lellow

Graciebelle, I hear you on the drink spiking. It's pretty common over here in Perth as well - in fact a friend of mine ended up in hospital after just one drink in a club recently. But we always had one of the girls at the table with our drinks, and the bouncer (an elderly guy who was just so sweet) watched over us all night. This was at the Crown Casino in Melbourne and we were all very very cautious because it's a bit of a meat market there. TBH, I was drinking French Martini's and I think just one of those would have knocked my socks off. Everyone else was drinking champagne, but I avoided it exactly because the bubbles make my tummy feel funny.

Give it time though. My upper inner thighs are also my problem area and they are improving all the time. They probably look the worst right after you've lost all the weight. But then over the next year, a lot of it bounces back. Mine did. As long as the skin in that area isn't stretched paper thin, I think you have a decent chance of it settling into something you'll be able to live with long term.

It's funny, but in hindsight, eating was the furthest thing from my mind while I was drinking, which is so not like me usually (the 2am kebab was a staple for me in my early years). So you're right, with the way I eat now, one glass wine and I'm feeling it already. I'm such a cheap date now!

Lol Jachut, I'm 39 and it was the first time in about 8 years that I was so drunk that I needed to throw up. I don't even think I drank that much that night. I suspect that it was more to do with the fact that I hadn't eaten much that day instead. Though after that night, I have made a promise to myself that I will never get that drunk again. Being drunk is bad enough. Being drunk with the band is a truly horrible experience.

I recently got blind, falling down drunk while on a girls' night out, and it was horrible, not being able to 'get it all out' when my body really seemed to need to. I kept going to the toilet to see if I could yak everything out, but it just wouldn't come out. And the more I tried, the more painful it was. In the end, I gave up, and was so uncomfortable that a girlfriend ended up taking me home, where I flaked out on the bed. Not a nice way to end the night. The next morning, my band was very tight, and I suspect that I irritated my stoma with my repeated attempts to throw up. I went on to liquids for a day or two, then was fine again. Funnily enough, I didn't even have the slightest hangover. Go figure. Moral of the story: don't get so drunk you need to throw up.

before I reply I have to say that I didn't count calories, carbs or fat when I was losing. In Australia, we are encouraged to eat healthily, from all food groups, and I generally ate a range of Protein, carbs and veg in every meal. So whenever I went out to eat (and in my job it's pretty often - maybe twice a week) I'd order whatever I wanted, eat approximately a cup of whatever it was, then would leave the rest. I enjoyed every bite and the only way I knew I could leave the rest was knowing that if I wanted, I could have another cup of it the next week (and funnily enough, I usually didn't). My workmates are now so used to me eating some of my meal then leaving the rest they don't bother asking about it anymore. Now I'm restricted, I couldn't eat more than a cup even if I tried, so leaving the rest of the meal isn't hard to do at all now. And I never feel deprived. I still managed to lose an average of about 10lbs a month too, eating everything in moderation, and exercising 3 times a week. So you don't have to 'cut out' entire restaurants from your life simply because you're banded now.

uneeek, I think inner thigh lifts don't seem to have the same 'seamless' look of other surgeries like tummy tucks, and was one of the reasons I didn't get one. The results I have seen have been a bit patchy, often looking a bit asymetrical. I was lucky though that when I got my body lift, it 'pulled' my thighs up a bit, and with further weight loss, they just don't look so bad anymore. The main area of excess skin for me was my inner thigh, and while it's still there a bit, it's not obvious when I'm dressed. I even had someone tell me the other day that I have great pins! How bad are your thighs?

Fanny, I'm flat out at work and uni but I'm sure I can find time to meet with you, hun! As long as I get some advance notice, I can move things around a bit. I could maybe do lunch too if it's close to my workplace (East Perth)...

Congratulations all the August Banders for making it to their first year bandiversary!

Actually I'm not sure I might have had a sleeve if more had been known about it. I might have still had the band. But at the time, I didn't even consider a sleeve because of the band, esp here in Australia, was proven to work. And by all accounts, it has worked for me, so while I did suffer from 'sleeve-envy' for a while when I used to read all the posts about how the sleeve was purportedly superior to the band, I can't really knock my band because, well, it did what I hoped it would do. :biggrin: I do wish to clarify, though, that I don't expect or want threads to become all about the band or all about the sleeve. What I do hope for is for them not to keep becoming about one vs the other in such an argumentative way, because I do think it's quite off-putting, to me and I'm sure to many others. Because as you say, some people do better with the band, and others with the sleeve. I think both views can be represented without it turning into a spat, surely?

Okay, I usually stay out of these threads once it looks like it's becoming band vs sleeve (and there are getting to be more and more of them recently) but I have to admit that I too am dismayed at how often a simple question by a newbie turns into a to-and-fro about how the sleeve is superior to the band and vice versa ("and here are the stats to prove it etc etc"). I know there are potential complications with the band, as there are with most WLS (and 1% vs 10% just doesn't matter when you're the one affected, IMO). I also know there appears that generally people have more success with the sleeve (on average however, so individually, it's still an unknown until after you've had the surgery). The sleeve, by all accounts, does in fact seem to be the newest and brightest thing in WLS, just as the band was not too long ago. But I am very happy to be banded. I did not have complications, it wasn't hard for me to lose the weight and I had great success with the band. It continues to be 'easy' for me, and if asked, I would recommend it, with the caveat that the person do their own research and be aware of the risks (as you would with ANY surgery). I would like to be able to tell someone who's wondering if the band works that, yes, it does, without having to defend that assertion with statistics, science and comparative studies. Why would I have to? I know it works because it worked for me. I would like to explain that I decided on the band because the sleeve was still unproven at the time, or that I didn't (at the time) want to have such invasive surgery, without having to defend my own, very personal, reasoning. Those WERE the reasons I chose the band. Why can't I say so? I also would have hated it, when I was thinking about getting the band, to have had my thread degenerate into a spat between people who forget I'm even here. If that had happened, and I got scared off the band, I wouldn't have lost the weight I have. So if someone asks about the band, I will respond positively because it's what I have and it's what has worked for me. I then hope that it doesn't end up like this thread has, where everyone feels like they have to be right, when we all know that it's very possible that depending on the individual, either, both or neither could be right. So enough already with this 'us' and 'them' b*llshit that seems to be happening more and more around here. I know I'm not the only one sick to death of it.

I've never done this before: have all my progress pics here. So here they are, from August 2008 to now (August 2009). 215lbs to 135lbs. :drool:

Hi eveyone, I've had a couple of people ask me to post new pics of my body lift, and I finally took some. I am 4 and a 1/2 months post op now and most days forget that I've had the surgery. My weight has stabilised quite nicely (I am finding it relatively easy not to lose or gain) and I do believe that I have nearly no swelling left as a result of my PS. So if you'd like, please feel free to check out the new pics in my albums! I am pretty sure that my 'bare torso' body lift ones are restricted to friends only, but my other progress pics are open to all.

I got to goal about 4 months ago but have lost more since (another 19lbs) in part due to a body lift, and in part because I guess my body just wasn't done losing. I am focussing on maintaining now and am trying NOT to lose anymore, so I exercising purely for fun now (walking and cycling once or twice a week) and eating pretty much whatever I want with my band managing portion control for me. And I tell you, that's a nice change from struggling (and generally failing) to lose weight all my life. :thumbup:

Ro, I'm so sorry matey I've not been visiting LBT often of late and completely missed that you were being rebanded. I'm glad to hear it all went well. I was just reading the Elpheba quote in your signature too. I never paid much attention to it but last night I went to see Wicked (I've been in Melbourne on business). I cried! It was amazing. And now your signature makes complete sense to me. :thumbup:

Hi everyone, it's great to see all those tickers showing great weight losses. And it's wonderful to see the support still here among the August All-stars. I am not getting any more fills and am in maintenance mode. I now lose and gain the same 2 lbs, depending on whether I have 'tight' days or 'loose' days. It's apparently normal, having a few days of nothing going down, and then days when loads manage to get through the band. But you shouldn't be in pain, and I think that needs to be checked out tutormom.

I love how every thread these days seems to turn into a band vs sleeve thread. To the OP, the band, like any surgery, will have those who love it and those who've ended up having bad experiences and therefore won't recommend it. Whether it will work for you or not, whether you will suffer complications or not, is really not anything anyone can promise you one way or the other. Go into it with your eyes open, expect complications, and if, like me and many others, your weight loss is smooth and uneventful, well, it'll be great, and you will likely (like me) get to a point when you have lost all the weight you wanted to, the band is doing what's it's supposed to, and you can go on living your life without much thinking about it anymore. Or you may have complications. Complications aren't as common as it seems by looking at this forum. You're less likely to actually have complications than to NOT have complications. But be prepared in case you do because, let's face it, anytime you fiddle with your insides, you're accepting that there may be a risk of something going wrong. But we all go into this with the hope that the benefit outweighs the cost. And for many people, it does. So it's as simple as that, really - you do it because the potential benefit usually outweighs the cost. Just make sure you're aware of the potential benefits, and the potential costs, and weigh it all up for yourself.

Lol Mimi! I've missed posting too and I've missed chatting with you and the other ladies but work is mad at the moment and I've just resumed my university study too so I don't always get a chance to get on here to post these days. My scars are still pink but are nice and flat and it all looks as good as anything I could have expected. I did post new pics in my album about a month or so ago, but will try to get new ones soon. How have you been, matey? Look at the ticker go down!

I had a body lift 9 months after my lapband surgery, and less than 2 weeks after I got to goal. I didn't wait a year to have the body lift because I had loads of excess skin in my abdominal area, which was partly due to being overweight, but mostly to do with having 4 kids. That skin wasn't going anywhere, and waiting wouldn't have made any difference. I am so glad I did it! It was not as painful as I thought it would be, and now I have the body I exercised like a dog for, but couldn't see under all that spare skin. I have in fact lost more weight since then (another 20lbs) but the skin is still nice and tight. I did have areas that I held out hope would 'bounce back' on their own though. I had some bad batwings and excess skin on my inner thighs but didn't have those 'fixed' because they weren't stretched to all hell like my belly and lower back was. Those areas are actually inproving, with the batwings almost gone now. So I think if you're lucky, you may not need it. But then again, you might. Or you may need it in some places but not others. Who knows? My best advice would be to keep an open mind about it.