missybear

I've also had some issues with the BF who didn't want me to have the surgery, but his only reason was 'you look fine the way you are' totally ignoring the reasons I was doing this for my health and to prevent the weight creeping back even higher. That really pissed me off the lack of listening to why I wanted it and him feeling that his one comment would put it out of my mind. But as a string willed person, had the surgery anyway! The other aspects I've found the partner has had to endure post surgery was: -i did have to put the sex life on hold for a week or two, I was just tired, feeling a little odd and also found some positions I felt a little crushed. I'd copped a few snarly comments but that's since passed. - Going out dinner or drinks, I've still been fairly social and can typically find something on a menu to eat. BF has commented I make him feel like a pig, when he's having 3 courses and I'm just having a single dish or he wants takeaway and I'm happy with a tin Soup. Hes been more uncomfortable when its his friends or family vs mine around, prob due him feeling embarrassed or uncomfortable, for the most part they have no idea, I've just said I've had a big meal prior or on a diet. I have cut back on the drinks, usually having no more than 3 glasses of wine over the whole night, and I've not been as much 'fun' as the former me according to the BF. Not sure if he's suggesting drunk me was more fun than happy, healthier me whose also sober enough to drive home. Added bonus should be I'm now a cheap date - lastly I've lost 13kg of the goal 30kgs to date, which he's commented a few times, 'your not going to lose any more are you'. I remind him again of what the goal and overall aim is, plus asking what behavior is it that he thinks will stop if I'm not focused on losing weight? The healthy eating, exercising part is now part of the rest of my life (which should have been there already!) P.S Dr O'brien also has a DVD, which is split in sections on you tube. That may help him understand what life with the band is like vs reading the book.

Compression socks are used fairly commonly in Australia for a number of surgeries. I was fitted with a pair prior to surgery in the morning and advised to wear them for a week post op. Added bonus was they kept me fairly warm during winter

I love the gym as well. My doc advised the same 6 weeks of just walking, then easing back to the gym. I focused on the walking, then around week 4 or 5 I sat on an exercise bike and pedalled at a fairly cruise pace, then reintroduced the cross trainer. My biggest fear was doing anything that put pressure on the stomach and diaphram, which was most things, incl some of my fav exercises like weights, yoga, pilates, tennis and rowing. Swimming was out until all the surgery incisions healed. 2 months from Surgery, im back to anything I could do before. Only thing I do warn is due to the reduced food intake, I make sure ive had something to eat before training and have reduced some of the former intensity levels given I've felt a little faint on occasion.

I'd also recommend practicing eating slowly, making sure everything you eat is down to a soft paste. Oddly it's the soft foods that are the hardest to remember to chew

I only had chest pain as well post surgery, where it felt difficult to breath. Walking definitely helped as well as adjusting the angle I slept and sat, sometimes just shifting a touch released some of the gas/pain. I was also given a spirometer for breathing exercises, which was painful to use and practice deep breaths but helped see the progress as the gas subsided.

I first met with my doctor when I was at a BMI of 33 and whilst I have successfully lost weight on my own over the years, eating lean wholefoods and training throughout the week, the problem I've had is I was always hungry, feeling as though a normal portion of even healthy food wasn't satisfying and with any set back or injury when training, the weight would start to creep back. I've got a wardrobe varying from size 10-18 clothes that has been the result of the ups and downs over the past few years. I was recently made redundant and took the opportunity to focus on myself after 10 years of investment banking, working ridiculous hours and living between office, hotels and airports for much of the week. I originally saw the surgeon to explore options such as the balloon, but they seem to be falling out of favour and the surgeon noted after 6 months when it's out i'd probably be back on the yo yo weight diet. Together we explored the lapband as a tool to ultimately help keep the weight off longer term and come back to a healthy meal size portion, compared to going back for seconds even if it was a healthy lean meal. So far the weight is coming down about a kg a week. I lost quite a bit during the pre op diet, that actually put me under the 30 BMI at the time of surgery. The anathesiologist was asking why I even needed the surgery at the time of the operation. I've not told many people I've had the surgery and most people think I've just gone back on a diet. For those who do know, a lot of them question why I bothered, saying 'but your not fat' or your just 'big boned' but for me it was my weight was unhealthy and I'm doing what I needed to get to and stay in the healthy weight range. I've also found some good eating practices have been enforced with the band such as eating slowly, if you don't have time to chew then you don't have time to eat, not washing your food down with a drink, walking away when your full and focusing on the quality of the food vs the quantity, that even my non banded friends are following these behaviors. As easy as it is to say those rules are easy to follow, having the band there acts as a form of reinforcement so you can't just forget for a meal or two, which then becomes a habit again. I hope to go through this journey with minimal fills, I've had 1 to date, which has been fine, and so far I've still enjoyed a varied diet including steak, bread, Pasta, salads and rice. I am quite disappointed to find for me pineapple and celery just dont chew down enough to swallow when eaten on their own Good news is I've gone back to work, starting afresh with a new bank and also being able to have this new persona that focuses on exercise and eating healthy. I wish you all the best in what you decide

