cammy

I am seeing an OB that takes a lot of sleeve patients. The morning sickness medication alone when you have a sleeve (strong stuff, not standard stuff, to keep you hyrdated) will set you back in excess of $100 a week (in Australia, probably a lot more in the USA). You have to have a lot of extra ultrasounds for growth checks towards the end. I can't imagine anyone suggesting surragacy is a good idea afterwards for you or the baby especially due to the increased cost and risk of using somebody with a sleeve.... only if the baby was for yourself and you were happy to deal with the risks. Don't get me wrong my baby is healthy weight and size for 20w and i'm greatful to have her inside me but the health effects to me have been quite bad, medications and extra testing, the cost is astronomical.

It is such a relief to find somebody in a similar situation. I'm 16 weeks pregnant, 19 weeks out from surgery, and have only just recently found out I am pregnant (they missed it the first 14 weeks thinking it was everything else under the sun so many tests but nobody thought pregnancy!). It was quite a shock but a happy shock. I have been sick every day of the pregnancy but thought it was just the sleeve surgery - it's slowly getting better and I can eat a lot more now (a whole salad sandwich in under 10 mins easily without throwing up). But a little bit of chocolate or some twisties which i crave and its spew city. I have lost 13kg but now im getting so hungry i can't see the weight loss continuing, though i wish it would i'm so close to my healthy bmi goal, just a few kilos away. Congrats on your pregnancy Ange and I look forward to reading more about it especially how the last few weeks and birth go :001_tt2: Cammy

Hi Jude, There is a dinner (tapas, band friendly meals) next Tuesday 8th January @ 7pm at Bar Bosh (Knox Ozone) you are most welcome to come to and meet up with other Lap Banders from Melbourne. There are other people from Berwick coming along too. The details are here: Eastern Surgical Online

Susannah I have tuck shop arms and a wrinkly butt. Guys really don't care... at the end of the day they want a pretty face to look at and somebody they can have an actual conversation with. You have a very pretty face from your pics and from what I can tell a genuine nice personality - you will be fine Dating (and i'm super picky wanting the full package) i've found it doesn't bother guys at all. Now bare in mind my type is muscular, 6'3+, decent job, funny, laid back personality. You think that would be hard to find right? Wrong! There are lots of them single at 26-36 after finally getting rid of the bombshells they thought were what they wanted when they were younger but then came to there senses and realized there is more to life. I thought it would be so hard to meet people - if you are confident and approachable guys WILL ask you out - I didn't believe it but it's true! Eventually your dilemma will be how to break all the guys hearts you were talking to/dating when you find the "one" you want to take it further (bedroom) with... if he's a jerk when he sees you in the starkers put your clothes back on and leave - there are plenty of fish in the sea. I'm doubting though that if you get to that point he will care about a few stretch marks and some extra flab. At least thats my experience, or maybe I just found a really great guy. Heck I have stretch marks & scars galore and he hadn't said a damn word about any of them.

1 in 5 people require re-operation within 5 years for a slip or port or something. Private health insurance (basic hospital) isn't that expensive - you'll save more on food than you'll pay for the insurance post banding and it's essential to have it. At your age you will expect to have a new band at some point and port replacements etc. are common. The extra bits are only free because they bill your insurance directly,they aren't really at no cost... just no out of pocket cost to you. If you don't have insurance you could be up for a lot more than insurance would have cost you should anything go wrong. I would not risk it.

Avenue people - how much does the surgery cost out of pocket? (the co-pay part that insurance doesn't pay?) & do you have to pay anything when you have your follow up adjustments? Which surgeon is considered the best or most patient friendly there? Asking here since they wont tell you the cost over the phone and I have no idea which doc would be preferable to book in my friend with but know that the Avenue gets the highest praise in general of any of the clinics in Melbourne but I haven't paid that much attention to which of the surgeons most people were seeing. Thanks in advance for any info!

The whole thing about erosion kinda makes people want to quit... if they don't they have a chance of getting a gaping hole in their gut and losing their band for good. That would suck! You can take Zyban or something to quit smoking pre banding. Work through the emotional issues first then get the band.... if you emotionally smoke you'll emotionally eat or do something else destructive, figure out why that is first and you'll be better off & able to start a new life without any of the old habbits.

Hey Phili, I sent you a PM. I'm in the outer eastern suburbs but love to meet others and help out if I can. I go to the organized meetings at the valley also (Valley Private Hospital Police Rd. Mulgrave) - if you can make those do go because you don't have to have been banded there to attend - it's just a coin donation (to cover food/drink) on the last Tuesday of each month at 7pm :eek: The normal nurse that runs them is on maternity leave and the sub isn't that great at running the actual meeting part but the people are still there so it is great to have a talk afterwards. The actual meetings have barely been lasting 10 mins so it's really 50mins+ of socializing with other band patients in groups or one-on-one and helping each other out or catching up. It's a good social support network to have and everybody is welcome.

Phili, I hear your frustration and haven't said anything up until now but maybe you need a bit of tough love? If not don't read on. My advice is to be 100% totally honest with your doctor about exactly what you are eating & drinking (heads-up: he's not stupid, your not fooling him, just be honest). Take in a full weeks food journal and weigh out the food - don't guess. The slimming shakes are keeping the weight on you - they do not help at all - they are liquid calories and your band doc should be telling you to stay far away from them - NO LIQUID CALORIES. If you weight isn't going down quite simply you are consuming too many calories for your body. If you consume less calories you will lose weight - this is what your doc is trying to achieve by giving you fills. If you drink slim shakes and eat food that goes straight through the band (crackers) you are working against him, not with him. You need to be eating solid food like chicken/beef (not deli sliced) to really work your band. Why have you swapped fish & vegetables for ham & cheese (fat) with crackers? The fish & vegetables were probably a much much better option for weight loss. How much chocolate are you eating a week? A 250g block of cadbury is equivallent to about 2 full days worth of food.... how often would you eat a block honestly? (don't have to tell me, but be honest with yourself). With the change in food choices and other things you have mentioned I think you probably do have 'restriction', but it's the big band type of restriction not the vomit type of restriction you had with the small band.... you don't need vomit restriction.... just need to learn to listen to the new band about when to stop (cause it will let any food through, just a bit uncomfortably). Are you hungry alot??? If you are not hungry are you eating when you are not hungry just because it's "meal time"??? As for exercise, what you are doing with your friend sounds great. You should be able to hold a conversation while you walk (not be too puffed out to) if you are wanting to exercise in your target heart rate to burn fat. Far too many people have dropped dead these last few months in Victoria following the sweating and pushing yourself to the extreme advice - only take health/exercise advice from doctors - remember anything you read here is just an opinion and not medical advice so clear stuff with your doc before you make serious changes. Sorry to be so brutally honest with you but it's been a really long time so maybe you needed to hear it.

OMG Susannah you have done an amazing job!!! Congratulations!!!!

Travel insurance - it depends if you have had any issues and how long you have had your band. If you've had your band longer than 12 months, not had any extra surgery or "issues" with it, then you are covered by a lot of policies for everything but the actual band prosthetic replacement (which you can have done in Australia if it is removed for some reason overseas). Otherwise, talk to your band doctor... they have to write the letter saying you haven't had any issues in 12 months so they are probably aware of who to write it to. Just to be safe I travel with my yearly business policy & also the credit card policy - both underwritten by different companies. When I was losing weight I just dealt with the fact that if anything went wrong it would cost $$$ - made sure i had lap band surgeon information for that country with me to minimize costs if anything went ary also... no looking last minute or paying emergency room techs etc. Good luck!