jalomum

I think it is quite common to not share that piece of info. Some that have done so quite readily have regreted it :-( I am just over 12 months out and have only told hubby, 2 kids, one acquaintance and a couple of members of staff at my local pharmacy and doctors surgery. Now I have lost over 100lbs it is getting to be a pain when people say 'wow you've lost, you look great, how have you done it?' I can't stand not telling the truth and I can't be bothered to tell everyone the whole story. I am starting to think I might put an announcement in the local paper and get it over and done with :-P

Hello again Swirl, thanks for the extra info :-) Now we know what you're up against. I am glad you are losing weight and now involved in lots of dialogue about your band and problems, I kind of feel it will be good for you to 'talk' to those on here and get support and feedback. You have lots of problems and I don't know what has caused them but I am sure that obesity wasn't helping them and so every pound, hell honey every ounce you lose will have to lessen the load on you already stressed body. With your heart and liver conditions it is even more imperative you give your body the correct fuel it needs to function and try to repair itself or arrest the damage. I think the emotional side of this road you are travelling is so much harder than the physical one. I don't mean the hunger thing, I mean the 'why me' 'it's not fair' etc that makes us sadder inside. Maybe your doctor should have postponed your surgery or maybe he thought it all important to give you the best shot to drop your BMI and reduce the strain on your heart so you could be here to fight. I had my band as a last resort after life-long un-diagnosed health problems lead me to 138kg. I was on the verge of a heart attack and figured I didn't want to leave just yet. I didn't want a band, I didn't feel I should have had to have one but I was told by a couple of my specialists that it was the best way to deal with the major factor in my health decline regardless of the causes behind my massive weight. So I cried and screamed, ranted and raved, made the decision and got banded within 4 weeks and 12 months later I have never felt fitter or younger or more energetic for 20 years and I still have 30kg to lose. If I had not had the band I could have been dead...very dead. The band has not been easy but it was better than the alternative. I do feel sorry if you feel we have been unfair but I feel very pleased that the strongly worded replies have resulted in you posting back and opening up and becoming part of the group. I wish you well with your struggle, keep posting you struggles, loses and victories, you will be answered. They may not be quite the answers you are looking for but at least you know we are listening to you :-) Best regards and wishes

Hello Swirl It would be nice if you could give some more info on what you are struggling with and what you have found out since being banded that you did not know before. I have looked at all your previous posts and with the exception of the first one (in which you were excited to have got your date for 8 weeks later) all the rest are of being 'sick of hurting', 'sick of liquids' - 5 days out and not being happy because you haven't lost any weight pretty much for the most of it. Were you sick of being fat and that is why you took the step of getting banded? Your pre-band life must have been just hunky-dory as it sounds like everything has gone wrong for you since 15th June and you are now more miserable than you have ever been before. Let's just blame it on the band. You are now almost 2 months out and still venting and making negative statements without giving any reasons why you feel this way. Is that because you don't want any advice or support? Are you not wanting help from anyone else to succeed or to work through the things you are struggling with? Are you happy to go it alone and not get it right? Do you think it is safer to blame it on the band than to give it your best shot and risk not succeeding? Your negative post is not helpful to yourself or others. FYI: I did do my homework and I did have a band in Aug 09 and I have lost 101 pounds by using what I learnt from every source I could get info from and I will continue to gleen every bit of valuable info from this site and other sources to make the best of and get the most benefit from the choice I made...dare I suggest you start trying to do the same. Give it your best shot. There is so much help and advice on this site but you gotta tell what the problem is, specifics and you will be supported and helped. Good luck with all your struggles, whatever they may be :party:

I owe you an apology :-) I did not mean to make you feel un-welcome or as if you were asking daft questions. Your question is/are very valid...I was 'tongue in cheek' when I posted the first line...I've said it before etc. I just meant that I have mentioned that it may be a little key-hole but a very big, long key the put into it...I was very sore too and I should think with SIL that all of the pain is concentrated around one incision not spread around over 5. The whole idea of them doing it through my poor belly button makes me wince and cringe. I think you must be very brave to have had it done that way :-) I also thought afterwards that I should have added that if you have any concerns you should contact your surgeons office and have a word, just to allay your fears or let them know that you are a little uncertain and uncomfortable. Once again, I apologise for using my 'talking in person to someone who knows me well' tone in the post and I assure you that no offence was meant. Please continue to post :-) TTFN :-)

Chill out Pickles26...isn't it often said that God helps those that help themselves? Or am I missing something crucial? Give it your best shot and your most positive attitude.

