Dame J

Just take it easy Mandi and be good to yourself. I know how concerned you must be. I hope this clears up for you soon. I hate being sick. Get better. :hug:

:confused: Well whatever you do Susannaha do not make that joke to medical professionals. I said the same thing about not doing needle drugs because of my small veins and the Dr. doing my blood work-up and he just frowned at me. Tough Room I tell ya! :heh:

Hey I know what you mean Andrew. The only people that I know I am doing this are my mom and dad and they are not allowed to tell anyone. I have been lying to everyone left right and centre. Never thought I had it in me but hey sometimes you just have to protect your right to privacy.

By the way Gerry your loss is fantastic. Keep it up. Can't wait to hear more about your experience

Priscilla sounds like you and me both had the same experience in the operating room. The Dr. kept trying to stick me in the back of my hand but that wouldn't work (and yes I have a bruise there) and then finally he was able to get me in the crook of my arm as well. None of my incisions are bruised or red or swollen however my lower incision on my stomach which looks the biggest is the most painful one and I am secretly worried that it is infected. I am planning on calling the clinc tomorrow to see if my fears are justified or not.

Hey Priscilla I think I know what you mean about the power of the future. Today I took a walk through our town mall and I started to look at the stores I would shop in this spring and the outfits I wanted to wear. It was pretty fun and picked up my spirits for awhile. I didn't start throwing anything out just yet but I am sure the day will come soon enough. Oh hey on another matter for Feb bandsters are you bruised where your incisions are? If so how long did it take for the bruises to form. Don't know if I am just lucky or not but so far no bruises except for where the IV was.

Oh Cloe I know how you feel just so well. My moment came from pictures as well. I am not stupid I knew I was overweight and I knew that I was a larger girl but for some reason I never quite saw myself as what the pictures showed. After looking at pictures of mine from a vaccation (OMG pictures in a bathing suit :omg: ) it just hit me "wow do I really look like that?" and I knew I had to make some serious changes. Congrats Cloe cause you took the situation in stride and did what was best for you. You are doing so well at not just the weight loss but keeping motivated and keeping others motivated. I enjoy reading your posts along with others keep up the amazing work. You're doing great! :clap2:

Thanks guys. Feeling a bit better tonight I think the gas to going away and taking deep breaths isn't such a problem anymore. I try not to stay in one place long cause it does feel better to move around. I am keeping track of my one incision and although it is paining me it is not looking red or swollen. I think I will for sure call the clinic early tomorrow though if it has not let up. I guess I just feel weird cause I don't know what is normal and what I should be worried about. Never had surgery before and although I read about peoples experiences you never quite get it until you live it. Guess I am just learning the hard way.

Don't want to sounds like a worry wart or anything but I don't think I am feeeling too hot right now. I still get tightness in my stomach and up into my chest that hurt like the devil when it catches me unawares. Also makes me a little sick feeling. Not sure if that is normall or not. I have been taking my gas x and trying to walk about and although it helps the min I stop walking around all that gas comes right back. At least I think it is gas. :sick Also I don't know if I should worry but one of my incisions hurts. Not the port but one of the others. Yesterday when I has my shower I wraped the area in clear wrap so it wouldn't get too wet but that one incision bled just a tiny bit. now it hurts a little. Don't know if it's nothing or if I should call the clinic. I just keep thinking this better be worth it, then I question myself why I did this to myself. I just want to feel better and these bad thoughts really don't help. :cry

I thought the Dr. Coubourn experience was okay. Lots of great staff so I never felt like I was being neglected or anything. He was a very busy guy on Friday. I think he did 5 or 6 lapbands When I was there. Lot's of people from out of province that day. I was surprised he hasn't moved yet, however I was told that by the time I go for my check-up in two weeks he will have moved into the new building. I just got off the phone with him just now and he talked to me about how yesterday went and I got to tell him how today was going. I do like the fact that he takes the time to call, and it's not just one of the nurses. All in all I was please with Dr. Cobourn's office:)

Astrotoes you are so right. The nurses told me the same thing yesterday. I need to still drink the optifast for the liquid diet. i don't have to have 3 a day but I should maybe aim for one a day. Damn right when you thought you were done with them. :-) Well I guess I can use this time to finish the ones I have left up in my 2nd box.

Hey everyone thanks for the well wishes. the surgery went just fine. The only problem I had was when the Dr was trying to find a vein for the IV. I have very small deep veins so it took a couple princkings. Got home last night and napped in bed while watching TV. A little discomfort here and there yesterday but not so bad. Today I am pretty uncomfortable. I find it hard to take deep breaths. I think it's all the gas where the incissions are. Walking helps. I just walk around the house from room to room. Anyway other than that no biggie. I am now an official Bandster. Woo hoo. :clap2:

Yasmina that sounds awful! At least you were smart enough to get your self to the hospital as soon as you did. I am sure you will be fine in a couple weeks for you trip to Egypt. Just hang in there!

