JanB23

Good luck. Hope all goes well.

If only this was true..... Today i hate chocolate because it is everywhere in the form of Easter eggs and i can not resist its temptation. I was to start a chocolate detox but that has gone out the window with Easter here. Now i feel awful, physically and mentally from eating more than just a little.. Oh well, there is always next week to start a fresh. Happy Easter everyone.

My surgeon hid my port so well that after 8 months he still cant find it! LOL. I have to have all my fills under xray. I can just feel my port sometimes. The doctor actually can feel it but it is on a strange slant so is hard to get a the needle into it. Remember for all the ports that flip there are a lot more that don't. From what i have read here, some people can pin point what caused the port to flip and others cant. You need to be careful picking up any weight after any surgery but life goes on and you have to do what you have to do, but take care and avoid picking up your little one as much as you can.

I really miss that excitement of the kids on Easter morning (Christmas too). It is a shame they have to grow up sometimes!

Birinak, The more chocolate i eat the more i crave(it is a carbs thing), so i am going to stop chocolate, or as someone else on here described, detox from chocolate. The idea is to stop the cycle and then when you feel you have control again you can have the occasional treat. Why wait for next week to get back on the wagon? I think that if you make a mistake, continue on with your day as if it never happened, but with the knowledge that you aren't going to let it happen again (well, soon). This way, you avoid turning your one mistake into a weekend binge-fest. My week end has already spiraled out of control. My 20 year old son is home for a week and we stocked up on Snacks for him and his friends who have been visiting and he came home with 2 dozen crispy creams as well (we dont get them in Adelaide). I went for a fill last Tuesday thinking that would certainly prevent me from over doing things over easter, but Doc couldn't get into my port again and i have to wait till next week to get it done under xray. On top of that we have a 5 day week end due to ANZAC day tomorrow and shops only open one of those days so needed to stock up, so there is lots of food in the house. On a positive note i headed to the gym yesterday and had a good work out and i will do the same tomorrow. Jenn, Great ideas. My kids are teenagers though and i couldn't get away with that and i have always believed Easter is about Easter and have refused to purchase "presents" rather than Easter eggs. I just need to learn to be stronger and keep evil chocolate out of my house. And chocolate is evil, it calls to me and entices me and promises to make me feel good - but it doesn't. I need to be stronger....... Chocolate is my greatest weakness.

Went to see my surgeon who once again could not get into my port. He tells me i am special because i am the only patient who's he has never been able to access their port. I told him it is nice to be special but not for that reason. So off i go to have a fill under xray again - he has requested 9mls again. They put 9 in last time then did a barium swallow and took 1.5 out again but he says he is sure i will tolerate 9 this time. 7.5ml was good for about 3-4 weeks, but i tend to agree with the radiologist that i probably have a slow leak because i never have as much in my band as they put in the time before and now it is 2 months since my last fill and i am hungry and able to eat what ever i want. I have only lost 1 kilo in the last 4 weeks, but at least it is a loss. I want to loose at least another 10kg by Christmas but at this rate i wont make it. I was also talking to another girl who sees my surgeon and she has a referral to a plastic surgeon as she is almost at goal after 9 months and has never had a fill, but anyway she said that some of the cost of tummy tuck ect. due to weight loss is covered if done within 2 years of surgery. Now i am panicking incase i don't loose enough weight in 2 years to have my tummy done because i will need it and cant afford it with out the discount. I need to get my skates on... Maybe 9 will be my magic number. Fingers crossed.

Oh, and i can probably already do number 1) (whoo hoo) but i am not flying again until will go to Hawaii in December so wont know for sure until then.

Love this 1) put the tray down when flying - goal date - Dec'11 2)lay on the beach in Hawaii in regular swim suit - goal date Dec'11 3)Feel comfortable in a theatre seat 4)Ride a bike 5)Able to walk to the top of Waterfall Gully - (Mt Lofty) And finally 6)Get a tummy tuck and a boob lift!

I am so glad everything has gone well. I am also really pleased that you let us know your wonderful news. Congratulations!

