cammy

I am seeing an OB that takes a lot of sleeve patients. The morning sickness medication alone when you have a sleeve (strong stuff, not standard stuff, to keep you hyrdated) will set you back in excess of $100 a week (in Australia, probably a lot more in the USA). You have to have a lot of extra ultrasounds for growth checks towards the end. I can't imagine anyone suggesting surragacy is a good idea afterwards for you or the baby especially due to the increased cost and risk of using somebody with a sleeve.... only if the baby was for yourself and you were happy to deal with the risks. Don't get me wrong my baby is healthy weight and size for 20w and i'm greatful to have her inside me but the health effects to me have been quite bad, medications and extra testing, the cost is astronomical.

It is such a relief to find somebody in a similar situation. I'm 16 weeks pregnant, 19 weeks out from surgery, and have only just recently found out I am pregnant (they missed it the first 14 weeks thinking it was everything else under the sun so many tests but nobody thought pregnancy!). It was quite a shock but a happy shock. I have been sick every day of the pregnancy but thought it was just the sleeve surgery - it's slowly getting better and I can eat a lot more now (a whole salad sandwich in under 10 mins easily without throwing up). But a little bit of chocolate or some twisties which i crave and its spew city. I have lost 13kg but now im getting so hungry i can't see the weight loss continuing, though i wish it would i'm so close to my healthy bmi goal, just a few kilos away. Congrats on your pregnancy Ange and I look forward to reading more about it especially how the last few weeks and birth go :001_tt2: Cammy

Hi Jude, There is a dinner (tapas, band friendly meals) next Tuesday 8th January @ 7pm at Bar Bosh (Knox Ozone) you are most welcome to come to and meet up with other Lap Banders from Melbourne. There are other people from Berwick coming along too. The details are here: Eastern Surgical Online

Avenue people - how much does the surgery cost out of pocket? (the co-pay part that insurance doesn't pay?) & do you have to pay anything when you have your follow up adjustments? Which surgeon is considered the best or most patient friendly there? Asking here since they wont tell you the cost over the phone and I have no idea which doc would be preferable to book in my friend with but know that the Avenue gets the highest praise in general of any of the clinics in Melbourne but I haven't paid that much attention to which of the surgeons most people were seeing. Thanks in advance for any info!

Susannah I have tuck shop arms and a wrinkly butt. Guys really don't care... at the end of the day they want a pretty face to look at and somebody they can have an actual conversation with. You have a very pretty face from your pics and from what I can tell a genuine nice personality - you will be fine Dating (and i'm super picky wanting the full package) i've found it doesn't bother guys at all. Now bare in mind my type is muscular, 6'3+, decent job, funny, laid back personality. You think that would be hard to find right? Wrong! There are lots of them single at 26-36 after finally getting rid of the bombshells they thought were what they wanted when they were younger but then came to there senses and realized there is more to life. I thought it would be so hard to meet people - if you are confident and approachable guys WILL ask you out - I didn't believe it but it's true! Eventually your dilemma will be how to break all the guys hearts you were talking to/dating when you find the "one" you want to take it further (bedroom) with... if he's a jerk when he sees you in the starkers put your clothes back on and leave - there are plenty of fish in the sea. I'm doubting though that if you get to that point he will care about a few stretch marks and some extra flab. At least thats my experience, or maybe I just found a really great guy. Heck I have stretch marks & scars galore and he hadn't said a damn word about any of them.

1 in 5 people require re-operation within 5 years for a slip or port or something. Private health insurance (basic hospital) isn't that expensive - you'll save more on food than you'll pay for the insurance post banding and it's essential to have it. At your age you will expect to have a new band at some point and port replacements etc. are common. The extra bits are only free because they bill your insurance directly,they aren't really at no cost... just no out of pocket cost to you. If you don't have insurance you could be up for a lot more than insurance would have cost you should anything go wrong. I would not risk it.

The whole thing about erosion kinda makes people want to quit... if they don't they have a chance of getting a gaping hole in their gut and losing their band for good. That would suck! You can take Zyban or something to quit smoking pre banding. Work through the emotional issues first then get the band.... if you emotionally smoke you'll emotionally eat or do something else destructive, figure out why that is first and you'll be better off & able to start a new life without any of the old habbits.

