Chickie

I have some... Enough on my belly that I required a tummy tuck, but other than that, I was really lucky. My arms, legs and backside all look pretty good.

If your daughter knows what was holding her back (not eating right, and not exercising), she can fix it, and maybe get her "do over" with the band. There is nothing in this world stopping her from changing her lifestyle now to include a good nutrient rich diet, and plenty of exercise. She can do it if she wants to. Good luck to your daughter.

I got to my weight in about 18 months (my goal was 140lbs, I ended up at 114lbs by December 2006).

I was left on my medication till my fasting GTT showed that I no longer needed it. That was maybe 6 months, or more after surgery. If you are having blood sugar issues, I would go to your endo / gp (or whoever you see) and have a chat. I was on regular metformin, and it upset my stomach for at least the first 4 or 5 months. Immoudum was my friend. Apparently with the ER, the shell of the pill is all that you see, and all the medication is actually gone. Nothing to stress about. I know you were not directing your question at me, but I have/had PCOS. All of my symptoms, apart from the excess hair have completely resolved (I still have some hair on my chin, but nothing a good pluck doesn't take care of) I have a perfect 28 day cycle, little to no acne, and my mood swings are so much better. With weight loss PCOS's symptoms can be managed.

I have no idea if they will make you do the GTT or not. Yes, the fasting GTT does take up a good chunk of the day, sadly. Can I ask why you think you will be going off your medication in a month?

When I had my licence renewed late last year, they asked for other forms of ID to confirm who I was (might have been 3 or 4 other forms.. Birth certificate, credit card, and marriage certificate I think). I guess they have to cover their backsides. It was slightly annoying having to go home and get all the bits and pieces they wanted, but at the same time, I totally understand. I didn't look anything like the woman in my old picture.

My all time favourite salad is roughly chopped green and red peppers, cucumber, avocado, onion, and vine ripened tomatoes all thrown in a bowl with chickpeas and tomato flavoured couscous. And if I have it in the fridge, I throw in some broccioni cheese. Filling and delish.

Exercise actually haas very little to do with your skin. Building muscle beneath the skin will make it look fuller, and not so saggy, but no amount of exercise will tone skin. Genetics, age, duration of obesity, and where you carried the weight are really the only factors at play. Exercise is no bad thing, but it will not make a scrap of difference as to how skin reacts to weight loss.

Hi there Tracey! I can say without a doubt that I do not regret being banded. It was life changing for me. Best of luck! Sam.

But if you were to get the fill you wanted, are you using your self control? Or would you be relying on the band? If you are losing, while eating small meals and exercising, no you should NOT have a fill. And remember, as women, our restriction will fluctuate with our monthly cycle... Just because you can eat more this week, does not mean you won't be back to normal next. If you get what I mean. People are far, far to quick to jump on the "need a fill" band wagon. If you are losing, even slowly, you do not need a fill. You NEED to rely on yourself to eat well and exercise. And just an aside... The band is only designed to restrict, not to retard hunger completely. It is human to be hungry. Banded or not. If you are hungry... EAT.

If the band is doing all the work with regards to controlling your portions, what would happen if you lost your band? A hard thought to swallow (pardon the pun) But what if? What if you never relied on yourself to control what you eat? Just a thought.

I could count the "at goal-ers" on one hand. People who's weight loss has put them in a healthy weight range. They are few and far between I am afraid. Then there are a few (again I could count them on one hand) who got to the overweight range, and decided that that was good enough for them. Personally, I put my life on the line, and spent good money to have a surgery that would help me attain a healthy weight. I was dammed if I was going to go through all that I did, and still be overweight, or obese.

Yeah, but what we are doing is "extreme" or that really isn't us in our photo's, or, but, or, but.... There is always an excuse, or reason it worked for me, but would never work for anyone else! It gets old. It really does. And people wonder why there are no (or many) at goal bandsters on the board.

I have been here since 2005, and at times I wonder if I am being ignored (But I realise it's my rather unpopular "you have to eat right and exercise, and not rely on restriction and starvation" opinion that gets me into trouble around here, that and having been at goal for some time. Once the struggle is over, it appears you are no longer one of the "team" and there is little room for you, your opinions, or advice. People only want to hear from someone who is where they are now, not people who have been there and done that. Blind leading the blind sorta thing.) *Shurgs* Just jump in there, either you will find a clique, or, you will end up one of the fringe dwellers. Fringe dwelling is not so bad... I kind of enjoy it.

Poor bugger! I hope once you are unfilled a little you feel better.

Woah - hang on there! I care very much what I eat. I eat normal, healthy foods, but less of them. The situation you are both in is not the norm. Some people just cannot tolerate the band, and that is no failing. Nothing is perfect for everyone. A normal bandster should be able to eat a small meal of Protein, veggies and carbs. This two bites and you are full crap people go on about, is just that, crap. It does nothing but produce bandsters that think they have failed, or that their surgery has failed. You have not failed, nor has your surgery. It is doing what it is intended to do, restrict the passage of food through to the lower part of the stomach. You cannot physically tolerate that restriction. That means (to me at least, I am not a doctor) that the band was not a good fit for you, or your lifestyle. I would spend the money to have the band out in your situation. Life is too short to allow ourselves to be angry/hurt/upset/bitter forever. Again, best of luck!

If you are that unhappy with your band, no, you are not crazy. Good luck!

I got pregnant twice, but lost both babies due to genetic issues. I was not actively trying to conceive, and have since been fitted with an IUD.

I wore a girdle after I got below 150lbs through till I had my tummy tuck. It did nothing to firm the skin, at all. It made me more comfortable by lifting the belly off the pubic area, reducing the rashes and sweating. But nothing else.

I can get in to my journal... That is odd.

You expect to lose more than 2lbs a week? I am with your doc, you don't need a fill. And yes, you do need to work with the band, by eating right, and exercising. You are doing the right thing on that score, but expecting that you will lose faster than 2lbs a week is a bit much. Even with proper restriction, and lifestyle change, the aim is 2lbs a week. Congrats on being 16lbs down. People, we do not get out of the gate with restriction. 6 weeks later, we will not have restriction, 6 months later we may not have restriction. We DO have to rely on behaviour modification as well as our bands. Anyone who is banded expected tighter than tight restriction and more than 2lbs of weight loss straight away signed up for the wrong surgery.

You could try in your user CP, going to subscriptions, edit subscriptions, and deleting the subscribed threads folder.

(bold mine) Hell no, it's not a fantasy! I had 154lbs to lose to get to the high end of normal. I ended up losing 183lbs. Anything is possible. Anything is achievable. You just have to believe in yourself to make it happen.

From memory, my weight loss really got going at a few months post op after a couple of fills.

Well, I have been running for over 18 months on and off (I had a few months off after my tummy tuck last August) I got back into running regularly about 3 or 4 months ago (running 6 or 7 days a week for 4 or 5 km, rather than once a week for 3km). I have always enjoyed running, so perhaps my pp was worded poorly. I had actually already reached my "skinny dream". The Mothers Day run was my first organised event. The 4.5km run was thrilling. Just being out there with about 1100 other people, running for a great cause (breast cancer research). It felt amazing. If I am truthful, I am actually far prouder of run on Sunday than I am of my 183lb weight loss. I finished the 4.5km in a time of 28.35 minutes, with a place of 420 out of roughly 1100. Finishing mid way through the pack did more for my confidence than losing all the weight. Seeing my husband and son waiting for me at the finish line was enough to make me cry. How proud of me they were. So there it is. My skinny dream, no longer a dream, but reality. On to my next goal. Drenched after running in the rain, but happy as can be!