Baked beans, scrambled eggs, tinned tuna/salmon, tinned chicken(it is shredded), chicken sausages, tuna patties, chicken rissoles, lean minced beef/chicken/turkey cooked however you fancy, grated low fat cheese, gilled fish and meat and vegies in the slow cooker. If you use chicken thigh it is moister and breaks up well when slow cooked. My favorite lunch at the moment is iceberg lettuce with marinated mushrooms, marinated carrot sticks, gherkin and 100gms of grated low fat tasty cheese. No sure how much protein (about 9 grams i think) but it is about 150 calories. Good luck.

OK guys you have inspired me. I am going to chocolate/sugar detox because i am out of control. That one little bit of chocolate has turned into eating it till i am full and my weight loss has stalled ..again. I kid myself that the exercise i do will counter act the calories but i dont have time to work out for four hours a day!! Easter will be hard but i am going to do it. Thanks for the inspiration.

I believe celery is a natural diuretic. need to be careful eating it due to the amount of fibres. I think you can get celery powder/tablets from Health Food shops. Before banding i would chew on celery or put it in soup (which would probably be OK if cut up fine), now i make my self drink tea (i dont like tea much). I must say the tea isn't helping at all this week, i drink my fluid and it seems to be staying put, haven't had to get up during the night as usual (a slight bonus) and all my shoes are tight and my weight is up. I am menopausal but still have TOM every second month or so and i think that is what is going on. Might take my own advise and head to the health food store.

My GP (PCP) never discusses my band. He has never commented on my weight loss. If i mention the band he just nods and moves on, it is like he doesn't want to know about it even though he gave me the referral to the surgeon after suggesting i do something . I think perhaps he doesn't have much knowledge in the areas so stays away from it, either that or it is because i went with my choice of surgeon and not his. I have injured my shoulder and was telling him about my exercise regime - he showed no interest and made no comment. When i spoke to him about reviewing my meds due to my weight loss and change of diet he was a little short but did a blood test then never got back to me, which i assumed meant everything was fine. He is usually very good, but i am thinking of looking for a new GP now.

I eat an egg or small can of beans for breakfast, a 1 & 1/2 cup of salad for lunch with fish or cheese and have a reasonable size dinner. Meat, small potato and veg or salad. I snack on marinated carrots, asparagus and special K bars.I try to keep my calories below 1200.I avoid bread, so dont know if i can eat it or not. I am 6 months post op and can eat most things as long as i eat slowly(including steak and broccoli). I can eat way too much but try not too as it is very uncomfortable. I have only been "stuck" 3 times and then it comes straight back up, each time it was because i gulped something down without chewing properly. I am continuing to loose slowly -I am now up to 28kg (61 lb). I walk at least 5 days a week and work out at least once a week and eat chocolate at least once a week.

Why, before being banded, did i eat until i could eat no more and then go back 10 minutes later with an urge to eat more even though i was still full of food? If someone could find the answer to stopping the urge to eat when not hungry(i think head hunger is an urge, more so than hunger), that person would make an absolute fortune and put all the weight loss companies out of business!

I cringe when my mother asks, "have you lost any more weight" cause it is usually followed by "is that all". l avoid telling her the over all weight loss because then i get "OMG were you that heavy / fat". My sister has lost 60 kgs after gastric bypass surgery and the other day she said to me, "dont worry, people will start to notice when you have lost 20 to 30 kgs". I have lost 28kgs(61lbs) and everyone at work comments about how good i am looking. People are insensitive, even those who should know better. When people ask how much i have lost i tend to say "it fluctuates, loose some gain some, but it is slowly coming off". This avoids giving them a number and tends to let them know i am uncomfortable with the question. Keep up the good work and remember we are supposed to loose slowly, i keep telling myself i have been at this for 6 months and the statistics say After two years most people will have lost 60 % of their excess weight. Slow and steady will win us the race. My goal is to feel better and be able to join in life instead of watching it from the side line. If that means a smaller dress size (or 2 or 3 or 4) along the way, well really that is a bonus. Oh and i really want to be able go places without stressing if i will fit in the seats or can put the tray down.

