Jane_S

My husband didn't get it either! He used to be a professional athlete, so I told him: 'Remember when you had to do hundreds of situps in training, and how your abs felt the next day?' He got that part. Nodded his head. 'Ok, add someone sucker punching you in the belly as well as the situps - that's how I feel'. His eyes grew wide. Terror. Horror. Then understanding. He was so good afterwards. Even now, two weeks after, he won't let me do anything that requires heavy lifting. Good husband. Men are all about the analogy. :thumbup:

Thanks Shay, I was wondering if the Protein would make a difference given I'm eating more calories on mushies. Look like it does. I'm have mushy oats for Breakfast, followed by protein and soft veggies for lunch and dinner. If I want a snack, I eat a piece of soft cheese. The protein is great for slow burning energy and it makes me feel uber-full.

Yes, I've heard this happens although, I must admit, I am still losing (have transitioned this week), albeit alot slower than on liquids. I'm eating a fair amount of Protein though (ie lots of soft fish) - I don't know if that makes a difference but it might?

Kyla, I have a few sachets of the shakes (chocolate) and the dessert (lemon) spare. If you need any more, message me your address and I'll send them up. Jane.

Hi Carolannh, Welcome to the board! Many surgeons will require a pre-op diet, primarily to shrink the size of the liver so that it makes it easier during surgery. The liver, as I understand it, is quite delicate and can lacerate very easily. So it makes the surgery safer if the liver is smaller and out of the way. My surgeon recommended Optifast three times a day as it was nutritionally balanced and would shift weight fast. I started two weeks out from surgery and, despite some cheats, lost close to 7kg in two weeks. Which meant I was in good shape for the surgery. I told my staff I needed an operation and left it at that. Most people are pretty understanding about the need for privacy. Mine was covered but I had to clear it with my manager. He didn't even ask what I was going in for, so long as I had a certificate from my surgeon to cover the time away.

I chose the lapband because I didn't like the idea of my insides being removed. And I liked the adjustability of the band. Having said that, if the band didn't work, I would go for the sleeve.

I've had my band for two weeks and haven't been hungry once. However, my mental desire for food is increasing. :thumbup:

In defence of talkalot (not that I think you need me defending you, talkalot), my initial reaction to Agnes' post was 'Wow, this girl is all over the place'. Her first post, as she wrote it, seemed chaotic. And it seemed like she didn't really understand the banding process (ie refills). Of course, that has turned out to not be the case (subsequent posts show that Agnes has thought this through, considered her options and feels this is the best for her), but that's how the first post read to me. And I'm sure others felt the same way. I don't think talkalot was intentionally trying to be rude. Just realistic. Agnes, this is a great community of wonderful men and women. Not everyone will agree with you but opposing opinions are not intended to betlittle or patronise you. I can safely say that we're here to support you through this journey - and that means articulating the good and the bad (however unpalatable the bad may seem). Personally, I'm nearly two weeks banded and it's working out great. I wish I had done it when I was in your position BMI-wise. Good on you for being pro-active. I hope it all works out. :blushing:

I was banded on 11 June 2009. Here is my surgery day story. Pre Surgery (getting to the hospital) B and I don't have any family in Melbourne, which makes these types of events difficult as hospitals are not the place for two small and energetic boys. So, as I shed sad and lonely tears, B dropped me off at the entrance to the hospital at around 10am. I gave the boys a kiss each whilst they were still strapped into their car seats and waved them off. I've never felt so alone in my life as I did at that moment I saw them driving off. First stop, after I managed to collect myself, was pre-admission before I was shown up to my ward. The staff were very kind and showed me to a beautiful room. I sat back and read my book for about an hour and a half before the nursing staff came to do some basic blood pressure, weight, temperature checks etc. At around midday, the anesthetist came in and told me 'You've been moved up the order. You'll be going in in ten minutes'. Which got me all excited until he asked what I had eaten for breakfast. When I replied 'An Optifast shake at around 6.50am' he looked at me and then said 'Oh. Well you won't be going just yet then because Optifast lasts around 6 hours in the gut and we want you to be empty. But it won't be long. An hour or two tops'. Oh well. After that, I had to take a shower and wash with some special soap. I got to wear a lovely hospital frock and hat. But what made it all really special were the crepey knickers. See through crepey knickers. And then I waited. And waited. And waited. Holding Bay Finally, at around 3.30pm, the orderly came to get me. He and another nurse got me to lie in the bed and I was wheeled me down to a holding bay. By this time, I was exhausted and actually fell asleep in the holding bay. Such a light weight. Around 4pm, my surgeon came to wake see me. I was so grateful to see a friendly and familiar face. We went through a few final checks and then he said he'd see me in theatre. One gentle pat on the shoulder and that was all it took for me to finally just burst into tears. Poor man. He was very kind but I'm pretty confident he was thinking to himself 'Ok, crazy cry baby lady with see through knickers in Holding Bay #4'. He managed to calm me down, as did another theatre nurse, and I was ready to go. Surgery Room An orderly wheeled me into the theatre where my anesthetist and his nurse were waiting. The orderly moved my bed against the operating table and got me to shimmy over to the operating table. And then my frock opened up, exposing my 116kg body to everyone in the theatre as well as people passing by the theatre (the doors were still open). The lovely orderly rushed to close everything up but I waved him away. 'I wouldn't bother. My lady parts are about to be a matter of public record in a few minutes anyway'. Which got everyone laughing, including my surgeon who was now probably thinking 'Ok, crazy cry baby lady with see through knickers is now naked and making inappropriate jokes'. The anesthetist gave me a local injection in my arm and then the cannula. And then came the drugs. Which made me woozy and dreamy. A few deep breaths from the oxygen mask and I was out. The anesthetic was the part I was most worried about with this operation, and it turned out my fears were unfounded. The anesthetist was fantastic. He put me at ease. Told me what he was doing. And by the time I was about to go to sleep, the drugs had already relaxed me nicely. Recovery I woke up in recovery feeling very dozy and sleepy. And nauseous. Oh, the nausea. I told the nurse who immediately put something in the drip and I was out again. I don't remember anything more about recovery. I don't even remember being brought back up to my room. Martians could have landed in and I would have still been dribbling into my pillow, blissfully unaware. Overnight Finally I woke. My mouth felt like I'd eaten sand and I was still nauseous. More stuff went into the drip and my lovely nurse brought me some crushed ice. I figured, in my dozy state, that it was about 6.30pm, but it was actually 8.30pm. I was a bit disappointed as my boys go to bed at 7pm. So I knew I'd missed talking to them. The rest of the night was blurry. I got up a few times to go the toilet. I don't remember this, but apparently I called B at around midnight telling him I wanted to go the toilet. He told me to call a nurse, but I told him that he had to help me and what kind of husband was he anyway if he can't help his wife to go to the toilet. At around 3am, I was wide awake and read my book for about half an hour before drifting back to sleep. At this point, I wasn't having any pain or discomfort. No shoulder tip pain. No gas pain. Even my wounds weren't sore. The morning after I was woken by the nurse at around 7.30am. I was feeling pretty good by this point. Still no gas pain and still no shoulder tip pain. I had some juice and a cup of coffee which went down a treat. My nurse said they were really happy with my recovery. All I had to do was go for the barium swallow and then I could go home. At around 9am, the orderly took me down to x-ray and I had the barium swallow. That was ok. It is chalky but it's very sweet. I watched the liquid go through the band on the monitor. And that was when I first saw Felix, sitting nestled in my belly. He's rather a handsome lap band, if I do say so. I think it was love at first sight. As my barium swallow was clear, I was allowed to go home. B and Chuffy arrived at the hospital around 11am (Boo was at creche today) and we came home. Ahhh, how I loved being in my house, having a shower in my own bathroom and being able to relax on my couch. Bliss.

As a trained Statistician myself (I have an invisible propeller on my head), numbers can be made to say anything depending on the skewing of the original data. For me, I agree with some of the others (the gorgeous Jachut, for example). Because we are not commodities - ie we're not all identical, with equal starting weights and equal health problems and equal surgeons - numbers are meaningless without the qualitative commentary. Before I had my surgery, I met with a woman who had the surgery 10 years ago at my surgeon's. It took her two years to shed the weight but she has kept it off for 8 years with zero problems. She uses the band to ensure her portions are smaller and she exercises. For me, someone like her provides me with a better picture of long-term loss than a number, because I can talk to her, see what she's done, learn about the good and the bad and, based on her experience, I am more knowledgeable about how I can make 'Felix' work for me.

Charli, I so know how you're feeling! I was terrified leading up to the surgery. Funnily enough, once I was on the operating table and they were putting the cannula in etc, a wonderful sense of calm came over me. Or was that the drugs? Seriously, I'm been a week banded and I have zero regrets so far. I have no appetite, am losing pretty steadily and am embracing my new banded life. You'll do great!

Moxi, I felt the same as you. I have two little boys and was terrified I might die on the table and leave them without a mum. Bear in mind the risk of death from this is so so so low, minute. And, so long as you have a good surgeon who knows everything about you and your medical history, they will take that into account when doing the surgery. I know it's really scary and nothing / nobody really placated me or managed to reduce that fear. In the end, it has all worked for me (am four days banded). I'm still here and now my boys are going to get a mum that's half the size with twice the energy!

