Leah28

Oh, I am so excited today. I am one kilo off my second goal - 25kgs down. I lost a kg this week and didn't do ANY exercise cos my personal trainer is away so the gym is closed!

Yep, going through it right now. Thankfully I had really thick hair to begin with, but it is very thin (for me) now. My best friend and fiance have noticed it, but no one else.

Hey Tarob. I went back to work about 12 days after the operation. I sit at a desk mostly too. 12 days was plenty for me - you could see how you go after a week. Sitting was pretty uncomfortable for me for about a week after the op, I had to keep leaning on pillows and sitting at funny angles!

It was very, very trying... I didn't have much restriction and I wasn't exercising enough. I got myself a pedometer and made myself do at least 10,000 steps a day and then I finally started losing again! Ha, just saw your start weight Jess. I started at 135.6kgs, so just 100gms more than you. Down to 112kg now, loving it. Can't wait to be under 100 though! How tall are you? My personal goal weight is around 80kgs - I'm 178cm tall, and carry a lot of muscle so I think that will be right for me.

I don't actually live in Adelaide. I live in Roxby Downs, but obviously am in Adelaide a fair bit for band appointments (and to go shopping!). I am really happy with my level of restriction after my fill on Friday. I think I am finally at my sweet spot! Portion sizes are smaller, and I am staying full for much longer. Its great! I'm almost at 25kgs down, over halfway of what the clinic wants me to lose. My personal trainer is away this week, so will have to make extra effort on my own to keep the loss happening. Don't get put off by not losing any weight Jess. I had 5 very frustrating weeks when I didn't lose anything! Your body is still recovering, anyways. They say the first 6 weeks are for recovery, not weight loss. I know its still frustrating though!

Glad you finally got some fill, Trish. 5ml is a lot first off, but if you had none then a good amount. I had 1.4ml in at surgery. I got another fill tonight. Dr Bessell did it himself and got the needle in no worries. He did itunder fluroscope but said he didn't think it was necessary, so don't know why Dr Patroney had such difficulty on more than one occassion! I now have 6.3ml. Though hoping my band hasn't leaked cos Dr Bessell was only able to pull out 4ml. I doubt it though cos restriction hasn't dropped that much. I just had some room service spaghetti bolognese and it went down fine. Will see tomorrow if I have any extra restriction!

Congrats on being banded! I had bad nausea too. They were considering keeping me in hospital for a third night because of it. It eventually went away about 4 days after for me, so hope for you too so you're feeling better over the weekend. I haven't been told not to drink anything with caffeine - in fact coffee and tea were two of the liquids listed on my meal plan for the liquid phase! I suppose all clinics have their own rules though. Best of luck with your recovery.

I don't think I would have survived 4 weeks of liquids... I still can't stomach even the thought of Soup, I was so over it by the end! Especially cos I was getting really hungry after about 1.5 weeks. Anyways, welcome to all the newbies! I am going to get my 3rd fill on Friday. Dr Bessell is doing it himself because of the difficulty they have with my port. It got twisted sometime between my first and second fills. Don't know what I did! Hoping to get another 0.4ml at most. I have 5.8mls in now and am almost at my sweet spot, but still getting hungry about 2 hours after eating and can still eat a fair bit. Weight loss has been steady but that is more because I work my ass off in the gym than from food restriction.

Hi Ms Poochie, I have PCOS and one of the reasons why I had the op was to better my chances of conceiving. I was banded on 4 Feb this and have just gone off the pill to see if my periods become regular, like they were when I was a much lower weight. Will let you know how I go!

That's great that you have a date now Tarob. Like Jess said, the time will fly. I had my initial appointment in September and had to wait till February for the banding (because of work restraints) but the time flew and I was banded before I knew it!

Hi Jess, welcome Yes, Dr Bessell is a bit more expensive, but I ended up going with him because of the extras and the great follow up his team offer. Its great to be able to call the dietician whenever I need to. I wonder why the psychiatrist wanted to see you another 4 times? Did they want to see you another 4 times before the operation? I only saw her once before, and have regular 3 monthly follow ups for the first year.

Hey Megsy, sounds like you are going great! I am almost there with my fills... Going in next Friday to get a touch more added. Sitting at 5.8ml now and have pretty good restriction, but could be better and also still needing to eat between meals. I know how you feel with the clothes, but I love it at the same time! I bought some new jeans on the weekend, size 18 down from a 22-24 before the op. All my other jeans kept falling down or were so baggy they looked terrible! Haven't really been noticing a massive difference on the scales, but my clothes and measurements tell a different story, so very happy with how I'm tracking at the moment.

