elcee

What a thought. Good job your not a guy as I can imagine that would be their idea of heaven! Sitting drinking a cup of green tea then need to leave for the hospital. Will report back once I get home - I do not have a laptop or internet on my phone so I will be offline for a couple of days.

Trying not to think about my op tomorrow. Stupid really as logically I know it will all be fine but I'm still stressing!

OMG I think I have just had the worst eating day EVER. Before breakfast - 1 ginger nut (biscuit/cookie) Breakfast - 2 slices lean bacon ,1/2 egg, 2 mushrooms fried in spray and cook. During the morning. Snack size chocolate bars, crackers. Lunch - 1 thin slice ham, 1 small slice cheese, small bowl of cereal. Afternoon - another ginger nut. Dinner will probably be a couple of mini meatballs with I have no idea what followed by rhubarb and custard. Am I stressed or what??????? This is total proof that the band cannot stop you from grazing/stress eating etc. I may have burned some calories from pacing up and down and being unable to actually settle and do anything. I did attempt to iron but did not get very far. Rollon tomorrow afternoon.

I am trying to picture Melody with this knot at the top of her head . She may have to change her name. The first thing that springs to mind is Sumo but they are huge so that won't work. Maybe Kewpie - I don't know if you have Kewpie dolls in the US but that sort of moulded curl on top of the head makes me think of the knot.

Do you have allergies or post nasal drip? You may need meds .Otherwise you could try drinking a cup of warm tea or broth before you eat to help clear the built up mucus.

I also wear my rings on my middle finger, when I actually wear them. Weird thing is I'm not much smaller now than when I got them but they are really lose. Maybe your fingers just get naturally thinner as you get older too. I have put off getting them resized as my fingers differ so much from warm weather to cold weather that I don't know which season to have them sized for! As usual I have been reading but not posting. Melody please don't go - i love reading your posts . I agree that we should not measure success or failure by a number on a scale. That just sets you up for disappointment. Melody please post some pics of you at the wedding - I am dying to see how stunning you look. I am going for my hysterectomy on Friday. If you have shares in Kotex, Libra, Tampax etc I would advise you to sell them now as their sales are going to plummet. I calculated that of the last 80 days I have been bleeding for 63! I am so over it.I am trying not to think about the actual op as I hate going under. It doesn't matter how many times I've done it there is always that fear that maybe I won't wake up. And then of course there is the nausea and feeling like shit when you come around. But on the plus side everyone tells me that I will feel great afterwards so bring it on! I have been told that I do not need an unfill for the op which is good. The anaesthetist wanted to know if I had a lot of reflux but i have none so he is happy to leave things as they are. Wondering how I will cope without being able to drive. I am hoping to be allowed out at 3 weeks max as I am not very good when my wings are clipped. It will be interesting to see what the family cook and how late we will be eating. It's not that they can't cook but to have to do it everyday including during the week after work could be a challenge. I have a feeling there could be a lot of KFc, MCDs etc on the menu(yuck)! I thought everyone knew what the chicken Dance was! What did everyone think of Wills and Kates Wedding? I was a little disappointed with her dress - It was beautiful and elegant but I thought it lacked the Wow factor.

Yes I drink champagne. It is fine so long as I sip it slowly. Just make sure you don't drink it and eat at the same time - it will cause lots of pain/discomfort. I think getting married is an excellent reason to crack open the bubbles. Good luck with your big day. Imagine how amazing you will be looking.

Hi - if you weren't scared you wouldn't be normal. We all go through that before surgery. Who is your Dr? I am amazed that the first 1 said that about deaths , that would hardly have made you feel better. Follow your Dr's instructions. My BMI was only 32 but I still had to do the Optifast. I think if nothing else it gets you used to the liquid diet that you will HAVE to follow after surgery. As to the flying I have been told that you are more likely to have problems if your band is empty. When the band has had a number of fills the saline cannot expand in flight. If it does not have fills it has air which can expand. The best thing to do is to stay well hydrated, don't try eating the food(you will probably still be on mushies anyway) and if you are uncomfortable during the flight you should be fine once you land as then any swelling will go back down. Luckily for you the flight from Mel - Perth isn't too bad. You should try flying Melbourne to South Africa(via Perth) ! All the best and feel free to PM me if you want - I live outside Melbourne and am happy to answer any questions you may have.

It all depends on whether it makes you uncomfortable or not. I can drink bubbles without a problem but I do drink them slowly. I think if I tried to chug them down it would be highly problematic.

It has been discovered that the food doesn't sit there for as long as was originally thought. It is possible that you have eaten too much, too fast etc. What happens is that the food stimulates the vagus nerve and that can make it feel as though the food is backing up in your throat although it isn't really.

It can be . If you know that you have kidney disease of any kind then you need to be careful - get proper individualised dietary advice from your Dr. Not all Dr's emphasis so much protein. In the US they do - here in Australia we are just advised to eat a regular diet.

I'm at goal and I am no longer loosing. In fact my weight hasn't changed by more than a pound or 2 for months. I think that you eventually get to a level where everything sort of evens out. I haven't had to have any fluid removed but I am also able to eat a large variety of foods and in reasonable quantities. I feel that the band now is working for me the way I had hoped it would. It lets me act like a skinny person - that is I eat what i want when I want (within reason). I do not obsess over every mouthful. If I want chocolate I eat it but in much smaller quantities than preband. If I overdo it 1 day I cut back the next and I ALWAYS weigh myself every morning. I believe that doing that enables me to stay on track.

