Greetings to all blog readers! It has been quite a while since I last wrote, but really, there hasn't been anything much to say, so I thought I would wait until I had the band tightened a bit more. It is really quite a slow process, the Dr. can't suddenly squeeze my stomach tight for fear of tearing it, so it is just a bit at a time.

Anyway, here is an interim photo:

You can see I cunningly wore black, but I think there might be a slight difference in the width, perhaps?
I think I see a slight waist there, unseen since around 1978!!

Last Friday was the second tightening. There is usually a 6-week gap between them. Now I have 3 ml. of saline injected around the band, but I haven't felt much different yet, so no doubt there will be more tightening for me. Apparently the amount of tightening varies from maybe a minimum of 3 ml. up to maybe 9 ml., and everyone is different. I can say I am less hungry, and am certainly eating less that pre-band, so that is a good thing. My weight is still around 11 kg. lighter, and I don't expect huge weight losses in a short time - it is a very gradual process.

Here is another photo - a bit funny:

Someone suggested I may have become faint due to lack of food, and fallen, .....no!! I just fell down in the street and cracked my head on the footpath. Just thought I'd add the photo for some light relief. Nothing really to do with the lapband. Just trying to give you a laugh and get the sympathy vote.

It really isn't that bad, but looks a lovely colour. In fact, I think it is a much deeper shade of purple today that when this was taken. I must try to watch where I put my feet, it makes me feel really old to just crumple up and fall for no reason!



So, perhaps I should give a few statistics on how the centimetres have gone down since the start. Sometimes that makes more of an impression than just losing weight.
Waist - down by 12 cms. Hips - down by 9 cms. Thigh - down by 6 cms. Bust - down by 2 cms. (But not much there to start with!). Anyway, that makes me realise that there is a difference!!

Peter is benefiting quite well out of this - especially if we are out to dinner. I can only get through half of meal out, so Pete has his, then the rest of mine. We'll put a bit of weight on him yet!!
So all is well with us, and the next band tightening is not until early September. Will send a few words then. (If you are still interested.) All the best, and hope you are staying warm. xx

Hi again blog-followers! I was holding off writing until I had something to tell you, as this is still quite an interim stage in the lap band journey. Anyway, thought I'd best say something, or else you might think that I was sitting in a corner somewhere gobbling hot chips and cream cakes!

Today is exactly 4 weeks since surgery, and I am 10 kg. lighter. None of that weight loss can be attributed to the band as yet, and was mostly due to the fluid stage, and the mushy stage, and the fact that small portions are advised.

The lap band is on, but not as yet tightened. This means that at the moment, as long as I chew well, I can eat most anything (maybe not steak, bread, cake, etc.). Just little portions for now, and for ever. The band will be tightened 6 weeks after surgery, giving it a chance now to adhere to the stomach and settle into position.

Below I have added a drawing of where the band is in relation to my stomach, and it gives you an idea of what a small stomach I will have, and why small portions are imperative. It will take food a little while to get through to the big stomach, and I will feel full very quickly, as you can imagine. And chewing well is important so that nothing gets stuck.

When I get the band tightened, it will happen via a port under the skin of my stomach, attached to a tube running to the lapband. The surgeon injects a saline solution via the port, not too much at first, and there will be no doubt a few adjustments will be needed until it feels right for me. They can also take some saline out to open the band up a bit if required.

Anyway, that is enough technical information, and not much more to report, except that I am feeling really great, my left knee pain has completely disappeared, and I am actually picking stuff up off the floor myself! My bike riding has increased, and it's great to get out and about on the bike. I even cycle down for groceries now, instead of taking the car!

So, I'll be off now, and hope everyone is feeling well and not too grossed out by the pictures. At least I didn't photograph my scars and bruises for you!

Bye, until after the tightening!! Ruth

Whoopee! Sloppy food!

Hello again! Wow, how time does fly, and here it is now 10 days post op. I am going along pretty well now, having finished the liquids only stage, and onto the sloppy food thing. Yayyy! Never thought I would be so happy to have "anything that you would give a 6-month old baby!" Here I am with my first porridge this morning. It was so delicious I took my time eating it. A teaspoon has become my favourite food tool.

Now it's mashed and sloppy food, but at least it is food! I so longed for something to actually chew, that a couple of days ago I overdosed on some sugarless chewy mint lollies, which had quite an affect on the lower part of my innards! I won't go into that, but I won't do it again!

