lellow

Welcome SG24! I'm getting banded on the same day as you are! As for the siggies, you can either have the glittery ones like I have or the ones that moonandstarzz did. For one like mine, just click on my gliterry signature and it will take you to the website. Once on the website, follow the link directly above the glittery 'Dream Dollz' banner to go to the place you can create your signature. Create your signature and 'click for codes'. You then copy and paste the entire vBul/PHPBB one to your signature. Make sure you get it all, coz only some of it shows in the little box with the code in it. For one of moonandstarzz sigs, see this thread: Our Snaggable Group Siggies (can a mod make this a sticky)

That's interesting, because my BMI was 37 when I started, and I've now lost exactly 4 kgs so my BMI is just under 36 now and I've still got 10 days to surgery. I'm seeing my Dr tomorrow and will let you all know if he thinks I need to stop the pre-op diet.

I didn't realise that different drs had different requirements. Sorry GrannyL and thanks Sunwyse for giving her dr-specific info, esp since I gave her the wrong info! :ohmy:

Actually that's great advice Jachut, thank you. It's not something I'd thought of. I actually see my lapband surgeon on Wed so might mention it and see if there is someone he personally recommends. I bet he gets asked all the time. $8000 - 10000 is about what I expected the cost to be, and my DH has already said he would rather I did it right -ie an aesthetically pleasing tummy - so he knows I'll be happy with it long term. My other concern of course is that I have a rather large tattoo under my belly button, which will likely look wierd after a tummy tuck, but I don't think this would deter me to be honest. It's great that you didn't need a tummy tuck. As for me, I suspect it's a foregone conclusion already. :ohmy:

LOLOL! No way would me or my family be responsible for Optiyuck! If we were it would taste a damned sight better than it does! I'm on a pre-op diet of 2 replacement meals only out of my 3 daily meals. I have a normal lunch, and have been enjoying my favourite foods at lunchtime so am not feeling too deprived. But yes, for Breakfast and dinner I'm on Optifast. Some use Tony Ferguson and other simialr diet products, but I am getting used to the Optifast now and still have a box of it, so I'm still having it. The pre-op diet is pretty awful in the first few days but your body adapts relatively quickly and now I'm finding it hard to eat too much at lunch or I feel ill. I've also lost almost 4kgs since I started it a week ago. I was only supposed to start this Saturday just passed, but Ms Eagerbeaver here started 5 days early, and with the kind of weight loss I've had, I couldn't be happier anyway. Most surgeons will expect you to do some sort of pre-op diet, whether 3 meals of Optifast or half-n-half like I'm doing. But two weeks isn't that long in the scheme of things. If you have to do it, I (and a whole lot of others on this forum) will be happy to hold you hand while you do it.

I know that the US members have to do psych evaluations but I have not had it mentioned at all for me to have to do. Just referral letter, blood tests, pre-op appt, then surgery. I'm actually studying psychology at uni, but would not have been keen to see one for this particular issue either. I think if the US members have to do it as part of their medical insurance approval process. Some of them have to go on a 6 month diet too before they will get approved.

Tonni, my Dr didn't initially expect me to do a pre-op diet but I called his surgery to make sure I didn't need one, and his nurse checked with him again, then told me it wouldn't hurt to replace 2 of my 3 daily meals with Optifast. I was due to start the diet this past Saturday but I started 5 days early, also to ease myself into it. And those first few dys were hard, definitely, because I constantly felt hungry. But it got easier as the days passed. I also got smarter about it, eg another bander said she bought Optifast Soups instead of shakes and added 1/2 cup of veg to it for dinner, and I now do the same, and it stops me feeling hungry right up to bed time! And the upside of it all? I've lost almost 4 kgs already (about 8 lbs) and I'm still 11 days away from my surgery. I still have lunches so have been using that meal to have a farewell tour of my favourite foods, but am still losing nonetheless. I see my surgeon in 2 days and I do wonder if he'll say I won't need to diet anymore, but I think for my own sake I'll stay on it. Because if all goes well, this time, the weight I'm losing is never going to come back! :ohmy:

I've been very fortunate in that I made the decision to have lapband surgery about 3 weeks ago (early July). It took 2 days to get in to see my GP for a referral letter, then called the surgeon to book and was given an appt date of 21st August, with surgery to follow. I contacted my surgeon by email because due to work and uni commitments, I was hoping to get in for surgery as soon as possible. His rooms contacted me and I was booked for a pre-op appt on the 23rd of July with surgery on the 1st of August. So from decision to banded, it will have taken just under a month. I have done the required blood tests, have completed and returned my hospital admission forms and have paid the gap fee already. All going well I'll be banded in less than 2 weeks. Maybe speak to your dr first to see what he thinks. I emailed my surgeon simply to ask if it was possible to see him sooner, and why I wanted to, and he was great about doing all these amazing things to accomodate MY schedule instead of expecting me to fit his schedule. You may find your surgeon just as understanding.

