Goannabanda

The worst part for me was going to the General Practitioner to discuss my weight - again! It's so humiliating!! The general docs I've had just don't understand or have the time to make much difference to your life when you are morbidly obese or worse. Meeting the surgeon and his team, attending the seminar, the support groups etc have been anything BUT humiliating. It's almost unbelieveable the relief I felt once I got through the GP stage and met with the surgeon etc. They are so understanding, not at all condescending or humiliating of you. After listending to my story, the surgeon changed my life with four little words - "it's not your fault". That was the first release moment when I've felt my life take a turn for the better. There have been many since, and I'm not banded yet (2 weeks to go!). The surgeons and their teams have the understanding, experience, research, knowledge, time and skills to really be able to put you at your ease and help you. Relax and enjoy the process - having someone make a fuss of you - it's all about you and making your life healthier and more enjoyable. Good luck!

Great to hear you now have another date - third time's a charm! Kiss goodbye to that pitunia!! Hugs and love I'm sending to you...

surgery day - clear liquids from 2 hours post-op 3 weeks full liquids 3 weeks mushies then soft to solid foods gradually.

oooooh! I'm am IN!!! What a great idea!! Sadly our finances are a little stretched until the end of this year - but I'll cross that bridge when we come to it! Might be time to flog some more stuff on eBay... hehehe

Hi everyone! I started the Optifast diet today for the next two weeks until band day.:hungry: I had a few trials before of the chocolate and vanilla shakes. Today I had vanilla shake blended with a couple of strawberries, also the chicken Soup and chocolate mousse. The choc bars are okay, but the rest all tastes the same! :hititbanana: Tomorrow I'll try the berry crunch bars. Yep - I got the lot - I never do anything by halves!!! LOL!!! Great to hear from you here as well Kelli - still waiting for the pics!!:xena_banana: tolmc - hope your surgeon visit is a more productive for you than the last one!!! :bananajump: Let us know how you get on. Nice to meet Nic2Boys - I am in Aspendale, not far from jenny. Maybe we should have a get together for the bayside bandits? I am surpirsed at how many of us there are around the place.:clap2: ollies mum :purplebananna:- so sorry to hear you are struggling with your band. Sounds like you need some face to face support around you. I hope that you can find a support group near to you - where do you live? I go to the same group as jenny, tolmc and tarajane (and others from LBT too) at Mulgrave. I have found that the online support is great too, so hang out here with us at LBT and we'll help you wherever we can. Maybe there are a few simple things you could change in your daily life that would help - maybe not placing yourself under pressure to keep it a secret, get your fill adjusted (sounds like you are too tight), review how and what you are eating, talk to your surgeon about getting linked up with a good weight loss cousellor and support group.:bananapartyhat: If your surgeon is no help, come back and ask us here - the Melb bandster crew have a great network of experience and support - and no doubt we can help you find the medical and face to face support you need. Hang in there. We'll cheer you on:cheer2:, whatever you decide to do. We are here. See you later for now everybody - I'll be at Bandworks on Tuesday night for those of you who go there - I'll be the one eying off the cheese and diet cokes!!! :hungry: LOL!!! So much for chowing down on ginormous steaks! Those days are OVER!!! LOL!!! Chat then!

