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Why am I doing this?

Today, I thought I'd write myself a list to remind myself why I'm doing this - it is like a list of the simple pleasures that I can look forward to. Hopefully, I'll be able to refer to this list when I need some encouragement to keep going.   So, here goes - I am doing my damndest to lose weight so that I am: able to move around more easily and to feel more comfortable sitting, standing, walking, etc.
not needing to make an effort to get up from a chair, from the bed, etc.
able to throw the basketball around with my niece and nephews and not get winded right away
able to get down on the floor and play with my 3-year old nephew
able to climb a couple of flights of stairs and not feel puffed out at the top
able to ride my bike around the park without difficulty and without needing to feel self-conscious
feeling more energetic
more comfortable sitting in an economy seat on a plane
more comfortable sitting at concerts, the theatre, the footy, etc
not encroaching on other people's territory when sitting on a plane, in a theatre, at the footy, etc. and therefore not having to feel bad when they look at me with that "you're disgusting" looks on their faces
able to keep up with others when walking somewhere in a group
able to get that exhilarated feeling when I dance and dance and dance
not having to dread the next school reunion
able to play 18 holes of golf with friends
snoring less and getting all the health benefits that follow as a consequence
not getting swollen feet each time I fly anywhere
going to live a longer life
able to cut my toenails without difficulty
able to stand and prepare a meal for friends and do the dishes without getting a sore back
able to tie my shoelaces without effort
not having to go to the fat people's section/shop to buy clothes
able to wear heels and still feel my feet
able to buy rings to fit my fingers
able to find a bangle that will fit my wrist
feeling attractive
able to get into sexual positions that are currently not possible!
I'm sure there's more I could add to this list - if anyone has suggestions, please let me know!     Happy to say that I did get a couple of replies to my intro post so am feeling better today!   In fact, today I am feeling very positive about the prospect of embarking this whole journey.   Am thinking about Veal (who was the first person to respond to my introductory post) getting her lap band inserted today - hope she's feeling fantastic soon.   Have ordered Optislim for the pre-op and post-op weeks. Am leaning heavily toward starting the optislim at the same time as my partner but maybe just replacing breakfast and the evening meal until two weeks before my surgery.
PharmaGirl

PharmaGirl

2
 

The deed is finally done!

