dange25

it seems sooo far away...but when we have to start the pre op liquids soon, it makes it that much closer!!! I will be sure to give you a thought while im in hospital Linda!!! we can be the August girls!!

Thankyou everyone for you well wishing. I am totally stoked that there is a 24 hour support team at my fingertips 24/7. I dont actually know anyone here that has had the surgury so i feel like a pioneer in my group of friends. who are you supose to talk to when the going gets rough!!! *laugh* one of my girlfriends that knows what im up to said she will come and do the hard yards with me on the 2 week pre op diet. she said she promises not to bring any Mac D's or kfc.... <grins> funny bugga! so.... to all you girls that i am sure i will have many questions for at some stage, THANKYOU in advance. The knoledge here is priceless!

Hey there everyone. Just thought I would take the time to mention that i too am in the line up for the sleeve...finally got my date. After dieting and excercising for years..... *keep falling of the wagon after 2 years of faithful slimming* playing with the yo yo in extremes with big loses and even bigger gains its now time to get it right once and for all! the 3rd of Aug means the begining of my new life. All my life i have been overweight never knowing the secrets of a smaller person. how they shop, how they *enjoy* clothes shopping (always a headache for me) being spontanious, not ever haveing to worry about seat size and is there going to be anyone sitting next to you?, swapping clothes with friends....because you can.... (glad i didnt have any sisters thats for sure!!!) soooo many locked secrets that are like pandoras box for me!! I hope one day i get the chance to unlock that box! roll on 3rd August :wink0:

It seems that my surgon is so sure that my super will be released that he has given me a date just outside antisipated approval date! OMG....did i mention....OMG???? I got 2 and a half weeks to ween my baby before starting the optifast diet! 3 Aug is the big day! I think that is the only worry i have about the whole deal! nothing i have read here has rattled me as i feel like i know exactly what im getting myself into! I remember when i bought my house... i had the same kind of butterflys in my belly about the big decision i was making. It was so much bigger than me and my silly little world, but i know i was doing the right thing and going in the right direction. scared of the unknown of cource... but i know its the right thing to do! Its like feeling removed for the actions i make for myself?? Just watching from a distance as the *sure* part of myself makes the decisions for the shy part of myself. lucky for me shy is taking the back seat on this one! I will be getting my information pack in the mail tommorow which will tell me time place, part of the hospital blood test appointments and and and. I have already been in touch with the dietition so the wheels are well and truely turning. I cant wait to see this chapter of my life unfold! soooo till tommorow. Cheers:thumbup:

I gave them a call to ask about this cost...they told me that the stapel gun and staples they use are titanium and are of the throw away variety! think i might ask to keep my gun.....THEN FRAME IT WHEN I GET HOME. let it be a constant reminder to myself!! thanks for the input girls... cheers

Congrats Carol! I hope I can be in the same place you are in 9 mts time or so.. I dont remember ever being in a size 14....or 16 for that matter! It really is nice to hear these kind of stories! so well done! what you have done is priceless! cheers.

might have to give them a call i think!!!!!!

I have now been to see the surgon (and am totally hooked on the idea) All my paper work has been submitted to APRA for the release of my superannuation money that will pay for my surgury. 5 working days later they have sent to me saying that i got 10 to 30 working days to wait for an approval. so here i am. i have bought a box of optifast to see what its all about and now am looking at having to stop breast feeding. Swallows hard. wasnt sure when i was going to be giving that one up...but 10 fold is the right thing to do!!!! I also took the liberty of buying some very small plates and bowls... is totally classic! i love the idea of being able to eat from these and be satisfied!! Of cource im a bit scared too. I really hope that my head doesnt let me down! I realised that I tend to keep eating even when the message is....YOUR FULL!!!!! god forbid i waste an untouched T-bone steak that i havent even started on....ate all the veggies first!!! i couldnt do it tho... i couldnt put the knife and fork down. i have since started using smaller plates (not the really small ones yet) and asked my hubby not to freeze 2 big steaks in 1 pack!!! hold him to start halving the sizes for me!!! pffft have also started to kick my pepsi max habbit today. ***shakes*** im trying to get my head in a better place before all this happens, as i dont know if its 3 weeks away or 10 weeks away. I'm taking it on good athourity to kick the habbit now before i have to kick a heap of habbits all at once!!! ouch....one good thing tho...lol i found some coffee optifast today...**cheerin** Im so scared i will let myself down. how do you retrain yourself overnight to go a strict new way of life. im 33 and been overweight all my life. I have taken up a number of new habbits in my time to try and loose weight and havent been able to maintain these habbits. hence the problem remains!!! I admire the girls here that have taken the opportunity to get a new life and question where did there new found focus comes from.... i imagine its hard to transition from fatty boom bar to exercise junkie... extreem i know sorry but thats how i see myself and how i question weather or not i can do this...dont get me wrong...i want to do this...maybe it gets easier to exercise as you become smaller, fitter and healthier. I have realised in all the hours and money i have spent trying to do the right thing, i have ended up failing myself with bad maintnance. (not that i got down to a point where i should of been considering maintnance, and so the depression of doing so well and not looking good/feeling great yet starts the circle again.) I look back at my pics and could of slapped myself for not keeping on track. I really hope that this surgury keeps me on the straight and narrow and i can become one of the people here that love exercise. pffft i have loved it once before.... i have to find how to love it again. I can NOT let myself down again.....CAN NOT!!! *sighs* another day closer to approval

