She Smiles

GOOD LUCK!! I'll have all my fingers and toes crossed for you!!

*dances to the song* hehe. I'll be on stand by around that time!!

What time is your appointment?! I'll be checking this thread like a OCD fool shortly after haha I can't wait to see what he says!!

You go girl!!! :clap2:

Well I'll chat to my friend and see, I'm sure she won't mind. And she is one of the few friends of mine who know about my band (and my forum obsession hehe) so she'll understand I think. Its been pouring in Canberra all arvo too! Its bloody great isn't it!!

I think they are great predictions!! Maybe we can call Dr Nottle and give him a reference about how keen and dedicated you are! I really hope he's in a generous mood tomorrow (TOMORROW!!!!) and fits you in within the month. Yep I'm down in Melbourne for the 16-18th March. I'm visiting a girlfriend who I am being bridesmaid for later in the year, but I think meeting up for a coffee or lunch or something sounds good (I'll have to run it past her to make sure she hasn't planned the whole weekend for us). I'm keen to meet up if any or all of you guys are!

Bronnie that sucks!! I don't understand why people have to be like that!! You can be as excited as you like with us, because WE are excited for you too!!!! I almost want to ask which forum is was so I can STAY AWAY FROM IT!! I only post VERY rarely on another Aussie forum when I have a super serious question (like I did the other day about some medication I am on) because my Dr's consultant is the moderator of that forum and she is awesome, but I have decided from now on I am going to call her, because it took her a few days to reply and I needed a quicker response hehe. They can be pretty serious over there too, at times. There are some control freaks out there in internet-land aren't there??? I don't really think that a TT is off topic when it comes to weight loss suregry though - its kind of part of the process for a lot of people when they reach their goal weight! People are nuts. *hides behind something big with all you guys so no one can be nasty to any of us * hahahaha

I might hold you to that too Bronnie, I'm heading down to Melbourne for a long weekend in March!! The optifast bars were a god send for me, it was good to actually chew something, and they are quite yummy too!!

I'm with the others, come on over one and all and hang out with us Aussies, opinions are welcome!! Thats what we are all here for, to share opinions and experiences - seeing very very few members of this whole forum are actual qualified Drs with medical advice to give!!

Bronnie you must be BURSTING with excitement!! 2 sleeps! You never know, Dr Nottle might see that enthusiasm in you and squeeze you in like my surgeon did with me. Just tell him how prepared you are for this and how much background research you have done on your own (And how you have a tonne of friends on this forum who reckon he should get you in sooner rather than later!!). I really hope you get a Feb date, and if not, a really early March one!! I had a pretty rough night last night. We had an afternoon tea at work at 4pm which I ate at, so I didn't want any dinner, I was so full from that. My fiance got pizza at about 8pm and I had a teesy tiny bite of one slice and had a sip of his coke about 10 minutes later (naughty I know!). OMG, I was in SOOOOO much pain. I was walking round my house doing laps trying to get the "bubbles" (thats what I call it when I am like that, its happened a couple of times before) out. It lasted about 10 or 15 minutes and then it was all over, but by golly it was incredibly painful (there were tears). So I guess I know now that after my fill last wednesday, eating and drinking with in an hour of each other are a big no-no no matter how little I have eaten. I mean I usually obey this rule, but just cos I have been told to, I don't know what made me think that last night would be any different. Now I know why they tell us not to do it!! OUCH!!

Susannah, I was told that i should be having 1.5 - 2 litres of liquid a day post op and I tell you I struggled to have that much in the first couple of weeks!! My surgeon recommended 200ml at a time (every half hour or so) and it felt like I was drinking ALL THE TIME!! You should be trying to drink at least a litre of water a day building up to 2 litres when you are eating solids all the time (when you start exercising you will find you drink this easily!). I couldn't have custard and yogurt etc til the second week after surgery on the advice of my surgeon. But sure, I had both of those, plus lite ice cream and low fat flavoured milk, no fat snack packs, thicker yogurts and soups, cottage cheese and cream cheese and that kind of thing in my second week. I tried to stay away from high fat and high calorie stuff in my post op stage, although I was told by my surgeon and nutritionist that I shouldn't be concerned about that because the 4 weeks post op are about healing and not losing weight. I did lose 6 kilos in the month after surgery though!! As for why I decided to have surgery....I don't want to die young and I don't want to get all the things that have made my Dad incredibly sick for the last 2 decades. And seeing how successful his banding has been, I decided it was a tool I could use to avoid ending up in the same boat. I've always been over weight and the last few years obese, so it really was only a matter of time before I was facing some kind of obesity related illness. I also want to feel better about myself physically and emotionally, and be a beautiful wife to my wonderful future husband.

