Parvathi

Probably not for "clear" liquids, but come full liquid time, it beats some of those nasty protein shakes any day of the week lol...

Here's the results of the survey I posted on our website last week:- I am physically attracted to people who are:- Skinny - the skinnier the better 5.86% Fit and trim 31.17% Curvy and cuddly - something to hold onto 36.44% Large - the bigger the better 2.90% I don't care about appearance - it's what's on the inside 21.44% Other - please specify 2.22% Total Votes :3927 Total Comments :48

I work for a webcam chat site with 3 million members. Part of my job is running the weekly survey. I've posted the following question there and will post the results from it here next week. Usually get a few thousand responses at least... should give us some idea. I am physically attracted to people who are:- A. Skinny - the skinnier the better B. Fit and trim C. Curvy and cuddly - I like something to hold onto D. Large - the bigger the better E. I don't care about appearance - it's what's on the inside that counts F. Other - please specify

I like my men (and women lol) to have curves. I am not attracted to someone who's morbidly obese, but I'm *really* not attracted to stick figures.

Hi folks, Firstly, I must apologize for my absence over the past few months. I'd promised myself that I wouldn't be one of those people who reached my goals and abandoned the site. Unfortunately, life got in the way and for a bit, I did. That said, I definitely didn't forget you guys!! You've all been such a rock through this journey. A few months ago, my hubby was diagnosed with MS, after a pretty big attack that left him unable to walk for a while. We don't have any family here, so juggling work, the kid and family life just became a bit much .. thus, I didn't really get online much. I haven't had a fill since April, right after my breast reduction and tummy tuck, but I keep having to go back and get more saline taken out of the band, as I've found it getting tighter and tighter. I'll have some removed - it'll be fine for a few weeks, then BOOM - tight again. Over time though, I've also managed to put on a few kilos. Just what I needed after having half my stomach cut off LOL. This past week, I spent most nights on the couch because reflux kept me up. It had me coughing like crazy and felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. So today I went off to the docs, figuring I just needed a bit more removed. She decided that it'd be best if I went for a barium swallow, as I haven't had one since 1 day post op. It just trickled down slowly - still alot sitting in the pouch 5 minutes afterwards. The radiologist told me the band had slipped. I don't suppose it really hit me until I was back in the doctor's office though. Guess I figured she didn't know what she was talking about .. then I nearly burst into tears :/ So we did the usual - removed all the saline for two weeks and hope it will fix itself. If it doesn't, I suppose I'll go have it fixed. I love my band, even with all of its problems. I know a slip isn't nearly as bad as an erotion, but it still hit me hard. Anyway, just wanted to report in .. guess I'm looking for some good thoughts sent this way if anyone has some extras to give out. Hope everyone is doing well .. and congrats to all the newly banded people.

Hi Surby, I was diagnosed with a slippage last week, after being banded for 18 months. There are several factors that can cause slippage, so I guess I'll never know for sure, but the doctor reckons the main issue was I was overfilled for too long, which makes things difficult to go down and while sitting in the upper pouch, they cause gas, eventually expanding your pouch. She said a new band has been developed that is more flexible and hopefully, they'll start to see less incidents of slippage. Good luck in your band journey

I had the exact thing happen to me in a shop here a few years back. Now that I can fit in their clothes, I refuse to shop there, even though they do have some nice outfits LOL. I guess it just goes down to them being young and oblivious to how rude they are *sigh* Try not to let it get to you though. *hugs*

My Mum's on Lexapro for anxiety (it works brilliantly for her, but everyone's different), but I've never heard of using it to combat reflux. Is the reflux at night or daytime? How long have you been banded for and have you had a barium swallow since the reflux started?