Hi there.   Well, I am now finally BANDED!! Hip hip HOORAY! I'm also feeling well enough to post to my blog - YEAY!!   This is how it all went ...   Firstly (apologies if this is too much info) I get my period the night before. GREAT! - NOT!!! My period is totally irregular but one thing I can ALWAYS rely on is the fact that it is going to come at the MOST inconvenient time.   Got to the hospital for the 11am check-in. Pretty straight forward - pay up (just in case you die on the table!!) and up to your room. Hang around the room till the nicest nurse (thank-you dear Tina for looking after me sooo well) comes in and hands me the most gorgeous gown in a delightful shade of hospital blue and a pair of huge white paper undies. She gives me some chlorhexidine wash to have a shower with (paying particular attention to the tummy area). I wasn't going to tell her that I had my period because I knew that she'd tell me I'd have to wear a pad into surgery but then BIG MOUTH Lisa tells her! Now she makes a note for the nurses in the OR and in recovery that I have a "sanitary pad in situ". I beg - can't I please wear a tampon?? No, is the answer - she says don't worry, you'll be back here in a couple of hours anyway and the pad won't need to be changed till you get back. I can't stand those damn things and if looks could kill, I'd be arranging Lisa's burial now. Anyway, I take the shower but put a fresh tampon in (I only took it out and put TWO pads into the undies right before they wheeled me to the OR). Tina, my nurse, comes back and asks a multititude of questions that she already has the answers to (she has the form I filled out for the hospital in front of her) and then weighs me so that the anaesthetist knows how much anaesthetic I'll need. Then its time to just hang around some more. Unfortunately, Lisa had to leave to go to a funeral (my best friend's dad had passed and I insisted that Lisa should represent us there). I pass the time playing Nintendo DS. Then the anaesthetist comes in to say g'day and ask the same questions the nurse had asked and to warn me of everything that could go wrong (thanks be to a litigious society!). Then its hang about and play Nintendo till about 2.30pm when two people wheel me up to the waiting room for an OR.   At 3pm, I get wheeled into the OR and there is our surgeon, Stephen Blamey. I reiterate how worried I am about my liver - he is very reassuring that everything will be fine. He makes me laugh by asking me whether I've finished some work that he knows I have due for the Dept of Health in our state. Then the nice anaesthetist sticks me in the arm with a 10mL syringe full of clear liquid. I say "See you all later. Please look after me".   Somewhere around 4pm I wake up in recovery and I am freezing cold. They pile three heated blankets on top of me and around my head until I don't feel so cold. I struggle to stay awake but don't succeed. I feel as though I have been kicked real hard in the stomach but I don't ask for any drugs 'cause I hate feeling out of it. They wheel me back to my room where Lisa is waiting. I make my presence known by starting to heave and throw up (I think the wheeling around all those corners gave me motion sickness). Lisa, being a nurse asks for me to be given some anti-nausea meds. I get a shot of ondansetron (Zofran) and then they ask how my pain is on a scale of 0-10 - I say 3. Thankfully, Lisa was there and tells them that my 3 is everyone else's 7 - please give her pain relief. They ask what I'd like (presumably because I used to be a pharmacist) - pethidine or Tramadol - I choose Tramadol as I believe it causes less drowsiness. Our surgeon, Stephen Blamey, comes into the room at some point to see how I'm doing. I tell him I feel good (I don't know how convincing I was) and ask how my liver was. Apparently ('cause I can't remember his answer), he answers that the liver was a bit lumpy but he expected that anyway. Now, I have to tell you that I feel like I was totally with it when all this was going on but Lisa assures me I was actually away with the pixies. Lisa hung around the hospital till about 10pm when I still had not woken up properly. Before she leaves, she asks if there's anything I need - she arranges a shot of Phenergan to keep nausea at bay and I say I'd like to get up and pee (which in my mind was also code for - I would also like to get a tampon in and get rid of this blasted sanitary pad!!). Lisa calls the nurse in and the nurse says she'll bring me a pan - I say "Forget that! I don't have to go that bad!! I'll wait." Lisa tells me this was hysterically funny to both her and the nurse but it didn't seem funny to me - again I think I was so out of it, I didn't really know what was going on.   