Just tried to read this to see if I could offer support. However because of the way it has been written I had to give up. With no paragraphs it is too much strain on the poor old eyes!

If it hurts it usually means that you are eating too quickly, not waiting between bites or taking too big a bite. Either that or it is a food that your band doesn't particularly like. Do not drink when you get this sensation. You may think it will help but it won't. It will actually aggravate the situation and probably lead to more discomfort and sliming.

I agree with the rest - take them normally.

Have you been exercising?

Restriction is not what you are aiming for. Satisfied is what you should be aiming for. The band does not restrict what or how much you eat or at least not in the way we would like it too. It will not stop you eating high cal, slider foods. It will not necessarily tell you that you have had enough but it will let you know when you have had too much but by that stage you are already in pain and/or uncomfortable. A lot of the control still has to come from your head. That is if you serve up a portion of the size and type of foods that your NUT has recommended with a properley restricted band you should be able to eat that and not be hungry again for 3 - 4 hours. It is a far different feeling to being full preband . EAT SLOWLY, MAKE SURE THE food IS SITTING WELL(YOU WILL GET USED TO THE SENSATION)AND THEN TAKE ANOTHER BITE. It sounds confusing but you will work it out.

Potatoes are good for you and they contain potassium which is essential for a healthy heart rate etc. They are only high in calories if you smother them in oil or butter. Crackers are also high in calories and a lot less nutritious than potatoes. I often use wraps instead of bread. Most of the time they are easier to eat. However if i want bread I eat it. I eat wholegrain breads as I have always preferred the taste of those anyway. It is a matter of experimentation and finding out what works for you and what doesn't. Everybody is different.

No you probably have something stuck. You said you were rushing and didn't chew properley , so there is probably a large piece of food lodged in your stoma. Eating or drinking at this point may aggravate it but you don't want to become dehydrated. Try taking small sips to see if you can drink, if you can't sucking on crushed ice may help - it usually helps me. Are you sure it is acid you are coughing up or is it excess saliva - the body's normal reaction when something is stuck is to produce excess saliva to try to slide it through. I doubt vey much that your band has slipped. See how you are feeling in the morning and let us know. If you can't get liquids down then you need to call your Dr. Don't panic i am sure you will be fine.

When someone finds the answer please let me know too. I also want to be able to eat Cookies, chocolate,cake etc without putting on weight. I don't want to exercise and I don't want to take responsibility for what I put in my mouth - that's too hard. I'm looking for a magic wand - maybe I should go to Ollivanders? Please don't tell me there isn't one. I can't lose weight by making healthy choices the same way everyone else has to. There has to be a surgery that makes it possible to do things my way. I'm happy to do what it takes - if not the lapband,then a bypass, sleeve or whatever so long as it doesn't involve me having to do the work!

OMG So much going on. Breakins, sick MILs, pregnancies !!!!!!! What can I say except commiserations, sympathy and congratulations. Hopefully I got that in the right order. It's amazing how much can happen in a week. I have been reading everything but as usual too lazy to post. Did someone mention the "E" word? Let's not go there. I am still guilty of not exercising. My son seems to be doing well. He is back at school and his eye seems to be healing fine, no infection or anything. We see the specialist again at the end of June - just before our trip to South AFrica. I had a major NSV this morning. Had to go to the gynae to reschedule the hysterectomy that I put off at the end of last year. She told me that as I am SKINNY and healthy my recuperation period will probably be around 3 weeks. What can I say - there is nothing that feels as good as being called SKINNY by a medical professional. Was wondering what Denise was talking about in one of her messages when she said that as a Federal employee she may not have a job soon. They explained on morning TV here today that congress are stuffing around and if they don't pass the legislation the wheels of govt will grind to a halt and that noone will get paid etc. Seems ridiculous and I am sure it won't get to that point but it is so typical of a govt to not be doing the job that they are supposed to be doing. We haven't got that problem - our pollies just lie blatantly to get elected and then do a total about face when they are in power. Hence our PM Julia Gillard is now known as Joo liar Gillard! BIn the words of the old joke "How can you tell when a politician is lying? - Their lips move". Hope everything gets better for everyone soon.

I agree - those symptoms do sound as though they could be heart related. Not something to mess around with. Go to ER NOW.

It sounds like you have a fever. I would get to ER or your Dr ASAP. To be feeling like this so soon after surgery could be serious. They need to check you don't have an infection and you probably need antibiotics. The lump in the throat could be caused from fill combined with post op swelling. If they have prefilled your band get them to take it out. Good luck, please keep us updated.

I have people calling me skinny all the time yet when I look in the mirror(naked) I see my stomach and it still looks huge. I have skinny legs, a flat bum, reasonable boobs but my stomach is still a mound and there seems to be very little definition at my waist. I have been told by my Dr not to lose any more weight although I think a few more kgs wouldn't hurt. So no I don't think I will ever be perfectly happy with my body but I am now at the stage where I can accept that it is GOOD ENOUGH. Especially when I see other people my age or close - I definitely look a lot better than most of them.

Glad that your problem is all sorted out. I have never heard of air in the band being a problem before(except if you fly when it is unfilled) but if that is what they found then that must be correct. Good luck with your lapband journey, I hope that everything now goes really well for you.