Thank you everyone!!! I'm going to try all the suggestions lol, til I find one that works. Jacqui, Jaz is the same with being a grot. She changed schools this year from an all girl very strict school to a coed alternative school. They don't wear uniforms and they come home absolutely filthy. The school really believes in letting a kid be a kid though, so I won't complain - she absolutely loves it. But don't worry, its not just Ewan lol. He'd probably fit in there brilliantly :couch2:

I figured since there are so many Moms here, surely someone would have a suggestion or practical advice for this. My dear beautiful daughter, bless her heart, can clear a room with her feet. If she wears anything other than bare feet, flip flops, or Crocs (those rubber clogz with holes in them), her feet take on a life of their own. After school when she gets in the car, I have to roll all the windows down. The dog doesn't even want to play with her shoes LOL. She's going away to camp week after next for a week - first time ever - and I'm really nervous that her stinky feet are going to be a source of embarassment for her. How can I get rid of this horrible smell? Cheers for any help!

I'm 5'7 and at my heighest weight (around 265), I flew. It was uncomfortable, but I was able to fit in the seat. Pity the person sitting beside me though LOL. I could have used a seatbelt extender, but was too embarassed to ask for one, so stuck my coat on my lap and acted like it was fastened. Good luck - you'll be fine :eek:

Good for you, Michelle! I've got the lifetime Jenny Craig card lol, but haven't used it. Depending on how this slipped band turns out, perhaps I'll drop by there. I can completely understand needing the accountability. When I was doing weekly dr visits, I never once gained. Soon as I slacked on that, I hit a plateau and even added a few kgs.

April, its completely normal to be nervous and have your head play a few games with you. If you weren't, then you'd be loopy lol. My band has slipped and I might have to have a revision surgery, but even now, with as fickle as the band can sometimes be, I recognize that this is the best thing I've ever done, just for me. I've managed to lose around 90 lbs (although I have put a few back on) and I feel fantastic. As for your decision on whether or not to tell family/friends/coworkers, that's one only you can make. I told my immediate family beforehand, all the gory details. The rest of the family knew I was having surgery, but didn't know what for - figured it was girlie stuff. After I started losing, when they asked, I'd tell them. I work for my husband's company, so the boss knew lol .. but I told everyone else too. There's only one other girl in our office - the rest are 20something boys (all hotties too lol). They've all been extremely supportive. For me, it was easier telling people upfront, rather than having to make excuses as to why I couldn't join in on the massive feed they were having for lunch or whatever. Best of luck to you in your upcoming surgery. You'll do fine :eek:

Kel!!!!!!! OMG I can't believe the wedding has crept up this fast! I bet you and Paul have your hands full right now. I'm so happy for you .. can't wait to see the pics. The TT and reduction results have been great so far. The swelling is completely gone, now if the scars would do the same lol. The only bit I'm really not happy with is the lil gathered bits, at the end of the scarlines (where evidently, they've gathered the skin together?) Its small though so no big deal. Are ya'll honeymooning? If so, where? One of these days David and I are going to make it up there and visit ya. We've been to Sydney a dozen times this year .. but next time we're going central coast. Hugs! and congrats on the upcoming wedding :welldoneclap: Its about damn time lol.

I stressed soooooooooo much before the TT and reduction. About the pain, about the results, about not waking up lol.. the lot. But in all honesty, healing from that, for me, was 10x easier than healing from the band, even though it was a much bigger surgery and I was out for heaps longer. I guess its just because I was healthier. I only needed morphine for a few hours after the surgery, then panadol was sufficient. Was in the hospital for 5 days, but was up walking around the next morning just fine (okay, there was a bit of pain lol, but nothing like I expected). You'll do fine :welldoneclap: And if you have any questions, feel free to yell out!

Hey Jacqui!! As far as the tt and reduction goes, I'm all healed up from that. The scars aren't *too* bad, except under the breasts. I guess because its a crease, they take longer to heal. I'm very happy with the results though. The surgeon said I could start exercising after 6 weeks. I was slack LOL .. I didn't get back into the gym until 3 weeks ago. I'm feeling the burn, but in a good way. I'd love to catch up with you ladies again some time, but the next meet up is on a day that I have to take Jasmine to horse riding school camp. By the way - OMG you're falling away to nothing lol. 86kgs?!? Well done!!