Around 2am, a nurse comes in and checks on me and this time I properly wake up. I ask if I can get up and she says "of course". I could have kissed the woman - I was sooo happy. She unhooks me from the pumps on my lower legs that inflate and deflate to prevent clots and lets me go to the bathroom. I am able to pee, have a wash, get rid of those hideous paper undies and the pads and get clean undies and a tampon in. I tell you I never felt more like a new woman than I did at that moment. I went back to bed and started sipping ice and water - I have never enjoyed those things as much as I did at that time. The nurse makes me put the oxygen mask back on before I go back to sleep but the plastic of the mask stinks! Once she's out of the room, I push it off my face. Everytime she comes back into the room - I think she was checking my vitals (blood pressure, oxygen saturation, temperature, etc) every 30 minutes - she tells me I must put the oxygen mask on and every time I say " oh sorry must have forgotten to put it back on after I had a drink". In the morning, I wake up to a visit from Mr Blamey who tells me something but I can't for the life of me remember what. Finally, Lisa arrives and I get ready for discharge. On the way out, loulou09 comes over to say hi and see how it went. I can't remember exactly what I said (again - at the time, I thought I was totally lucid but looking back it is all a bit foggy) but I did lie by suggesting to her that I was feeling fine - just a bit sore and uncomfortable (sorry, Lou - you'd find out soon enough how it really felt). I know I looked like I was pregnant - WITH TWINS! Oh I do remember that she might want her hubby to tell suggest to visitors that tonight would not be a good night to visit. I still think that might have been good advice.   Finally, got home. First thing was jump on the scales - OMG!! 2kg [5lb] UP (!!). The doctor says it takes 3 houses full of gas to weigh 5lb. So, although I did look I was expecting twins, most of the gain was apparently from fluid retention (they gave me 4 litres of Hartmann's solution in the 12 hours starting from surgery time!!) and inflammation (I have actually dropped below my surgery weight now). After that, checked my e-mails only to find that my business e-mails had not been coming through for the last 24 hours. I had a full-on screaming match with my web domain provider (who let my domain expire despite my having paid the renewal ages ago [oh, sorry, we just found it!!]). After this, I collapsed back into bed. Lisa kept me walking but also drugged up with anti-nausea stuff and analgesics and charcoal (to keep the gas under control). I couldn't get comfortable. Last night I had a good night's sleep - could roll over to any side - ahhh HEAVEN!! I'm still bloated (though I look like I'm only preggers with one baby now) but am feeling loads better. If I continue to improve at this rate, I'll be very happy. I could probably work tomorrow but won't!   Last thing to say is that I was a GENIUS to let Lisa have her op done first (i.e., let her be the guinea pig) 'cause we both learned so much from her experience, especially: to stay ahead of the pain by taking pain relievers before you need them;
to stay ahead of the nausea by taking Maxolon and Phenergan before it was necessary;
to stay ahead of the gas by taking charcoal in between (separated from other meds by at least 2 hours) [so much better than simethicone, which we both found practially useless]
keeping hydrated with frequent sips of water
moving and walking to help move gas as often as you can bear.
Of course, Lisa is a real nurse and was much better equipped to help me than I was her (I feel sorry for her that she had to have an inept ex-pharmacist look after her) and I'm sure I wouldn't be feeling so cheery if it wasn't for her wonderful care (Thanks babe).
PharmaGirl

