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It is hard to give the correct advice . What works for one person does not always work for the rest. Theoretically if you are consuming less calories than you are expending you should lose weight. If i was to comment on your sample menu it would be to say that to me it looks to be pretty high in fat and low in good carbs - veggies etc. Some people find they can lose eating the same type of food as previously but smaller portions. Others find they need to do a high Protein /low carb type diet and still others have to cut out almost all carbs. What have you tried so far? Are you being honest with yourself? We would all like this to be an easy ride but for most it isn't. Most people have to make conscious decisions as to what to eat/how much etc. Many people find that logging their food helps them whilst for others this does not work. For many exercise is the key and without you will probably not lose what you want to lose - yes some people lose without exercising but they are the lucky few not the norm. Even with arthritis there should be some form of exercise that you can do. Swimming is good for the joints, supports your weight etc. Don't expect that losing weight will solve your hypertension. I am normal weight and have to take a daily pill for high BP. The reason for it still being high is unknown and that is true for many people. Even though you don't feel as though you need a fill you should still go back to your specialist for support,encouragement and to check that everything is OK. I hope you find the key soon. All the best.

Maybe it is not too tight, maybe you have a slip. I hope not but still a good idea to go and get it checked out.

That's good but heart attack pain is not always felt in the chest. It can cause pain in the back, arms, shoulders, neck, jaw.......................... There are numerous instances of people that think they are suffering from indigestion as they have suffered with it for years and it then turns out to be a heart problem instead.At least you are going to see your specialist so hopefully everything will be good.

What makes you sure it is your band. You thought you were having a heart attack and you could have been. You should get that checked out ASAP.

I don't have a sweet tooth I have sweet TEETH!

Sorry to hear this. At least you get to keep all your happy memories. Think of this as another page you are turning in your Quest for better things. I hope you go from strength to strength.

You need to go and see your Dr urgently. Not being able to drink Water means you are way too tight. Plus the reflux at night is not a good sign. Do not ignore these symptoms because it can lead to far worse problems such as a slip etc. Please let us know what your Dr says and that everything is OK.

Laughing at the post complaining about a period that lasted 7 days. That sounds like heaven to me. My last 2 periods lasted 25 and 40 days respectively! I am now day 6 post hysterectomy so no more periods for me . YAY. I don't think the band actually had any effect on my cycle though , just one of those unfortunate sideeffects of getting older.

Sounds as though your Dr may have put some fluid in the band during surgery. This may be making you feel too tight and uncomfortable.If it doesn't improve call them , they may need to take some out.

PS. How to lose weight quickly - get some parts removed! LOL Down to 49kg this morning. I'm sure it won't last but i'm changing my ticker whilst I can.

Melody I love the grass story. I can so relate. We have 5 acres and our grass does not look neat and tidy. We try but it gets away from us sometimes. Hummingbird good luck with the fill, Osmosis is the correct answer from what I have been told. Wondering what is making the elephant noises on my roof!

Thanks for all your kind wishes. I got home yesterday and as far as I know everything went well. I was incredibly impressed by my gynae, my anaesthetist and the provided pain relief. I generally feel very nauseous after anaesthesia and this time felt none at all. The first time I felt even mildly sick was Sunday evening just before Dinner! I was the first person to be operated on Friday morning and apparently my op took a long time. The Dr found severe endometriosis as suspected and adhesions from previous caesars. I had been told way back in my 20s that I had what is called a unicornuate uterus and the gynae confirmed this. What was interesting was that the Dr could not find my left ovary. Now at various times I have been told I have or do not have one. E.g 2 internal ultrasounds could not find one but I then later went for a test where i got a letter confirming this ovary had been found! prior to the surgery it was suspected that I may have a cyst on the left ovary but when i was opened up there wasn't one! Confused - yes me too! I had the usual drips, catheters(yuck ) etc after surgery and also had a painbuster device that was delivering local anaesthetic directly to the op site. This must have been doing wonders as I had little or know pain apart from some mild backache and a lot of that could have been due to lying in bed.O2 was taken off Fri night which made it a bit easier to sleep and drip/catheter removed Sat.I was pleasantly surprised by a number of people visiting on Sat.Sun (Mothers Day) the family came in and brought me a present. My daughter had already given me her present as she was so excited. It is a photoshoot at one of those studios where they do your hair and makeup and then charge an arm and a leg for the prints! I am excited but also wondering what on earth we are going to wear that will look half decent. We went and got hubby and son decent jeans a couple of weeks ago and that in itself was a major mission! My biggest gripe about the hospital was their apparent lack of understanding about band related eating. I went in with fluid still in my band and expected that i would be given suitable food. On admission they asked about diet so I told them I had a band and they said oh that is just the DUST??? diet and gave me what looked like a normal diet sheet. I picked what I thought would be the most suitable and easiest to eat items. E.g porridge, quiche, veggie lasagna etc. Fri night after the op they brought me soup, sandwich and jelly and ice-cream. I thought it was a bit weird but was in no fit state to query it so I ate the jelly and ice-cream. Sat breakfast I was given juice - when I queried this I was told I was only on fluids but then the nurse fetched me some porridge. Lunch soup, sandwich and jelly and ice-cream again. When I queried this I was told that I was on a light diet and this is the light diet. HELLO - since when has a sandwich being light for a banded person? Yes I can eat them sometimes but I struggle and they are not the easiest option. I certainly wouldn't be able to eat one with soup and jelly etc. after complaining I was brought quiche - if that is what you can call it! So I ate soup and the inside of a small quiche. Sat night I got - wait for it - yes you've guessed - ANOTHER SANDWICH. Their solution this time was to swap it for a chicken potpie. I did manage a few mouthfuls of chicken but not many. Sunday I got my requested breakfast - yogurt and a slice of toast but at lunch it was back to the dreaded soup/sandwich. By this time I was ready to throw it at someone. I ate the soup , jelly and then they offered me roast pork. HUH. After I have already had soup and jelly I don't think so. The problem was that with only liquid in obviously that was all that was coming out. I was unconcerned but the nurses were getting worried. Sat night they gave me Metamucil to no effect. The easy solution would have been to design a light diet for someone with a band not adopt the one size fits all approach. Sunday night I got told I had to take a laxative. I wasn't happy but it is a bit hard to fight in hospital. At about 7pm they gave me some gross tasting stuff called lactulose. I got the most agonising cramps ever and felt like I was dying. The only good thing was because I was suffering so did they. I kept ringing the bell. I tried walking, heat packs, they gave me more meds nothing helped. At changeover one of the poor nurses that had only just come in bore the brunt of my anger as I just let fly. It wasn't her fault but hopefully the message got across. At 12pm when I was still pacing the corridors in agony she phoned down to emergency and got me a sleeping pill. That was a Godsend - I woke up at 6.30am, still in a little pain but not as much. The stupid thing is that them giving me the stuff did not have the desired affect - if they had listened to me in the first place they would have understood. Dr came around yesterday and agreed that I could go home. YAY. Apparently that is faster than usual for an abdominal hysterectomy but she was pleased with me and the way i was moving etc. Hospital does have its advantages (the bell, having your drugs brought to you etc) but it doesn't measure up to being at home and being able to sit/lie where you want, eat what you want etc. My only challenge now is to remember to take it easy and to learn to ignore all the dirt that i can see. 2 of my friends are coming to visit this afternoon so I am looking forward to that. Sorry if I have bored you all to death.

This board never ceases to amaze me. How something can turn so quickly and get so nasty is incredible. I know someone who's first surgery was cancelled because she did not stick to the preop diet her Dr ordered. She did her own thing and had lost some weight but when she was in surgery the liver was found to be too big and the surgery put off for a couple more weeks. The best advice is always to listen to your Dr and ask LOTS OF QUESTIONS. I don't like taking anything at face value, I like to know WHY. If you don't trust your Dr then change Dr's but be very wary of advice on an internet forum. We have no idea who is posting the advice, what their qualifications are and what their motivation is. That does not mean that we should not use forums such as these for support as that aspect is invaluable but it should never replace the advice of your own Dr.

I still eat cake etc. Life goes on after you have your band . For me getting a band was about being able to live a normal life and have a normal relationship with food and not be constantly on a diet. I eat what I want but generally make healthy choices. A little of what you fancy can do you good. But you have indicated that a little would put you out of control. Maybe you could do something fun like going for a massage or pedicure or if it is a mixed group pick some kind of activity like bowling or mini golf etc. Whatever you decide I hope you have fun.

Is it the band you can feel or the port? Being able to feel the port is quite common. I would have thought feeling the band which sits much higher than most people realise would be really hard.

What a thought. Good job your not a guy as I can imagine that would be their idea of heaven! Sitting drinking a cup of green tea then need to leave for the hospital. Will report back once I get home - I do not have a laptop or internet on my phone so I will be offline for a couple of days.

Trying not to think about my op tomorrow. Stupid really as logically I know it will all be fine but I'm still stressing!

OMG I think I have just had the worst eating day EVER. Before breakfast - 1 ginger nut (biscuit/cookie) Breakfast - 2 slices lean bacon ,1/2 egg, 2 mushrooms fried in spray and cook. During the morning. Snack size chocolate bars, crackers. Lunch - 1 thin slice ham, 1 small slice cheese, small bowl of cereal. Afternoon - another ginger nut. Dinner will probably be a couple of mini meatballs with I have no idea what followed by rhubarb and custard. Am I stressed or what??????? This is total proof that the band cannot stop you from grazing/stress eating etc. I may have burned some calories from pacing up and down and being unable to actually settle and do anything. I did attempt to iron but did not get very far. Rollon tomorrow afternoon.

I am trying to picture Melody with this knot at the top of her head . She may have to change her name. The first thing that springs to mind is Sumo but they are huge so that won't work. Maybe Kewpie - I don't know if you have Kewpie dolls in the US but that sort of moulded curl on top of the head makes me think of the knot.

Do you have allergies or post nasal drip? You may need meds .Otherwise you could try drinking a cup of warm tea or broth before you eat to help clear the built up mucus.

I also wear my rings on my middle finger, when I actually wear them. Weird thing is I'm not much smaller now than when I got them but they are really lose. Maybe your fingers just get naturally thinner as you get older too. I have put off getting them resized as my fingers differ so much from warm weather to cold weather that I don't know which season to have them sized for! As usual I have been reading but not posting. Melody please don't go - i love reading your posts . I agree that we should not measure success or failure by a number on a scale. That just sets you up for disappointment. Melody please post some pics of you at the wedding - I am dying to see how stunning you look. I am going for my hysterectomy on Friday. If you have shares in Kotex, Libra, Tampax etc I would advise you to sell them now as their sales are going to plummet. I calculated that of the last 80 days I have been bleeding for 63! I am so over it.I am trying not to think about the actual op as I hate going under. It doesn't matter how many times I've done it there is always that fear that maybe I won't wake up. And then of course there is the nausea and feeling like shit when you come around. But on the plus side everyone tells me that I will feel great afterwards so bring it on! I have been told that I do not need an unfill for the op which is good. The anaesthetist wanted to know if I had a lot of reflux but i have none so he is happy to leave things as they are. Wondering how I will cope without being able to drive. I am hoping to be allowed out at 3 weeks max as I am not very good when my wings are clipped. It will be interesting to see what the family cook and how late we will be eating. It's not that they can't cook but to have to do it everyday including during the week after work could be a challenge. I have a feeling there could be a lot of KFc, MCDs etc on the menu(yuck)! I thought everyone knew what the chicken Dance was! What did everyone think of Wills and Kates Wedding? I was a little disappointed with her dress - It was beautiful and elegant but I thought it lacked the Wow factor.

Yes I drink champagne. It is fine so long as I sip it slowly. Just make sure you don't drink it and eat at the same time - it will cause lots of pain/discomfort. I think getting married is an excellent reason to crack open the bubbles. Good luck with your big day. Imagine how amazing you will be looking.

Hi - if you weren't scared you wouldn't be normal. We all go through that before surgery. Who is your Dr? I am amazed that the first 1 said that about deaths , that would hardly have made you feel better. Follow your Dr's instructions. My BMI was only 32 but I still had to do the Optifast. I think if nothing else it gets you used to the liquid diet that you will HAVE to follow after surgery. As to the flying I have been told that you are more likely to have problems if your band is empty. When the band has had a number of fills the saline cannot expand in flight. If it does not have fills it has air which can expand. The best thing to do is to stay well hydrated, don't try eating the food(you will probably still be on mushies anyway) and if you are uncomfortable during the flight you should be fine once you land as then any swelling will go back down. Luckily for you the flight from Mel - Perth isn't too bad. You should try flying Melbourne to South Africa(via Perth) ! All the best and feel free to PM me if you want - I live outside Melbourne and am happy to answer any questions you may have.

It all depends on whether it makes you uncomfortable or not. I can drink bubbles without a problem but I do drink them slowly. I think if I tried to chug them down it would be highly problematic.

It has been discovered that the food doesn't sit there for as long as was originally thought. It is possible that you have eaten too much, too fast etc. What happens is that the food stimulates the vagus nerve and that can make it feel as though the food is backing up in your throat although it isn't really.