Goannabanda

I started out here as "minifyeme" - because I had a dog called Mini, and I really want to be shrunk - i.e. "minified". However, I've had the nickname Goanna forever - because my first name is Anna, and I'm an Aussie. I'm in an amateur band (play flute & sing), and with LapBanding, decided that "Goannabanda" describes me better. If anyone wants to use "minifyeme" - go for your life! My stripper name would be Tricksey Justin :heh: :biggrin1: :faint:

Way to go jacilyn, and good luck KMO & BigGirlPantiez!! jacilyn, is this your first baby?? do you know if boy or girl?? dish the details to us (please!) - babies are the greatest!!! good luck over your last few weeks pregnant, and for delivery. let us know how you go. My surgeon said the band won't slip in labour, as it's stiched onto your stomach. He says the biggest concern is vomiting - which I did daily for the whole 9 months with my son... ...I also had v.bad heartburn - maybe both of hese were caused by being so big before getting pregnant (I was 118kg at conception, 126kg at delivery, 115kg walked out of hosp...). I already have that tummy flap thing happening - At least with weight loss, I won't get any more strechies on my body next time! ha ha ha. Looking forward to seeing all of us in baby-land soon!

It's beautiful, and will be an investment you'll cherish forever, way longer after you forget how much you spent, or how hard it was to fit into your house. I know from direct experience - the gorgeous oak bedhead we bought when first married didn't fit into the bedroom of our house - we couldn't open the bedroom door properly for 4 years, before we had enough cash to get a folding bedroom door fitted for the next 4 years spent in that house. We were devastated on the day the furniture came home, but quickly got over it. Now we wouldn't change it for the world. It's the only decent furniture we've bought in our married life! Everything else was inherited, hand-me down, flat packed or bought "just to get through the having small kids years". PS We've moved house and now our bedhead it fits perfectly into the new master bedroom. PSS Our old bedroom door made a great computer desk - we added legs and a computer hutch purchased from Ikea - the door handle hole was great for the wires to drop through... ...we used it like this for another 6 years, until recently :-)

There are terrific new tampoines available here in Australia now - they're about 10ft to 15ft round shape, and come with safety pads, safety nets and a ladder. Some even have a weather cover too. We are in the process of buying a tramp, for Santa to deliver on Dec 25 (lol!), here's what we found out that you should look for: a good quality mat (lasts longer - the best are American made), as many springs as possible (better bounce), largest mat as possible (safer, better bounce), safety nets fitted via a sleeve (not tied on - easily broken), safety net poles that extend all the way to the ground (for rigidity), highest weight rating possible (some ar up to 400kg) as many support legs as possible.

Update: I met with my surgeon yesterday - he said the following things: That you had to wait THREE months post-op before getting pregnant, to allow your body time enough time to ensure it's healed from the surgery. After that, the longer you could wait, the better. Regardless of how post-op you are when falling pregnant, you need to get UNFILLED right away, and aggressively manage any vomiting / morning sickness. HOWEVER, apart from a BMI of 51 (!), I HAVE NO OTHER DISEASE OR COMPLICATING FACTORS. I imagine that the advice would be very different if you were MO AND suffering heart problems, diabetes, poor circulation etc etc etc. Obviously, you should check with your own doctor / surgeon for case-specific advice. My hubby and I are very encouraged about this advice :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: , and have decided that I should go ahead and get banded. I've started on the pre-op testing and preparation - and getting excitied about our new life!!! Good luck to all of us who want to have little Bandlets!!! Would love to hear from anyone in a similar situation to me!

***OMG!*** :roll: :roll: :roll: ***rolls on floor clutching sides*** :pound: :pound: :pound: ***can't stop laughing*** Test 9 - I fail that one every time!

Trizzy, I join the chorus of hugs to help you feel better. Most of the rides are probably made in countires where the larger body sizes are average to western lands... Keep your eyes on the prize, and look forward to riding without humiliation in future! I hate flying at this size - it's really humiliating to have to ask those toothpick-thin flight attendants for a seat belt extension... ...as nice as they are about it, they'd never know how BAD it feels to have to ask... ...and the arm rests of seats jabbing into your thighs... OMG... ...and the radio / seat recline buttons getting buggered up everytime you wiggle in your seat... ...not that movement with size 26 hips jammed into an airline seat is a possibility in itself:cry ... ...pain, pain, pain all the way from Point A to X, Y and Z! QUESTION: :help: I was wondering if riding roller coasters and other gravity-defying / high speed spinning & twisiting rides can make the band slip? From the replies to this thread, I guess not. If anyone knows for sure, please let me know. I hope not, cause my brother in law and me are going to go to MovieWorld when I'm skinny and ride EVERYTHING!!!! :biggrin1: :biggrin1: :biggrin1: :biggrin1: Hubby & sister-in-law are too chicken - they can babysit the kids hahahahaha!:biggrin1: :biggrin1: :biggrin1:

