jojo41

I am so pissed off right now! This morning I got dressed feeling proud of the progress I've made since having my surgery and went shopping for some clothes for my daughter. I walked into a shop and started looking through the racks when I noticed one of those 20yr old anorexic waif-like shop assistants staring at me....I continued looking at the clothes when all of a sudden she snuck up behind me and said........."you know we only cater up to a size 14(US12)" .....aaaarrrrggghhhhh! :angry I replied "I know"........then she said "so what can I help you with then?" I said "you can help me by getting the manager of the shop". She then went and got the manager and I told her that I was actually looking for clothes for my daughter and that I was prepared to spend a lot of money in her shop but after being treated so rudely by her staff I was going to shop elsewhere....(it was a real Julia Roberts/Pretty woman moment...."Big mistake"!) Don't these people realise I could be shopping for my daughter, neice, sister etc......am I not allowed in their shop because I am over a size 14 (US12)?.....who do they think they are...the size police!

I agree Carol......being a fat woman is the pits! If you are an overweight guy people will say "he's a big guy" and that's OK because it's acceptable for men to be big....it means they are strong, protective, masculine etc If you say "she is a big woman" it has very negative connotations like she is hefty, unfeminine, too heavy etc Don't get me wrong I'm not saying it's a picnic being an overweight man but in our sexist societies women are still judged primarily on their looks and their sexual desirability.....sad but true.

It's 2006 for crying out loud.....I can't believe you are worried about what others will think of a woman being in charge of the white house! If the truth be known the Middle East and their leaders have no respect for ANY Americans anyway......whether they are men or women, black or white!

To quote Nora: "LUDICHRIST".........now that is ludicrous!

I take metformin also. Before the band I found that during the day I was not particularly hungry but at night I could have eaten a horse!.......then, like you, I would totally binge. The beauty of the band is that it is virtually impossible to binge. If I eat too much or too quickly the food comes straight back up...after doing that a few times you quickly adjust to eating much slower and eating much less food.......having the band has totally cured me of the dreaded night time binges. My doctor, dietician and nurse at the clinic have told me to aim for 1-2lbs per week.....I have lost 40lbs in 14 weeks (that's almost 3lbs per week). And the best part is I seem to have lost all those carb cravings that is so common with PCOS sufferers!:cool:

Hi mypov......I felt exactly the same way as you. I have PCOS and gained alot of weight very quickly (100lbs in 3 years). I also couldn't understand how I had gained so much weight in such a short space of time. So when I went to visit my surgeon I explained my dilemma to him and he assured me that many of his patients who have PCOS have been extremely successful in losing weight. Unfortunately with PCOS we have an extra problem contributing to our weight gain so the weightloss with the band may be slower BUT it still comes off. At the obesity clinic that I visit the dietician and nurse have both told me that women with PCOS generally have to have greater restriction than most people because our calorie intake has to be quite a bit lower in order to lose weight......also exercise is VERY important in losing weight with PCOS. On the upside....... starch carbs really aggrevate PCOS and with the band it is very difficult to eat most starchy carbs.:cool:

There are times when I do feel bulimic.....if I eat to fast, too much or the wrong food for me I HAVE to bring it up.....which has meant on MANY occasions a quick trip to the nearest bathroom or in last friday night's case when we went out for for dinner and there was no toilet in the restaurant......a dash to the carpark to chuck up behind our car.....it was horrible...thank God no one was there!

My healthcare (Mediband Private) covered my lapband surgery but I did have pay $2500 extra (anaethetist, dietician, fills and an amount above the covered fee for the surgeon)

Hi Betsyjane.....Yes it does take willpower with the band to lose weight......... but NOWHERE near as much as without one.

Melati...Australia does not have a problem with extremists.....we have a problem with migrants (Muslims in particular) NOT assimilating into our society. We Aussies are a pretty laid back bunch but we DO NOT appreciate people coming to our country and not abiding by our laws. The Aust government has told migrants if they are not prepared to live by the laws of our land then they should leave and I believe 99.9% of the country would agree with that. The riots last December had NOTHING to do with extremists and EVERYTHING to do with Muslims disrespecting Australians and our culture (an example of this is what sparked the riots in Australia last December.....For years Muslim men have been harassing Aussie women/girls at Cronulla beach, a lifeguard told the men to stop or they would call the police, the Muslim men attacked the lifeguard then several Aussie men jumped into the fight.....it escalated from there into the riots.) I think it is a shame that it came to that....... but how much can a tolerant society actually tolerate???

This will teach him to mess with some large ladies! http://www.metacafe.com/watch/148907/big_chicks_dont_just_eat/ I LOVE this lady......I'm sure there are plenty of us that can relate to this one http://www.metacafe.com/watch/59141/fat_girl/ And last but not least......OUCH! :omg: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/46058/belly_drop/

You should have said ......"I didn't realise weightloss surgery was a "black" or "white" thing I thought it was a "fat" thing."

