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EVERYBODY CALLS ME: Sara MY PRIMARY RELATIONSHIPS INCLUDE: Mum, in her early 60s, and my brother Tim who's 19. And fit. And six foot three. Argh. MY NON-HUMAN FAMILY CONSISTS OF: A little furry dog called Prince who (although we were told he was a Pom x some other dog) looks like a cross between a fox and a Pom, and behaves more like a cat. I LIVE IN: Mt Dandenong... not on the mountain, but close enough to hear Puffing Billy daily. OCCUPATION(S): Part time student at the moment, studying Professional Writing and Editing. But I'm seriously thinking about a job in the library as a librarian. AVOCATION(S): Computer, writing, art, reading, hopefully some sport too in the near future, sciance and cooking.

I WAS BORN IN: Melbourne, Australia AND GREW UP IN: Mt Dandenong, Australia I MOVED AWAY FROM HOME WHEN/BECAUSE: ...well, I haven't done that yet. I was hoping to have a full time job and get a home of my own when I moved. But I do rent my room now as if I were a border. :biggrin1: SINCE THEN I'VE LIVED: ...here. And sometimes in Queensland with my dad. I TRAVEL AS OFTEN: Don't really have the funds for travel yet, other than a trip north to visit and live with Dad for a few weeks, but looking forward to it! FARTHEST I'VE EVER BEEN FROM HOME IS: New Zealand when I was 11, as an exchange student. And Perth when I was a kid... they seem to be the same distrance. :heh: BEST VACATION EVER, THAT I'D REPEAT IN A HEARTBEAT: I used to go to this beautiful place called Cape Liptrap when I was a kid, we'd go fishing, camp rough, take our boat... we had to sell the boat and caravan and Dad moved north, so they all stopped when I was about thirteen and I've only been back a few times. But I'd repeat those trips in a heartbeat, even if on my own! WORST VACATION EVER, THAT WILL HAUNT ME TIL I DIE: Haven't really had one yet. :car: DREAM VACATION IF TIME AND MONEY WERE NO OBJECT: Ireland! I'd love to go to Ireland. Then I'd hop on that wonderful year long cruise and sail the world as a young single woman all alone. :whoo: SPECIAL PLACE I NEVER GET TIRED OF GOING BACK TO: Cape Liptap/Bear Gully and Daylesford lol, it's a bit obvious that I'm young and inexperienced in life still, huh. :heh: But let's hope I can go do it now!

Welcome! I think it's different for everyone. I notice though that people with the most weight to loose tend to loose it fast and in a very dramatic way, but the closer to healthy weight, the slower the process is. And you've got to take into account what your body's natural weight is as well as bone thickness and height and all of that other stuff. Some people are supposed to be heavier, no matter how much they restrict their stomach and some people gain so much energy, that they end up exercising all the time and gaining weight again through muscle gain! But I think you'll be able to loose what you need to loose. Feel free to come join us in the August support group, by the way, and find out who else is having the surgery on the same date as you.

Hi! Single here... and finding new places to chat in. Oooh, you're an Opera singer? I've been singing all my life and I have huuuuge lungs that are apparently 20% larger than the avarage but the weight forced them to only work at half capacity. :/ So that's one of my goals for when I regain some of my old energy- to learn how to sing in that style. I can't believe the attitude is like that though, that's awful. >_<

Just popping in to say hellO! My BMI was at 55 a few weeks ago, and I had the surgery a little over a week ago. Doesn't feel much like it now! But, seeing as I know you'll all understand this question better than anyone else, did anyone find trouble sleeping after and need to get used to sleeping another way? I always slept on my stomach and it was like another matterus for me... but now, I can't because the port's right in the middle of my upper stomach. I tried it once but there's something really strange about feeling that port as you try to relax.:heh: I feel like I'm that Princess who wakes up black and blue after she sleeps on a pea. Anyway, hi!

I've only just started and I've got to agree with the hummus. I make my own with chickpeas, lemon juice and garlic (and a bit of water to make it smooth) and blend it. I don't have any of that special paste. But it tastes soooo good and I feel full. It's wonderful.

I've lost 6kgs since Thurs last week... not sure how much that is in lbs but it's not bad. So I think my scales are a bit broke too.

I think they put the port in the front of my stomach too. Maybe it was just better to put it there.

Yea, I agree. It takes a lot of mental preparation before and after just for the band, and you've gotten something else big to mentally process too as well. And you wouldn't have mentally prepared yourself for that extra amount of pain or post-op change. So you're not a wimp!

Thanks for the replies! Even if I didn't answer, they did help, I read them all and waited for it to calm down. Which it has! So thankyou, that really helped me a lot. I've only got a bit of tummy pain now which makes it hard to sleep or move, but that's it.

