Well guys and gals I finally made it out the other side and am now officially a bandster!!!

Had a lovely time in Paris, pre op, walking aroung a truly beautiful city!

Banded on 21st March went down at 7.30am!! I was first on the list, and I have to say it was just as well as I was freaking out by the morning!

Anyhow it was all for nothing as I went out like a light and came around in recovery an hour later...

The doc was lovely, Very French!

On liquids now for 2 weeks then work my way through mushies on to solids.

No wind as such but feel a little bloated.....

Welcome back H,

Congratulations on your band. Glad it all went well for you and your not in

too much pain, look after yourself for a few days.

See you on the losing side!

Donna x.

oh how awesome is that? Paris is my 'most favoratist' city in the world!! congrats & welcome to band land!!

Hello..

I'm new here, this is my first post.. Donatella I see you have a big shamrock going on...are you in Ireland & have you been banded here? I'm in Clare:D & going to Manchester in April to have easy band fitted...

Hi Clare, welcome to lapbandtalk!!

Well today is day three post op.... Still on fluids and not too bothered about it I have to say. I'm not hungry. I have no pain to speak of. Wind hasn't bothered me too much post op... (I may be speaking too soon!) Am walking about doing housework (hate it!) Don't feel tired in the least. Surprisingly I feel about the same as I did pre op.... except for the plasters on my tum. I have minimal bruising that is limited to just around the wounds. Can't believe how well I feel really!

Only have one problem... I must learn to sip my drinks, not gulp, the result is massive burping, not an attractive trait in company I can tell you!!

So all is well in H's bandy land!! Still very early days and I expect that i'll be hungry soon enough!!!

Welcome to the other side. And good luck lunasa - I was banded at Manchester on the 11th [was going to have the easyband but if you read some of my other posts] I couldn't have it fitted because it would have been too big for my stomach so ended up with the lapband. Doing great now 2 weeks into liquid diet and can't wait for the mushies stage.

Swelling and bruising now almost gone and I'm 12lbs down already.

By the way anyone thinking of having the lapband - The Hospital Group have a special offer on at the moment - they emailed me yesterday as I had made enquiries there earlier this year -£6950 I think it was!!

I'm not sure I'm getting the hang of this site... A post is a reply or comment by the lloks of it... what's a thread and what do you do when you log on? I mean where do you go or what do you read?

I feel like an eegit but I have never used message boards before (that's what this is right?

Oh and about the easy band, I came across your post (?) about it being too big for your stomach... that sux as I have kinda banked on the remote filling of it! No likey puncture wounds:sick

Hi Lunasa,

Welcome. No Im not from Ireland, but very proud of my Irish roots, Im from a pretty big Irish family , mums one of 11 from Galway and dads one of 8 from Wicklow!

Im from Manchester but was banded in Belgium (much cheaper)!

Good luck with your surgery.

Donna x.

Thanks for that Donatella... how's it working out for you?

How's it for you too Anon H... you're only newly done.. I love Paris!

At the moment you dont wanna know!!!

Im not in a very good place right now and when that happens I eat whatever goes down easily! I know I shouldnt but just cant help it when I feel crappy. I have lost 28lb since surgery which I suppose is good but I want to lose a bit faster (never happy)!

I know the band is the best thing I have ever done and I will get over this blip, I have 2 banded friends who have lost 15st between them so I look to them for inspiration!

Donna x

I'm not sure I'm getting the hang of this site... A post is a reply or comment by the lloks of it... what's a thread and what do you do when you log on? I mean where do you go or what do you read?

I feel like an eegit but I have never used message boards before (that's what this is right?

Oh and about the easy band, I came across your post (?) about it being too big for your stomach... that sux as I have kinda banked on the remote filling of it! No likey puncture wounds:sick

Yes it does suck - I was really looking forward to not having the needles for the fills. But I am a low BMI and only [i say only!] about 2.1/2 stone to lose - only 4ft 11in too - but have blood pressue and joint problems so that is why I had the surgery.

The doc will do what he thinks best for you. I was having the band right up until I went down to theatre - two surgeons decided during the surgery that the easyband would be too big for me. So I guess they know best

funny you should say never happy Donatella... I lost 7st myself three years ago, only keeping it off for a year..but I looked fab.. I got so fit.. I had a personal trainer.. I was in a place I'd never been before & worked very hard to get there...but guess what? I wasn't happy... I never learned to get happy, I never gave myself credit & when I regained 7 lousy pounds I freaked out & spiralled to a place I knew best...eat, moan, eat, moan...now here I am with 6 stone back on & I can hardly believe I let it all come back coz I couldn't accept gaining 7 lbs!!

Are we so conditioned to being fat & miserable that being happy is probavly the hardest thing to achieve?

Hi Gc...

Thanks for that...did you feel like hopping of the surgery trolley when the surgeons changed their mind on you... it must have been a bit panicky going under having to mentally prepare for a change of plan!! How's the needles?

Oh my God Lunasa, 7 stone? I would love to lose that, but I agree its too easy to pile it all back on!

Im hoping the band will stop that from happening in the future, its easy to lose weight, its keeping it off that hard, but we will get there, Im just one of them people that wants everything fast!

I need to sort my head out and get back on track.

Donna x.

LOL!!! I think that the decision to use a different band was taken once they were 'in there' so GC only found out what she'd got once she came around!!! Can't really hop off the operating table if you're aneasthetised!!!

Lunasa,

I know what you mean about losing and gaining 7 stones... did the same last year myself. hence i'm here and now I'm banded... I don't want to go through that EVER again!! I am well able to lose weight... it seems that keeping it off is the challenge for all of us.

The biggest problem was that, although I was slim(ish) I still saw myself as a fat woman.... and I thought like a fat woman... obsessed with food, always looking to my next meal and planning what snack I'd have after I'd finished work....

Well NO more, I'm letting the past go and this is a new day and a new journey for me.... taking it more slowly and working with a counsellor on my body image... so I don't destroy my best efforts again!

Hi Anon...glad I could give you a laugh.. I just assumed the surgeons would have discussed changing bands with GC...I'd have been ragin!

As for loosing & gaining 7 massive stone (that's a whole Kylie Minogue ya know!) I always felt like nobody knows what that's like.. I feel so humiliated now every time I meet someone who hasn't seen me in a while I want to run & hide! I've been lying to certain friends to avoid them visiting me...sad r wha!

As you described I was still OBSESSED with weight, food, eating when I was down to my lowest 10& half stone, I still had episodes where I'd binge big time & then be good for ages. I gave up drinking but was stoned on hash most of the time!

Another thing that happened was that some friends (women of course) started to say "ah, you've gone far enough now / I hope you're not on pills / You'll get too thin" one even went as far as saying (drunk) "ah, please don't get skinnier than me" It drove me mad! ( "you've such a pretty face"...ring a bell? Shutup before I UNPRETTY yours Beeeatch

Maybe it was my warped perspective but I felt I was making these "friends" uncomfortable by getting smaller & not being the massive friend who's shadow could make them look so good & small anymore.

Now that I've regained I feel myself resenting these people as I feel I given them back their security of being "Small" again.

Feck that...my perspective is totally warped.. but can you understand that? I'm sure you can...

I'm going to journal my way to recovery, mentally , the physical will look after itself..x

:kiss2:

How do you find being banded by the way?:girl_hug: You're only done a few days?!!! What's your experience?