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Hi there, I just saw this video on the tube and wondered if one of you are the interviewee? [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SZzXV85dyw]YouTube - Dr. Ortiz - Interview Canadian Patient 10 weeks after surger[/ame] Dr Ortiz has some excellent videos posted with testimonials and some generic information. I am six months post-op and heading back down to OCC for a fill in March. Hopefully, that will restart my weight loss that has stalled for a few months. cujo

Wow! I am not the only one! I have severe plantar faciitis, heel spurs, edema, severe ankle arthritis from 20 years of running. The pain is so bad, inwalk with a limp and i have to hold on to furniture when I first get up in the morning. I am looking foward to my sleeve so i can lose weight and alleviate the pain. I am working on my rquirements and hope to have them done next week.

I have only lost 25 pounds since surgery and been stalled with no weight loss for 4 or 5 weeks now. You are doing awesome. That stuff is horrible. It's so hard but think where you are and why you did the surgery in the first place.

Congrats on you weight loss. I'm looking forward to a new wardrobe myself.

When I read your post the words Appetite Control jumped out at me. That sounds like heaven! Appetite Control. But to me, Phentermine is something different. When I think of Phentermine I think, stimulate. And what will happen when you stop being stimulated. Your system will slow down and you will gain weight. It is a vicious cycle. Some people are strong enough to stay out of it , others get sucked in without even knowing it. Please be careful.

@@newjrny85 hi newbie can't tell if you are pre/post op??? took naps for a couple of weeks PO energy was down the toilet i wasn't able to play the piano anymore then again, never could!!! LOL sorry, the devil made me do it!! i had problems drinking Water i had trouble with powdered shakes (yeach) (found mixed bottled shakes delicious) problems with slowly eating and chewing after a month or so........things improved eating and drinking continued to improve i was my normal "perfect" self again people have different stories situations about their times PO don't compare yourself ever to someone else "the one thing we have in common, is that we're all different"!!! we all loose weight in different amounts over times periods I lost 13.7 lbs the first month the # varied through out my journey good luck kathy

Have my 2'nd fill on Thursday April 12'th. Wow...I am restricted alright! I think I need to be emptied a little actually. I have slimed at least once a day since Thursday. I'm having a hard time getting things down with chestpain. Solids that is. Even cereal too. Shakes, grits, yogurt, icecream all go down fine. I guess I've caused some irritation with gagging and maybe I'm still swollen but if this continues throughout the week I'm going to call to have some taken out. I'm at 2.2 right now. The weight loss have been very slow....it discouraging really. I've only lost an additional 3 pounds in 3 weeks. 25 pounds loss in all so far. Well, at least I haven't gained.

I have that same worry. I don't drink any soda, but I seem to beable to eat so much and I have had two fills. I also don't seem to be losing any weight after this last fill.

Thank you. I'm trying. Just know, and prepare yourself for the hell you are about to face. Preparation and state of mind are everything, sometimes. I just long to be able to eat regular food. I don't want to eat so much that I gain weight...I just want to be normal, again....for what that's worth.

1/19/2009 After thoroughly savoring every morsel of my "last supper" at the Olive Garden last night, this morning began the full liquid diet to shrink the liver prior to surgery...the next 11 days will be limited to protein drinks & broth. Driving through one of the prettiest snow storms of the season so far (winter has just begun here in PA), I met with my surgeon, Dr Tull, this afternoon for the Pre-op visit...EKG, blood work, chest x-ray & consent forms. Everything is ready for next Friday; now it is just a matter of patience...never was my strongest virtue :-) Also took the obligatory "before" pics & measurements. UGH...but it helps knowing that this will soon be the "old" me. STARTING STATS 1/19/2009: Height 5'5" Weight 230 lbs BMI 38.3 Bust 52" Waist 43" Hip 52" Thigh 23" Calf 16 1/2" Upper Arm 17"

Hello nurserena, this is your hunger talking. You will not be able to eat more then a small portion of anything now after your surgery. You can have your favorite foods again as long as it's Band friendly, once in a blue moon. And when you start to see lots of weight melting away you will want to stay on track.. Good luck to you!!!