My port is about 1.5 inches above my belly button in the middle. For me, fills really, really hurt. Not the needle, but when the doctor presses on my port to find it and hold it still. I have had lots of trouble with fills and need to get them done under the fluroscope because my port is a little twisted. But don't let me scare you - for everyone else I know with a band, getting a fill is relatively painless, I just lucked out :smile:

I agree with 2flyguys. Lots of people have lost well over 100 pounds with a band so don't know who has told you it isn't "entirely effective for large weight loss". I want to lose around 125 pounds all up. So far I have lost nearly 50 pounds. Its all about making the band work for you. It is no easy feat to lose weight with or without a band... I still have to constantly monitor what and how much I eat, and I work my butt off at the gym 6 days a week. Maybe I could lose weight with bypass surgery without having to do all that... But I'm not comfortable with permanently changing my stomach. I'm much more comfortable knowing that I can have the band taken out if I ever need to.

Wow, Trish, I am totally jealous of your weight loss lol good for you though! 20kgs is incredible in such a short amount of time. Well worth a new gold bangle, in my opinion :smile:

I've had trouble with this a lot... I was banded on 4 Feb this year, and I still struggle with what "full" feels like. Before the band I would eat till I was uncomfortable... Which is very bad with a band... But I still do it! I have had to start measuring my food again to keep the portion sizes small. My doctor said that "satisfied: is about 2 mouthfulls before you are full... But how the hell do you know 2 mouthfulls prior?! Guess I'll just have to keep on trying!

Hi Tarob. The idea of the band is, ideally, that over 2 years you will lose 2/3 of your excess weight. So Just say someone was 80kgs overweight, then they might lose around 50kgs, but still have another 30kgs left on. One of my friends got a band 7 years ago. She lost 50kgs but is still over 100kgs, and is still trying to shift some more weight. That said, it is very easy to eat badly with a band. chocolate, lollies, soft drink, alcohol... All that yummy but bad stuff passes through the band without a problem. So its possible that your work mates sister doesn't eat well and probably doesn't exercise. I have lost 22kgs so far, but it has been by no means easy. I have to constantly watch what and how much I eat and work my ass off at the gym. The band is a great tool if you use it to your advantage, but if you get stuck in old, bad habits it won't help at all!

Good luck! Optifast is the worst part, in my opinion. Cottees diet chocolate topping mixed in with the choc shakes are the way to go. That's what got me through. Don't even bother trying the soups or desserts... I couldn't even get one spoonful of either down.

One of my friends had a band put in about 7 years ago and her doctor has recommended she get it changed next year - this is because she has one of the earlier bands and her weight loss has stalled for years. She initially lost about 120lbs but has maintained her weight at around 220lbs for a couple of years now. Her surgeon thinks she will go better with an AP band. Apparently there is nothing wrong with the make up of her band physically, except that its the older type.

I felt like absolute crap for the first 3 days. I was in hospital for 2 nights and was almost going to ask to stay for a third cos I felt so terrible!

I'm three months out and right on cue, my hair started falling out. There is more on my bathroom floor than on my head some mornings! Luckily I have very thick hair, so it isn't noticeable, and hopefully it won't be. I agree with the pre-natal Vitamin recommendation above. My dietician told me to try Blackmores Conceive Well Gold. Expensive, but hey - cheaper than a wig! Hope you find something that works for you soon.

Before the op there was no way I could make myself vomit. Now, if I get something stuck (which is pretty regularly because I am still getting used to the band!), if I lean forward over the sink/toilet and dry wretch, up it comes...

As said above... One week out from banding is definitely NOT the time to be eating any kind of solid food. Most surgeons recommend at least 2 weeks of liquids, then 2 weeks of mushies before starting on soft foods, then gradually introducing other stuff. Usually you have a fill around 6 weeks after being banded - so between weeks 4 and 6 is when you can try those things you want to try (this is going by my post-op rules, though. You should definitely follow whatever your surgeon recommends)

Yes, any of those shake diets will work - if you want to stay on them using their "maintenance" phase for the rest of your life... Those programs send your body into ketosis, and that is NOT healthy for a prolonged period, you would need to be constantly monitored by a doctor. As was said above - once you start eating normally again, back comes the weight and usually more. I think you'll find that nearly everyone who has a lap band has tried at least one of those programs before but still went with the lap band because long term success isn't really realistic...