She Smiles

Bronnie, the pain you are feeling is totally normal. The pain in your back is still gas pain, it will pass (I know I keep saying that but it will!) I slept sitting up until about 4 weeks out. GOOD JOB on the exercise! Enjoy the tennis tomorrow (wear sunscreen!!) I take supradyn too. I'm going for ANOTHER fill tomorrow. Lets home THIS one is the last. We'll see.

Well done!!!! Thats such a great feeling Becky! I had the same experience over the weekend buying new bras, I went down a size and did a happy dance in the change rooms haha

Good luck with your goals guys! My goal for this week is to run 5km in one go with out stopping. I've been working up to it for the past couple of months in training for a fun run on April 1st and I think this week is time to go the extra 5 minutes or so to get there.

We had the salmon for dinner tonight and it was SO GOOD! I usually steam my fish in a bamboo steamer, so it was a nice Very tasty! highly recommend investing in one! It says you should spray non fat cooking spray on it, but I didn't have any, so I just put a bit of olive oil on a paper towel and wiped that over (I'll pick up some cooking spray next time I'm at the shop though). All the fat drips off any way. Its such a cool little invention! Also today I thought I'd try something new for lunch. I got a can of lentils, a can of chickpeas, a can of crushed tomatoes and a can of salmon, cooked it all up with herbs and garlic. Yummo!!! So filling and full of Protein, and filling too. It made enough for 4 lunches for me.

I bought a George Foreman grill this morning (half price at Target! Woo!). I am thinking about making my own chicken kebabs and fish on it might be great too. I've got salmon steaks for dinner that I am going to try out on it. Any one else got one? Have any suggestions/ideas for me to try?

The thing that gets me about biggest loser is that there is no way that they can keep up that level of exercise to maintain that weight loss once they leave the show! I mean who has 6 hours a day to exercise when you are working and looking after a family and having a life!! My Dr told me that 0.5 to 1 kg a week is a healthy maintainable weight loss. My sister is doing weight watchers right now, and they've told her the same thing. I know its a TV show, but its just not a promotion of anything healthy!

Hi guys! I'm back from Melbourne. I had a fantastic time. We did and saw so much. My friends mum was asking lots of questions about my band and is thinking about looking into one herself when she gets back from the UK in September. Hope you all had a good weekend!! Susannah, what a pretty picture! Its great to put a face to all the words and support finally! Welcome Belinda! I'm fairly sure if you read this thread from the beginning (if you have the patience!) you will get a fairly good idea of the experiences we have all had and the kinds of questions that you should ask Dr Nottle when you see him. If you have an specific questions, fire away!!

...what restriction feels like! I packed myself a small amount for lunch - three bits of chicken off a kebab, a heaped tablespoon of turkish rice and the small salad we had left over from the turkish dinner we had belatedly for my fiance's bday last night. It would have been about 1 1/2 cups of food all up maybe? And I just ate (some of) it. Really slowly. And in tiny (half teaspoon) bites. And chewed LOTS. A couple of mouthfuls I didn't do all of this (I was distracted by Dr Phil haha) and boy did it hurt. I didn't PB, but it was definitely saying "you didn't chew me enough and there is too much to fit through here lady!". I was super careful last night, as I always am when we got out to eat, but it happened a couple of time there too. I just had to sit back and let it settle for a minute or so and the could eat a little more. I think my band is finally doing its thing!! I threw half of the rice and alot of the lettuce leaves (I ate all the carrot and onion and some lettuce) in the bin! You sure wouldn't have caught me doing that 4 months ago!! Yay :clap2: Careful slow eating is what I will be doing from here on in!

Yep Susannah and thats exactly why I tend to think theres nothing to worry about if its gone with in a few hours (which mine way thankfully!). I'm heading down your end of the world first thing in the morning ladies. I can't wait to hit the shops! I'm on a wedding shoe finding mission haha

Wow, now I definitely want one. You look great!

Bronnie, it all sounds totally normal to me too. For example, this afternoon I had a massive tummy ache, it was super painful. It had been hours since I ate. I just got up and walked around, went to the bathroom, passed some gas did a few burps and felt MUCH better (too much information? haha). I have no idea what was going on. The thing is, our bodies react very differently after being banded, and while its hard not to think that something is wrong, usually it will pass and might be something minor, like a bit of swelling from somethig we ate a day ago, or well who knows what! Of course, if it is ongoing, get a professional's advice. But you will experience new and weird and sometimes painful sensations because of the band, and while we will probably never get used to them, they are all part and parcel for having a foreign object strangling our tummies! Also, no question about our bands is a dumb one, we are all learning about this together!!

Spydr, I'm glad you've decided to post the pics, I'm interested in seeing your transformation too. PS is almost a certainty in my future and it sure does ease my mind about the $ I will have to spend to see the results people get.

I have no probs at all eating sushi. As some one else said, its nibbles of it now rather than gobbling the whole piece in one go, and I eat it slowly and with plenty of soy sauce, but its fine for me.

Arcael, that website rocks! Thanks so much for posting it. Its got some great stretches and execrcises I can try for my patellofemoral syndrome!

Angel I am so sorry to hear your news. I don't blame you for wanting to tell your first Dr what for!!! Try to be strong for your baby, I know it doesn't feel like it right now, but it is a good thing that they have finally found what is wrong and are going to make you feel better and have a safe end to your pregnancy. Cry and scream all you need, We're here for support if/when you need us (((big hugs)))

I agree Doc, but on the flip side, just cos you are losing some weight doesn't mean that you DON'T need a fill. Luckily my Dr understands that most of my weight loss since my surgery last November has been due to my commitment to exercise, not because I have been at the right restriction.

