Jachut

I had a small unfill taking me from 3 to 2.8 about four months ago. I wasnt having too bad symptoms, but I just got very tight, to the point where I felt I wasnt eating properly and I was embarrassed by how little I ate when I ate with others, started to worry every time I had to eat out about whether it would go down etc. I figured i didnt need to be that tight for maintenance. I also had just the teeniest bit of mucous everytime I ate, after I while I noticed I was clearing my throat all the time. Since I'd lost all my weight, I figured there was no need to push it on the tightness, so I went and had a small unfill. The unfill made no differnce for about three weeks. and then suddenly, it just let go and I was wide open. I suspect that some period problems I'd been having, which resolved at the same time, were the cause of my random tightness. I managed to maintain my weight for a good three months but over time, I've really had to work to control my appetite, its amazing how much difference just .2cc can make. Over the last 3 weeks, I've finally gained about 4lb, so I'm getting the fill back in today to see how I go with it this time. Its ALWAYS sensible to unfill. Being too tight can damage your band. Get some out, let things settle and then refill if you need to. As you can see, a 4lb gain is not much to really worry about, that'll probably be gone by this time next week, and its as much to do with how busy I've been and have been doing a bit less exercise as a result. Dont hesitate, if you need it out, get it out and let your band and stomach settle down. Its also rather a nice holiday from being restricted *guilty grin*. I've rather enjoyed what I've been able to eat but it cant go on for ever, lol.

I lost weight without going below 1500 calories so I dont know whether that's the reason, but I went through a period of being freezing - it lasted months. Now I dont feel freezing all the time but I need more clothes than I used to. I never used to take a jacket just in case but now I do. Its coz you've lost your insulation.

The band is silicone. which is inert in the body when its solid.

wow - bitter much? Dont worry Kat, everyone who knows and loves you knows that you are the most sensitive and respectful person around. Everone else needs to realise that this is a PUBLIC forum and anyone can post anywhere, and that sometimes, particularly if we use the new posts feature we can inadvertanly post in forums we dont realise we're in. But there's a certain pattern to successful bandster hatred - it always comes from the same people and those ARENT the ones willing to face reality and take on board good (and well meaning) advice. Nobody's here to crow about how great they are, success is something you only really have at this hour of this day, we're all recovering obese people and even bandsters who are now thin have periods where they're far from successful! To suggest that they're only here to lord it over others is pretty offensive.

The slim fast in Australia has only 3g of protein and is full of sugar, its not really great. I assume its different there, since I cant imagine anyone actually recommending that you replace your meals with sugary low protein shakes!

that's garbage - its quite alarming some of the crap doctors can spew at you. It just shows that you need to inform yourself because they are as prone to bias and misnformation as the next person and I think it pays to remember that these are surgeons getting into the weight loss game - their expertise is SURGERY not necessarily nutrition. I'm 5ft 10, so its a fair bet to say I can eat more than you can and lose weight. But I also no doubt have a larger stomach, and a larger appetite, and larger bones, muscles and organs to nourish than you do so that evens it out.

I really heartily dislike the Protein shakes on the market here, they all have a distinctive taste. Meal replacement shakes you have to be careful of. I continue to use Optifast - the vanilla one - because its well balanced and with some fruit blended into it makes a good Breakfast for a bandster - I can eat in the morning, but like most, its not my most hungry time of day. The thing is with a meal replacement rather than a protein supplement, you've got a host of other important Vitamins and minerals. I'm not a low carber, I defend my carbs, lol, but its nice to have a breakfast you know is high in protein to get you through the morning, chocful of vitamins and minerals and has my daily requriement of two pieces of fruit blended into to it to boot. So many things to not have to think about at my other meals. Not sure if our Slim Fast is the same as your Slim Fast here in Australia - but reading the label, its a pretty worthless food - crappy amount of protein, like 3grams, heaps of carbs all of which are from sugar. I'd avoid that one. Same with most of the other ones available in the supermarket. We have Tony Ferguson and Celebrity Slim which are both pretty identical going by the labels and very similar to optifast, and much more tolerable taste wise. I guess its down to what you prefer taste wise, and then you have to read the labels carefully if you go for a meal replacement shake.

