SingingParrott

Happy Birthday Bev!! Have a great day!! :smile2: Not long now!! Have a safe journey and see you Monday. SP:smile:

:smile2: HOORAY!!!!! :thumbup:

Poor you Jackie, makes my awful week away seem quite reasonable! I'm so sorry and saddened to hear how you were treated. Want to name and shame the hospital? When I go away straight after surgery, I'm definitely taking Wendy's emergency number with me! Huge well done though on the splendid weight loss so soon - not even a month yet and you've lost 3+ stone. Hope you can put that incident behind you and get on with the magnificent weight loss with no further nasty turns or nasty people. All the best SP

Well done Bev, you're well ahead of me on the pre-op weight loss! Last week's "holiday" really messed that up, so I'm starting over again now I'm back at the office in eager anticipation of this time next week eeeeeeeeeeek! Tell me people of Wales, does it rain all the time? Or just during the holiday season??? Picture the scene - tired farmhouse in wet Wales, stuffed full with all the in-laws. Only solice to be found at bottom of bottle! Typical day: drive in-laws to look at St Davids, hour in the back of the car, all conversation held at full volume (batteries a little low!) arrive, park, they look out window, say, "It's raining, we'll wait in the car" Hubby decides to keep them company leaving me on a flying guilt trip to the Cathedral, then back into the back seat to return to over stuffed accomodation and another meal! :biggrin: My return to nearly 200 emails was almost a pleasure! Carrie, congratulations on weight loss. Freckles, congratulations on beautiful new arrival Everyone new - welcome, what an exciting journey we've embarked upon!

Thanks BigSis, yes, we contribute towards the cost of the week, though M+F-i-L pick up the majority of the tab. Hubby is driving them there in their car, elder daughter is taking her own car so I get the luxury of my little two seater with my own choice of music whilst pootling the length of the M4! ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Don't worry about the uninvited guests, sister in law enjoys spending her evenings grooming them from her little darlings. I retreat to my bed with a good book! ãzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Well, I'm off on "holiday" tomorrow. Why the quotes I hear you ask? Try this for a break from the office: there will be Mother in Law (84), Father in Law (90), Hubby and two daughters, Brother in law, wife and three children, Brother in law, wife and two children, Sister in law, husband, three children, dogs and headlice! Deep joy!! The daughters in law are expected to share the cooking, which means sharing an unfamiliar kitchen feeding dozens of hungry mouths, finding ingredients in an unfamiliar supermarket and no choice of meal or portions. We've done it every year, though I often spend a great deal of time walking - as far away as possible! Until 2007 we took Gran with us too, she was born in 1899!!This year we have a farmhouse in South Wales. BUT, it gets me away from my own sister and her attitude for a few days!! So, be good whilst I'm away and I look forward to catching up with all the news next weekend, when I shall only be one week away from banding SP

Why, thank you Ma'am, glad to be of service! (How did you guess my middle name???)

