ok....getting stuff stuck really hurts !!!!!

So all has been good since my last fill, however, this is where one is really tested in the whole lap band world ! Easy my arse !

Imagine this...you are hungry, really hungry...so you do the "right" thing and grab some left over pumpkin from the roast last night...it's soft, it will go down easy, right????

WRONG ! Imagine the feeling of swallowing something only half way and then it just doesn't move....imagine then, anything you swallow AFTER you've swallowed what is now stuck, comes back up again - YEP, THAT MEANS YOUR OWN SALIVA !!

Lesson No. 1 - don't eat left over cold pumpkin. A few hurls and a lie down fixed me up ok ..... this time

So then you can imagine my experience when I ate some steak (very tender steak, but meh, doesn't seem to matter these days!!) and you eat it too fast and you eat too much !!

3 hours later.....when I couldn't possibly vomit any more, I am slightly convinced that small bits of the steak are now starting to move through the band. So I have a water icy pole....this water is obviously trying to push past the steak which is now lodged in my opening, so as it pushes through past the steak, causing me excrutiating pain, I start vomiting again...or PB'ing they call it (productive burping/barfing)....it's your body's natural reaction to having something stuck....you vomit it out...IF ONLY MY BODY KNEW THAT......some people can get whatever is stuck back up again, others can't...So after now almost 5 hours of vomiting and excrutiating pain, the steak passes through.

The day after I am sore, I am sorry, I am on liquids only because my stomach is inflammed. But I have no one to blame but myself. I need to slow down my eating and I will be fine.

So after saying all that all I can now say is...

GOD I LOVE MY BAND xxxxxxxx :-)

Oh weight down to 85.9kg !

it's been ages.....

but all is going really well.

I have had another fill with Dr Elliot. This time he put 0.8mls in and the band has become quite tight. I have even had something get stuck. Cold roast pumpkin of all things!!! I am now not able to eat my yummy yummy Burgen bread, so that means pretty much ALL bread is out now. I can't eat grapes nor tempura batter (which is not such a bad thing). I have upped my protein intake (suggested by my dietician) as surprisingly (to me) protein is what will stay in the little pouch the longest. I thought carbs would, but NO, carbs slip right through! So I have a small amount of protein with all main meals. I am only managing 3 meals a day. Occassionally I will have a snack, but not often.

I have started at the gym too and I love it. I try and do cardio 3 x a week and weights 2 x a week. I really feel great after I've done a gym session.

Now...for my weight. DRUM ROLL PLEASE.......

86.2kgs
WOOOHOOOOOOO.....that is now a total loss of 20.8kgs

I am fitting into size 16 clothes. Some clothes that I have not worn since before I was even pregnant. I now officially WEIGH LESS THAN GEOFF !!! For the first time since before we were married, I weigh less than my husband!!! That is such a great feeling.

Next fill in about 2.5wks...but not sure that there will be "a fill" at all. Can't really eat much less than I do now!! My meals usually consist on a small can of baked beans for brekkie. 2 Cruskits for lunch. Small plate (side plate size) of meat & veg for dinner. Throw a few coffees and some water in there and a handful of almonds occassionally and that's about it for me for a day!

my second fill......

this time around I saw Dr Elliot. he specialises in lap band surgery so I knew he was the guy I would be wanting to speak to about this infection (and hopefully have a more successful fill this time !!!).

he only glanced at the infection and said "that's nothing, you'll be fine" - HUGE RELIEF !!!

so then it was time for filling......

he went straight in with the needle and got the port site immediately!! a bit better than last time. he told me to gulp some water as he was injecting the saline and told me to tell him when i couldn't "swallow" the water...it was the weirdest feeling - like someone had put a plug in my stomach and here was this water, just sitting there at the top of my stomach, not being released into my lower stomach cos the band was so tight....his aim was to then suck saline out until I could feel the water go down...so just as i felt the water trickle down into my stomach below, i told him and he stopped. apparently now, i am one step closer to finding my "sweet spot" which is where you will eat just enough to be healthy but such a little amount that you continue to lose weight.

so it's been about 4 days since that fill and things are going beautifully. i am very rarely hungry and i probably only eat about 2 times a day (half a cup at each sitting).....still on mushy stuff right now...will then go back onto normal foods as i feel the need (i.e. as i get more hungry) but at the moment a mere cup of coffee will fill me until lunch time!!!

