Sydney Susan

Coops, have you had your thyroid checked - both TSH and T4??? After months of stalling I did and sure enough the darned thing was in a funk again.

I've posted here before about my dud thyroid slowing down my weight loss to a crawl over the last few months (after losing over 20kg in the first two months)... Well I upped my meds and it looks like things are improving at last - this morning I cracked the 80kg mark.... At last! Only by about 100g, but being in the 70s again is feeling v sweet. I'm aiming for 73.

In "current threads" i'm really not enjoying seeing a mix of topics re different surgery types (and I assume some general topic threads that just happened to be live on one of the amalgamated forums. I feel like I've lost contact with my fave posters and it takes too long in the "current threads" to find things that interest me. Will we be able to customise the thread categories we get returned on "current threads"?

Thanks to the new site changes I have no idea what surgery you had, but if sleeve I think you are expecting a lot too soon. All drs are different, but mine has all his patients on nil by mouth till day 5, then only Clear Liquids like clear soups, watered down juices, tea without milk and Water, water, water. He doesn't believe the stomach has healed enough to even start eating/drinking before day 5. For me that was just perfect - others may be able to eat earlier or later, that's normal variation. I'd take it slowly for now - as long as you water intake is decent you'll be fine for a while. It truly does get a little better each and every day. Before you know it, your new normal has arrived. Good luck.

Deleting my post - don't won't to argue about this.

Misty, feedback is a gift.... even frustrated, annoyed feedback. Far better than just walking away. And somebody got paid for this rollout, and his/her employers need to know the awful customer experience that was delivered.

Seems a very odd system to my Aussie eyes... More like an auction than a fee-for-service arrangement. Must be incredibly frustrating for self-payers.

On a much brighter note, had Breakfast and endless cups of coffee and tea with Lissa and Sueocco... Nearly 4 hours went in a blink. It was like catching up with old friends, although we'd never met before. Hopefully next time we can get more Sydneysiders and visitors to join us. I'll try to post a photo, but given all the other problems I'm having don't expect I'll be able to.

I am having nothing but trouble with this new site. Why do good things get sooo messed up, when they should be left alone??!! I can't quote, pm or subscribe at present, and have lost all my old subscriptions... I've complained/asked for help, but no response over a couple of days... I guess they are busy.

This is a really poorly managed change, and at present seems a really daft set of changes anyway (whether managed well or badly). I am having heaps of problems and am inundated with content I have absolutely NO interest in. Roll back! This is a disaster!

I had it at time of op and dr actually insisted I bring it to hospital. I was always v unwell off my CPAP in those days - co2 headaches, exhausted during the day. It wasn't safe for me to drive and working was difficult. I would get a second opinion on this, as the surgeon may not realise the possible implications for you. I've certainly never heard of anyone getting a leak that was later attributed to CPAP. But re your question, there are "splints" that you put in your mouth to bring your jaw forward, that helps to open the airway a bit. I thought it was only for mild cases, so may not be suitable. I also thought it had to be specifically fitted by a specialist, so not a quick or cheap option.

I took a (prescribed) large pill the day after surgery - and my dr is so conservative he has all patients on nil by mouth for 4 days (IV fluids only). I've never had a problem.

I can't drink big gulps of Water comfortably - it feels like it gets stuck in my oesophagus and has to trickle down into my tum. I eat ok I'm just over 6 months out and I'd assumed everyone was like this - so today is a big wake up call. Does anyone else still experience this months after being sleeved?

And yet, there was "Someguy" posting right on the money. Doing exactly what the forum was intended - allowing someone to ask for help and someone else to give a useful response. There's no need to beat people up when they're not wrong... Someguy let the op know in case he had missed something significant, and frankly that's more than he needed to do, and more than most do. Strangely, not all of us have time to read every single post, nor find every one scintillating. I'm fairly sure there's not a forum rule requiring it. Except for LauraVen's posts... That girl is gripping! Wouldn't miss a single post - I wake each day and go searching for them, first thing. ; )

Sounds good to me.

