Cazzy

i really find this all a little wierd that i have never drunk anything with meals not even Water and yet it is obvious many on here drink a lot with meals and it seems common practise to do so.. It must be a US / UK divide thing lol. It would be more common here to drink a cup of tea after a meal I can drink right up until i eat but dont drink for 30 mins afterwards as this can make me get stuck. I like the advice to drink cold before a meal to help tighten the band ... good advice

oops ..

I dont have to change anything except nothing to eat or drink an hour before hand, i dont have to do anything special after a fill, just my doctor says eat carefully, i dont feel a fill for around 2 weeks after anyways so would be pointless me doing liquids for 48 hours your activity level shouldnt alter just because u had a fill .. your doctor will tell u any post fill instructions it it over very quickly so its not a big thing

My plastic surgeon told me unless i gave up the cigs she wouldnt operate at all, i knew from other posts on here that i would probably have to give up, i am 58 yrs old and have smoked since i was 13 yrs old, and i knew i would need help, i took champix and to be honest it was much easier than i had even thought was possible .. I was 11 hours on the operating table and boy am i glad i had given up.. now post op nearly 5 weeks omg i want a cigarette again lol it hasnt got easier its got harder because of no champix now but i know i will need a bit more surgery and really dont want to have to give up smoking again , so i will not go back to it .. i understand what u are going through i really do, quitting smoking when u are banded is a nightmare, most people can substitute food for a while so that they can ease the withdrawal but with a band and watching ones intake its hard to do that .. good luck and maybe try the champix i know a lot of people it has worked really well for

You have maybe just pulled the muscle that your port is attatched to or it has shifted a stitch etc .. unless the area is very red and looks inflamed it will probably settle after a while ..if you are concerned u should contact your doctor ... I have never seen on here anyone describe their port as 'super gross' lol .. to me its just blemish .. if it grosses u out are u touching it a lot, fiddling with it ? sorry dont mean to sound obvious but sometimes if we have something on / in our bodies and we can feel it we tend to feel it a lot, i know i do ..

I agree u may need to get some extra vitamins or potassium into your diet. If the cramps continue then try some indian tonic water ( leave to let gas disperse) tonic water contains quinine which helps with cramping ..

They might not be willing to put back 3 cc's if u only recently had an unfill due to be being too tight .. most doctors err on the side of caution when it comes to fills so just be patient and follow their advice good luck !

I think u both stand a chance of making it work this time and i wish you every success. I use the scales as a tool like the band, if i put on a 1lb overnight that is my motivation to work harder the next day to get it off, we all react differently and there is no right or wrong in this its all about .. what works for you .. i am in maintenace mode now so i am accountable to myself .. I got rid of all my large clothes and i never want to keep items that are just incase any more .. i cant afford to gain weight and have to buy new clothes again so now i have to maintain my weight .. i cant say its easy but its nice to have the pressure off for losing weight and to allowing yourself to eat a few more of the foods you have done without . I saw someone on here had a signature that said something like 'dont dig your own grave with a knife and fork' .. how true is that

Welcome back and i think u have done the best thing for u by the sounds of it, the support of a personal trainer will be a great hep for u i am sure.. so good luck and keep us posted

Yes interesting chart stats , its what i roughly though anyways so no suprises but needed to be documented for some people i think .. thanks for sharing

I hope your visit goes ok, takes a good while to feel like your odl self again so just be patient and eat healthy to give yourself every chance to feel good

Great news .. keep doing what u are doing and things will comntinue downwards .. well done

I was only allowed to abs work after 6 months post -op and was told if i feel pain to stop .. which i did i used an ab rocker which took the strain off the tummy

same with me i often have some home made jam now its summer i make it with much reduced sugar and put it with 0% greek yoghurt .. Eggs are a real problem for me , most other things i cut so finely that i can eat them all .. I never go near rice or pasta or bread tho

I had this too i just cut off the bit that was sticking out .. i am an ex nurse tho, if u are concerned to do it yourself just pop in to the doctors and see the practise nurse she can do this for you, its a common thing with any surgery

I am also 1 and half years out, and yea some days its a real struggle i gave up smoking a few months ago in order to get my cosmetic surgery on my lose skin and had to have a 1mls unfill .. its been extremely hard to keep on track, but like the smoking if i had cigs in the house i would smoke them so the same with food , i have only kept on track by not purchasing any unhealthy food .. if i do have a snacky day where i eat too much even of healthy food i just burn it off on the exercise bike, burning more calories than u eat means u can at least eat more food if u have a bad day, it also makees u more accountable as to what u do eat its like having to pay the bill at the end of meal, except your bill is having to burn the calories u ate

welcome back to those of you who fell off the bandwagon for a while.. can i ask you .. did u continue to weigh yourself ? and did you continue to see your surgeon ? I know the minute i stop weighing myself i am back into denial so everyday without fail i have to weigh myself .. i am not obsessed with it but have learned from past mistakes, not weighing myself led to me being 400 lbs and being in total shock, now my weight is never a shock to me. I also think that keeping appointments with the doctor is like having being made to be accountable to someone like our band doctor, and having a boundary in order to face up to what u are doing if u arent following the healthy eating plans. Most of us got to where we are by burying our heads in the sand and not being held accountable for our eating and food choices, in my opinion its essential for most of us that we follow what measures we can to monitor what we are up so we can no longer ignore the way we are .. good luck to you

Now thats sounds like how the process should work

Sounds like thats a good idea

I certainly would class myself as a longer term successful bandster.. Where did u hear that a 'lot' of people have complications ? i agree some do but a lot dont ..

Dont beat yourself up over it, plenty of people here cheated a little bit on a strict pre-op diet, but is it really worth taking a chance ? I am sure all will be fine and its very unlikely that the liver hasnt shrunk enough for surgery to go ahead.. Just get back some determination that u will have the resolve not to cheat again... after all once u are banded the hard work starts then

For those of you who have had trouble losing weight if you are in the green zone/have adequate restriction u need to change what u are doing to start getting the weight off. Are you burning more calories than you are eating, are you keeping a food journal to log how much you eat ? Sometimes its not just about smaller portions of food, but its more about what sort of food you are eating, maybe too many protein shakes, too many carbs or fat, even if you are eating only a 1000 calories a day, if those are 'bad/unhealthy' calories its unlikely you will lose weight. Sometimes this 'losing weight' is a real battle for some people but it always is possible u just have to find the right method.. Not one person on the biggest loser has ever gone there and not lost weight, and that includes our one here in the UK aand the one in Australia ... Make some small changes and see for a week or two if that makes a difference, if not change something else, then try that for a couple of weeks etc etc .. The band is there as a support to weight loss, it wont choose what food you eat, or how much u eat, it will just make making healthier choices easier. Get a fill if u think u need one, its never about how many fills u have its about how much fill u have and how much restriction u get, at the end of the day tho the rest is up to you .. good luck !

I eat less than 50 carbs a day and use low sodium salt .. i dont eat salty pre-cooked or processed foods ..

I have a 14 cc band and am filled to 8 cc recently had 1 cc removed for cosmetic surgery but 8 cc's took around 5 fills to get there , my fills are as and when i feel the need

Mash your brussels with a fork then eat small mouthfulls .. try not to divert from your doctors guidelines they are there for a reason