OH, more importantly, my weight.....

in total, I have lost 16.4kgs in total !!!!!

my weight is now at 90.6 kgs - i can't believe that i am about to hit the 80's !!!!!

happy days xx

it's been so long....

so where do i start?

real food has been really easy to introduce for me. in fact, for the first 3wks post fill, i had good restriction, but then as the restriction wears off, you become more adventurous and start trying new things....by the end of my 4wk gap between fills...i was eating steak & sushi like I was before - a perfect indication that it was time for more saline!!

rewind a little though.........about 2wks after my first fill (you know, the one where he dug into my stomach for half an hour!!! :-)) I noticed the biggest of my scars (which is called the port site scar) was becoming infected. i didn't think anything of it and just maintained it, kept it dry, used peroxide & betadine and thought it would just get better on its own. it started to do just that. i had to ring my doctor to get the all clear to start at the gym and i happened to mention the infection....well i think the receptionist nearly dropped the phone...apparently, this was far more serious than i had first thought and the doctor would need to speak with me urgently. it seems that an infection like that can be caused by the tubing or the port site or even the band itself and unless you get to the infection on time, it means you need to start over again :( so the doctor faxed a script for antibiotics to my local chemist and it was a matter of wait & see - it was a long week !!!!!

the infection was continuing to improve and by the time i went for my fill last Tuesday, it had completely dried up...relief !!!!

Ouch!! What a week.....

Sunday morning, I woke and all felt ok. I ate 2 poached eggs for brekkie and then it started ...... sharp stabbing pain all over my stomach, in my chest, and down my left side. I could not bend over, I could not lie down, I could not walk too quickly. And my first thought was - the band had slipped. This is devastating news if it were to be true. It would mean a re-operation and not necessarily success with a new band. So after a horrific night's sleep on Sunday night, I phoned the doctor's rooms on Monday morning. They squeezed me in for an appointment Monday arvo and I drove all the way into the Wesley to see him. He was quite concerned at first....asking me questions and me throwing him answers...to which he looked at me blankly. Yes, at first my symptoms could have indicated a "slip" however the big difference (and the reason why he believes I have not had a "slip) is because 1) I am getting food & liquid down; 2) I am not vomitting. If you have a "slip" you are most likely going to have these symptoms.

So after about 2mins in his rooms, the only advice he could offer me was to "wait for 48hours and we'll see".... So with that, I went home a little relieved but still in pain.

It is now Thursday and the pain is easing with every day. I still can't lie on my side, but the sharp stabbing pain seems to have subsided (thank goodness!). I will say one thing though...I barely eat! I have a cup of coffee and I am full for hours...not sure this is a good thing, but as long as that weight is coming off, I don't really care. I am not tired, I have plenty of energy, I take my vitamins, drink heaps of water....so no problem really!

So, weigh in for this week - have lost another 1.3kg which brings my total weight loss to

14.4 kgs !!!!

SEVEN....

Rules:
1. List these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.
3. Tell 7 unspectacular quirks about you.
4. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
5.Link the person who tagged you.
6.Leave a comment for each blogger.
It could be nice if you post a personal photo with this post.

7 Facts:

1. I am 37yrs old
2. I have just had lap band surgery
3. I love photography
4. I am an excellent swimmer
5. I live on acreage
6. I love sushi
7. We are just about to get a new puppy!

7 Quirks:

1. I sneeze when I've had too much to eat (well I used to do this, not so much now!!)
2. Up until a few years ago I needed to be "tucked in" every night
3. I can roll my tongue
4. I can recite the "Underwater World" (at Mooloolaba) song from back in 1988???
5. I walk fast
6. I love country music
7. I sleep with a body pillow

yummmmm, real food.....

Saw the dietician on Monday and it was time to talk turkey (and steak & chicken) YES, I'm eating real food again !!! It feels like forever since I've had a good chew on a Ryvita, and it feels goooooood !!!!

So anyway the plan is to eat mostly protein with a small amount of vegies. IF (and only if) I am feeling hungry after my meal I am to add some "fillers" (maybe half a tablespoon) of pasta, rice, potato to my meals.

So my main meal needs to be on a side plate (that's pretty much all I'd fit in) and half the plate needs to be protein (this equals about 1/2 cup of mince or one chicken stick), then the other two-thirds of the plate need to be vegies. If I need the filler, it takes up a tiny little corner of the plate - not worth cooking them really !!!!

I have managed to get down Ryvita's, Vita Weats, Smoked Salmon and even this morning I had one piece of yummy Burgen Bread with 2 tablespoons of creamed corn - this was quite possibly "over doing it" cos I felt like I'd just eaten at the Sizzler smorgasboard (twice!)...so needless to say lunch is probably off the menu today cos I am still full (very full) 2 hours after having this - but that' s the whole idea - eat well, but eat LESS !!!!!!!

So I gradually introduce "tougher" foods for me to eat...for e.g. instead of eating two fruits in a tub or banana (which is soft), I need to try to get myself to a point where I am eating apples or pears - foods that take a long time to chew, chew, chew and that will sit in my "pouch" for a lot longer....

I see my doctor again in 3.5wks time (probably for another fill of saline) and then the process starts all over again - have the fill, have liquids for 24 hours, then soft chewable foods, then challenge myself ..... until the next fill when we do it all over again !!!!!!

My weight this week is down to 93.9kgs - so that's a total loss of
13.1 kgs

Happy happy days ;-)

My First "Fill"

Okay, so when you have your lapband surgery, the band (which has a saline pouch attached to it) is placed around your stomach - attached to this lap band is a tube that links itself to a "port" I *think* the port sits just on your stomach and may or may not be stitched into place (don't thin it is - from what I understand, it floats freely)- this is the site where saline is filled from (or saline removed if you're not coping well with food) Anyway, normal procedure is that the band is put onto your stomach with no saline in it. The idea of the saline is to make the band tighter and therefore allowing less and less food in and also giving you a very full feeling for quite a while.

So I've had it reasonably cruisy for the past 3wks...no saline in my band, which meant I was limited in what I could eat and also to the portions, but I was feeling hungry around the 2 hour mark (after eating). Hunger is my enemy ! So today I saw my surgeon for the first time since my operation. He weighed me (was floored at my weight loss :-)) and then told me to pop up onto the bed and lay down........

So I'm laying there, he's pushing on my stomach (kinda in the middle between your rib cages) and he's having trouble grabbing the port...so he asked me to stand up and lean back over the bed (so as to push my stomach out). He found the port and then the needle went in. Then for 2 very long minutes, he jiggled that needle around trying to find the correct entry site in the port. FINALLY, he found it and 4mls of saline went into my port site, which then flows into my band, making my band tighter.

4mls is quite a lot....so here I was, white as a ghost from having a needle jiggled about in my stomach for what seemed an eternity, so he tells me to lay back down again...... all was good after I got over the shock of what had just happened LOL

I managed to drink some water before I left, which meant all was well.

I now am on fluids only for 24 hours, then return to mushy food with a gradual transition to real food. His only rule is "no crap food". That's okay, I don't "do" crap food much. It's all the good food that got me here (Just too much of that good food)!

I see the dietician on Monday to move me onto the real food stage. Gone are the steaks and white bread sandwiches, but WHO CARES...I've lost a hell of a lot of weight my friends !!!!

Weigh In #2......

so this weigh in comes:

5wks after starting Optifast

3wks after surgery



Starting Weight 107.0 kgs

2wks post surgery 98.3kgs (total lost 8.7kgs)
3wks post surgery 94.7kgs (total lost 12.3kgs)

12.3 kgs - WOW ! Feeling on top of the world. Lap Band has changed my life :-)

can't quite believe it!......

I am wearing a pair of size 16 (white) shorts today that I have not been able to fit into since November 2007. The last time I wore these shorts was when I visited Sheri in the hospital after having Sophie ! Happy day today :-)

Mush Week......

So after seeing the dietician last week, I have now moved onto mush food, rather than pure liquid. Wow, had no idea how much I was going to love mush!!! Vegies, meat, anything I want...as long as it's pureed. The plan is to eat bulky mush foods, but don't eat any less than every 3 hours. At first I thought this was okay, but I was getting hungry at about 2.5 hours. Upon the dietician's recommendation, I have started to chunk up my food a bit more and now I am quite happy with 4 x small (1/2 cup) meals per day. Usually for breakfast I have mushed up weetbix with hot water & a dash of milk. Then for lunch I either have smoked salmon with cottage cheese mushed in the whizzer or one of my pre-cooked chicken stick & vegie mixes. For dinner, for the first time ever, I am having what the rest of my crew are having. I feel freeeeeeeee! Last night I made chicken mango curry. In the past I just wouldn't have even bothered with this knowing it had coconut cream in it, as well as that I would serve it with rice. Well I had some...I whizzed it up and it was great!!!!! Gone are my days of calorie counting. As long as I keep to my 1/2 cup, the dietician says I can eat what I want - although she'd rather I didn't mush up a cheeseburger from Maccas ;-) I am satisfied after my 1/2 cup, but I know things will change this Friday when I have my first saline fill - I know I am heading for that really really full feeling.

I will be weighing myself every Wednesday morning - so stay tuned for this week's weigh in.

Then Friday, my first fill - WOW, lots of stuff to post this week.

See ya when I'm skinny (which may be sooner than I first thought ;-))

First Weigh In.....and the results are.....

Starting Weight 107kg
Weight today 98.3kg

TOTAL LOST 8.7kg (in just over 3wks)

Gotta be happy with that WOOHOOO!

11 days post Op......

I am not sure why I've been avoiding posting...time? energy? not sure. Here I am though, 11 days post Op, feeling better with every day! The first few days were pretty tough...esp when you have young ones. You want to cuddle them. You can't - it hurts! You want to pick them up. You can't - it hurts! You want to rest...you can't - it hurts!! The first week has been just concentrating on what liquids I could get down. It's hard to know how much or how little. I am still (in my head) calorie counting!! Once a dieter, always a dieter I guess. Obviously there is no need to calorie count. I am eating such small amounts that the weight HAS to come off.

So my diet has consisted of:

Sustagen
Up & Go (Energise drink)
Soup
Water
Icy poles !!!

All up I would probably have about 400ml of sustagen and half a can of soup (per day)...with an icy pole for dessert!!! Not much going in that's for sure!. I don't generally get hungry..but if I do, I just have some water or another icy pole. It doesn't take much to keep the hunger at bay. Thank Goodness....Hunger is MY enemy!!

Today I have had some reflux though and although I was quite concerned about it at first (thinking of a "band slip" - which would possibly mean another operation or even worse, removal of the band altogether!), but since having a talk with the nurse, she doesn't seem to think it's anything serious...that possibly I have just eaten something too quick or eaten too much of something...thinking back, I remember eating some soup at dinner last night and did eat that pretty quickly. If the reflux doesn't subside, I need to go back to the surgeon and have a barium swallow done. She assures me that reflux is quite common esp in the early stages of the surgery, so that has put my mind at ease (a little....for now :-))

Tomorrow I see the dietician again. This is to move me from liquids to mush - You have NO IDEA how excited I am about this. This will open up a whole new world of flavours for me! I can't wait to get some mashed vegies or some Weight Watchers Dark Choc Pudding (yummmmm) into me! Even just some weetbix for brekkie would be good.....however, in saying that, breakfast is the time of the day I am the LEAST hungry. In fact, I'm just generally not hungry at all !?! Weird. I do get famished occassionally at night time...I guess that's a direct result of not eating much during the day and my body saying "hey, toots, you're going into fasting mode soon, give me something to get me through the night"!! I have managed a few cups of coffee and a diet coke too, so I am gradually becoming more adventurous with what i'm putting in.

As for weight loss.....well stay tuned...tomorrow I am being weighed for the first time!

Starting weight was 107kgs
Weight at 12 days post op ..................................????????

See you all tomorrow ;-)

D-Day + 1

The next day was Friday...so thankfully my mum go the kids ready for school & drove them there too. I needed Geoff at home and obviously I couldn't have done it. Sad part was...I attempted to get out of bed to say goodbye to Jazzy and I fell as I was getting out of bed. She was quite upset by this...which in turn, of course, upset me. I did have fleeting thoughts of "what have you done to yourself", "why would you put yourself through this"....but then I realised it was the pain talking, that's all. On the day of my operation, I had been weighed on the scales and had lost a whopping 8kgs since starting the Optifast, two weeks prior. THAT'S why I've done this to myself !! I can feel the kilos falling off. I look in the mirror and wonder where I've gone. It has all become clear to me WHY I've done it, however, the day was hard to get through. It was painful, it was long and then there's the night! Panadeine has been helping.

D-Day

5th Feb - 5.30am...alarm went off and up I got. had to wash myself in special solution and then get dressed into clean clothes. said goodbye to my sleeping angels and headed off at 6.30am. It was quite a stressful journey cos we hit peak hour traffic. Managed to arrive at the hopsital right on 7.30am. Didn't have to wait long - maybe half an hour- until I was called to pre-op. I had to say goodbye to Geoff here though, so that was a bit disappointing. But from that moment on, it was busy times anyway.

Was taken to pre-op. Saw a nurse. Then had to have another shower. Dress in "the robe" and gown and sit & wait in the waiting area. It wasn't that long until I was called into the area where the beds are....it was about 9.30am I think. Then I was seen by a hundred different people. Nurses, anaesthetists, my surgeon etc.. Until finally at 10am I was taken down to the theatre. There would have been about 15 people in that theatre. I felt very important!!

Before I knew it, I was off with the fairies.

Next thing I remember was being woken in recovery by a nurse saying "Megan how are you feeling". I remember moaning and crying saying "the pain is really bad and I can't breath properly". She gave me morphene and that calmed me down a bit. It's not like me to have a reaction like that to anaesthetic. Lord knows I've been "under" many times before. I was told that this anaesthetic was quite heavy cos of the duration of the op. I really felt it !

Then I was taken back to my ward where Geoff was waiting for me. The poor luv didn't know what to do. He stayed by my side all afternoon even though I was in & out of consciousness ! He did tell me that the surgeon said if I was up to it, I could go home. The nurse had other ideas and said until I could "prove" myself to her, I would stay overnight. I was determined to go home..to my own bed, to see my babies....so I tried really hard to stay awake and become more coherent. I fooled her enough to then be sent home at 9pm that night. I don't much remember the trip home, but I do remember being greeted by my mum, who then lead me into my bed (that had clean sheets on it, god love her) and then remember snuggling down and nodding off. I was up again at 4am the next morning cos I had such bad gas pain, but I did feel fairly well...until the next day. That's when the pain really started in.

So.....tomorrow's the day

Today has been interesting to say the least. I had a bad day on the "bars" yesterday and was in & out of the bathroom all night !! Today I did what the dietician recommended and that was to eat normal food...i.e. protein, salad & veg....that's what I did. It was like my last supper(s) !! Felt good to actually EAT some protein, even though they were only eggs and some salmon....just the same, knowing I won't be eating anything like that for a while, felt good to get some food into me that was not being sucked through a straw!

BAD THING THOUGH.....I still have the runs !!! eewwwwww !! What is wrong with me???!! I am quite concerned about my stomach and have visions of the surgeon opening me up and then closing me back up straight away, saying "wow, all these years of over-eating, you've done some serious damage to your body Megan, there's no way we can do this op".

Yes, I will have a sleepless night tonight, just thinking about that. What if I wake up & they HAVEN'T banded me !! Argh, that would be the worst feeling in the world.

I went & bought a book to read while I wait for admission. Looking forward to reading that. Got a facial today & some waxing....that felt good. Who knows when I will have time to get either of those things done in the coming weeks.

So, here I am.....sitting here, organising all my bits & pieces, waiting for 6.30am to arrive, so I can get in that car and head down that road to the new ME ! And as I sit here, wondering how on earth I let my body go like I've done, I remember all the good things that make me the person I am. My weight does not define who I am, but I need to love every part of me..not just the inside. So tonight I will say goodbye to my outer shell & look forward to a future with a new one !

See ya when I'm skinny !!!!!!

what to do, what to do?

After speaking with the dietician yesterday she informed me that "some people just can't handle the Optifast and do end up having upset tummies".....with that she then also suggested I go off the Optifast for the last few days and have a diet full of salad, vegies, protein BUT NO CARBS !!!!

HOWEVER, this is my cross road....

Even though my liver would still be small enough for the operation, my weight loss won't be as much if I was to go on the "normal eating diet".

The Opti Bars don't seem to upset me quite as much as the shakes/desserts, so I think I'll just stick it out...I only have 5 more meals !!! to go before the operation anyway.....