Oh, my goodness, this is hard. I had my surgery on October 29th, and it has been slow-going ever since. Not slow in the fact that I have been losing weight, just slow in the fact that it's taking me a long time t recover. I don't know why I didn't expect this to be hard and painful. It is major surgery, after all. It's November 4th now, and I'm finally starting to get around and moving, but I get tired so easily and get nauseous pretty fast. My doctor put me on Phenergan for nausea, but that just knocks me out and takes away whatever little bit of energy I had! The pain is finally subsiding and it's mostly just a nagging pinch now, but my back muscles ache something terrible. Initially, I did not want to eat anything. Now, my waves of hunger are so strong, I can't tell if I'm hungry or nauseous or both. I'm still on a liquid diet for 2 more days. So far, all I have eaten since my surgery is a cup of soup, a popsicle, a small frosty from Wendy's, and a small side of mashed potatoes from KFC (I cheated, but I was so hungry!). I think about what I am going to eat when my stomach goes back to normal. I can't seem to stop thinking about food. I hope once I can eat some more normal foods, and am not so hungry, my focus will be elsewhere and not on tempting things I should not be eating. I have lost 22 lbs since October 16th. That's 19 days. I feel good about this and want the weight loss to continue. I figure if I can lose 2 lbs a week until next year, I will be down 100 lbs. Even if I only lose 1 lb a week, I'll be 50 lbs lighter than right now. But there are so many foods out there that look delicious that I can no longer have! What I really crave is Chino Bandidos, my favorite restaurant. I figure once, before my band fill, I will go there. Just once. I know this may be a recipe for disaster, but it is what I have been craving. I willnot eat a whole plate of food. Just half, maybe not even that. If I plan it, and work my dieting and exercise around it, I think I could splurge just once. We'll see...I know it's not the best decision, but if I don't give in once in a great while, I feel I may be setting myself up for failure. I may just reach a point where I eat everything I want whenever I want and will lose all self control. That's exactly what I don't want to happen. Oh well....this is also coming from someone who has not eaten a real meal in a week's time and is food crazy. I can see the weight coming off in my face and in my arms. So far, so good. I want to be at 230 lbs by Christmas. I am at 253 right now. I have seven weeks, so that seems about right. All I know is that the airplane seats better feel more roomy this time when I go home. Last time, I could barely get them to buckle. I was so embarrassed. I don't ever want that to happen again. Anyways, that's all I have for now. Have a great night, everyone!

So far, as part of my pre-op preparation I have: 21/7/06 Met with the GP (Dr Richards) for initial referral to surgeon; was weighed at 132kg. He said to eat less and move more - and that I'm depressed - well der fred! Of course I'm depressed - without hope of losing weight until I heard about LapBanding. I need a new GP. 28/7/06 Met with surgeon (Mr Chris Hensman, EndoSurgery Victoria)for initial consultation; was weighed at 134.3kg Had chest x-ray at The Valley Private Hospital 5/8/06 Had blood, urine, ECG tests at Melbourne Pathology, Edithvale 5/8/06 Met with GP to discuss Enhanced Primary Care Plan (referrals for dietician and psychologist) recommended by the surgeon. 8/8/06 Met with physician (Dr Lim); was weighed at 132kg. Told I have a heart murmur. I'm to have an cardiac ultrasound (echo) on 10/8/06. Mum tells me that Nana Vi had one (which wasn't picked up until she was over 90!), as does Carla (cousin). Dad has a "missing heartbeat". 8/8/06 Dropped paperwork for EPCP to GP's office. He had secretary call in the evening to say he wouldn't do it / doesn't think it's necessary. This means I'll have to pay for these visits via health insurance, resulting in a much bigger out-of-pocket cost to me. Now I KNOW I need a new GP - one who is band-friendly and more supportive. I'll ask ESV for information, or go and talk to Dr Dillon. (TERESITA - THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENT!!) 18/8/06 Second visit to Dr Lim. Heart murmur due to turbulent blood flow. Blood tests all normal, including triglycerides, cholesterol, glucose. I am good to go. Booked surgery date with ESV for Oct 5th. Roller coaster of emotion today, as dad also announced his retirement - but am elated! 24/8/06 Met jenny from LBT for a coffee - very nice lady, and very reassuring. 26/8/06 Had psychological evaluation with weight loss counsellor. Going in, I was very sceptical, and feeling defensive, however I was determined to be open and get as much out of the experience as possible. She says my emotional cues for eating are likley to be anxiety / wellbeing imbalance related. So I need to take more time to sit in the sun and do more things for myself that promote my wellbeing. oooh goody - a prescription for massage! LOL! A life-changing and very positive experience. 29/8/06 Went to fist Bandworks meeting at TVP - wow so many people! I haven't really clicked into this group yet, however met some really nice people, including tolmc (Vicky)and tarajane (Lisa) from LBT. 31/8/06 Dietician group session #1. Went through pre-op diet and post-op liquid stage. tolmc (Vicky) was there also - she's being banded in a couple of weeks.