I got my quote for the sleeve proceedure and there is a $2205.50 cost for Prosthetics!!! Is this bougie left in place? I was under the impression that there were no **prosthetics** well...not over $2000 worth? Can anyone shed some light for me please... Many thanks

the Yucca root sounds like a bad experience before you even start trying to put it in your body! Im funny ha ha funny stranger about that kind of deal! so....if you see the yucca root in the store again i would be telling him thanks but no thanks. lol tell me they are not like *dates* lmao!

Hi joy I was just wondering, and I know its going to sound strange, but... would you do it all over again...was it worth it?? for all the things that went wrong?

I have been waiting for about 3 weeks now and am glad to be able to say my appointment with the surgon/specilist is tomozo *lol* for short cut word! I have a hour and a half appointment and am totally baffeled as to what is going to happen in that hour and a half. what are they going to say? are they going to accept me? are they going to ask me questions? maybe they are going to tell me what to do next...or even tell me to wait. (until apra releases my super....IF they release my super)hell maybe they could even say start preparing NOW yippeeeeeeee I look at my daughters little tuppaware *snack cup* and think to myself that i will be joining her in the snack cup meal *grins* very excited!! My hubby says he will buy baby food for me too!! (smart asssssssk your mother for sixpence to see the funny giraffe!!!!!!) back to the story.....I can only imagine that this appointment will change my life one way or the other. I will be devistated if they cant help me...or have to make me wait for 6 months or or or...who knows what. I know that I want this surgury and am totally ready for the upside down that i will be thrown into... I like upside down! I'm good at upside down, especially if its been a long time comming and i have made it happen for myself. thats how everything has happened for me over my life. example..... a washing machine put me into a home loan and one of the best decisions i have ever made in my life! (I now pay half of what most rent for) So...hopefully tommozo is one of those days where i thank my lucky stars i went into my hubbies doctors clinic with him, but waited in the waiting room. the one faithful day I picked up a peice of paper that could change my life, and perception of life and how i see it forever. I peice of paper that made me consider what i want for myself....my family....no just myself for the second (not that they didnt have weight in the decision of course) but a peice of paper that could make me totally re evaluate who i am...and who i could be if this actually worked for me. positive turmoil that has given me restless nights, but waking with a smile. Anxiety on a decision that has to be made twice....three times even. Maybe the answer is in the washing machine or the pocket of my jeans! pre or post wash is the question.:001_rolleyes:

*slaps self* for not being able to work out how to transfer my ticker. Made ticker and must of coppied bb code a million times, tryed the upload botton, tryed the save signature....pfffffft No hunch! lol silly me grrrrr!!!! :001_rolleyes:

*big smiles* congrats chick!

Hi ppl. Is *nexium a vitamin supliment* for the first *month* after surgury??

Was wondering if anyone in Australia has used there superannuation money for their surgury?? my GP told me that this is very possible so I have started making APRA applications. Only thing is I have no idea how long it takes for the money to be released!

thanks lib. how are you finding it?? do they look after you at greenslopes?? *smiles* they seemed really nice! and cant wait to see them on the 19th

I already love this site, watching it grow and getting to know the peope that make many threads. ok...most dont know me....but over time, I hope I can become a strong part of this community. I have already learnt sooooo much. so... *smiles* thankyou soooo much for the welcome...its kind of nice to know the welcome's are there, also the support and friendship, not to mention the wealth of info that you guys carry with experience.