PharmaGirl

8
 

Should I be more scared?

Me again.   On Monday night, I did something I'm regretting - I googled "lap band problems". I did not need to read some of the things that came up. Amongst a whole lot of things, I am now very afraid of infections under skin folds that happen after loosing weight, of needing plastic surgery after weight loss, of constantly vomiting after surgery, of having stuff regurgitated through my nose, etc, etc. I really need to talk to someone about how common these issues are and if the latter two only happen if you are not compliant with the program set by the doctor.   Flew to Sydney for work yesterday. The plane was chockers (full) and I had to sit with my arms folded across my chest for the flight over so I wouldn't be up against the person next to me (had the aisle on the other side - thanks to the powers that be for small mercies!). I need to concentrate on experiences like this to stay focussed on why I need to do this!!   Thanks Tammy5 for the comment on my previous post. Hi to Veal and Tam-Tam and Ann too who have been posting on my intro post.
PharmaGirl

PharmaGirl

2
 

Pre-op diet

Goooood morning all.   I was so scared prior to starting the pre-op diet (which I've started 2 weeks early) that there was no way I was going to be able to survive that phase without massive cheating from the start. I'm an all or nothing girl - I either don't cheat at all or I cheat big time. The last 10 years or so I have not been able to survive more than about half a day of any diet without cheating and I was terrified this would be true with this pre-op thing. This time I, with Lisa's help, applied the "Yes, I can" attitude and guess what - Despite my seriously jonesin' for some seriously bad food (especially the first three days), I'm on the fifth day of the pre-op diet and I'm I have not had one single bit of food that one would not classify as a healthy choice!! Not only am I surviving but I am feeling great. It is so much easier when you think this is the last time you're going to have to do this and you can see the finish line is just a few weeks away. I can't wait for the next official weigh in (never thought I'd say those words!!). I've decided my Thursday morning weight is going to be my official weight. I tend to weigh myself constantly (which I know is really not a good thing to do).   The first two days were hell on earth - I was so hungry that I could eat a horse and then chase after the jockey! Also, I had shocking sugar withdrawal headaches that didn't go away despite me drinking litres of water and taking Panadol (Tylendol for US readers). Then, there's the crankiness - no one else was gonna have any fun if I wasn't having any!!   I think having both Lise and I going through the same thing made it easier for both of us - one could help the other through their humps and provide encouragement to keep going. Also, as we're both fiercely competitive, one couldn't let herself lapse if the other one wasn't lapsing too. There were moments where each of us tried to cajole the other into giving into temptation but, fortunately for both of us, the two of us didn't feel the same way at the same time and one could always help steer the other toward the healthier choice. The only exception was last night where we both thought we should swap a shake for a very small serving of lamb (from a spit) and salads. Neither of us see this as a cheat. The calories are no worse than the shake and its a swap of protein for protein. Are we kidding ourselves?? If you've got an opinion, please let us know.   To distract ourselves, we're going out a lot - we went to the movies on Thursday night, we took our gorgeous two-year old nephew to the park on Sat arvo and then we played poker at the fabulous poker room at Melbourne's Crown Casino on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights (which ended up a profitable exercise to boot)!!   For anyone out there that was in my boat about wondering if they could survive the few days of the pre-op diet, I'm living proof that "YES, YOU CAN". Just do it. The first few days are horrid but they can be survived and it is true that it gets easier after those initial few days.     The other thing that has been on my mind over the last few days have been thoughts about how I ever got to my current weight. I feel my biggest mistake was thinking I was fat when I was about 14 and then going on my first diet (I weighed 62kg [about 135#] and was 5'6" tall - not fat but not rake thin).   Wish I had someone say to me back then what our surgeon said to us when we first saw him - fierce dieting is a sure fire way of putting on weight in the longer term. It is a fact of life that some of us have a genetic propensity for storing calories as fat. We would have been the survivors in the stone age when sources of food were scarce (our fat stores would provide energy to go looking for food when food was in short supply while the skinny runts would all die as they would have no energy stores to rely on if they missed out on eating for too long etc) - its just too bad we live in a time of relative feast and not famine!! Maybe I would have felt a lot more comfortable with myself and would never have started the yo-yo dieting thing.   Last night I was talking to one of the rake-thin women at poker. Lisa and I were discussing what to do for dinner. I explained to the woman that Lisa and I were dieting and both starving. She said she never feels really hungry and fills up as soon as she eats anything. I soooo hope the lap band is going to do this for us - help us not feel so hungry almost all the time. I hope it's the tool to help me avoid slipping back to bad habits. However, I know that weight is still only lost by exercising more and eating less (more calories out and less in). I'm prepared to do this - I just wanting eating less to be easier than it has been!
PharmaGirl

PharmaGirl

1
 

One week and one day banded!

