Attention ! Australian Sleevers

[Camella 209]

Thanks everyone for your moral support! I spoke to my dietician and he has put my mind at ease. I have started a journal to help with my fears. With the Optifast I get how you feel, in fact I was disappointed to learn that for two weeks after I will still have to drink the vile stuff. Have you thought about opti slim? Change your dietician - it's our journey no one else's and it has to work for us just as much as the dietician. I am signing off for tonight, not to read any more horror stories in the us section of post op!! I will let all of you wonderful supportive angels know how I go on the other side. And misty hope you have got it sorted in India! Hugs

Best of luck!! I am only 9 days post-op so it's all very fresh for me. I also had complications and ended up having two surgeries within 36 hours. All that said - 9 days on I'm feeling 80% better and I have more and more energy each day. Just remember any pain or discomfort is temporary (really temporary). I'm sure you will be in good hands and if you every feel that something isn't quite right or you are feeling in more pain than you should tell someone! Soon you will be love getting on the scales each day!

[cathy1110 27]

hi everyone ,haven't been on for a while but I've been reading all the posts so welcome all the new people.For me it's still slow and steady and I. Not sure why but I seem to manage more food than others.And why am I hungry all the time.I don't over do it but I have no problem doing a cup and when you all say you will know when you full you will feel it I have never experienced that.I stop not my sleeve.I have herd it's possible that they don't take enough of the stomach.anybody else experienced this.I was done on may 22nd so that's about 7 weeks out.

[Aussiegirl 580]

Hi All,

Sorry I havent been around, I have been slammed all over the place with work and no time to really look at anything else.

Having caught up on the posts it is good to see so many newbies here...welcome all.

In regards to the Opti phase, yes it is horrible and for me definitely the worst experience of the whole process, for me everything after that was easy.

As Sue has said, I did do the Optifast without doing a shake. I cant drink shakes without feeling ill, pyschological thing from having a bad reaction to milkshakes many lives ago...anyway I digress. I was really strict on myself with Opti, in that I ate the bars and the Desserts only. I would have a bar, the chocolate ones are probably the best, like a dry brownie. I hear the coffee ones are good too, tho also dont drink coffee. I would have a bar for Breakfast and lunch and then the dessert with some steamed or stir fried veggies at night. I did plan 2 breaks from it, both times I had grilled or fresh seafood with salad. This atleast gave me something to keep going for, but did also cause me panic. Some idea is steamed veggies, fresh salad with a citrus dressing, used to mix lemon and herbs together.

Dont get me wrong isnt pleasant but it is can be done.

[mistysj 1,940]

Hi all! I just spent the last two days rafting, swimming, rock climbing, rappelling, doing obstacle courses, and walking! I am worn out but had so much fun. It is monsoon so it poured rain on us the whole time. I did have some trouble eating early on so I ended up eating quite a small amount. I'm back to the hotel now where I can control and track my food better. I'm exhausted and have caught a gastro bug so I am taking it easy today.

I forgot to say that I had plenty of room in every plane ride on the way here and could lower every seat tray fully with some extra room between it and my belly! Also, I can not only feel, but SEE my collar bones. I haven't been able to weigh for almost two weeks so I have no idea what the scale says.

[sarahjp 15]

Hi everyone,

Has anyone ever heard of a sleeve being revised cause the patient was still extermally hungry after the sleeve?

My doctor said he would make my sleeve tighter if I proved i could lose weight first. I was concerned when I first had it done that he did a safe op cause he was worried I would end up one of the statistics that had bad endings.

I still feel like i can eat alot more then most people. Which is very concerning.

Sarah

[sarahjp 15]

Michele

Im over in the west for uni. and I live in the northern suburbs. It would be good to arrange for people get together.

It would be good to have a get together so we can swop stories and maybe even make some friends along the way who are going through the same thing.

After being called a pig while away doing my clinical placement the idea of trying to get to know people is a bit more then scary for me atm. She accused me of not cleaning up after myself. tell me she didnt need to be my mother while I was sharing a house with her... Anyway long story short I ended up leaving my placement emotionally a wreck cause this skinny twig thought she would have a good time telling me how disgusting I am...

Sarah

[AussieLady 521]

Michele

Im over in the west for uni. and I live in the northern suburbs. It would be good to arrange for people get together.

It would be good to have a get together so we can swop stories and maybe even make some friends along the way who are going through the same thing.

After being called a pig while away doing my clinical placement the idea of trying to get to know people is a bit more then scary for me atm. She accused me of not cleaning up after myself. tell me she didnt need to be my mother while I was sharing a house with her... Anyway long story short I ended up leaving my placement emotionally a wreck cause this skinny twig thought she would have a good time telling me how disgusting I am...

Sarah

Hey Sara, I am in the East but would be happy to travel for a get together.

[cathy1110 27]

hi Sara,what makes you think your dr didn't take enough stomach?Just wondering cause I think I I want to eat more and haven't experienced that full feeling.I don't but I'm concerned.