I thought she attributed her weight loss to Trimspa (nasty stuff it used to be before they banned the use of pseudo-speed in it!!).

I have had an incredibly bad back for going on a year now and after many many investigatory tests, my Dr has prescribed a Water soluble feldene tablet for me. I know feldene in its pill form is a no no because its a nsaid, but will the fact that its going down in liquid form make any difference? It really has gotten to the stage with my back pain that I am willing to take the risk it to have some releif. I don't remember the last time I slept more than 4 or 5 hours a night because of it, and its catching up with me. Any thoughts?

Just a follow up on my earleir post. I spoke to my surgeon and he said while he advises against taking NSAIDS for the long term, there are instances (like my own right now) where is important for the patient to take them beacuse of an injury/illness. And that taking them in the soluble form is the most sensible way. He said that all the warnings that go with NSAIDS for normal people (ie they can cause stomach ulcers etc) are intensified with the banded of us. But that it depends on patient to patient, one bandster might take a nsaid and get very ill, and another might take them for years with no adverse reaction.

Woo hoo! 2 kilos!! Rock and Roll! See, its falling off you already! Yes, its very sad about Anna Nicole, as trashy as she was, there was something about her that I kind of admired - she was determined as all get out!!!

Thanks Loretta, that means alot to me to have you say that. I still have a long way to go before I can run 5kms though (I almost died after running 1km at the gym today), but its something to aim for, you know? I'm happy at my progress and know that it will only improve more from here! (I'll drag my sorry ass around that 5km track if I have to!! haha)

Susannah how you were/are feeling is TOTALLY 100% normal. I bet Jacqui, Mark and the others can vouch for this too. You have to think not only are you recovering from surgery but your body at this stage is in a bit of shock about the food (or lack there of) side of things. And its an emotional time too, there has been a big lead up to this point in your life and I guess we kind of expect to come out of the surgery feeling brand new, and well, we just don't (not for a couple of weeks anyway)!!!! You are doing great, take all the time you need to deal with the pain and the adjustment that this means in your life. Just think, in a months time this will all be behind you and you will feel fantastic and will be losing weight like you dreamed you would. It is ALL worth it. I'd do it all over again in a flash if I had to. Thats great that you have been walking, every step counts! Don't expect too much at this stage cos again, your energy levels won't be anything near normal. Just do what you can It all gets better from here!!!

10kms!! It'll take me a while to get up to that level Jacqui! Good on you for being able to complete it!!

Dionnem, having not experienced one the best I can do is describe it as I have read here - a PB (productive burp) is when you eat too much or don't chew enought and the food can't fit through the stoma of the pouch stomach to the big stomach, so it comes straight back up. Not fun I imagine! GUESS WHAT I JUST DID!?!?! Registered for a 5km fun on the 1st April Theres another one some of you girls might be interested in which is a national one on Mothers day. I'll be doing that one too, if the first goes ok. Heres the link http://www.mothersdayclassic.org/index.php

Holy dooley! You are smokin hot!! You wouldn't even guess that those photos are of the same person! BTW thats a cute swimsuit too Puddin!

Good Luck Bronnie!! You can do it!! I was allowed to have a cup of non starchy veggies each day when I was on optifast. I would dry stir fry them (snow peas, broccoli, onion, cauliflower, zucchini, eggplant) in some garlic and thai spices and then put some soy sauce on top. I'd have that for my dinner meal each night with a shake. It was SO yummy.

