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Angel Eyes thats a full on PB lol awww horrible isnt it I went and ate some chicken tonight (I know I know) at 5.30pm its now 11pm and its still stuck, though its not a pb no saliva etc but its lodged and its going NOWHERE *sigh

my mum is 78 and was totally against me having ANY operation, so I got all the "why not try to eat less" (wish Id thought of that one) and so, I told her we were going away to stay with a friend for a few days and off we went, the afternoon after I got back from the op I rang my son and he went and told my mum that I was ok but Id had the operation ! she understood that I didnt tell her so she wasnt worrying herself sick for those few days, and never reprimanded me over it, in fact, when I got back she paid for the operation!!! I was also slated on the brit version of this site by a few people because I was going to belgium for my op, to the most experienced banding surgeon in europe, and he was also a third of the price than in the UK. I was told Id die on the table, if, like my british surgeon had suggested, I didnt lose 80lbs first, I was told I wouldnt make it home, I was told I would get no after care in the UK (true) but I go back to my Belgian surgeon for fills etc because hes GOOD. I cared not a jot and went anyway. what did they know?? they didnt know me or my circumstances, maybe it was just a coincidence that the only ones that slated me were the ones who couldnt afford to pay for the band but were having to wait for the NHS to operate on them, ( I was quoted 6 years wait) !!!!most of the other members were very supportive. you did what you had to do, and thats that, if your old enough to bring up kids, pay a mortgage, etc, then you are old enough to decide what you do with YOUR body. Its a bit stupid them not talking to you AFTER you had the band fitted did they expect you to go back to Mexico and have it removed. In fact, next time they criticise you, say "oh ok, well its $20,000 to have it removed if you are so worried perhaps you would pay for it to come out" watch them shut up jealous??? absolutely

companies, all companies are in the money market, not the food market, Ford isnt in the car market they are in the money market, if you see what I mean, and if these companies cant get at your cash to get you to buy "stuff" then sure as hec they will get you through your stomach. dont know about banning the ads, cos as soon as you go into a supermarket the food is there looking wonderfully appetising etc I think better labeling on food on the front of the pack and not in blue writing on a purple background in the tiniest font they can find would be a much better idea, so we KNOW what were giving to our kids and ourselves.

I couldnt sleep on my side or tum for about a month then It was fine I hate sleeping on my back so it was a bit of a nuisance at first.

I know how you feel, though Im not depressed about it Im fed up to the back teeth, I have lost over 100lbs in a year am I happy?? NOOOO cos I wanted to lose 200lbs in a year !! never mind, it will come off its just a pity it doesnt come off as fast as it *^&**&&*^* goes on isnt it ?

bread rice Pasta unless I chop it up tiny, meat any kind even cooked to death with gravy is still impossible, anything with a skin, tomatoes prunes etc I dont eat anything I cant break with the side of my fork and I stay pain free even yoghurt is a bit gloopy and you have to eat it slowly can eat rice pudding though but not ordinary rice

Ive been banded for a year and have gone through all the above, Ive had a pulling sensation occasionally but not a clue what it is, I suppose its an "alien" body inside us and will now and again be able to be "sensed" the fills, well, they are a case of hit and miss until you find your "sweet spot" some people only need 3 to get there some need 15 its all a case of how your tum and band react. Ive had a couple of fills that did nothign whatsoever and a couple that have been marvellous, I think im possibly at the sweet spot now but cant really be sure. dont worry, once your fills get right you will be fine

I have looked at these pictures 3 times now, all 18 pages of them and am totally gobsmacked at everyone, you all look sooo fabulous and pretty and much much younger in a lot of cases. we should make them into a best selling book !!!

tell you what is really nice without bread indulgence is wrap a burger in a couple of crisp lettuce leaves and eat like a burger in a bun, honestly its really nice if you can eat finely chopped tomatoes on it as well, all the better I dont miss bread at all not one jot so Im very lucky that way

My mum used to say to me, slow down slow down and I thought she was just being a nag but once I got the band and after many episodes of pain I realised I had to slow it down and chew and taste my food the pain went, its amazing how fast we eat isnt it dont know about the timer but try chewing one hundred times and that should do it eventually it becomes habit as the fear of the pain is always lurking in the background so keeps you in check