Thank you everyone, for the thoughts and advice!! It means so much. On the band side of things, I had a great night's sleep last night for the first time in a while. No reflux whatsoever. My doctor didn't tell me to do liquids only for a few weeks. I'll call her back this morning and see if that's something I should be doing. Hope not, as I had a big ole taco salad last night LOL. The hubby has taken the diagnoses pretty well, considering. He owns his own business and I work for him, so luckily, we've been able to take time off when needed. We have a great group of staff that really pick up the slack. He went through several (5) days of steroid treatment for the last attack. While he didn't see any immediate results from it, he's been working with a physiotherapist 4 times/week to regain his strength and stability. He's gone from having 35% strength in his left side to 85%, since June. Its been a long road, but we're getting there. He hates needles, so is hesitant to go for the current medications, as they block around 35% of the attacks. So for the time being, he's going to wait for 6 months, then have another series of MRI's done to see if he's had any silent attacks (or visible ones even). If he has, then he'll talk to the neurologist about treatment. There's one in the US, that's new, but seems to be blocking around 80% of attacks. Its not available here yet, but he's talked to his neurologist about getting on that when it is. Again, thank you all so much for your kind words!!

Thanks But I knew going into this that shit happens lol ... I'll just keep going. For now, they are hoping that the removing of the fill will fix the slip. If not, they'll reposition. The doc was saying that a new band came out this year that's more flexible, thus they're seeing less slips. But if it just came out this year, I'm not sure I'd be willing to give it a go yet. I'm happy to do whatever I need to do to get it back into place though, so I can catch up with you :girl_hug: Looking fantastic, by the way!! :clap2:

I couldn't tell I had slipped. I had no vomiting at all. My only weirdish symptoms were reflux (mostly at night, but some in the day as well) and lack of restriction - again, mostly at night - but I've always been a night eater, so I didn't think too much of it.

Hi Anna Good luck on your upcoming surgery. I'm Jess - from Prahran (Melbourne). I was banded 18 months ago. Lost down to 74kgs earlier this year, then had a breast reduction and tummy tuck to get rid of the excess skin. Unfortunately, my band has now slipped - just found out today. I've managed to put on a few kilos as well.. back up to 80kgs. Didn't go to the gym for a while and ended up eating crap, as I was too tight and that's all I could get down easily (bad me!). So I'm attempting to jump back on the wagon at the moment. Head hunger issues suck big time. Wish I had some good sound advice for you, but honestly, I think its something we all struggle with. One thing that helped me with it early on, is knowing how much time/money/effort I'd put into banding. That kept me eating healthy. Course, closer you get to goal, if you're like me, the more you think you can have that piece of <insert nawty food here>. I'll probably always struggle with that a bit, but even as fickle as my band has been, I still love it. Its opened up all kinds of possibilities to me.

Wow - I guess I've been away for a while. Not sure what's going on, but I'll be sending all kindsa good thoughts your way. Best of luck!

Warning - the pictures below contain full nudity, for purposes of showing actual plastic surgery results. Please do not look if offended by nudity (or flab or thunder thighs lol). And now that that's over with hehe.. here they are. For anyone who hasn't read about the surgery and wants to, you can do that here. The before pictures are one week pre op - the after are one week post op. I'm still quite swollen, but they tell me that will go down *shrugs*. All in all though, I'm soooooo happy with the results and love having perky boobs for the first time ever LOL.

Nothing to see here now :Banane56: lol

Okay, so is anyone up for lunch (or even dinner) on say .. Feb 1st or 2nd, on Chapel Street? Kids are back in school by then .. thankfully! With regards to dates and times, I'm so easy lol.

