Sunwyse

Short answer. no.

Very interesting. They forgot to add Men in Black at number 4.

I'm allergic to bananas, so thats out :thumbup: Have bought a light box, just waiting for the people to deliver it. Supposed to be another 2 weeks I think. I used to live in Melbourne, which has a much colder winter temperature. I now live in Brisbane which is sub tropical. You'd think that would help, but no. It hits me just as hard here. Only problem is, no-one here knows anything about it. When I had my first visit with the wls surgeon's nurse, she asked me if it was a genuine illness. I had to explain I had been assessed by a Brisbane psychiatrist. I think she still didn't believe me. Gawd I love this. In summer I think people don't like me cause I'm fat. In winter I think they don't like me cause I'm depressed - can you ever win??

Get yourself some chocolate essence, strawberry essence, pineapple essence or coffee essence and add a few drops to change the flavour. You can also get rum essence, which is imitation rum flavour. Try adding it to the chocolate for a different taste.

Oh Peek, I only just saw your post. Its probably all done by now, so hope all went well and you don't have too much pain. Looking forward to your updates. :tt2: Michelle

I'm in Brissy, Jindalee. I'm getting banded October this year.

Chickie, that is awesome. I'm aiming for 50 kilos myself, but was told I probably wouldn't get there. To see you've done it means it can be possible. Thank you. Michelle

Yeah, they gave me a piece of paper with costs on it and it comes to $10,500 after health insurance and medicare. There's no way I can save that kind of money by October. I would have to look at taking out a part loan, which is not necessarily a no-no. I'm going to look around at other doctors in the time being and see if I can get it cheaper else where. I do believe in paying for quality, but I don't believe on selling my soul for it.

Congrats on the surgery and it all going so well. Maybe the tummy upset is from having so much water? Hope its all better soon.

I very much believe in therapy. But therapy can be talking with a good friend who will just listen, over a coffee. One thing my sister did was bash her pillow or sit down with a screw driver and old pot and just hack at it for ages. It helped to get rid of the energy behind the anger.

I had my gallbladder out 8 years ago. I can still remember the pain, mine didn't come and go mine came and didn't go again until I had it out, about 3 weeks later. The classic symptoms are the 4Fs, female, fair, fat, forty. And you are much more likely to get it if you've had a history of dieting and binging a bit.

With SAD one of the symptoms of onset each year is a craving for carbs. I could go through a loaf of bread a day and think nothing of it, except I'm allergic to wheat and it attacks my joints I also have PCOS and of course, high carbs are not good for that.

I suffer from a mental illness called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Its a reconised mood disorder. Affecting a lot of people, mostly from the cooler climates. Its rarer in Australia as most of this country is warmish enough, but I happen to be one of the few who have been blessed/cursed to have it. For those who don't know what it is perhaps you are more familiar with bipolar (old name manic depression). SAD is considered a younger sister to bipolar, in that there are two marked mood changes, but with SAD they are dependent upon the weather. For the majority of people with SAD, you are happy go lucky, with energy to burn in summer and completely devoid of emotion, energy or anything else in winter, but for some its the reverse and summer is the killer. And for a small majority, it can be very serious indeed. Again I'm one of those. SAD also gets worse as you age. Without medication, in winter I get serious social phobia, paranoid tendencies and at its worst, suicidal. Luckily, I can take medication and the only side affects are erratic sleep patterns and prolonged insomnia. So, why have I brought this up? Well I've had this condition for nearly 30 years, so I'm used to it and manage it very well. But what is little mentioned is mental illness at all, in any kind of weight loss discussion. I figure I'm not the only one out there who needs to have surgery to help me lose weight and also have a mental illness. I just don't think mental illness should be taboo anymore and I wanted to raise the topic for discussion.

Wow! I'm 104 and my BMI is 45! I must be really short! lol

I think those thoughts come out of fear. You've been X size for so long. Shedding the excess and changing your body shape so drastically is going to bring up any emotional issues, such as fear. For me, the problem will be what do I blame? I've been able to blame being fat for a very long time for anything that went wrong. Someone didn't like me cause I was fat. I didn't get the job cause I was fat. I won't spend lots of money on really nice clothes cause I'm fat (and might lose weight then all the money is wasted). etc etc etc. When all the fat is gone, what am I going to blame?

Isn't it amazing how the moment food stops being an obsession for you, it becomes one for all those around you? I'll side on them trying to be really helpful and supportive and not wanting to see you fail. Just let them know how much you love them for their support. You could always go up to your sister every single time you want to eat something or drink something and say 'hey can I have this?" or even better. "hey can I have this bite?" - for every single bite! Turn it back. Of course if she says no, just do it anyway lol.

Definitely register a complaint about this behaviour. Also, in future if you have an issue with them, go in and discuss it. People often find it hard to be rude to another person's face. But if she does get rude in person, you can simply cause a scene and have the office manager/doctor brought into it. At the end of the day, remind this person you are the one paying her wage, after all you are the customer, the one who brings in the money.

Actually, they are the serratus muscles

Yep, it relates to the size of your stomach, not your weight.

I'm with Indigo Girl, I don't want my insides cut up, re-routed or otherwise changed. As for the gastric bypass, I've always heard you spend 2 or 3 nights in the hospital. Seems strange to me that someone would be going home the same day as major surgery. I'd look into that one.

They actually don't know the cause of it, its assumed to be from the gas pumped in. Also, the pain isn't in your shoulder, its referred pain from the abdomen area.

Yeah, I found out recently that 2 of my friends are being done by him at the end of March as well. Wish I could win the money on lotto, the waiting is driving me crazy!!

We all say we'd do anything to lose weight. Its not the end of the world. Try to always get booked in on a late Friday afternoon, then you can either stay over on the Thursday night or the Friday night so you don't have to drive that far twice in one day. Would it be cheaper to get the bus there? Try to arrange appts to be monthly so at least you don't have the stress of it weekly. Also, see if they will agree to have someone closer to home monitor you for any diet you have to do. That should make things a little easier. Where there's a will, there's a way.

If you are overweight before you get insurance, then yes its considered pre-existing.

I still have 8 months to wait before I can be banded. We'd all love to have it done the day we decide we definitely want to go ahead, but life happens. See it as a life long journey. This 6 month diet requirement is just the first part of that journey. Don't see it as the operation being the start, but rather the next phase along.