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Well done - you look great.

Excellent news.

I live in Australia so our health system works differently to the US one.I knew which surgeon I wanted so I phoned and made an appointment directly. I was terrified that as I didn't have a referral it would be a problem but it wasn't. I must have checked at least 3 times that it wouldn't affect whether or not my insurance would pay. It only became a problem when I needed a fill and needed to claim the rebate from medicare.I couldn't get the rebate without a referral so I went back to the Dr's. The original Dr had left and the new one had a totally different aatitude and was happy to give me the referral. Plus they couldn't refuse as I was already banded!

This sounds yummy but it doesn't sound like a salad to me! Salads are supposed to be full of vegies - the only vegie in this salad is lettuce which has very little nutrition. Other than that it is full of high fat sauces etc (even the lower fat ones are still fairly high in fat). To me a salad should have some kind of leaf, cucumber, tomato, grated carrot, capsicum, onion, raw mushrooms etc. Then add some form of Protein and a tiny bit of dressing if necessary. This would be far lower in calories, far higher in Vitamins and minerals, would probably fill you up better and would also help keep you regular. Something which high protein/fat - low carb diets struggle to do.

I only had to do 2 weeks and I was desperate to move on to mushies.Try making your own soups and thicken them with lentils/chickpeas etc then blend them. This adds extra Protein and helps keep you full. My soups were all REALLY thick. Remember it is only a really short time you have to do this for. it may seem like you will never get through it But you will and then you will be really pleased with what you have achieved.

This is normal. Some foods are difficult to eat and will fill you up really quickly e.g solid Protein such as meat/chicken. Other foods go down really easily so it takes lots to fill you up. They are called slider foods and you should try to avaoid them. They include crisps, chocolate, icecream, Desserts etc. Some sliders are OK in small quantities as they provide imprtant nutrients e.g yogurt. I am not surprised you got stuck on a hard boiled egg. I have always found them dry and really difficult to eat even preband. The thing is to always eat slowly, small bites and chew really well. If you do get stuck stop eating and don't try to drink as it makes it worse. I generally try to burp or cough the stuck item up as when it comes up you get relief. Some people guzzle a fizzy drink really quickly. Apparently this unblocks you and brings iit up really fast so only do it near a toilet or sink!Others swear by papaya enzymes but for me they do nothing. In time you will figure out what works for you. Also the optimum level of fill to achieve restriction is different for everyone. Some people have 10 cc bands with only 1 or 2cc and they are restricted. Others have overfilled bands. As for the scale............ I still jump on it EVERY morning!

I know how you feel. My PCP refused to refer me as he said the band was too dangerous and there were too many complications. I think he probably also told me that I just needed to diet and exercise more!

It's not something i eat but 15 slices of turkey pepperoni sounds like a lot to me. Isn't it high in fat? Wouldn't it be better to have less slices and add more vegies?

Be really careful with raw carrots. they are one of the foods that when banded may cause you to need a complete unfill as they don't break down and when they are stuck they are stuck. If you have to eat them then grated is better than in chunks.

And no it is not necessary to unfill before a flight. If you are newly banded with little fill then the air in the band may expand. If you have fill the saline itself can't expand. My Dr also told me that if a problem occurs when you fly which it shouldn't then you will be fine once you touch the ground again. I had a marathon trip in Dec/Jan( 3 flights total 24 hours travelling each way) and there were no problems whatsoever. Staying hydrated is important and yes that means Water not alcohol.

I think if you ask for this unfil you are on the start of a very slippery slide.the band is to modify your eating and to help you lose weight is it not for filling unfilling at whim so you can overeat when you feel like it! I know of people who have had an unfil before a holiday and are still stuck with the extra weight they gained. You need to be able to enjoy a social occasion without solely focusing on food. that is one of the behaviours that made most of us need the band in the first place. It is possible to eat smaller amounts and still have fun. I went away with friends over Easter. None of them knew that I had a band and theys till don't. I ate the same as everyone else but in smaller portions. When you are sitting with a large group of people around a table eating they also don't notice that you are eating a lot slower than they are. Enjoy the company and the conversation and enjoy the sensation of being satisfied but not STUFFED!

I do think the closer you get to your goal the slower you lose.Generally people with more weight to lose do tend to drop faster initially. I started with a BMI of 32. The first month I lost 5kg, the second 3kg, 3rd 2.1kg and it kept going down. I am now almost 12 months out and have hit my "goal"(well that is what the doc say's - she say's I can't afford to lose any more weight although I would still like to get rid of my stomach)! I hadn't lost anything for 2 months but am now down another .5kg since my adjustment last week. So you probably won't lose the huge amounts that larger people do but should still have fairly steady weight loss.

It gets better. The first couple of days on Optifast most people feel like crap but you start getting used to it. We have all been in the same place as you - wondering if we can do it and guess what - we all made it to the other side. One thing that helps is that there is a goal and that each stage of the eating plan is relatively short. I for one found it easier because I knew I had to stick to it to get the surgery, then the liquid stage was only 2 weeks and that was to help me heal etc. You will be fine and soon you will have joined the rest of us on the other side. All the best.

Lots of people these days have a vitamin D deficiency as they don't get enough sun. Your body needs a certain amount of sunlight every day in order to manufacture it but because we all slip/slop/slap because of the fear of skin cancer we are not getting what we need.

I am not sure if this is the same woman that was featured on TV here a month or so back but it probably is. Apparently she wanted to get into the Guiness book of records but they have stated that they will not recognise or publish her in any way which is great. Personally I think it is gross and disgusting and I feel sorry for her young daughter.She is probably going to be without a mother very soon but even if she isn't what kind if example is her mother setting! I also don't understand men that are "feeders". I know that it takes all sorts but to deliberately feed someone so that they become obese and unhealthy seems crazy to me.

I can't tell you why it's not working but maybe you should try the Australian approach. Eat a balanced diet with food from all food groups! I am almost 1 year out from surgery and when I went for an adjustment this week I also saw my dietician.He was surprised as normally he only sees people at this stage if they are having problems.I saw him as I have been on a diet almost my whole life and now I am at goal am a bit nervous about not being on one. He emphasised that it is important to try and eat from all the 3 major food groups at every meal. Protein/carb/fruit or veg.Balance is important. Obviously food that is unprocessed and close to its natural state should be the first choice rather than processed food. Often when we stick to high protein/low carb we miss out on some important minerals. E.G I was recently diagnosed with low potassium and had to drink an evil tasting supplement. Some of the best sources of potassium (other than bananas which I hate) are potatoes, winter squash, Beans, avos, apricots etc. By including carbs the meal is generally more satisfying and lower in fat than a Protein only meal. e.g 1 poached egg on toast rather than just eggs etc. Hope you find something that works for you and that you start losing again soon.

I have them occasionally when I need something quick. All frozen meals are very unsatisfying. They consist mainly of rice or Pasta with very little meat which is how they keep the fat and calorie content low.

This sounds very weird. In Australia they don't routinely take the fill out to check as this can impact on the pressure within the band. Think about what happens to a balloon when you keep inflating and deflating it - the rubber stretches and starts perishing and it takes more air to then inflate it properly. I would think that if anything having the same amount of fill as before you are more likely know to feel less restriction not more!

Was there bile/stomach acid or just the foam/saliva? If it was just saliva and food then you didn't vomit it was a violent PB. This can happen. I doubt very much that you have slipped your band . I don't need to tell you to be more careful in future because you know that already. But damn it can be so hard sometimes can't it. Especially when you are starving!

Congratulations. You look fabulous.

Glad that YOU are now succeeding. As you say when its not working people tend to blame the band but quite often it is not the band that is at fault.

That would be a real downer. Hope they succeed next time. What was the scar tissue from?

It sounds as though you ate too quickly, didn't chew properly and are now stuck.The fact that you can get liquids down though is good. When I get stuck I can't even get liquids through. Sometimes a stuck episode can last for ages. At Christmas I had about 24hrs when nothing would go down. Usually when this happens the first thing I try is bringing the offending item back up.Although not recommended on a regular basis it shouldn't cause any harm and can offer instant relief. The other thing that I have found helps me is sucking on crushed ice. This seems to reduce the swelling and lets the item pass through. HTH

We often hear how much better sleeves are than bands, how much easier it is etc etc. Nobody that is sleeved ever seems to post on here that life is not a bed of roses and they make it sound like the perfect weight loss surgery. Now I can't comment as I don't have a sleeve I have a band. So far I don't have any problems with my band but if I do at some stage in the future then I would probably consider a sleeve. Anything rather than be fat again. Which is why I found this comment posted on the VSG forum rather interesting. Sounds familiar doesn't it? In fact this comment would seem to indicate that in many ways the sleeve has very similar issues to the band.:thumbdown::blushing:

Thanks Jacqui - love you too! LOL Seriously I didn't post it to cause trouble although some people may see it that way. I just thought it was interesting to see what things are like with some of the other choices,and there have been a couple of threads lately where people have again asked what the advantages/disadvantages to the various types of surgery are. I admit that I know very little about the sleeve which was one of the reasons I was looking at the other forum(that and obviously boredom as I'm off work for a couple of weeks). I have looked at some of the surgeon's websites but we all know that they don't give the full picture, to get that you need to speak to people who have had the procedure. So reading real people's experiences was really interesting. Especially the quote that I posted above as it could easily have been written by a bandster(myself included). I hadn't realised that some of the rules/recommendations with a sleeve include:- Do not drink fluids while eating Omit carbonated drinks Eat slowly and chew foods until they are mushy Do not lay down or rest after eating (presumably this is to prevent reflux)? So really it all sounds very similar to life with the band.Presumably the main advantage is that you do not have the level of aftercare that a person with a band has and that you do not have to wait to reach restriction?