Hey Phili, I sent you a PM. I'm in the outer eastern suburbs but love to meet others and help out if I can. I go to the organized meetings at the valley also (Valley Private Hospital Police Rd. Mulgrave) - if you can make those do go because you don't have to have been banded there to attend - it's just a coin donation (to cover food/drink) on the last Tuesday of each month at 7pm :eek: The normal nurse that runs them is on maternity leave and the sub isn't that great at running the actual meeting part but the people are still there so it is great to have a talk afterwards. The actual meetings have barely been lasting 10 mins so it's really 50mins+ of socializing with other band patients in groups or one-on-one and helping each other out or catching up. It's a good social support network to have and everybody is welcome.

Phili, I hear your frustration and haven't said anything up until now but maybe you need a bit of tough love? If not don't read on. My advice is to be 100% totally honest with your doctor about exactly what you are eating & drinking (heads-up: he's not stupid, your not fooling him, just be honest). Take in a full weeks food journal and weigh out the food - don't guess. The slimming shakes are keeping the weight on you - they do not help at all - they are liquid calories and your band doc should be telling you to stay far away from them - NO LIQUID CALORIES. If you weight isn't going down quite simply you are consuming too many calories for your body. If you consume less calories you will lose weight - this is what your doc is trying to achieve by giving you fills. If you drink slim shakes and eat food that goes straight through the band (crackers) you are working against him, not with him. You need to be eating solid food like chicken/beef (not deli sliced) to really work your band. Why have you swapped fish & vegetables for ham & cheese (fat) with crackers? The fish & vegetables were probably a much much better option for weight loss. How much chocolate are you eating a week? A 250g block of cadbury is equivallent to about 2 full days worth of food.... how often would you eat a block honestly? (don't have to tell me, but be honest with yourself). With the change in food choices and other things you have mentioned I think you probably do have 'restriction', but it's the big band type of restriction not the vomit type of restriction you had with the small band.... you don't need vomit restriction.... just need to learn to listen to the new band about when to stop (cause it will let any food through, just a bit uncomfortably). Are you hungry alot??? If you are not hungry are you eating when you are not hungry just because it's "meal time"??? As for exercise, what you are doing with your friend sounds great. You should be able to hold a conversation while you walk (not be too puffed out to) if you are wanting to exercise in your target heart rate to burn fat. Far too many people have dropped dead these last few months in Victoria following the sweating and pushing yourself to the extreme advice - only take health/exercise advice from doctors - remember anything you read here is just an opinion and not medical advice so clear stuff with your doc before you make serious changes. Sorry to be so brutally honest with you but it's been a really long time so maybe you needed to hear it.

OMG Susannah you have done an amazing job!!! Congratulations!!!!

Travel insurance - it depends if you have had any issues and how long you have had your band. If you've had your band longer than 12 months, not had any extra surgery or "issues" with it, then you are covered by a lot of policies for everything but the actual band prosthetic replacement (which you can have done in Australia if it is removed for some reason overseas). Otherwise, talk to your band doctor... they have to write the letter saying you haven't had any issues in 12 months so they are probably aware of who to write it to. Just to be safe I travel with my yearly business policy & also the credit card policy - both underwritten by different companies. When I was losing weight I just dealt with the fact that if anything went wrong it would cost $$$ - made sure i had lap band surgeon information for that country with me to minimize costs if anything went ary also... no looking last minute or paying emergency room techs etc. Good luck!

Bron *hugs* this was an important lesson for you to learn. Now you know you need the OP more than ever now that you've adknowledged your a binge eater - the 2nd thoughts are because you wont be able to do this again and it's your coping mechanism so you'll have to find something else post op to help you cope with whatever it is that compells you to binge. Once your banded and at proper restriction for a binge eater if you try to do that the prison gates you so desperately need on your gut will close, you'll feel like your choking and pray to the porcelin heavens while your crouching over the toilet to please just let it all come back out (if it's stuck) - or you'll be mid way stuffing your face and projectile vomiting (pb'ing) will just start.... yeah i've seen people go through it... it's enough to stop you in your tracks and say WTF are you doing?! The band is about negative reinforcement for binge eaters no question - it will strangle you and have you begging for mercy if you try and do that post op. It's not the same for everybody so you need to look at how other binge eaters are coping and not take on board as many of the posts from people with saiety disorders. For saiety disorders the band works by pushing on the vargus nerve to stop the gut wrenching hunger so they dont have to have their band as tight as compulisve or binge eaters. We are all fighting the same battle of the bulge just using our band in different ways and using different coping mechanisms to deal with day-to-day things. You will make it through - if we had the willpower to do it all without the band we wouldn't need it in the first place. Just try as hard as possible - it's all you can do - and remember we are here for you. Yesterday is in the past, don't beat yourself up now you can't change what happened, only learn from it. Think about only today - take it one day at a time... that's all you can do. Thinking about the long term or even just the next few months will just do your head in so only concentrate on the present. *hugs* Cam

