Sunwyse

You go home the same day?? In Australia they make you stay in overnight just to make sure its all ok. Congrats on the date, hoping all goes well for you.

I will be done 22 October, which is 21 October to any nothern hemisphere people here. as for what to call us, I have no idea. I noticed a lot of halloween related themes. That would suit the Americans amongst us, but what would people who aren't American be called, since halloween is an American holiday and not universal? As for October here, its a perfect month to be done in. Weather getting nicer and we are gearing up for summer, so I get the double whammy of an op that reduces my hunger and the weather making me not want to eat much anyway. woo hoo.

Damo, you will be fine and you ARE going to be banded. If for some reason, APRA do knock back your first application, don't let it upset you. Many people have been knocked back on the first application because of silly things like a word out of place. Just contact them to find out why (if they don't explain it) and then go about getting it all re-done. At worst it will mean a delay, not an end to the process. If the surgeon has written many of these, then you have no problems. Any mistakes they might have made the first few times, would have been all fixed by the time they come to write your letter. After all, they don't want to waste their time re-writing these things! Ask your surgeon, he probably has a template on his computer and just fills in the relative details of each patient when needed! lol. Its gonna happen mate, now its just a matter of time.

Nat36, I know exactly where you are coming from! Almost 10 years ago I had a medical condition that controlled every aspect of my life. I couldn't work because of it, just horrible. Then I was finally given an operation that fixed it and it took me a while to get used to finally being free of the condition, but I got there. Now it interferes no more! I am liberated to do what I want, when I want. It will be the same with this, I know. I have already made my list of what I want to do when I finally get fit enough to be able to walk without limping again! lol Part of my list is, belly dancing, scuba diving, some other form of dance, more visits to country areas to get out and walk. Get back into hobby photography (means more walking! lol). None of these are things I have to force myself to do, the most expensive is scuba diving. All are things I want to do and love doing when my weight is more manageable. Watch the olympics (that always inspires me) or if you really want to feel good about moving til you nearly drop, adopt a friend's kid and take them to the park!! I have spent far too much time in my life doing things I hated because I *needed* to. Bugger that! As soon as I am able to move freely again, its what I want, never what I feel I ought to again.

Awesome news Denise! Way to go!! Thank you for sharing.

If you don't love the gym, you could end up paying an expensive membership you never use. Ask yourself what sort of activities might you enjoy, belly dancing, line dancing, swimming, hiking or just joining a walking group and going on weekend walks away to hills and mountains. Is there something you've always dreamed of taking up? Sky diving, scuba or horse riding? If there is, then you'd be far better off spending the money on lessons or club membership than gym membership. Are their groups who meet in your area to go for walks together? Can you take up gardening? What about rowing, kite flying, feeding the ducks in the park? It doesn't have to be pump and grind. If you do something you really enjoy, then you are going to keep at it and not even realise you've been exercising. Do you have a friend or two you can talk into taking a regular walk with you?

Agree. Look into a fill first.

Thank you lellow. It won't be long now.

Have not applied but I've heard they do knock some back. It needs to be worded exactly right for some crazy reason. They should have given you a letter explaining the wording. Just get your GP and surgeon to write the letter, using APRA's wording and it should go OK.

Had my appointment with psyche yesterday. Went really well. It was a challenge on a personal level as well, as I have a fear of heights and the appointment was on the 2nd floor. My partner would have come but I was determined to go on my own. Anyway, all went well and he's approved me from his side. Now its just the dietitian in October, then the op. Can't wait! Michelle

Hi Big Damo! Welcome. I'm being done 22 October. Same place, same doc (why does batman come to mind??). I saw the psyche yesterday and my dietitian appoint. is in October. If you're interested in meeting others, come along to the Brisbane get togethers. They are held once a month and you get to meet some people from here and all have been done or are going to be done. Michelle

Hi Tiffany, welcome. I know what you mean. Women used to look funny at me when I said I enjoy my period in a sort of weird way. It reminded me I was a woman because they were so far and few between. I am not doing the same process as you, we don't need to do the 6 month diet in Australia, but I can be here for you while you are going through it. I do know oh so well, those rollercoaster feelings you are speaking of. Best of luck with it all. Michelle

Thank you Laurinda. I'm feeling very confident I will finally be able to have the vegetarian diet/lifestyle I've always wanted :biggrin: Its been a good news day all round.

