Fanny Adams

Hmmm... the toy idea doesn't always work. Fingers, yes! Go slowly, yes YES! But for me, I've never been able to get into toys there. They're just too hard and uncomfortable. My honey is well hung (9" and thick) and I was admittedly terrified at the idea of taking him there at first, although I had had a lot of pleasurable experiences in the past with less endowed guys. But even after 3 years, it still takes me a long while to work up to it with him and I have never like toys as substitutes or preparation, even though I enjoy then in the more usual place. One thing that my love does, that makes all the difference for me, is to hold himself still and ready and encourage ME to take all the control over how far and how quickly I ease into it. It can sometimes take a really long time before I relax enough, but when I do, it's oh boy! TAKE ME NOW!! Probably TMI for most people, but I just wanted to put it out there that toys aren't always the answer. They work for some, but if they don't work for you, that doesn't mean that the whole idea won't work...

I've certainly had the energy renewal!! And I look and feel different "down there" but sadly, no increase in sensitivity. I think that has a lot to do with my age (48) and generally things just getting less sensitive overall, not anything to do with the banding.

Hi Mimi - yes, I kind of dropped out of the loop for a long while, but lellow's tatt post caught my interest again :smile2:

You go for it, Lellow - the tatts look fantastic and I'm loving my boob job, so can highly recommend that too. Mind you, Bruce said the same thing to me re if you're dithering between two sizes, go for the bigger one, which I did but I'm kinda wishing I hadn't now. I wanted to stay the same size as pre-op (E cup) but I'm actually closer to an F now and they have dropped quite a bit in 12 months as they are quite heavy. Oh well, at 48 I'm not expected to have the boobs of a 20yo, am I? And I LOVE what he did with my bum - best part of the whole package I think. I'm seeing him next week to talk about a few minor tweaks/fixes but if I don't go ahead with those, I'll get the tattoos done before Xmas. If I do go ahead, I'll have to wait another 6 months for the scars to settle down again.

Yup - lingerie helps a LOT! Go to a good lingerie store and get fitted for quality stuff. It's more expensive but it makes a BIG difference. Stuff available online never fits properly when you have skin issues, and doesn't give the right support or hide the right things. Once you find that special something that helps you to feel sexy and disguises the sagging skin, take extra good care of it, so that you get your value for the money. It's worth it, believe me!

I know how you feel, coz it can be awkward. If it was me and it was a tampon, I'd probably just flush it (with all the attendant guilt feelings). If it was a pad and not easily flushed, I guess I'd have to go the 'wrap and toss' route. With any luck, the open waste paper bin might have something in it, so I could shove it to the bottom and hope it wasn't visible...otherwise I'd be using a LOT of their toilet paper to wrap and then probably put another layer of paper over it in the bin, LOL!

I can't say that I've noticed this but I know what I'm going to do with the heads-up!!! I'm going to have to tell Chris that there is a correlation and I need the stimulation to get the extra restriction, hehehehe!! :smile:

The vanity one was undoubtedly a major reason but I also really wanted to feel fit and healthy again. I'd gotten to the point where heaving myself up out of an armchair was a major obstacle in my life. I wanted to be able to fit into the seat belts on the plane & bus to work, carry my suitcases across camp without fainting from exhaustion or bursting into tears if, for whatever reason, I had to go back and get something. Most of all, however, I wanted to live to enjoy my old age. My "aha!" moment was in October 07, when I had been working on the mines for 18 months and had gained 18 kilograms (40lb) in that time to reach my heaviest ever weight. I was working on a spreadsheet, figuring out what I was going to do with all this money I was suddenly earning in the booming resources industry here, and making a "5 Year Plan", when I realised that, if I continued to gain weight at the rate I was gaining, I would have eaten myself to death in 5 years :thumbup: I decided that the money spent to get the band done ASAP was well worth it... and have never regretted that decision!

I can't believe how much energy I have these days. Before banding, I was seriously convincing myself that I had "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" or something similar. Turns out I was just fat, unfit and depressed - go figure! I had to pick 15 years younger because 10 years ago, I was gaining weight rapidly and really starting to feel old and tired all the time. To be honest, I haven't felt this fit and healthy for more than 20 years!