Susannah, I'll post some links when I get home tonight for good sites that show animated images of how to do the exercises. If your going to work out at home get thee a fit ball/swedish ball!! They aren't very expensive and you are worth it :mad: At home I did fit ball (i sit on one to work much of the time also), carmen electras strip dvd series, a few dance dvds, pilates, you can get the dvds or videos really cheap at those clearance book sales that they advertise on TV or those general junky book shops that just do clearalance stuff - heaps of the ones i've picked up over the years were less than $5. Outside of home i've done the poll dancing, yoga, belly dancing, and a few other classes - i'm unko but it was still fun. I dont know what kind of shape you are in or what you are physically able to do - you can get a free 1 month gym pass to your local genesis - i'll post the website that you can print the coupon off of when I get home - at least then you can see or they can tell you what you are capable of at your current weight and no $$$ out of pocket.... they let you do classes there and everything during that 1 free month so you can try everything and see what is for you. Other gyms give free 1 week passes and some like fernwood only give a free 1 day pass etc. but they all seem to let you try before you buy so make sure when winter comes and you do decide to sign up to one that you've tried 3 before you make your decision (promise yoruself you'll try 3 before you sign anything - those sales people will use all kinds of mind games to get you to sign then and there - listen to tapes or cd's on NPL while your exercising and you'll never fall victim to sales people again lol - you can borrow those from your local libraby too so no out of pocket costs - use all your local resourses, you do pay for them via your rates so may as well take advantage of them!).

You can't calim from Medibank or private health?? I could claim my dietican but only got back $17 each time (4 compulsory visits worked out at $300, so I was out $232... you had to pay the $300 up front and could only claim the $17 each time you saw her when she gave you a reciept). My appointments were suposed to be 1hr each from the paperwork i was given up front but never went more than 25mins before she was telling me we were done (next patient was ready to come in) and to call her if i had any questions. She weighed me at all my appointments but these days they dont do that at the practice I go to... not sure why. My appointments were all inside the hospital at Valley Private.

This is really a question of is it immediate fitness you want to acchieve or weight loss or do you want those 2 to meet down the line? I was responding thinking about weight loss (not quick road to fitness) with the work smarter not harder philosophy. Jacqui when your morbidly obese for many people just walking around is challenging - if your heart rate is up your being challanged... what you have to do to get your heart rate up (and burn fat) is different dependant on your fitness level. Your method you've followed is to get fit as quick as possible (usually good and recommended for normal size or a little bit overweight unfit people); the method I describe is to actually lose fat (not muscle, the fat calories are the ones we want to burn) via the work smarter not harder philosophy without becoming a fitness superstar overnight. For you to lose weight now is a lot harder as you have to work a lot harder to burn the same level of calories because you are incredibly fit - just going for a walk isn't getting your heart rate up.... see what I mean? If you apply the work smarter not harder philosophy to weight loss with the band and you don't need to get fit super quickly for a specific reason (eg. some people are required to get much fitter for a surgery or disease) just keeping your heart rate in the target fat burning zone (and never going above it) will give you the best resulsts for fat loss and by the time you are at your goal weight and health you will be fit; the two will co-inside rather than having to battle - you can lose muscle by going hard as possible above your target heart rate but need to be monitored by a doctor as muscle loss is dangerous as you get smaller espeically if you lose muscle around the heart and also leaves you flabby (so do the weight training ladies!!)... most (unless they have a medical reason not to) want to preserve the muscle for increased metabolism and only burn the fat as much as possible. Also - Jaqcui is super tall so her stride is longer; I wouldn't be expecting average height people to run at that pace until their BMI is around 22 or else they will have to work uber hard to try and get those last few kilos off if they are still overweight when they reach that level of fitness.