Hi everyone! I'm joining the Class of October 2006. I have had all pre-op tests and dietician done already. I started pre-op diet today (Optifast). Next there's a support group meeting on 26th Sept, pre-op nurse on the 27th Sept, final surgeon consult on 29th September. My surgery will be on 5th October, at The Valley Private, Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. Let's make music!!! Bring on the band!!! ------------------------------------------- Here's our list so far of who is being banded when. I'll update it as we go. I hope I've got it right, if not, just let me know any changes or additions. Good luck to all. OCTOBER . Shellybeans, chrispygal Pistol and her FIL, Slocumna, GEORGINAVINCENT, KarenS, Lin bigmons23, kayleesmom, Bigboy, dancing Goannabanda, Bandacat, Slim190, kimmiechelle JWH, lainer, Becka, houstongirl1, Dragonfly, Fluffy36, lastoneinthelak . . Kilcollins, Ladyred, MarySue33, Lots2Love, losingjusme Kellieatkins30, roxy123, derbygirl Cowgirl74, bandedmommy, mykidsrock Jodi-T and her DH (James), nicknac33, LA chula27, Irish Dancers, Big girl banded, bandedmommy, transpo1, bckeye01, abatkins KStar, PugMaster . . LIHIVE, tiredepot, MsKhris, qbanita75, cootie purtynailz, s1m1, justpaul1966 mzsmartypantz, traceylb36, JulieSlu, oldspark, TXSunflower, katylady, Mountaindont macdeb59, moon goddess, three beauties, Denise2, kennedy mdk63, Ward1990, Momotrips . . Dani-X, Laurenm13, Auntie Aud, Sharlee, magnet6458, sjbarnhill NINNYED, libertysuzanne, ms883, pumpkin5 Joy Joy, banster boy, namazj soniacan, raynie, JDru, juliestwu, GetnHealthy, Nanette renata, winga222, syl e fem . . fullon1au kimberly150 NO DATE YET: JILLMC helensmith

**waves to mary9, jojo41, simmah_oz and jane73** Hi there gang! Nice to meet you! Hi aus_colleen, It was nice to meet you on Saturday, and I'd love to meet up with you for a proper chat again before you go overseas. Your photos are amazing, but you look thinner in real life that the "after" shot. You must feel fantastic to have broken the 100kg barrier now. Let us know when the Karingal gathering is on - it's not too far away from me. What is the banding convention? I had no idea this thing was so big it had it's own conferences... Cheers!

We had a great function - with six bandits there - me, shakey, tarajane, tolmc, aus_colleen and another lady (friend of tarajane & tolmc's) - plus various family / friends making about 12 pple all up. What a hoot we had, laughing and chatting about banded life, and beyond. Thanks to all who came along, and we hope to see you all, and more, at another Melbourne bandit's lunch, to be organised before Christmas! With the weather getting warmer, maybe a get-together in a park somewhere (Jells, Wattle, Braeside, Westerfolds...) would be the way to go for a pre-Christmas all-of-Melb / Vic bandits' bash! Until then, here's to more online chatting and meetings in our vairous "real life" support groups. Cheers! Anna. PS Hope your Sunday gathering was terrific too - count me in for that next time.

We are setting up our own home fitness centre (aka torture cell! LOL!). I am interested to see what equipment / arrangements other LBTers have at home. Our idea is to make it a really cool, "set up" place to hang out in our home, that we can use during the week to supplement our existing exercise habits - gym/pool membership for me, field hockey for DH, cycle / walk for family on weekends. We figure we work hard enough during the week, that we deserve to have our own special, motivating exercise place right here at home to help make keeping ourselves healthy and fit just a little bit easier. Now, spending money on a LapBand is another reason to take this more seriously. Got to get a return on the investment! We have the luxury of a newly carpeted and painted spare bedroom to use (3.5m by 3.5m or 12ft by 12ft), which this wekend I am going to clear out of junk (yipes!). When we moved in here 2 years ago we planned to set our fitness centre up, it's just taken longer to get the moving boxes etc out of the room, and to finish clearing up after our washing machine flooded the house a few months back. We already have a York 2000 Home Gym, fit ball and yoga mat. I thought I'd get a couple of 3kg free weights for myself, and some heavier ones for DH (the nice rubber-coated ones). We also have a York 2000 treadmill, which we plan to upgrade to a motorised walking machine, or maybe a cross trainer - so that's going on eBay, unless someone on LBT wants it (you have to come and pick it up from my place - I am in Australia!). We are thinking of hiring for starters, as this would be a big investment, and we'd want to be sure first. I am going to work with my fitness trainer from the gym to develop workouts that would be suitable for use at home. DH may do the same, or may do his own thing - that's up to him! For motivation, I thought I'd put some exercise diagrams / charts on the wall, and some inspirational type quotes / pictures. For starters, I'll print some from the internet - any ideas where to start looking?? We'll add a small TV and radio for entertainment, and I guess away we'll go - anthing I missed???