I have an umbilical hernia too thanks to birthing two big babies! My surgeon wasn't perturbed by the hernia since he was planning to operate well away from the belly button. Which he did - my wound sites are all around my upper stomach. Unless the hernia is posing an immediate threat - ie becoming strangulated - it should not delay your surgery. It certainly didn't for me and I was banded 4 days ago. Good luck!

Hi all, My name is Jane and I'm in Melbourne. After trying to lose weight for four years and tipping the scales at 121kg, I've finally decided enough is enough. Having tried every diet under the sun, I think lap banding is an option. I have private health insurance, and have had it for three years so waiting lists aren't a problem. I'm happy that I've made the decision. But I am SCARED. I am scared of seeing the surgeon. I am scared they will say no and I will be doomed to this life. I am scared about the actual operation. I don't need sugarcoating, but could I get your honest opinion - is it worth it? Thanks in advance.

Hi All, Well I was officially banded yesterday. I have had no shoulder tip or gas pains. Am feeling pretty good. I'll update the whole story on my site in the next couple of days. Good luck to everyone who has surgery coming up. I am so thrilled to be a bandster.

Hey everyone, I am officially banded! Surgery went off without a hitch. I don't have any gas or shoulder tip pain and, so far, I'm feeling pretty darn good. I didn't believe they had put anything in there until I saw the barium. I'll update my site in a couple of days with the full story. Suffice to say, I'm thrilled to finally be a bandit.

Only 12 more hours before I have to be at the hospital. As we Aussies say, 'I am quietly sh*tting myself'. Am just hoping all goes well. Wish me luck gals, I'm about to join a pretty cool club! :cursing:

Mine will be called Felix. For totally random reasons!

Spud Mama, I'm June 11 too! Although I'm in Australia so I might be getting mine earlier than you, thanks to the time difference? I've got to be honest. I'm totally terrified at this point. Not about the band - that I am reconciled with. I am terrified of the general anesthetic and waking up. But if that's what it takes to get this band in, then that's ok. Anyone would think I'm a sook but I've had two 11 pound babies via c-sections so I know all about surgical pain! I'm now Day 12 of pre-op. I must admit, I did cheat in the first week but I've now been six days clear on just three Optifast shakes a day. Am not feeling like I could run a marathon but at least I'm starting to feel better. Can't wait for Thursday to come and go and get on with the rest of this journey! Good luck to everyone getting done this week!

Hey all, I'm still around. I had a scare earlier in the week where I thought I might have an umbilical hernia, and had to go in for an ultrasound. The bad news was that I had to wait for two days for the results. The good news is that it all looks clear, aside from scarring from previous surgeries (two caesars). Optifast is going ok. I must admit I cheated a couple of times last week but, all this week, I've been very strict and am finally starting to feel better. I was feeling nauseous and weak until, I presume, my body went in ketosis. Now that it's there, it's not too bad. And I've lost nearly five kgs since last Thursday! Less than a week to go for me now. It's all becoming very real!

I had an unsupportive spouse, but he has changed his mind. Like yours, he believes it's all just a matter of 'calories in, calories out'. He just doesn't get the idea of food addiction or emotional eating. He lived five years as an elite athlete playing professional sport and has never had a weight problem. And he hasn't had two 11 pound babies like I have. I took him to the seminars, got him to read a couple of books and even showed him this site. He wouldn't budge. 'If you just ate less and exercised more, you'd be right'. Sigh, and if I could follow that simple formula, I wouldn't be fat, right? Finally, it was a neighbour who saved the day. My husband asked him for his opinion and the neighbour said 'I hear it's great, works for alot of people'. Now, my husband is supportive, even though he still doesn't get it. My point being, is there someone whose opinion your husband totally respects, independent of you? Sometimes it takes 'social proof' for an idea to sink in as being worthy.

Hi all, I've been having some minor pain in my tummy, around my belly button, for a couple of months. It flares if I sneeze, or bump my tummy against something but it's never really painful - more annoying. I can't feel any lumps etc - it's kinda like how you feel if you graze your knee. But I can tell that my tummy is lopsided (ie the right seems to hang lower than the left). I think it may be a hernia. I'm due to be banded on June 11th and am terrified that this might hold up my surgery. I know it needs to get seen to but I want to get the lapband surgery out of the way first. Has anyone experienced this before and did it hold up your surgery? I've tried to do a search on this topic but I couldn't find anything that really suited my situation. Thanks in advance to anyone who can provide advice. Edited to add: I will be going to see my GP on Tuesday to get it checked out.

Thank you Inri! I went and saw my GP today (couldn't wait until Tuesday) and she couldn't feel anything. But she's sending me for an ultrasound anyway, just to be on the safe side. She indicated that my surgeon will probably fix it at the same time as the lap band, so that's good news. My preference is to get the lap band before anything else, as I believe my weight has alot to do with the hernia (if that's what it is) being aggravated. Thanks again!