Hi ladies, not long before my op, but wanted to jump in with the chat here in the August forum. For those who don't know me, I live in Perth, Western Australia and while my BMI is considered low for a lapband, I have significant family history of diabetes, heart disease and hypertension, and it's why my family dr has suggested lapband surgery for me. My younger brother has recently found out he has severe type 2 diabetes, and this scared me into thinking it's time to change my life. I've yo-yo dieted for years and have never successfully kept any weight off for good, in fact adding to my weight everytime I stopped dieting. I see the lapband as a tool to help me control my weight once and for all. I am a mum to 4 kids - 3 teenagers (18,16 and 14) from my 1st marriage and a toddler, who is 2, with my current DH. I also work fulltime and am studying at university part-time. Just on the aside - I was telling my DH today that if I manage to lose 10 kgs from my top weight, I'm enrolling in rumba/salsa classes as a reward for myself (and for fun exercise)! I'm pretty damned excited about it, esp since I'm over a third of the way to that milestone already since being on the pre-op diet! I found a dance class already that starts early Sept so that's my short term goal now - I have to achieve a 10kg (22lbs) loss by the 1st of Sept!

Dr Watson's clinic has called me back to say I have got my first appointment with him on the 23rd of July and my op will be on the 1st of August! Yayayayayay! I'm so excited! Scared but excited! I really want to get on my way, and the timing is absolutely perfect for work and uni - which was my major concern - so I'm ecstatic! Only (very small) issues would be I have a training course on the 8th of August so by hook or by crook I will need to be well enough to attend it. And secondly I've been booked into Hollywood Hospital, which is a fair bit further from home than Murdoch, but I don't really care. I'm on my way!!!!

stefgray, If you're on luteal support (pregesterone pessaries or HCG injections) then the nausea might be from that. That's not to say you're not pregnant though, but it may explain the symptoms. Good luck for your test on Monday!

liond, I have a bmi of 36 and was not given instructions to go on a pre-op diet initially, so I called my Dr's rooms and asked if I should be on one. They said because my BMI wasn't that high, to not worry about it, but I asked the nurse to check to make sure. She came back and said that it wouldn't hurt to replace 2 of my 3 daily meals with Optifast until I had my pre-op appt on the 23rd. I did in fact start replacing 2 of my meals with Optifast since that phone call last week and have lost 3.5kgs so far. I suspect that at this rate, I probably won't need to do any more pre-op dieting before my actual surgery (or a minimal amount) but it's good to feel like I'm doing something, like my journey has already started, and to try to get a handle on the 'head hunger' before hand, IYKWIM. Coz if I can make it through the pre-op diet, then I reckon once the band is in, it'll be a breeze. In the end, I suppose it's up to you. I am still having lunches so am having my 'farewell' tour of my favourite foods too, but after having Optifast most of the time, I find I'm struggling to eat more than a plateful at lunch anyway now. And remember the band doesn't mean you'll never eat any of your favourite food ever again, it just means you won't eat as much of it.

Wow this group is growing like crazy! Vegasgirl and cutiew, you guys are doing incredibly well! It's amazing! Vegasgirl, I so get you about how suddenly everything looks so good you can't resist it. My son was eating butter on a bread roll yesterday and it looked like the MOST delicious thing I'd ever seen in my life. Butter on a bread roll, for heaven's sakes! PMSL!! Have now decided that my DH will have to feed the boy, because I don't know if I have the willpower to resist his food if I have to. Soon though, we're all going to be bandits, and it will all have been worth it! I just realised too this thread is in the pre-op forum. Are we all moving to the August forum soon for our chats? Have a house warming? Break out the beer and chips (ok maybe Optifast and lean chicken)?

cutiew, to get to my goal weight of 60kgs (132 lbs) I'll need to lose about 83 lbs from my pre-op diet weight of 215 lbs. I've now lost almost 8 lbs, so am now down to just over 207 lbs! (I needed a kg to lb converter to work that out! Lol!) I may have to get a lb ticker after surgery just so we're all singing from the same song book.

cutiew, what great progress! Woot! You're going great guns, girl! I too have lost a fair bit since being on the pre-op diet for almost a week - 3.5kgs (just under 8lbs)!! My DH is now saying it's too fast and wants me to talk to my Dr about it! Moe yay on the op date! Not long to go now.