So I went in Monday morning to the hospital. I was admitted at 11:30am and taken to my room. They said I still had a while before the anaestesiologist and surgeon would be by to see me, so to just watch tv or something for a while. After an hour and a bit, the anaestesiologist came by. He was a short round older man with a jolly laugh. He was sooooo sweet and funny and instantly made me feel relaxed. Then the surgeon came in and drew on my boobs and stomach. It looked like a big ole piece of artwork lol. So then they stuck the hose on my legs, my gown on and put calf compressors on me. They're a bit like a blood pressure cuff, except they go around your legs. They compress and decompress to help keep the blood in your legs circulating. Then they wheeled me down to surgery. While we were in the lift, one of the guys got a phone call asking where I was - evidentally I was late already lol. I said, Uh oh, you've got me in trouble!! They sat my gurney just outside of theatre, where several nurses and assitants came over to introduce myself. It was at that point that I lost all of my composure lol. I cried like a baby - I was so scared! At that point, all I could think was that kissing Jaz goodbye that morning at school and speaking to David on the phone earlier may have been the last time. The anestesiologist came out and said, "You'd rather be anywhere but here right now, wouldn't you?" And I said, "Yup". He chuckled and said he didn't blame me and told all the nurses about how much weight I'd lost and how wonderful I looked, etc. They wheeled me into theatre and he started the IV. Then he took a syringe with a creamy coloured Fluid and said, "Think happy thoughts now - you're going to look fabulous!". I smiled and that's the last thing I remember from there. I woke up around 7:00pm in recovery. I could hear the surgeon on the phone with my family outside, telling them things went well. I smiled at the nurses who rushed over when they saw I was awake. They told me that everything went great and asked what my pain level was on a scale of 1 to 10. It was about a 6 at that time. They pressed my drip button for me and the pain started easing almost instantly. By 7:30pm, I was on the phone with my daughter, telling her goodnight. I was really shocked at how alert I was, as after the lapband it took quite some time to come out of the general - I don't remember anything til that next day from that surgery. I watched a bit of television and then went to sleep. The nurses checked on me through the night and reminded me that if I was hurting, to press the magic button. Really though, it didn't hurt as much as I was expecting. After the band, I remember waking up thinking, "Oh God, what have I done?!?" I didn't do that this time. The next morning they came around and took out my catheter and my IV, as I had barely used it. The surgeon came by and saw me around 7:30am. He said I had perky full C cups and that they had fun with my tummy - its as flat as can be. YaYYY I thought. Of course, I was bandaged up so much that I looked and felt bigger than before surgery. Later that morning I had to get up for the first time to go potty. The nurses helped me and OMG did it hurt!!! I decided after that I wouldn't drink very much lol. But that afternoon when I had to get up, I did it alone and it went much better. Actually, each time I got up it got easier. On the next day, they removed my drains from my chest, on both sides. That was the most pain I'd felt the whole time. The nurse had to take all the tape off and over the incisions, that really hurt. Afterwards, I took some Tremedal. It instantly made me nauseous so we decided I wouldn't take anymore of that. So from the time they took me off the IV drip that first morning after surgery, the only thing I've taken (other than that one dose of Tremadal), is Panadol - the equivalent of regular strength Tylenol. The day after that (yesterday), they removed the drain from my right hip. That one had bugged me when I was sitting up, so I was glad to be rid of it - plus it looked really disgusting carrying around those bottles of blood when you went for a walk lol. Then this morning, they came by and removed the last drain from my left hip, took the foam off my stomach (it had like 2 inches of foam on it lol) and let me take a shower, then I was discharged. In the shower was the first time I'd gotten to see everything without the bandages. I stood and looked in the mirror for the longest time, just turning sideways and forwards. I've decided I like it LOL. I took a picture of my boobs on my cell phone and sent it to my husband hahaha. The surgeon told me to do no more at home than I was doing at the hospital - lay around and watch tv and under no circumstances was I to lift anything. Its good to be home. Bailey, my puppy, is laying at my feet :scared: I'm about to take some more Panadol and watch some tv. I'll take and post pictures on Monday, when my hubby comes home from overseas. It will of course, be with stitches and swelling and bruising lol, but that's okay. I have to say, that as of right now, I'm thrilled I did this. I don't have the perfect body, but I'm happy with the one I have and that's something I haven't been able to say in a long long time (if ever). To me, its been easier so far than the lapband which is a bit insane lol, to be honest. My surgeon's been very happy with how quickly I've progressed. I think having lost so much weight and quit smoking has definitely made a huge difference in how I'm feeling today! Also, having Kellie tell her experience just three weeks ago made it so much easier to know what to expect!! That really helped sooooooo much!! I'll post more soon - but thank you ALL for your kind words and well wishes. Its meant to much And a big thanks to Kellie for posting for me and the messages while I was in hospital!! Phone messages were wonderful cause I was oh so bored lol.