Well, a BIG box of Optifast shakes arrived in yesterday's post (from my eBay purchase). I also bought a box each of the choc bars, choc mousse and chicken soup.:hungry: Not really motivated to drink or eat this stuff... ...but since I spent all that money on it, and want to drop some kilos right now before surgery, I'd better start. It tastes ok, but I'm not looking forward to hunger pains and feeling depived... ...at least its only a few weeks, and the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. My work pants and jeans are both falling apart, and as I haven't any other decent clothes I fit into right now that are warm enough or suitable to wear out of the house:cry , a couple of weeks of meal replacement will do me good. I have several pairs of NEW pants hanging in the wardrobe - and all they need is just a very few kilos lost before I can wear them:) . So that's motivation to get started. So, from now until the final 2 weeks pre-op, it will be breakfast and lunch of Optifast, and a normal dinner with the family. Some days I have lunch functions, so will not Optifast at these events:hungry: . The last 2 weeks pre-op will be the full Optifast shebang.:speechles Exercise will be a minimum 30 min walk (work days), a 1 hour session of something else on the other days (walk, ride, gym or swim), or a full weekend "chores day" (gardening, laundry, cleaning etc). I must log back into fitday.com and get that log going. I got the rest of my pre-op appointments and instructions from ESV today. Appointments as follows: Sat 26/8/06, 11:15am - weight loss counsellor, Kew Thurs 31/8/06, 5:30pm - dietician group session, Mulgrave Wed 27/9/06, 8:00am - pre-admission nurse, Mulgrave Fri 29/9/06, 9:30am - specialist surgeon pre-op review, Mulgrave Thurs 5/10/06 - surgery, Mulgrave Mon 16/10/06, 3:30pm- post-op nurse review, Mulgrave Mon 23/10/06, 5:00pm - dietician group session, Mulgrave