Great news dwrd! Not long now to go! Keisha, it's kinda reassuring to have yet another bander-to-be going for the op on the 1st. It'll be good to compare notes with each other up to and after the surgery. And to be here for the other All-Stars as they have theirs. How's everyone doing with their pre-op diets? I'm sitting here with my poor tummy rumbling but I'm off to bed soon (it's about 10pm now here in Perth, Western Australia) so no more hunger until the morning at least. :frown:

I'm nervous too, Claudine, I won't lie. I have had moments of panic when I think about how this is going to change my life. But maybe it hasn't hit as hard as it's hit you yet, because right now, while on the pre-op diet, it feels like the surgery couldn't come fast enough. I hate how hungry I am all the time! But I would put money on the fact that as it comes closer, it's going to become more real. You and I are actually having surgery on the same day too, so if you want we can panic together maybe? Lol!

Thanks for the tip about the stars Vegasgirl! I got it in the banner now but I think it may be a tiny bit too big now! Lol! I'm going out now but will fiddle with it some more when I get back. ETA never mind fixed it now!

Last year I lost 10kgs with portion control and walking an hour 4 times a week. But more than the weight loss, I started to get my confidence back when my clothes started to feel loose. Then 3 months in, I broke a bone in my foot and couldn't exercise. I gained all 10 kgs back and then some. Since my foot has healed I've been saying to my DH that I would start portion controlling and exercising again, but never have, esp since starting work fulltime and uni part time this year. Then earlier this year my family dr, who has seen me try numerous diets and pills over the course of my 20s and 30s, suggested lapbanding. I have a significant family history of diabetes and heart disease, and he thought it might be best for me to do this before I presented with any of these problems. But DH wasn't keen, he said he thought I could do it with exercise and portion control like I did before, and I left it at that. Two months or so ago, my younger brother was diagnosed with diabetes. It's so bad that they're saying his days are numbered if he doesn't lose weight and diet. He's on huge amounts of pills everyday now. My DH and I were talking about him one night, about how he's so young yet his life is changed forever, and DH said you keep talking about portion controlling again but you just never do it. Don't you want to be around for our son for years to come? (we have a 2yo son). I broke down in tears, both upset and angry, and said that the worst feeling I'd ever had was after I broke my foot, and then had to watch my weight creep back up again, knowing how hard it was for me to lose those 10 kgs, but seeing how easily it came back on. I told him I felt like I was fighting a losing battle. That for every one step I took, it felt like I was being shoved back two steps. So he said, 'what about doing that lapband surgery? Will that help?'. So here I am, with him behind me 100%, doing what I need to do to be here for my son for a long time, to be here for my DH for a long time, to be here for my other kids for a long time, and for me, most of all for me. And as for DH, the man who believed I didn't need a lapband? He's already started saving for an abdominoplasty if I ever need it! LOL!

Great new Vegasgirl! You're on your way now, the 14th with be here before you know it! Jillbeme, I don't think one person in this place will deny that they love food. I too love food. I sat up last night dreaming of all the foods I will miss. How sad is that? Lol! But the fact is, as much as love food, I want to control it and stop having it control me. And yeah I'm scared too. But excited about changing my life (plus all the things cutiew said too! Lol!)

That sounds great, bindi! I might go trawling my local shops for Tony Ferguson today. I did alright actually on the Optifast, that is, I managed to get all the way to bed time without snapping my DH's head off. This morning I've woken up without feeling hungry and I think that's a great step forward. I am also below 95kgs now, which I suspect is me losing even more water!

OMG thanks for that little bit of advice because I definitely would have panicked if that happened thinking the band had stopped working! LOL! And great advice too about the Optifast - I shall head off to the shops on the way home to see if I can get any diet flavourings because the vanilla flavour is getting old very fast! You're a real gem Fanny. Thank you.

Thanks for the advice Fanny! I am trying to be realistic about it and I fugure that a slow steady weight loss would be best. Considering all I've done over the last 5 years is gain weight, any downward trend will be welcomed, it doesn't have to be fast! I am keen to exercise too. I have worried about how I will fit it into an already tight schedule but I know that weight loss alone will not solve a lot of the health problems that I will likely face due to my family history. So no more excuses! I will have to find time to exercise, it has to be put onto my list of priorities. It's great to hear of another good experience with Dr Watson! I can't tell you how reassuring it is to have his patients speak so highly of him.

Great work cutie! I had my one solid meal of the day at 12 noon and this time yesterday (almost 4pm) was wanting to gnaw my arm off with hunger, but today am doing okay drinking lots of water and keeping distracted. We can do it! Sask, love your sparkly banner! I've been playing with mine on and off all day trying to find the perfect one.

Can I be added to the list too please? My Op is on the 1st of August.