**waves arms in the air madly** don't forget meeeeeeee:wink0:

A little over a year ago I took my hubby to his GP for a check up. While I waited.... in the waiting area (of all places, funny enough) I was looking over a board of pamplets... pamflets.... nope thats not it either.... info board:thumbup1: and saw some....info on banding. I had them in the top draw of my desk and would always look at them thinking 'there is no way I'm going to be able to afford this treatment' I would sigh and put them back. It wasn't till I was going through the info and found the part about being over 40 BMI (my BMI was up to 60 with only a 3 kg weight gain in late pregnancy, and is now at 50 7 and and a half mts later....swallows hard) that I booked an appt. with my GP to see if there was any way around it. I built a case of *yo yo proof* with photos at all stages of my life, none of which were "skinny", but you could see that this battle was going on for manyyyyy years (50kg here 30kg there) and never even come close to winning. My lovely GP looked at me and said that I was a perfect candidate and don't worry about the money as you should be able to access your superanuation to pay for it. I felt the biggest wash of releif/anxiety/fear/excitement/jelly legs/upside down belly like a child on xmas eve. ohhh did I mention anxiety??? I was then put on a public waiting list at catagory 2 waiting list which translates to, ohhhh about 3 to 6 months waiting list... adn thats only for an interview to be re catagorised again!!! (another 1 year waiting list so I'm told) *slumps in chair* Scratching around in all the sites I find a seminar for banding. gung ho on getting a band I went along and was amazed to learn of this sleeve. Instantly i was.....:thumbup1:. thank god I found this out before signing up for a band where I was prepared to take all the jackpots that come with it. Soooo back to the drawing board, and another mountain of hours looking into sleeve pros and cons. I haven't been able to find many long term sleevers but also haven't heard of many complaints for those who have had it. I am totally happy with my decision to have a sleeve. I was prepared to do a band with all the associated posibilities/disruptions, BUT now am all warm and fuzzy thinking that I beleive I saved myself a bucket load of heartache by choosing a little sleeve. I can't wait to see my doc next week and see what he has to say and what my next move is. Until then I will keep trying to loose weight on my own, wishing the days away.:001_rolleyes: roll on 19th!!! ****off with the fairies for the minute****

Hello everyone I have an appointment next week in Greenslopes. The doc at the seminar had some girls that had been banded or sleeved who said there was a combine support group in Brisbane. I would really love to hear from any brissy people or even Aussies that have accessed there super to pay for there treatment. I have the APRA forms and will be seeing my doc on the 19th where he will be giving me the extra paperwork for lodgement with APRA. Does anyone know how long it takes for the lodged application to go through? If I had my way I would of had the surgury yesterday. Sooooo many hours researching the ins and outs of band vs sleeve, finding out pros and cons either way (sleeve being far superiour from what I can see) but really wish I could spend some time with a sleever/group of sleevers to get the inside story or even just feel closer to getting somewhere. I have only told my hubby, my mum and my step mum about this and they really cant give me the insite i need. (well......my mum had chrones and pretty much got some of this surgury by accident) I feel like I'm going out of my head waiting. I'm not good at waiting once I have made a decision. LOL it took me about a year to actually MAKE the decision. Anywho....thanks to anyone with some answeres (and thanks to the admin of sleeve talk :confused1:)

Hey everyoneeeee. I have just made the switch from LBT to here. happy happyyyyyy. It's really nice to be able to find out more first hand experience from ppl with this sleeve. I have spent a great many hours on the next trolling for info and was *thinking* that sleeve was going to be a better option, but still needed the back up info to support this idea. I was getting a bit scared about the band but was almost ready to commit to it before i found out how wonderful this sleeve is ment to be. I have my appointment on the 19th of this month and have started the request for super release. I'm gonna get the sleeve if my doc gives it the ok. Really can't wait! ITS TIME Thank you all for giving info and feedback freely. It makes me feel more confident about the choice i have made for myself. :wink0:

In the paper work i got from the docs, i was told to consider weight lost in preperation. i joined a local slimmers club last week that promotes healthy eating for life. i did my first weekly weigh in tonight and lost 1.5kg/3.3lbs woo hoo. i am so proud of myself. i drove all the way home with a smile on my face knowing that i had a personal win for myself. I think i finally found the button that makes me question what the hell is going in the *in* door. thank god im not tracking the out doors while questioning my brains ability to push buttons!

In the paper work i got from the docs, i was told to consider weight lost in preperation. i joined a local slimmers club last week that promotes healthy eating for life. i did my first weekly weigh in tonight and lost 1.5kg/3.3lbs woo hoo. i am so proud of myself. i drove all the way home with a smile on my face knowing that i had a personal win for myself. I think i finally found the button that makes me question what the hell is going in the *in* door. thank god im not tracking the out doors while questioning my brains ability to push buttons!

hi there. Like you, I'm not banded and have been looking at paper work for a long time. you mentioned in your post "I don't want to be consumed with thinking about food" and its funny you know....thats really what got us into this trouble in the first place. Not thinking about what we are doing. It dawned on me that, not thinking about it *and being happy doing so* is the reason why I have a massive overeating problem. Maybe we need to change our thinking to get us out of this mess. I am tonight looking fwd to having a weigh in after 1 week of *thinking carefully* whats really going into my body cheers....good luck