I feel like I've been riding a rollercoaster for the past four days. The pace of events, and emotional highs and lows have left me worn out. It'll be good to get back to work tomorrow for a break! LOL! Here's what I've been up to: Thursday - had a late night Wed writing up the kinder newsletter, so I could print it during the morning. Then we had a surprise party at playgroup for AD's 40th - she was touched! I met up with jenny from LBT for a coffee - her insights were very reassuring. Had dinner out with the kinder mums. After 2 glasses of wine, I felt like I'd had the whole bottle. Friday - got a call in the morning that uncle B was very ill and may not live more than few days to two weeks - so I drove to Sale to visit him in hospital. At this stage, he really doesn't know his prognosis is so grim - the doctors are preparing him for this news. He didn't look good - could hardly breathe, and the medications that he had been on had made him bloated and blotchy. These have been stopped now (because they found out it's not an infection), and they were making a gradual transition towards palliative care, with morphine pain relief being started. But he was still the same old B - happy (and surprised!) to see me. Mum and Dad would have liked to have been here to see him. It was very hard to kiss him goodbye when time to go home, as I won't see him alive again. He is my favourite uncle - a bit of a larrikin, and had his problems, but still loves us all. Didn't get home until late - quite emotional. Time to cry later, not now. I had some phone calls with friends etc when I got home that were a bit stressful - some anxiety and stresses amongst the gang - some of them have some major issues in their home lives at the moment which are making them agressive due to stress. A bit like what's going on around parts of LBT too. I hope to keep out of it as best I can. Saturday - Mad rush day - to get ready for church family dinner (30 ppl at our place). Had my visit to the weight loss counsellor - very enlightening - I journal about this separately when my head has cleared, so I don't lose the benefit of her insights. The main one is that I am anxious - and need to find time to calm down and relax - this will help with the snacking, which she believes are due to an energy imbalance (well-being sense). I need to sit in the sun more! Hooray - permission to relax and be girlie!!! A doctor's prescritpion to break out the oil burners, massage oil, yoga classes, mediation... ...mmmmmmm! bliss!!! What more could a girl want?? Sunday - church, followed by puppet rehearsal for next Sunday. After lunch at home, we went to Elwood Beach for a family break afternoon. DS loved playing on the playground, and we had a coffee in the foreshore cafe. He crashed out fairly early - he's been grumpy tired all day. Finally time to clean up and do laundry etc in the evening. I'm off to bed now - I feel like I've not slept in days - it's mainly emotional exhaustion - but elements of physical exhaustion and probably dehydration from rapid pace of the weekend are not helping either. Anyway - it's been wone of those weekends where it feels like the world has tilted and adjusted itself - funny how things often all happen in a rush at times - and then all is calm for a while. Except this weekend, following the counsellor's consultation - it feels like it has finally tilted in the right direction in terms of finding some of the ansers to my emotional / head hunger issues. Halleleulia!

This morning was my initial consultation and Dr. visit. It was supposed to be a 3 hour ordeal...it ended up being almost 4! It was ridiculous! The bottle neck was that there were like 12 of us for the hour long presentation and requisite Dr. one on one afterward and, when we got there, instead of asking everyone as they came in for their Insurance Card and handed them a clipboard, they had people sign in, wait to be called up, asked for their Insurance Card, made a copy of it, and then handed them the clipboard for more paperwork to fill out. Then, after that, we had to wait until they called us back individially to get our height/weight/BP and sent us back to the waiting room. I got there at 8am...it was 9:40 when they finally started the presentation. It was over at 11:30, I was finally seen by the Dr. at 12:30...now, I don't know about anyone else but, that was pretty bad! Nonetheless, I finally got to talk to Dr. Caccuci and she said that she thought I was a good candidate and I should have no problems getting approved. *I've heard that before* So, my next steps are to get my PCP to fax over my medical records to Dr. C and schedule my psych eval...which, I'm told, is another 3 hour ordeal. Actually, my next step is to talk to my boss today and let him know what is going on with all these Dr. appts I'm going to start having...this should be fun.

This morning was my initial consultation and Dr. visit. It was supposed to be a 3 hour ordeal...it ended up being almost 4! It was ridiculous! The bottle neck was that there were like 12 of us for the hour long presentation and requisite Dr. one on one afterward and, when we got there, instead of asking everyone as they came in for their Insurance Card and handed them a clipboard, they had people sign in, wait to be called up, asked for their Insurance Card, made a copy of it, and then handed them the clipboard for more paperwork to fill out. Then, after that, we had to wait until they called us back individially to get our height/weight/BP and sent us back to the waiting room. I got there at 8am...it was 9:40 when they finally started the presentation. It was over at 11:30, I was finally seen by the Dr. at 12:30...now, I don't know about anyone else but, that was pretty bad! Nonetheless, I finally got to talk to Dr. Caccuci and she said that she thought I was a good candidate and I should have no problems getting approved. *I've heard that before* So, my next steps are to get my PCP to fax over my medical records to Dr. C and schedule my psych eval...which, I'm told, is another 3 hour ordeal. Actually, my next step is to talk to my boss today and let him know what is going on with all these Dr. appts I'm going to start having...this should be fun.