A Barium swallow is a thick liquid that you swallow and it shows up on xray. I had one to check my band wasn't too tight. It showed that the liquid was very slow to pass through my band so they took some liquid out and then i had to have another swallow to check it was OK. I had to take a big sip of the liquid and then swallow it when they said too while standing in front of the xray machine. It didn't taste bad. They also do barium swallows to check the position of the band and i suppose if something is wrong it would depend on what it actually is that would determine if you needed more surgery or not. Some people experience constipation from the barium you have to swallow, but i had no trouble. A lot of Doctors do barium swallow immediately following surgery from what i have read, but mine didn't.

I eat at my desk during the day and use my half hour lunch to go for a walk, this gets me exercising and away from the office for a while. I try to go for at least another half hour after tea in the evening when it is getting a bit cooler but now that summer has gone it is getting dark earlier so i am looking at a 24 hour gym option. Just weighing up the cost. My clinic offers a 30 week "rehab" program and that is great, once a week we get admitted to the hospital as day patients and do a 1 1/2 hr program of cardio, weights and hydro. It is in the evening so it fits in well. Yes it takes some dragging to get there some weeks but always feel great after wards. And it is all covered under my health insurance. Good luck, and remember when there is a will, there is a way. You will find a time that fits in.

I feel like this some times. I feel like i might fall as i walk. And for some reason, some times i feel taller, it is an odd feeling. But it is a better feeling than putting weight on. Some years ago i lost weight and then gained it back again quite quickly (20kg, which is 40 odd lbs) and one day i laid on my back on the bed and closed my eyes and it felt like someone was lying on top of me, but it was my stomach, it was a horrible feeling and i don't ever want to feel it again. I hope yours scales whoosh for you.

Welcome to Band land!<br>I was sore and nauseated for a couple of days(sore for two weeks) post op and got depressed and wondered what the hell possessed me to do this to myself. I didn't want to drink and got a lecture from the nurse saying i would not be allowed to go home, i was quite alright with that but the doctor was keen to discharge me. I did stay overnight as scheduled, thank goodness but could have done with a second night in that hospital bed with its raised back rest. Slept in my recliner for 2 nights at home. Then things started to improve, the pain receded and the swelling reduced and I could manage fluids and some Soup. <br>6 months later and 27kg lighter i couldn't be happier. I am healthier and fitter and feel <i>soooo</i> much better. Getting the band is one of the best decisions i have made. It takes a while to get to the point of appreciation. I don't have insatiable hunger anymore and continue to loose weight slowly, i am getting there and it is great and only going to get better. I have a way to go yet. It is not all smooth sailing, but hang in there and you will reach your destination.<br>Good luck and hope you feel better soon.

You are an inspiration. Hope all continues to go well for you.

I have been encourage to eat salad and I eat lettuce nearly every day. I usually stick to iceberg lettuce and have been told the colored lettuce is more associated with stuck episodes. I have never been stuck on lettuce of any type. Just make sure you chew really well.

I am doing OK. Lost 3.4kgs last month but have put half a kilo back on. If i could just keep away from Chocolate i would do much better. I have a full thickness tear of one of the tendons in my right shoulder which is a bit restricting with my work outs. Mostly my hunger is under control, head hunger still catches up with me. Have booked a trip to Hawaii for Christmas so have something to work towards. i want to loose at least another 12kgs by then. I am so looking forward to being able to put my tray down on the plane instead of having to use my daughters tray. This is going to be the best year. Hope every one else are doing well also. WE ARE ALL AWSOME!!

I hope all goes well for you. My sister had gastric bypass and has lost an enormous amount of weight over the last 2 years but she has also gained a whole new set of medical problems associated with malabsorption. She has had to have a hip replacement and now needs the other one done and she is constantly tired from seriously low Iron, protein and hemoglobin levels. Give me my slow weight loss with the band any day. I may never reach my recommended BMI but after a loss of 26kg i feel fantastic with lots of extra energy. If i was on a diet i would regain that weight and some, so the combination of the band and the support from my medical team is keeping me on a reasonable track and hopefully the weight will continue to drop off and wont go back on and i have not had to trade off for other problems.

My port has tipped forwards and it is very difficult to access. It is also very deep, because, where it has been placed is where i carry most of my fat. My question is, if i have to have a revision of my port is there any where else they can position it so it doesn't have to be so deep as this is increasing the difficulty of accessing it? It is half way between my sternum and belly button now. Thanks