Since my fourth fill in May it's begun to feel a little more the way it ought to. I felt quite strong restriction during the first two weeks and three pounds came off relatively easily, without much willpower involved at all. I hoped from that point the weight loss would speed up a bit - at the present rate of a kilo a month I wouldn't reach my target for nearly 4 years! In week 3 it slowed down and combined with occasions when I knew I was swallowing more calories than usual - not bingeing, I can't do that any more, but I was consuming high calorie foods because it was such a relief not to PB. Last Sunday I finally weighed myself and was horrified to note I was up by 4lbs.
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I resorted to that-wot-I-shouldn't: I still had in my medicine drawer from 2005 some Leptos purchased on the internet from Vanuatu (!). The active ingredient is sibutramine hydrochloride monohydrate, which seems to act on brain receptors - if I've understood correctly - to tell them I'm not hungry. It doesn't have any speeding up effect like any other slimming pill I've taken, it works superbly on day 1, considerably less on day 2, and so on. Articles I've read do not recommend because it can affect blood pressure etc, and when you stop, your brain seems to work harder to make up lost ground. So not a good idea overall, and I'm definitely not recommending them - just telling you about it.
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Spookily it also had the effect of restricting me a bit - so in addition to the help provided by 14 lengths in the pool, I managed to lose the 4lbs in 3 days and it showed on the scales at the hospital yesterday when I attended for my fifth fill. I must be prepared for this next month and not resort to pills again.
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This visit was one of the least comfortable - it took them three goes before they found the port. I've noticed that when I'm in pain I'm usually 'brave' enough not to make any sound, but I have no control whatsoever over the expressions on my face, and I must have screwed it up something rotten, because they kept apologising! OK today though.
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I now have an extra half ml - 8.5ml in my band altogether. As expected I can't eat much and took most of the morning to eat my half cheese sandwich. Bread is still possible, but oh so slowly.
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I asked the bariatric nurse yesterday about the EasyBand, and to my surprise she knew about it, but very little - for example she thought that the patient controlled the remote which loosens or tightens the band, and didn't know if it was available in the UK (I think it is, but for now confined to one company who have exclusivity, so one would probably have only one location where it was fitted). All bandit bloggers by definition don't need to know about all this, as they're already "sorted", but in the interests of keeping informed of new developments in this amazing technology I thought it worth while mentioning.
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-oOo-
3 comments:
Are those pills safe? I am so worried about pills these days after the drug issues we have had lately with hydroxycut.
Have patience-it seemed like forever until I felt like the band was really working but finally around 6 months out I got a hint and then this last fill has been what I would call "sweet" as everyone calls it.
Keep plugging away and don't lose faith. When you lose restriction get in for a fill (if your doctor will let you) and when you have to wait do the best you can to stay away from the really bad stuff (ice cream is my downfall). A good fill (finally) has made some of the cravings for the ice cream ease up a bit! I know it will for you too...
I am the same as Tina....it has taken 6mths and I am still having some problems.
I don't know about those pills....naughty girl !!
Tina - no, the pills are a stupid idea, I admit. One of those things failed slimmers do, i.e. anything to lose a pound or two. I've taken others in my time. In the seventies I once took a Tenuate Dospan pill (speed I think), which sent me into orbit for 24 hours, probably the closest I came to being a junkie!! A common denominator with these sorts of pills for me was that in time they generated anxiety in every day situations. When I realised I was getting anxious about daft things, it scared me and I threw them all away.
Nola - thing is it's only now I'm getting the problems I've read about in your blog, the nearest to which I've just finished writing about in a post just now. Admittedly nothing compares with your lime spider experience, but it was horrible enough nevertheless. Next Wednesday I reach my 6 month mark, and I have 8.5 mls in the band, and I'm only just starting to wonder (at last) what on earth I'm going to eat to survive.
Caroline
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