Kelliebelly

Now that I have restriction I can gulp water on an empty stomach. If I have eaten it will come straight back up.

Ahhhh. No I dont think it is a problem. Our bodies are going though huge changes. Surgery, weight loss, changed eating patterns and hormones all over the place. I havent really ever had a continual high sex drive. I go in spurts. I will want it every night for a week and then not again for another month. It has only been 6 or so weeks since your surgery, give it time. Your body is probably still in shik. Once things level out I am sure it will come back.

HA HA HA Jacqui. I was 17 yrs old when I had my first baby and from the moment I gave birth my belly hung half way down my thighs. For the next 13 yrs I thought if I could just have a tummy tuck everything would be so much better. When I got down to a certain weight I decided I was going to have it done. I had lived long enough with it, including pretty much my whole teenage life. I remember thinking leading up to it that everything was going to be so perfect after it...boy was I wrong. Dont get me wrong I appreciate so much being able to have it done but it has really shown me how badly other things are that cant be fixed without PS...my thighs for one. Befor ethe TT I hadnt sen the top of them in so long because they were covered by my belly. Well.... they are pretty much as bad as my belly and I have been told by my PS and several others that there is no way I can fix them without surgery, it is all loose skin. So, I now want a thigh lift. Why not get a nose job while I am in there. If I am going to get that why not get my pper eye lids done too because I am sick of being told I look tired, sad or angry all the time. Hey!!! Why not chuck some implants in while I am there, my boobs could do with looking bigger....and since I am going under why not get a little lipo done too. Yea, the TT started all this. If I had the cash I would do it without a thought. I love Plastic surgery.

Hi I am from Newcastle and when I was banded I didnt have health insurance. I paid $16000 for my op. I got health insurance about 1 yr ago so if I do have any problems I will be covered. All my fills are through medicare and the little problems I have had havent cost me any money. My suggestion would be to get banded now before the insurance runs out so you are covered for that. Later on start paying into your own insurance so you can be covered if any problems arise. I know if I have a slip or anything my Dr said that is covered in the original cost. BTW I have been banded 2.5 yrs.

Hey Aussieladie, What part of NSW are you in? I am in Newcastle.

Thanks guys. Sarah, that is so right. I have to diet to lose weight but I can maintain being naughty. It is good to know at anytime we are ready we can just jump on the bandwagon and start over.

"He should be housed in the general prison population, where he may receive the attention and affections of other violent inmates, who will recognize him as the human being he is, and treat him accordingly." I agree also...but I stop and think if it were my child he had hurt, I would want him dead not living his life as pathetic as it may be.

OK, I dont know how many times in the last year I have said I am getting back on the bandwagon, but this time I am serious. I lost 80lbs in my first year and then just stopped. I know it is my fault and you wont hear me saying my band has failed or that I dont know why I am not losing weight. I know why, I eat too much chocolate, plain and simple. I have good restriction and eat about a cup of food at each meal. It is in between that stuffs me up. Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. I have gone up a few and down a few and I know without my band I would be sooooooo much bigger now. So that is one thing that is awesome, I have never maintained my weight in my life and for the last 12 mths I have. Anyway rambling on I lost the whole point of my post. What I would like to know is what is the longest plateau you have had and how did you kickstart it again?

My Dh is 16 yrs older than me. I was 23 and he was 39 when we got together. Age has never come into it..and rarely does it come into it when the guy is older. Ohhhh but the goss and talk when an older woman gets with a younger man. Age is just a number, your only as old as the woman/man you feel.

I dont think this question has one answer. It really depends on the man doesnt it. It would take a special kinda guy to give up what society has shown is "acceptable" and "expected"... The man works - the man brings home the bacon and the man is the main breadwinner. My hat is off to any guy willing to stay at home and look after the kids, and look after them well....not just sit at home, watch TV and throw the child a cheeseburger when they say they are hungry.

Thanks everyone for your opinion. It is not an option for us for DH to stay at home. He is the main breadwinner and I couldnt even bring in half what he does. I am really surprised there was noone that was adamantly oposed to women working when they have young children at home...there seems to be quite a few people like that around here. The statement I hate the most and hear the most is - " I just go without the luxeries...I make sacrifices etc so I can stay at home and be with my kids". Or "I didnt have my children for someone else to raise". Yes, I could stay at home and look after my kids and we could still live. That is what I have done pretty much the last 14 yrs....but, and dont get me wrong, I love my kids and I would do anything for them. It was lonely, I had no independence. I felt as if I was just a MUM and thats it....and yes just a MUM is a big thing. I am person too though, my own person. I have changed so much since I started working, I am happier in myself and with everything else and I think the time I spend with my kids now is so much better than it has ever been before.

I am asking this question because I genuinly want to know. I have 4 children. I was a SAHM to 3 of them, but as times have got a little harder we found I needed to go back to work. My youngest is 3. I work in the afternoon. I drop her off with hubby at his work and he comes home with her an hour or so later. In the last few months of working I cant believe how many times it has been bought up about Mums working - some good opinions, some bad. I dont have my kids in daycare 5 days a week all day. She is not in daycare at all, which by the way I believe in every individuals families choice to make whether they do that or not and what is best for them. So do you think when you have kids the Mum should stay at home and look after the kids while Dad works or do you think that is sooooo 1970s??