Hi to all you lovelies out there.   I realised that I have not talked about my actual progress in terms of weight loss at all so far in these blogs. I get a bit frustrated when I look at blogs of those fantastically inspirational people who have done really well over a long period of time but I can't figure how they got there. It'd be nice to compare where I'm at with where they were at when they were in my shoes to give myself encouragement that I'm doing ok. So, from today, at the end of my blog is a chart showing weight loss over time (like a ticker, it does update as I add more data on a weekly or fortnightly basis but you will be able to tell what my weight was at any time - ups, downs, everything).   Saw my surgeon on Wednesday (6 days post-op) and he said I was ready to make the transition to soft foods and then to regular food. YEAY!! Over the last two days I have transitioned very quickly to eating pretty much anything though I take it slow and chew thorougly. Have you seen the episode of I Love Lucy where Lucy and Ethel go on the diet where they are told to chew everything 50 times before they swallow? - I feel like them! Once I'm sure I'm not having any problems with the first few bites, I proceed with eating till my pouch feels full. I'm also starting each meal with one or two glasses of water so that I don't feel thirsty in the middle of the meal or very soon after it. So far, haven't struck any problems. It is FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC to be finished with those crappy shakes!! I also have to say that I am totally RAPT with being able to eat anything but finding that smaller amounts fill me up! I so want to eat like a french woman (a little of bit of all of life's good things) AND feel satisfied at the same time. I also love that the amount of food that gets eaten in a sitting is not "abnormally" small. I want to live like a normal person. I love that I can still go out to restaurants but I won't be the one clearing my plate and then checking out left overs on other plates. I'll just be one of the ones with left overs!   The surgeon was adamant that as I found I could tolerate the less slippery foods, I should cut back on the slippery stuff until I'm just eating proper food - no more shakes, juices, etc - no liquid calories. Last night I cooked up some fabulous Aussie prawns (shrimp) with zucchini in an italian sauce base and it all went down ok.   I asked the surgeon about how I should deal with two things: (i) with feeling full (because I can feel that my pouch is full) but my head still wanting more; and (ii) with feeling full (because I can feel that my pouch is full) but having my big stomach rumbling 'cause it isn't full. He said both of things would pass and reminded me that a rumbling stomach is not necessarily a hungry stomach. From what he was saying, I figure there comes a time where a synchronicity is reached between my pouch feeling full and ME feeling full. I don't know if others feel this distinction between my pouch being full and ME being full (maybe the latter is just head hunger) but I was very glad to hear him give me this reassurance. I have read somewhere that at some time in the first few weeks following banding there is a re-setting of the point in the brain at which the banded person feels full (Wish I could remember where I saw this!). I'd love to hear from other bandsters as to whether they experienced firstly the distinction between their pouch feeling full and them being satisfied and secondly, if the two came together for them at some point.   Also, on Wednesday, Lisa (who is now 3 weeks post-op and doing superbly) saw the nutritionist. I went along for the ride. She said some stuff that really helped us so I thought I would share. I have posted this elsewhere but I wanted to keep this somewhere I could look back at it so it is also going in this blog.   Lisa has been saying she wants a fill asap as she feels she is eating way more than she THOUGHT she should and she is not dropping weight like she was on the pre-op diet. Lisa keeps saying she has no restriction but in actual fact she is eating a lot less at meal times than we did before.   The nutritionist asked what she meant by not losing enough weight and Lisa said well the scales haven't changed for the last 4 days! When asked how much weight she has lost since surgery 3 weeks ago, she answered about 8-10lb. The nutritionist told us to put the scales out of reach and to only weigh ourselves once every week or, even better, once every two weeks. She also said it was unreasonable to be expecting to never be hungry or to be eating extremely small amounts of food.   The nutritionist said that the sort of weight loss experienced on the pre-op diet was not what she should be aiming for with the lap band as it was not good for her in the long term and was stressful on the body and didn't give the body enough time to make adjustments. If she kept up that weight loss she was told she could expect to lose hair, and that she was likely to see more "sagginess" around her body than she would if she lost weight more slowly. She told Lisa that she should revise her expectations about what constitutes a reasonable and healthy weight loss. She recommended that weight loss be no more than 1-2lb per week (0.5-1kg).   We were amazed (I was delighted!!) at how much food she recommended we should consume in a day. It added up to around 1200-1400 cals/day. What she recommended was pretty much in line with the typical Weight Watchers program but snacking between meals is not encouraged. Also, she emphasised the need to drink before meals and then not drink after meals for 1-2 hours (for 2 reasons - potential of overstretching the pouch and potential for washing things through the band faster than is desirable).   She pretty much reinforced what this dude, Dr Vuong, says HERE. Essentially, the message is you may stop losing weight if you restrict your caloric intake too far. So that you don't have to follow the link, she essentially told us that when caloric intake drops down to around 1100-1200 calories per day, human metabolism will slow down.   When humans had to scavenge for food that was not always readily available, bodies became very efficient at storing energy in the form of fat to tide them through times when they might not be able to eat much for a few days. When food became scarce, metabolism would slow down in order to conserve energy, at least until food became plentiful again. Typically bodies go into this energy-conserving mode when caloric intake is dropped to around 1100-1200 calories per day.         Since a Lap-Band can take a person down to around this amount, bodies may want to go into "starvation" mode. Our job is to keep this from happening by doing two things: Making sure you are eating enough (1200 cals/day for the 5'7 - 5'8 average woman - cals/day varies depending on how tall you are, how active you are and is more for males) and getting the best nutrition you can. This means eating real food, avoiding empty calories, preparing fresh meals so that your body gets all of the micronutrients and building blocks it needs to perform its normal daily chemical reactions and functions.
Exercising. This keeps your metabolism going.
In terms of when is the right time to get filled, she said if you are eating so that you are satisfied most of the time (ideally getting hungry just before meal times) and you are still losing 1-2lb per week - you DO NOT need a fill yet. If you're eating but do not feel satisfied most of the time, are finding you need to snack to get you through between meals, and your weight loss drops to less than 1lb per week, then it is time to schedule a fill.   Everything this nutritionist said made sense and I intend doing as she suggests. I am just starting to realise and hope that living with a lap band is not about being on a punishing diet but instead living like 'normal' people (who are satisfied with less and therefore don't overeat) out there. Right now, I am sooo happy I have made this decision. I just pray that the reality is the same as the theory explained and outlined above. At the moment, it feels that way. I hope it lasts. Again, would love to hear from the long-term bandsters out there as to whether this has been their experience.   Love to you all. Lili       My Weight Chart: >
PharmaGirl

PharmaGirl

3
 

Lisa's op and dealing with perfectionism!

Quick update on what is going on with us. Lisa had her surgery on Thursday. I took my laptop to the hospital so I could keep myself busy while waiting for the news of how her op went. What do you reckon I did while waiting - I looked up lapbanding surgery on YouTube and found actual footage of the procedure. Looking this up at exactly that time was not really the smartest move!! Check it out and you'll see what I mean http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5ICI9q7nxU&feature=related . It is amazing the way they blow your tummy up with air (tummy looks like a big balloon [or maybe that should be bigger ballon!]) and then proceed to do everything using a camera and these amazing instruments.   After the surgery, Lisa wasn't feeling too crash hot - quite groggy and in some discomfort from the gas in the abdomen and from the wounds (she describes the feeling as more uncomfortable than actually painful). She is very sensitive to drugs and I think they gave her plenty in the OR which explains the grogginess. Regardless, she couldn't have been feeling too bad as she managed to nag every nurse and doctor she saw to please, please, please let her go home. She gave a million and one reasons to each of them as to why she'd be better off at home. She kept at them until they finally agreed to let her go home once she was drinking (which she was doing pretty much right away from the time she was returned to her room) and she had had an x-ray of a barium swallow done to check that everything was where it should be with no leaks. So, she didn't end up staying overnight like they expect most people will do. I tease her that they would have been glad to see the back of her and all her nagging!!   She was much better yesterday. However, I think she overdid things a little yesterday doing crap around the house [when there wasn't even anything that really needed doing! - yes, she is a touch OCD]. Then, last night, she wanted to go and visit some friends and we sat and talked with them for 2-3 hours. So, after all that she ended up having a mini relapse with heaps of gas building up which made sleeping very uncomfortable or near impossible (for both of us!!). On top of that, she was a bit plugged up from the barium swallow they did after the surgery so she was stressing about the possibility of what could happen like that she might need a manual disimpaction (she's a retired nurse who knows all the terrible things that can go wrong which really is not very helpful when something is not quite right with you).   This morning everything in the intestines started moving (after she had taken enough Coloxyl and senna and prune juice to unplug an elephant!!) so she's feeling much better. We're going to go and see a movie (we're thinking Duplicity) in a Gold Class cinema (with the recliners instead of normal chairs) as she'll be able to sit comfortably there.   My weight loss has really slowed the last week. I haven't really stuck to the pre-op liquid program the last 3 days. I have only two weeks before my own surgery and I know I have an enlarged liver with fatter infiltration so I really can't afford to be slack with this pre-op diet thing. No excuses but to explain what happened - Wednesday was my brother and my nephew's birthday celebrations; Thursday, Lisa had her op and I was hanging around the hospital all day (the hospital cafeteria had nothing but sandwiches on offer); I spent yesterday (Friday) shopping (thank the stars for Chinese-owned groceries that don't close on Good Friday) and then I was in the kitchen preparing high protein liquid food (pureed chicken and vegetable soup) for Lisa to eat over the next week. Anyway, I just have to get back on the horse now and get back on track.   Normally, I'd be feeling pretty down about not doing so well the last few days (which would probably culminate in an all-out pig out) but, surfing the lapbandtalk site, I found THIS POST and THIS OTHER POST by Melissa McCreery. These posts have helped me to not feel so bad about the last 3 days. She is a psychologist who explains how nothing sabotages a weight loss plan better than an inner perfectionist who expects you to get everything "right," one hundred percent of the time and leaves you feeling like a failure when you (inevitably) don't. I totally relate to how believing that being a perfectionist should help you (even though it really doesn't) and found the posts insightful, pertinent and interesting. I have printed the second post out and will keep re-reading it to remind myself that I'm not perfect (no, no, really, I know it is hard to believe, but it is true!!) and that I'm human with foibles and that the best thing I can do now is know that the best I can do is just keep trying.   Hope everyone out there is enjoying their Easter break!
PharmaGirl