I thought I would blog my journey so others could know what I went through and maybe it will be helpful to someone. Background info: I am 5'4" tall and 43 years old. I was sort of thick in high school. Not fat really but my thighs were a little heavy and I wore a size 9 to 11 jeans. I remember this well. I was a cheerleader and was the biggest one. In college, I lost a lot of weight because I was the mascot of my college and it is really hot in the suit! I was a size 5 then, for about 2 years or so. I joined the army and gained a little weight. I was back in a 9 or 11 for the next couple years. Then I got married and got pregnant. That was the beginning of the end. I gained 80 pounds with him and he was premature! I never lost all the weight. I was 210pounds when he was born. I got back to 175 and stayed there for a year. Then my second pregancy.... gained back to 210 and lost only to 190 the next year. I joined weight watchers in 1995 for the first time. It was an at work program. I lost 12 pounds over the summer and continued to loose til I got to 163. I thought I was done with weight watchers and quit. I was a perfect size 12 for two or three years (continuinig to go to WW later on). I was pretty happy with that. Then came my daughter. I gained back to 215. I lost some of that after her birth but was hovering around 200 for a year or so. I did WW again to try to loose the weight. I got a divorce soon after she was born and I managed to loose back to 170 but that is as far as I got. Then, I slowly gained and was in the 180's for several years. I did WW again and I lost 20 pounds or so and got back to 170. I did this 170 to 190 and back again about 3 more times in 5 years. In 2007, I met my husband and I weighed 170, still at weight watchers. We married in September and you guessed it, back to 190 before the wedding and had to get my dress let out! I felt very frustrated. We wanted to have children so I had a tubal reversal in December of 2007. I took a lot of hormones trying to conceive. I balooned up to 220. I tried WW again and lost 10 or 12 pounds. I couldnt seem to get under 200. Then I had a job transfer and moved all the way to Texas from Alabama. It was a huge stresser on our family to move from a house to an apartment. Nobody was happy about the move. My kids were mad and I couldnt sell our house. It took 9 months and we finally did sell it and buy a nice home here. During all of this, I gained to 235. My highest weight. My husband was not "particularly attracted" to me anymore and it left me in the worse depression I have ever experienced. He was heavy too and so I pointed that out and we both did WW for 6 months or so. He reached his goal in that time, loosing 60 pounds and I lost down to 210. I was depressed because it was just falling off of him and I was eating much less and not loosing very much at all. I gained it all back. We planned a trip to Brazil to see my exchange student get married. I had 6 months to loose some weight. I considered wls then in fall of 2010. I felt I could do the supervised diet and then have surgery when I returned in March. I did the diet and took the HCG and B12 shots every week until we left. I lost 20 pounds. I weighed about 215 when we left. I returned two weeks later at 230. I consulted a surgeon about wls again and I didnt like the staff at that Dr.s office. The medical assistants as they are called could not even spell and could not hold an intelligent conversation so I didnt feel I was in good hands. I gave up on that in May 2011. My husband got a new teaching job in July, his first since being in Texas! We were changing insurance in August. So July 29th, I decided to see if Humana was going to cover wls and what type of diet and stuff was I going to have to do to get it done. I saw that the surgeon my friend recommended to me was having a seminar the next day (Saturday, July 30th) and so I signed up. My husband and I went. We met nice people and I decided I wanted the sleeve. Its the same one I decided on the year before, but didnt follow through on. I made an appointment for Monday, August 1. Humana didnt cover the sleeve unless you have a bmi of 50 and mine was 40.2 so we were going to be self pay. We decided to get it over with before school started and scheduled the surgery for the NEXT Monday at 8 am. Wow! I had a date already! I went on a one week preop diet and lost 9 pounds. I was 225 when I had the surgery. I went back to work the following Monday. I was just weak and tired but not much pain or anything. I had a little trouble getting in the required fluids. Next chapter-- At the begining of my third week post op I developed a kidney stone because I was dehydrated. I was hospitalized for 5 days and had another surgery on my kidney to place a stent. I gained a lot of weight from the fluid they gave me. I got the stent removed last Wednesday and I am finally, at 5 weeks out, starting to feel like my old self again. I started walking this week and doing a little weight training. To date... I have lost 27 pounds. I weighed 206.9 this morning. Thats lower than I have been since the trying to conceive days about 3 or 4 years ago. I am doing better about drinking but have not reached 64 oz on any day yet. So in Summary: I have been a yo-yo dieter for 20 years and havent been under 170 in about 14 years. I want to be my college weight of about 135 pounds, a size 6. I could stand to be 125 but that is getting a little thin for my build. It has been forever but I at least have a reference point. I can visualize that but I still have a hard time believing that any thing will work to get me there. I am scared to believe that this is finally it for me! I hope I can do this and maintain it for my lifetime. At my highest weight, my feet and back ached all the time, I cant tie my shoes right. It hurts to lean over. I am miserably tired and have no energy to do anything. I starting thinking in terms of how far do I have to walk and are there any hills to climb before I would decide If I wanted to go to the zoo or any activity with my family. I was not living. I was slowly dying. I had to make a change for good. I am sorry this story is so long but I wanted to get it all out there. The truth, the facts... my story.