Sam, Wowwwwww. I seen you in Take 5. I cant believe how great you look. You are an inspiration to all of us. If only I could be as successful. You Rock!!!! :clap2::clap2:

I have always had troubles "going" but after being banded I was going 2 weeks or more without "going". I have tried lots of things, some work some dont. For the last few weeks I have been taking the fruit and nut mix to work to pick at...about 2 days after I started that I started "going". I couldnt believe it. Sultanas, raisons, almonds, walnuts, unsalted raw nuts, apricot and a few other bits and pieces have made a huge difference. Give it a go!

I have had reflux since I was banded, the only time I had it before that was when I was preggers. I have been on nexium and somac since 3 mths post banding. For me to be unfilled to the point of no reflux would mean almost no fill in a 10cc band. I have had 11 fills and didnt really feel any restriction until I hit 7mls. It really worries me living with reflux, but as long as I take my meds most of the time I dont know I have it. If I do forget to take it, I have absolute burning. Not sure why I posted this...

Well...I have been overweight my whole life and I wish I could have had the band when I was a teenager. It would have saved so much heartache and emotional distress growing up caused by my weight. If we say she cant be mature enough to make desicions to do with the lapband then we can say she isnt mature enough to be making correct food choices etc on her own. We all know dieting doesnt work right?? We have all been there. The band is what saved us all, we had reached the end, we had tried everything... I think to nip this in the butt now is a great thing, I also think it should be followed up with weekly visits to a therapist and dietician but I think it could work. I disagree with the lipo but as for the band I say go for it and good luck to her...hopefully it will work for her and she wont struggle through her teenage yrs being discriminated, picked on, and judge for her weight. I really hope she doesnt see all these posts all over the place judging her and her family for choices they made that they think are best for THEM.

Well...I have been overweight my whole life and I wish I could have had the band when I was a teenager. It would have saved so much heartache and emotional distress growing up caused by my weight. If we say she cant be mature enough to make desicions to do with the lapband then we can say she isnt mature enough to be making correct food choices etc on her own. We all know dieting doesnt work right?? We have all been there. The band is what saved us all, we had reached the end, we had tried everything... I think to nip this in the butt now is a great thing, I also think it should be followed up with weekly visits to a therapist and dietician but I think it could work. I disagree with the lipo but as for the band I say go for it and good luck to her...hopefully it will work for her and she wont struggle through her teenage yrs being discriminated, picked on, and judge for her weight.

I think I am the same as a couple of you. I have thought about this many times and I cannot come up with a definitive answer. The closest it comes is... I feel good when I eat...the food high. It doesnt matter how bad I feel, for those few minutes, I feel good. Nothing can replace that for me.

I wasnt getting them and it was droping. About 3 mths ago my reults came in and they were very low and I was anemic. I went onto weekly shots for 6 weeks. At the end of the 6 weeks it was fine again but each blood test I have had it has dropped a little again each time. I think by next mth or so I will be getting the shots again. I dont get mine in the butt, I get it in the uper arm...I wish I could bottle this stuff - the feeling I get in the days after is amazing. I actually have endless energy.

I really cant tell you more than anyone else has, I just wanted to reiterate that you cannot say at this stage the band is failing you. You say youre hungry all the time, well that means you dont really ahve restriction...for the band to work optimally you need optimal restriction. 10fills and 6 mths it took for me to start really losing weight with my band. I know it is hard to see now, but it will happen.

I am over 2 yrs out and have great restriction but on average of once a week I will be able to eat things that I normally cant, and feel hungry all day. I will panic and wonder if I need a fill or if it is the beginning symptoms of a slipped band and wahlah the next day I will have restriction again. I decided about a yr ago if I was going to have another fill for lack of restriction I would wait at least 2 weeks to make sure its an actual fill I need and not just my band being fickle.

The band is only a tool and we need to remember that. My cravings for sugary food never left me after banding. Most of the sugary food I like is not restricted by the band either so dont think the band will help with things like chocolate, ice cream and lollies etc. They still go down as easy as ever. It is where your will power comes in and that is something I dont have a lot of. I love my band and it has helped me come so far but I dont want to paint it all perfect and tell you that it will help you with your sugary cravings because the fact is...it just might not. Good Luck

Hey Mandy, I had my TT and breast lift without any fill taken out. You just let the anesthesiologist you have a lap band and cant be sick or vomit after surgery and they will make sure you arent. The moment I had slight nausea they gave me something and it went straight away. I was the same...I was having the TT and didnt want to put on a heap of weight recovering. Everything went fine, I would leave your fill and let them know.

Hey, I looked right into it when I got my TT and I could not find one person that could say they were/are happy with the results. My friend went ahead and got it done with her TT and she is not happy at all either. The scars tend to migrate down, there is a high rate for revisions afterwards, its a lot of pain and healing and the cuts like to pull open because they are in such an awkward spot. In my opinion, from what I have seen and who I have spoken with...it just isnt worth it. My thighs are horrid, I mean reallyyyyy bad but I wont risk going through it.

I have never been able to lose weight quickly. I have been banded 2 yrs and have lost 80lbs. I would still like to lose 20 lbs more but I have been on an 8mth long plateau...all my fault tho..