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

great big hug for you Katie...sorry to hear about the hernia but then at least now you know what it is and it can be fixed. I am soooo envious of your weightloss but in a good way, not the "sticking pins in a hair doll of you" way. It must feel so wonderful to be that close...to know its only 2 more months and you will be 'there'! I am sorry to hear that you are having so much trouble keeping the food down... not pleasant at all and I have much sympathy for you. Wade I get that pain and the doc told me it is trapped gas in the pouch that puts pressure on the band. Its not pleasant I found trying to burp or degas helped sometimes...but not always. Constipation is literally a pain in the ass!... all I can say is try drinking more Water and take fibresure....it does help but not over night.... also 3 or 4 prunes a day as a snack if you can will push it out too.

Oh Katie a hernia... so what can they do for that? I am glad the mylanta works, there is nothing worse than reflux...no wait there is....constipation is way worse. You have my deepest sympathies for having the dreaded combo. Oh and glad there was movement at the station finally... bet you felt better. Wade I didnt get anything given to me when I left the hospital either. I was given the blue book to keep on my very first visit of enquiry to my doc though. I had read up pretty well on the few days aftermath of the op so was prepared with night strength mersyndol (bloody good stuff!!!) and a host of other post band op survival kit things. So how are you feeling now Wade? Katie...hugs for you.

Oh it has to be a firm green pear too...not a ripe yellow one.

another home remedy that works really well is half a green pear and a whole kiwi fruit skin and all blended together with a wand blender and eaten on an empty belly...it will be the consistency of pureed fruit and is quite tasty ...but you must blend well and the skin etc must be on the pear and the kiwi fruit...you can cut the seeds out of the pear. Everyone I have told to do this with has had it work for them but it is best kept for a clean out and not used everyday because you seem to acclimatise to it after a week. You could use it now for a few days to see if it helps.

Hmmm lemme see... well the fibresure is availeable at coles,woolworths etc, in the same spot as the metamucil and pear juice is in a tin in the same sections as they sell the shelved juices at all the supermarkets. Now as I said the kapaipuku seed stuff can be obtained off their website... or a sample which would be better for you to start ( to make sure it goes down) by requesting it ...it should arrive in about 5 days. I would prob start right now with a stool softener like coloxyl tabs...or movicol (sachets of powder you mix into Water and drink) both availeable from the chemist so that you can soften the hard bulk you already have sitting in there so it will move out easily. At the same time I would begin the regime of the pear juice and the fibresure Dont panic that it doesnt work straight away....you have some compaction there and this is very natural action so it isnt as violent as say the sienna etc on the gut...it also wont slow anything down with prolonged use so you can continue it every day. I actually found that the kapaipuku really helped. It actually tones the bowel walls so they work better,it kind of conditions it so that when I stopped using it and continued with the fibresure and pear that I was doing at the same time it kept the ball rolling. To make a similar concoction to the kapaipuku you can mix together in a plastic container the following and have 2Tablespoons for morning and afternoon.. this is what I did till I got my sample and it worked a treat. Make sure you have the Seed mix and the pear juice ( mix the fibresure into the pear juice) first thing in the morning on an empty belly. After 3 days of eating the seed mix I went 3 times a day for about 4 days...it cleaned me right out. I felt so much better. Then it slowed down to the once a day...Dont worry about difficulty in passing the offending bussiness the fibresure keeps it soft. Here is the ingredients of the seed mix, just buy them from the supermarket and the health food store...get small packs or you will end up with a bucket full. whole flax seed sesame seeds poppy seeds buckweat (raw) almonds (slivered or chopped) sunflower seeds currants or dried apricots (chopped) Mix all together and have 2 Tablespoons in either yogurt or soaked in pear juice over night or pour over milk and have cold or nuke it to make a nutty porridge. I hope this helps.. I know it sounds like a fiddle to start with but after a week you will be able to just have the juice with the fibresure everyday.

Katy I fixed my uuum...back door problems with pear juice and fibre sure. The fibre sure adds bulk and softens while the pear juice makes the bowel work and squeeze it out. The fibresure is much like benefibre in the fact that you just put a teaspoon morning and afternoon in your juice, tea or Water. It has no side effects on me other than making me go to the loo where as benefibre gave me no action but a lot of griping wind and bloating. There is an excellent product called kapaipuku. IT is a mixture of seeds etc and that stuff will really get you going. It will regulate your bowl back to where it should be and it is quite tasty in a nutty, trail mix way. If you go to the website and ask they will send you a sample pack to try. Kapai Puku If you dont like the sound of that then flax seed both ground and unground is also excellent for moving what usually wont budge and a Tablespoon added to yogurt etc or Cereal a day also helps. All of these things will take about 3 days to work through you but after that you will go with no pain or misery at least every second day. Nothing else not even Lactulose worked for me prior to the pear and fibresure appart from the flax and the seed cereal. Now with the pear juice and the fibre sure daily I go normally every day.

Katey it sounds like you need a smidge out... you would be amazed how just .25 out can make a difference to your well being. You should still keep your restriction but relieve the uncomfortable side effects. You are at the tweeking stage of your journey so you should tweek. Also reflux is not just a minor discomfort its very existance can lead to very dire conditions, one of them being cancer of the oesophigus. You should never ignore the consistant presence of it. I would speak to my doctor or gp sooner rather than later about this issue and get it cleared up....you did not take on this journey to be thin and sick and or terminal but rather thin and healthy. Sorry to sound firm but I had a brother die this past year for eosophigal cancer and its was due to ignoring reflux....also I have heard my doctor and other bandits say it should be seen to as quickly as possible to avoid the above complications or its relatives. Hugs from Pigglet.

Congrats Katy... and please share any tips you get from the lo carb books. Woot Wade 4.4 kilos off forever.... doesnt matter if the 4.4 kilos is Fluid or fat.... claim it

I am hoping he is doing fine.. I am sure he is but good wishes to him anyway. I am hanging for my fill on Friday the hunger is starting to return 3 weeks after my last fill so it is time.....

Good luck Wade...

its easy to slip into old habits isnt it. My frustration level might not reach its maxum this time if I get this early fill. If it works I will keep it up, though hopefully this next fill will get me to the spot I want. But then I ask myself will I ever be satisfied...probably not Im a woman and we are notoriously fickle!

Oh and Katy I am sorry you gained the kilo... I truely know how discouraging that is but I am sure its just Fluid if your clothes are getting bigger. Its almost mind games we play with the scales and the band isnt it... dont let em win!!!

I was relatively less hungry, not completely with out hunger mind you but it was reduced and I was getting full on significantly less...but true to form come the 2 and a half week after mark and the hunger returned over night and I can eat more. I was loosing but now have started to gain it back. I have made an appointment at the docs clinic that is an hour away for next week instead of waiting the full 6 weeks for him to return back here. I am fed up with back sliding and want to actually get my monies worth from this bleeding band...he he heeee arrrrrg I spose no one ever said it was a mirical cure!