Notebook magazine here in Australia published an article in this months edition about Anissy Levy, an aussie who got LapBanded. she and the LapBand were well represented and very inspiring. She sounds like an intelligent lady - and the article in no way made little of obese people's problems. Check it out online: http://www.notebookmagazine.com/you/article/417/Stopping-the-weight-gain

Ariel & KMO, Thanks for your info :tea: - hubby & I have talked it over some more, we'd be prepared to wait 6 months and then try for a second baby - it probably would take us 3 to 6 months trying to fall anyway, which would give us 9 to 12 months post-op. I'm not wanting to try and lose weight while pregnant or anything (I'd get unfilled ASAP, and actively manage pregnancy with medical advice etc), but I would like to shift some of my weight before I do get pregnant. I already look 8mths pregnant, and that's a look I haven't been able to change for the 5yrs since my beautiful son was born... ...I'm not looking forward to carrying both my "fat baby" and a real baby around in there! Being big and pregnant - apart from the physical discomforts and risks - you feel so stupid, and as if people are looking at you thinking "I can't believe she's having a baby - at her size!", or as if they're scared you're gonna die right in front of them. I just want to change some of that for the better. Depending on what the doc says when I see him on Friday, I'll go ahead and get banded now. I'd be prepared to postopone a baby for just a few months longer if need be, but am equally prepared to postpone the band until after the next baby if that really is best. (Then just the third baby can be a band-baby!). KMO - good luck with the band and the third baby :heh: - it would be nice to keep up and see how we both go. I'd also like to hear more from other "wanna be" or "has been" :bowl: pregnant bandits...

Just wanted to bump this thread... ...I'd like to hear more from members regarding bands and pregnancy. How long did you wait? Did your band slip? Any other band related complications? I'm worried that the band would slip during labour and delivery (remember how hard I had to push to get my son out... ...just about popped by brain open! lol!!!) My boy is 5, hubby & I both want another baby, in fact were "working on it" until I had a weight-related melt down and freaked at the thought of being pregnant at this weight. GP docotor thinks I'd be okay. ObGyn said losing some weight would be better (duh!), but it just won't budge. I put on 15kg (abt 35 lb) and 5 years of age since my first pregnancy, and am not feeling as young or fit as I used to... ...on the other hand, if I go ahead with banding now, I don't want to wait 18 months!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please share your thoughts!!!

Reading the memorials pages on the Obesity Help site did it for me - it's the lap band or no surgery for me. There's a lot that can go wrong with the other surgeries, and they often fail after a 3 to 6 years (as I've read in the published research). I don't think that other WLS outside of LapBanding are performed all that often any more here in Australia due to the demonstrated risks and documented poor performance of these proceedures when compared to the LapBand. Environmental and health risk assessment is a large part of my job - and therefore I am fairly familiar with the dialogue around risk factors, relative (or "Real") risks, etc. Applying some of those risk discussions to your own body and LIFE while contemplating surgery is raising some interesting issues in my little world - I always knew I was conservative and risk-averse - but didn't think I was this conservative... Weighing up the benefits and risks of what to do next - whether to have surgery or a baby is challenging! At least the type of surgery to have is clear to me now.

Thanks Fee. I've read up on their site, now just waiting with butterflies for Friday... I've got so many questions to ask, I'd better get around to writing them all down. I thought I'd do this at the start of a Band journal. Sounds like a good idea for tracking progress / issues etc. Hope to chat again soon. Cheers!

What about home made bread? How well does it / not go down? Is it any better or worse than ordinary bought bread? We make wholegrain bread in our machine... ... unbanded I can't eat more than 2 slices (and I can eat like the proverbial horse! lol). It's very filling, I imagine once banded I won't be able to eat more than a couple of bites of the stuff... I LOVE bread in all it's forms, and will find it hard to give up. As I am really the only bread addict in our house, I'm wondering if it's time to try and get the Datsun 120Y back that I traded to get the bread maker...

Wheetsin, You are a daughter to be proud of. If one of my family were in need, I'd hope that I have the financial means and generosity of spirit available to help out (like you obviously have in loads). Whatever happens, you must not be deceptive or pressuring about this - having such a surgery is a big decision for your mum, and no doubt you will feel at least some responsiblity if she goes ahead. Open and honest communication, and then leaving it to her to sort out (as you have done) are in my opinion, the best way to go. Having her read the thread, or writing her a letter or scrapbook of memories, hopes and dreams for your mum might be meaningful for her too... Good luck, both to you and your mum!

