Goannabanda

Reading the memorials pages on the Obesity Help site did it for me - it's the lap band or no surgery for me. There's a lot that can go wrong with the other surgeries, and they often fail after a 3 to 6 years (as I've read in the published research). I don't think that other WLS outside of LapBanding are performed all that often any more here in Australia due to the demonstrated risks and documented poor performance of these proceedures when compared to the LapBand. Environmental and health risk assessment is a large part of my job - and therefore I am fairly familiar with the dialogue around risk factors, relative (or "Real") risks, etc. Applying some of those risk discussions to your own body and LIFE while contemplating surgery is raising some interesting issues in my little world - I always knew I was conservative and risk-averse - but didn't think I was this conservative... Weighing up the benefits and risks of what to do next - whether to have surgery or a baby is challenging! At least the type of surgery to have is clear to me now.

Thanks Fee. I've read up on their site, now just waiting with butterflies for Friday... I've got so many questions to ask, I'd better get around to writing them all down. I thought I'd do this at the start of a Band journal. Sounds like a good idea for tracking progress / issues etc. Hope to chat again soon. Cheers!

What about home made bread? How well does it / not go down? Is it any better or worse than ordinary bought bread? We make wholegrain bread in our machine... ... unbanded I can't eat more than 2 slices (and I can eat like the proverbial horse! lol). It's very filling, I imagine once banded I won't be able to eat more than a couple of bites of the stuff... I LOVE bread in all it's forms, and will find it hard to give up. As I am really the only bread addict in our house, I'm wondering if it's time to try and get the Datsun 120Y back that I traded to get the bread maker...

Wheetsin, You are a daughter to be proud of. If one of my family were in need, I'd hope that I have the financial means and generosity of spirit available to help out (like you obviously have in loads). Whatever happens, you must not be deceptive or pressuring about this - having such a surgery is a big decision for your mum, and no doubt you will feel at least some responsiblity if she goes ahead. Open and honest communication, and then leaving it to her to sort out (as you have done) are in my opinion, the best way to go. Having her read the thread, or writing her a letter or scrapbook of memories, hopes and dreams for your mum might be meaningful for her too... Good luck, both to you and your mum!

What?? We all fell out of eucalypt, mealaleuca and leptospermum trees down here in OZ... .. but according to the survey, I fell from the WEEPING WILLOW (Melancholy) - likes to be stress free, loves family life, full of hopes and dreams, attractive, very empathetic, loves anything beautiful, musically inclined, loves to travel to exotic places, restless, capricious, honest, can be influenced but is not easy to live with when pressured, sometimes demanding, good intuition, suffers in love until they find that one loyal, steadfast partner;loves to make others laugh.:biggrin1: All true, of course - although not too sure about the men in my life... DH fell out of a MAPLE TREE (Independence of Mind) -- no ordinary person, full of imagination and originality, shy and reserved, ambitious, proud, self-confident, hungers for new experiences, sometimes nervous, has many complexities, good memory, learns easily, complicated love life, wants to impress. DS landed out of a POPLAR TREE (Uncertainty) -- looks very decorative, talented, not very self-confident, extremely courageous if necessary, needs goodwill and pleasant surroundings, very choosy, often lonely, great animosity, great artistic nature, good organizer, tends to lean toward philosophy, reliable in any situation, takes partnership seriously.

Wow! So different to our Aussie homes... Congratulations. I'm so jealous! To buy something like that here would cost, and cost, and cost... and cost... ...... ....and... ...cost some more.

I am now known as: Gunwalls Ethel tee hee hee!

Way to go!!! ...I dream of changing the "2" for "1" in my "24". You are almost there, keep up the great work.

Mvpo8961, thanks for your message. Great work on the new eating habits and weight loss! I find it hard to believe all the stories about post-band life - like your restuarant story! I am having trouble imagining myself doing anything other than my current food habits.... ...however, i already relate to the food getting stuck stories - I sometimes find I rush or gulp the first few bites, and stuff gets stuck, causing a "PB". Usually because I am trying to talk at the same time as eat!! lol I find that having just ONE small sip of Water immediately before I start eating helps - although I hear that this is a no-no with the band. I'll have to learn new ways!!! I think the wait for a band here in Oz is about 3 to 8 weeks, if you have private health cover, pay the gap fees yourself, and don't have any other health probs that need to be resolved prior to surgery. I have heard its average 2yrs+ wait on the public health (Medicare). I am debating whether to go and get banded now, or if to put it off for now and have another baby first. Going to discuss with the surgeon and ObGyn. GP (medical doctor) and hubby both think I should have the baby first. I'm worried about the effects of weight loss on pregnancy, and possible band complications during pregnancy / labour. Meeting with the lap surgeon on Friday. Then we'll see.

