Just curious to know!

Welcome to the forums bansterboy. Maybe we all need to have some sort of badge to wear when seeing Dr Watson so that we can recognise other members!!!

he ya all, i am from rural WA had my band done in June 07, by Dr Watson, i have lost 5kgs, i am felling a bit lost by the small amount of weight so far, any advice?

You must be feeling so disappointed. Has Doc Watson suggested any dietary changes for you?

But Stephen Watson is very reserved buy just how much fill he puts in at any one time.

Coo

thankyou for your reply. Dr Watson said he is happy with this progress, and he is being careful, i have had 3 fills, 1ml, .5ml and the last one was 1ml. my start weight was 93kg, so the 5kg is ok, i had a chat to one of my freinds who had a band done as well and she said it is okay. i am riding about 10 - 15 kms a day, not every day but 5 out of the 7. and may i add that Dr Watson is so nice! i am seeing him again at the end of this month for another fill, i try not to wiegh myself between visits, i think my scales are dodgy, between my 1st and 2nd fill my scales said that i had put on weight so i was going to have a bit to say when i saw the doc but his scales told me i had lost some, so i had to eat humble pie (not really i had a glass of water). any way thanks for your input, and he seems to think my diet is good. about 5 years ago i weighed 110 kgs, but i got down to about 78 kgs and then slowly it started to creep back on, untill i made the decision to have the band done, so he said it would not be a dramatic loss to start with. so to be paitent with the loss. and forgive me for any spelling errors, i cant spell to save my life!!!!!!!

cheers

Hi Matilda,

Perhaps you have a low metabolism - I can't believe all that exercise. I am struggling to do any right now, and awaiting my first fill. I am dreading and yet hanging out for my fill as I hope it will help with the silly season round of food.

Good luck on your journey

coo, dont worry about your first fill, it is nothing, you dont feel a thing. i will have a chat to the doc next time i go, i think he is being carefull because i do not live near the city, which is okay. good luck with your fill, but you will be fine.

Hi Matilda

Congrats on losing 5 kg and keeping it off since June. Rather than measuring your weight loss by what the scales say are you noticing if any of your clothes fit better? Dr Watson had also told me that he wanted me to lose weight slowly and steadily as he wants (and I want) to make long term improvements in my food choices and exercise habits.

I am going for my first appointment since my surgery with him tomorrow!!!! I am both really excited and very nervous.

all the best

Mel

Thanks Matilda - I'll keep that in mind. I still have 10 days before my fill, so I'll keep everything crossed!

hi mel,

i feel okay about the 5 kilos, but i still feel as if i am going backwards. some clothing feels okay, i supose i just need to work harder, as of this week i am riding 20kms a day, and i will atempt a run as well. good luck with your filli had my last one on the 16th october, he put 1 ml in. let us know how you went.

cheers

Hello from another Perth person!

My name is Amy. I was banded on 13th Nov 2007.

Dr Kierath also did mine :clap2:

I've just got through my first week, and am looking forward

to a new healthy life.

Amy

hi Amy,

it can only get better from this day on. good luck with it all.

hi ya ............. yes im seeing dr watson and he is terrific.. im getting banded in jan 08!! scared but cant wait. i also live in the country not far from wagin. take care and talk to u soon

by the way im 40 happily married and with 1 daughter.

Hi FannyAdams & All from WA

I totally understand where you are going from with camp food. Over a 15 year period and 4 camp stints, I gained 10kgs per site then lost 5kg after each, so Yo Yoing was normal. How could you turn down the desert table, left overs or a cooked brekkie plus the wet mess as well. You may need to talk to the camp manager in confidence about your special diet needs. Argyle is a large site and I am sure others are on special diets as well. It is not hard to cater for you as vegetarians get special meals so why not you. Also your Doc should be able to write a nice letter without disclosing all the info about your diet. (ie hiatus hernia excuse) What you don't want is to get something stuck at work due to bad eating habits or an unexpected ingredient. I have already had the stuck factor at work and staying in the bathroom for an hour is not good. This is where you also must have at least one EMO on your side as well due to emergency procedures having to be put in place. My doc has given me a video, needles and info for my local doc just in case they need to open up the band for say gastro our worse when I may need the RFDS. Also does the EMO/nurse have maxalon injections on site. You may need to get a script for them. I am not trying to panic you but I am all for the scout motto of Being Prepared. The more you are prepared the less explanation later. I currently live in a remote mining town and so far only five people know what I have done as I don't want to live in a fish bowl and be the latest food for the gossip mongers. You may need to just look at your different food stages(fluids, mushies 1 & 2 & solids) and take with you some fruit purees, a barmix, cup with lid and some Soups as back up.

I am finding the band very hard as I had my first fill 5 weeks ago and then last week I had 1/2 the Fluid removed as I couldn't even sip Water probably without throwing it back up. The problem I have is distance to Perth and the inability to just pop in to see the surgeon if somethings a miss. I have her mobile number and reguarly check this site out. I also wrote my surgeon a 50 question email before the surgery so if you want that and her answers I give that to you if you like. At least with FIFO you can regularly see the Doc. But these days mine sites are pretty savvy with the health of their workforce and I believe that you may even have special fitness gurus as well on site. You may be surprised on the support you will get from them.

So good luck and we'll chat later.

Outback Jo

Hi again Jo

Thanks for your detailed response and advice. Sorry it has taken me so long to reply - I did read it at the time but I had to quit haunting this site until I'd seen the surgeon as I was finding myself obsessing about it and sneaking peeks all day at work. Now that I have my date, I'm doing that again of course :biggrin1: but at least now I feel semi-justified as the date is so soon (12th December) and I really need the support.

Anyway, I will be missing my last shift before Xmas and having the time between Xmas and New Year off as well, so won't be back at work till January. When I get back, I'll speak to the catering people and also go to our onsite clinic and give the nurse all the details.

Thanks again for taking the trouble to reply.

HI I'm up at Tallering Peak for Mt Gibson Mining, I agree you do put on alot of weight with all the food being offered Brekky, lunch and Dinner!!

I was on Optifast shakes (liquid only) for the 3 weeks leading up to the surgery. I took 6 weeks off work as I do heavy lifting in my job, I stayed on the shakes for the 4 weeks after the op.I went back to site with a box of shakes and just ate milky weetbix for beakky and lunch was tinned or soft fruit and yoghurt and dinner was whatever soft food they had. I went and spoke to the site catering people and they were only too pleased to provide the sort of food I had to eat. I'm sure that it being argyle they will most definatley be able to provide you with "special meals".

Good Luck!!!!