Indeed it does

Susannah - if your heart is beating out of your chest your probably burining muscle not fat - take it a bit slower (i know what your talking about i get that too especially when my BP is low when I start a run and it increases too fast so I have to stretch a bit and chase the dog around lightly to slowly get it up before I run - when your overweight you can - and really need to unless your super fit - go so much slower, as you get fitter your heart rate stays lower as you get faster so you have to go harder to burn fat, but while your overweight take it easier because you want to burn the fat so keep in that tartet heart rate and don't give yourself a heart attack!). You know the real truth? Skinny people are jealous of how much easier it is for the overweight to get in their target heart rate and burn calories... if they could take a stroll and be in their target heart rate you can be they would do that v's having to full on run to get their heart beating at the taret fat burning rate. Running releases endorphins that makes you feel good but so does bumping uglies and i'm pretty sure I know which most people would choose if it wasn't for the weight loss or weight maintence running helps with. I am jealous of the old me too - I loved how easy it used to be to burn 1000 calories when I was 60kg heavier, I have to work 5 times as hard now to acchieve the same result. Enjoy the 'ease' into exercise because it won't last that long, soon you'll be skinny and having to run your heart out to acchieve the same thing a walk acchieves now (but being healthy/skinny is a pretty good trade off!). The reason: to complete the chemical reaction to combust fat and use it as fuel we need to take in enough oxygen... if we are oxygen deprived it's easier for our body to burn muscle for fuel (not good!). That is why so many exercise machines incude a clip on heart rate monitor or handles - the best personal ones (not part of a machine) go across your chest and submit a signal to a wrist-watch looking display. Do you have a heart rate monitor already? Would be totally worth getting if your into exercise for the long term. If you stay within your target heart rate you burn fat, otherwise you burn muscle (and of course whatever available fuel is in your stomach). I'm having the mid-20's crisis, turning 26 in a couple of months!! I've had a really long life it feels like but i still feel so young - can't beleive how many of my friends are turning 30 - that used to seem so far away. I freak out when 17/18 year olds tell me i'm old! I found my first grey hair the other day - scared the bejesus out of me - i yanked it out with some tweezers! Remember, you just had surgery a few weeks ago... your body is going through a stack of adjustments. After I had the skin removal in April I had to wait 6 weeks to return to exercise, it was like starting from scratch again I didn't seem to have the same tone/fitness as before but I worked my way back up again... those first few days I felt 100kg overweight and couldn't figure out why barely moving had my heart rate going outside the target - I ended up going 3km an hour on the treadmill the first week back instead of jogging at 7-8km like I normally do. Take it easy - faster although we are programmed to think it by the skinny people isn't better - it's totally dependant on your personal fitness level - just go with what your heart rate tells you and your weight will melt off in a healthy way without losing all that vital muscle. Remember not to do intense cardio on the days you weight train because you want to build your metabolism (which is best served by increased muscle mass).... a 20min walk in the morning and half hour of weight training in the afternoon (you can use water bottles to start with or even your cat, remember a litre of water is a kilo). Weight train every other day gently and don't forget to stretch or you'll be really sore the next day! The other days you can go much longer on the cardio within your target heart rate - doing that intensity within a few hours of weight training undoes the weight training work though because muscle is easier for the body to burn than fat so it burns what you are working on building instead of the fat. I only studied personal training to help others, not for a career change, but so I could do voluneer work because I feel so much for all the overweight kids and obese adults that couldn't afford or were too afraid after previous rejections (i've been there - the genesis PT's made me feel like I looked like their worst nightmare when I first joined that gym after banding - nobody should have to endure that kind of treatment and not everybody can afford fernwood - espeically not kids). Helping other people is my passion (but I like money and the things/lifestyle it buys me too so I have to keep my company running also! If I could i'd just help others full time but that's not an option.... I try and do whatever I can though. I sure hope we can start banding more children in Melbourne soon - there are sooo many that need it. I didn't realise just how many until I went to the local pool (ringwood) on the weekned for the first time in about 10 years - my god - more than half the kids seemed to be vastly overweight, I was really shocked... in my day (pffh, 10 years ago) a really overweight kid was the rarity not the norm.... i can't understand what's happened. I used to be considered huge and I wasn't near as big as the kids these days. They took away the junk food from the schools and kids got fatter? How on earth did that happen. Something is really really wrong

Okay that is really bizzare!! I didn't even notice when I first looked at them the other day. He's just photoshoped in, perhaps over a previous boyfriend?? You can tell since even the button not buttoned is idential. I'd feel wierd asking or mentioning though too.

