I am scheduled to have the surgery on the 31st of January - just two days away. I'm nervous as well as excited. My biggest fear right at this moment is the anaesthetic risk. Everyone keeps reassuring me that I will be fine, and logically I know that I will, but I suppose it's just a case of fearing the unknown.

My next fear is that I won't be able to lose weight. I'm still on the shake diet at the moment and my weight loss plateaued at a 6kg loss! I've been exercising every day, following the very strict diet, and nothing. My husband has also decided to diet, not that he's very overweight, but he just cuts out a few cookies and the kgs fall off him. Isn't it always the way? :rolleyes2:

Hi Mrs M

like you I was very very nervous about the anesthetic risk, but at the end of the day my doctor told me that the pre-op diet - which I hated was not only to shrink the liver but help get some weight off to make the surgery safer. Trust in the fact that you have a good doctor and that he/she would not put your life in danger if the risk was too high.

Trust me you will go in and the next thing you will know is that you are done and on your way to your sweet spot!! after you come out is when all the hard but very exciting work starts! when you start seeing the weight drop off you will know that it is all going to be worth it.

It is really ok to be scared and nervous - its only healthy!

You can do this and will succeed at this!!! I do wish you all the luck in the world !!

Good luck Mrs M but Im sure you wont need it. I have a few fears about surgery but its more like "oh my god what if they have to lift me while Im out and Im too heavy" sounds so stupid when I write it but its the kind of thing that goes thru my brain every day, Im constantly thinking will this shine the light on my weight? I cant wait to get this fat suit off once and for all and just do things without thinking about it.

Hi, I am new at this, Im wanting to know what was the processes you had to go through?

I have my 1st appointment with the DRs nurse tommorow.......where do you go from there?

Were you in a health fund? How much did everything cost?

Did you tell many people? I know my family is very judgemental so Im a bit worried what they would say.

Did you have a psyc review, if so what did they ask you?

Sorry for the 50 questions...I just need all the info to help me through this.

Thank you.

Hi ok well when you see the nurse she will pretty much want to know how much you know about the surgery and life afterwards, as long as you are informed and have made the decision with alot of thought you will be fine!

Then I had to see the psyc for the review - thats who ultimitely will decide if you are ok to go through with it , mine just asked my why I had decided to at that point in my life, how I had been feeling etc - its really nothing to worry about!!!

Tell your family that it really has nothing to do with them and if they still have something to say then just tell them you had a choice - pay for the surgery or pay for your own funeral cause if you dont do something about your weight you could be putting your life in danger, thats what I told everyone who had something to say and it pretty much shut everyone up haha.

I paid for mine in full - it was just under $12 , 000 so it is a big commitment but very well worth it!!

please if you have anymore questions send me an email and we can chat some more if you would like to : )

I hope I helped

hi all the best with your surgery, I am sure you will be fine....

I am due for the surgery end of Feb had all my consults today didnt see the pysc. The dietitian was really informative though.

Went home with a headache lots of information that is for sure.

Have to go on 2 weeks of Optifast so will enjoy the next 1 week of normal eating I guess for a while.

Ask lots of questions thats the key the only dumb question is the one u dont ask that is for sure.

best regards

M

To all of you due for surgery soon - best of luck - you won't need it and soon you will be on the lighter side!!

When i started this journey I first went to an information night, then saw the nurse, dietitian and then the Dr. Had no trouble being accepted - and I am very large and a definite risk under anaesthetic - so my Dr kept me in ICU the first night and then in the ward a second night. Have just had my second fill and have been on a downward slide (a slow slide but still down) even over Christmas. Have now been banded about 8 weeks.

Danna

Thanks so much for all the encouragement.

I'm pleased to report that the surgery went well and my doctor was happy with everything. He said I had a "slim stomach", which I took as a compliment of course, so I only needed the smaller band.

I am now at day five (day one being the day of surgery) and relatively pain free, although I do get this sharp, stitch like pain in my left side over my ribs. I have to admit that I was surprised by how uncomfortable I was after surgery. With everything I had heard and read I was expecting to be back to normal by now, but that's not the case. The stomach pains from the gas were awful, but I expected those since you hear a lot about shoulder tip pain. Right now I'm having a lot of trouble burping, and that can be a little painful but only for a second or two. It just feels like a bubble of trapped air.