I think ya finally killed it mate. Don't bring that stink in here.

We shred plenty of stuff, but not usually junk mail outs. however, we keep these to a minimum by registering on "Do Not Mail" and "Do Not Call" registers that are held by the Gov't and Australian Direct Marketing Association. After about 6 weeks, the amount of junk mail and calls drops dramatically. I also gnerally never enter any competitions , and NEVER if they don't have an opt-out box for mail outs & calls. I always check the box if they do (after reading carefully to make sure if it is an opt-out or an opt-in clause - they trick you sometimes!). And I get great satisfaction from hanging up the phone in the face of overseas telemarketers, espcially when they haven't said more than one or two words. It's a dead give away when the caller can't pronounce your surname. hee hee hee. But I've nearly hung up on family a few times... doh!

Good one Lisa, didn't realise you were already on the Support site. Do you have the same username over there? See you there!

Hi Lisa, Thanks for taking up with the booking. I haven't been to LBT for a couple of days. I am still coming along, with hubby and 5yo son. Jenny was planning on coming too - but I haven't heard from her for awhile. I'll send her an email right after this message. Pavarthi (Jess) was hoping to come along too, maybe with her daughter (age 7??). I have also invited Andy (spaldo2) and his Melb Marathon team - but I don't think they can make it. Wheeler - sorry you're not well - I don't think fee meant any insult - from her other posts she seems quite gentle.... I know you've been under the weather lately. Are you still booked for your band revision / replacement on 4th Oct?? Hope it goes well, and that you're on top of it soon. My surgery is the day after yours - so I'll be thinking about you. Wish we were going together :biggrin1: Don't feel bad about missing the lunch, we understand. We'll miss you on Sat, but you'd be more than welcome to drop in if you feel up to it. Looking forward to Saturday - remember, I'll be the one chowing down on the ginormous steak :hungry: - I've still got 7 sleeps to go before the pre-op diet has to start! hee hee hee. :hungry: :hungry: :hungry: (but seriously, I'm joking - I'm really planning to have grilled fish and vegetables...:biggrin1: )

The child within me loves a good fart joke!!! Fatastic, first time I've laughed all day! Thanks!

I found this place via a Google search, and will be forever grateful. However, it would have been more useful to find a home page first, with summary info and links to the forum itself. A couple of my posts show up if I google my screen name - that doesn't worry me too much, but I would prefer to only have the forum indexed if possible. As a way around the indexing issue, maybe we could have an indexed home page set up that is separate to the LBT forum, which includes summary information and a link for new subscribers / guests to the main forum pages, which could then be unindexed. Would this work?

umm, these petitions are hoax emails and should be deleted. Same as those emails that have jokes, powerpoint presentations, appeals for money, virus warning messages etc. You can google them to find out more - there's plenty of websites about hoax emails and virus warnings around - e.g. hoaxbusters, urbanlegends, hoax-slayer etc.

Gosh vinesqueen, what a week you've had. Hope that the Dex keeps working, and that you are getting all the treatment you need. Still sending happy thoughts your way...

My husband was scared - we both still are. My dad reacted in a similar negative way. What really helped my hubby was giving him the opportunity to meet with the surgeon, go to an information session, read LBT, get educated about what the mechanics of banding involve etc. Not rushing the process has helped too. Now he has the education about banding so that he understands why I need this lapband, and has had time to process the implications for himself and family, and realise that apart it's not going to really affect him at all (apart from not being able to keep up with me in the romance dept.... hehehe!) Dad too, has come around now he's had a chance to find out more about banding and had some time to think things through. Try not to get angry with him - most men react badly to change in their lives. That is simply part of their pre-historic programming, and can't be changed. Time, education and space to think and talk things over together will help. It may take a while. Be patient and gentle. Be faithful to your marriage - resist chucking in the towel on your marriage just yet - you married him for important reasons, let those reasons now be your strength to hold onto. I understand how this is a difficult time, because all you need is for him to be understanding and support you, and not for it to be about him, but once you work through this test of your marriage with him, your long-term rewards will far outweigh what is most likely a short-term lack of understanding. It may be worth talking the issues over with a counsellor or religious minister (if you are religious), to help you each find the other's perspective. I wish you good luck in your journey.