I'm so happy that your hubby's reservations have changed & am happy I could help with that Men are very visual creatures and it helps seeing another 'regular' person v's a model like we get bombarded with on TV weight loss commercials.... I think our failed attempts at those diets made our guys lose faith in the ability of things to work for us since we aren't models/actors.... and since the band is more scarey sounding than a normal diet (cause of surgery) as well as more expensive they get both scared and think we might be being 'conned' yet again... . plus they are our 'protectors', they love us and don't want us to feel like we have 'failed' again if it was just like one of those other diets. My BMI (i guess that's the only way we can compare being different heights) I think was 39 going into surgery, (sz.22 at millers, 20 at 16/26, medium at my size). I went to genesis for a month (where i seemed to be most peoples idea of their worst weight nightmare) and then switched to fernwood (heaps better!) and went religously once the doc cleared me for exercise and got the best runners for my feet (for me that was nike tn's at the time $249, now with current changed needs is nike shocks $199 but footlocker frequently have 30% off sales so you can get better prices - without the best shoes for your feet - and everybody is different - you wont be comfortable or have the same drive - i couldn't believe just how much difference the right shoes for my feet made).... it took ages for me to get restriction (literally - it was october 12th 2005 when I put my foot down and went to a different surgeon to get restriction to make sure I wouldn't gain my weight back because my motivation and will power was really stretched to the limit and I was sick of living on appetite supressants when I had a band - wasn't going to take t he 'waiting 8 weeks' between adjustments any longer, I had had this thing in me long enough it should be doing some of the work by now! - he gave me a huge fill (what i was suposed to have was not in there) and I finally knew what having a band was all about) but I persevered without much restriction those first 8 1/2 months and it took 10 months 13 days to get to 'healthy' bmi. With your attitude I know you will do it too!! I attribute my weight loss to my band because without my band I would not have had the motivation to actually lose all that weight - every other diet proved that - but every other diet didn't cost as much as the band (even if the band didn't do all or any of the work physically those first months just being in me brought out the tight ass in me that wasn't going to spend all that money and fail!). I did gain back nearly (shock!) 12kg when I lost that precious restriction and was hungry 24/7 like a rabid hyiena. A year had passed so it was to be expected; I saw my surgeon who didn't think it was a big deal since he still thought i was skinny and my bmi was still (barely) healthy and then I went back to that other surgeon again (i mean i didn't want to be gaining and crazy out of mind hungry) - he gave me an adjustment which took away my hunger - those 12kg melted back off once the hunger was gone. Therefore I know my band is the only reason I am still a normal weight - if that rabid hunger and weight gain continued i'd be obese again by now.... gut wrenching hunger regardless of how much you eat is the most awful thing.... the band squeezing the vargus nerve just right stops that which is a miracle. I eat a tonne more than most because I don't have a "tight" band like others describe..... I still get up in the middle of the night sometimes and have a piece of vegemite toast with my dog (now when I cook 2 pieces one is for me and one is for her.... before it was 2 each!) - other people hear that and I can see the pained look on their face as they imagine trying to swallow toast lol. The band is so individual, we all need it to work differently in terms of tightness for our lifestyle.

