Goannabanda

Welcome to bandland Mark! Sorry to hear your recovery is being a little slow, but you will feel better before you know where you are. The first week after surgery was quite a shock to me too, although I had thought that I was well prepared as to what to expect. I think my stomach put on an extra 3 or 4kgs of Fluid right after surgery - I felt like I had to carry it around! hehehe! It will soon go away - mine went down after about 5 days, and already has shrunk further (now there's quite a gap between it and the steering wheel, whihc wasn't there before! hehehe!). Looking forward to meeting you next week at Bandworks - I hope that you are feeling up to coming along by then. Cheers! Anna.

Mark, Just wanted to wish you all the best for your surgery tomorrow.:gluck: We'll all be thinking of you, and wishing you an easy ride.:eek: You'll be in bandland before you know it.:clap2: We hope that you won;t be feeling like :sick for very long, and we'll all be looking forward to hearing how you go, once you are able to check in with us again.:ranger: All the best, Anna and your LBT family.

Susannah, Sorry to hear you're feeling blue. We all go through it from time to time, and yes, it is worse for me too every time I hear or read about obesity issues in the press (which lately feels like everytime I pick up the paper, or watch the TV!). Hopefully you will break out of this mood soon, if it goes on for more than a few days, please seek out your GP's help. You have a great new healthy life awaiting you in the new year, only a little while until you have your banding over the holidays, the rest of this year will fly until then. While at times frustrating, the waiting time is a great chance to be mentally and physically prepared for the surgery and the lifestyle changes it will bring. I encourage you to make the most of it, and also to take time to reflect how smart and clever you are to be taking charge of your life! Great big hugs to you! Anna.

In Australia, youcan have the band for free under the public health system, if you need it and can wait your turn. If you have private medical insurance, you can choose your doctor, hospital, date to suit you. Under the private system, there is a gap between how much the insurance will cover, and what the total cost is, which is your 'out of pocket expenses' or 'gap fees'. Typical out of pocket expenses are around $3,000 to $4,000. If the doctor says you need it, the insurance covers most of it, and you pay the gap fees. That's it.

namazj, Firstly, your signature - post the bnb(?) code from the tickerfactory site into your LBT signature page (in the LBT User Control Panel) and save it. It should show up at the bottom of your posts. No need to make a new post to check - just preview the signature before closing the update signature page, and/or go back and look at an old post. Secondly, good luck with your plan to go back to work after 2 days. I couldn't have done it. I have a adesk job, and sitting was very hard. I was dizzy, nauseous, tired and in pain for about 5 to 7 days afterward. However, a guy banded with me went back to work after 4 days, and he was fine. Everyone is different. Thirdly, you should have recieved dietary advice from your surgeon / dietician. If not, then you should call and ask what they recommende / require you to do. I've outlined below what I have to do, which may be helpful to you. I had a 2 week pre-surgery diet (3 Optifast shakes, 2 cups non-starchy vegetables, 1 pc fruit, 8 glasses water). Then the day of surgery Clear Liquids only. From Day 2, I was allowed full liquids for 3 weeks (smoothies, blended soups). The next 3 weeks after liquids are mushies or 'transition' phase. Our dietician guidelines say if at any stage there is any discomfort or difficulty digesting foods to downgrade the consistency and try again after another week. Foods to be low fat and no-added sugar wherever possible. Week 1 of mushies is baby food consistency (build up gradually from soups). Includes soft cereals (porridge, softened wheet bix, semolina), mashed vegetables, mashed tinned fruit, milk, custard, yoghurt, ice cream, tinned or fresh cooked fish, lightly poached or scrambled egg (scranble with a little milk to keep softer, and chew it well!). Mushies week 2 includes Pasta, couscous, dry biscuits, flaky cereals (no nuts, dried fruit or hard grains; ceral to be well softened; eg. corn flakes, rice bubbles, special k), cheese, fish and egg as pleased, moist chicken, fresh soft fruits (eg. banana, canteloupe, watermelon, berries, kiwi fruit, mango), non-mashed tinned fruit, whole well-cooked vegetables (pumpkin and potato to be peeled), legumes. Mushies week 3 includes rice and bread (try wholemeal / wholegrain and or toasted), high fibre cereals (with nuts and fruit), dairy as pleased, red meat (try mince before steak, ensure meat is moist not overcooked to dry), fresh salad ingredients, hard fruits such as apples and pears (slice thinly or peel if necessary). Basically by the end of week 3 we should be back to a normal healthy diet.