Hello I've said it before and here it is again...it is called 'Key-hole Surgery' little hole, big key....check out the vids on YouTube, they put so many things in through your belly button and then drag them around to do what they are doing in there that masses of bruising all the way through and around the incision are inevitable. The wound is small but it goes all the way through every layer of you to your stomach on the inside. All those layers have to heal and it is not a 5 minute job. Every time you move it will slow the healing process and strain the incision. I had 5 incisions and the one they did most work through was painful for a good couple of weeks, the others were good after a week. I hope you feel better soon

Yes, mine did too in March of this year (banded Aug 09). It was reading 649 and the Alb/Cr Ration was 45.7 which apparently means I should have been on dialysis!! But I've never felt better for years so WTF??? Re-tested in June and results were back down to 116 and 23.2, both of which are still high but lowering. I did wonder if it is the toxins from the body fat we are using up. Any large amount of weight loss releases toxins and this would show up in blood and urine screening. Do de-tox diets have a similar effect? I am still losing weight but also walking for about 2+hours a day so I may be processing things differently these last few months. A nurse friend of mine who is familiar with renal stuff thought, judging by the first results, that I had a torn membrane but apparently they take the force of a punch, kick etc to tear and I don't recall any in the last few years :-) Go see the specialist and get it checked out but hopefully for you, like me, it will just be an anomoly and will resolve itself. Unless there is something my GP isn't telling me!! Best of luck with it. Let me know if your Kidney Spec comes up with anything interesting please.

I've just had a similar thing but it only lasted for a couple of days and it was the first time it happened. I will be keeping a careful watch for it next month as it caused me a few problems and I didn't work it out until the second day. With regards to having an unfill, I guess that would depend on what your restriction is like the rest of the month. If you don't want an unfill then I you may be ok if you can drink liquids. Stock up on Protein drinks, supplement drinks etc for the days you are unable to eat solids. Obviously you can only weather it if your periods are regular and you can still drink liquid easily. Good luck :-) Knowing what's the problem is half the solution.

In defence....I think you mis-read quilterlou's reply, she was expressing sympathy directly to 'thatgurl' who is the lady who posted. I believe you mis-read it as 'I feel sorry for that girl'. Please re-read the original post and check if you did mis-understand it or not...an apology may be in order to quilterlou who was genuinely expressing her sorrow for the lady's situation and lack of support from her spouse. That's not rude at all.

sounds like we're either married to the same man or just as lucky as each other

rinse a tea-cup out with cold water, don't dry it, break an egg in to it and prick the yolk. Cover & microwave for around 30 seconds (depending on egg size and microwave power) for a quick, easy and mess free poached egg.

Well at least all the anxiety and deep thinking means you are not taking this lightly and you are aware there will be massive changes to things other than your weight. I drink/guzzle Water every day...the only time I can't is when I have: a) just eaten - you should for 30 mins or so until the food has gone through the band or it puts pressure on and hurts. :cursing: I have eaten something that has stuck in the opening of my stomach - usually swallowed absent mindedly in a rush not to miss a gap in the converstation!! The process of it being stuck and coming back out/up usually causes swelling, then I am sadly reduced to sipping for a day or 2 and not even my morning cups of tea will go down. One can only sip whilst partially blocked, may last a day or 2, as the swelling subsides and full guzzling should be able to resume after that day or 2!! I find I never get anything stuck if I eat on my own with a book! Drink goes through ok if you have not eaten which is how people manage to eat around their band and stuff themselves with 'slider foods' then moan they have lost no weight. If your band is so tight you cannot drink water at a normal speed then it is too tight and you will not be able to consume good food so you will not loose weight, you will be very tired, very hungry and you will be very bloody miserable!! Good luck with your decision and journey in whichever direction you go :-)

this has been some reassuring info...my periods have never been regular...PCOS thing...just having an almost normal one for a change and for the last 2 days I have had trouble even drinking my cups of tea in the mornings. Fine by the evening though and can eat a nice little chicken/pasta & salad. I have gone back to a couple of protein shakes during the day to tide me over.

I may not be around to see it but I would like to be able to sit back and enjoy the 'canned soda equivalent' of the tabacco litigation thing that is going on currently. They thought smoking wasn't danerous for us and now folks are wanting to sue for damages and blame someone for their lung cancer. There has never been a generation that has consumed this much artificially created drink from the cradle onwards and it shouldn't be much longer before we start to see the effects of it. Lambs to the slaughter, move over ciggies...another evil villain is about to be recognised, another wolf in sheeps clothing. Then it will be: blame the government, blame the ad men, blame everyone else....heaven forbid we should work it out for ourselves...Noooooo, not our own fault, how should we know it's not safe...we're only people with brains and the ability to think freely, how could we possibly have worked it out. Make your choice folks and then you get to live with the consequences. Take your pick 'better safe than sorry? or 'whatever'. TTFN

Now that makes sense :-)

Will you work with it or against it?

Just wondering if the big companies have started working on an un-carbonated, concentrated version of these over-kill advertised drinks to capture the escaping banded market...wanna make a bet how long it'll take them??