Thanks Westie, maybe one day when I have more self confidence, I'll go out there and get myself a job where I'm not at the family's beck and call. Meantime, I'm the lardy lump in the corner that gets kicked around by everyone. On more constructive note, I have two ways of dealing with stress. 1) I eat (don't we all?) 2) I make lists. So, having read every post on this thread, I've made a list for myself and all those others booked to go to Chris for surgery. I hope it helps someone! Lap Band Lists Cash sources Try Crown Currency Euro Exchange Rate – at least 4-6 weeks in advance Or through Moneysaving Expert Cheap Travel Money | TravelMoneyMax.com | Compare to get the best foreign currency exchange rates with the Travel Money Maximiser To Pack Cash balance payment Plane / Train / ferry tickets For the Hospital Passport – check this is up to date before you leave!! Loose fitting trousers Slippers / flip flops Book MP3 player Hand towel Teeth stuff Hair brush Lipsalve Dressing gown Mobile phone No valuables – leave them at home in the UK! No nail polish (do them after if you feel like it) For the Hotel Room Mugs Tea bags Mossie repellent Cuppa soups with no bits Sachets hot chocolate / milky drinks DVD player / MP3 player Book Nurofen meltlets / soluble paracetamol / solpedeine / Lemsip Bottled water and UHT milk from the supermarket Hot water bottle to rest on port incision (not too hot though!) Liquid diet Water + + + + Skimmed milk Tea Iced Tea Lemon tea (carton) Coffee – milky if you like it Horlicks / Ovaltine / Hot chocolate Bovril Soups – no bits Nesquick Actimel Yogurt drinks (Probiotic?) Thin smoothies Ice pops Sugar free boiled sweets / Polo mints – sucked not crunched! Fruit juices Squashes Fruit jellies Slimfast Protein shakes Remember to choose sugar free or use replacements where possible Mushies Thicker soups Pureed stewed fruit – whatever’s in season – apples, rhubarb, plums etc with custard / Low fat crème fraiche/ natural yogurt Pureed tinned fruit in natural juice Yogurt – no bits Fromage Frais Mousse Angel Delight Thick smoothies Ground rice pudding (instructions on packet from Sainsbury’s) (Gillian likes hers with jam!) Weetabix with hot/ cold milk Pureed vegetables eg parsnips and gravy or mashed potato and sweetcorn Poached fish with mashed potato Cottage pie Scrambled / poached / boiled eggs Sweet potato mashed Mashed banana Custard Egg custard Crème caramel Mashed baked beans Tinned spaghetti Smoked mackerel pureed with low fat crème fraiche and lemon juice Any family meal eg Spaghetti Bolognese or Lasagne (made with Quorn) and pureed. Farleys rusks and milk Home made lentil / quorn curry (á la Garry!) Sloppy porridge Cottage Cheese Dutch crispbreads with marmite / cream cheese / hummus / taramasalata / pâté Grated cauliflower cheese (á la Lisa) Add a spoonful of red or green pesto to mushies for flavour Remember to choose low fat options wherever possible Medicines etc to consider Milk Thistle taken pre-op (from Boots or Holland and Barrett) Opsite dressings from Lloyds pharmacy Nappy cream for after effects of barium x-ray Arnica pills Motilium Soluble pain killers Windeze Solpedeine Lemsip Bio oil for scars once healed Lactulose for those constipated moments! Multi vitamins and minerals (you can buy a pill crusher from a disability living outlet as most chewable ones sold are not very comprehensive) Papaya enzyme to help clear blockages How to put on a ticker Read English Rose’ entry on page 9 – such clear instructions! Love to all SP

Your date is almost here SP, you getting excited/nervous? Bigsis xx Thanks Bigsis, I'm getting really nervous. Keep wondering if I'm doing the right thing, been hassled to reconsider by my younger daughter CP who knows (elder one doesn't as she lives abroad and only comes home to lecture me on my poor self control). I've told only hubby, one daughter and 1 friend at work (who I grew up with) but have said to other people that a) I'm on another diet and :biggrin: hubby and I are off to look at boring battlefields in Belgium for a few days. We have booked a narrow boat holiday to follow on immediately afterwards so that will give me a week with most of the comforts of home, but no chores, work or telephone to recover. It's really difficult at work as I work for my brother in law, my sister's his wife and she likes to lord it over me and call in frequently to give her "husband's secretary some little jobs" It really p****s me off. My parents, in laws and brother all live very close by and none of them would approve (Oh and my sister used to be an anorexic cat-walk model) some I'm really having to hide away for a while. I've started dieting in earnest now and had to laugh wryly as I passed my Orlistat enhanced poo about all the poo talk you lot have had recently! Low fat diet = Orlistat and Milk Thistle! I'm so grateful for evryone's support, you're the only people in the world who know what I'm doing and feeling. Thank you.