For those of you who are hungry on liquids, and if you're like me and HATE protein powders / drinks (they're not really an Aussie thing to have anyway...), try the following: adding generous amounts of yoghurt (natural / Greek is best), extra fibre (eg. Benefibre, museli) and extra fruit (eg. bananas) to smoothies; adding generous amounts of yoghurt or sour cream to smoothies and soups eat pouring custard (make you own with 2 cups low fat milk, 2 tblsp sugar, 2 tblsp custard powder, microwave 6 mins, stiring every 2 mins) blend up chunky meat based soups (eg. chicken & sweet corn, lamb & vegetable) make your liquids slightly thicker. Our dietician says a McDonald's straw is the measure of a liquid - and I reckon I could suck a pretty thick liquid up one of those baby's! As for the bruises - I am almost 3 weeks out and still have bruises on my thighs from the clexane (blood thinner) I was given in hospital. I have 3 - 1 for each day I was there.

Suggest you clean your wounds gently with sterile Water / alcohol wipe or similar, and replace the bandages with steristrips (3M make them, ask your pharmacist) for a week or so. Put the steristrips on so that they run perpendicular to the wounds. They will provide some support to help hold the newly knitting wounds together, yet still keep the wound clean and allow it to breathe and dry out. If your wounds are infected (inflamed, oozing, etc), or you are at all worried about them, go and see your local doctor.

What sort of pains are you having? If you are worried, call your doctor. I still have a little tenderness around my port area, but no real pain anywhere. Last night I even slept on the port side for several hours, although it hurt a bit once I woke up and moved off it. My gas pains took about 2 weeks to go away, although I suspect that some of the last few days of that could also have just been a stiff / sore back from not having done much since surgery. My port site is not quite healed yet, and all of my surgery sites still get itchy. I can start putting BioOil / Vit E oil onto them over the weekend, so that should help.

Good idea. I like Moon Goddess' idea of a mini-profile to give the gifter ideas. Can we also start it early for those of us who are internationals so there is plenty of time to get a reasonable rate of postage? We've already missed sea-mail cut-offs for the year.

Cam - Kellie (Kelliebellie) says that her TT was less painful than the band, and Sam (Ausie Chick) bounced back really well too. Maybe it's a factor of better health, as well as the different nature of the surgery, both contributing to the lower pain perception? Anyway, it's a looong way off for me. Years. I am only just starting down the weight loss road, plus I want a couple more kids before I even think about any plastics. Maybe when I turn 40 it will be a mid-life crisis birthday gift to myself! hehehe! Looking forward to meeting you on the 31st at Bandworks.

OMG Mel!!! I can't believe your date is coming so soon! I will be away on Friday, so send you some big hugs now for your surgery. See you here or at b2g when you're recovering, and I'm back in town. BTW - sounds like you're nesting - well, I suppose in a way, you are about to become (rather than have) a bandbaby!!! hehehe!

Congratulations Ms Khris! Great to hear that your op went well. Enjoy your sleep!

Our October family is getting VERY big now!!! Welcome to all new members, and good luck to all being banded this week!

I found that the liquids did make me full, but it took more than 1/4 cup right from the start. Just take it VERY slowly, to give your body time to react. If you rush it, you WILL puke (as I found out in hospital!).

Good luck Jess! Chug that sucker down! We'll be waiting to see how you get on with the test. Hugs.

I love your acronym!!! What a great way to remember the things to do to get that extra bloom of good health!! I am going to put this on my fridge! I am a probitoics fan too! I am going to start with omega 3 supplements once I am able to swallow tablets again. I haven't tried the enzymes yet, but will look around for suitable products to try over here. I also think that Vit B / C supplements are terrific - especially the Berocca Performance with Calcium, magnesium and zinc. They promote good energy release from food, healing and help to ward off infections.

This is true for me too. I find that if I set myself up for the day with a good quality low GI (glycaemic index) and low fat breakfast, and then top up between meals with some small Snacks, that I am ready and able to eat a good quality dinner at a normal time in the evening. I find that if I don't do this, then I end up with a 'sugar-low' in the afternoon - nausea, shaking, and white-blind hunger (the kind where you eat anything in sight, especially if it's chocolate coated or fat filled). For breakfast, I find that wheet bix and white bread / toast give me a sugar crash by mid-morning (they have a really high GI). I aim for a combination of a good quality Cereal, Protein and fruit for breakfast (my 'magic 3'). For example: oats (instant poridge is a favourite with a little honey and milk), natural museli (not 'toasted' muselis that are full of fat and sugar), full-grain breads ('bird-seed' bread that is, NOT ground wholemeal bread), reduced fat milk, greek yoghurt, low fat cheese, eggs, bacon (on occasion), mushrooms, tomatoes, strawberries, melons (honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon), kiwi, banana etc. There is a million ways to combine and serve these breakfast basics that never bores me. I also find that a small snack for morning / afternoon tea time helps immensely (handful of fresh or dried fruit, cheese, nuts, museli bar etc - all highly portable), as does eating a good-quality lunch. If lunch or dinner are later than their usual times, I'll have an extra small snack during the morning / afternoon to even me out. As for coffee - I'd rather have one decent mug of the real stuff with milk (cappuccino preferably!) than no coffee at all!

