OzRoo

@@jenn1 You look fabulous and awesome! And happy! Well done Another fabulous, successful vet. Thank you for sharing your story.

My mischievous underwire decided to hide in my clothes dryer without my knowledge. After clanking noises in my dryer, I had a look and could not find anything wrong. So, I had a repair man come in. He looked deep somewhere in the filter, and 5 minutes later showed me the defendant. I had to pay the repair man $100 for 5 min job ........ I asked the underwire to cough up the money, and of course no luck with that, plus the embarrassment of finding out the rotten culprit .......

@@Hollyhock Thank you! Yes the change is massive, and I am not at goal yet. Yes, the process requires adhering to post op guidelines, and creating different habits and fair bit of discipline as well. I fell off the wagon few times, but picked myself up and went back to basics. I hope your delay is not too long, and I look forward to hearing your post op journey and successes

@@jess9395 and @@Inner Surfer Girl Thank you both for the info. Yes, I normally snack on real cheese, cream/cottage/yellow and our Australian Cruskits (healthy crisp bread) that are actually owned by Arnotts, American company. I'll have a look at the links @@Inner Surfer Girl. Thank you for them. I guess I am concerned that by snacking on sweet Protein Snacks could re-activate my sweets cravings, plus I feel more satiated with savoury food.

@@WLSResources/ClothingExch Thank you for your well wishes for my dad. Yes, he can be quite funny. LOL, the head massage pic, yes bread basket sounds good. I am surrounded by lots of hands ..... not sure if they are adult or child ones ..... The radioactive treatment was for my super Hyper thyroid (Graves Disease). I had to swallow radioactive iodine, and be in isolation for about a week. Stay at home, have my own kitchen plates/pots/utensils and use a separate bathroom. My housemate had to stand at least 6 feet away from me. This treatment first made me quite sick, then gradually better later. My thyroid had to be nuked as it was putting my health and my life in danger. So, when my sense of humour came back, I saw this pic "I'm radioactive, wanna hug?" and it made me laugh.

@@angela9298 Yes, it is bad. My pre-op gastroscopy badly bruised my hand, but I had to fast for 6-8 hrs prior, and couldn't even have Water, so I was dehydrated. Hence the bruised hand. This latest test, I drank lots of water, and still ended up with this massive bruise. Cortisone cream is helping, my lumps seem to get bit smaller, and I am bit tender. Yes, the 5-6 full vials of blood for pre-op testing, and then later post op can be challenging. However I never bruised like that! Yesterday's test was for my thyroid, and it is just 2 half full vials ...... weird Anyway, good luck with your op/recovery

@@Hollyhock Very welcome! Yes, it is wonderful to hear how people's lives change for the better. I hope your new surgeon and hospital issues get sorted out soon for you. I know how frustrating the waiting can be. I myself had to wait 9 months .... Was going to be operated on in July last year, 2015. At that time I was diagnosed with possibly life threatening thyroid disease, and my surgeon told me to come back when I am stabilised. Well, it took 9 months for my thyroid to stabilise to finally have my surgery in March 2016. Funny enough, these 9 months went really fast for me. Good luck and best wishes to you!

@@jenrae1 My surgeon did not want me to stop coffee, as he was concerned about caffeine withdrawals. So, I had coffee since 1st day post op, and never had any issues with it. I drink it daily, have regular brewed coffee with Stevia and milk in the mornings, and from lunch time or early afternoon I switch to decaf. Otherwise, full strength regular coffee would keep me awake at night.

I don't bruise that badly though. I've had a massive amount of blood tests done since May 2015, and often there is no mark, or at times a tiny bruise. This current one is enormous, and I never had anything like this before. And I hope I'll never have something like this again!

@@Babbs You are another great successful result! All that hard work paid off, and you lost half of you! Awesome! You look fantastic, and yes, lot, lot younger and very pretty. So, not only your appearance changed to gorgeous, you have great health benefits as well. Congratulations! So sorry to hear about your Mum. My late condolences to you. I myself at 3 months post op had normal labs, no more fatty liver and no more pre-diabetic stage. I too had high blood pressure, and mine was caused by my hyper-thyroid, and weight gain, plus racing resting heart rate. My highest blood pressure was 170/99 I had to take Beta Blockers for few months. Now my bp is back to normal. Both thyroid treatment and weight loss helped. I am only 6 months post op, and I love hearing Vets stories. Thank you for sharing your journey, Babbs

OK, couple more After my radioactive treatment last year, I had to be in isolation for a week. I had to warn people: Then I needed a head massage ....