What?? We all fell out of eucalypt, mealaleuca and leptospermum trees down here in OZ... .. but according to the survey, I fell from the WEEPING WILLOW (Melancholy) - likes to be stress free, loves family life, full of hopes and dreams, attractive, very empathetic, loves anything beautiful, musically inclined, loves to travel to exotic places, restless, capricious, honest, can be influenced but is not easy to live with when pressured, sometimes demanding, good intuition, suffers in love until they find that one loyal, steadfast partner;loves to make others laugh.:biggrin1: All true, of course - although not too sure about the men in my life... DH fell out of a MAPLE TREE (Independence of Mind) -- no ordinary person, full of imagination and originality, shy and reserved, ambitious, proud, self-confident, hungers for new experiences, sometimes nervous, has many complexities, good memory, learns easily, complicated love life, wants to impress. DS landed out of a POPLAR TREE (Uncertainty) -- looks very decorative, talented, not very self-confident, extremely courageous if necessary, needs goodwill and pleasant surroundings, very choosy, often lonely, great animosity, great artistic nature, good organizer, tends to lean toward philosophy, reliable in any situation, takes partnership seriously.

Wow! So different to our Aussie homes... Congratulations. I'm so jealous! To buy something like that here would cost, and cost, and cost... and cost... ...... ....and... ...cost some more.

I am now known as: Gunwalls Ethel tee hee hee!

Way to go!!! ...I dream of changing the "2" for "1" in my "24". You are almost there, keep up the great work.

Mvpo8961, thanks for your message. Great work on the new eating habits and weight loss! I find it hard to believe all the stories about post-band life - like your restuarant story! I am having trouble imagining myself doing anything other than my current food habits.... ...however, i already relate to the food getting stuck stories - I sometimes find I rush or gulp the first few bites, and stuff gets stuck, causing a "PB". Usually because I am trying to talk at the same time as eat!! lol I find that having just ONE small sip of Water immediately before I start eating helps - although I hear that this is a no-no with the band. I'll have to learn new ways!!! I think the wait for a band here in Oz is about 3 to 8 weeks, if you have private health cover, pay the gap fees yourself, and don't have any other health probs that need to be resolved prior to surgery. I have heard its average 2yrs+ wait on the public health (Medicare). I am debating whether to go and get banded now, or if to put it off for now and have another baby first. Going to discuss with the surgeon and ObGyn. GP (medical doctor) and hubby both think I should have the baby first. I'm worried about the effects of weight loss on pregnancy, and possible band complications during pregnancy / labour. Meeting with the lap surgeon on Friday. Then we'll see.

It's all so sad I could cry... Sounds like the dad could do with cleaning out his ears, and start to LISTEN to what's being said and done around him... We have a family friend who does similar things with her son, saying, "oh he won't eat this, he won't eat that, he only eats potatoes and meat" etc etc. basically making all his food decisions for him. They're both as big as houses. Her hubby was too - until he left her, and lost heaps of his weight. For me and mine, I try REALLY hard not to impress my views of food onto my family - so that they don't end up like me. I try not to dish up too much (maybe this will bea easier post-banding...), and also try to promote positive messages about food - eg. never saying to finish all on the plate, not labelling food as "good" or "bad", encouraging wide choice of healthy foods, appropriate / inappropriate times for meals and snacking. In Australia dieticians have recently started talking about "traffic light foods" to aid children's nutritional learning - Red = occasionally (less than 1 per week), Amber = sometimes (few times per week), Green = everyday. This is a simple concept, and wish that we were taught in a similar manner - maybe wouldn't have so many diet & weight issues now... hmmm...

I can't believe it - I found my Iron tonight for the first time in at least 6 months (surprised it wasn't rusty!) - but only to iron the cover for an Ikea footstool that I bought today to PUT THE FITTED SHEETS IN!!! Ha ha ha couldn't believe it when I found this thread - you girls are hilarious! I agree - the only way to fold the darned things is to tuck all the corners together - then I usually lay the sheet on the floor, bed or table so I can get the side flaps to fold in straight. Or if hubby's around, I get him to grab the other end, and we finish folding it "airborne". Still - we often just get a sheet ball at the end, so maybe I'll just start shoving them into a pillowcase. Don't laugh - I've even considered hanging them up in the wardrobe on skirt hangers!

Thanks for the welcome message Myra, I am looking forward to releasing the thin girl from under all this fat! I'm also looking forward to learning a whole new set of attitudes and habits related to food. Eating like my 5yo looks kinda fun - but I guess I'll at least have to use my knife and fork! ha ha ha!!! I note that you got banded in May. How are you going with the new lifestyle? Cheers, Anna.

