She Smiles

Totally normal! I have had 6 (is it 6? Or 5??) fills and I have only just felt restriction properly. Like I take a few bites and have to sit back and let that go down before I can assess whether more is ok or not. I think maybe I could do with a teeny tiny more in there. But I'll go with this for a month first and see how my weight loss is. Before this last fill it wasn't like that really, maybe for 24 hours after the fill but then I was back to eating anything and quite quickly. Some people are lucky and don't need much in thier band to feel restriction (like my dad who PB's with 3 mls in his 10ml band) and then theres some like me who can eat most everything even with 8.5 mls in a 10 ml band (except bread and english muffins, they always give me chest pain, I learned that the hard way!). Like EVERYTHING with our bands its a lot of trial and error. You'll get there Susannah!! I want to be one of those 50kg losers yesterday too. God, that would be just so bloody awesome! It would be like dream come true... I often try to picture myself another 20 kilos lighter and I just can't even imagine it. Very surreal!! So an NSV for me today. I went to the gym and jumped on the treadmill this afternoon and before I knew it I had jogged a whole 5kms! I haven't ever done that far before but I kind of wanted to test myself before Sunday's fun run rolls around. I was so chuffed. Burned 500 calories doing it too. Pat on the back to me :clap2: Hope everyone has a great weekend planned!

I am SO with you on the treats Bronnie! (she says 5 minutes after eating a freddo frog hahaha)

Ahhh Becky I think we have all been there (and will be there again!), my eyes are still adjusting to the size of my tummy..... You'll be able to work through the pain and you know what? Tmorrow sure is another day. You'll be fine, I just hope you're not in as much pain as I was one night after to much delicious risotto oh my that so bad!!!

I love my lap bad because it has changed my life. I have my over eating under control, am fitter than ever and my self esteem is through the roof. Its the best investment I have made in my self ever.

Anna, congrats on your loss! Under 120 is a great milestone! I think its SO important that we set mini goals along the way and celebrate (with new clothes of course hahaha) when we get there! Thanks for the kudos, by the way! I'm chuffed with my loss so far!

YAAAAAAAAY! Susannah I am so happy for you!! I'm stoked for you! *does the happy dance* So do you feel a little more restriction tonight with your fill?? How big is your band again? I have 8.5 mls in a 10 ml band, and I reckon I could go another 0.2ml to be perfect (I'm VERY close), but I'm going to ride with what I have for a little while and see how I go. I'm going away to the coast with a bunch of my girlfriends over easter (some who don't know and some who do) and I don't want to be vomiting up food in front of them...! Oh and by the way, this weekend is my 5km fun fun! eeeep! I am going to try my darndest, but I don't think I will run the whole way. We'll see!

You know, I didn't even know there was "another" forum! I tried using a forum specifically for Aussie bandsters and found it just wasn't for me. There was a lot of "lets keep this on topic" and that annoyed me that you couldn't really have a joke or post about your life aside form the band. Since then I always just come here. I know I will get honesty and support and really for me, thats what I am looking for.

Good luck Susannah!! Let us know how it goes, and if you want to talk about it, you know how to contact me

Welcome to the thread, the site and to banded life Paulie! I wouldn't be as confident as I am with my band without the support of my fellow bandsters on this forum, and specifically on this thread! I have learned some valuable lessons, gotten great advice and even made some great friendships since I joined last year! I hope you are able to take something of value from your time here also!

I had to pay the $5000ish surgery fee and for all the consult appointments, xrays, blood tests etc (maybe another $800 or so?), the rest was covered by my private hospital insurance. I was very lucky that I had a 1 year waiting time on using my health insurance and I got my band only 3 days after it ticked over to a year. I am in Canberra, I think I am the closest Aussie bandster to you on this thread Christie....

Wow Jacqui! I really hope that it doesn't end up being endometriosis! That sound truly awful! And it sounds about time to go get that pap smear too (god awful things!). You'll be swapping those 14's for 12's in no time at all. Hope the fill does its thing and kick starts the 8 kilo loss for you!

