Bel

Hi Kyleigh, I was banded sept 2002 so maybe i can help? I did/do have the same issues as you do and have found i needed to be accountable for my eating once again...unfortunatly as time goes on it can be easy to not get fills and as the Fluid in the band evaporates a little you get less restriction and don't realise your portions gradually get larger. I went and got a good fill last week and am now down 1.3 kgs in less then a week. I started to think hey i can have a lil of this and a lil of that and got lazy, life also got in the way with a medical issue that popped up, i found a great help was to start from scratch. Get a fill and eat like a newbie for a week (baby the band) and be a concious eater again, concentrate on what you feel while your eating and stop when you get that soft stop. Unfortunatly i found you really just need to give yourself a kick in the butt and when you do get restriction again you remember what it was like when you first got the band. Pm me if you wanna chat :-) Bel

my 2 cents....when someone is referred to as a cheat it usually means they are in competition and are cheating to get an unfair advantage. Don't know about anyone else but i sure as hell never got the band to compete with other people! I got it to get healthy and enjoy my life which it has helped me do. Having a helping hand when you need something to change in order to save your own life isn't cheating, its using your brain to take advantage of whats out there. Sure it may mean i have help but where is the shame in that? at least i won't be dead and gone because i was too proud to 'cheat' So i am hear to say i am a proud CHEATER and if anyone has a problem with that i will happily go on my skinny ass way lol :-) Bel

Hi Sally, I just wanted to offer you some support...its important to remember that being newly banded your body is going through a lot of changes. You are also going to have the anastesia in your system still and can have it for up to 6-12mths which causes you to become tired more easily. When i was banded this was a huge problem for me. It is important that you take a good Multivitamin and a probiotic is also helpful, i found these things to be a great help during my first year. Having surgery affects people differently and you should try not to compare yourself to others, just take it slow and try your best throughout the day to get in some exercise...the more you do the more energy you get. Simple things like taking the stairs at first will make a difference ! It will get better :-) Bel

hmmm, good point. The directions i have are from when i was banded 8 years ago so there is a good chance it needs updating.. lol who knows you have me baffled now Although i do feel when i drink my band temporarily loosens and i can eat more if i drink immediatly before but that is just me

My doc says you can drink up to ten minutes before eating but you need the 10 min break because if you still have liquid in your pouch when you eat it helps the food slide through faster causing you to be able to eat more. Bel

hi Special, I am now 24yrs but i had the surgery just after my 16th birthday, if there is anything you wanted to know just pm me and i would be happy to help being banded 8 years and all through my later teen years i would hope i could answer at least some of your questions Bel

Hi Sarah! I live in Redbank Plains 2 OMG

omg i see Dr Duncombe 2, she is the one who referred me! The legs i am not entirely happy with because he does not lift the skin only tightens it around the leg....hope u know what i mean! anyway the recovery was harder with the legs as they are more prone to infection and i made the mistake of sitting down after having them done too quickly and it kills!

I had my port flip twice in my 8 years with the band, the first time i had surgery to fix it and i swear it is a piece of cake, its day surgery and your in and out, its like having a deep but small cut on your tummy and thats it (for me anyway) The second time it fixed itself after a few months (dont ask i have no idea how and the doctor was baffled) the only reason i didnt get it fixed was because i was pi**ed off it had fliped and was too stubborn to get it fixed again lol Bel

Dr Cockburn is fantastic he did my tummy tuck and removed skin from my legs (2 surgeries) one hint though, his name is pronounced CO Burn not COCKburn lol a mistake i made :-) Dr Cockburn can help with your insurance questions, for me it was around 3 years ago so i can't really help with that one but i don't believe it is considered reconstructive because it is something you can live with but you usually get it removed for cosmetic purposes hope this has helped Bel

My surgeon has always said as long as you CAN get Water in and can eat food you are not to tight, i personally feel im at perfect restriction. I can drink a mouthful at a time but i have difficulty gulping down several in one go if that makes sense Hope this helped

Hi, Im 24yrs, i have been banded 8 years next month. I tell people these days, i didnt at first because i experienced a lot of jealousy and lost a lot of what i thought were true friends because of it. Now i figure if they have a problem it's THEIR problem. Life with the band is great, i now do things i could never dream of doing when i was obese and i have many true friends. I love going out clubbing and drinking with friends and the band hasn't ever stopped me being able to get a lil um...tipsy with friends lol. My goals were to get healthy and be happy in my own skin. It did take a while but i got there, it is a huge emotional change and thats something you just can't prepare for. Hope i have helped, pm me if you would like to chat more :-) Bel

lol something tells me i wouldn't want to be around when you run out of coffee Jack! Unfortunatly for me i don't drink hot tea, coffee or anything herbal lol its either Water, iced tea or softdrink so i don't really get a lot of variety :-( I appreciate you taking the time to post!

