soriminah

Call me weird but I prefer my diet coke room temperature and flat. I'll buy a bottle, shake the hell out of it till it's flat and then drink it - been doing that for years. So my sister who's banded thinks I shouldn't have a problem drinking it after the op if I want - mind you I do that with any soft drink I have.

Chickie - you look fantastic - where did you get you TT done? I'll be looking at that in 12 months or so.

Are you thinking of Macleods?

How did you get getting a hold of the desert. I thought it'd be quite nice but out of everything, that's the one thing I don't like - it's like swamp sludge. eugh. I love the choc bars which is good when you need to chew something and feel like you're eating & I really love the mixed vege soup. Thought I'd died and gone to heaven the first time I had one of those.

My Dr has requested a total optidiet only. 3 optifast products a day. No extras. Unless starving then a cup of veges but only if you can’t handle just the 3 optimeals a day. So far I've managed just the optifast for the past week. I have all 4 products so I don't get bored of just the milkshakes. The bars are good because you're actually eating something. Not just drinking it.

The pre-diet is designed to shrink your liver as this sits over your stomach. Theres more of a risk of something happening if the liver is in the way so they like it to shrink about for easier access and to avoid accidently injuring the liver. Some Dr's won't operate if you haven't followed the diet.

Brisbane - being banded 18 March.

I don't mind the taste of the choc shake. Mind you it is only day 1 but I was expecting it to be foul so I was pleasantly surprised.

Sunwyse I saw Blair yesterday. He's very quite spoken. Very informative and encourages you to ask lots of questions. Unfortunately I'm self pay so the bill he handed me was for over $20 000. I've heard he's one of the most expensive but he's close to me and I've heard good things about him. 4 weeks til op date.

Fleur - is that a gap payment. My bill for Blair is over $20 000 - all self pay through super.

That's great news. My appointment with Blair is next Wednesday so I can't wait to meet him.

I was thinking about this today. Because I have to do optifast pre-op, I was wondering if anyones stayed on optifast post-op as their liquid phase after surgery. I'll ask the Dr when I go in next week but if anyone has done this, I'd be grateful for info.

Hi all Does anyone know of any good books that lap banded people have written about their experience. I have on order Khaliah Ali's book 'Fighting Weight.' I have read heaps of other books on the procedure and nutrition information but I'd like some books on people who have had the op and their experience with it. Ta

My sister who was banded 4 years ago suffers really badly with feeling cold now. In the middle of summer and it's 38 degrees outside, go into the shopping centre or movies and she gets cold. She takes a sweater everywhere just in case. Anytime we go anywhere I always ask her if she's got a sweater in the car just in case.

When I was at my Gyno's on Thursday I told him about getting banded in March. He's hoping that will sort out the PCOS problem. So do I. Even the Nurse for the surgeon said they have so many women come thorugh with PCOS that the band sorts out.

Make sure that you do the injections at a different spot each time over your entire stomach. I was having clexane injections last year for major clotting and my stomch was purple after 10 days. I also ended up with a hard lump in one spot but it disolved after several weeks.

I have told 2 people - my sister who was banded 4 years ago, and a friend who is being banded shortly. I have only chosen to tell 2 people because once you start telling people, you will be under a microscope. There are people who will wait to see you fail and then rub your nose in it given the chance or tell you you're a cheat, took the easy option etc etc. It's not a nice prospect but there are a lot of people in the world who are not nice people. :thumbup: Yes you are an adult and it's your choice to tell who you like, but Mother's do try and protect their children. They don't like to see you hurt from other people's nastiness. Maybe she's trying to protect you. How much support do you think you'll need? If your immediate family knows, who else do you want to know and why? Are you scared that if everyone doesn't know that you will fail - that they will help you keep on track? If you think about these questions, it'll help you evaluate who to tell and who not to tell because there will be people hoping and waiting to see you fail. I'm just going to wait for people to start to notice changes. Even then I probably won't tell most people how I did it.They'll just have to admire my hot new body:tongue_smilie: and keep wondering. :confused2:

Mrs M - looks like you and I have very similar goals. My op is scheduled for 18 March. My biggest fear is 'what if it doesn't work' too. I'm paying out of my Super and THIS IS GOING TO WORK!. Laying in bed I visualise my new body, and I've even put on the back of my bedroom door an outfit I WILL fit into by the end of the year. I can look at it and visualise myself in it for New Years. I'm going to start my Optislim phase next week so I get 4 weeks of it to really kick start me along. I have PCOS so I'm fully expecting that I may be slower losing so I want to get a head start. I look forward to following your progress. As I said we've got very similiar goals so we'll be able to help each other keep our eyes on the prize.

Heparin's a blood thinner. To help make sure you don't end up with blood clotting after the op. Do you have a clotting disorder so that you need to do the shots at home? I'm on warfarin so they'll probably do a heparin bridge when I have my op next month. I have previously given myself clexane injections so they may do that instead. That's the good thing with belly injections, they don't hurt so it's easy to do yourself.

Just before Christmas I finally made the decision to go ahead with being banded. The 2 weeks the Dr's were on holidays seemed like forever. Now all of a sudden I've only got 4 weeks till my op date. It's goes so quick. It'll be here before you know it.

In Australia the police now do random roadside drug testing for marijuana as they do random breath testing for alcohol.

My sister's Dr didn't require any pre-op diet but that was 4 years ago. She pigged out on Chinese the night before as her 'last meal'. Most Dr's do require the pre-op diet. I think it's a good idea even if you don't have a fatty liver because it gets you ready for the 2 week liquid stage immediately afterwards. Instead of going directly from eating normally to liquids at least you've got the 2 week buffer zone to get used to it.

I thought the Nurses' name was Judy but it's Jenny. Anywho, I had my appointment this morning, have my appointment with Blair on the 20th and am scheduled for band on 18 March. No Easter eggs for me. When I initially rang beginning of January they said the wait list was 5 weeks, however, today when she asked when I wanted to book in and I said ASAP, I was given the date of 6 Mar as an option, only 2 weeks later. That didn't leave me much time to make sure the paperwork was done and had the cash in my hand so 18th March is better. Also, because it's over Easter I don't need to take an extra week off work because it's incorporated into my Easter break. I'm soooooooooo excited.:confused: BTW, Jenny the Nurse is lovely.

Well, considering you work in a legal firm she should know better. She should know the legal ramifications of harassment and know that you can sue her for harassing behaviour. When you mentioned that she's not skinny, I'm wondering if this behaviour is because you've got the band and will be losing weight and it's making her think about herself. Basically, I'm wondering if it's screwing with her head that you've taken steps to lose weight and she's not so it's a reaction based on jealousy. She might be worried that shortly she's be the fat one in the workplace. I've noticed over the years that people who are really anti-fat-people are usually overweight themselves. It's more about them then it is about you. Maybe print off the law regards to harassement and give it to her and say if she doesn't stop her behaviour, this is what she can expect to happen.

My appointment with Judy is tomorrow morning. I can't wait. Then got my appointment with Dr Bowden on the 20th. I'm hoping to be done just after Easter if all goes well. All the best for your appoinment.