[sarahjp 15]

hi Sara,what makes you think your dr didn't take enough stomach?Just wondering cause I think I I want to eat more and haven't experienced that full feeling.I don't but I'm concerned.

I dont think he did but he was concerned it wasnt going to be a safe procedure for me pre op. He said if i took my bad habits from the band into the sleeve that I could end up with complications. I had to prove that I was following a diet pre op before he would do the op for me. I asked him after the op did he do a safe procedure instead of a making it as small as he could and he said that he did a safe procedure and showed me the the post op pictures. He said if I felt like it wasnt losing enough weight in the future he could do a revision and make it smaller

[nikkibingham1988 4]

Hi everyone

My name is Nikki, I'm 24yrs old (25 on Tuesday 16/7) I'm 114kg. I live in Wollongong

I'm new to this forum and I'm so happy to have found it, already you guys have answered many of my questions and I was even more excited to see a thread just for us Aussies!!

I'm 4months away from my surgery date 8/11/13 I have chosen Dr Talbot to perform my surgery, due to the convenience of being able to consult with him here in Wollongong. He operates in st. George private (Sydney) and consults with his patients in sydney and comes to Wollongong once a fortnight for consults also. Has anyone else here been sleeved by Dr Talbot?

I'm so excited to do this but at the same time I'm so scared. The other day dr Talbot asked me what my fears were! My reply to his question was, death! That's it, I'm honestly scared shitless that I'm going to die is this a normal fear? Is it my conscience telling me something? I just want to feel 'normal' again to feel happy and healthy! I suffer from POCS and am doing this for my fertility, and my overall health (physical & mental) I just hope I'm doing the right thing. I have been planning this surgery for way over 12 months now, and I gone through stages where I'm totally set on doing this and then other stages where I think I'm doing the wrong thing! I guess that is normal when I've had so much time to think about it.. It just sucks that I couldn't loose the weight myself, I've tried everything, I just hope this works for me!!

[sueoco 509]

I dont think he did but he was concerned it wasnt going to be a safe procedure for me pre op. He said if i took my bad habits from the band into the sleeve that I could end up with complications. I had to prove that I was following a diet pre op before he would do the op for me. I asked him after the op did he do a safe procedure instead of a making it as small as he could and he said that he did a safe procedure and showed me the the post op pictures. He said if I felt like it wasnt losing enough weight in the future he could do a revision and make it smaller

Hi Sara - I haven't heard of a revision to make it smaller but I guess it's feasible. I know that when my surgeon first started doing this procedure he didn't take as much stomach - my dietician said he used to make the capacity about 250 ml but now makes them 175ml as the weight loss results were not as good with the larger capacity. I can't speak for everyone else, but I am 12 months out on the 18th of July and I would still say that eating a cup of food in one sitting is about all I can do. I can go back in half an hour or so and have a little bit more but not much. I know that my stomach is now the same width as my osophagas which the surgeon said is about what you want it to be. I have had great success reaching my goal and going 5kg lower now sitting at 60kg with a BMI of about 23. I need that buffer as I have menopause coming up and I know I will have a weight gain with that! I am defiantly not the model sleever as My exercise has been zero ( most will know that I have promising forever to do something!), I always forget my Water and prefer gallons of tea and. coffee and have eaten my fair share of crap! I just tell people I am eating the 'French Way' - lost of nummy food but very little of it!

I am curious to know why your surgeon called not removing as much of your stomach 'the safe option' - did you have some complications with the band that he was worried about so couldn't take as much of your stomach?

[Camella 209]

I dont think he did but he was concerned it wasnt going to be a safe procedure for me pre op. He said if i took my bad habits from the band into the sleeve that I could end up with complications. I had to prove that I was following a diet pre op before he would do the op for me. I asked him after the op did he do a safe procedure instead of a making it as small as he could and he said that he did a safe procedure and showed me the the post op pictures. He said if I felt like it wasnt losing enough weight in the future he could do a revision and make it smaller

Hi Sarah, When I was doing research on the sleeve I found a statistic that showed 25% of sleevers have a revision (in the long term) I questioned my surgeon and he said that this was because when they first began doing the sleeve they removed less stomach which for some people made the procedure less successful. The possible revisions were re-sleeving or revision to gastric bypass. Have you considered that as an option? I'm sorry to hear you are having issues health wise and personal (some people suck). Unfortunately I don't live in Melbourne or I would be happy to catch up. If I was in your shoes I would visit at least three surgeons and get their opinion before making any decisions.

[Camella 209]

Hi everyone

My name is Nikki, I'm 24yrs old (25 on Tuesday 16/7) I'm 114kg. I live in Wollongong

I'm new to this forum and I'm so happy to have found it, already you guys have answered many of my questions and I was even more excited to see a thread just for us Aussies!!

I'm 4months away from my surgery date 8/11/13 I have chosen Dr Talbot to perform my surgery, due to the convenience of being able to consult with him here in Wollongong. He operates in st. George private (Sydney) and consults with his patients in sydney and comes to Wollongong once a fortnight for consults also. Has anyone else here been sleeved by Dr Talbot?

