PharmaGirl

Hey Ann and hey Kiwi, Ann, hope all your paperwork comes through quickly so that we'll all be banded around the same time. You may not have been able to see the photo as I have our photos only visible to friends - I have sent you a request to be a friend. You should then be able to see it. Kiwi, congrats on being banded. Have sent you an invite to be a friend too. I can't believe how much weight you too are losing - 11kg (for our friends in the US that is 24lbs) in 3 weeks!! I totally agree with Ann that it is fantastic to hear that you guys that have been banded (Sare, Tam and Kiwi) are doing so well. Gotta go take some Tylenol for this headache! Lisa is laughing on the phone with a friend who is celebrating their birthday - I'm so grumpy that I think I might go yell at her for a little while (She was all grumpy before and I'm not going to let her be all chirpy now when I'm feeling so crap - as you can see, I'm the sharing type (he he he)!!

Hi everyone, An updated list of everyone being banded in April has been posted HERE . Please check that you're on the list and that your details are right.

Hi everyone, I've had a shot at updating Sissy's list of bunny bandsters. If you're getting banded and not on the list, if you're on the list and the date is wrong, if you're a hopeful and have a date, please give a shout. April 1 = mulderfamily4, Sissyh1006, hhjazzyoo1, BethT1027, lls, kaner, knewme, nataliedg8, Mommad April 2 = smilan, lingling April 3 = super_chilli, tish76, vegas girl, watermelon_1 April 4 = doodlebug11, GoddessNar April 6 = swishbc, StephOnee, shakia90 April 7 = hopeful41411, mobetter, Trulyleaves, daner1110, kmg365, lindasqd51, marlina April 8 = ldeere2005, tstanart, Singer B April 9 = txsandy, NYlady April 10 = pdburch April 12 = HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!! April 13 = lachdanon, Elayne April 14 = Suzdavis April 15 = hannahj914, sylver28, MrsMitch, jukebox81782, (sissy's office mate - are you on here yet??) April 16 = Jenfs5, scoobydoo, rannah12, vayiayia April 17 = lapbandgirl2009, lulululu, MissChristina April 20 = sandi1011, Auddie April 21 = ThinWithin April 22 = early, KikstersRT April 23 = PharmaGirl April 24 = loulou09, hrtgoeson April 27 = boomski, shellynnrn, Shrinkerbell April 28 = rcher, MSan914 April 29 = travelgrl April hopefuls = Kellster, Band_Groupie, WannaBe1/2TheWoman, Carrie_W, smiletracy

Hey guys, Sare, we haven't heard from you for ages. How are you going - you eating mushies yet? how are they tasting? I gotta tell you I don't know how I am going to survive this liquid phase till surgery. I have a shocker of a headache and am as grumpy as all get out. I'm seriously jonesin' for food I'm not allowed to eat. Please tell me when I'm going to start to feel better???!!! Like Tamara, this has made me realise how much time I spent each day thinking about (and eating!) food. I have not cheated at all so far. My aim for now is just to make it through today without cheating too.

Hi there, Yes, you are not the only one going through this agony. It is day 2 of liquids for me. I have a terrible headache, am so hungry I could eat a horse and then its jockey too, am so grumpy I could growl more fiercely than any bear. Anyway, I'm determined to do this right. You'll find lots more of us going through this at this other thread that is just for those of us being banded in April - go HERE - it includes a list of everyone being banded in April

Hey Wendy, Congrats on the weight loss. It really is awesome. I'm on pre-op liquids (and therefore am clearly not banded yet) but I can so relate to what you say about not being able to imagine what it is like not to obsess about food. I swear that today I could eat a horse and then chase after its jockey. It is a supreme effort to control myself and not cheat on this diet. I can imagine that it is exactly how a addict jonesin' for their next fix must feel. I sooooo long for the day when I won't feel like this just because I haven't eaten for a couple of hours. Keep up the great work. Love the blogs.

Hi there everyone, Half-way through the first day of 4 weeks (2 weeks are voluntary to support my partner who is getting banded in two weeks time) on the liquid diet and I gotta tell you I'm so hungry I could eat a horse (and then chase after its jockey too)! However, you've all inspired me to do this with absolutely no cheating. Hope you are all correct in saying that it gets better! OK - time for shake #2 for today. Hope that fills me more than my first one did. Then I'm gonna cook up a ratatouille to give us our veggie allowance for the day.