Hi all, Just to help out any Aussie pre-ops who need to do pre-op Optifast, I ordered mine from an eBay trader, much cheaper than anywhere else. There are a number of eBay traders selling various Optifast products. Suggest you research prices in your local area, and don't buy from eBay if the total costs (including postage) are higher than your local pharmacy. Trade safely - always research the trader's feedback ad turnover, and only buy & pay via eBay approved methods. The deal I got was $162.50 ($150.95 plus $11.55 postage) for FOUR boxes of the milkshake (4 weeks supply). Purchased last Thursday, delivered this Monday. Chemist Warehouse is currently selling Optifast shakes for $44.95 per box. They seem to be the cheapest retail supplier around. If there are no stores in your area, you can order online from them too, although I don't know what the postage costs would be. (Soup, bars and dessert from my local Chemist Warehouse store, as I wanted them all without delays, and couldn't be bothered trying to find all three from one eBay trader, and then negotiate discount postage. Hope this helps to keep the pre-op costs down! Cheers.

Avoiding caffeine pre-surgery is a good idea to help to shrink the liver. Caffeine is a liver irritant and is also metabolised there. In the body, the liver drapes over the upper part of the stomach. Having it as small as possible pre-surgery makes it easier for the surgeons to retrac it out of the way, and also gives them more room to move around inside your abdomen. This equals much less risk of damage to your liver during surgery (which is a common complication of this procedure). I had a no caffeine rule 2 weeks prior to surgery. Being a big coffee / diet coke drinker, I cut down slowly over the month prior, so as not to suffer a withdrawal headache or nausea. I was offered black coffee in hospital on the day of surgery, and with milk the next day. I haven't had a lot of coffee since - I don't seem to have the space or taste for it as much any more!

aaaaah laaaahhk it!

I think it is an inamed band - I honestly don't know for sure. I didn't get the usual post-op booklet or card (which the other bandsters done with me got with their VG bands), and even the post-op nurse (Di) didn't know when I went yesterday to have the staples out. Mr Richard Gilholme talked about them at my band info session, and said that they are "the next generation in lapbands". I have heard that the new bands are more concentric, that the locking mechanism is isolated from the stomach, that they are much softer and considered less likely to slip. I'll have to wait until I see Mr Chris Hensman again on Nov 25th. I was given the new band, as I was talking about it with Chris before the surgery, and being a researcher / scientist, he took pity on me and gave me the new band. He said they'll change over to the new ones as their VG stock runs out, and that he believes that the change is more of a production change than anything else. Once I know more, I'll start a thread, and we can have an 'AP' club. I am feeling heaps better, although a little uncomfortable and tired this arvo at work. I came home early with a bag full of work to do tonight, and will probably work at home tomorrow to save the 1 hour drive each way. The port is not really painful any more, unless I forget about it and cat-stretch or press on it by mistake. The port incision is still a little sore - I was worried that it was infected, but Di says it looks okay. I hope she's right. The recovery from the band makes me dread the TT / body lift / boob job I'll need at the end of my journey... Thanks also girls for the good wishes on the weight loss to date. I am on the way.

Welcome to all of our ne October club members! Congratulations to all our newly banded recruits! Good luck to all going in this week. There is so much activity on this list, it's hard to keep up, but totally AWESOME to hear how well we are all doing. Keep logging your progress with us - we are all interested, even if we not able to reply all the time. I'll be back on board later tonight to update our roll-call of surgery dates and to add our newbies who have posted with us over the past few days. If you have any other changes or additions to make to our roll-call, please let me know. I'm also planning to add a ticker / updated signature to my posts! In other news - yesterday I purchased a cross trainer (from Aldi!!). It's a lovely heavy duty instrument of torture, with an onboard computer more complicated than my first desktop (a Tandy TRS-80 - in colour!! hehehehe!) I'm planning 10 mins in the morning and 10 more at night, on an interval training, until I get used to it. I nearly dropped dead doing it this morning! LOL!! (wanders off to join the "Exercise Today" thread...)

Sorry you had such bad luck Mary, I'm with jenny - you shouldn't have to pay more to fix the doctor's mistake. Sounds like you port may have flipped over, and need restitching. Hope it is sorted soon.

The posts in this thread relate to Australian banding costs. Our health system is very different to the US / Canadian system. You'd be best to check out some of the posts in the LBT Insurance section for locally-relevant advice. Good luck!

Oops! Sorry the Bandworks meeting is on the 31st of October - I have edited above so as not to confuse anyone. Bandworks is a lap band support group held at The Valley Private hospital in Mulgrave. It's on the last Tuesday of each month, from 7pm. Call Simone Van Der Schoot at the hospital on 9790 4293 for details. Looking forward to meeting you there, you should be well recovered by then. Hope that you had fun at the wedding! Only a few days to go for the surgery now, so kick up your heels!!!