Hey guys, I've tried to google this without much success :help: But I am seriously considering that I will need to have a tummy tuck or apron removal or some kind of lower body/tummy surgery once I get to goal. The skin on my lower tummy is ruined by stretch marks and just won't snap back. Its pretty yuck and hanging over after 26 kilos loss already actually Anyway I have no idea how much this is going to set me back. I was going to buy a new car after my wedding in July, but heck I'd rather a new tummy. The old car can last me a few more years lol. But I just want to know what kind of $$ I am looking at having to spend to get my bod reflecting all the hard work I will have put in by then. Of course, I probably won't be at goal until the end of the year, so I have some time to figure it all out, my surgeon likes for you to be a goal for a while before having PS. But just wanting to see if any one has any ideas of the costs here in Australia? Anyone had one they will share details of, or know some one who has? Thanks!

Karen, the same thing happened to my Dad when he was sent to hospital by his GP with a bowel issue (ended up being a blood clot in his intestines). The Dr at the 1st hospital he went to wouldn't even touch him cos of his band, so I had to go pick him up and take him to the hospital our surgeon works out of and he had to wait hours for the surgeon to turn up. And he was in hospital for 2 weeks because they wouldn't do anything to him without consulting his surgeon, even though the problem had NOTHING to do with his stomach or band, it was in his small intestines and totally non band related. I mean I can understand their caution, but when the surgeon had cleared him to another Dr you'd think it'd be ok. So take heed guys! If you ever go into hospital expect the run around, because even the mention of a lap band makes most Dr's go running!! And yeah, 3mls more is a big jump in fill!! Bronnie, sorry about your crappy night! The worst is almost over! It all gets better from here (after day 5), the others will vouch for this too I'm sure!

Its the codeine in it that is the bad stuff unfortunately and thats what would have made the pain go away I found it hard not being able to just pop the pills I was so used to taking too (advil's not allowed either and I used to take them for my back pain). I even had to get the anti inflammatory I HAD to take for my back (I would have been a cripple with out it) in a soluble form. So I just made an appointment for another fill next Wednesday. I've eaten like a pig the last 2 days, so the restriction I *thought* I had was a fleeting moment. I don't know if the hungriness has anything to do with being PMS-ing, but I guess it could do. Either way, now that I have had a glimpse of what proper restriction is like (for those couple of days last week) I know what I am looking for, and I want it back!!!!!

I don't think you would actually feel a slippage of the band in the port area. Your port site is hurting because the port actually gets stitched into the muscle. So its the healing and the settling of the muscle and port that you are probably feeling. My port area hurt for about 3 weeks (progressively less over time of course). Now, I only know its there when I go for a fill and the Dr presses on it! I just thought I'd share though that my Dr advised me against taking nurofen ever again. It is a NSAID (non surgical anti inflammatory) and can irritate the pouch. It has also been seen that a NSAID pill (even when crushed up) can sit in the pouch (and not make its way through to the big stomach) and erode the side of the pouch because there are no stomach juices there to keep it from directly touching the stomach tissue. If you must take a NSAID, a liquid/medicine option is your best bet. Do a search in the archives of LBT on NSAIDs if you want to know more, you'll get more thorough info than I can provide, I'm sure Of course this is just my Doc's adivce. You can call your Doc to discuss - he might have different views on this.

Becky you're back! Great to hear from you again, and you look wonderful!! All that hard work is paying off :girl_hug:

Totally normal Dionne! I didn't have any restriction until my last fill (my fifth) last Wednesday (and I am already considering that might need another tiny one in a couple of weeks cos the initial restriction I thought I was feeling has loosened already :cry ). But I do think that up until then, a lot of the time, my self control had to come into play. I mean there is no way that I could have eaten the monster serves I did pre banding (I was totally gluttonous), but at least once a week since my band I could have easily gone back for seconds and probably thirds, but stopped myself by telling myself I didn't need it (where was that self control pre banding??). Also, my band is a temperamental little thing. Some days I am famished, hungry as heck with a grumbling tummy when I wake up and others, I have a mouthful of cereal hours after getting up and just don't have the appetite to eat much more until well into the afternoon. Try not to put too much pressure on your band or yourself to be losing huge amounts of weight until you have at least some fill in your band. You'll certainly notice the difference with each fill as you get closer to perfect restriction. And if you want to jump start the weight loss, I couldn't be a more strong advocate of exercise. There is no way I would have lost as much weight as I have already with out being committed to making exercise a part of my life now.

Thanks so much for your advice!

Why Bronnie? Is it the pain? Do you have anyone who can duck out and get you some pain stop, I swear its HEAPS better than taking crappy old panadol. Keep your chin up, the worst will be over soon! (((hugs)))

Bronnie, just running out the door to go to work but will answer your questions quickly - I took my stockings off when I got home, cos I was starting to walk around. I was given "pain stop" liquid medicine to take. Its meant to be for kids, but its quite strong and I went through several bottles. I was told to take 40ml at a time (theres a day or night version - don't get the night its got codeine in it and bansters aren't supposed to have codiene). I will be surprised if you get a fill on the 23rd. Doc usally like to wait until you are on solids before they start doing fills! Hope you managed to get some sleep!!