Aussiegirl

Hi All, Sorry I havent been around, I have been slammed all over the place with work and no time to really look at anything else. Having caught up on the posts it is good to see so many newbies here...welcome all. In regards to the Opti phase, yes it is horrible and for me definitely the worst experience of the whole process, for me everything after that was easy. As Sue has said, I did do the Optifast without doing a shake. I cant drink shakes without feeling ill, pyschological thing from having a bad reaction to milkshakes many lives ago...anyway I digress. I was really strict on myself with Opti, in that I ate the bars and the Desserts only. I would have a bar, the chocolate ones are probably the best, like a dry brownie. I hear the coffee ones are good too, tho also dont drink coffee. I would have a bar for Breakfast and lunch and then the dessert with some steamed or stir fried veggies at night. I did plan 2 breaks from it, both times I had grilled or fresh seafood with salad. This atleast gave me something to keep going for, but did also cause me panic. Some idea is steamed veggies, fresh salad with a citrus dressing, used to mix lemon and herbs together. Dont get me wrong isnt pleasant but it is can be done.

Congrats Kazza! Even tho you are stalling you are still doing fantastic. I concur with Sue. You can always try and mix it up, have a couple of days blow out...relax a little and don't sweat the numbers for a bit. If it doesn't work, speak to the dietician or get your bloods checked, there maybe something causing it. But don't loose faith...it can be done. Do you feel good? Tashk, I am one of the ones who has had B12 issues. I was low on B12, tried the tablets but they didn't really take. I have had 2 shots (tho I am lazy about it, the doctor wanted more) and it has been better to get it up in the lower end of the range, it has stabilized there for now. Tho yes you do hear of people having the shots for life Misty have a great trip to india...I am very jealous Shelley, woah those are some awesome photos. Sue, love the new pic as well Happy weekend everyone.

RetroGolly...welcome. We have a heap of people in here from Brissie that cab help with doctors and everything up there... You do need a doctors referral to see the surgeon.

I am usually fine mixing as long as it isnt too many different types, and as long I am not drinking wine. Wine makes me ill.....I am not a normal sleever when it comes to alcohol. Not sure why I bring it up as to say we all go into this thinking we are giving everything up. But as time goes on you get a new normal that feels like it was never any different. And on top of it all, bad night with food and stuff, this morning I weighed in at the lowest number I have seen in a while..

Brendani, as many have stated before and also your dietician, you really do have to be ready to embrace the change. I truly do hope you do successfully rise to the challenge, we look forward to hearing your success with or without surgery. Just as an FYI.....this all comes from the girl who has spent the evening drinking cider, shots and still somehow managed to finish .2/3 a chicken kebab.....life really does get normal after a while. Don't try this if you are newly sleeved.......it doesn't even remotely end well. Not recommended as an everyday occurrence, however farewells and birthdays combined.....anyway a couple of hours in the gym for me tommorow. Enjoy your weekends everyone

Thanks all for your responses. I am preparing for the pain but would be relieved if I could do without the muscle pain...tho in saying that I have been walking around with abdominal muscle pain on and off for months depending on my type of work out Soulwarden, down here in Aus it is covered in part by insurance, my hospital stay and some of the surgeons fee is covered but there is still a largish out of pocket amount.

I am booked to have a tummy tuck and arm lift on the 23rd of August. My plastic surgeon felt the muscles in my tummy area and does not think that she will need to do muscle tightening (looks like years of ab workouts may pay off). Which apparently is the most painful part. Has anyone had this done? How was the pain level?

Thanks Misty, my health fund does cover the hospital visit and part of the surgeon, as both surgeries have Medicare item numbers. However the out of pockets are still large-ish. Sometimes the sleeve is a funny mistress, sometimes the same food goes down differently.

Exactly my thoughts.....summer 2013/2014.....here I come. Someone even said to me, now you can wear a bikini....errr not ready for that yet I don't think lol. Look out summer 2013/2014 here we come

Looks like we have all had a positive day Lissa, definitely let us know when you are in Sydney, July or August I will be around. Well til the 23 rd of August, as then I will be in hospital, finishing off this journey getting my tummy tuck and arm lift. Excited and apprehensive at the same time. The surgeon I saw today I LOVED!!! And will probably end up being a couple of grand cheaper as well. But I feel very confident in her, her approach was the complete opposite to the last doctor I saw. Best thing was she felt all my muscles in my stomach and said she thought it was unlikely I would need the muscle tightening part of the surgery. Looks like the hours of crunches have paid off lol. Apparently this is the most painful part.

Shelley Shelley, whose a hottie The compliments can get a bit too much, the main thing is that you are proud of yourself.... Sue, so good to meet you!! It has been a long time coming. Lissa, anytime you are down in Sydney drop us a line, would love to hang out with you and all your funky clothes Misty, still going strong, you are rocking this. Brendan, wont be long now!!! Tashk - welcome aboard so to speak. Yes the opti phase is hard, probably the hardest part in my opinion but just put it in your mind that it is part of the process and the ends justifies the means. It really is a headspace thing. My doctor also scared me by saying he would not do the surgery if my liver hadn't shrunk enough...awesome motivation to keep going. You guys may share my amusement of this, after years of trying to win competitions for nights out, tonight I won a $250 dinner for 2 at a fancy restaurant through work...how do I eat that much food? lol

Morning all. Reminder Sydneysiders, catch up from 6.30 tonight at Darling Harbour, Margaritaville. Send me or Sue a message and we can give you deets. In regards to hair, I lost a lot, from about 3.5 months to about 9 months. It has grown back and is now at my ears length. At the moment it looks I have a mullet at the moment. I didn't take anything for it and have still dyed it but went back to my natural colour to help deal with it and keep it consistent.