Susannah, I assume you can study and are okay at least 90% of the time so you could complete a course? You seem to have a lot of compassion for others, and having MS yourself perhaps helping others with MS is a field you'd like to go into? If not nursing even something like a specialization like dietetics with an interest in those that have MS? (eg. a lot of dieticians specialize in children or diabetes or eating disorders). I mean in the 3 or 4 years of uni it takes you to study you'll have lost your weight and have more burst for life - already heading in a career path that your passionate about is the best thing... what do they say, find a career you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life? [ame=http://www.amazon.com/What-Color-Your-Parachute-2007/dp/1580087949/sr=8-1/qid=1171800597/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-8005740-7683323?ie=UTF8&s=books][/ame] I can't imagine being a nurse myself (kudos to those who are!) simply because of the training involoved - you have to do the really unplesant stuff before you get to do whatever it is your passionate about; i'd love to be a nurse working with lap banders because well a lot of those currently working in that profession are clueless - I really think they should only hire those with a band to work directly with the banded - there is hardly a shortage of successful nurses with bands (I can think of at least 20 in my state all who work in unrelated nursing jobs because there aren't vacencys in banding clinics) yet they hire the unbanded to work with us? Seems unlogical... the best in any profession usually have a personal connection. Find your passion then from there you can get ideas about a career... you have to start the opposite way around though to make sure when your 60 and you look back you have the life you wanted or at least did whatever you could to get it. Do you have a dream book? If not get a scrap book (the kind kids use - they are like $1 or less at the grocery store) and write out everything you want to do in life. Where you want to go what you want to see absoultely everything - add to it whenever you think or something else in the future also and get it out and read it frequently to make sure your on track. Having the roadmap to the life you want is not dissimilar to a business plan... so map it out just like one. There will always be bumps along the way but as long as you have the general direction figured out you can adapt to it and know when you look back that you tried your best to have the life you wanted. Nothing in life is for certian, life is short and unexpected things happen..... that doen't mean we shouldn't plan now like nothing will change - we can adapt our plan along the way when stuff does change but knowing what we want and having it down in color on paper makes such a difference. Decide.... what is imporant to you to have in life (family, career, hobbies etc.) What you need to get it.... ($$$ you need to earn to live the life you want, situations you need to involove yourself in to have the lifestyle you want - clubs, associations etc.) Then once you know know what you want out of life; then find the career that allows you to have it. Remember to factor in how many working years you expect you will have with MS in different careers based on what functions you might lose and how soon you'd expect to lose them.... with things like dietetics as long as you can talk you can help people; i'm not sure if any streams of nursing are the same. Too many people, especially men, find themselves their whole teenage life with a set career in mind (eg. lawyer, medicine etc.) frequently centered around wanting $$$ and then they look back when they are 40 and realize they missed out on what they really wanted - a family that they spent time with, their kids growing up, being with thier family 2hrs a night at best and a few hours on the weekends isn't what they imagined.... they had the $$$ but missed out on the life they really wanted. If you go to Wahiki Island in NZ you'll see a billionaires playground with 100's of yhats most of which are rarely taken out and used because thier owners spend all their time working and although they bought the yaht of their dreams they don't use it - the people living the good life there are those on the dole or that work part time and get to enjoy the natural beauty of their environment - they go out there and catch their own food, soak up the sun and nature and live modestly but in reality their small incomes provide for them exactly the what the extremely weathly men wanted but don't have the time to enjoy because they are out there making those millions/billions. Similarly women tend to want one life but end up in another through not fully looking at the options their passions give them. They find they don't have the money for the life they wanted because they went into a career that didn't give them room to move or grow (but freqently they just don't realize the options) eg. I know girls from high school that became hairdressers and earn $25k a year and think there is no room to move or ever have the things in life they want unless they marry 'wealthy' (instead of for love).... but they could specialize in extensions or dreads or a particular area that they became the best at if they worked hard and then earn triple that; many think the only option is to become a salon owner to get $$$ but don't want that responsability because they want the kids etc. - my point being there are always options to fit our dreams and the lifestyle we want for ourselves if we think outside the square and plan for them. Seriously, get that scrap book and a pack of colored textas and start writing - your already banded and starting to live the life you want so now's the best time to figure out exactly what you want out of life & do what you need to get it. Bounce ideas off other people too - we are here and always willing to give feedback and you have your real life friends and family too to help you. Gosh I write really long posts, sorry if anybody fell asleep!

Go the sugar free route because you might end up eating alot, and at 10.3 cals each for a mento, 14 in a roll it's so easy to eat a roll a day which is 144cals (that's 6kg a year in weight gain just from trying to have fresh breath!). Figure out if you are an emotional or hungry eater first. Don't chew chewing gum for your breath if you actually suffer from real hunger - it just makes the hunger worse as your body prepares for food from the chewing action.... if you don't suffer from real hunger but are just an emotional eater chewing gum is really good though because it gives you the satisfaction of chewing + the fresh breath. If you can handle going into the chocolate box without being tempted to buy chocolate go to the diabetic section - they have sugar free mints in little tins that contain guarana - so your getting the fresh breath + an energy hit for no sugar.... great! They have plain mint and berry mint, they are both good and you could swallow either through the band without a problem they are tiny (like a smint). They are about $4 I think (haven't bought any for ages but lived on them for over a year) but there is about 100 in a tin so well over a weeks worth so not expensive compared to other mints, just seems like they are at first glance. Once you stop losing weight your breath returns to normal. When your losing weight you get really furry teeth for no apparant reason (to do with the burning fat) so invest the $30 in a really good fast electric tooth brush so you can clean a few times a day even at work but not for too long at a time, just to get the fur feeling off and freshen (because it's not good for you to brush too much - removes enamel; so don't do the full on 5min thing 5 times a day, 30 seconds will do just fine). Sadly Myer stoped stocking the best toothbrush I think has ever been on the market by sunbeam (can't even buy refill heads here anymore - get mine in thailand), hope I can find somebody else that stocks it to recommend it - I love mine and bought them for all my family and friends... they leave you not just clean like other electrics but full on feeling dentist clean - amazing! I've tried so many electric toothbrushes and none come close to this one. I use the polish tooth paste from macleans for that perfectly clean confident feeling.... I have to find these actualy names/model numbers tomorrow and update for those interested. I am a really savy buyer (tight-ass) so always wait for a sale to stock up on tooth paste, mints and refills - stretch my $$$ further to spend more money on cute clothes (or for those newly banded, to save alway for plastics down the track remember every $ counts).

