My GP monitors things like iron regularly - at the moment I don't need it as diet/vitamins seem to be doing the trick. But around every four months he sends me for blood tests. I am almost 4 months post-op.

Clothing/Book Exchange Event Synopsis

The clothing exchange is a bi-annual event held in May and November for women of all ages and sizes. Comprised mainly out of the plus-sized and weight loss surgery (WLS) communities, the clothing exchange enables larger women to meet and trade/donate items, thereby helping to offset the need to purchase new clothing, especially for those whom have had WLS and are losing weight rapidly.

As plus-size clothing tends to be more expensive, this twice yearly event gives larger women the opportunity to:

a) Recycle clothing that is no longer required or desired,
b) Obtain newer items to update current wardrobe, without the pressure of salespeople,
c) Provide a charitable service to the community by donating unclaimed items at the end of the event,
d) Meet like-minded women and engage in companionship without distractions from regular day to day life.

The Fall 2011 event was the first to incorporate book exchanging as well. Previously a separate event, it was determined that the same communities could meet to exchange books and literature at the same time.
While the event is listed as an "exchange", in actually, there is no onus on anyone to bring clothing or books to "trade". Unlike a true exchange where an item is swapped for another like item, this event focuses more on the 3 R's of a green planet philosophy.

This event has always been free to participants. Water and coffee, if available, is provided and sometimes light refreshments. Participants are welcome to bring healthy snacks to share if they wish, but again, there is no onus on anyone.

This event is alcohol and drug-free. Women are asked to leave children, pets and husbands at home (with the exception of helping drop off or pick up bags) to enable privacy for the women who wish to try on clothing. Women are also asked to only bring CLEAN ITEMS IN GOOD REPAIR.

Past events have proven to be well attended with the average number being around 20 women. This event was held annually but has since grown to bi-annually due to demand. Past donations have ranged from 3 to 32 large bags of clothing at the completion of event.

Waiting can be torture - but you have had the patience for all the other parts of the process so you got this. It is nice once you get a date and you can do more planning, but until then there's nothing you can do about it. When you get a date, it goes really fast! So there's that to look forward to.

Hi Everyone,

I'm at the point where I'm waiting for the call for a surgery date. I've met with the surgeon already and am good to go...almost.

My question is for anyone working in the federal government, what do you have to do prior to your surgery? I'm assuming I'll be off for 2 to 3 weeks (hopefully not longer as it's only a desk job), but do I need to notify HR, contact Sun Life, what is the process on that regard before surgery?

Obviously I'll let my director know I will be having surgery on XX date and will likely be off for 3 weeks, but what else might I have to do?

Thanks everyone, and I'm very much looking forward to this and will probably be much more active on this in the coming weeks.

Do you get to skip having to take iron if you take prenatal vitamins? My nutritionist suggests centrum select 50+ for me but I'm interested in hearing about what others are taking.