Rainbow_Warrior

It's just to check that you have: (a) a balanced understanding of ramifications of WLS (b) a strong propensity to commit fully (c) the 'right' attitude or range of attitudes (d) readiness in the full sense (e) enough of a support network in your life

That's routine with the two surgeons in this practice. They do a quick photo session ... 3 or 4 angles. Then the stomach piece goes off to the pathology lab for testing and reports. Some of that data is kept for a regional longitudinal study.

Hear, hear to both those statements. The freedom of movement is a revelation after struggling with treadmills and pavements.

I was blood tested then put on IRON, B12 and a multi-vitamin for men over 50. The B12 will be long term. The iron MAY be long term. The multi-vitamin is advised as a general 'back-stop'. I may need a Folic Acid pill (or extra folate) depending on my progress.

I'm assuming you mean Friday 6th? No? 36 pounds in 7-8 days is an impressive rate of loss. Your profile still says pre-op. Time to update that, I'm sure. (Just about to do mine now.) - - - I was sleeved on Thursday 12th at 8:30am. It's Sunday 10:15am now and I have been home nearly 19 hours. I am pain-free but massively flatulent. - - - Best wishes to you.

Indeed. 23 months ago, I took to the pool after four years gym use. The pool is relative heaven. I can 'wade' chest-deep at my highest possible speed and do breaststroke laps for quite a long time WITHOUT JOINT PAIN. The pool is in a brick 'barn' with a high roof and the water is between 20.5C and 23.5C (69F-74F) all year around. Wish I'd been pushed that way years ago.

Almost 18 hours post-hospital for me. Three shakes and some extra water for me between 4pm Saturday and 1am Sunday. - - - Sunday morning ... and coming up to 10am, I have made three Optifast shakes: a chocolate one with 50mL of uncooked egg white and 25g serve of chocolate pea protein; a strawberry one with 7g fibre added AND a vanilla one with 7g of fibre added. They are all chilling in the fridge for later. I have an Optifast pumpkin soup in mind for Sunday night dinner. I'm just starting on a 180g serve of plain Greek yoghurt after my meds. If I make it past half-way, I'll be impressed. - - - I am pain-free, touch wood. Just a lot of flatulence to contend with. As you requested, I wish you luck ... and sufficient patience to get past this.

Exactly. I was very selective about the several I told about my gastric sleeve. It was my choice after 20+ serious diets and several badly-timed diets over a 25+ year period. This sleeve surgery is me "investing" in me with my insurance money, my medical gap money, my time, etc. to get ahead of all the failed diets. I should not have to keep justifying my choice in this to people who contend I should have had another shot or two at so-called 'natural' weight-loss. My brother-in-law, for instance, is generally a lovely helpful man, a very well self-educated single tradesman in the building industry. He is, at any time, 10% to 15% over his ideal weight but judges himself as normal compared to his sister (my wife) and me. He is blindly certain that it's simply more calories burnt than calories eaten. And I believe that that is true ... UP TO A CRITICAL TIPPING POINT for many people. But once one is morbidly obese for whatever single reason or combination of reasons, it's just like the Allies fighting WW2 on nine fronts in two theatres of the globe. It becomes all consuming, tiring and it becomes only possible to win if a maximum investment is made. My brother-in-law is the ultimate armchair critic. He has ALL the answers ... in his opinion. On my weight loss (and my wife's) I just don't want to hear him any more. My wife has tried the gastric balloon method ... the first one for eight months and the new one has been in about eight weeks. She's dropped from almost 130kg to about 82kg. Her general target is to be "in the 60s" by xmas-time. I have taken the more drastic step of gastric sleeve. My goal is precisely 100kg below my starting weight. So, in time, I want to be as close as possible to THREE-SEVENTHS of what I was in July. [174.6kg to 74.6kg ... BMI 56.4 to BMI 24.1]. I don't want to **ck this up so I am backing my $$ expenditure with careful commitment to my success. This is 72 hours post-op for me ... sleeved 12th Oct at 8:30am.

There's a continual assumption, STRANGELY ENOUGH, held by other 'normal-sized', overweight and obese relatives, casual friends and work colleagues that the super-obese and morbidly obese have NEVER tried diet or exercise or both in a variety of ways. What 5h1t5 me most of all is people more than 2/3 of the way to my mass/weight giving me free advice. Free advice from most of these people is just a routine of humans playing amateur god. They just do not know that for 18 of the last 23 years that one has taken the obesity seriously and done something about it. And things have rings of optimism until work demands or family demands shake the routine or diet.

Love is too strong a word. I respect the skills of the doctor and what he's done for me and the level of pre-inspection and planning he put into it. He was confident he could help and he knew his role well. He was a good communicator and was easily able to explain what he wanted from me to make his job most effective. I'm pleased that my GP chose this particular surgeon. My feedback to the GP will be that Dr Mark Gately was an 'excellent fit' for me.