Thanks to everyone for their replies - all of them have been helpful to me. There is nothing like hearing it from people who have actually been there and done it. However, I will definitely speak to my doctor about this (and check if I need to have anything to prevent thromboses). I might discuss with my doctor whether I should wait to have my first fill after I get back from the US (which will be about 8 weeks after my band goes in) just in case. letsgetitstarted, are you getting a fill before you fly to India. Thanks for offering to tell us what your Dr says. I'll do the same. jms462001, thanks for offering to let us know how your flights in April go - I'll look forward to hearing.

I hope I'm running down that track and that train starts chugging soon!! I keep on wandering out to the kitchen and then remembering I can't eat!!

Hey guys, Well, Hungry Jacks (which, for our American friends, is what Burger King is called in Australia) won out last night over the French restaurant. Here's a pic of Lisa enjoying it! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/members/60515-albums2577-picture14131.html Does she look as happy as a pig in mud or what? Had my first vanilla shake this morning - is it me or does this stuff smell like Play-doh?

Hi everyone, I'm getting banded in late April but need to fly interstate in mid-May (Melb-Perth ~5 hours each way) and then internationally in early June (Aust-US ~16 hours each way). Does anyone do any regular long-distance flying with their band? Any issues that I need to be aware of? Thanks in anticipation of any advice anyone can give.

Hey girls, Tamara - 10kg in 4 weeks is AMAZING!! Thats more than 2kg/week. Keep it up. Must be great to be able to start enjoying the different tastes of real food again (just in small portions). The thought of the casserole has my mouth watering. Lise and I were discussing where we wanted to go for dinner tonight - I suggested a really nice French restaurant but you know what she suggested in return - let's go to Hungry Jacks for the last time ever!! If we go, I'll only doing it for her! My girl is all class! Thanks for the info on the possibility that tastes may change. I hope chocholate and lollies and cake taste like crap to me after the band!!! Sare, how are you doing?

Andrea, I start liquids tomorrow and I am going to refuse to cheat too. I have to do it this way because I can't cheat small - I can only cheat big time!! unfortunately, I'm an all or nothing kind of girl. :huh2: BTW, congrats on the great start!

Hey there Jessica, Don't know if others here will agree but looking back on my life I feel my biggest mistake was thinking I was fat when I was about 14 and then going on my first diet (I weighed 62kg [about 135#] and was 5'6" tall - not fat but not rake thin). Since then it has been a rollercoaster ride as far as my weight goes. I've lost weight then put it back on (plus more) more times than I care to remember. Each time I've gone back, it has been harder to shift the weight. I've lost weight every which way - diets, exercising my ass off, diet pills, etc. and there have been times when the weight stayed off for a while (my maximum was about 18 months) as long as I was super vigilant and able to stay on track but it was a supreme effort and inevitably I always had a big fall off the wagon (which was inevitably followed by a bad spiral of feeling bad and then more eating) and each time I ended up at a higher weight than I had ever been before. I think the lap band is a fantastic safety net which means you can never fall off the wagon big time by pigging out on food. Having a lap band as a safety net or tool to help you avoid slipping back to bad habits is no easy way out. Weight is still only lost by exercising more and eating less (more calories out and less in) - that's never easy and it is much harder for some of us (those prone to obesity) than for others (those who are not prone to obesity - some people are literally not able to put on a lot of weight no matter how much they eat). As one of my doctor's said to Lisa and I - those of us who have a genetic propensity for storing calories as fat would have been the survivors in the stone age when sources of food were scarce (our fat stores would provide energy to go looking for food when food was in short supply while the skinny runts would all die as they would have no energy stores to rely on if they missed out on eating for too long etc) - its just too bad we live in a time of relative feast and not famine!! You should definitely not feel guilty about getting a lap-band - it is no easy way out. If you look around on the site, you will see that there are so many posts from people who have battled weight over many years and who have successfully lost weight with the help of the band and who say that their biggest regret is that the lap band wasn't around to help them keep weight off when they lost weight in their younger years. You are lucky that this technology is available to you at this stage of your life. I know where you're coming from in thinking about others who can't afford to get the help you are able to access. That is the result of a shitty health system. It is not your fault. You should not let that stop you from doing what you can to improve your health.