Woohoo Liss!!!! How young and funky do you look!! Misty has been so good in sharing her eatting so close to post op. I thought I would share a normal day for me, at almost 21 months post op and pretty much maintaining my weight. Breakfast 3 scoops of greek yoghurt with about 100 gms of Special K (I eat this out of a coffee mug) lunch Today i had left over lasagne I made last night , approximate size (yes I got the ruler out) 10cm by 5 cm. I was full after this. I can usually almost finish sandwich, usually have like 90% of a sandwich dinner Palm size piece of Protein (depending on the type could be more, could be less, fish can eat a larger portion) with some veggies usually a few pieces of like brocoli, carrot, cauliflower, corn. I eat those frozen veggie packets and can have about half of those with some protein Dinner tonight tho will likely be more left over lasagne (tried to make a small one but still works out to be about 5 meals) I do snack during the day, depending on a number of things this can be anything from fruit to a cupcake, crackers.. I usually drink about 6 cups of green tea a day (yes i know it is excessive) but in winter keeps me warm and some days i still have some issues with Water. On top of this I work out 5-6 times a week as well as walking pretty much everywhere. So to you newbies, it definitely gets more normal. If I go out to eat which I do frequently, i usually order an entree (appetizer) to eat or get share plates with friends. Most people who have come into my life dont really notice, just that I eat only small amounts, not freakishly small amounts...if that makes sense.

Sydneysiders!!! Meet up details: Wednesday 19th June from 6.30pm Margaritaville Darling Harbour Sue and I will be there...all are welcome...come along.

Lissa, Firstly WOAH!!!!!! How awesome and young do you look? Congrats Linky, good luck today! Misty, as the others have already said. It is good that you have indentified the behaviour. You can address and be aware of it. Early on I can relate to the changes you need to make, and can say it does help with the long term results. If you can identify the behaviour and look for another way of expressing, or dissapaiting it. For me for example I am/was a stress eatter, tho I have worked hard to find other ways to work through this without food being the default, while I wont say I never stress eat, i do but do a series of other things, exercise, vocalise etc before I get to the eatting stage, works about 80% of the time for me. Anyway, you have identified and just need to find a way that works for you. You are strong and I am sure you will. In regards to the need for entertaining, you are not alone and I dont think this change of food related. I think we all are often engaged in 3 different activities at once, TV, computer, phone, human etc....it is part of life nowadays, always available etc And YAY the Blues!!!

Cath, how is the back pain? Brendan, it will good luck So state of origin tonight...I am sorry to all my QLD friends but you will be feeling a bit of shame tomorrow I have no idea about football at all but need to support my team and throw is some good ole sporting sledging Go the Blues!!!

Hi Sue, I haven't noticed any. You should let one of the admins know tho. They may be able to stop the e-mails.

Lessismore, you could be right, I can only speak for myself and the last 3-5kgs that I have not been able to shift seems to be that.

Linky, thanks for the info.I am always concerned about going overseas for surgery for some reason, especially travelling so many hours back after surgery (albeit a good few days later). But will have a look into it. I have spoken with my health provider and it looks like the hospital will be covered, which means the cost would be closer to $15k and I may get some more of that also rebated. It is still alot of money but could definitely help my head actually see the change s that have occured. I have also made an appointment with another plastic surgeon to see if I get a better vibe about her.

Good to hear Bec is safely on the sleeved side. Cath, I hope the doctors tests have come back ok... mzbkt, it is definitely stressful pre-op,being so concerned about what life after surgery is like, am I making the right decision. But you are best off giving yourself the best opportunity for a healthy and quick recovery. I had my first plastics consult today. It was interesting but I am not sure about the surgeon. Seems to be a paint by numbers kind of doctor which I am not sure I am happy with. Also need to see how much, if any is covered by my health fund. He did say that he would expect that he would remove between 7-9kgs of skin, excess fat etc. Also that there is really not much more for my body to loose and it is ready for it to be gone. I would get a Tummy Tuck with some lipo on my hips to even out, and arm lift with some upper body toning (no bra fat lumps). This would be almost a 6 hour procedure, depending on my cover anywhere between ($15 - $27k..yikes). Tho I think I will look at another surgeon and see if I feel more comfortable, I felt this way with the first doctor I saw for wls and then found my surgeon who I felt comfortable in his hands...ya know...and this is my forever body.

Cath I would atleast put a call into your surgeon and check what they thinks, it could be just gas but really better safe than sorry. If it is gas the best thing is walking. I dont remember having any specific back pain, it was more around my shoulders. Welcome to all the newbies..it is great to see new people coming through, as you may have noticed we have peolpe here at all stages of the sleeve life. Sydneysiders, I am going to throw out a date of the 19th June to have a catch up. How does that sound?

Good luck Bec....You will do great, look forward hearing you are sucessfully on the flip side

Lessismore, Exactly!!! I had absolutely no co-morbids before surgery (other than persistent sporting injuries, yes they were I am sure contributed by my weight, but I was exercising lol)...the weird thing is since surgery I have had more issues that before I lost all my weight...4 surgeries and counting lol. Go figure on that one health providers lol

I missed the story but have seen that alot of people were not happy about it. I dont think it is just the media but we as Aussies are harder on overweight people than anything...especially when it comes to medical professionals. Any health issue that I had the first response was loose some weight, got the flu, loose some weight, yes I may sound a bit jaded. Which in most cases that issue had nothing to do with being overweight..I went to see a specialist for another issue yesterday (and will have surgery again later today...whirlwind..anyways) but most my conversation centered around the fact that I had had the sleeve and the weight I had lost, rather than the issue I went to see him about. I think of how society treats overweight people and it makes me sick...(rant over)