Congrats Ausmith and all the others newly sleeved - one day at a time folks, it really does get better day by day. Sydney siders, I haven't read this post for a couple of weeks (exams!) and can see you are now planning on meeting in Parramatta on 10/11 (I think that's right). I couldn't make the city date but Parra I can do - pending resolution of one possible Sunday lunch my hubby has been trying to hastily organise, but I don't think will come off. I'd love to meet up. Susan (0412 250 010)

I've heard good things about Coconut oil, juice and milk generally, but I think the effect on thyroid function has been de-bunked by research. Which is not to say it shouldn't be taken, just not instead of thyroxine medication - not that you said you did that Sweetpee, but I've heard others say that.

I believe there is stuff on this site about that death, but not enough for anyone here to tell you what truly happened and why... there's so much rumour and conjecture, and it sounds like an independent process of investigation might not occur as readily as it would in many other countries. You need to be confident in your surgeon - put your concerns to him directly and if you are not fully reassured then move on. Many people seem to get a "word of mouth" recommendation to a bariatric surgeon. Perhaps a WLS support group in your area might allow you to meet some people face to face and discuss their surgical experiences. I'd happily recommend my surgeon, but it's a long way to come... And surgery in Aus is similar in cost to USA. Good luck.

You have to get serious about this as it can stretch your rectum (particularly if you over 40). Try any/all of the following: - stool softeners without laxatives (eg: coloxyl... and you might need quite a bit) - small enemas to get things "started" (eg: Microlax or if you r in US I've heard others mention Fleet Enema). You may need several if you have a hard stool blocking your rectum, and the longer it sits there the harder it gets - If you have a rectocele already, "splinting" the wall between your vagina and rectum with fingers inserted in v can reduce the size of the rectocele and help you pass a BM). Some people find their perineum bulges as the rectocele forces down but not out, so pressure there can help - Fibre is good as a preventive (though Benefibre doesn't seem to work for many), but once you get constipated fibre can actually make things worse, so use it with caution. - Lots of Water is good and essential! - A Lactulose solution (Lac-dol or Dulcolax) with water can be great - technically it's a sort of laxative but less dependency forming than laxative tablets - I have a bowel surgeon who advised me this as I have l/t problems since a major cancer op 7 years ago. TMI I know (sorry) but GPs are often clueless about all this stuff and many people make themselves worse because they just don't know how to deal with this v common problem - we don't talk about it enough. I hope something here helps. Good luck.

Coughing is really tough and sometimes you just have to give up on those nights. Hopefully they are few and far between. I've never tried a full faced mask, but if that works for you... My brother just told me tonight that he's finally got around to buying a RESMED S6 after years of something that has so many non-working parts we were all starting to think he should just abandon the whole thing. But he said he hates the swanky new mask and has had to work out a way to make his old mask work with the new tubing... he's quite an inventive chap so he has. Now he's happy. Most people seem to take a few weeks to feel comfortable with their cpap machine. Now I'm there I find it quite soothing at bedtime... esp as I know it means I'll be waking up in the morning!

Coughing is really tough and sometimes you just have to give up on those nights. Hopefully they are few and far between. I've never tried a full faced mask, but if that works for you... My brother just told me tonight that he's finally got around to buying a RESMED S6 after years of something that has so many non-working parts we were all starting to think he should just abandon the whole thing. But he said he hates the swanky new mask and has had to work out a way to make his old mask work with the new tubing... he's quite an inventive chap so he has. Now he's happy. Most people seem to take a few weeks to feel comfortable with their cpap machine. Now I'm there I find it quite soothing at bedtime... esp as I know it means I'll be waking up in the morning!

Feeling somewhat relieved at my horrendously slow weight loss rate over the past 3 months... found out on Friday that my thyroid is seriously 'on the blink'... again. Hopefully things will kick off again when I get my T4 levels sorted.

Feeling somewhat relieved at my horrendously slow weight loss rate over the past 3 months... found out on Friday that my thyroid is seriously 'on the blink'... again. Hopefully things will kick off again when I get my T4 levels sorted.