Sare, so sorry to hear about the allergic reaction - at least it is only a temporary problem and will pass. Does anyone know if the band often changes the way food tastes like Sare is experiencing? If so, how long does it last? Is it ever permanent? Tamara, have you had that experience with food tasting different? Tamara, CONGRATULATIONS 10kgs!! - awesome and you've only been banded nearly two weeks, right? Clearly the juice didn't do you any real harm. I'm ready for those shakes - bring it on!! Sare, you lucky thing, you'll be back to food way before you know it. Bye for now Lili

Hi jukebox, Sometimes the surgeons will ask patients to follow a very low calorie diet (VLCD) for between a few days to a few weeks before surgery. Some people don't have to do it at all. Anyway, for those who are advised to follow such a diet, there are several commercial products for this - Optislim, Optifast, etc, which are typically a shake-like product. Apparently, the VLCD helps reduce the risk of problems in relation to the liver (as it reduces the size of the liver pre-op) and maybe gives the surgeons a bit more wiggle room when doing the surgery.

Hi everyone, Thought I'd jump in and say hi. The missus, Lise (NY Lady), and I are also being banded together - we're doing as Leena (and our surgeon) suggested and are being banded 2 weeks apart - Lise on the 9th April; me on the 23rd. However, we're both starting the liquid diet together this Thursday. Sadie, how are you and your partner doing? - I'm presuming you're both banded now. Leena, your photos are soooo inspiring - you look absolutely fantastic and much younger. And Dee, congratulations on both you and your sweetie getting to goal - great effort. Please think about posting some photos - they are so inspirational to those of us just starting off on this journey.

Hi everyone, There's a thread started just for all of us being banded in April - go HERE

Hey Lou, I'm also being banded in Melbourne on the day before you - the 23rd - starting Opti on Thursday. Are you being done at The Avenue by any chance?

Hey Veal, How are you doing after the weekend? How's the pain situation (hopefully all gone!) and how are you feeling generally? Are you hungry yet? Are you able to have a shake yet? Lise and I start the Optislim on Thursday (i'm dreading it).

Wow! Thanks for the photo BG. I have never seen them. Man, I can't believe all the stuff you guys have when it comes to sweet things!! AMAZING!!

Great job! Hopeful, I have no idea about the peep but maybe trying putting a return before the weight/BMI ticker (so that it is on a separate line. Groupie may know more. On another thing, what the dickens is a "peep" - I've never heard that expression in relation to Easter. Is it an American thing. I'll ask Lise (my partner), who is American but in case she doesn't know either ... It's ok - don't worry about answering. I think she was surprised I'd never heard of them (we're forever discovering things we each don't know about or which we call differently eg., in the USA its a trunk where we call it a boot, etc, etc). For any aussies out there who were in my shoes when it comes to peeps (ie., oblivious), peeps are marshmallow things (usually yellow or pink) moulded into the shape of a chick or bunny.

Great job on the ticker Tam-Tam. Really like the ladybird on the daisies. Very cool. If you wanted, you could add the date you were banded to your signature so we can all see how well you're doing.

Hi guys To get your own ticker: First, click on anyone's ticker. A new window should open up. You choose create your own ticker and click on the weight loss areas. Choose the background for your ticker (16 pages to choose from) then choose next and choose your marker then choose next then enter your details (including a password) and voila it is created. Copy everything in the bb code area and then go to your profile, click where it says customize profile (to the right just under your name) and then click on edit signature and paste the code you copied from the ticker web site. Save and you are all done. You can preview signature first before you save if you like.

Hey Veal, Great to hear you're doing better than yesterday. Yeah, get yourself a ticker and even though you're "photo" phobic get yourself a before shot (if you look in the before and after photo thread, there's quite a few people who are sorry they didn't take one). To get a ticker click on anyone's ticker. A new window should open up. You choose create your own ticker and click on the weight loss areas. Choose the background for your ticker (16 pages to choose from) then choose next and choose your marker then choose next then enter your details and voila it is created. Copy everything in the bb code area and then go to your profile, click where it says customize profile (to the right just under your name) and then click on edit signature and paste the code you copied from the ticker web site. Save and you are all done.