I'm so excited to do this but at the same time I'm so scared. The other day dr Talbot asked me what my fears were! My reply to his question was, death! That's it, I'm honestly scared shitless that I'm going to die is this a normal fear? Is it my conscience telling me something? I just want to feel 'normal' again to feel happy and healthy! I suffer from POCS and am doing this for my fertility, and my overall health (physical & mental) I just hope I'm doing the right thing. I have been planning this surgery for way over 12 months now, and I gone through stages where I'm totally set on doing this and then other stages where I think I'm doing the wrong thing! I guess that is normal when I've had so much time to think about it.. It just sucks that I couldn't loose the weight myself, I've tried everything, I just hope this works for me!!

Hi Nikki, Welcome to the forum. I'm pretty new myself and I am only 12 days post-op so I can't offer you a great deal of experience, but right up until my surgery I felt exactly the same way as you. I remember waking up from surgery and I was so surprised that I was still alive. I then had a complication and they had to operate on me again 36 hours later. I was then convinced that if I didn't die during the first surgery, I definitely would during the second. I'm pleased to say that didn't happen either. It's totally normal to feel this way! Pre and post op they monitor you very closely and they are very vigilant for any signs that something may not be quite right. As soon as they suspect that there may be a problem they act quickly. I'm sure you will be fine - it's also important that you have a lot of trust in your surgeon

[sueoco 509]

Hi everyone <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

My name is Nikki' date=' I'm 24yrs old (25 on Tuesday 16/7) I'm 114kg. I live in Wollongong <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

I'm new to this forum and I'm so happy to have found it, already you guys have answered many of my questions and I was even more excited to see a thread just for us Aussies!!

I'm 4months away from my surgery date 8/11/13 I have chosen Dr Talbot to perform my surgery, due to the convenience of being able to consult with him here in Wollongong. He operates in st. George private (Sydney) and consults with his patients in sydney and comes to Wollongong once a fortnight for consults also. Has anyone else here been sleeved by Dr Talbot?

I'm so excited to do this but at the same time I'm so scared. The other day dr Talbot asked me what my fears were! My reply to his question was, death! That's it, I'm honestly scared shitless that I'm going to die <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> is this a normal fear? Is it my conscience telling me something? I just want to feel 'normal' again to feel happy and healthy! I suffer from POCS and am doing this for my fertility, and my overall health (physical & mental) I just hope I'm doing the right thing. I have been planning this surgery for way over 12 months now, and I gone through stages where I'm totally set on doing this and then other stages where I think I'm doing the wrong thing! I guess that is normal when I've had so much time to think about it.. It just sucks that I couldn't loose the weight myself, I've tried everything, I just hope this works for me!![/quote']

Hi Nikki and welcome to our thread!

I felt exactly the same way as I was in my fifties and had a husband and 14 year old son that depended on me and I certainly didn't want to leave them behind all in the name of losing weight! However, I kept thinking about the alternative that if I didn't lose the weight I might die quite young anyway and never have a chance of seeing my son grow up or enjoying my retirement years with my husband in good health, so I really felt I was making the right choice for me. It is scary but statistics are that only a very low percentage have complications let a lone death - there is a risk of death from any surgery you may have and there is still a high risk of death even in childbirth so life is a risk really. Obviously the decision is a very personal one but I think if you weigh up (no pun intended) the pros and the cons for you, you will come to the right choice.

You are young and have a whole life ahead of you - I wish this surgery had been around a lot earlier for me!

I had my op 12 months ago - I was 103kg and going up - I am now 60kg and really happy! I know I didn't have a lot of weight to get off like some other people, but it was still impossible for me, and with health issues and a another weight gain looming from menopause, it was my final option! I have kept my Jenny Craig life time membership card and take it out occasionally and look at it and I am so grateful I will never have to walk through their doors again!

This will work for you. Just one question I would ask your surgeon is specifically what will be the size/capacity of your stomach that is left behind - if you read this thread lately there has been a bit of discussion about this and it does impact how successful your weight loss is. I am starting to conclude that different surgeons may have there own reasons regarding how much stomach they remove and it is a question I never asked so would be curious as to what the answer is - my surgeon just said he would remove 75% of my stomach but I never thought to ask how they measured that or was there a specific size that he worked to.

[Helmc2 108]

Hi Nikki!

First week if opti is done and dusted. Woohoo! Only one more week to go...

The thought of dying does scare me and over the last week I have been tossing up the idea to write letters to my kids - just in case. In saying that though, it is a risk I am willing to take. I would prefer to be healthy and active so that I can enjoy life with my boys rather than eat myself to death, which is where I was heading. But that's just me. U will make the decision that is right for u.

I have lost 4 kg so far on my opti diet, and already I am noticing a difference. I have been more active in the last week than I have in months. Isn't it amazing that by just dropping those couple of kilos I feel so much better? Or us that just my mind playing games with me? Either way I'm happy