Cat

Jannet and Doddie, Do you ladies know if artificial sweetener is o.k. to use during per-op? I know that real sugar is out but I am guessing that artificial sweetener might be o.k.

Hello All, Just checking to see if folks are able to take their medication (pills) whole instead of divided or crushed after they had the surgery. My high blood pressure pill (Adalat XL) must be taken whole due to its 24-hour slow-releasing compound. It cannot be divided or crushed. It is a good medication for me and I am hoping that I do not have to switch to a different medication just because of the size. My current pill size is 9 mm in diameter and 5mm in thickness. It's small but not VERY small.

Hi Ginger, Welcome to this support site. Maybe we'll bump into each other. I will likely be groggy though (post-surgery).

I would love to meet for coffee on Sunday but I can't confirm yet. It's grave visiting day (for Ukrainians - my husband is Ukrainian) and I may have to go with my husband to visit the graves as well as the extended family in Andrew.

Indeed! 1 more week. Maybe I'll get a chance to say Hi to you on May 4th, Jannet. My surgery is right after yours. I am actually doing pretty good today with my pre-op diet. Hope this continues.

Donna, Glad to hear that all went well (makes me feel a little less nervous about my upcoming surgery). Look forward to joining you on the banded side next Friday.

Jannet, Contrary to you, I am actually scared that it's only a week away. I still feel very nervous.

Donna, Hope all went well. Can't wait to hear about your experience.

Leslielee, If you want to create a blog, go to www.blogger.com Here you can create and maintain a blog for free. It even offers you different templates to choose from. Have fun.

Susan, I hear you. Today is my first day of pre-op diet and the day is not even half gone and I am already feeling that I do not want anymore yogurt (I had some for breakfast). At this minute, I feel dreadful just thinking about having yogurt for a whole week so I can certainly imagine how hard it is for anyone that needs to be on this pre-op diet for a longer period of time. Thank God for this support site. At least we can rant and rave to those that understand how we feel.

This is great. How many are willing to travel to Red Deer? I am not free the weekend of May 5 and 6 (in Toronto, getting banded) as well as the long weekend, May 19th to 21st (going camping with family). Of course, if folks in Calgary are not keen about travelling to Red Deer, us girls in Edmonton can still meet for coffee.

Donna, I won't be able to attend the info session as I live in Alberta. They did send me the powerpoint. As for the chicken breast, I spoke to Kathy and Daryl again today just to confirm. They said yes, I could go ahead and have that. They did not stress that I should have the chicken breast only when desparate. They simply said yes. Maybe that's because I told them I do not eat cottage cheese. In spite of the permission, I am going to avoid having the chicken breast whenever I can. However, I will eat it if I am too hungry and feel a need to do so. According to Daryl, our pre-op diet restriction (low fat and something else, I forgot her exact words) is designed to shrink the size of our liver so that it is easier for Dr. Yau to get around it to complete the procedure. Hence, it is important to stick to the diet. A big/swollen liver would make it harder for Dr. Yau to work around.

Jurema, I am allowed 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast a day. Maybe you can ask them about that.

Leslielee I am so very sorry to hear about your sudden loss. You and your friend's family will be in our prayers. As for rambling, go ahead and share your feelings. That is an important part of grieving. If you need formal grief counselling and not sure where to go, please send me a private e-mail.

Susan, That is strange. Maybe someone else can give us insight into the matter. By the way, I am inspired by the fact that you start publicly tracking your weight loss before your banding procedure. I have only done it privately thus far but have decided to follow in your foot steps. Hope that is o.k.

Hi Yoda, Haven't chat with you for a while. Congratulations on your Bandiversary! Hopefully, we'll get to say hi on May 4th.

Thank you CanMacDaddy and Leslielee. I see that quite a few people have viewed the thread but only 2 have responded. I hope that more people will express their interest.

Susan, I suspect that the headache is quite normal for many people. The sudden and noticeable reduction of food consumption (and of elimination of certain food as well) will cause our body to respond in such manner. In the past, whenever I went on noticeable portion/calorie restriction diets, I would lose weight but I would also get headaches, dizziness, and sometimes jitters. It was especially noticeable in the beginning but got better as time went. I am bracing for similar responses when I start my pre-op diet on Thursday.

My last day of people food is Wednesday (I have to be on pre-op diet for 1 week). It will be tough but since all before us have survived, I am guessing that we can do it. For me the toughest part is probably to come up with some excuse for my family of why I can't eat their food (we visit almost every weekend). I may be able to skip a visit but skipping 4 weekends of visit or 4 weeks of rejecting their food would look very suspicious.

I just started a new thread to gauge how may people may be interested in participating in a local support group. For those of you that are interested, please proceed to the "Attention Albertans - Launching Local Support Group" thread to log in your answers.

Leslielee, I have to admit that I am also nervous and have doubts about my decision (probably like many people). I am thinking that I am not that big and maybe I can lose the weight AGAIN (as I have done before). The fact, however, is that I can never go below a certain weight and I have always gained back what I have lost. I have noticeably lost and gained weight multiple times in the past 15 years. I have changed my eating habits, be more active and still that is not enough. Now with high blood pressure and signs of other weight related issues to come, I have to do more than what I have already been doing. However, none of these diminishes my doubt about having the procedure done. Having said that, I am still going ahead with the procedure but not with complete ease. I see both the positive and negative outcomes of this procedure. I pray that I will be on the positive side. I find the folks on this site to be most helpful and supportive. That helps. Most certain we should get our local support group going as mentioned in past responses. I will start a thread to get some feedback on that.

Yes, bad girl, Susan. However, if you think that you can do a great job then there is no better time to apply than now. Yoda, though it is slightly (just slightly) un-nerving, you are right. Dr. Yau's performance is not dependent on Nisrine's tenure and the operation of the clinic is likely not going to fall apart because of one staff's departure (unless it's Dr. Yau himself). Having said that, I will still call TLBC to make sure that my arrangement is properly in place. Nisrine mentioned that she would send me my pre-op instructions and materials yesterday. This is an example of a task that might slip through the cracks (say, for example, she has not sent the materials yet and with her sudden departure, no one is aware that the materials have not been sent or that they have to be sent in the first place). Nothing major but I'll still follow-up on the matter. By the way, thank you for the notification, Susan. That is why this support site is so helpful and important. Cat

I just finalized my arrangements with Nisrine yesterday. I will give TLBC a call just to make sure that everything is in order. I will have my procedure on May 4th, 2 days after you, Susan. I hope that Nisrine's departure does not indicate anything that we should be concerned about (regarding TLBC). Of course, as an employee, it is always a shock to be suddenly let go.

Yes, Yoda is right. I am also booked at TLBC on May 4th at 9.00 a.m., right after Jurema. Cat

That is shocking. I just spoke to Nisrine yesterday and of course, she mentioned nothing of her leaving. Cat