Gah! Yes, I had someone doing and saying the same thing to me! And I've heard others who were banded say the same thing... you CAN be a grazer pre-band but find it a push in the right direction. It's hard to explain to anyone who isn't in the fight or roll over situation we're in... but I suppose they mean well. Have you read the ET novel? I know that seems like a weird thing to ask... but the mother in the book version is really interesting, she has fits where she suddenly tries to eat everything in the fridge and her kids have to physically pull her away. It's a bit like that for us.... we know we're wrong when we do graze and that we're doing the wrong thing but sometimes it takes a bit of outside effort too to get us away from the bad habits. If that makes sense. XD I'm doing okay. The pain's starting to go in the lungs and the stomach but now there's the weird unpleasant sensation of two parts of a stomach trying to rumble together whenever there's teh scent of food. But I never knew I'd look forward to 2 tablespoons of thin soup and 2 tablespoons of apple puree quite so much as I am or how filling it'd be! I can't cope with much more than it but ...yes, that was a bit of a surprise. XD

October 1,1985. Oh man, I feel young! That's a first. :heh:

Oh gah and the worst part is that it's not just the food you want, it's the social interaction they'll be having with each other! They turn food into a great social get-together, which isn't normally a bad thing but is really awful for you to endure. Look... this isn't recommended but if you really get desperate and find yourself unable to stand it any longer and have food in your mouth, you can chew it and spit it out. Looks disgusting? Yes! But it's better a weird lump of food hidden in a napkin than one breaking up your pre-op diet. And maybe the taste of it in your mouth will help you resist more.

Oh and on that 'still sore' note, I just found out that showering/warmth really really really makes a world of difference with muscle soreness. Even if it's just the day after!

Thankyou! I wish I could say I feel fablous but I'm still a little weary and sore. My lungs ache the most, how weird is that? But I did the swallow test this morning and it was all going down perfectly. Hehe, I've been tempted to buy a smaller outfit! I might do it on monday.

Eee, it was over by 10am and now I'm home again. Omg I feel a bit sore and sleeping's a pain, and I am so sleepy. XD The first thing I heard and did when I woke was throw up, I heard them saying 'she's throwing up again.' Lovely. >_< But feeling better now.

Ses, scheduled and confirmed for 2nd Aug

Mine's tomorrow in the morning! (It's 10pm here.) I didn't want to say what the second date was till I confirmed it but it is confirmed and here I am. And like an idiot I was, I drank a whole can of pepsi. As if it wasn't going to be hard enough to sleep anyway! :heh: :faint: Oh gah. I should sleep. But hooray for a thread for us.

Me too! Having it tomorrow, that is. But mine's in the morning. Good luck, break a leg! (But if you do manage that during a tummy surgery, please be sure to ask them for the full details.) oooh, there's a thread too. !

:faint: My surgery is tomorrow! I didn't want to say anything till it was confirmed without any doubt, which I could only find out today, I was afraid of jinxing it. Or something. Poor mum thinks my nerves mean that I'm having second thoughts but I'm just nervous about the surgery part! I got very jittery over a stupid simple day procedure with a camera into the tummy so this is hard to act calm over for me. Anyway. Surgery! Woo! 7am checkin time, not so much woo there but I'm not complaining.

Yep... good old public system.

Urgh. I didn't receive any word of what time to go in for the surgery so I called... and they're like 'Oh, we're having bed shortages, maybe a month, keep going with the Optifast and wait'. I've been on optifast for a month already. :faint: So yea, looks like the first delay of the surgery! And I thought it'd be on Thursday, pfft. >_<

Well... if he's interested in Queensland, he should look into Macleay Island or one of those islands in that bay... they're only around 30mins away from Brisbane and the Goldcoast or Sunshine, I've forgotten which is north , they're cheap to buy land on(My dad just moved there.), and they have shops, schools, post offices, that sort of stuff if you can't be bothered to go to the mainland. And hey, nothing like boasting that you've just moved to an island that has a couple of dolphin pods and a special bay dedicated to a group of dugongs.

Aww natz2010, don't worry! I went through the same horrible waiting for about five years and now I'm suddenly getting ready for surgery. I'm not banded yet even though I'm on Optifast, they say it'll be in a few weeks maybe (I'm on the public waiting list) but I'm also 160kgs and I was around 130kgs when I went on the list... so I understand that side of it completely. What state are you in? You'll suddenly get that letter with a date and it'll be a real shock to go from that slow slow paced out waiting to the 'quick, get everything done, diet, x-ray, CT, race!' pace. But till then...

I just want to pop in here and agree that the George Forman grill is great. :girl_hug: And yep, you can cook fish without oil, it's a nonstick surface. I think Mum wrapped her fish in tinfoil with some lemon and did it that way.