum, or half and half! I dropped a pants size in 4 weeks, but have only just this week seen shrinkage in my matron-tits down a bra size!

If I am stressed, and want to eat - Itry distraction of course, but if that doesn’t work, I eat a sardine. Yep, a sardine out of a can (sardines in oil - blot the oil off, but sardines in spring water are too dry for me). That fills me up til mealtime - and I take it off my next meal allowance. Works a treat!

I think - call your clinic. A new pain is reason for a discussion with them, even a phone call....

Hi there It would help if you tell us more - what sort of surgery? How much are you eating in a sitting? How often? What kind of food? Have you stuck very closely to your surgeon’s post surgery eating plan? All these things will affect the answer... Also. I find by reading that we vary a lot. And things change over time. I had a bypass, could eat very little soon after but within a week or two, felt I could eat quite a bit. But now, 9 weeks post surgery, I think things are tightening up a bit...

Tell us a bit more - maybe fill in your profile so we can see your start weight, how much you have lost, your goal? My experience - the stalls are often when my SIZE drops - like I go down a pants size. I kinda feel like maybe my body is shifting things around - fat off my bum and back to protect my liver - to deal with the weight loss. So these days I embrace a stall, knowing I’ll be seeing a clothes difference soon... But the scales will start to drop again, just stick to your plan, eat your protein, drink your water...

What is in a green smoothie? Mine are pretty much all green now because I sneak spinach in there, to keep my veggie intake up...

Did you stop coffee cold turkey by any chance? I did - and got headaches - but I figured that was better than headaches post op!

When you wake up you are pretty woozy. I can’t really remember much until the next day. Not really even who visited! It wasn’t too sore but you have meds if needed. Mostly they want you to sip water and your insides are swollen so it is hard - but it gets better pretty quickly. Day 2 was a bit tender. People with laparoscopic surgery often get gas pain - the surgeons use air blown inside you to separate your organs. Until your body absorbs this it causes odd pains - getting up and walking slowly about is the key to sorting that. Anticipate anxiety - maybe even thinking about cancelling - as it gets closer. Many of us think that - but it passes and you join us back here, on the losers’ bench!

Fantastic! Good luck with the ‘sip sip sip’ and ‘walk walk walk’ as you recover!

I reckon these are consistent themes over and over because not too much usually goes wrong except this list - and mostly we worry about this stuff. So, same old over and over - but with new people needing new reassurance, new hope, each new month. And I reckon we Post without first doing a Search because we want real warm-blooded real time people to respond - otherwise we could just google “why the hell aren’t I losing weight after my RNY” and just get research, or quacks selling gluten free water that will cure us, or surgeons’ websites. But I think for many, waiting three days to get a few personal replies to a (repeated) thread is actually more rewarding than finding an old thread with 37 replies. And as boards get new folk, old folk drift away, they are pretty self-renewing over time. Except the ‘old hands’ who like to stay - and I love that, but maybe the Rants and Raves Board should give those posts a red background so we don’t scare the new hope-seeking folk !!

OMG Fluffy, you READ that and STILL want surgery! Thanks - will add iron and continue the B12 drops (which are ok tasting, makes a change) because they work together. Another lot appeared this morning, so think I will see my GP. Only my arms, I have noticed, but still pays to get them checked. Maybe an early round of blood work wouldn’t go amiss...

Hi all 8 week’s post surgery. I have noticed in the last fortnight that I am getting regular bruising appearing on my arms in particular - clusters of bruise dots. I have the fourth or fifth lot now - the older ones are still disappearing. Not big - maybe clusters the size of thumb from the center joint to tip. I have always bruised a bit easily, and I am fairly active around the place, but I am keeping an eye on it - is this a post WLS ‘thing’? I am eating about 750 calories a day, with 50-60g protein - less veggies than usual, but if hungry I snack on cherry tomarto just to try and get veggies in. Taking good vitamins daily, and just started sub lingual B12 drops cos I read that B12 deficiency causes bruising (started only today, but just noticed bruise cluster on my upper arm...)

Sardines were GREAT! 1/2 tin, with a lettuce leaf, three cherry tomatoes, some red bell pepper and a teaspoon of may - odd breakfast but tasted fab and I was ‘full’ for ages! AND I have just made a protein shake I love! 1 scoop of balance physique vanilla, handful of frozen edamame beans, handful of mixed frozen berries, 25g plain Greek yoghurt and 1/4 cucumber - with water and ice cubes, blitzed. Fantastic!!

Eggs are hit and miss. Muesli sits in me like a rock. Bread swells and then I can’t eat anything, so I wasted a whole meal on a bread roll, but craved salad! I find breakfast hard - I do so hate the flavour of pretty much every protein shake. Tomorrow I try sardines...

What are hemp hearts? Here in New Zealand hemp ‘anything’ is likely to with get you arrested or give you munchies!