The scars are healing up quite well, and I can now feel the little button thing under the skin where the Dr. in a few weeks' time will insert a needle and inject saline into the band, making it smaller. This will be the stage where I will only be able to eat the equivalent of half a glass per meal, and I will have to chew it for the time it takes to sing one verse of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" for each mouthful, so that nothing gets stuck. What fun!!

So really, am now at a kind of levelling off stage, AFTER HAVING LOST 9 KG!! I probably won't lose any more weight until after the band is tightened, but I am still learning the skills I will need to deal with all that- don't drink with meals, in fact, never have liquids with food; don't have fizzy drinks; take at least 20 minutes to eat a meal; keep taking vitamins and fibre; and definitely DON'T overdo the sugarless sweets!!

Peter is going really well with the Tai Chi classes, and to his credit, he has prepared his own dinners for the last 3 weeks. His crowning glory was some lovely shepherd's pies which he made from scratch, and he reckoned they tasted good too!
You will have to turn sideways to see his delicious pies, as I can't figure out how to rotate the picture. If anyone knows, please tell me!!

ALL HIS OWN WORK!

Anyway, that's enough to bore you with for now. It is just wonderful to be having some food with a bit of chew to it, it really makes you appreciate being out of the liquid stage. Next Friday I will be able to go for our pub dinner and actually have a bit of fish. What a treat that will be. Oh yes, and I can have smoked salmon now, as it is pretty mushy. Having said that, I wouldn't waste it on a 6 month old child! No way!

So, I'll write again when there is more to tell. I hope you are keeping well and warm. xx

It's Done!

Well, here I am, back from the surgeon's knife!! Don't feel a lot different so far, and certainly don't feel like I have a blue band around the top of my stomach! Sorry no pictures this time, as the only ones I have are of the stab wounds in my tummy, and I think I'll keep those to myself.

Anyway, I won't bore you with the details of the operation, suffice it to say it all went well, and I made it out the other side, had my night in hospital, and now I'm home. I am a bit sore around the tummy, as you would expect, with five cuts here and there, and by the way the Dr. found a hiatus hernia whilst he was doing his work, and so fixed that up as well. Great job!

So......as far as food is concerned now, I am not allowed any!! Probably a bit harsher than before op. but now we have to be sure that the little stomach pocked doesn't stretch until it settles in, so it's back to liquids in small doses for a few weeks. I can have "anything that can fit through a straw". So today I have enjoyed some "Up and Go" milk drink, some pumpkin soup, a little drinking yoghurt, a glass of Berocca (for the vitamin content), and tonight I will try some more soup. Not too bad really. Everything in moderation at the moment. Sipping instead of guzzling.

I did have a moment's thought that perhaps I could blend up a baked dinner and see if it would suck up a straw, but sanity has prevailed, and I will wait! The stupid thing is I have sat through three cooking shows this afternoon (boredom and rain outside), which doesn't really help your mindset for liquids.

Pete is having meatloaf and baked sweet potato tonight, and I have kindly made him a Bread and Butter custard for his dessert,(why am I torturing myself!!) - as the poor fellow was losing weight on his own cooking! Never mind, tomorrow night he can have a big nosh up at the pub!!

So.....I haven't any weight loss to tell you this time, because I have so many winter clothes on that I would rather not go near the scales. But I have to say that maybe the Doctor was right, I really don't feel hungry at all. It is more a kind of memory thing, and a habit of thinking of food which is hard to lose. Still, so far so good, and I will keep trying to do just as I am told to.
Thanks for that advice, Trish!! (Trish is my friend in Port who had her lapband done some years ago, and lost 48 kg. She just told me to "do as I am told". So I am!)

Anyway, that's it for now. If anyone wants to know anything more about lapbanding or Dr. Peck, here is the link:

http://www.latitude31.com.au/node/296

I'm sure I will see you all around sometime - maybe you won't recognize me soon! Ha Ha! xx

2 sleeps to go!

Getting pretty close now. I would like to say I am calm and composed, but I guess the amount of times I think about Tuesday, and the lack of food comforts belie that! Won't have time to type anything tomorrow, and Tuesday is the day, so this is it for now.

Put these pictures up to remind me of the reason I am doing all this - here's Mali and Tess in Brisbane, and Daniel and Laine below, and I would just love to attend all their 21st birthdays.
Of course, not forgetting "Tai Chi Pete," who is giving me lots of support, and has been picking things up off the floor for me for ages, since I haven't been able to do it for myself.

















And I mustn't forget the littlest one, Ivy, who is now 3 months old in Brisbane. Looking forward to seeing them all soon.




