Hi everyone (with a special hello to all my fellow Aussies)

My date for lap-banding is set for 23 April 2009. Will have the band inserted at the The Avenue in Melbourne.

I am excited and scared all the same time. The success of many on this site inspire me and the prospect of future success is very exciting. Past failed attempts at maintaining weight loss haunt me (I've lost weight then put it back on [plus more] more times than I care to remember).

Would love to hear from others of you that felt the same way at the start of your journeys and who have succeeded.

My partner is having a lap-band inserted on 9 April. We both have fatty livers and have therefore been advised to do the Optislim VLCD liquid diet (with veggies allowed) commencing two weeks before insertion of the band (next week for her and on 9 April for me).

Any advice on surviving this would be greatly appreciated. Also, advice on whether it would be a good idea for me to try and support her by doing shakes maybe for brekkie and the evening meal two weeks before I really need to would be great.

Looking forward to sharing the journey with you all!

For my friends in the US who don't think in kgs

Edited March 14, 200917 yr by PharmaGirl
updating ticker

Hi ladies!

Love the quote Ann. I just hope I don't come across too many corners and roundabouts! The good news is that, in the last few days I have found a good straight bit of road and am again heading in the right direction!

Wow Lili! You are probably nervously (if you are like me, in tears) waiting to go to theatre as I type this. Sending lots of positive thoughts your way, and looking forward to hearing from you soon.

T xox

Oh, Lili, by now you've been banded and I hope you are doing well! I see that you lost 13 lbs. on your preop diet -- way to go! Take good care of yourself. Glad to hear that Lisa is doing well. :thumbup:

Tamara, how nice that you've found a straight bit of road. Mine seems to have bumps along the way, but I'm determined to keep walking! :smile:

Can't wait to hear more good news from Australia!!!

Cheers!

Hi guys,

The deed is now done. I feel as though I've been kicked in the stomach by a horse and I am so bloated I look like I'm ready to give birth (to twins!). Every now and again the gas pain flares up - I feel it most in the tip of my left shoulder. Panadol (acetominophen aka paracetamol) and Maxolon (to keep nausea at bay) are my best friends.

Thanks for your kind thoughts. Will write more as soon as I feel up to it.

Lili

Hi ladies! Congratulations on the "deed" Lili! Hope you're well on the road to recovery now, and I expect you're progressing with your diet. Good luck! And you must have had your surgery by now too, Ann. Hope it all went well.

I'm travelling along okay, but my weight loss has stalled. I'm not putting on any, but certainly not losing much either. Time for an adjustment, so I'm going to have that done this Thursday. I noticed in the last couple of weeks that I was able to eat more at meal times, and that I was snacking in between too, so it's time! Looking forward to having it done, but I'll admit I'm a bit nervous about it too!

I'm still having appointments with the dietician, who is happy with how things are going (by her scales I lost 2.3kg since my last appointment, which surprised me!). I also saw the psychologist again last week, and he was happy with everything and didn't ask to see me again, which I'm glad about. All these appointments were starting to become a bit of a chore.

Looking forward to hearing all your news soon,

T xox

Hi Tamara,

Yes, well on the way to recovery now. Lisa is 100%. I still get some pain in my stomach muscles at night especially if I lay flat on my back and then try to turn over - hope it goes away soon.

We're both back to eating all types of food (steak, fresh bread and Pasta included) and though we eat less than we used to (we get full sooner - we're full after a plate of food in a sitting where we could really pile in the food before - appetiser, main and dessert) and though we're exercising, our weight loss has stalled too - I don't get that.

Lisa is going to see the surgeon today but she may not get a fill because we're going on a holiday to Perth next week and then we're off to the US at the end of May. We'd hate for there to be any complications while we're away. Anyway, we'll see what the surgeon says and take his advice. I'll probably definitely wait until the end of June (after we return from the US) for my fill.

Great job on the weight loss so far. Slow and steady weight loss is much better for your body than a rapid loss. Good luck with your fill tomorrow.

Ann has had her surgery by now. Am keen to hear how she's going. Haven't heard anything from Sare - hope she's doing ok.

Hello Lili and TamTam! I'm here! Just a little slow getting around these days. I get on the computer and can only stay for a short while. Have very little energy since surgery last week. Well, it's been one week since surgery, and I'm glad it's over! It was very difficult for me. I ended up staying in the hospital for 36 hours because I had such intense pain. I was hooked up to self-administer morphine for the first 12 hours, then dilaudid for the remainder of the time to try to get the pain under control. (I believe it was a lot worse for me because I have fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition of the muscles and joints.) Well, those heavy duty meds then made me itch something crazy, so I couldn't sleep at all -- just stayed up scratching my nose, face, and scalp. They kept giving me shots of Benedryl, to very little relief. And through all this, I couldn't release any gas or urinate. I was miserable!! But I finally got out of there on Friday night, and was thrilled to be home. Since then I've spent most days just sleeping and resting. Had no appetite until about 3 days ago. Now I'm living mostly on Soup and an occasional Protein drink. I'll be so glad to eat some mushie food soon!

I'm jealous to hear about all the lovely food you can eat, Lili! Glad to hear that Lisa is doing well, also. Thank you both for telling me about the plauteau. Now I know what to expect. I've heard about the so-called "Bandster Hell" that happens before the first fill. I guess it really does happen to everyone!

Enjoy your trips, Lili. Where are you going in the U.S.?

Let's continue to keep in touch as we continue on our journeys! Good to hear from you, ladies! Best wishes to you all! :thumbup:

Hi ladies!

How are you going? Things are moving V E R Y S L O W L Y for me. :tongue2: A few things are contributing to this - I seem to have a "leaky" band, even with thicker fluid; when it is too tight, I have trouble eating anything healthy, then snack on oh-so-nutritious things like chips and chocolate (which, unfortunately, I seem to have no trouble with!); and I'm just not getting in enough exercise. Still losing, but much too slowly for my liking!

How are you all going? Sorry I disappeared for so long - life with the kids leaves me too little time - but thought I'd "pop in" and see how you are travelling.

T xox

Hey, Tam Tam! Great to hear from you! It's was a nice surprise to see some activity on this thread. I know how busy life can get when you have children -- and I only have one! lol How many do you have? I think keeping up after children is exercise enough! Don't worry about losing slowly -- slow and steady wins the race, they say! I understand how awful it feels to have the band too tight, also. I just went through that a few weeks ago, and felt so much better after an unfill. Before that, I was unable to keep any restriction. I didn't realize you can get "thicker" Fluid. Very interesting!

I'm very pleased with my WL, but I must admit, I attribute a lot of it to cutting all sugar and all white carbs completely out of my life. That has made a *huge* difference in my life. (I was truly addicted.) That, plus walking a little every day and not snacking between meals is the difference between this diet and all the other diets I've ever tried in my life.

The last I heard from Lili, her partner Lisa got a terrible infection and had to have her band removed. :bored: But, she said she was on the mend. I haven't seen her around the board since then, which was the end of July. I really feel for them.

Lili, if you're out there, we're thinking of you and would love to know how you and Lisa are!

T, great to hear from you! Keep up the great work! :thumbup: