pigglet

yes katey my parents are aged...my mum is 87 and my dad 93. I got in the Baptist Community Services which are a government funded group who come to their home every day and help mum shower and do their house work, take them to medical appointments and shopping and on outings with their peirs. They come in and cook meals for them to freeze in one serve containers. It supplies them with a medi call pendant as well as free services to have rails etc put through their house. They have organized for a hair dresser to come to the house and will run erands for them. This comes at the measly cost of $35 a week the government funds the rest. This all used to be my job and cost me considerably more to do myself. It means my parents can stay independant in their own home. It was the best thing I ever did and had the choice of about 4 other organisations that offered the same type of service.

good to hear that your feeling a little better and also that you are holding your ground with your mum. The guilt is the biggest killer of all and if your mum is anything like mine ....they know how to use it to their advantage. I keep telling myself to remember not to do this to my own children some day but it seems to be a common activity of the old. I was sitting with a friend yesterday haveing a hard earned coffee with her while she sobbed about the difficulties her 80 year old ma is giving her at the moment and how she just cant find the hours in the day to give her the attention she wants while trying to work and take care of her own teens, 4 year old boy and her husband. I had just finished patting her hand when her mobile rang with her mother wanting to know why she hadnt called in to see her that day if she wasnt working. My friends first reaction was to jump up and leave her half drank cappa, grab her small son and race to her mothers side, she was so worried that her mother was offended and you could see the guilt plastered all over her. So you see it is universal...we as mums have a nasty power to manipulate, if nothing else praps we can unlearn this habit I spose.

oh Katy you poor, poor lil sausage! biggest of hugs for you, Oh my goodness how sick you must feel. Now from one daughter to another!!! Looking after aged parents is never easy and damit they can be particularly selfish and demanding especially the mothers. Make sure that at this time you put yourself first...ignore the matre inspired guilt being foistered onto you and just rest up... Dont make me come over there and smack your bum you hear! Get well soon my lil chicket we are all thinking of you.

I only have an 8 ml band Wade and at 3ml I had no restriction either it was the last extra half ml that did it. It is starting to wear off a bit now so I was thinking either another 1/4 or 1/2 would do it again for a while. I lost 3 kilo quickly after that last 1/2 ml fill but the weight has been stagnant for the last few weeks ...dissapointing when that happens but I spose slow is better. Yes Katy is very quiet, hopefully that means everything is going really well and she is busy getting on with her life. Drop us a line Katy and let us know how your going

I am here in Australia.. I go through fits and fads of weightloss... I generally lose weight for the first 2 weeks after a fill then nothing till the next one. I have lost a total of 35 kilos including optifast and I have an 8ml band with 3.5 ml in it. If I dont chew well I get pain but still suffer with hunger and head hunger. I wish I was losing weight faster but I must have a slow metabolism. I dont think I want anymore fill because of the pain involved in the not chewing enough now I would hate it to be worse... I am not good with pain me thinks

wow thats fantastic... have you found any difficulties since the fill... are you getting things stuck.

In the early stages when my restriction was next to nil... I would eat an entire cup...remember that this is the capasity of the pouch so any more would stretch it and you dont want to do that. After a few fills you will find that you will eat less because you will get tight signals..like burning or a runny nose or discomfort from the band. This is why people say the stop at half a lean cuisine etc because they can feel that if they dont stop pain will ensue. But for now you will be able to eat more and a whole small lean cuisine isnt too much....but the general rule is no more than a cup measure in a half hour so you dont stretch your new baby sized tummy.

I was thinking bout Katey today too Wade and yes it is to be hoped that she is ok and feeling fighting fit. Its hard isnt it Wade. And you know the head hunger never really leaves us, it takes time to do battle with it and learn to quieten it down and ignore it. I had a bad day today I seemed to be looking for and finding food all day.. I hate days like today. Most days I am just simply not at all hungry but today I was bubbling hungry in the tummy...must be time for another fill. Sad thing is it can take a few fills to get to the place you need to be, just make sure in the mean time you keep practicing your small bites chewed well and pacing yourself and also you cup measure. I didnt do that and the fill that gave me good restriction was a rude shock because I was still trying to shovel and swallow. Its a battle ...but one worth fighting.:thumbup:

I love the story of the chinese feed Katy... I can really relate. I dont think we will ever be any different and sometimes I sulk like a 2 year old cos I cant finish whats on my plate due to loveing the taste...

good luck with your fill Wade and I really hope you get some restriction with it... the early days can be difficult finding the elusive cut back button. Re the metamucil... my doc told me to take it if I get diareah with my diabetic meds he said it will absorb all the fluid in the bowel and harden everything up so I wont have watery motions.... It took me ages going once a fortnight with fingernail marks in the toilet bowl to take the docs advice and cut the stuff out...soon as I switched fibre sups it came good after a few days....tho I did start taking some coloxyl to soften what was already in there and a drank 2 cups of sienna tea to really clean it all out too. It felt really good to get rid of the house bricks from my belly! I recon some of those weighed over the 2 kilos too

oh I missed your last question Wade... I am nearly 4 fills downt the road and can still eat everything comfortably.... just in smaller portions. Steak etc is no prob provided I chew it well. Depending on your docs approach to fills (mine has a conservative approach) you could be like me and take a few fills to get there.. I think generally its about 3 before you really feel it. Just take it slow after your fill and stick to fluids the first day.. and make sure you chew your foods to mush ... you will soon know if you have any restriction.

Wade the metamucil is constipating you...it absorbs all the fluid that you are drinking and it will make your movements hard and painful. You have to take in large amounts of fluid when having metamucil...trust me...take the fibresure or ground flaxseed these will soften the motion not make it hard like a brick as the metamucil does. Also people with a band arnt supposed to have metamucil as it forms a gel that can go solid before passing through the band and it can block it. My dietician told me to stay away from it at all cost for its constapative and blocking powers when you have a band. Oh Katie I am so glad he took out some fluid.... can you get icey poles down... you can make ice blocks out of the gatoraid you might find it will slip down easier