PharmaGirl

2
 

Lisa's experiences are giving me pause

(Please note that posting date is stuffed up because I didn't know how to turn a draft post into a final post until today!!. This was actually started on the 17th April and finished on the 18th April 2009).   Most people posting appear to have had a pretty good recovery after surgery but it has not been such a fun ride for Lisa, my partner, who was banded on the 9th April. She did ok for the first day or two (and only nights were difficult) but then she started experiencing extreme bloating and had not been able to keep anything (not even water) down for two days from the nausea and heaving. She had been trying everything (simethicone preparation, walking, massage, yoga positions, etc, etc) to help but nothing made much difference. She really had gotten into a very bad cycle where the gas leads to nausea, the nausea leads to retching, the retching means she can't keep fluids down, she hyperventilates to try to avoid retching but this means she swallows more air, she gets dehydrated and tired, which means she is not walking so much, so the gas is not escaping, so she ends up with more gas pain ...   We saw her surgeon on Friday who checked everything out and reassured her that everything is ok with the band and that the gas problem would eventually pass (when pressed for how long - he replied it varied across people). Lisa is apparently an "air-swallower" (evidenced by the fact that she did a lot of burping before the procedure). It is harder to burp once the band is in and it is this that is causing her extreme discomfort. Our surgeon (who is wonderful) gave her a Maxolon shot. Our surgeon has a recovery room at his rooms so we sat in there until the shot took effect and Lisa was able to swallow sips of water. In the afternoon, as well as keeping water and fluids (electrolyte fluids) down again, she took some Phenergan and more Maxolon (in tablet form) plus some charcoal tablets. On Friday arvo she was finally sleeping (after little to no sleep for 2 nights) while I had everything crossed (even my eyes!) that she'd be feeling better after a sleep.   That night Lisa had her first night without heaving and it was heaven (for both of us!). Yesterday she was back to nutritious fluids (soups, protein drinks, etc) and back to walking, so by last night she was feeling her old self. So all is good here again.   The moral of the story - if you are heaving, get a Maxolon shot (or something similar) quickly - don't let yourself get into the vicious cycle Lisa found herself in.   I had been having major second thoughts. I'm due to have my banding done on the 23rd. Now we have some Maxolon shots at home that Lisa can administer (she's a retired nurse) if I get chucky (which doesn't usually take much). So, all in all, I'm feeling better about surgery on Thursday     To all those who posted to wish Lisa well - a very big thank-you.
PharmaGirl

PharmaGirl

2
 

I loooove holidays!

