Katydid

Hi Everyone, I was talking to another lapbander yesterday who was banded in May "08 and she told me that if a teaspoon is put into the stubby for a short while the gas goes out of the beer and it's easier to get down. Might try that when it gets into the hotter days. Wade, how did your appt go with your doctor? Any news? Best wishes to all, Katydid.:tt1:

Hi Pigglet, glad to hear your fill went well and that you have no leaks. I'm really not eating much at all anymore. I am taking a multivitamin tablet once a day and have felt less tired. I notice a lot of people on the US sites drink a lot of protein shakes so I might look into that. Like you, my clothes are feeling loose but I've not lost anymore weight. Smashed my car on Friday (backed out of the garage forgetting to close the door = distracted by parents having a scrap) not happy at all. I guess I'll get some walking exercise now eh!!! Sob, sob, sob.

Hi Pigglet, How did you go with your docters appt? Everything OK? What a fantastic result you've had, from a size 26 to a size 16 is fabulous. Good on you, even more so because even though you've still felt hungry you have shown control. Congratulations.

Hi Wade, Might be an idea to buy yourself a blender if you haven't already got one because most people have to steer clear of solids for a few weeks after the op. It's not that bad and the vegies steamed and pureed are quite tasty. Soups are good too, although not chunky ones for awhile. I even had ice creams and custards in hospital which I thought was unusual but great. In a few months time you won't even recognise yourself. Best wishes.

Hi Wade, Vomiting or Progressive burping as it is called on some of the lapband sites, is nothing to be afraid of, as it lets you know that you've eaten too much or too fast. Today I had a small portion of chicken casserole for lunch. Tiny pieces of chicken and slowly eaten and all is fine. The band can be removed at a later stage if you want it to be. I was 112 kilos and am now down to 88.5kilos. That's a loss of 23.5 kilos and people are noticing. I need to get down to 70 kilos. Another 18.5 kilos to go. I've only had one fill so far. I think I'll have to be more alert and eat earlier so I don't scoff. Everything is go, go, go all the time. Try not to get discouraged as it will be worth it in the end. When is your op date?

OOPs sorry, don't know what happened there. Double up.

Hi Wade, Good to hear from you. Try not to get turned off by the negative stuff, that's just part of the whole package and it's a total new learning curve. I was banded on 9th June 08 and I still haven't learnt to eat before I'm starving. This is where I fall down because I just grab anything, a potato pie, Maccas (no chips) or a Hot Dog on the run and because I'm starving, I eat too fast and therefore it comes up again. I am slowly coming to realise that I can no longer eat red meat, or sausages as they wil not stay down no matter what. Grilled fish is great and better for me anyway. I've gone from a size 22-24 top down to a size 16 and size 18 pants to a size 14. My face is no longer bloated and has lost the "Bullfrog/Toad" look I used to hate,especially my neck. I used to try to hide under big loose clothes and hated going out anywhere. The clothes I wore today, I haven't been able to fit into for four years (lucky they're a classic style) and I have to admit, I felt pretty darn good. I still have a lot to lose but I'm hopeful it will happen. I was an emotional eater, whenever I was sad or going through a bad time, I'd eat just to fill the empty whole inside me. Oddly enough, the extra weight that put on, made me feel even more down. Now I can't use that escape route anymore I have to look deeper into myself and learn how to adapt to stresses in other more healthy ways. I honestly couldn't have done this without the band. I'd tried every method going and always fail. This was my last chance and it's working. It will for you too. Best wishes, Katydid.:rolleyes2:

Hi Wade, Good to hear from you. Try not to get turned off by the negative stuff, that's just part of the whole package and it's a total new learning curve. I was banded on 9th June 08 and I still haven't learnt to eat before I'm starving. This is where I fall down because I just grab anything, a potato pie, Maccas (no chips) or a Hot Dog on the run and because I'm starving, I eat too fast and therefore it comes up again. I am slowly coming to realise that I can no longer eat red meat, or sausages as they wil not stay down no matter what. Grilled fish is great and better for me anyway. I've gone from a size 22-24 top down to a size 16 and size 18 pants to a size 14. My face is no longer bloated and has lost the "Bullfrog/Toad" look I used to hate,especially my neck. I used to try to hide under big loose clothes and hated going out anywhere. The clothes I wore today, I haven't been able to fit into for four years (lucky they're a classic style) and I have to admit, I felt pretty darn good. I still have a lot to lose but I'm hopeful it will happen. I was an emotional eater, whenever I was sad or going through a bad time, I'd eat just to fill the empty whole inside me. Oddly enough, the extra weight that put on, made me feel even more down. Now I can't use that escape route anymore I have to look deeper into myself and learn how to adapt to stresses in other more healthy ways. I honestly couldn't have done this without the band. I'd tried every method going and always fail. This was my last chance and it's working. It will for you too. Best wishes, Katydid.:rolleyes2:

