Aussiegirl

Hello Sleevers/yet to be Sleeved,
Not sure if anyone remembers me, but I'm back and with great news! After a few months of treatment my Barretts oesophagus is gone (actually the surgeon retracted the diagnosis altogether). He has given me the go ahead for the Sleeve!!!!! I'm booked for the 25th October and am going to be on 4 weeks Optifast prior to that YIKES!!!
Feels good to be back!

I hear ya!!
It sucks being single and having all this "stuff" going on.
Atleast there is my battery operated friend TMI lol

I love this idea.
My name is Karen, I am 36 and single. I work as a business analyst for a life insurance company c(pls don't hate me). I have worked for the same company for a
lmost 10 years. I have one brother and a nephew who is the most beautiful boy and brings so much joy to our live, I am completely biased.
I love travelling, it is my passion, have visited much of europe, 38 Us states, parts of Asia and Africa. I speak Hungarian as I was an exchange student there when I was younger, friendship I still maintains to this day.
I also love listening to live music.

Misty, another idea may be spaghetti bol sauce. I may be mixing up my phases (as I was not specifically given any real idea of phases when I was recovering and generally under ate on consistency ..anyway).
I slowed cooked the mince and sauce so it really is sooo soft. It was really flavourful and filling.

Geez it is a small world
Sounds like we need to have a catch up on a Wednesday...we can go to Margaritaville and share an entree lol. But seriously we should do it
Welcome KitiKat!!! We are happy to help, support, encourage as much or as little as you need.

Here is my PSA and rant for the day....especially for newbie sleevers.....be prepared you are going to feel the cold a lot more as you loose the weight, its freezing!!! Rug up

Aussiegirl & sue what a small world I wonder how many of us sleeved people cross Anzac bridge pyrmont. I actually work on the bridge

LOl Sue.
I know I didnt know that winter was going to make me look like i was dressed in one of those Sumo suits.
Misty, yep better stock on the warm clothing, it will be needed.
Sue, do you work i Pyrmont? I live in Pyrmont and walk/run the Bridge most nights...we may pass each other. We really should catch up in the middle some time

Here is my PSA and rant for the day....especially for newbie sleevers.....be prepared you are going to feel the cold a lot more as you loose the weight, its freezing!!! Rug up

Here is my PSA and rant for the day....especially for newbie sleevers.....be prepared you are going to feel the cold a lot more as you loose the weight, its freezing!!! Rug up

Here is my PSA and rant for the day....especially for newbie sleevers.....be prepared you are going to feel the cold a lot more as you loose the weight, its freezing!!! Rug up

Here is my PSA and rant for the day....especially for newbie sleevers.....be prepared you are going to feel the cold a lot more as you loose the weight, its freezing!!! Rug up

I just paid for my surgery about 20mins ago!!! OMG it's really happening haha

Being thin may not 'equal happiness' but it sure as heck makes "RETAIL THERAPY" a lot more fun!!!!!! I'm just sayin'

Lissa, definitely still up for a road trip to BrisVegas.....Deano you are on single guy duty lol. Some time in July works at this stage, June is going to be work crazy.
Brendani, it is natural to be afraid and scared of how this is going to affect your life. I can only tell from my experience but I know the fears I had pre-op (and they were huge) seem like such a waste of energy.
I am coming up on 2 years (well in Sept anyway) and my life is so normal. I travel, for work and personally, eating hasn't been an issue for a long time. Most people don't recognize the amount I eat as being anything abnormal now. I drink, and sometimes too much, my social life has kicked up a notch and am drinking probably more than pre-surgery. I don't endorse drinking too much but I choose everything in moderation now.
In regards to energy, after the initial recovery period I have more energy to do everything, early on I was sustaining twice a day work outs and not feeling a reduction in energy levels. Nowadays I work out 5-6 times a week, and feel weird if I don't do it.
The first 6 -8 weeks are hard, adjusting, fatigue etc but it gets better and oh so quickly. I was actually travelling internationally at the 8th week.
It is normal to be afraid, just trust in the reasons you are doing this and that you have made the right choice for you.