Hi everyone,   Lisa and I have just returned from holidaying in the wonderful US of A. Most of our time was spent in Palm Springs but we also spent 4 days in San Diego and 5 days in Vegas.   Neither Lisa nor I have lost any weight but we didn't gain either - we're pretty happy with that considering what we ate and drank and the amount of exercise we did!   We both had our first fill just before we left but that first fill didn't give either of us much restriction (though we have both experienced being "stuck" when we've eaten too fast or not chewed enough - not nice).   Palm Springs was really hard work (yes, that is pure sarcasm) - Our exercise regimen there consisted of only two exercises - (1) lift that pina colada to your lips and take a sip, return glass to table next to your poolside chair - repeat MULTIPLE times; (2) when feeling a little too warm, dip yourself in the swimming pool, move around in pool until body temperature returns to normal, get out of pool and return to poolside lounge to repeat exercise (1)!! Gotta love life in Palm Springs!!   San Diego had us eating ice cream and fantastic fish (I ate my first Maine lobster - sweeeeet!) at Coronado island and in the harbour respectively. (Don't bother with the lectures - we know we broke the bandster rules). The most exercise we had in San Diego was yelling to the guys running the ferry "please hold that ferry" and then running (maybe more like stumbling) some 100 yards along the jetty to catch the ferry that was about to leave.   Las Vegas saw us drinking more pina coladas (they are even better than usual when they are free!) and the exercise regimen was extended to include walks to and from the poker room at the Mirage.   Anyway, today starts life back to normal -we will be re-starting the exercise regimen of walking at least 30 minutes each day and will be drinking less and eating healthy. Wish us luck! We go for our second fills on the 30th June and hopefully the weight will seriously start coming off then.   We did buy our surgeon a new bow tie and we're hoping that might stave off the lecture he might otherwise want to give us. Will keep you posted how our visit to him on the 30th goes.   Cheers to all Lili   My Weight Chart: >
PharmaGirl

PharmaGirl

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Date for banding is set!

This is my first attempt at blogging - let's see how it goes!   Yesterday was my first post but, disappointingly, got no replies to my post - :ohmy:. Would love to know why. Any ideas?   Anyway, as my intro post says, my date for lap-banding is set for 23 April 2009. I'm going to have the band inserted at 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 (NY Lady) 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).   We're both foodies and figure we'll still be able to enjoy good food after the band but just in much smaller portions.   Being foodies, the thought of no real food for a couple of weeks is scary (though we'll try to jazz up the veggies we can have pre-op as much as we can). If anyone out there has any advice on surviving this (and also the post-op week) I'd love to hear from you. Also, in regards to my partner - I have two options - enjoy food without her for two weeks or try and support her by doing Optislim shakes maybe for brekkie and the evening meal two weeks before I really have to. If anyone out there has thoughts on this I'd be stoked to hear from you. I figure it will do me no harm to go the latter way - it will kickstart the weight loss and help my liver and it will demonstrate my commitment to the lifestyle changes that I need to make for the banding to be a success. On the other hand, I'm scared I'll have "Optislim fatigue" by the time I have to start the pre-op liquid diet for my own surgery. What to do, what to do??   Looking forward to sharing the journey with you all!   "Before" photo attached (me on the left and Lisa (aka NY Lady and who is the sweetest) on the right).   For my friends in the US who don't think in kgs  
PharmaGirl

PharmaGirl

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