Brighton Belle

I am still around, hardly ever check in here though, as like most of us, life has moved on and the band, although still very much part of my life, is not such a major part. I have lost about three stone and now have a BMI of 28.5. I am slowing down on the weight loss but still continuing to alter in shape. Once I started to look nice again I bought loads of fancy knickers, don't know why, but it was fun to embrace that side of me again. Then it started to be fun buying clothes - I had hated it for ages. Massive increase in self esteem these days. Just good to feel fitter, look good, be healthier in general. The money I spent on the band was the best value for the money because it really has transformed my life.

A lot of people feel threatened by lap-banders and think it is cheating and have all kinds of weird ideas and will try to put you off. You've done your research, made your decision and had the band. Good for you! Don't listen to all those outside negative voices. Instead, come on here and listen to those who are way down the line with their lap-bands, who know what they are talking about and who (on the whole) talk excellent sense and are full of useful tips and information. If it happens to lap banders, someone on here will have experienced it and will tell you about it and what helps and what doesn't. And that includes how to deal with the nay-sayers!

The only reason for an emergency unfill would be if someone was vomiting so much their stomach was swollen and they were completely obstructed and nothing would go through. The way to avoid this is to avoid vomiting, so if you have diarrhoea and vomiting bug you take anti-emetics. People who have lap-bands and get cancer and need chemotherapy tend to have an unfill for the period of their treatment for safety. My surgeon actually posts on his website how to do an unfill for medical professionals to use if necessary. It is not a matter of convenience, more an emergency situation.

I actually altered several pairs of trousers by just taking in an inch each side seam with my sewing machine. (Who the hell was going to see the rather dodgy side seam under my top). Cheaper than buying lots of new pairs. And when you do need to buy new clothes, don't buy anything too expensive... ...and don't buy three pairs of trousers if you only really need two, because in a few months both pairs might be too big. ... don't buy things that fit that are for the wrong season as you might be thinner by then...but do try things for fun and enjoy your new shape! For me, buying sexy knickers was just great! They are cheap but a great boost to my self esteem.

Well, my experience was that you get an inkling of restriction when you are post-op because you are not hungry for hours at a time, not even thinking about food, and you are full up on a bit of yoghurt. Then your band settles down and you end up with NO restriction, and it make take quite a few fills to get to your green zone. It took several fills before I got to full restriction and then I hardly thought about food. I enjoyed it when it was time for a meal, but I did not think about it the rest of the time and I was satisfied with small amounts and I lost weight easily and steadily. However learning to stop in time before I got too full-that took a long time. I had my last fill in April and it lasted for ages. However I knew I was due again in July as I was getting hungry again but put it off as we were going away and I did not want to be overfilled when out of the country. Since we have been back I am thinking about food all the time, eating too fast and getting stuck. I have a fill booked for later this week and I am looking forward to getting back to how I was. So, that is my story. Remember the lack of interest in food immediately post surgery-that is what you are aiming for. And good restriction tends to come after a quite a few fills but that time is well spent learning to listen to your body so you can stop eating in time!

Some of us (geeky) people have our weight loss and our fills and various other data all charted on excel spreadsheets:)

Congratulations! I am at a plateau and needing a fill but I am still changing shape although my weight is not shifting according to the scale. Interesting a few people are saying "you are not going to lose any more, are you?" Mostly, but not all, they are fat people struggling with their weight...

I agree, it is amazing. Just remember to buy clothes for NOW. Don't be tempted to buy a summer outfit in the winter because it is in the sale because you might find it is too big when summer comes...that is the lesson I have learnt:)

Congratulations! I am just past my Bandiversary which went by without me noticing it. BUT I have lost 60% of my excess weight, am down to a size 14 from a 22 and feel great and look great. I am due another fill and am remembering just now what it is like to be hungry all the time but roll on next week when I will get a fill and hopefully be back to the wonderful green zone when food is really not that important to me any more.

Oh, I am on hrt as well. And still losing when my band is right and I am in the green zone.

I am 52. I started to get menopausal at 45 but did not realise, because I had a Mirena coil, which releases a type of progestogen into the womb. I had had no periods for a few years so had no idea I was menopausal. I thought it was just hot, while my kids kept telling me I was going through the change -but did I believe them? Then I got thyroid problems and put on weight big time. What ever I did, I was hungry and could not lose weight. I had the lap band in desperation after low carbing, calorie counting, weightwatchers etc all to no avail. I am a year out and have lost 60% of my excess weight, which was my first goal. I am due another fill so I am hungry at the moment but I KNOW when I have another fill and get back my restriction, I will start to slowly loose again. The menopause makes us overeat for a variety of reasons-your satiation is slow to kick in so you eat more than you used to, you exercise less, your daily living uses less calories etc etc etc But at the end of the day, when the lap band is working and you have good restriction, you feel less hungry, you eat less, and so you lose weight. It is as simple as that. The menopause has little to do with it in the end.

I have not told very many people at all and have told none of my co-workers. I have been getting a lot of compliments recently at work, partly because I am slimmer (now at my 60% goal) but also because I have got new clothes, I am not always dressing in black and I am doing my make-up differently and my self-esteem has shot up. The only people who have said "you are not going to lose any more weight, are you?" are overweight themselves. This to me is very telling. All along I have realised this is from those that can't or won't lose weight and feel threatened by those that can or do lose weight.

I am on a plateau weight-wise at the moment and know I need another fill...but the interesting thing is my shape has continued to change-thighs still getting thinner and my "overhang" is shrinking.

The main problem with the bypass is it is non-adjustable. The surgeon has to estimate the right size of stomach to leave you with when you are slim. Also if you end up stretching your stomach you will stop losing weight. Whereas with the lap band we have fills as our band gets looser as we lose weight round our stomachs. Surgically the lap band is is much easier and less invasive and safer. The downside is the need for fills and being more aware of your eating behaviour. For me, the lap band is a no brainer. My weight loss has been steady and so I have not ended up saggy with the rapid weight loss of the bypass.

I would do it all again, no question. I am healthier, happier and much more attractive and enjoying looking like my old self again. I have got my face back. Ok, it is older, but my character and cheek bones have made a reappearance and I am taking a pride in myself that I had lost before. Best money I spent in a long while.

I never work out. I reckoned I was too heavy to go running and never liked doing much else. However I actually feel, at my first goal of 60% excess weight lost, like excercising at last. Partly because if I went running now I would not fear falling over so much. Whether I actually get round to it...well, just don't hold your breath!

well, I am just past my Bandiversary of 9.9.09, and quite by chance I found some notes I had made pre-LAP-BAND®. I can put a large TICK through them all:) Here is what I wrote. I I want to be healthier, and I want to prevent diabetes and other nasties. I want to sit at my desk without my stomach banging into it. I want to enjoy buying clothes again. I want to get back into my size 16 trousers. I want to look nice in dresses. I want to stop looking like a stout old trout. I want to wear skirts and not have my thighs chafing. I want to be fitter and healthier because I know my daughter worries about my health If my daughter gets married I want to look decent at the wedding. I would like to not be a fat bag when we go to Australia. I have actually managed to tick all these through. My daughter got married and I wore a fitted silk knee-length dress and looked good! I have reached my first goal of losing 60% of my excess weight. Although I am still losing, it is slow but steady. I am enjoying clothes so much more! I feel better and my self esteem has rocketed. Lets hear some more from fellow 9-09-ers.:thumbup:

To do it outside your doctors surgery you need the special non-cutting needles, the sterile syringes, three-way tap, saline and gloves, the sterile dressing set etc. More important than that you have to be experienced in handling the equipment and using the no-touch technique to prevent infection. Your friend may get access to the equipment but will not have the experience to do it well, neatly, safely and in a manner than means she is not likely to risk infection in the port. Furthermore, although I am actually qualified to do all these things myself, I have NEVER contemplated doing it myself. It would be too tricky to do it on yourself because of the positioning. I have, with my surgeon's consent and advice, had a colleague give me a fill. But I reiterate, although I am probably one of the most qualified on here to do this, there is NO WAY I would do it myself.

The Paul O Brien book says if you have any bubbles of gas in your band then you might find they expand in the lower pressure, but when you land you go back to how you were. So they recommend you eat or drink carefully to see what happens but say most people have no problems. I have flown within the UK and Europe with no problems at all and am in the green zone - ie good restriction.

Well, we were always "foodies" and we are still eating out and I still enjoy it. I am almost at my 60% excess weight goal so am doing OK. The fills work a bit better each time and I could eat a lot without getting stuck to start with but as I have got nearer restriction and am now there, my behaviour has modified steadily. At home I don't drink with my meals at all but when we go out I do- Water and wine as well. However I start examining the menu and deciding what I can eat. I cannot burp so if I get stuck it is painful and I have had to go to the loo and kind of retch a bit - as if I have got an airlock, sometimes. So this influences my choices as I really don't want to do this went out! So starters-if there is a soup I would probably go for that. Or I might not have one at all. Mains I find I am tending to go for fish rather than meat, or possibly a Pasta or rice thing that does not need lots of chewing and is easy to eat. For pudding I will choose icecream or sorbet or some kind of fool. It helps that posh meals in nice restaurants are slooooowwww meals as well. So you can still enjoy meals out, but I do regard them as treats and with slightly unusual eating behaviour which is an exception to the usual rules.

Big knickers! I have now got some sexy high-leg style and feel great in them. Boobs are still here and a better shape-I went from a 40c to a 38D and bought some lovely smart new bras. Hot flushes and always feeling too hot-sometimes I have to wear bedsocks these days. Lost my non-descript fashion style and am now enjoying buying clothes for the first time for ages.

I have lost 35lbs and gone down from a size 22 (uk) to a 16, since 9.9.2009 when I got my band. Last weekend I did some online shopping and I ordered a load of different types of knickers because I did not know what sort I would fit or would look nice - shorts, midis, high-leg, bikinis or what. I just had to get rid of my "Bridget Jones" big knickers. What a difference it makes to my self esteem to wear nice new underwear that is not baggy and tired and too big. OK, they are just cotton chain store knickers but I have got black ones with lace, and some black and white polka dot ones and they are just great. It puts a spring in my step! I can highly recommend it!:w00t:

Paul O Brien's book The Lap-Band Solution was the best one for me-very comprehensive and it is my bible. The Lap-Band Solution Book, Dr. Paul O'Brien - Centre for Bariatric Surgery, Obesity Support Book and obvously available from Amazon

I just wondered if there was anyone else in the same boat as me? I can't burp or belch- I have never have been able to even after a pint of coca-cola! I hardly ever vomit and the last time I can remember must be about 10 years ago. I got banded on 9.9.09 and am at good restriction. My difficulty is when I get stuck - I really get stuck because the only way it can go is down. Yesterday I had a migraine and did not realise in time, and took medication a bit late so did not manage to abort it. In conseqence I was laid low and spend till 3pm in bed so did not get up to eat until the evening when I struggled and got stuck. Usually I am tight in the morning and don't eat till lunchtime. A migraine tends to stop your stomach emptying, and this combined with the fact that I tried to eat only a few hours after I had got up, was probably why I was struggling. Eventually after a lot of walking around, deep breaths, feeling sick, salivating, I kind of cough/retched and felt a bit better and then had strange noises of air coming up my gullet for a while, until I felt better. Sometimes, I just wish I could burp!

I had another unpleasant experience tonight at dinner-time. I realised I was full but "soft signs" the odd hiccup, sighing, etc and so I put my fork down and had a rest. The feeling of fullness got worse and started to be painful and I realised I needed to walk around. I went upstairs and into my bathroom, and, yes, off came everything! Right down to my knickers-bra off, trousers off, I even felt like I could take my necklace off... The discomfort turned into pain and eventually I was salivating, in pain, and leaning over the basin... and then finally I retched a bit. Up came a bit of saliva/liquid-no food! Eventually it settled down, but it was really horrible. I think I need to really chew properly and really concentrate on this or maybe even go onto liquids for a bit. I only had this fill a week ago and have had some good meals and some awful ones. But definitely feeling full and not hungry so not sure about a defill at this stage. I am glad to know I am not alone, though.