Some people thrive on conflict or looking for others in conflict or "stirring the pot" to imply a level of conflict. It's their 'raison d'être' as their lives lack the drama they need.

Good morning from Newcastle, NSW, Australia. It is about to tick over 8:15am on Sunday 15th Oct. Given that I am three days post-op, I can say that the hospital food service provided me with reasonable food variety given the choices. * Lite milk (2% fat) * sugar-free mix up cordial (alternating Lemon with GI Lime) * warm (not hot) cream of mushroom soup * warm decaf coffee * unsweetened apple juice - - - - - As I had a private room, I did not need the sleeping mask ... but I could see that it would have been an advantage had I been placed in a shared ward with one to three others. I had the chapstick and it was vital ... the dry air-conditioning and the lack of range in the nutrients meant my lips were dry or dryish often. I avoided cracking. - - - - - I have been home 16 hours now and have had * three protein shakes, two on water, one on 225 mL of unsweetened almond milk (8pm, 11pm and 5am) * my Sunday meds and vitamins. - - - - - I have, to date, been pain-free. I am noticing the tendency to feel full very quickly. One should set themselves the target of eating/drinking a 250mL shake in no less than 20 minutes ... maybe as long as 50-65 minutes subject to your personal comfort.

For post-op at the hospital, has anyone mentioned lip balm? Wet wipes? A sleeping mask?

56.5 hours at hospital over. Surgery was approx 8am Thursday 12th. With Surgeon's permission and hospital 'in tune', I was sent home after 3pm Saturday 14th. (Now Sunday 15 th and the time is 12:30am ... woken up after extended post dinner nap.) Thanks for all previous comments and support.

Nice to have a range of people like these in your sphere!

Gastric Sleeve Operation 8am Thursday successful. Stayed in recovery ward after op from 9am until after 1pm Thursday. Came to ICU 2pm Thursday and will depart about 11:25 today for the ward after my shower. No serious pain to speak of (which is good). Just being disconnected from the machines that go ‘bing’ right now. Uninspiring breakfast = one mug of Orchy clear apple juice and one mug of Cottee’s no-sugar GI lime mix up. Yay! Few meds, in reality. Two Panadol at 4am and 9am. Had my BP meds and a nexium. The nurse said my self medicator button was only presses 5 times by me from 2pm Th until 8am today. - - - It’s now 11:15am on Friday 13th in eastern Australia.

11:20am Wednesday (11th Oct) here (eastern Australia) right now. 21 hours from now, I'll be half-way through my gastric sleeve operation. I'm 99% excitement and about 1% apprehension. I'm ready for this. I have to be at the hospital about 6:20/6:30am to be prepped. I can almost feel the joy of freer movement and comfortable access that will follow ... from imagining it to the reality ... a new chapter for me.

Bill Nye said it all on his world tour Sept-Oct. "97% of climate change deniers are over the median population age of 29 years." "But in every age demographic, climate change accepters of scientific evidence outnumber the disbelievers and skeptics."

When I have lost weight before (but never reached goal) in all those years of yo-yo-ing, I always noticed after losing 40-50kg (95-110 pounds) that I would have loose pouches of flabby skin between my inner thighs. As walking a lot more is what I want, I presume these will be my #1 target for change.

My surgeon said at the final interview (Monday 9th) that he'll be doing my gastric sleeve op "first thing" on Thursday morning. "Expect the hospital to tell to arrive by 6:00 or 6:15am for prepping for a 7:45am/8:00am start in theatre," he told me. That makes me pleased that I am, proverbially, 'first cab off the rank' in his five or six hour day. I'll be getting him at his freshest ... before he's been on his feet too long. It's 10:50am Tuesday now in eastern Australia ... so, in all likelihood, I'll be a NEW MAN in about 46 hours.

My 10c worth from many I've read: 1. “Happiness is the consequence of personal effort.” 2. "It’s the people with follow-through who excel.” 3. “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” – Norman Vincent Peale 4. "Your body achieves only what your mind believes!" 5. "If you never change, you'll never change." 6. " Your surgery is a catalyst for positive change ... and it affects every aspect of your life." 7. "It's getting started that stops many people." 8. "If you want what you've never had so far, you have to start doing what you've never done before."

1. Click on your name/handle then sort/edit "profile" and settings. 2. Go to the bottom-right-hand side of any forum page and update your weight/mass AS OFTEN AS IT GOES UP OR DOWN. Sooo easy and it fixes your basic stats and your tickers.

You are so right. Just 4-5 minutes every week to ten days to do a little 'housekeeping'. It's not onerous.

S.A.B., Batgirl ... that's a phenomenal recovery. Hats off to your stoic rebound!

Yeah, scratch a white Aussie's skin and there's every chance he'll/she'll start with, "I am NOT a racist but ..." It's an evil scourge. At times, it makes KKK extremists look a bit tame.