Hi all, I am new around here - nervously hoping to be banded soon.:nervous I am meeting with a doctor later in the week (Mr Chris Hensman at ESV, Mulgrave). I posted a rambling intro to the Introduction section of the LapBandTalk site, so you can read up a bit more about me there if you like. I am really nervous - so many questions and issues running around in my head - but the more I read and learn (thanks everyone!), the more certain I am becomming that a band is the right tool for me. I'm looking forward to travelling along with the "Band". I'd love to hear from anyone - especially if you have experience with ESV / Knox / Dandy Valley and their repective support groups, or if you have become pregnant after the band. For now it's in God's hands... Anna.

G'day from Melbourne, Australia! (sorry - I'm a metric girl - 140kg or about 315 pounds) (sorry also for the long first post - there's a lot to say to begin with....) I am SOOOO glad I found you all on this forum - reading your posts over the past week, and viewing all those inspirational before / after shots has helped me in my decisions and plans immensely. God Bless you all for sharing and caring so much:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: - I hope that I may contribute to the forum as well as the benefits I'm already enjoying. I'm 34, a mother of one boy (who's 5), married to a WONDERFUL man (he always cheers me on, and thinks I'm sexy however I look! Bless him!). I work part-time as a consulting environmental scientist. I have been thinking of getting banded for over a year - but only just started to discuss it with my hubby. I got a referral from my GP this week, and will meet with surgeon later this week (with Mr Chris Hensman at EndoSurgery Victoria, Mulgrave).:nervous I have fought the battle of the bulge since I was 16 - when my mum joined me at WW - since then I've been the classic yo-yo ride of WL support systems, diets and pills. Depression and control issues with food haven't helped either (Man! How do I relate to some of the stories posted to the forum!) I want to GET OFF THE ROLLER COASTER - NOWWWW!!!! My weight has hovered around 135kg since just after my son was born. My hubby was made redundant from his job at the same time, so my emotions and eating were all over the place for a LONG time. I maxed out at 138 - 140kg during last year.:omg: I'm currently around 132kg. (I'm so ashamed...) The thing is, until recently, I've never felt big or heavy. Because I'm a pear-shape, and therefore most my fat is on my legs / hips / rear end, it's kind of "out of sight, out of mind". Only this year have I felt too big / fat / tired / slovenly / unfit / "insert any other of your favourite self-depretiating terms here" (they'd apply here) to get off my but and do things - even things I love to do like play with son (who can run like the wind) or gardening. Cleaning the house even feels like too much effort... I feel like that a lot of the emotional baggage I've been carrying around has been put down over the past year, and is now GONE FOR GOOD. :clap2: Hubby and I have a stable, Christian marriage, we have a loving home life and good jobs and career prospects. It was a long struggle. I also feel like I'm able to finally put down the bags I've carried siince school days, feelings of insecurity and inadequacy (God knows why I have them in the first place, but the mind is a beast...). I honestly feel that if I can make a break in the weight gain-loss cycle, and lose the excess weight once and for all, that I'd have a great chance that the fat would also be GONE FOR GOOD. I guess none of this is new to many / most of you in LapBandTalk land. Anyway, it's these new feelings about myself that have shocked me into doing something more to lose the kilos- enter the LAPBAND - dadadadaaaaaa!!!:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: My hubby & I REALLY want more babies - but right now I'm too scared of complications / dying to contemplate getting pregnant yet. I can't seem to lose the 15kgs and 5 years of age I put on since I had my son... The desire to make some new people for our family to love is also contributing influence to my decisions right now, but not the main motivation. Initially, I'd like to get down under 100kg before trying for another baby, and then after that continue on towards an ultimate goal of 60kg - 70kg (would be nice on a 5ft 4inch girl...). I think I was about 15 when I last saw my weight defined by a number lower than 70kg.:cry :faint: :help: I'd like to hear from anyone who has conceived / had a baby after LapBanding (how soon after can we go for it - I've heard 2 years, but that's too long!). My GP suggested we had a baby (or two) first, and then the LapBand - the way I feel right now, I don't think that would be sensible - I can almost feel diabetes or a heart attack at the thought of it!:sick Also, I am really nervous about how I will adjust to the Bandster's lifestyle given how much and how often I eat. Feelings of hunger / fullness / satiety etc are almost meaningless to me right now. I'm looking forward to changing this, but for now, the thought of restricting food volume and types fires up those old feelings of rebellion!:hungry: :angry Thanks for the inspiration so far - looking forward to chatting with you again soon!