susannah

Hi Tara, Boo hoo I can't go. April 1st is the first night of pesach, which is the Jewish festival of passover. Not that I am very religious, but my aunt has already told me that I am going to her house for a seder that night. There will be other days though I am sure. Thanks for the invite. Susannah

Hey Louise, It is ace when your clothes start hanging off!:biggrin1: Well done, it is a real self esteem booster.:clap2: Susannah

Hi Feb Bandsters. This photo of me is from way before I was banded. I can't work out how to crop my post op pic because it is too big. Anyway here I am. I often wonder what some of you guys look like too. I read your posts everyday, even though I don't post a lot. I am pretty involved with my little group of mates over on the Australian local support board here. My feb homies are still important to me though. Susannah

Here I am way before banding. My post op pic is too big to download, and I can't work out how to crop it. Susannah

Hi Belinda, Welcome to our little group here! There are some Doc Nottle patients here also. I was banded at The Avenue Hospital. This is a great place for online friendship and support. Susannah

Hey Bronnie, I reckon going on Optifast, and the liquid diet post op is much easier in warmer weather than winter when you are craving heavier, more substantial food. Look at it that way. As I said before you will be able to have small amounts of bbq food once you are on solids, which will roll around soon. Susannah

Hi Laurend, Professor Paul O Brien is the head of my clinical surgical practice CBS (Centre for Bariatric Surgery). He actually helped design one of the original bands and has published lot of papers on the efficacy etc of the band. I feel in very safe hands being a patient of this practice. www.lapbandaustralia.com Susannah

Hi Rocko, Why don't you explain the situation to your surgeons office, and see what they say. Good on you for taking these twofold steps to regain your helath. It must be so hard for you both giving up smoking and being on the liquid diet right now. Your body will thank you Rocko. All the best with it. Susannah

Hi Kaye, Well done on losing 14 kgs. Like Jack said, at least you didn't put that weight on. Remember losing weight with the band is a slow and steady proposition. Slow weight loss is sustainable weight loss. Also I have found regular exercise really helps your weight loss. If you have this in place most days it will really help to move your weight loss along. Go back to your surgeon and sort out the fill situation also. I wish you lots of success with it Kaye. Let us know how you get on. Why dont you also join us on the Melbourne chat thread. We all support each other on our journey with the band. Your welcome to join in. Susannah

Hey Dionne, Make that a ticker not a dicker! :biggrin1: :biggrin1: Susannah

Hey Dionne, I finally did my own dicker!:biggrin1: I found it much easier with tickercentral.com than the tickerfactory site. How are you cookie? Any news regarding you hub's job move? I reckon a move to Perth would be brilliant. It is the biggest growing city in Australia at the moment. Susannah

Hi Bronnie, Actually I just weighed myself and I am 115 kgs. So I am now down 9 kgs since surgery six weeks ago. I lost 6 kgs on Optifast pre surgery, so that makes total weight loss 15 kgs since I started all together. I can't believe I let myself get so overweight. I am ashamed about that now. As for the barbeque, don't worry. Last weekend my Israeli friends had a barbeque. I ate a small piece of chicken, just chewed really well and eaten slowly. I also had a small amount of hummous dip and some salad, once again chewed well and eaten slowly. You can still eat these things, but just less of them and taken slowly and with care.:biggrin1: The health benefits from having the band are really worth it. As for deserts you could have a yoghurt or a small stone fruit like a yummy white nectarine instead.:hungry: Once you are on solids life will be a bit easier. I wonder how Meredith is going on her pre wedding shopping marathon in Melbourne?:biggrin1: Susannah

Hey Tracey, You should change your screen name to hottiemom! Looking good!:biggrin1: Susannah

Hi Nicole, It is great that you are offering to help someone out. If I were you though I probably would not post my cell phone number on a public board on the internet. Probably best to do it via pm, if you feel you must give it out. All the best Susannah

Hi Angel, I do so hope everything goes smoothly for you with the removal of the band, and the delivery of your baby. It is fantastic that another band doc was willing to help you. I read on this site all the time about doctors refusing to take on other doctor's patients. This especially happens in the United States of litigation! Bronnie, how are you? Try not to stress to much. Swallowing problems in MS only really happen to patients with long standing disease namely primary progressive MS.These patients have a very high lesion load in the brain especially. It is unlikely to occur in patients such as ourselves that have RRMS. Yay I say! I ate my first sushi handroll today!:biggrin1: I chewed it really carefully, and it took me 30 mins to eat, but I feel my life is worth living now. I am not really eating much meat. I am not a vegetarian, I just have never really eaten a lot of meat. I like minced beef and chicken sometimes. I like tofu and fish, and chickpeas and beans, more than meat. Susannah

Hi Karen, Sorry you are in a flare. I hate IV methyl Pred so much. Insomnia, depression etc etc. Hopefully the roids will nuke this latest flare for you. I had a course last year. Regarding the Betaferon, I should maybe think about going on meds, but am so focused on all things lapband at the moment that I have been putting it on the back burner. I keep thinking that I will just deal with attacks etc as they come up. Still thinking. Susannah

Hi All, Angel I have to go back to see the surgeon on the 28th. I guess he will advise me what the go is then, regarding my port. Hopefully I don't have to have revision surgery, maybe they will just have to put all my fills in under fluro. If Port stiches are that easy to come away, how easy would it be for the stiches around the band to pop? I am feeling a little down today. I guess we all have our blue days. Angel why do you think your band slipped? Do you think you will get another one in due course? Susannah

Hi, Usually exercise has the opposite effect by making you tired. Are you drinking any tea or coffee etc before bed? Susannah

Hi Rachel, We have replied to your thread. Sometimes it takes a while is all.:success1: Susannah

Hi Rachel, Welcome to LBT.I think it is bloody ridiculous that insurance companies demand 6 month supervised dieting nonsense! Luckily in Australia this is not the case. I think most people on this site are fighting with food addiction on some level, both pre and post banding. The issue will never go away. Luckily the band is an amazing technical device that works twofold by physically limiting what you can eat, and puts a literal clamp on your appetite. Why don't you do a blog of your 6 month pre lap band supervised diet, and post pictures and thoughts about why you want the band? It may spur you on. I wish you lots of mazel ( Luck, success) with this Rachel. Susannah

Hi Kari, You poor thing. How awful for you to go through infection and pain. Hopefully you are on the road to recovery now and can ever so slowly start incorporating exercise in to your daily routine. I wish you all the best, and lots of success. Susannah

Hi Lici, Welcome to LBT. You will find the band a powerful tool to aid you to get the weight off, and keep it off. Of course we all still have to work the band every day, and hold up our end of the deal with exercise and correct eating practices. Congrats on being a newly wed too. All the best. Susannah

Hi John, Welcome to LBT.Good on you for taking charge in your life, and deciding you and your health are worth fighting for. I was banded on 2/2/07 and have lost about 9kgs now. Don't know what that is in pounds. Good luck for your surgery. Susannah

Hi Msers!! On the MS NSW/VIC website there is a pdf file regarding some new proposal/issue regarding Betaferon. The file won't download on to my computer for some reason. I can't even read it on the site. Could somebody read/download it and tell me what it is about? Thanks Susannah

Hi All, Meredith, freaky you should mention having a stomach ache. Remember a few days ago I was saying how I was getting some painful stomache aches after hardly eating a thing. You could be right about it just going with the territory with the band. Pleased to report I have had no further tummy aches yesterday or today. Will probably get one tomorrow. :biggrin1: Susannah