Sounds about right Bronnie, especially after your fill the other day! It sure does take a while of getting used to eating smaller serves! I went out for dinner last night for the first time since my last fill and ate 3/4 of ONE slice of pizza. And I was FULL AS!! I'm a cheap date haha

Great to hear from you! Congrats on joining us in band land!!

Hey guys! Loretta, unfortunately I didn't get to meet up with any of the girls! I plan on getting back down to Melbourne in August, hopefully. So I will try to organise something then.

I think you're spot on Bronnie. Obese people carry a lot of fat aroudn their organs, and typically that is where they will lose weight from first. Imagine operating laparoscopically in someones belly trying to get to the stomach when there is a liver in the way that is twice the size it could be because of the extra fat around it. My surgeon asks just before you go under if you did the pre op diet. If you say no, he won't operate, unless, you are certain that you won't be upset if you wake up and have needed to be cut right open. The chances of him needing to do that are much much higher if you still have a fatty liver that he can't get the laparoscopic tools in behind.

Hi guys! I think I was in denial about how overweight I was for the 6 months or so before I was banded. My mother gently (there was no malice in her suggestion) suggested that I might consider the band after seeing my Dad's success with it. I am SO glad now that she did suggest it, and loaned me the money to pay the gap to my surgeon (yay for parents!). I was one of those women who fell in love and got comfortable and I put on about 15 kilos in a short space of time. I mean I have alway struggled with my weight, up and down, (mostly up though!) and got down to about 63 kilos about 7 years ago (unhealthily by hardly eating and exercising TOO much). But as soon as I stopped exercising as much, it all crept back on. Then I injured my knees badly (I have patellofemoral syndrome) and was totally unable to exercise (even walking hurt) so I gave up all together. I guess when you put 50 kilos on over 7 years, you barely notice each kilo pile back on. I look at the photo of me at my biggest now and wonder how could I NOT see how big I was? I mean I could see, but I had family and friends who loved me the way I was, and even a bf who proposed to me when I weighed that much. I guess I am lucky to have been surrounded by people who valued me for me. Thats not to say that I haven't been the target of strangers horrible comments and looks. I used to feel incredibly self conscious eating in public, mostly because I could eat a phenomenal amount of food, it really was quite diguesting! And shopping for clothes and underwear was a total nightmare :cry I guess we have all had our battles with our weight, and thats why we are all here. But, as Susannah put it - it IS hard work, but we WILL all get there. You guys all inspire me every single day :clap2:

Congrats ont he decision to be banded! I've lost about 23 kilos since my surgery 4 months (and 1 day!) ago, I also lost about 6 kilos on my pre-surgery diet. I lost a lot just after surgery and for some reason (it still has me baffled) I lost 4 kilos in the last 2 weeks. The trick seems to be that you shouldn't just rely on your band to do the work, cos it just won't if you want to lose the most weight possible. You have to eat better food and integrate exercise as part of your day to day life. Thats how you will get optimum results. I exercise 6 days a week in some way (usually a 1 hour session at the gym - sometimes a jog outside or an exercise vid at home if the gym is not an option). As an another example, my Dad hasn't exercised a day since he had his band a year ago (because of other medical issues) and has lost 30 kilos, he has also had most of his fill out of his band for about 5 months too. 0.5 to 1 kilo a week is the healthy weight loss Dr's recommend. Any more and your body can go into starvation mode and hang onto every calorie you eat and your weight loss will stall (so the story goes!). Losing too much too fast can also have other negative effects (like your skin being even more loose than it already might be). Check out the archives of this forum, there will be heaps of examples. The bottom line is though, we are all different. And really, a loss is a loss! Whether you lose a lot or a little, fast or slow, its weight that will be gone forever, and to me, thats awesome!!

Thanks Bronnie!!

Hmmm I think I saw my GP for a referral (my surgeon won't see you without one) in late August. I had my first consult in September and had to wait for my health insurance to tick over a year and got my surgery done 3 days after that happened on the 22 November (I did actually BEG my surgeon to get me in as soon after that date as possible!). My father had already had his band done for about 8 months at the time I got mine time so I had kind of watched him go through it and didn't have many questions. But if you are a thorough person, Blythe's list of questions is awesome. They warned me that there is a percentage of bands where something goes wrong, and I just prayed that I wasn't one of them (to date I've had no probs what so ever!). I think the most important thing I wanted to know was about post operative care/support/assistance, and that was all explained with out me having to ask. Really, a good surgeon should be explaining it all to you with out having to ask.....thats what I think anyway!!