G'day from Melbourne, Australia! (sorry - I'm a metric girl - 140kg or about 315 pounds) (sorry also for the long first post - there's a lot to say to begin with....) I am SOOOO glad I found you all on this forum - reading your posts over the past week, and viewing all those inspirational before / after shots has helped me in my decisions and plans immensely. God Bless you all for sharing and caring so much:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: - I hope that I may contribute to the forum as well as the benefits I'm already enjoying. I'm 34, a mother of one boy (who's 5), married to a WONDERFUL man (he always cheers me on, and thinks I'm sexy however I look! Bless him!). I work part-time as a consulting environmental scientist. I have been thinking of getting banded for over a year - but only just started to discuss it with my hubby. I got a referral from my GP this week, and will meet with surgeon later this week (with Mr Chris Hensman at EndoSurgery Victoria, Mulgrave).:nervous I have fought the battle of the bulge since I was 16 - when my mum joined me at WW - since then I've been the classic yo-yo ride of WL support systems, diets and pills. Depression and control issues with food haven't helped either (Man! How do I relate to some of the stories posted to the forum!) I want to GET OFF THE ROLLER COASTER - NOWWWW!!!! My weight has hovered around 135kg since just after my son was born. My hubby was made redundant from his job at the same time, so my emotions and eating were all over the place for a LONG time. I maxed out at 138 - 140kg during last year.:omg: I'm currently around 132kg. (I'm so ashamed...) The thing is, until recently, I've never felt big or heavy. Because I'm a pear-shape, and therefore most my fat is on my legs / hips / rear end, it's kind of "out of sight, out of mind". Only this year have I felt too big / fat / tired / slovenly / unfit / "insert any other of your favourite self-depretiating terms here" (they'd apply here) to get off my but and do things - even things I love to do like play with son (who can run like the wind) or gardening. Cleaning the house even feels like too much effort... I feel like that a lot of the emotional baggage I've been carrying around has been put down over the past year, and is now GONE FOR GOOD. :clap2: Hubby and I have a stable, Christian marriage, we have a loving home life and good jobs and career prospects. It was a long struggle. I also feel like I'm able to finally put down the bags I've carried siince school days, feelings of insecurity and inadequacy (God knows why I have them in the first place, but the mind is a beast...). I honestly feel that if I can make a break in the weight gain-loss cycle, and lose the excess weight once and for all, that I'd have a great chance that the fat would also be GONE FOR GOOD. I guess none of this is new to many / most of you in LapBandTalk land. Anyway, it's these new feelings about myself that have shocked me into doing something more to lose the kilos- enter the LAPBAND - dadadadaaaaaa!!!:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: My hubby & I REALLY want more babies - but right now I'm too scared of complications / dying to contemplate getting pregnant yet. I can't seem to lose the 15kgs and 5 years of age I put on since I had my son... The desire to make some new people for our family to love is also contributing influence to my decisions right now, but not the main motivation. Initially, I'd like to get down under 100kg before trying for another baby, and then after that continue on towards an ultimate goal of 60kg - 70kg (would be nice on a 5ft 4inch girl...). I think I was about 15 when I last saw my weight defined by a number lower than 70kg.:cry :faint: :help: I'd like to hear from anyone who has conceived / had a baby after LapBanding (how soon after can we go for it - I've heard 2 years, but that's too long!). My GP suggested we had a baby (or two) first, and then the LapBand - the way I feel right now, I don't think that would be sensible - I can almost feel diabetes or a heart attack at the thought of it!:sick Also, I am really nervous about how I will adjust to the Bandster's lifestyle given how much and how often I eat. Feelings of hunger / fullness / satiety etc are almost meaningless to me right now. I'm looking forward to changing this, but for now, the thought of restricting food volume and types fires up those old feelings of rebellion!:hungry: :angry Thanks for the inspiration so far - looking forward to chatting with you again soon!

It's all so sad I could cry... Sounds like the dad could do with cleaning out his ears, and start to LISTEN to what's being said and done around him... We have a family friend who does similar things with her son, saying, "oh he won't eat this, he won't eat that, he only eats potatoes and meat" etc etc. basically making all his food decisions for him. They're both as big as houses. Her hubby was too - until he left her, and lost heaps of his weight. For me and mine, I try REALLY hard not to impress my views of food onto my family - so that they don't end up like me. I try not to dish up too much (maybe this will bea easier post-banding...), and also try to promote positive messages about food - eg. never saying to finish all on the plate, not labelling food as "good" or "bad", encouraging wide choice of healthy foods, appropriate / inappropriate times for meals and snacking. In Australia dieticians have recently started talking about "traffic light foods" to aid children's nutritional learning - Red = occasionally (less than 1 per week), Amber = sometimes (few times per week), Green = everyday. This is a simple concept, and wish that we were taught in a similar manner - maybe wouldn't have so many diet & weight issues now... hmmm...

I can't believe it - I found my Iron tonight for the first time in at least 6 months (surprised it wasn't rusty!) - but only to iron the cover for an Ikea footstool that I bought today to PUT THE FITTED SHEETS IN!!! Ha ha ha couldn't believe it when I found this thread - you girls are hilarious! I agree - the only way to fold the darned things is to tuck all the corners together - then I usually lay the sheet on the floor, bed or table so I can get the side flaps to fold in straight. Or if hubby's around, I get him to grab the other end, and we finish folding it "airborne". Still - we often just get a sheet ball at the end, so maybe I'll just start shoving them into a pillowcase. Don't laugh - I've even considered hanging them up in the wardrobe on skirt hangers!

Thanks for the welcome message Myra, I am looking forward to releasing the thin girl from under all this fat! I'm also looking forward to learning a whole new set of attitudes and habits related to food. Eating like my 5yo looks kinda fun - but I guess I'll at least have to use my knife and fork! ha ha ha!!! I note that you got banded in May. How are you going with the new lifestyle? Cheers, Anna.