BREAD !!! arrrrrrrrgh the pain ohhh the agony ahem, sorry nope bread is impossible for me

Its a new experience for me to buy 4 cream cakes and then, a few days later find them at the back of the fridge and have to throw them out!!! they would have been gone, 2 of them on the way home and the other two later on in the day. But throwing food out is a whole new thread !!! lol

if you drink during the meal, it will wash the food into your big tum much faster leaving you feeling hungry, it could also mean that if you have some food lodged and are about to PB the weight of the liquid on top of the lodged food will make the PB much more painful and last longer wait for half an hour after eating to drink. its much more productive and helps you lose weight much faster Ive found. dont worry, you will be so full after eating that you wont be particularly bothered about a drink. good luck let me know how the eating with your eyes closed worked

get your plate sit down, close your eyes and keep them closed take a bite of your food, put the fork down, keep the eyes closed remember and chew, lift your fork, take another bite chew keep going you will find that you wont know how much youve eaten, but you will be full up and will think youve eaten a lot and cant eat anymore now open your eyes you will see that youve eaten about half of what you normally eat :hungry: this is because your brain is now concentrating on the food not on what it looks like or subconsciously telling you to clear your plate. as soon as you open your eyes you will want more even though a second before you were full, dont eat anymore put the plate in the kitchen and wait a while the feeling of fullness with come back right away try it its really amazing

I have been asked this question many times, and as far as Im concerned they may as well have asked "why cant you just cough and cough and get better on your own instead of taking anti biotics for that pneumonia !! the band makes a small tummy at the top and leaves a tiny hole leading into your big tummy. the food goes into the small one and slowly slowly lets it drop into the big one and then gets digested as normal. so the feeling of being FULL is there very fast and stays there for a long time. THis is new to me because I never ever felt full. didnt know what it meant unless you talk stuffed to the gills like after christmas dinner. Now I feel full faster, longer and no longer think of food all the time. Im back in control, and can go for 5 -8 hours without even thinking of eating, in fact, I eat like a thin person eats, slowly, and enjoy the taste of the food (or not, as the case may be) Yes it would be far easier to not have the surgery and just eat smaller portions slowly and carefully but that doesnt mean that you wont be still hungry and thinking of more food as your digesting the tiny portion. the band is an exellent tool to help you lose weight if you use it properly and follow the rules, so ask your husband just how much hes paid for power tools, cars, and all the male paraphenalia they have to make life easier for the male species, you only have to go into a DIY super store to realise that there must be vast armies of men somewhere thinking of how to make life a breeze . ha ha shh dont tell him I said that

yes, I was so weak that I couldnt even lift a cup of coffee for myself on day 3 after the surgery, it took about a week for me to recover and feel normal again, then again, normal for me at over 400lbs was in a constant state of exhaustion anyway lol, but it goes, also hardly eating doesnt help. Ive found that if I get a time when I feel weak or tired, a few tins of slimfast over a day or so sorts me out, the effect is immediate for me. within half an hour of drinking a tin of it Im full of energy again, no doubt its the carbs. your 18lbs off is amazing CONGRATULATIONS

well, I can understand your misgivings but at the same time, if it were the other way around and your husband had your health problems and needed an operation that would make his appearance different would you deny him the op, risk his life just so he looked how YOU wanted him to look and stayed that way. even if it meant an early death? My husband has never seen me as slim (for want of a better word) as I am now, and hopefully in about another year I will be slimmer than Ive ever seen myself for many many years, and you know what, I love him dearly, I couldnt find a better man, but if he doesnt like me thin, plump, fat, super obese, anorexic you name it then thats just tough ! Id love him nomatter what he looked like, Id love him if I couldnt even see him anymore (as happened to a friend of mine whos sight went) so if he cant afford me the same loyalty and love, then fair enough time for him to move on. to be honest, I never took him or anybody else into consideration when I decided to go for the operation, it was for ME and only me, I was the one going through it, paying for it and though my elderly mother objected strongly as she was scared I would die on the table I told her she was being totally selfish, she wanted me to go on being super obese to save her a few hours worrying until she heard I was ok. Its your decision, your choice, nobody elses. Your love is based on much much more than appearance, so you have to give your husband the trust he deserves and know that he will love you whatever the outcome,.flabby skin, bingo arms the works. bingo arms never killed anybody, diabetes, high cholesterol ect ect have killed plenty. Your not overweight cos you were sick to death of being a size 6 so thought youd try a 4x for a change, your overweight cos you cant help it and cant do a thing about it, this is something you can do about it so dont let anybody or anything get in the way. good luck