To take your questions one at a time: 1. Is gaining weight normal when you start to eat regular food again? Yes, when you've been on liquids for a while (pre-op + post+op), you empty out your alimentary canal and this accounts for probably 5-10lb of the "weight loss". You probably would have noticed a marked decrease in the amount of matter eliminated from your system. When you start to eat regular food again, you refill yourself and this will appear to be a 5lb weight gain. Don't worry about it - it's normal. 2. I'm worried about stretching my pouch. I haven't gotten a fill yet. Is it possible to stretch the pouch before the first fill? Stretching the pouch is something that happens through significant over-eating over a prolonged period of time, i.e. always eating the the point of absolute fullness (as far as the band allows) and doing it often. If you haven't had a fill yet, it is unlikely that you will have restriction, so you won't be filling your pouch much at all -the food will be going straight through into your main stomach. The likelihood of stretching at this time is very small. 3. How would I know if I did stretch my pouch? It's hard to tell but if you had a fill test (i.e. they take out the Fluid in your band, measure it, and replace it) and the test showed that the band was very full and you should have restriction, yet you were still eating large meals, that might be an indicator - not a definite, just an indicator. 4. Is there any way that it can be fixed or if I ever do/did will I have ruined my chances at this working for me? Yes, in the event that you stretch your pouch, there are several remedies that can be applied before you have to even start thinking you might have "ruined things". One simple remedy is to do the "5 Day Pouch Test". Search this site for threads on that - there are dozens. 5. Would someone know if their band slipped? If so how? One of the common symptoms is being able to eat a lot in the day but getting severe reflux at night, i.e. when lying down/sleeping. 6. Do weird things cause the band to slip or is it simply overeating or something like that? There are several causes but you'd be better off asking your doctor about that one.

I think you are being more than a little hard on yourself and, to be brutally honest, a bit silly really! Don't let your imagination panic you into fearing the worst when it is really not likely :thumbup: 4oz of anything, eaten 4 months after banding, is not going to "ruin" your band! Goodness me, if they were that fragile, most of us would have ruined bands by now and the whole idea of banding would have been deemed to be a poor long term option! Being always hungry is a good indicator that you need another fill, that's all. You've had three so far - great! Go back and have another one. You'll find that fills sometimes work for a while but then, when you lose a bit of weight, the band comes loose again and you need another one. It is a continual adjustment process and one that you will go through several times more, I'm sure, before you hit goal.

She's great, isn't she? I'm going back on the 10th of May, which is six weeks after my last fill. I would have gone back after only 4 weeks, except that works out to be the 26th of April, which is a public holiday for Anzac Day. I really need the next fill but will just have to hang out till May. At least it is more manageable than it was last month, but still no where near restriction yet.

Oooh I dunno, but 2.5 hours doesn't seem like quite long enough to claim that it is working :thumbup::thumbdown:

Retta, it can be frustrating but we get the hang of things eventually :thumbdown:. If you've been vomiting and/or getting really bad pain from getting stuck, go back to liquids just for the day and let your stomach rest. Over the next couple of days, work your way through the post-op phases again, i.e. Clear Liquids on the day of problems, thick liquids/soups the next day, mushies on the day after that and then back to solids. At each stage, assess yourself. If you are having trouble with mushies after 1 & half to 2 days on clear/thick liquids, you may well be too tight and need some Fluid taken out. The "sweet spot" is when you can eat small solid meals and not feel out of control with hunger; it doesn't eliminate hunger altogether. By the way, my doctor says that if you are too tight to eat in the morning, take advantage of that and skip breakfast. He says that even though the nutritionists don't like that idea, they are thinking more about people who are not carrying a lot of excess weight. As obese people, we are in no danger of malnutrition from skipping one meal in the morning and should save the calories up for later in the day when we are hungry again.

You should be fine with Maria. She was great - listened and paid attention to what I was saying, unlike Bowater. I could not only eat a bowl of rice, I've been eating 3 course meals - Soup, mains (including rice, Pasta, steak, whatever's going!) AND dessert, with bread on the side!! EEK!! Trying desperately to make good choices for the mains but even with all that, Bowater threatened to take some fill OUT! This last fill has made it a little easier to have some measure of self-control, but I can still eat anything and lots of it, if I'm not careful. I'll do what I can this month and go back again until we get it right!