I weigh once a week, same time, same scale at Weight Watchers. I hid my scale in the garage the day after surgery and haven't looked back. On Monday I weighed at the doctor's office. Lost a pound since Saturday. Great! Started eating soft foods and I log them on dailyplate. Still around 800 cals - 1000 cals/day. Gassy tummy gone, swelling still there. Met with personal trainer first time yesterday. She didn't force me to weigh, I did. That was last night, with sneakers and full on workout clothes -- GAINED SIX LBS. So I cried for about 10 seconds in the locker room, washed my face and left it there. If I freak at this early date every time I get on a scale I'll never succeed, or if I do I will lose my mind and drive everyone around me crazy too. I'm sticking with a weigh in at Weight Watchers on Saturday mornings. My trainer will be good with it (what she will say no?) and I'll stop this stupid vicious roller coaster that is already running when the cars aren't even on it yet! Today is a busy work day from home, getting ready to go back to work Monday. I love LA Fitness, and I love my trainer. I love grilled fish and I love the fact that its another beautiful day. Good Friday :bored:

Third day of getting up early, driving to work and getting home late. I'm getting pretty tired. Had to use puffy eye cream this morning. Big meeting with customers this morning but after that I can be in my office semi-relaxing at desk work for the rest of the day. Then its workout time with my gym buddy! That I'm actually looking forward to. I am alternating between working out at home in the morning and at the gym after work. After a week of it I'll figure out whether it works for me. Im trying to get those calories to between 1000 and 1200 slowly. I've been on 600-800 for almost three weeks and I'm kind of used to it. I get in my protein and water so I'm not doing badly I just know the weight loss won't continue at a starvation mode. Even though I bring a whole bunch of soft foods to work I can't seem to get them in. Its much tougher at work than it was at home. This will be a good thing when I really get hungry! Oh my gosh! Today is 3 weeks! 3 weeks ago today I had my surgery! Happy Birthday, Band! And like having a baby, the initial days of discomfort are fading fast.......

I started walking two days post op, albeit short distances. After about 2 weeks, I was walking and biking for 30-40 minutes a day. Added swimming as soon as the wounds healed (think it was at 8 weeks or so, can't remember). Wasn't cleared for weights until about 16 weeks and then it was moderate, nothing too strenuous. At 20 weeks, I started hitting the weights aggressively and haven't looked back!

Hi, I am in the hospital waiting for them to call my name. This morning I weighed 235.8. Hopefully that will be my highest weight from now on.

Day 6 of my pre-op diet has been difficult. With weird noises coming from--well, everywhere, sugar lows, weakness, headaches, and even envy as I watch my family munch down on mint chocolate cookies and milk, it has not been a good day. I'm almost watching the clock until I can say 6 down, 8 to go. It has always been difficult for me to diet. My stomach rumbles telling me that it wants food, any food, all food, and quick. I've always been able to lose 20-30 pounds as I diet, but eventually I would quit and then gain back everything plus some. I will not repeat that cycle this time, because I am not going to stop until I make my goal, and then my new way of eating will be habit and I won't go back. I am more committed to this plan than I've ever been to any of the other myriad of diets I've done. So while doing all the reminiscing of diets through the years, I am reminded of one in particular. One of my doctors graphically explained weight loss in the following way: He said it comes down to the basic fact of less calories in than you burn, and that he has never seen a picture of a prisoner of war who wasn't skin and bones. He showed me a couple of pictures even, and gave me a chapter of text to read where some POWs were starving to death, yet they still had to drag themselves to the local coal mine for 12 hour shifts with nothing but a handful of rice for the entire day. Then they drug themselves, step by step, sometimes crawling, sometimes pulling or pushing one another, back to the prison camps where they were lucky to get a small amount of water and another handful of rice. If they searched for a morsel of something else, or complained that it wasn't enough, they were tortured even more. Often these POWs prayed that they would pass during the night, knowing that their frail bodies just could not continue on. Others prayed for help to sustain them just one more day. As we are struggling through with our limited shakes or various different diets, I am reminded of those POWs and how they survived on a handful of rice for days, months, even years, all the while working hard labor in their camps. Tonight when I am hearing my stomach rumble, I'm trying to be thankful for what I have. With that in mind, 700 calories doesn't seem so small when compared to the lives of our brave prisoners of war in history.