Hi Pigglet, I agree with ozscot1, definitely have it checked out. I didn't know how they checked the Fluid until now, good to know. For the past four weeks I didn't lose a gram and I was not happy at all. I still throw up a lot especially if I eat red meat but the scales wouldn't budge. Somehow in the last few days I've lost 2kilos and I've done nothing different. I hope it keeps moving. Try to have time for yourself, I know how hard that is to do but it really is important for your sanity. If you ring Centrelink, they will send you out a Carers information kit to let you know what help is available. I've just received mine but haven't fully gone through it yet. Still clearing My folks house out. One thing I've discovered that I'm not happy about, is that I can't drink beer anymore. I love a cold beer on a hot day, a cold day too for that matter. I've tried having a stubby on two occassions since I was banded and both times it came up and was all frothy. Not nice. It's as though I'd poured it into a seive and all there was, was froth. So sad. I can however, handle a bubbly with strawberries slowly. Very nice but I still miss my beer. Best wishes to all. Katydid.:rolleyes2:

Hi Cherry Blue, My computer has been on the blink, wretched thing. Had a scan done over and around the long scar (had hernias repaired at the same time as the banding) fluid showed up which may be the cause of the pain. Last time I had the hernias repaired the doc drew 5 syringes of blood from my abdomen over a few weeks. Still can't keep much down but I'm trying. Only lost 1 kilo over the last four weeks. Hope you're doing well.

Hi Cherry Blue, Soothing to the soul to know that I'm not the only one out there who slips ups. It's mainly the constant stress for me. I have both elderly parents who have both had knee replacements within the past 5 weeks (Dad is still in hospital) and they're moving in with me. I'm also having to quit my business to be able to care for them which is sad. I'm having such pain in my abdomen right across from the port and such a lot of chest pain through wind and reflux through the night. That stresses me out too because I can't seem to pick up. Sorry for the "poor me" whinge, feeling somewhat down tonight.:thumbup:

Cherry Blue I know what you mean. I've had heaps of stress lately and although I can't eat everything in sight anymore I can drink bubbly. This obviously doesn't help with the wind caught in my chest = burping so I'll have to find another way to ease the stress load.

Hello, I was banded on June 9th 2008 by Dr. Tony Kierath (Perth) and I'd love to hear how others are going who were banded in the same month. I've lost 17kilos but have been stuck at the same weight for 3 weeks now. Have problems with pain in the chest through wind and burping. Have tried Gasbusters but made me feel worse. Any remedies out there?:lovechoc:

Hi Billiedaycare, I was banded on the 9th June 2008 and know exactly what you mean about feeling tired all the time. I mentioned it to my surgeon but he really didn't have an answer, so I asked if vitamins would help. He then suggested maybe soluble ones. Trouble is, I'm having trouble with wind pain in the chest and usually bring everything up. I tried Gasbusters capsules yesterday and ended up having an even worse night. I thought I'd have heaps of energy by now.

Hi Susan, Thank you. I'll certainly do that. For my first fill, he seemed to push the port up and flat to do the injection. I told him that it was sore there and he said that it would get better. I hope so.

Hi I am not exercising at all, mainly because at the same time my band was put in I had a double abdominal hernia repaired (4th one) and my other excuse is that "I Hate Exercise". My mother came out of hospital from having a knee replacement last week. My father had his done today. They are both living with me so, I'm constantly on the go, going to physio appts, food shopping, cooking, cleaning, fetching, picking up, washing, all the normal exciting housework stuff, and Oh yes, I run a Fancy Dress Hire Business from home as well, which means serving customers, cleaning costumes and wigs on their return, mending repairs and actually making the costumes as well. I guess I do get a little exercise in all that because I've gone from a size 24 top to fitting into a size 16 top today and it's not even tight. Couldn't believe it. Absolutely stoked!. Mind you, I feel it's about time to book into the funny farm for a rest before I drop. I also have sleep apnea and use a cpap machine but hopefully not for much longer. Good luck to everyone.

Hi, Could someone please explain how you know if the port has flipped ? I was banded 9th June 2008 and it has always been sore but lately it seems like a corner is poking through my skin.

Hi Bluezbandit, Thank you for your welcome. I've not joined any chat sites before so don't really know what to do. Good luck for your banding. So far I've dropped from tops sized 22-24 down to a size 18 and the pants from a size 18 down to a size 14 (with elastic waists). Weight from 110.8 kilos down to 92 kilos. Still a lot to lose but that's not bad for 2 months. I find the main discomfort is the wind/gas that gets caught in the chest like really bad indigestion and the reflux is not too good either. Will be checking with my surgeon on Tuesday about this. I wasn't warned about these nasties. Still, I guess it is early days yet.

Hi, I'm a novice on this site and an Aussie, not sure how things work but here goes. I had my lapband on the 9th June 2008 (2nd time) and have also suffered from really bad gas. The pain in the abdomen is really cruel and there is no hiding it when it decides to errupt. Sooo embarrasing. If I try to force the gas up I end up vomiting. Does this get any better? I've lost 17 kilos, not sure what that is in pounds. Katydid.