Hi, for those who have had their lapbands for a while, do you find your lunch or dinner is the largest meal of the day? I'm finding i'm quite hungry around dinner time, where i'll eat my cup of food for dinner and i'm usually keen for a small snack a few hours later. I'm rarely hungry for Breakfast, typically having a milky coffee and also tend to have a reasonably light or small lunch. I've just had a fill and dont feel comfortable getting another fill in the near term, given i'm rarely hungry throughout the day, exercise most days and in tracking calories tend to stay under 1000 per day. I was interested to know if any other bandsters feel like this as well? This is one of the biggest changes i've noted post surgery, where i previously had a much lighter dinner. Just interested for those who also eat their biggest meal of the day at dinner, whether its been an issue for them in continuing to lose weight.

Out of interest, how is the appetite/hunger/satsfaction about a week later after a fill?

I rang and asked the same regarding preparation. I was told nothing special needed to be done. I had my adjustment at 11.45 am. I did however make sure I had Breakfast that morning, as I had a fairly intense spin class on later that afternoon. I also made sure I had a Protein shake with me as my main meal that afternoon, given i was told to go back to liquids for 24 hrs and follow that up with 24 hrs of mushies

I had my first fill yesterday. Didn't hurt even with two needle pokes.. I had no numbing, but could sense the surgeon jiggling the needle around a bit. Surgeon under X-ray inserted 2 c.c of fluid. After I sat up and drank a few sips, I had a lot of pain in my chest and felt rather uncomfortable. Surgeon took out 0.5. While lying down the water came back up. Really glad I told him then and there it was uncomfortable.

I was told to take it very easy for the first two weeks, stick to walking etc. At 4 weeks I was cleared to go back to heavy training at the gym. It's now been 7 weeks since since surgery and I've gone back to weight training, hot yoga and intense cardio like spin class, running and circuit training the past fortnight. I have noticed though I've had to cut back doing long sessions as I start to get very dizzy, prob from the reduced food intake. I've found interval training (a minute intense, minute recovery) has been much easier and limited the dizzy spells. Hot yoga I need to have a Protein bar before going. Best wishes to get back into training. You'll feel much better for the effort and helps the weight start shifting

Hi, I was banded at a similar time on July 2nd and have had no fills yet. Since then I've done a number of flights domestic throughout Australia ranging from 1 hr to 4.5 hours as well as a trip to and from the USA. I've found I've noticed very little with the flights have changed since having my band. I've not had the feeling of extra restriction or feeling the band tightening during flight as some people experience. My morning flights I usually stick to having a coffee before boarding and I'm rarely hungry on the short flights. I often just take the yoghurt or dry Cereal served to eat later in the morning. Other meals I'm happy to have a look at if I'm hungry and usually have a few mouthfuls. Gone are the days of feeling hungry all the time eating every last mouthful of airplane food! I do pack a Optifast Protein Bar in my bag as a back up meal similar to what i keep on hand for work, which I'd recommend when travelling, just in case of delays or you don't feel like the food they serve. I also keep a Water bottle with me, keeping hydrated has helped a lot especially on the longer flights. Often I'm more thirsty than I am hungry.