Thanks Chickie, its good to know these things can go down :Banane37:

For those who can access yahoo groups, I've come across for specifically for people who have had WLS and are or are considering being vegetarian/vegan. [/url] vegetarianbandster : Vegetarian Bandsters WLSVeggies : WLSVeggies veg-wls : Vegetarian Weight loss surgery If you can't access the groups, don't worry. I will join them and I will share here what information I find out. Michelle

Most people slice eggplant then layer it with salt for an hour or so, to draw the moisture out. After that, they wash the salt off, then cook it a number of ways. Its supposed to have a bitter taste if you don't take this moisture out, but I never have and its always tasted fine to me. There are a thousand and one things you can do with them. You can cut them into thick slices and put them on a grill plate to cook. They don't take too long, few minutes each side. You can cut them into thinner slices and layer then in a pan to make moussaka, which is just like lasagne, only you use the eggplant instead of Pasta sheets. You can cut it into cubes and stir fry with other veg, or steam. Have you had zucchini? Its quite similar to that to cook and is similar in texture once cooked.

i chose Other ~ please explain. After I'm banded in October, I'm planning on returning to a vegetarian diet. I only have to do Optifast for 2 weeks before surgery, so I don't have to think about things before then. I'm waiting til after, so I know the amount I eat will be controlled and all I need to think about is what I eat. I also prefer low carb, but couldn't have 2 choices.

Don't loosen the band! You work toward getting it to a point where you can eat healthily and comfortably, but not too much, so you can maintain your new weight. Loosening the band won't let you eat bread or pasta if you end up with a problem with them. It will just let you eat more of what you can eat, which means more weight put on.

After my surgery I plan on returning to a vegetarian diet. I wanted to hear from anyone out there who is a vegetarian or changed to being a vegetarian/vegan after the op. I'm interested in how legumes and pulses go, passing through the band, if anyone's had any problems with it. Thanks. Michelle

It has nothing to do with the surgeon and everything to do with what your BMI is. If you are at the lower end of the approved range, you don't really need it. Its only once you get up over 40 that its advisable to have it. It shrinks the liver and helps get it out of the way so they can see what they are doing. My doc also said he likes his patients to do it, just to see if they can follow rules and how committed they will be to making the lifestyle changes afterwards.

Just to answer the question put, yep its a requirement of the Dr I'm seeing. Its partly to see if I will follow rules, but its also to make sure I'm doing the op for the right reasons and not expecting any ridiculous outcomes (like to walk out of op looking like Paris Hilton!) Don't laugh, you'd be amazed at what some people expect. As far as I'm aware most doctor's require you to see a psychologist or a psyche and dietitian before surgery. The US banders also have to do the 6 month diet thing to qualify for their insurance companies, we don't. But seeing a dietitian is not a bad thing, after all, I need to learn to re-adjust my eating habits after.

If your doctor said Tony Ferguson was OK, then just do that. But don't do 3 TF shakes and no food. The two diets are calculated completely differently. Optifast is designed to only have that 3 times a day, where as TF you need to have that 3rd meal of food. I did Optifast about 3 years ago for 5 weeks. I did 2 shakes a day and then just a normal meal in the evening (with small portions of course). It worked well that way. Just go with whatever the doc says.

We met up at coffee club last weekend. Can you access yahoo groups? There's one in there called Ozband, which has members from all over Australia and there are also state specific groups. I'm a member of brisbanded as well. Here's the URL for the oz group. ozband : ozband - oz support group for wls

I've never heard of such a thing! I've been told even just losing 10% of your weight would greatly improve chances of getting pregnant, but never been told you have to do it to get clomid. Instead of getting info from the internet (which can be dicey at times), go to your local chemist/pharmacist (whoever is authorised to give out medication where you live) and ask them. They have to know just as much about various illnesses and even more about drugs, so you can save yourself the cost of a doctor's visit by asking the chemist first.

I watch my food all the time...from the plate to my mouth.