The whole Sliming thing seems a little freaky. I am a little worried about it, I would hate to do it at the office or something. Yuck! Even worse on a date. From what I have been reading though the question reallly isn't will I but more like When Will I? Maybe we should place bets on when us Newbies will have our first attack of the Slime or PB.

Congrats BlueGem on making the choice. I was lurking here for quite some time before I decided to do the surgery. I have found this site to be extremly helpful. Welcome and good luck with the future banding.

Thanks Maria! Yes I am excited about not doing the Optifast anymore, however I might have some durring the liquid only because I worry about not getting enough nutrients with other products. Very excited about Surgery. I just keep thinking this time tomorrow my life will be forever changed. Little nervous but who wouldn't be. Can't wait to come on here after and tell you guys how it all went. Hopefully I will be telling you how easy and pain free it was. :biggrin1:

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that Latte. I always find it very light and mild. Lot's of flavour though. I go on the starbucks website all the time and they have a calorie counter on there that will tell you exactly how much your drink or food item is. Very helpful!

I will have 2 full boxes of optifast left over and then a couple pouches by the time I have surgery on Friday. Now to be fair I have only been having 1 or 2 a day but yes I would still have many left over. I think the reason for that is because we are allowed to have optifast for a liquid in our liquid stage. I have no intentions of drinking that stuff when I have other options so I wonder if the clinic will buy two boxes back. By the way Andrew sounds like you are doing great! not every week is going to be as good as your first but hey it's worth it anyway. I tell ya the best thing about keeping busy these past couple weeks has been getting my mind off food but I swear even that is a challenge. I was driving to work the other day and smelled sulfer or something from the car in front of me and all I could think was I would kill for an egg salad sandwich. You know you're hungry when. :biggrin1:

Kaybear the surgery in mississauga is not an easy amount to let go of, it will cost you $16,000. That is pretty much the standard price in Ontario. People have found that Mexico is cheaper but it is all depending on how comfortable you are with that option and I know some people have a hard time getting assistance from Dr.'s to do fills or they charge for fills. There is an option of Medicard to help you pay for the cost of the operation. I am using their assistance. Just like a loan they do charge interest. I know that on their website it does say that they do look over certain marks on your credit history but I know that when they do your interest payments will be higher. If this is something that you really want it is worth it to give them a call. You can check out their website at http://www.medicard.com/ Hope this helps you. I know how frustrating it is. Some provinces have this operation for covered (however there are huge wait times). Ontario is dragging their feet and probably will not cover this surgery for quite some time. Good Luck on whatever choice you make. Everyone here has been very supportive and helpful and can help with many of your questions.

Andrew 2 weeks on the Optifast how are you doing? Look at your Hulla-Girl Go!!! Good Job! Becca still hanging in there? You guys only have 1 more week to go and then forget about it. Smooth Sailing through liquids.

Congrats Tres! What an exciting time you are having right now. Talk about a whole new life in a matter of moments. Great News! :)

Yoda thanks for letting me in on your routine. I am trying to get ideas for exercise and I am trying to map it out and time it with all my goings on. I don't want to make excuses for myself so I figure if I plan now I will be better off. Anyway I think you are going to like Aquafit. I used to do that for a couple years and I always like it. Very easy on the body but still a great workout.

Yasmina you sound like you are doing so well. Man that is so weird I can just imagine how that would feel to be full on a cup of soup. :biggrin1: I can't wait. 3 more sleeps. Yasmina don't worry about being sick for your travels. Mind over matter my friend. Tell yourself that you are fine and you will see. The Bruises must be shocking. I am a little worried about that. I am fishbelly white and I bruise easily so I can just imagine what I am going to look like. It scares me a bit actually. I know they are just bruises but I just worry a little about the pain to come. I keep telling myself my surgery is going to be just like yours and Tres Chic and I am going to be just fine and walking around like nothing happened in no time. At least I am crossing my fingers for that.

That is an amazing loss Yoda. You should be so proud. :clap2: I have measured all the same places as you. Except I also added my neck. I hate my neck. :phanvan What sort of exercises do you do to help out with the inches loss? You mentioned gaining muscle so do you do weights?

I think I might have a burning party with my Optifast (unless I can interest you in it Yasmina... LOL no way :speechles ) I have 2 boxes of optifast left over and there is no way I ever want another one to touch my lips after the surgery. Looks like I will have to burn it. :clap2: Slimfast is the same. Yuck! Never again!