Hi tarajane, As far as I know, we are still on. I've emailed Wheeler to check if a booking is made. Stay tuned. See you on Saturday.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, yummy! root vegetables are soooo good! Hope that these ideas help. ROAST VEGGIES: Cut carrot, parsnip, sweet potato, pumpkin into rougly 1 inch cubes / lengths. Put into a baking pan lined with non-stick paper. Spray with cooking oil. Stir to turn over, and spray again. (Alternatively, toss in a bag or bowl with a couple of tablespoons of cooking oil). Dress with dried herbs (we use Master Foods Tuscan Seasoning, which has salt, rosemary, parsely, garlic etc all mixed in) OR sprinkle with a little grated nutmeg (great on sweet potatoes and pumpkin). Bake in a moderate oven until tender. Stir a couple of times so that all sides get browned. Enjoy on its own, or with roast meat, peas and gravy. ROOT VEGGIE MASH: Steam or boil any combination of root veggies until tender. Add a little milk (to adjust mash texture) and a dob of butter (optional, about 1 tablespoon). Mash together and enjoy as is, or with a meal. Add ONE of the following: grated nutmeg, chopped parsley, black pepper, minced garlic or whatever you like for extra flavour. Our favourtie combinations are: potato and pumpkin; potato and sweet potato; carrot, parsnip and potato. BUBBLE AND SQUEAK Add an egg and some grated cheese to leftover mashed veggies (mash the roast ones for a REALLY yummy version). Add any other leftover veggies you have on hand, and some tinned salmon and parsley if you like. Form into patties, and dry fry in a non-stick pan. Soups These veggies make wonderful soups, either individually, in combination, or with other things like meat, other veggies etc. Add some Pasta, dried barley, peas and/or Beans to make a really chunky soup-stew. Add extra liquid and mash / blend for days when you need liquids / mushies (eg. post-fill). Get creative with the herbs, soups cubes / stocks and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

We have a very busy lifestyle too. I never enjoyed making lunches, it was a real effort and a chore to do it until the last year or so. At first, I had to make myself do it, for so many reasons. Now I've got used to it, it's an adventure to see what I can dream up to take in my lunch bag. I find the trick is to plan ahead and to keep things on hand at home for grab and go lunch making and taking. I also keep a supply of basics at in the cupboard / fridge at work (canned food, butter, bread, Soup etc) for emergencies. My hubby is often on the road, so also has an old electric kettle and a small esky in his car as a dry food store - he keeps coffee, tea, UHT milk jiggers, cuppa Soups, fruit snack packs, museli bars etc in there also. For the taking: A supply of small containers (I like GladWare - they are reusable disposables, microwave & diswasher safe - you probably have an American alternative), snap lock bags, sandwich bags, and a good quality, large insulated lunch bag are basic essentials. You could have two bags - one for each meal / job you do throughout your day. I have an insulated lunch bag - a reasonably large one (2 litre / 1/2 gallon size) into which I pack a diet drink and two to four of the following: fresh fruit, fruit snack pack (in natural juice), yoghurt snack pack, museli bars or fruit & nut bars. I take extra so I can be picky later. The rest stays for the next day, or if I work late, for a later snack. The bag is big enough to fit enough for 2 meals if needed. For the making, I have an number of tricks: The main one - SHOP and COOK in bulk. If you can, plan ahead so you have a day or half a day free, and use it to get your meals ready for the busy work days. I usually only manage to cook once or twice a week (or less). If I can, I pland ahead to have a "chores day", or else, I'll grab an opportunity of a morning or evening before work to cook a meal or two. I always make extra to top up my supply of frozen leftovers (eg. casserole, curry, chunky soup (more like a stew), spaghetti etc). I cook from scratch mostly, with no oil. I very rarely use recepie mixes or sauce jars as these add far too much sugar, fat and salt. I never cook just a single quantity - if I'm going to cook, might as well make the most of it! The crock pot is a VERY good friend here - for "set and forget cooking", and you can really pack those babys full!! Add an extra half, double or whatever quantity it takes to fill you crock or pot to the top. I put mine on of a Saturday morning, do chores all day, and we eat out of it that night. The rest goes into the frozen stash. You will find after a month or so, you have quite an impressive "library" of ready made meals to choose in a hurry. Of a morning, I just throw a meal from the freezer, into the lunch bag, and away I go. In warmer weather, or when I want a change, I make up salads in individual bowls (just lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, capsicum and carrot, and store them in the fridge. I make up a week's worth (5 days) at a time on a Sunday night. I pack a small container of salad dressing, or add a dollop of mayo on the salad on the day I'm taking it. Sometimes I throw a bit of cubed tasty or fetta cheese, some olives, sundried tomatoes, pickles, cubes ham or strasburg meat, hardboiled egg or whatever to dress it up. An uncut meat & cheese sandwich, no butter (which I toast at work) is another favourite, sometimes along with a plain salad from the stash. If you have a jaffle snack maker at work, pack some bread and take some cheese and / or small cans of creamed corn, baked Beans, spaghetti, chilli or some frozen spag bolognese etc from your stash to make yummy jaffles at work. I hope that you find these ideas helpful, and inspiring. Enjoy the adventure!!!

