Parvathi

o0o good luck ladies!! I'm not quite ready to join this one, as my lil girl is leaving me next Monday to go to the states for a month. I'm a big ball of stress (or so my chiro says) at the moment LOL. Going to spend this week spoiling her rotten so that when I hand her over to the grandparents, they'll know what it feels like *grin* But after she's gone, I fully intend to get to the gym more, as I've been slack the past two weeks. So save me a space, please

Sometimes it takes a while for a fill to "kick in". I've had it take nearly two weeks, then WHAM - I could feel heaps of restriction. Going on liquids after getting food stuck is always a good idea, just to let things settle. I would call the doctor regarding the temp though. Its probably just a coincidence, but better safe than sorry, as I've never heard of a PB and temperature coming hand in hand... Hope you're feeling heaps better soon.

I was definitely a wreck before surgery. My two biggest fears were:- What if I get this done & still don't lose? I felt that banding was a last resort and didn't want my hubby and daughter to think I'm a failure. What if something goes wrong during surgery?? This one haunted me from the minute I started researching and only got worse as the date got closer. I wrote my daughter a "goodbye" letter just in case. Before surgery, I showed the surgeon and the anesthesiologist pictures of my lil one so they'd know to take good care of me lol. One thing you've got to keep in mind when reading these posts though is, the majority of people who have been successful and hit goal, aren't here posting anymore. They're off living their lives and too busy being thin lol. You'll mostly see people here who are:- Researching, same as you Starting their journey Middle of the journey Having problems with the band and need support I wish you the best of luck on the 16th You'll do fine!

I haven't had a c-section, but I had kidney surgery when I was 15 months old. Cut from hip to hip. As you can probably imagine, it wouldn't have been a large scar at that age, but as I've grown, so has it. It still stretches from hip to hip. I've never in my life had a flat tummy. So alas, I have the 'overhang' .. bleh. Going for a tt next year, as well as a breast reduction. Can't wait!! hehe.

Ask your doctor. I was fine riding a bike two weeks out and started water aerobics then too. Just take it easy and stop when you feel like you need to (no reason to push yourself right now).

Get something to fix that as soon as possible lol - even if its just juices (pear, prune, etc). Seriously, the drugs you're on right after surgery can stop ya up (they did me for sure!) and it hurts like heck if ya let it go longer than you should. My poor coworker did that (even though I told him lol) and ended up impacted, in the hospital, getting a soap suds enema. He wasn't a happy camper for quite sometime *nods*...

My bedroom is on the 3rd floor of my house and I made it up there fine... several times a day, right after surgery. Sure, it hurt a bit, but so did sitting and laying down lol. You'll be fine Just make sure you have someone there with you... take it slow and easy. Good luck on the banding

Sheesh woman - slow down!! You're making me look bad LOL. Congrats - that's absolutely fabulous

Congratulations! I had trouble breathing after surgery as well. I'm a smoker, so that'd probably be why. It hurt to take deep breathes, but they insisted I do it, so I did - 4 times an hour, I took about 15 really deep breathes. They also had me walking around alot and up and down stairs. That helped. By day 3, I was feeling heaps better. I was showering the next day, as all the wounds were well covered and I hate a day with no shower/bath lol. Hope you're feeling heaps better soon.

When I first spoke with my doctor after being banded, he told me that on average, they wanted patients to lose:- One-Third excess weight in the first 6 months One-Half excess weight in the first 12 months Two-Thirds excess weight in 24 months He said to try for as much as I could in the first six months, because after that, it would slow dramatically. I saw him today for a check up. In 9 months, I've now lost over two-thirds of my excess body weight (-75lbs). He said he reckons that if I were going to slow down, I would have done it already and that my success so far makes him think I'll travel along like I have til I hit goal (155lbs or there abouts). I can only pray he's right. If I do slow down, you'll see me here whinging about it LOL. While all of that is well and good, after losing just 25lbs, I was feeling better than I had in ages. I was able to sleep well at night and my sleep aponea had all but disappeared. I was healthier and happier. If I never hit my goal, I'll be extremely disappointed, but I'll still be 10 times happier than I was before I was given this wonderful little tool. Good luck with making your decision.

I too, was concerned about this. I lost 15 lbs after surgery on the liquids/mushie phase. I gained a couple of lbs when I started eating solids. But after the first fill, they started to fall right back off and I've been on a downward (albiet slow) slope every since. The liquids/mushies are very important though, to allow your body time to heal and your band time to situate itself without any bumps.

September 06 - 207.0 September 12 - 205.0 September 19 - 200.6 September 26 - 199.5 October 03 - 198.1 October 10 - 195.5 October 17 - 193.0 October 24 - 191.5 October 31 - 187.8 Today, November 07 - 186.9 As of today, I've met my - 20 lbs goal for this challenge (only just LOL, but I'll take what I can get) I'll try to get the hubby to take a picture this evening. The poor thing, he's become my official cameraman :/ heh. I used to hide from it and now beg him to take snaps of me.

Monday, November 7, 2005:- Weight - 186.9 Under Bust - 33.5 Waist - 32 Hips - 45.5 Aunt Flo ensured I didn't lose as much as I'd have liked to this week LOL, but that's okay, cause I stacked on two kilos during the week and had them back off before weigh-in today.

When I have this happen (and it pops up every so often for some reason), a cup of warm tea about five minutes before eating usually does the trick. It also seems to happen when I'm stressed...

Porcln, I'm very sorry to hear of your struggles. I wish I had some good advice for you. You'll be in my thoughts.

Pffft .. I reckon you're plenty nice, charming and interesting. Bugger what that says LOL.

35 .. don't think its too spot on at all though..

Ryan, thanks so much for sharing your story. You eloquently put into words, what so many of us struggle with - giving up 'the act of eating'. I too, turn to food when I'm happy, sad, depressed, undecided .. you name it, food was my comfort, my obsession. I'm concerned by how I will deal with this during the holidays, but knowing that all of you are here will make it that much easier I'm sure. Congratulations on your accomplishments!!

Anwyn, at the beginning of being banded, I was having the same mental demons as you. I often wondered if I would always see myself as 'the fat girl in the room'. It was probably about 6 months out that I finally started to come to terms with it. It just takes time. I got out my old before photos and sat down to have a look. As they say, a picture says a thousand words. It spoke volumes to me. The mental part for me, really was the hardest part though. You're doing sooooooooo well though. Try to keep your eye on the goal. Its going to take time, you're going to slip up along the way, but you WILL get there.

Congratulations Debby - you're doing wonderfully! I can't wait til I look at my pants and see size 12 stitched into the label lol. Keep up the great work

Congratulations, Estela. Can't wait to see the pics - I bet you're looking even more fabulous! If you feel like company, I'm up for a challenge to lose 10 lbs by Christmas

Wow Ruthie - no wonder they noticed!! Looking fantastic - congrats

Bleh - how rude of me!! Forgot to say a HUGE congratulations to SuperDaddy!!! I'm still a slave to the demon caffeine and really can't see myself even attempting to give it up lol. Good on ya!

You need to host the pic somewhere online (ie it needs its own url), then add it to your signature by clicking on the lil picture of a mountain under the User CP>Edit Signature bit(that lets you put in the url for your picture and makes it stick).

Very sorry to hear about the erosion, Francesca. While I realize its probably not going to make ya feel any better at this point, from the last pictures I saw of you, you're looking absolutely stunning, so hey, you've got that My thoughts will be with you through the surgery. Oh .. and tell the hubby that a Saints helmet would look soooo much better in that space