Poor Freckles. I think, not being banded yet, and therefore no expert, that maybe it's life ganging up on you that's making you feel under the weather. You've really been through the mill lately, from being rebanded, your daughter moving away and all your problems with your mother. It can be too much for even the most capable "coper" to deal with. I know it's easier said than done, but can you spend a little more time on yourself, starting with a good long look at what you're actually eating? Reading what you've listed as a day's intake, I'm concerned that your diet is carbohydrate based with possibly insufficient protein and fresh fruit and veg. You really need the vitamins, minerals and protein to help you build up your strength. Time is of course the other missing ingredient. Can you take a few minutes a day to self indulge? Not a fag break! More a mini manicure, a soak in the bath, a leisurely walk, reading a book in the garden. I know you deserve it, you just need to tell yourself the same. Best wishes SP xxx

Bobobaldy - CONGRATULATIONS! It's things like that which make it all worthwhile. Well done! Bev - poor you! I'm dreading getting swine flu just before we go to Belgium, as an asthmatic, it's bound to lay me out completely for ages. At least now you know it's over with and there's nothing stopping you now! Really looking forward to meeting you 4 weeks today! Flirty - how are you getting on now? I had a major TT and boob job 3 years ago so know how you're feeling right now. If I can help, let me know. Everyone else Happy Monday!! The beginning of another week of losing! SP

Sorry Starsky, we'll have to keep meeting online for the time being - I'm travelling home during the day on the 10th whilst you're travelling out. Bev may well still be there as she's staying an extra night. Good luck with everything. SP

Can I come too? I live really close to Chessington World of Adventures and Thorpe Park - let's take them by storm!! :ohmy: Thanks for the pm Bev, and well done for posting photos and the ticker - gosh this site uses so much time, I don't get time to eat!! (cunning plan that!) Freckles, so sorry to hear about your mum. I feel for you all. Good luck in your losing to everyone, especially all the newbies this week. Not long now, Bev and I will be with you!

Hi Bev! I'm being banded the same day as you! I'm arriving by Eurostar about 4pm with hubby. What about you? Tell us all about you - or pm me if you'd rather. Looking forward to meeting you 5 weeks today!!!!

Hungry Angry Bored Impulse Tired This is what's stuck up all round my desk and home. Theoretically it makes me ask why I am putting food in my mouth. Someone else might find it useful. Freckles:- Beetroot (fresh) and a brisk walk do it for me!! :thumbup: 5 weeks 6 days to go, lost 2lb so far in anticipation, go baby go! SP

Don't worry, the doggies are still excercising for Britain! Good luck Garry, I'll be following your trip with great interest and wishing you the very best all the way!

Hey Beeboo HAPPY BIRTHDAY for tomorrow!

Mandy, I'm sure I speak for most if not all of us on the forum. We'd miss you if you went. I'm new too, though not yet banded. It's an emotional rollercoaster for us all. I'm sorry if we missed any specific questions, I know I find it difficult to follow threads, and often questions go unanswered. If they're important - rather than observations - ask again and again until someone who has the answer notices you've not been answered and replies. If you have no specific points to raise, just keep reading and learning until some thing spurs you to join in again. Don't leave altogether, it's too lonely a journey to be undertaken without support. SP

Hi Freckles. So sorry to read about your poor Mum. I've been reading the forum from page 1 and am over half way now so been following your Mum's history. If it's any help, my 90 year old Father in Law had a stroke last year and is now back home, fully independent - bar driving - and a happy chap. It took a lot of work from all the family to get him thus, but has been worth every minute. We kept a log book of visitors at his bed side, everyone who saw him, including some staff, wrote in his book to say they'd been there and what they'd discussed, we stuck in photos and gave him "homework" to do every day - reading from the newspaper, writing his name and address, or simple sums. It all built up into a really pleasing result. My op is 6 weeks and 4 days away, not that I'm counting! I've also booked the 12 month package with WLS (Colleen took the booking) She said that if I paid before the end of July I'd get the special discount rate valid for 12 months from the date of my first visit to them which is already booked for 17th October in London. Might be worth considering for anyone else out there who needs to save a few pennies, but wants the reassurance of regular all inclusive access to someone who can fill/ unfill / support. Very humiliating experience yesterday; went to a BBC recording in London and the security guys insisted I stood in the middle of reception and removed my belt! Flab and fluster! Not going back there for a while. Night night all.