Hi Susannah, If you can make it, we would love it if you could join us on Sept 16th for our lunch - see separate thread in Aussie section. Banded, non-banded, partners, friends, kids - whatever - the more the merrier. My hubby and 5yo are going to come along too - I think hubby wants to check out who I'm talking to on the web all night long! LOL! If you can't make it on the 16th ,but would like to get together sometime, send me a PM / email and we'll make a date. Which suburb are you in? I am going to be banded on 5th Oct by Mr Chris Hensman at The Valley Private, Mulgrave. Many people here at LBT have had Mr Crosthwaite - and I believe they think he's very good doctor. With all you have gone through with your MS - the lapbanding will be a doddle. hugs to you - and welcome to our band! Cheers, Anna.

Way to go Sharyn!!! Have fun shopping - but don't buy too much just yet!

Hi everyone, As part of my pre-op assessments, I was provided with a Medicare form for my GP to fill out for an Enhanced Prmary Care Plan referral for the dietician and psychologist's consultations (total of 5 consultations only). I was told this was so that these consultations would be covered by Medicare, rather than have to pay for them via health insurance. Well he didn't. He had his secretary call and said he doesn't do this or believe that an EPCP is necessary as part of the LapBand process. Guess he figures I should wear the extra out of pocket costs myself. Maybe he just doesn't think that having a BMI of 51.5 is a chronic condition. Go figure.:phanvan Has anyone else had their GP refuse to do provide an EPCP referral if asked? Are there any other ways around it? I thought maybe I'd go and see different GP and ask them. Any ideas? I also went to went the specialist physician today (what a lovely doc!) - apparently I have a slight heart murmur, which now needs an echocardiogram to invesigate. :rolleyes Apparently I would have had this since I was a kid. Nobody ever picked it up before. Go figure again. Looking forward to hearing responses about the EPCP. I'll be in touch with the surgeon's office tomorrow and see what they suggest.

Hey Lisa, Good to hear all is investigated - I wasn't sure from our brief chat the other day how far along the road you were. Maybe you've built up muscle from your exercise - you were really hitting it. I don't know what you looked like pre-band, but you look like a person who has lost weight. Are youre clothes fitting any differently? Hugs to you - we'll be you're cheer squad. Just keep up with all you're doing, and wait for your bod to get with the program. Hope to see you on the 16th, but see how you go. Bring the kids, I'm clucky, and would love to play with the little one - my 5yo will sort out the other two! LOL! Sleep tight (when the kid lets ya!)! Anna.