I've had terrible visions of me having diarrohea on the operating table...HOW EMBARRASMENT :-)

I had to laugh when the nurse at my pre-admission interview the other day said "now, after the op, you can have some ice, then some water, then we'll get you back onto the Optifast shake as soon as possible" - ummmmm, not gonna happen my friend LOL

So as of Thursday, it's a liquid diet for 2wks..this means mostly Sustagen (gawd, imagine if that upset me too !!!), but anything I can possibly get down that "would go through a straw" is fine too...again, that doesn't mean wine *sigh sigh sigh*

Stocked up on soup, drinking yoghurt, et yesterday..kinda wish it was winter...the soups don't excite me much in this weather.

Okay, off to have another bar - that will bring it down to 4 MORE BARS until the op !!

YAHOOOOOOO !!

sick sick sick

Okay, this Optifast is making me so sick. I have put up with it for almost 2 wks now, but the constant trips to the toilet, the lethargy etc... I now have come to the realisation that I will be going into surgery in fairly poor condition. I'm weak, I'm tired and nothing stays in my stomach. Have called the dietician and she is ringing me back this arvo. Do I just ride through it or actually bother doing something about it for the last few days? All I know is that I'm heading into a major surgery and I'm not in tip top condition :-( Bring Thursday on I say !!!!!

That is all :-)

What an inspiration....

Shell...this I will dedicate to you !!

I had the absolute pleasure of spending a bit of time with Shell (from Melbourne) this last weekend....what GREAT timing...a few days out from my surgery and I see a REAL LIFE SUCCESS STORY !!!! What a true inspiration you are my friend. What is it? 34kgs to date? I take my hat off to you lovely. You look amazing !!! You have given me the energy I need for these last few days.

I have not strayed from the Optifast once...how proud I am of myself that I can be told to do something and I just do it ! This weight loss means everything to me. I have everything else I could want. A wonderful husband, two beautiful children, a beautiful home (snakes & all)....and this weight loss has become my one final goal. It will make my almost perfect life....perfect.

As promised to Shell....I will be taking photos (blergh blergh blergh) & posting in the next few days....probably should have taken photos prior to starting Opitifast cos I know I've lost some weight so far...but it's not like me to jump IN FRONT of the camera!!! So we will make do with pre-op photos and go from there ;-)

To all of those who are reading my blog.....THANK YOU...from the bottom of my heart for caring enough to do so x The support I am getting through this has astounded me xxxx

Lap Band Surgery - the lead up.....

It was about a year ago when the thought first popped into my head that lap band surgery might be a useful weight loss tool for me. I dismissed the thought thinking it was too expensive, too restrictive, too painful and too ridiculous an idea ! Then as time went on and I saw friends around me have the procedure and were very successful, my thoughts about this surgery became more constant....and made more sense. I would be a perfect candidate for this surgery. I am not a junk food eater. I eat great food...just too much of it :-( My body just doesn't know when to say "Megan, put that fork down now...your tummy is full". After much research (cos I'm the queen of researching !!) I realised that I was a perfect for the lap band. I would be limited in how much I ate, whether I liked it or not !!! Over fill your tummy and there's only one way the food can go - UP !! So, just prior to Xmas 2008, I made some enquiries, saw my GP and then rang the surgeon's rooms for appointments in early 2009.

January has been hectic, to say the least.

My first appointment was with the surgeon's nurse. She weighed me, explained the band to me, explained the procedure to me and confirmed what I had already suspected - I WAS indeed a perfect candidate for this !! YIPPEEEE.

Next step (a week later). See the dietician. This lady explained what I needed to do in the lead up to my surgery (i.e. OPTIFAST), and then the two weeks post op.

Next appointment was the surgeon - another week later ! He was great and also confirmed that I was a great candidate for this surgery..Young, fit, healthy and I was a little chuffed when he called me one of his "smaller banders"....ME? SMALL? Okay, I guess in his line of work I could be considered small :-)

So the next step is to have an ECG, some bloods and book surgery. This is all before the month of January is over. Yes, it's been very very busy !!!

Long story, short. ECG done - all good. Still waiting to hear back for bloods, but "assume" they are okay. Blood pressure a little high, but I've been sick with a virus/flue and the kids have started school this week, so I guess it can be expected.

SO....surgery, Thursday 5th Feb !!!

That's THIS Thursday. Will be pleased to be off the Optifast to be honest. Am a little bit over it.

However, it's only a liquid diet for 2wks post op!!! and that DOESN'T include beer & wine - DAMN IT !!!!

So....stay tuned.....more updates to come :-)