Went to a Support group meeting a few weeks ago in Taree, and met six ladies who have been through the process themselves, with the same surgeon etc. The fact that they are all alive and well gives me a lot of hope! :-) But I found out an interesting fact: The surgeon does this operation with the patient in a sitting position - woah!! He literally operates standing between your legs. I really hope I don't flop forward and knock him over!! Must be a bit tough for the anaesthetist to keep all his stuff in place. ...... Okay, I won't even try to picture all that, I shall be peacefully sleeping. Forget it!! Forget it!!

Well, that's it for now. Think I will go and rustle up some lunch - mmmm! Strawberry jelly with a strawberry Optifast milkshake, about as good as it gets at the moment. I am hanging out for even the smallest portion of a Pub dinner in a few weeks' time. I'll continue post-op. Bye, xx

6 days to go!

Wow! Getting close now. Believe it or not, I have lost 6 kg. in the lead up to this operation. Well, why wouldn't I, existing on fasting sachets and vegies. And the occasional cuppa. I am getting used to it though, and the lo-cal jellies help a lot. Me and my sweet tooth!

Some people have suggested that maybe I won't need the operation now, as I am losing weight anyway. Yeah, sounds good, but I have lost this amount of weight countless times before - even more that 6 kg. It is just that it goes back on. So this time I am eliminating the risk of putting it back on by creating a back stop. It has been suggested that is a brave thing to do, but I sometimes think it is a cop out, and I'll accept a cop out if gives me a few extra years.

The above picture is us last weekend in Sydney at my brother's 60th party. Funny how critical I get about myself, but even in black, I reckon I look so big. Maybe it's because I am standing next to Mr. Skinny! Anyway, once again, it is the "old" me, so onward and upward - or inward!

So.......next Monday afternoon we have to travel to Port Macquarie Private Hospital, have a lengthy chat with an anaesthetist, see the surgeon and have another chat with him, and then come home. Back again the next morning for the big banding, then Pete back home, me staying in one night, Pete coming back on Wed. hopefully to pick me up and take me home, all being well.

Pete's Tai Chi classes are going really well, and he is thinking of doing another class at Upper Lansdowne, if there is enough interest. Maybe I could even join up when I can balance on one foot, and concentrate on one thing at a time! Bye for now, I'll blog again before the big day.

Counting Down!

Hi everyone.

Here's a photo of my food intake for the next 2 weeks. 42 sachets of Optifast! Just add water!
Not sure how this is going to go, but I will give it a big try. At least there is some variety in there, vegie soup, chicken soup, my favourite lemon wafer dessert, chocolate dessert, some shakes - coffee, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry. After all, it is only for 2 weeks before, and 2 weeks after. Just a month out of my life - nothing really.

But what I have found this week is that if you don't eat, and don't focus too much on food, you have huge amounts of time to kill!! Never realised how much time in the day was spent on food - cups of tea and a book, working out meals, eating meals, clearing up after meals, social eating, etc. I need to find more things to fill my days.

As I rode around on my bike on a chilly morning this week, (trying in vain to increase fitness levels for the upcoming operation), I couldn't believe what I wrote in the last blog! Did I actually tell all and sundry that I weighed 120 kg??? Yep, I think I did. I was amazed at my audacity, because my weight has always been a well kept secret from everyone - even Peter. Why on earth would I do that? How embarrassing!!

The only answer I could come up with is that it no longer matters to me, because it is my PAST weight. It is never going to be that again, so I care not what people think I USED to weigh. Same with looking in the mirror - don't do it very often. Now I am, because I really WANT to see the differences which will happen.

So....here I am, in all my glory. Bum like a Kalahari bushman, and an 8 month pregnant stomach. Oh well, it is the old me. Just picture this when you see me next Christmas.

I actually went to an event yesterday where there was an array of afternoon tea, including lovely little cupcakes, scones with jam and cream, caramel slices, fresh sandwiches. I was able to turn my back on the food, and shake my head at the waitress. Yahoo!! Would never have done that before. I think I must be taking this seriously!

Mother's Day tomorrow. Happy Mother's day to all Mums out there!!! Hope you have a really lovely family day. We are celebrating a little today, and tomorrow going out in the little red boat on the beautiful Manning to see if we can catch some fish. No matter if we don't, it is just magic being out on the water hopefully in a bit of sunlight, enjoying the serenity.

By the way, I have lost 2 kg.!! Bye for now. xx