Are there any SAVOURY Protein bars? So far I only have seen sweet ones. I have never tried a Protein Bar, but I'd prefer something savoury/salty, like cheese flavour. Do they exist? @@Dub Is the pumpkin one savoury, or sweet as well?

@@KristenLe Agree! My arm looks like there were 2 fang marks in it. Damn Dracula! Funny thing is that it did not hurt at all when I had my blood drawn. It was hours later when I took the dressing off, I nearly died of shock. This is by far the Worst result ever! I am putting cortisone cream on my arm now.

This is a great thread! I suggest that everyone who is considering WLS read it. And anyone else who is post op. LipstickLady is a great success, and her thread says it all You are FAR too kind. It's the truth! And you did really well, and look fantastic! Well done.

@@LipstickLady Scared the sh#t out of me, LOL ! Ah, "the others"..... tough! Hey, if you want to be a demon, you are a sexy one!

This is a great thread! I suggest that everyone who is considering WLS read it. And anyone else who is post op. LipstickLady is a great success, and her thread says it all

@@jenrae1 So do I wish for you that your hair stays healthy. I also have thyroid disease that can also contribute to hair-loss, but so far so good with both WLS and my thyroid condition. I diligently followed my post op instructions, took all the recommended Vitamins and followed my food plan, which is high Protein, low carb and lots of Water. I still take my vitamins and eat healthy with lots of protein, and drink plenty of water. Good luck to you!

Are there any SAVOURY Protein bars? All I have seen so far are sweet Protein Bars. I have never tried a Protein Bar, but wouldn't mind a savoury one, like one with cheese flavour. Do they exist?

@@Pinkberry2 Awesome! Glad it is getting easier. Here's to a happy recovery

@@WLSResources/ClothingExch LOL ..... oh well, so I will be the only silly one then. Hope it will bring a smile to the lurkers Thank you for the Father's day wishes for my Vodka loving Dad. He can't have any now, as he is still in a hospital due to a bad fall. Poor Dad, hope he gets better soon. Oh, and thank you for hiring me!

@@OutsideMatchInside Thank you for the info and advice. Yes, at 6 months the stomach is healed, and I am noticing the changes. I am still measuring my 1/2 cup portion per meal, and eat the same healthy Snacks. I have increased my Water intake, as now I can guzzle it easily. You are so right re sticking to portion sizes. Even though at times I feel I could eat more, I now wait half hour and notice that I am satisfied. Satisfied and not full, as you said. Great, I needed to be reminded of this, thank you. Then the next hurdle will come at 12 months, as you said. So good habits and discipline are essential. Congratulations on you awesome weight-loss! Fantastic!

Hi @@jenrae1 No, no hair loss for me, at least not so far. If anything, my hair got healthier and grows really quickly now.

My veins are not great, I need to drink lot of Water prior my blood tests and a child size needle has to be used, as well as a butterfly needle at times. I have to have regular thyroid blood tests, and the full panel every few months for my sleeve. After one full panel, I ended up with phlebitis that took nearly 2 weeks to heal and get better. I really have only 1 good vein in my right arm, and I worry that it will be permanently damaged soon, as it is used every time. Below are few photos of my yesterday's test. I freaked when I took the cotton swab off .... This one below was taken a week after my gastroscopy pre-op. My hand was black and blue, a week later the bruising was still bad I am not afraid of the pain/sting but worry if the blood will come out. Now, the top pics huge bruise is not too painful, but I have few lumps there. I wish I had good veins ....... sigh

I'll start. Hope I won't be the only one Don't mess with me! I'm a total mess! Business look. Half a poke .... of my tongue

@@lelewatson Yes, my concentration at times is not great again, and my fuse is shorter too. Could be also due to my ongoing insomnia, due to the hyper state. I was glad I had few boxes of Beta Blockers left, as they helped with my racing pulse and higher blood pressure. I certainly don't feel as bad as I did prior my RAI, lot of past troublesome symptoms disappeared, but insomnia, some irritability, sweats, bad headaches and few shakes came back. I too hope that whatever range will show up on Thursday, I will get adjusted treatment for that. So, it is a learning curve, and we need to be vigilant and monitor our symptoms and blood tests during the weight-loss process. Let me know how you go, please.