mock ye not!! I had a 26" head measurement, hats were out of the question !! now its just under 22" and I can wear a hat !! not that I want to but its nice to know I can if I so wish ha ha ha

a PB is when the food just sits on top of your band and wont go into your top tum, after a few minutes, you begin to burp, then a lot of Water comes into yuor mouth dont whatever you do swallow this !! it makes matters worse, and dont go for a drink which is the first instinct. then if its a rather sever pb you will then start to bring up slimy white stuff and the pain will ease off, then some more burping, more slime until eventually the food that was stuck comes up. instant releif. its not vomit, it comes back the same way it went down (pardon me) not pleasant and after a PB its best to go onto liquids the rest of the day as your tum will be swollen and if you carry on eating you just have another PB !! should hav named this post PB's I have known and loved !!! lol:nervous

that the loose skin only forms where it forms, imagine if you lost weight off your head as I have done and you had loose skin hanging off your forehead over your eyes ! or bingo fingers !! or bingo knees, shins and calves-- even bingo toes:nervous also, isnt it great that the weight comes off each side, it could just as easily all come off one side when you think about it!! theres a lot to be thankful for when you consider the alternatives isnt there:clap2:

my poor man is totally bewildered by the whole thing, seeing as how a single cornflake will feed him for a month!! he didnt really want me to get the band cos he thought as I did it was risky, but since then hes been fairly good,. if I ask him if I look thinnner he says Definately but I always have to ask, he never just says it. then again they are looking at us every day and I suppose its hard to tell. as for people who say "I have the full support of my family" well, my mum says OH stop talking about it Im sick of it. friends say oh good when I tell them Ive lost more weight, they never ask, and I honestly dont go on about it to them I really dont. My sons when asked will say I look "a bit" thinner but Im on my own here lol if it wasnt for fellow bandsters I have met and become firm friends with and conversations with them re the various quirks etc of the band I would have had no support whatsoever. one thing I have noticed though, if ever I was late home, nobody worried., now, i get a phone call, texts constantly asking me where I am and if Im ok and I used to go on holiday every year with my girlfriends, now suddenly this year and well over 100lbs lighter, he wants to go on holiday just us two. mmm strange that isnt it ha haha

they dont say "thats X pounds OH but we will knock off 10lbs of that because its Water." but when you go on a diet or try to lose weight and you lose 10lbs they say naaaah thats water !!! :phanvan

its very frustrating isnt it, dont forget that you also have a lot of internal fat around heart, liver kidneys stomach ect and that goes without a nanoinch leaving the hips or bust or waist ive found that it has come off places I didnt know I had places, head ??? lost 4" around my head-- back of neck, feet gone down 2 sizes (yipee) and in a whole year and over 100lbs gone ive only lost 10" off my bust !!! rule of thumb if you want it to come off a certain place sure as hec it will be the last to go.

Ive learned over the year ive had the band to take a couple of bites, chew chew chew and then WAIT wait for a few minutes see what happens, if all is well, carry on slowly,. the food doesnt hurt at first you see, its a sort of build up, then when you keep eating it makes it worse and can be intensly painful. My surgeon told me to eat nothing that i couldnt break with the side of my fork and he was sooo right! he also told me to keep away from bread, chicken, meat of any kind, rice mushrooms and Pasta. I thought I knew better and suffered for it. but thats the knack, eat a bit and wait, if no pain carry on. good luck and dont worry, theres nothing wrong with you or the band its just because the food is sitting on top of the band and cant get through so your body rejects it by productive burping ick but it works. dont drink during the pb, its the first thing you want to do, but it hurts even more

ahh the fond memories of my first PB, like hanging over the sink and in between burrps screaming to my husband "CALL THE PARAMEDICS IM DYING HERE" !!!! all on a bit of sugar free Jello so as for chicken wings ect arrrrgh I can only imagine !!