Paula......bullying makes me so angry! I agree suspension is a pathetic way to deal with a bully....it's nothing but a mini holiday for the bully. When my son was in year 4 he was kicked in the groin and pushed over by a year 5 bully (with a long history of bullying at school). I went straight to the principal and demanded action. At first they talked about suspension but I was NOT happy with this "solution" so they then decided to have the bully apologise and write a letter to my son....HOW PATHETIC! A week later the bully attacked another child who has cerebral palsy (banging his head against a wall so hard that the child bit down on his tongue and needed stitches). The mother of the bullying victim demanded the bully be expelled but was told that the bully comes from a "disadvantaged background" and therefore had to be treated carefully so they arranged a meeting with both sets of parents. In the meeting the bully's parents started carrying on about the school being racist against aboriginals (what a joke.....no one even knew they were aboriginal.....apparently the father's great, great great etc grandfather was aboriginal). The bully's mother started ranting and raving about her son being "disadvantaged". After listening to this garbage for long enough the victim's mother stood up and yelled "DISADVANTAGED...you think your son is DISADVANTAGED....my son has #UCKING CEREBRAL PALSY, can barely feed himself let alone defend himself....THAT'S DISADVANTAGED!".....then stormed out and that afternoon enrolled her child in another school. Yet again political correctness gone mad!

I agree.....toss that Bloody scale out the window.....you will feel soooo much better for it!

If being "obese" was the standard for beauty I think many people would NEVER have lapband surgery and continue to be obese perhaps until their health started failing. Look at the African country of Mauritania......Obese females = beauty. In Mauritania an obese female is the sign of wealth and prestige, young girls are force fed in order to attract a rich husband. Females who are thin actually bring shame to the family because they are considered unattractive and therefore unable to marry. These people don't care that force feeding their daughters is slowly killing them, because for them, the reward of their daughter attracting a rich husband far outweighs the health risks. Lets face it.........How many women do things that are unhealthy in order to look attractive? eg: wearing stilettoes (bad for your feet and spine and even worse if you topple over and break your neck!:omg: )

My most expensive addiction is shoes!

Carol....the doctor generally chooses how much fill you get. Some doctors are much more cautious than others. When I had my first fill it was a standard amount that my doctor puts in all his patients bands. When I went for my second fill my doctor asked me a series of questions, looked at my weightloss and decided I need a larger fill.....since then I have had wonderful restriction. Just remember.....very, very few people have good restriction after their first fill. Good Luck Jo:)

Winner.....My husband and kids are very supportive HOWEVER my daughter (12yrs) has had a little trouble adjusting. (I think it's kind of an Italian thing) but she really misses the big "feasts", cooking together (which we used to do ALOT...cakes, biscuits, Desserts etc) and our life evolving around food. She really LOVES to eat and the social aspect of food. But me having the band can only be a good thing because my changed habits have also changed my entire family's eating habits. My daughter (who is a little chubby) has actually lost a few kilos also

Andree....If you are obese, unless you have a medical problem, then you must over eat

Totally normal!!!! Took me 2 fills to have any restriction at all Carol68....I had both of my fills 2hrs after I ate breakfast....no problem. Although some people prefer to fast, unless your doctor has told you to I wouldn't bother.

I think what surprised me the most was we were travelling with our kids. If I was going to blow up a plane I think I'd leave the kids at home.:rolleyes

TOM.....I must fall into that 10% of whites you are referring to. When we were travelling around the US in Dec/Jan, myself and my family (husand and 2 kids) were taken from the security line and "frisked" in LA, O'Hare and JFK airports not to mention the fact that as we were checking in at Sydney airport we had our bags pulled apart and searched by security! There must be something very suspicious about 2 fat middle aged Aussies and their kids

I come from Italian heritage and have lived all of my 42 years in Australia. Recently I had to interview someone for a "junior" position. I had 4 applicants, two with Anglo surnames, one with a Greek surname and one with an Arabic surname. All the applicants were wonderful but one stood out with her enthusiasm and neat appearance. When I rang the applicants who were unsuccessful, all were very polite except the girl with the Arabic surname. Her response was "you're just racist against us Muslims". I was dumbfounded at her comment and replied that I had NO idea she was even in fact a Muslim. Of all the nationalities living in our big multicultural country the Muslims seem to be the first group who have made a big issue out of being villified and seem to love waving around the race card whenever possible.

BEST: My clothes being that little bit looser EVERY day and having to pack away clothes that are now too big.:clap2: WORST: The wind pain during the night of my surgery.....the only relief I got was from morphine.:cry

I have learnt that I CAN go to restaurants with friends and still have an active social life.