I've picked the mid point of the healthy BMI weight range for my height of 1.73 metres, with 66 kilos my ultimate goal after starting at 99. Each week I aim to lose around a kilo. At 88 now, I'm hoping in half a year I'll be around the goal weight

Hi from Sydney!! Just curious on the bread front, we're you told no bread at all or just avoiding it out of choice? I've still been ok to eat bread, just finding I'm taking very small bites to allow me to chew up and get it down. I've been fortunate to still have the occasional sandwich, which due to eating it so slowly, I find I may be lucky to finish half.

Diet aside, given the nasty and no doubt traumatic experience you've now escaped from, is there something you can do for yourself in terms of meditation, yoga or a holiday to reward yourself? I've often found taking the time to look after myself puts me in a better frame of mind and then the exercise and eating healthy habits tend to come much easier

Guess this is one time in life being lactose intolerant is a good thing. If I need to get things moving, a small cup of milk gets the bowels working!

I also find taking the time to focus on eating and not being distracted by tv or trying to keep up with friends or family at the dinner table. At work, I've found if I can't take at least 10 mins to sit down and eat slowly and chew my food properly, it's best not to eat at all. Often a drink or a coffee can tide me over until I actually get a decent moment to eat. I've also been waking up about 30 mins earlier to prepare my lunch and eat Breakfast instead of trying to eat on the run like I did prior to surgery

I was only thinking of this the other day, whether my head will realise that my body is no longer that big person. I started at 99 kilos, so far down to 88 with 20 more to go. I was on a train last week quite late and whilst I used to feel relatively safe (I'm 5'10 and was still quite sporty at my heaviest and could quite easily spar with my brother in the army) I've started to feel a lot more vulnerable when I'm out late or alone. It's been an odd feeling, but I can only put it down to losing weight.

I've found a milky Cappuccino has been a useful snack in the am. Tides me over to lunch. Berries I found to be a great snack, easy to chew, great Vitamins and very tasty

I've had some trouble with my knees a few years ago, I was recommended Water aerobics to minimize the impact, however the pain continued. If it doesn't get any better, contact your doctor and let them know it's painful from the movement not just impact injury. After some further investigation, turned out there was some loose cartlidge grinding in my joint. After some keyhole surgery to remove the floating bits, I was back to the full gym, inc weights, running and aerobics after a few months. I wish you all the best. I also found acupuncture was great for some relief.

I had a similar experience with a close friend who tried to talk me out of it. I explained in doing this for my health, that they don't understand the struggle I have with the desire to want to consume more than what is a healthy portion of food, and yes I can lose the weight without surgery, but the band is going to help me keep it off, which the dozen other diets I've been have shown that yes I can lose it, but keeping it off is the issue. In the end, I just had to block out those unsupportive comments and focus on the supportive comments and behaviors from other friends, all with the mindset that the lap band surgery is something I'm going for myself so my opinion is the most important.

I checked with my surgeon when I first explored the lapband about pain medicine, given I'm allergic to paracetamol and typically rely on ibuprofen when I need it. I understood from some initial research that paracetamol for typical self medicated pain such as headaches, fever and injury was the preferred option for lap banders. He confirmed the research i found, stating ibuprofen is best avoided given the issues it has with erosion, upsetting a sensitive stomach etc, however if it's consumed with food or a meal (to minimise the issues noted above) and it's only taken on occasions where it's necessary such as migraine or extreme pain in a single or short term dose he was happy for me to continue to use it.. I'm 5 weeks out from surgery and had a terrible headache today. I took 2 Advil for the first time post surgery, along with drinking plenty of Water, stretching my shoulders and neck given I was sitting at a computer at work and tried a cup of tea (caffeine often helps me alleviate a headache) and something in that list has definitely helped and I even managed to get to the pool for a swim tonight.

If its a park wedding, also have a look out for heeled wedges, which will save you sinking into the grass. Wedges will give you the height and can shift the way you carry your weight when you walk to also help you look fantastic on the day. And as an added bonus, the extra stability will help get over the fear of heels and often save your feet if your standing, walking or dancing alot on the day.

I've also been using fish chunks in risotto with tomato and olives, or in fairly plain risotto with fresh peas.

If you catch kingfish again, try some ceviche, thin raw slices prepared with some herbs. Delicious