All in all, I'm feeling very well and very positive. I'm actually looking forward to getting back into the exercise program I had started before surgery, and I'm excited about the potential. I know I've done the right thing and now it's time to really put my nose to the grindstone and do the work.

That is great news - Im so glad and hope all will go well for u.

I also have alot of weight to lose and a high BMI.

regards

M (Mrs. also)

That's great news Mrs M. Congratulations on all going so well.

Well, it's now been a whole week since I had the band put in. My pain has mostly subsided now and I'm on a roll with the liquid diet.

With everything I've read and all that I was told I was expecting not to feel hungry during this last week, and it's true to an extent, but my stomach has still be growling. Mind you, I guess the fact that I've even got to the point where my stomach has been growling is amazing for someone who LOVES to eat!

Now that I think about it, I guess I haven't really been thinking about food too much at all. Before surgery I would constantly think about what's in the fridge, what to cook for meals, what to buy at the shops, which treat would be nice right about now... but I think that's mostly gone now.

Hmmmm...... could this actually be working?

Mrs. M. I am glad you are recovering well and now out of pain. I think the first week after surgery will be a real test for me as I will be at home around food! It seems like you are doing well though.

I will look forward to hearing more updates from you.

Mrs M - looks like you and I have very similar goals. My op is scheduled for 18 March. My biggest fear is 'what if it doesn't work' too. I'm paying out of my Super and THIS IS GOING TO WORK!.

Laying in bed I visualise my new body, and I've even put on the back of my bedroom door an outfit I WILL fit into by the end of the year. I can look at it and visualise myself in it for New Years.

I'm going to start my Optislim phase next week so I get 4 weeks of it to really kick start me along. I have PCOS so I'm fully expecting that I may be slower losing so I want to get a head start.

I look forward to following your progress. As I said we've got very similiar goals so we'll be able to help each other keep our eyes on the prize.

Mrs M - looks like you and I have very similar goals. My op is scheduled for 18 March. My biggest fear is 'what if it doesn't work' too. I'm paying out of my Super and THIS IS GOING TO WORK!.

Laying in bed I visualise my new body, and I've even put on the back of my bedroom door an outfit I WILL fit into by the end of the year. I can look at it and visualise myself in it for New Years.

I'm going to start my Optislim phase next week so I get 4 weeks of it to really kick start me along. I have PCOS so I'm fully expecting that I may be slower losing so I want to get a head start.

I look forward to following your progress. As I said we've got very similiar goals so we'll be able to help each other keep our eyes on the prize.

You can put me in that group of similar thinking people. I have a dress in the cupboard, its pretty old and I may not wear it out but I am hanging on to the hope that I will put it back on by the end of the year. I constantly imagine how I might look but am terrified that I will fail. I also have PCOS so that scares me because last year I went to curves religiously and lost a grand total of 4kg.

I am booked for surgery on the 19 March and I cant wait. I dont go anywhere because I am constantly thinking I am the fattest person in the room and I feel so ashamed. My husband is hot and I hate meeting his friends, if we run into them in the street I usually keep walking or hide in the aisle. I cant wait to feel good about myself again.

Oh Nat, I can so relate to what you're saying! I have started avoiding friends and social gatherings and the thought of meeting my husbands colleagues leaves me cold. Thankfully he works remotely from home and his office is based in Sydney, so trips down there for all of us are few and far between. I had been tossing up about this surgery for about a year, but when I realised that I was starting to isolate myself I made the decision to go ahead and do it.

And like both you and Soriminah, I have a little black dress, size 12, that used to fit me many years ago that is still hanging in my wardrobe as incentive. I don't expect to be there by the end of this year, but maybe sometime next year.

How similar are we all?? :tt1:

I too avoid all social events because usually I have nothing to wear. I am sure people look me up and down and judge me before I even open my mouth.

I have booked a holiday for the christmas/new year period where there will be swimming involved. My only hope is that by then, I won't feel so 'whale like' in my bathers. It is an incentive at lease.

Do you think 20kg is too much to ask to lose between the start of April and end of Dec? Thats about 9 months worth.... Of course I would like to lose the 30kg by then, but maybe the smaller goals will be better to aim for :regular_smile: