im new to this can any new zealanders plz add me

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hi there i like 2 chat 2 any body im 26 yrs age i was 164.7kg and now weighing 160.3 at mo but have 2 be 155kg by august so im joining the gym 2morrow to help me along the way lol i like 2 know about anyone elses experiences and who they had do there surgery im lucky the goverment r funding mine ive been overweight all my life im new as from 2day to this so im kinda still getting the hang of it lol

Damn, started a reply to you and it has disappeared into cyberspace! Will begin again. If the other reply shows up somewhere, I am NOT stalking you!

Congratulations Kiwichick - you are officially a sleever! And a 6 kg weight loss since Monday - I could work with that! You sound really upbeat - and still with a tube up your nose (eek! Bizarrely, that is the thing I fear the most...). Great that your liver stood up for the job, it would have been unbearable if your surgeon hadn't proceeded. Are you home today? I hope so. I am sure you will pass the leak test - it's all down hill from here. Are you still pain free? Can you feel your stomach? Hopefully you slept well last night - there is something to be said for the lasting effect of an anaesthetic. Keep me posted - it was good to hear how well you have come through all this.

I haven't quite worked out this forum. Are you posting on other threads? Are you going to post your diary and before and after photos? Are my questions sending you into a coma LOL?? Sorry.

I have discovered Strawberry Opti which is much more palatable to me (thought I was a chocolate girl but definitely not Opti choci!). I have dropped 2.6 kilos drinking Opti and eating carrots since Monday. Not surprising given the crap I managed to devour in the lead in to Opti. Even I was thinking that I probably couldn't sustain such appalling habits...

Anyway, I follow your story with interest. Take it easy, take care and be excited about your future. x

Oh and the best news of all


I HAVE LOST 6 KGS SINCE MONDAY





Oh the most important thing I forgot to mention is the fact that I have had NO pain since my sugery

Hi Lorelei

Yes I am now on the other side and I can officially say that I am a sleever

My surgeon on the day actually said he was concerned that my liver would be too fragile (due to previous abdominal surgery and major infection), he advised me that if he got in there and my liver was at risk of being damaged then he would close me up and not do the surgery.

Well it obviously wasn't too fragile because I have a sleeve

Now I was part of a clinical trial to fast track patients out of hospital so I was expecting to be home yesterday :( I was totally booted of the clinical trial LOL

Well I woke up from surgery with a naso-gastric tube up my nose into my stomach (fun - NOT) and was told that it had to stay in until I had a leak test X-Ray on Wednesday - so on Tuesday night I was advised that my x-ray would now be Thursday - which of course meant that my friend the Naso-gastric tube had to stay in and it is not comfortable and I can't sleep at night as it rubs on the back of my throat

So I am still only on Sips of water, if all goes well tomorrow I will start on the 1 litre of water in a day test and if that is ok then I will move onto Custard/Jelly/broth.

I totally don't want to freak you out, none of this was a complication really (well I suppose it was but only because my insides look like a bomb has gone off LOL), it is just my surgeon being overly cautious - and I would rather have an overly cautious surgeon who doesn't give damn

I am feeling I wont have a leek tomorrow and everything will be just awesome


I have to say Opti gets easier the closer to surgery you get - keep going it means your insides will be in better condition!!!!

I have not had one single WTF have I done moment, even when I am gagging on my tube LOL

Well Kiwi Chick - hopefully you are unable to answer this because you are tucked up in a hospital bed preparing for surgery (or better still, recovering from it!). I have my fingers crossed (though they are a bit porky so it's difficult!). My surgery is being undertaken in a small hospital in Epsom. I went private because I had no choice - it certainly expedites the whole process...

Just battled through my first couple of Optifast. Hmmm. Only 40 more to go... Must remain focused on the end result - and two weeks is only two weeks. Not long compared to the big picture.

Let me know whether you proceeded to surgery (when you can), and how you found everything. You can be my 'man on the ground' though I realise everyone has a different experience.

If you are around Munderwood, tell us whether surgery and your recovery is as you expected. Hopefully you are feeling better every day.

Hi Lorelei

There is one problem with the Public health system, they can take the surgery away from you at ANY point - so I am not so excited as my surgeon told me on Friday that he didn't want to do the surgery on Monday - so I am stressed to the MAX - only good thing is that I didn't automatically turn to emotional eating - I am not interested in food at all. A small part of me is jumping for joy that surgery is supposed to be Monday so there is a little bit of excitement deep down.

Counties Manukau have a clinical trial on at the moment and it means I should be able to go home on Tuesday so I am super excited about that as I hate hospitals

Good thing is you are not too far behind, what hospital are you having surgery?

Hi Kiwi Chick - wow! The time is finally here for you... Are you nervous or excited or both? I will really interested to know how you find the op and what your recovery is like. Will keep my fingers crossed for you.

My surgeon is Stephanie Ulmer - newly married so not sure what her maiden name was. Works with John Dunn.

All the best.

Hi Lorelei

Who is your surgeon going to be?

Optifast is horrible (i'm not gonna sugarcoat it, although that would be yum) but you do get through it. I can't do the shakes, they make me gag but I have got to the point where I do 1 mouthful of choc bar and 1 mouthful of diet coke and it does go down kinda easy - but today is my last day and then fingers crossed I have surgery tomorrow

Hi all - I'm from Auckland and am going private. I am going to be sleeved on 4 July so on my last weekend of 'real' food prior to embarking on Optifast from Monday. Looking forward to that (yeah right!). I guess it will begin to feel real from that point on. I am scared of failing Opti... Actually, I am scared of failing the sleeve - if that is possible! I have got so good at failing every damn diet there has ever been over the years that it is hard to believe that this will be different. But it will - and so will I.

Thanks Munderwood, I need good luck and all fingers and toes crossed that the surgeon will do the surgery on Monday

My surgeon is Richard Babor

kiwichick wrote:

It's funny when I was talking to one of the registrars yesterday at my Pre-Admit appointment he said that in the counties manukau DHB region there are 100,000 people who qualify for this surgery and they only do 250 - 300 per year, so I did feel a little bit lucky (and of course I am trying not to feel hard done by anymore for waiting 21 months - just gotta suck it up)

Fingers crossed I am going to cross over to the 'sleeved' group on Monday afternoon

Yay

Although I guess I already did pay for a band myself, that just stopped working......

Good luck for your op. Who is your surgeon?

It's funny when I was talking to one of the registrars yesterday at my Pre-Admit appointment he said that in the counties manukau DHB region there are 100,000 people who qualify for this surgery and they only do 250 - 300 per year, so I did feel a little bit lucky (and of course I am trying not to feel hard done by anymore for waiting 21 months - just gotta suck it up)

Fingers crossed I am going to cross over to the 'sleeved' group on Monday afternoon

Yay

Although I guess I already did pay for a band myself, that just stopped working......

Ohhhhh I'm so jealous of you lucky Auckland ppl!!! Canterbury DHB doesn't do them on the public system and I don't have health insurance so mine cost me $25 000. Best investment I could have made for my future though!!

Hey Jenza

I have been on the waiting list for Counties Manukau for 21 months, I am hopefully going to have surgery on Monday, went for my Pre-Admit appointment today and saw my surgeon briefly in the corridor and he advised he wasn't very happy with my weight loss so he would see on Monday if he does the surgery. So I get to panic for the next 3 days and am going to spend 2 - 3 hours at the gym on Saturday and Sunday.

I will be glad when it is all over on Monday afternoon.........

Do you know who your surgeon is going to be?

I am now 3 days post sleeve surgery, Like you it was a long journey but I endured the 3 weeks of optifast and was told by my surgeon my liver was in excellent condition, I didn't need a drip or anything. Am at home now.
I too had it on the DHB. Manukau health board. My surgeon was Jonathon Morrow. So all I can say is stay focused and before you know it, you will be right at the top of that list. I was seen in August and had my op this month so 9 months in total. It should have been earlier but my Dr's forgot to send my information in to the bariatric clinic. Good luck, You can do it!

hi there i like 2 chat 2 any body im 26 yrs age i was 164.7kg and now weighing 160.3 at mo but have 2 be 155kg by august so im joining the gym 2morrow to help me along the way lol i like 2 know about anyone elses experiences and who they had do there surgery im lucky the goverment r funding mine ive been overweight all my life im new as from 2day to this so im kinda still getting the hang of it lol