Really struggling today, this bronchitus of the airways is terrible, you dont coff, you splutter and gasp to breath and my throat is so soar too. Anyway, health report over, i will recover and i need to because today out of the blue i received a letter from my heamatologist with my blood test reults. Hubby has hotfooted it to the hospital to hand the letter in to my surgeon, who will be ringing me next week, well my nurse will, and as she doesn't work mondays it will be tuesday. The blood tests show that i have got the lupus coagulant in my blood, and rather than my blood not clotting quick enough, this messes with the test and my blood actually is more likely to clot too much. I can have my op but will need to be on anti clotting meds for 2-3 weeks after surgery. I need to now see a rhumatologist about the lupus but have to be referred by my gp, passing the book yet again. My 80 year old mom has decided to go into a nursing home after another infection where she ended up in hospital. This is going to keep me busy mentally over the next month or so and a lot of physical work by my husband, our two sons and hubbies brother to empty moms bungalow. It is very difficult when this has to be faced in life, it is something that she never wanted or me, but she needs 24 hour nursing care and i cant give it to her, so a nhs funded nursinf home is the only answer. I think i am too ill and emotionally drained to be excited or otherwise about my op at the moment. I had it in my head to have it in march, no later, but seeing as they only do 2 ops per week on one day a week am hoping they havnt scheduled march yet and i have time to get better and start my 2 week pre op diet before march begins, ready for the first date in march. I went to my support group last night and they are a brilliant bunch of people who are cheering me on, and i know i am very blessed to have them, and i have a group of christian friends who are praying for me and supporting me too. I think i will only believe it is happening when im actually wheeled into the operating room, lol. Did i say, i had my hair cut 2 weeks ago, really short with a short fringe and spiky and everyone says it makes me look younger, and i love how easy it is to do. I have had a pic taken of me with a white furry hat that looks like a dalmation head and everyone says i looked nice in it so for the first time in years i have my face on my facebook account. Not ready dor the body yet though. I always said when my face was thinner that i would have my hair cut and have surprised myself by having it cut now. I have even begun to wear make up when i go out and its made me realise how much i had given up on myself, so i feel younger as well as looking younger. I have told hubby to smarten himself up too and have bought him some younger looking clothes so we match more, dont want my man wearing bobbly flecees-jacket and jumper when he takes me out, he has spruced up well, i have a well dressed handsome silver fox on my arm now, just wait while i loose my weight, i think his little belly will have to go, lol. I am determined to do all i should to loose the weight healthly and to maintain it, i dont want to be putting any weight lost back on, i know it can happen and am aware that the sleeve is a tool that only works when you use it correctly, and i will need to deal with comfort eating and weak will and eating chocolate or puddings to comfort me. I have seen how the sucsessful people work at it, and i want to be one of those people, i want the new me and the new life it will bring. I was talking to a lady last night who has had the bypass and she told me that what she eats now is the same that a thin woman would have always eaten instead of the huge portions she used to eat that made her 27 stone = 27 x 14 lbs. That made sense, the smaller stomach helps us to eat what our bodies need instead of what our stomachs demand, cant wait to get rid of the greedy part of my stomach and work with my new smaller stomach. I will update next week and really hope it will all be good news now, bye for now, keep up the good work, because You are worth it, xxxx