You're going to level out after that fast initial loss, no matter how much you are eating. most people find they slow down markedly and even regain some when they get onto solid foods. Over the next week or two it will probably settle. Then, long term, you can expect to average 1 or 2lb a week. The lapband isnt really designed for super fast weight loss, although plenty of people achieve that. What will probably happen is that you have a fill, lose a bit faster for a week or two, level out then it sort of falls off and its time for another fill and you repeat the cycle.

I had a chronic bursitis problem in my right heel. it was very painful. It started as an injury, when I started powerwalking to lose some weight and overdid it. It never went away and over a year or so became chronic so that I was limping nearly all the time and starting to do stuff like get in the car to drive from the bottom of the shopping centre to the top just to get to the bank or whatever, because I didnt want to walk through the centre. Weight loss helped a LOT. Not completely. I also have sciatic problems on that right side and there is some sort of muscular or biomechanical abnormality that folloows right along the chain, either the hip is out of line causing me to overpronate that foot or the foot is overpronated, affecting the hip. But big weight loss and lots of acupuncture has cured the heel pain entirely, and the back bothers me way less than it used to. I mean, i can run regularly without more than a bit of hobbling in the morning - after a long run I feel about 100 years old when I get up the next morning. So overall - yes weight loss has helped heaps. Hasnt fixed the problem entirely but reduced it from debilitating to merely annoying.

Man, these stories make me cross! Where do these guys get off? Do they think they are God? How can he possibly know YOU, and how determined you are? He cannot assume that you'll be a stastistical average and anyway, his statistics are pretty dismal and not really reflective of reality. I can only suggest that if you've researched the band and have decided its what you want, then you find a doctor who is supportive. He sounds like he just plain prefers to do bypasses and he's trying to steer you there for his own purposes. What is realistic is that often with a band, unless you're dedicated and prepared to really work your diet and to exercise regularly, you wont lose ALL you're excess weight, its more common to lose 60 to 70% of it. That's not becuase you cant lose more but because a lot of people cant or wont change their lifestyles in the way required to lose 100% of excess weight and then there's a lot of people whose bodies simply wont give up that weight. You will probably lose slower with a band too, a more moderate 1 to 2 lb a week. by the way, I've lost 120% of my excess weight and I am no "perfect" dieter. I eat a carb based diet (wholegrains only of course), never drink Protein shakes and refuse to have a protein heavy diet - that isnt prescribed in australia anyway. I'm doing what I'm told by my surgeon and what I believe is healthy. I think the main reason I've been successful is that I run an hour five times a week. So you dont even have to live on starvation rations, diet strictly and spend four hours a day in the gym to lose all your weight - I have a perfectly enjoyable, doable and normal lifestyle.

I think its about a LOT more than just weight. Beautiful people are usually beautiful heavy and thin. There's lots of thin ugly people that have happy relationships. Looks have little to do with it, its finding the right person for you and that can be very hit and miss, and something you probably despiar of ever finding if you werent lucky enough to find it easily. But that said, with weight loss and the body confidence that comes with it, I think you change a lot and project a different air - one that's a lot more attractive. And also, we know its wrong, but people (and even those of us that are fat ourselves) assume an obese person is lazy, slovenly etc. I know that I have to consciously TELL myself that that is not true and that half the obese people walking round out there work full time jobs, have much cleaner houses than I do etc. But I definitely look more "pulled together" now. Clothes hang right, I just look more tidy overall and I think that in the same way, that makes people assume I'm organised, together, energetic - not all of which is always true! I get a lot more superficial male attraction now, for sure. I get honked at when I'm running (man, I HATE it!), I get eyed up in the shopping centre and at work, men go out of their way to talk to me. Its satisfying, yes, and if you're wanting to meet someone, it does increase your chances I guess. But a good relationship still comes down to the personalities involved. I also know, the people I find attractive, its for undefineable reasons and has very little to do with classic good looks, its always about a little something that appeals and you already have that for the right person. dont lose hope, it just hasnt happened yet, its not that you dont deserve it, because you DO.

I had fantastic restriction after surgery that lasted about eight weeks. Since then, I've had what I needed to work with but I'm very immunbe to overfill, pbing, getting irritated etc, my gut is cast Iron and doenst react badly to anythign. I can even still eat bread with 2.8 in a 4ml band. So not really related.

I think the vanilla is better than the chocolate. I quite like it with a strong coffee flavour, and you can add extra vanilla or coconut essence or low calorie syrups. The chocolate is disgusting. Actually, I dont mind Optifast and i always have a box of the vanilla shakes ready - because I like them with banana and Peanut Butter blended in for Breakfast - not allowed pre op though sadly.

Oh golly, I'd be really really careful about using Gorgeous Getaways. There's been some horrendous reports on botched up jobs and difficult aftercare. I know that Chickie ended up getting most of the cost of her tummy tuck covered due to visiting a reconstructive surgeon rather than a costmetic or general plastic surgeon - it all had a medicare item number. She's rarely here these days but perhaps if you seek out her username and PM her? In Australia, you have to do it the right way and approach it as a reconstructive thing, which given the weight you've lost, shouldnt be hard to argue. So speak to your GP about that rather than just asking for a referral to anyone.

Um, those models are like regular models - freaks of nature helped along by a few surgeries and a lot of airbrushing. Everyone who is thin does not have nice neat labia. If you're an "outie" you're going to stay an outie. Unfortunely, like with the rest of your body and weight loss, things are likely to look a tad saggier once the weight is gone. That's what light switches are for, lol.

This is a hard one. I had a small unfill a while back because I thought I was a tad overrestricted - stuff was hurting, but I wasnt pbing and sliming all the time. In hindsight, even nearly 3 years into my journey, I think I was failing to eat slowly and carefully enough for my restriction level. good restriction to me has very little to do with only fitting in half a cup of food and not being able to eat bread. Its a point at which you're not hungry all the time and you're losing weight with the amount you're eating - even if that's six cups of food! Or maintaining easily as my case was. I think for a lot of people though, that point doesnt come until you've reached a point where you have to eat a lot more carefully! But its a fine line between whether its making your life a misery or not - I was getting nervous about eating out and in front of everyone and I'm not really prepared to go that far. I want a normal life. Its individual really. But I think people worry about not having reached their 'sweet spot' because their restriction doesnt match what they read on here and that's utter nonsense, many are at personal sweet spots and dont even realise it.

I would imagine an air bubble could make you quite a LOT more restricted than you would expect at a certain fill level. It would create quite a lot of pressure in there. I think you just have to sort of see what happens now, its a bit hard to anticipate how tight or not tight you might be now that the air is gone.

There's another thread on this at the moment too, in Australia, we dont really do Protein first. I actually make veges at least of equal importance if not more - when I'm eating my dinner I eat as much veges as I do protein, I certainly dont eat half a chicken breast and then find I'm too full for the veges. I think in general bandsters arent eating enough veges. Our nutritional recommendations here are at least five different veges every day, and 2 fruit. That's really hard to do, particularly if you're overly focussed on protein foods. What helps me: blend some fruit into a smoothie for Breakfast - or your Protein shake if you drink those. Kills two birds with one stone without challenging stomach capacity too much. Eat some salad for lunch most days - a salad, or I often have wholegrain crackers with avocado and tomato on them - with some cheese or tuna two. three different steamed veg with your dinner. As a bandster, the serving sizes will be smaller than ideal, but that's how I do it. But like I said, I dont do protein first. of course, where possible, have your protein as a bean or legume and that also kills two birds with one stone.

I agree with a couple of things above, first and foremost I think you need to be realistic about what a healthy rate of weight loss is and you also need to be realistic about just what a band can achieve - if you need a fill due to hunger then you do, but you have to do a lot of the work yourself as well. Also, you cant keep having big fills. The more you have in your band, the smaller the fills get, in the end very very tiny fills can make a big difference. As to pulling out the Fluid to check how much is in there, the doctors in my clinic are trained NOT to do that. Prof O'Brien believes that doing that routinely is what causes the irritation that leads to so many overfill issues and the need to baby the band with liquids to mushies after a fill. I get filled on top of what I have and ONLY if I had a reason to suspect a leak would the fluid be withdrawn. Not doing it is definitely not negligent practice. If they withdraw all your fluid before filling you its entirely possible there's less in there than you think. Also, maybe they missed with the .5cc fill. And coming off your depo shots could have made a HUGE difference, hormone levels affect the band markedly. Hope you figure it out.

I agree with Wasa, you've already proven you have the determination and drive to do brilliantly with a purely restrictive procedure. On that strength, I wouldnt even look at a bypass, I'd go the sleeve. Personally, my band has been trouble free and if I had a slip, I'd consider banding again first and foremost if that were possible, but I think I'd give the sleeve a good hard look and if rebanding isnt possible,then I'd definitely go the sleeve.

No, its nothing to do with your port, its just to do with your build and where you carry your weight. And the older you get, the harder belly fat is to shift, younger women often struggle with their lower halves especially if you're pear shaped like me and have never had a real belly. But once we hit menopause and middle age, the belly fat arrives! It will go eventually. But I guess like how I feel about my backside, to get your belly the size you want, you may have to have REALLY skinny arms and legs. I'm deciding whether I want a small bum or a skeleton face.

Its a date! Broccoli and apples at a fancy restaurant!

Personally, i consider getting enough vegetables more important than getting 60 grams of Protein in every day! When i eat a meal, I mix everything on my fork, so I get a bit of a vegetable and a bit of protein. I dont do protein first. I dont think eating a chicken breast and then being unable to fit in veges is a healthy meal. So I eat them together and if I'm getting full, I focus on the vegetables. As it is, even though I'd eat probably a cup in total of maybe 4 veges a day I still dont think that's enough. In australia we're recommended to eat 2 fruit and 5 veg every day and I dont get through that. But I do prioritise fruit and vegetables over protein. I often have a salad for lunch too and that ups the vegetables to over a cup. I am not much on Protein shakes, but I do often (maybe 4 times a week) make smoothies for Breakfast because I find fruit hard to eat and blending it in with milk and yogurt is a good chance to get some berries, banana, pineapple, mango or whatever I have in the fruit bowl in to me as well. When I'm happy that I've had enough fresh food, then I'll comfortably eat protein foods and carbs. The what have you eaten today threads horrify me to be honest.

Sure, today is a pretty typical day for me For Breakfast I had a bowl of muesli, that's organic untoasted stuff, not sugary supermarket muesli. I had about half a cup with about 1/4 of a cup of skim milk. Mid morning, I had a cup of coffee and a banana For lunch I had three Ryvita crackers with avocado, cheese and tomato on them - I can eat a lot at the moment, I would prefer to be happy with two of these! I had a skim latte this afternoon at the shops dinner - MIL and FIL are coming, MIL has made a chicken casserole - generally her cookings is pretty healthy, it will probably have a Soup base, some veges and chicken in it. I'm providing the rice (brown naturally!) and steamed veges. I dont think I'll do dessert, I'll put out a cheese and fruit platter, which I would plan only the barest nibble at. I'm sure I'll have a glass of wine or two. I worry less about wine, and cheese and stuff like that these days as I've reached goal - when I was losing and a bit tighter than I am now, I would eat the same but simply smaller portions. Whilst I *do* eat rice, I do agree that its probably the least valuable food on my plate, oftentimes its there for decoration only so my plate looks nice! I usually fill up on the veges first, then the Protein food and only then would I eat a starch like a potato - barely ever do I really want it. That's a fairly typical day for me, you can see that its not low carb but its more complex carb based than it is protein based. You could beef it up by having eggs for breakfast instead but I've tried shooting for 60 grams + of protein a day and it makes me feel really sick - bloated and gassy,its just too rich for me. My digestive system just likes fibre and carbs, so I stick with them. I've still got all my hair and I have plenty of muscle. Maybe I could of lost faster, but I dont really care from this end of things. I will occasionally have a piece of cake or a muffin or something as a treat but not more than about once a week, even less.

Whilst *technically* the band has no window as do other surgeries, I'd agree that it has. That first 12 months was phenomenal, I've never lost weight as steadily as that before. It wasnt amazingly fast or anything but steady and dependable. I'd encourage anyone to really make the most of their fist year. I'd say the window is as much a result of our own motivations as anything physical. I'd like to lose another 5kg (12lb give or take) and it seems ridiculous that I've been trying for a year to do it. But the reality is, I'm already thin and I just dont have the motivation to care enough to really put some effort in like I did when I felt fat, disgusting and out of shape.