Congrats on the 5 kilo loss Bronnie! You're a star!

I have no probs with sultanas Susannah. I put an extra dozen or so in my fruit museli (about half a cup) every morning. Jsut chew em really well and you'll be right. Getting under a 100 was AWESOME. You'll feel like (and look like!) a million bucks when you get there! What are you going to do to celebrate Susannah? Maybe some hot new clothes? Or a weekend away? Something fun that rewards you!:clap2:

Hi Rightsize! congrats on the band! I agree with Bronnie, while I am an advocate of having a band meaning we never have to "diet" again, It makes sense to make sensible food choices afte paying for the surgery and going through the pain!!! I have chocolate a few times a week. But i work my butt off at the gym and I don't give myself a guilt trip about the food I eat. The band was a lifestyle change for me, which means I am eating 10 times better than I was pre band and exercising nearly every day. BUT if you are beating your self up about your food choices then you need to find something else to do to fill that gap that food took up. Exercise, read, call a friend, wander round the shops. Leave the house, the kitchen and do something else. All of that aside, if you are only 3 1/2 weeks out, you have no fill in your band, right? So it is likely at this stage, that you WILL be able to eat anything, and a larger volume of food that you would like. This is where your self control (yeah I found that funny too - if I had self control why would I be fat?) has to come in. You have to have smaller portions. Serve your food on a small plate and in a tiny bowl. Only eat 1 cup at each meal. And when you see your surgeon for your first fill (should be soon?) be honest and say "I feel like I am eating like a horse". He may be able to help you with your food choices, or refer you back to the nutritionist if you are struggling to make the right choices. At the end of the day, if you are still able to eat a lot in one sitting, the trick is to make sure you are eating the best food you can. Good luck! In time, and with fills, this will become less of a problem. And while its different for all of us, I've been banded since november and have had 6 fills, and I only just feel like I am at the right restriction to be eating the amount of food that is intended with the band.

Ok Bronnie here's my advice on your situation with my "9-5 work hat" on. You need to call the Office of Workplace Services (OWS) in Vic and get them to investigate this for you (or have a look at ows.gov.au). I work in industrial relations for the Government and what they have done sounds like it might have strong tones of unfair dissmisal that you will be able to establish in an investigation. Ask for a termination letter from them. Get it in writing and see if they squirm. They might refuse to do that, and if they do, that sways things strongly in your favour in a claim against them. Another organisation you can contact is job-watch, they investigate similar cases as OWS. But boy! The cheek of some employers! I'm sorry all of this happened :cry Susannah, I know! 4 kilos, I almost fell off the scales in shock! What am I on biggest loser or something haha :heh: I spoke to my Mum today and the surgeon called her today and brought her lap band surgery date forward to the 10th April. She is chuffed cos she knows now she will have a good stab at losing about 10-15 kilos before my wedding.

So I got another fill today. I'm up to 8.5mls. PLEASE let this be it for me!! But I had a total shock when I got on the scales and I saw 86.4 kilos! That means that I have lost 4 kilos since my last fill 2 weeks ago!! I have no idea how that happened, cos I haven't been doing any thing different. If anything I have been nibbling on chocolate a little more!!

I saw my Dr for my first fill exactly 4 weeks after my surgery. My surgeon wouldn't fill any sooner than that. I'm not a Dr (obviously!) but 2 weeks seems rather soon for the first fill. I was still feeling like a pile of crap 2 weeks out...anyway your Dr will decide with his infinite wisdom what is best for you. Even after 28 kilos gone Bronnie I can only just feel my port and even then I have to press pretty deep. I gave up trying to find it after a week or two, I knew it was in there, but I just couldn't feel it either. It'll pop up as the kilos fall off. Susannah you know my best wishes and hopes and prayers are with you lovely girl. I hope that the port situation is sorted easily or the revision is quick and painless for you!