Lissa, definitely still up for a road trip to BrisVegas.....Deano you are on single guy duty lol. Some time in July works at this stage, June is going to be work crazy.
Brendani, it is natural to be afraid and scared of how this is going to affect your life. I can only tell from my experience but I know the fears I had pre-op (and they were huge) seem like such a waste of energy.
I am coming up on 2 years (well in Sept anyway) and my life is so normal. I travel, for work and personally, eating hasn't been an issue for a long time. Most people don't recognize the amount I eat as being anything abnormal now. I drink, and sometimes too much, my social life has kicked up a notch and am drinking probably more than pre-surgery. I don't endorse drinking too much but I choose everything in moderation now.
In regards to energy, after the initial recovery period I have more energy to do everything, early on I was sustaining twice a day work outs and not feeling a reduction in energy levels. Nowadays I work out 5-6 times a week, and feel weird if I don't do it.
The first 6 -8 weeks are hard, adjusting, fatigue etc but it gets better and oh so quickly. I was actually travelling internationally at the 8th week.
It is normal to be afraid, just trust in the reasons you are doing this and that you have made the right choice for you.

I had a friend tell me, and this was prior to surgery, that my optimism can irritate the sh*t out of people some times. My glass has always been half full. My favorite saying "It could always be worse" That said.....my life prior to surgery; I was just a couple of months shy of turning 50. I was married to my high-school sweetheart. Happily married, we were still holding hands, liked to hang out together! Sex was good, kids were grown, and both were happy - three grands, all three are pretty darn cute kids. I was happy, on the scale, I'd say I was a 9.5 most days. I was NOT living in Texas and I'm a Texas girl, that was the 'biggest' deal in my life. I did not like to shop, I did not like to have my picture taken and I hated going to any kind of party, although I did it occasionally, but I did not like feeling like the biggest girl in the room. Three years post op.....83 lbs lighter - maintaining for 2.5 years. I'm still married to my HS sweetheart and we still hold hands and like to hangout. Our daughters are still good and the youngest grand wasn't even two when I had surgery three years ago, so he will only ever remember 'this size' Dee Dee - other than pictures. I love, love, love to go shopping, even just window shopping. I like to go try on clothes just because I can!!! LOL Get togethers are fun, and many, if not most of the time, I am the SMALLEST girl in the room. Sex is off the chart good. I love it that I feel TINY next to my husband, and wow, he can pick me up. It's just nice that he can more than wrap his arms around me. I had no health problems at all.....and that is still the same. I'm a cheaper date, but make up for it with clothes! Oh, and on top of everything else, we are back in Texas. I weigh every morning and it tells me I am 145'ish - and when I shop for jeans and slip into a size four.....on a scale of 1 - 10, ecstatic, 10+ No doubt about it!!!!

I concure Sue is definitely right, and once you get through this stage, everything else is so much easier..i still remember opti as the hardest part.

YES! Exactly as Aussie said! I didn't want to post here for fear of being the odd man out, but Aussie summed up my feelings perfectly.
I think it's important for pre ops to see both sides of the coin. Before surgery I think I looked at surgery as a fix for all the things wrong with my life. 'If I have surgery everything will fall into place' with relationships, jobs, family, friends and overall happiness. That isn't the case. Just as we tell people surgery isn't a quick fix for weight loss, you can't have surgery and just expect to be skinny- same goes for the quality and happiness in your life. Surgery isn't going to just magically give you that either. I hate to break this to people but being thin DOESN'T automatically equal happiness.
I was someone who struggled with bouts of depression pre op, and that hasn't just gone away post op because my size shrank. I think on some level I thought it would. I've actually experienced some difficult emotional changes post op. I can not stress enough how important the psychiatric part of this process is. I need to get myself into therapy and I regret not doing it sooner. Don't just brush that off as unimportant. This process is SUCH a mental process as well as a physical. Therapy is an important tool and I recommend sticking with it from the beginning.
Just my two cents and my experiences, of course yours will vary, but if you have any sort of underlying issues just know surgery isn't going to cure them. You have to do that on your own regardless of your size.