Congratulations on being banded tomorrow!!

For mushies: Lasagne with added canned tomato Soup in the blender till it's mushy - sounds disgusting tastes delicious!! Creamed Low Fat Cottage cheese (home brand for both coles & safeway - it is identical to weight watchers and comes out of the same factory) with hungarian paprika and 97% fat free weight watchers style bacon (cut all that fat off before you cook it) then put cooked bacon in the blender until you have crumbly little bacon pieces and mix about 25g of that into 2 tablespoons of creamed cottage cheese - very yummy - I lived on that during mushies. When your back to eating real food keep a daily food diary, it helps when you stall to look back at the things you were eating when you were losing weight to see wha tworked best for you. Really helped me to look back and be honest with myself.

Bronnie your going through sugar (carbohydrate) and caffine withdrawerals - that causes massive head aches... time isn't on your side but if it was you'd quit all caffine about 1 month before starting Optifast and refined sugars at least a week before starting just so it doesn't hit your system "bam" all at once - your body is like what the hell? It's not getting it's normal drugs/stimulants and it's craving them ontop of having to switch from burning carbs for fuel to burning fat for fuel.... when your breath tastes like death (or smells like a nursing home) your burning fat for fuel - bad breath is the happiest feeling in the world when it comes to losing weight. Remember your fat doesn't all come out in the loo, it's combustion using fat for fuel and your essentially breathing it out hence the wrank breath.... i'd rather stink or have to suck on sugar free mints than be obese any day. Once your at goal or eating too much to lose weight the wrank breath goes away and you become normal again. After the 3rd day on optifast it gets easier cause the hunger pains go away and the withdraweral sysmptoms start to lessen. You're doing great and be proud that your taking charge and losing some weight and gettin healthy pre-surgery - it means your already ahead of the game and wont have to lose as much post op to get to your goal. 3 weeks before surgery I did the detox diet for a week (droped 7kg - alot of that is stomach contents/waste/fulid retention) then swtiched to the compulsory optifast. If you can drop 5 or 10kg before surgery you'll feel like a million bucks going into the operation knowing you wont have to see those big numbers on the scale ever again - your band will help you keep them off and keep losing. You have such a great attitude you are going to rock this band!! Keep up the motivation and if you feel temptation while on the optifast say to yourself over and over again "I want to be skinny & healthy more than I want to eat that" or "nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels". *** just a side note, a lot of people don't realise how bad their breath is during weigh tloss, they just can't taste it for some reason - if that's the case ask your partner or a close friend to be honest with you.... I swear people have come up to me at meetings and said they've never had bad breath during their weight loss and they wreaked to the heavens I was so shocked they couldn't smell themselves.... and too nice to say anything.

Bronnie starting Optifast and exercise on the same day isn't recommended usually if your not used to the exercise. You might faint, at minimum you will fill nauseated from the low calories and expendature of even more calories... do one or the other for a few days before starting the other if you feel like your going to pass out today. Also don't go too far from a bathroom... first 3 days of optifast + long walk (say 5km) = explosive bowels until you've cleared out your normal stomach contents. I know TMI but i thought id warn you since I would have loved somebody to warn me! I warned my parents but they didn't believe me and both suffered and said I didn't warn "strongly enough" lol. On the flip side no exercise or not much movement ends in constipation... if that happens they tell you to mix benefiber in with your optifast drink. Good luck though and get that exercise in - it helps better prepare you for the surgery.