Thanks Dionnem, sometimes its hard to not see how far I have come when I am in the pain that I am with my back. I had hoped that things with my back would improve with my weight loss but the past month or so it has been worse than ever, thats why I had to bite the bullet and go and have the tests done that I have. I wish it had of been as simple as losing the weight but it seems to look like its an injury state that needs to heal. Which unfortunately won't do that on its own. It looks like physio and futher tests might be on the cards. The $ I am spending on it is adding up too, which is becoming frustrating. I'm in Canberra, and I'm getting married on the 7th July, it will be a winter wedding I can't wait!!! By agressive fills, I meant that some fill Drs seem to have a one size fits all approach to fills and don't take into consideration each bandsters situation and weight loss. Some fill Drs like to take it slow and gradually build up to the perfect fill level, thankfully my Dr is experienced enough to assess each bandster on their own merits and allows people to use this tool the way it was intended by filling them faster than some other Drs would because they are having great success with their band! I've been advised that after a fill (except for my first one cos it didn't make much difference) I need to have only liquids for 24 hours. Just to let it settle in, then the experimenting starts to see if I can still eat everything I could prior to the fill. I've not had an issue with any food as of yet. I'm dreading experiencing my first PB!! No worries about the questions! Ask away, I'm glad to help!

haha no, no toni collette. I want to be the star on the day hehe

Hi guys, Well I just got back from having my 3rd fill. I got another 1.5 mls so I'm up to 6.5 now. I go back in 2 weeks time to get another. I'm glad my fill Dr is happy to be agressive with the fills, but he did say that he is only that willing to do it with people who are obviously as commited as I am to my weight loss. I lost 2.8 kilos since my last fill 3 weeks ago. No bad, but I expected more because I have been working out 5 days a week and sweating like a pig while I have been doing it. Anyway hopefully I am one step closer to my sweet spot. The only down side is its too bloody hot to eat soup for the next 24 hours. Oh well Ho hum. I'm having a bit of a down day today, my back is REALLY playing up and my GP wanted to give me the rest of the week off work to rest, but I don't really have the leave to do it, so I am just having today off. PLus he gave me a feldene (an antiinflammatory) which is nsaid which we aren't supposed to take when banded, but its water soluble, so I'm hoping it won't do any damage. But right now, i'm not sleeping more than 4 or 5 hours a night, so I had to do something. Its a risk I know....but I don't know what else to do.

Dionnem heres my response to your queries from my experience- Shoulder tip pain - walking, walking, walking. As much as you can handle, which won't be much for a while. I cheered when I could make it to the end of the drive way with out feeling totally exhausted haha. As I said in a previous post, I also took painstop medicine. Also I had a wheat pack I could heat up which helped (you can get them from the chemist). Some lucky people don't get shoulder tip pain, cross your finger that you are one of them!! Discomfort - I'll be honest here, I don't have much of a pain threshold, so I would have rated my pain in the 3 or 4 days after surgery as a 6 or 7. But really in hindsight, it wasn't that bad. It was exactly as you put it - discomfort. I was very bloated and my incisions were quite sore for about 2 weeks. Again, every one has different pain levels. Just ask your surgeon to prescribe you some pain killers and you will be FINE!! If you have any pain that you are worried about don't hesitate to contact your surgeon immediately. You may need help with the kids for the first couple of days to a week I would think. You will feel tired, lethagic and not very much like doing Mum stuff, I predict, so if you can get some help for maybe the first couple of days it would probably be best. But maybe Jacqui can provide more advice on this one As for food, I found that the suggestions on this board for the food stages were great. A week is a long time when you are only having liquids or mushies lol (I was on non solids for 3 weeks). It all becomes really boring very quickly. One thing I loved in the thicker liquids stage was cream cheese or cottage cheese with BBQ sauce flavouring it. Doesn't sound so appetising now, but there is only so much yogurt I could have!! Also snak packs and custard were winners. But one mistake I made was buying HEAPS of food thinking I would eat a full yogurt or snak pack in one sitting. I rarely finished one and I wasted A LOT of food because it went out of date before I ate it. Also, I have been using mederma gel on my scars from when they looked healed on the outside, I really think they are fading a lot quicker than they would have with out it. Hope that helps! If you have any more questions, ask away!!!