Thanks for the response Jachut, i am giving up my pepsi max and iced tea so i can drink cordial but i am so super paranoid :-)

Hi all, This is a double post, i apologise but im not having much luck on the food and nutrition board :-) Ok so, about 6 months ago i started having a huge amount of difficulty drinking Water. I have been a good girl for the 8 years with my band i drink my 2lts of water every day but now i just can't stomach it, it is so bland and everytime i try and drink it my band tenses and it wont go down because i have come to hate drinking it so much. I switched to a low sugar cordial that i have more diluted then it says on the packet and i am able to get my intake in that way but after having people say to me cordial is bad for you i am wondering if anyone knows is it ok to have cordial instead of plain water? I mean i would think it would be better to have cordial then nothing but i dont want to look back in years with health problems because of it. I have tried all the other things like puting lemon in the water and stuff but i hate it lol Any advice would be appreciated. Bel P.S. im an aussie so a lot of products most of you use aren't avaliable to me here :-) Sorry about the spelling mistake in the title!

Hi all, Ok so, about 6 months ago i started having a huge amount of difficulty drinking Water. I have been a good girl for the 8 years with my band i drink my 2lts of water every day but now i just can't stomach it, it is so bland and everytime i try and drink it my band tenses and it wont go down because i have come to hate drinking it so much. I switched to a low sugar cordial that i have more diluted then it says on the packet and i am able to get my intake in that way but after having people say to me cordial is bad for you i am wondering if anyone knows is it ok to have cordial instead of plain water? I mean i would think it would be better to have cordial then nothing but i dont want to look back in years with health problems because of it. I have tried all the other things like puting lemon in the water and stuff but i hate it lol Any advice would be appreciated. Bel P.S. im an aussie so a lot of products most of you use aren't avaliable to me here :-)

Hi There, Brissie Bandster since Sept 2001 (8 years next month YEAH!) Just wanted to say hi to everyone :-)

This will be my 8th year with my band and life is great....i have been maintaining without a problem for years and it is a way of life for me now, i still get a little shock when people say something about how slow i eat lol because to me it is normal. I love everything about it and would never change a thing! I hope to have the band the rest of my life....being im only 23 i hope it will last me that long :-)

Hey, Sorry it took so long to respond, im working a lot lately. I work out at the gym 3-4 times a week for 30mins on the elliptical, its all i really need these days and i actually need it or i feel like crap. Shelley congrats on getting a date i think its fantastic you want to take this step! Feel free to pm me anytime Bel

Hi Katie, I know where ur coming from, i have been banded coming up on 8 years, i still burp like crazy...unfortunatly its usually from eating too fast or on the run and it helps the food go down. I would just do everything you can to slow down, if u do eat to fast and need to burp i would do it cause, really, why feel miserable? It takes time and concious eating, focus on ur body while you eat. Believe me it helps! I would like to give u some advice if you'll take it....Dont fall into the trap of thinking you need a fill everytime you fall because it may just be that you eat the wrong food which make you hungry faster, getting to the sweet spot is a bit like a carrot dangling...you want it so bad you just keep getting fills :-) Thing is im thinking that if your eating bad foods and 2 fast you wont know if your at the sweet spot because ur not following the rules and getting to the "sweet spot" where the band stops you eating crap may also be too tight to eat the right foods. Sorry for the rant but i have been there and if its not the case with you then just ignore me lol Bel

HI there, This year will be 8 years with the band for me, i find life now to be as normal as possible, i know my band and am tuned in to it more then ever....its easier because i know that today i may not fit in that extra bite or a certain type of food whereas i can tell if its possible the next day if that made any sense! I lost 99lbs, put some on over Christmas but its back off now and i find it effortless to lose when i follow the rules. I still crave things but they are managable because my mindset has completely changed :-) I dont pb unless im unwell or HIGHLY stressed cause i know my body better then ever. It was the hardest thing in the world, but looking back it was the thing that saved me from eating myself to death. I have days where i eat a packed of chips, but i bounce back cause i know the band will be there to help me. Bel

Hey Chris, Welcome!!! I live in Brissie and was banded 7 years ago in November, it is a very popular surgery in Oz but people seem to be less talkative about it, if you do some research you will find heaps of people with the band! If you have any Q's feel free to pm me and i will give you my email addy Bel

Hey all, Its so quiet here the last few days so i thought we could do something to liven it up a bit, how about sharing progress pics? If your gain....i will go first Before After

Welcome to the boards Stacy and congrats on taking the steps to getting the band, jump right in...everyone is really helpful and friendly!

Hey chickie! I totally know what you mean, i never realise just how big i was until i started to lose weight, i think realising how people had seen me for so long made me self concious! As the weight came off it got worse untill i got to a point where i looked in the mirror and thought hey i am not fat anymore...im normal, that and everyone complimenting you will eventually boost your self esteem. I think its totally normally to go through this. I would recommend doing things that make you feel good, like getting your hair done. It helped me a great deal. In time these feeling will pass trust me, in the mean time you need to work on loving yourself. Just think, you will never go back to that the only way is up; or down depending on how you look at it!