Nuff

Ha, yeah, sounded weird but I know EXACTLY what you mean! :wink_smile: Good luck with the band :wink2:

You were only banded a few days ago? I was hungry too (I've been banded for 6 months now). I found that as long as I drank all the fluids I wanted it was bearable. Some people dont feel full until their bands are almost full, so dont worry, your body will adjust and you will get better at recognising fullness! And some days are different to others as well...yesterday I ate breakfast, then 3 bread rolls, 2 eclairs, a small bag of chips and then a double sized dinner (I was celebrating something). A terrible diet I know, but today I've had a a yoghurt and 1/2 a cup of oats and it's now dinner time and I'm STILL full!

HI. I think it may be different here in New Zealand where I got my band done. The surgeon just needed to know that I had been obese for a long period of time and that I had tried more than once to lose weight. I also made sure that he realised that my parents/grandparents had all had obesity related diseases. I think that was what tipped the balance as I was relatively light (BMI 32) when I was banded :wink_smile:

Hey Bex Don't worry too much about the pre-op weight loss. I only lost a couple of kilo's and the doctor didn't say anything negative. The pre-op diet is REALLY HARD! I found it totally horrible. Now that I'm onto the mushy stage of post-op I feel full after 1/2 cup mush and I don't think about food all the time like I used to. Be brave, I am sure that if I can do it anyone can! Does anyone know of a fill doctor in Wellington? I will have to fly to Tauranga for fills! *sigh*

I didn't tell anyone from work, even HR. I simply booked annual leave and told them I was on holiday and would be out of cell-phone range for 2 weeks. I got one work related call in the hospital, but i just said I was driving and couldnt talk. I know my boss would support me if I did tell him (he is the nicest guy) and he wouldnt tell anyone either. Im glad I didnt tell anyone. Now when I slip up at work and eat chocolate no one tells me off!

Wow, I am in New Zealand and I had to stay two nights in the hospital. From the looks of it Doctors here are totally hard core about this all. I was on Optifast only for 2 weeks before surgery, fluids only for 1 month after, and mushies for another month after the liquids. My doctor has performed 3 LapBands a week since 1997 and has had to remove only one. I assume that since NZ is so small the doctors work really hard to ensure that you heal properly, which included 2 nights in hospital. I was glad it was two nights though as driving myself home (7 hours in a car!) was quite painful even after a week.

Hi All. It's really nice that lots of you told your family. I told only my room-mate. I too talked up the whole 'healthy lifestyle/detox' thing for weeks before surgery. i dont plan to ever tell anyone else. Unless I get married or something! keep up the good work everyone!

Hi Ange123. I'll try the berry thing with the horrible vanilla shakes. How are you going now? I'm now 7 days post-op, back at work, no pain whatsoever (apart from when they ripped the tape off my *cough* hairy arm!). had a couple of days where i thought i was nuts and got really down, then hopped on the scale this morning and am now redeemed! Yay for us!

Hi Becky. Welcome! Hanmer must be cold at the moment. Any interesting band stories?

Go Angel123! I hope everything went well. I'm 5 days away from being banded...getting nervous! Discovered that I like the smell of vanilla shakes but not the taste. If anyone wants 13 sachets of the vanilla Optifast I'll pop them in the post. i hate to waste them but i'll throw them away otherwise.

Me too. $15,000 soon to be spent. *sigh*! Suppose I'll save that on pies...

Hi Ange There is a whole thread for kiwi's here. If you copy and paste the following you will find us all! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f77/how-bout-new-zealand-31815/ 29th June is really close. How are you feeling? I'm being banded on the 4th July and cannot wait! Cheers 'Nuff.

Hi amourette I thought I'd make a wee trip out of it. Celebrate all the way up there with mad car singing etc. Good to know you were up and about soon after your surgery. I'll take heart from that and hope mine is the same! Anyone out there banded by Robert Cable?

Hi All So glad to see so many Kiwi's on here! I'm scheduled to be banded on the 4th July. Am VERY excited. Need some advice though... I'm heading up to tauranga to get banded. I live in wellington. is it totally unfeasible for me to drive back from tauranga 1 week after surgery? Cheers!

Hi Paul. Where do you live?

Oh my gosh. I think my doctor is trying to STARVE me thin! I have to start a 2 week Opti-fast diet before the surgery...and stick to it for 4 weeks after the surgery. *sigh*. I have pre-made lots of nutritious soups and stuff for when I can get onto 'solids'. After 6 weeks of non-food I am sure it will taste like heaven!

Hey there I'm booked in for surgery in 3 weeks and my current (and highest BMI) is 34. Theres lots of research out there saying that a BMI of 32-35 is possible with co-morbidities. I live in New Zealand however so that may make things different! Its costing me NZ$15,000 which is about US$12,000 (no insurance companies cover for this in my country). And there are only 3 surgeons in New Zealand who do the Lap-Band! Do lots of research on the internet. Talk to your doctor. Don't take NO for an answer. I was told NO by my general doctor so I approached the surgeon and he said YES!

I havent told anyone that my 'solitary discovery holiday' in 3 weeks is actually a hospital appointment in another town. I figure that no-one needs to know. That way I'm not pressuring myself to fufil what I think are their ideals of how I should progress. Sure it's a little lonely not sharing this HUGE thing with anyone, but this is mine, my little secret...