Kitikat

My boys go to Norfolk and are in Prep and Year 1

Would love to arrange a catch up with anyone local. I had lap band in 2008 but I ran into problems in Dec 2012 and had my band out (which had stuck to my liver!!) in April and sleeve done in June 2013. I was really successful with my band but am about 5 kgs less now than I was in my banded days. All in all I am glad I am were I am tody ad not where I could have been. Email me and say hi if you like :-)

I am in Jacobs Ridge ..... what about you?

I am in Ormeau too. I am coming up to my 1 year anniversary next month on the 15th (I think it was). Funny how I was hanging for day and now cant even remember lol. I have gone from 97kgs to 63 kgs and really didn't try very hard so hang in there and it will happen for you too. If you want to chat or catch up sometime email me - kathleen23@internode.on.net

Hi there I am also on the Gold Coast and had my band in 2008. I was really successful until it stuck to my liver and stared giving me grief about 18 months ago. After a lot of wasted time trying to work out what the problem was (and major weight regain) I had it removed in April. In June I had a sleeve and am now about 5 kgs less than I was when my band was ok I am 65 kgs and my BMI is 22 so go for it!!! Let me know how you go :-) Kat

Hi there I have struggled with B12 since I was banded in 2008. When I was pregnant about 6 months later my levels were almost non-existent and I was on weekly shots for about a month and then monthly for 6 months and then 3 monthly thereafter. I think as someone mentioned above - for some of us the inability to absorb B12 is triggered off. The thing is that you don't want to ignore or half heartedly treat your levels as it can lead to permanent tingling in your hands and feet (peripheral neuropathy by memory it is called) and potentially can be caused by pernicious anaemia - which is something else you want to check out. But most frighteningly it has strong links to memory loss and dementia. All very scary. Anyway I hope that helps a bit :-)

I just weighed in for the end of my 3rd week and have lost 4.5 pounds this week so no stall here .... yet. I am sure it will get me soon enough as my BMI is pretty low. I am back down to 28.6 already so I am sure I cant keep losing 4 + pounds a week for much longer.

I hope so because I am going to see her for the first time next Wednesday !!!

I soooo feel like a glass of wine!!!!

My surgeon was Dr Mark Daoud :-)

Hi there lilyrose. I am at Ormeau and was sleeved last Saturday after having my band removed in April. My original date was 9th July but I just couldn't handle the wait and weight xo asked to have it bought forward. My surgery was in Sunnybank Hospital - so not a coast Doctor but I am really happy with my choice of surgeon too. I had a bit of a rough first 2 days as my stomach was extremely sensitive which can happen particularly to is ex-bandsters. I am starting to feel much better now thankfully. Would be happy to kep in touch if you like seeing we are pretty close in dates :-)

Finally home and sleeved but it was far from a walk in the park!! After my 1 night in ICU I was still vomiting and wasn't released to the ward until 6 pm. I had a shower and settled in to try and get some rest but continues with the nausea and vomiting of my own saliva all night long. At this point I was due to go home but clearly this was impossible and my Dr came and prescribed yet another drug that seemed to settle me down and being totally exhausted and feeling like death I slept most of the morning. In the afternoon I slowly began sipping liquids again and only got through half a bottle of water but continued to ease overnight. As I could tolerate my medications (in soluble form) and a small amount of dairy I was allowed to go home. Today has continued to be rough and water intake has been near impossible - however I tried a lemonade icy-pole and it went down easily. So now I have has 2 and figure any liquid will do me until my stomach settles. As I previously had a band, my Dr said that the stomach can at times be extremely sensitive given that there is always some remaining damage from the band. All in all I figure I will just need to progress more slowly through the phases and not rush my new stomach. At least I am home as the extra night was not good for my 3 and 5 year old boys who were already missing me terribly ...... wishing everyone a much easier time than I have had!!!

5 hours to go!!

1 more sleep ...... time to pack my bag :-) Really confused about the importance of a pre-op diet .... being a fairly low bmi I only had to do a week and they moved my surgery forward so really I have had 3 days. Oh well ... being an ex bandster I know that post-op diet is easier than pre-op so I am not complaining!!! Will be happy when it is all over because with my band removal I woke up terribly from the anaesthetic. That is the only part that gives me any concern. Wish me luck :-)

I am lucky to live in Australia and we don't have the same process here. As long as we have private health insurance and find a surgeon willing to carry out the surgery it is all good. I had my band for 5 years and had a bmi of 23 ...... until the little band decided to get a mind of its own and start playing up. I knew there was something wrong and am so glad that I went with my gut feeling and had all of the fill removed in January and then the band removed in April. Will be happy to fit back in my clothes again!!!

Hi there. After having my band removed in April (was adhered to my liver) I have been waiting 2 months for my sleeve and originally was booked in for July 9th. After putting on heaps of weight I begged my Dr to do my surgery earlier and was given June 18th which today turned into June 15th. So 3 more sleeps :-)

Hi there I am really excited as I asked for my surgery to be carried out earlier and my Dr agreed to do it at 9 weeks post removal which is 18th June. So after tomorrow I am on pre-op diet and will be sleeved before I know it, I am so happy as that is 3 weeks I don't have to put on more weight that I will have to lose again. I am dying to get back into my clothes as I am living in a couple of outfits because I didn't want to spend money on clothes that I wouldn't wear for long. So I guess I am now a June surgery girl but good luck and let the journey begin!!!

Hi everyone ...After feeling really crappy the last few weeks because of putting on weight since my band removal 7 weeks ago I decided to ring my Dr and see if he would do my surgery any earlier. We originally planned a 10 week wait but that fell in the Qld school holidays and he does not operate during this period so his first week back was the full 12 weeks. I asked him if he would consider the week before the holidays (9 weeks gap) and thankfully he said YES!!! Now my date has moved from the 9th July to the 18th June and I am over the moon. I cant wait to get back to my 23 BMI that I sat at for years before my band decided enough is enough. So only 1 more week of struggling before 1 week of optifast commences and my new journey begins. VERY EXCITED!!!

Hi everyone. Just to be different I am from Brisbane Australia and my surgery date is 9th July after having my band removed 18yh April. No diets or anything required over here or hoops to jump through for insurance approval luckily. I look forward to hearing everyone's success stories

Hi there ... I was banded in 2008 and had my band removed on 18th April. I went from 242 down to 149 (5'9) and maintained with the band but it went crazy on me last December and it turns out it was adhered to my liver!! I am booked for 9th July as earlier in July is our school holiday period (Australia) and the surgeon doesn't operate :-( I had to gain to get my surgery due to my great bmi of 23 when the problems started which is frustrating and now my bmi is back to 28 and I feel yuck so bring on my surgery date!! Good luck with your surgery and I cant wait to hear how you are traveling ...............

Thanks I will definitely look her up. I would love to meet up and am just bumming at home being a mum at the moment so pretty flexible. I am halfway between Brissy and the Coast in Ormeau but am happy to travel to wherever to meet. Please keep me in mind for next time

Good luck - I am so happy we don't have to deal with these issues in Australia!!! My band was removed last month and on the 9th July my sleeve will be done. No fuss with anything for us unless we don't have private health insurance but once we have had it for 12 months at the top level we are right to go. I hope it all sorts out for you :-)

I can totally relate and was banded in August 2008. I lost 42 kgs (sorry am in Australia) and loved my life. Truthfully it was as a result of being physically able to eat very little food and my nutrition would have been very bad I am sure. My B12 was almost non-existent at one stage and I had ongoing injections to counteract this. I loved my band and was definitely skinny until last December when I started to get reflux (despite not having had a fill for over 12 months) and I just had a general feeling that something was wrong. Tests revealed nothing but I had a total unfill and began to gain weight until I got to a point that the surgeon would consider a revision. I have had my band removed and it turned out it was adhered to my liver so my gut feeling something was wrong turned out to be correct. I am now awaiting 9th July when I will be sleeved and cant wait. I loved the band while it worked but it realistically isn't a healthy lifestyle longterm and the amount of issues people are experiencing far outweighed the expectation that it was a great minimally invasive weightloss solution!!! Good luck!!!

It is a great day here in Brissy .... I wanted to go for a walk but am avoiding exercise for the first 3 or 4 optifast days because the last thing I need is to be any hungrier than I am!!! Can anyone in Brissy recommend a good dietician and also tell me if you think the visits were worthwhile. I don't have to go as I successfully achieved long-term weight loss with the band and am in two minds whether to go to one anyway. I have a great understanding of the stages and dietary requirements so am not sure it will be of great benefit. I will definitely check out the band-to-sleeve forum for information but am really keen to interact with fellow Aussies :-)

Hi everyone .... I am new here and just wanted to say hello. I am currently in the process of converting from band to sleeve and had my band placed in august 2008 at a weight of 110 kgs. I successfully negotiated life with the band and was happy at 68 kgs (I am 173 cms)until December 2012 when I started having a lot of reflux issues and just a feeling that something was not right. I had all of the fill removed after scans came back showing all appeared ok and having such a great BMI the surgeon did not want to do anything immediately. My surgeon at the time was very pro-bypass and as I began to re-gained weight that seemed to be the track we were headed towards. With a feeling that perhaps the bypass wasn't for me I saw another surgeon who said that unlike my previous surgeon he did not feel that band to sleeve is an unsafe procedure and therefore I went ahead and had my band out last month. This proved to be a great decision as my gut feeling turned out to be correct and my band had adhered to my liver!!! Now back at 90 kgs I have a sleeve date of 9th July and cant wait for the calendar to tick around. With 7 weeks to go I am forcing myself to Optifast for 2 weeks to keep my weight stable between now and surgery. Then I will splurge a bit before my 1 week optifast prior to surgery begins. It is really a bummer to be back at this point after 4 years of living life at a great weight and I just want my old "couldn't care less about food" life back!!! Anyway ... just wanting to introduce myself and look forward to getting to know everyone :-)