cuddles_01au

Dont be worried...like many have said a lot of folk only post when they have problems for some advice but i assure you the positivesa outway the negatives its good to have the different msg boards so folk can come and get some help and advise to get them through a dificult time it is a slow process at first and many expect such big things but its slow n steady and you will get there im 12 mths banded and down 61kgs (134lbs) and life is great all meds gone can walk again clothes are suddenly exciting to buy you will be fine and nerves are all perfectly normal good luck Leeanne:lol::tt2:

Hi im in sydney too banded just over 12 mths and lost 61kgs so good luck and look forward to reading of your journey Leeanne:rolleyes2:

Dont be discouraged your in the very early stages of banding and dont weigh yourself every day our weight fluctuates due to Fluid hormones etc weighing daily will set you up for frustration dont let your calories drop below 1000 you need to eat enough not starve your body many get frustrated in the early days:crying: I think a lot of us...me included....dont actually realise the band isnt an instant cure its only a tool im just over 1 yr banded and have lost 134lbs and goal weight is getting close and yes had a couple of plateaus in this time but be patient and be kind to yourself it does work for you but you have to work with it too take it easy and relax and hide those scales:lol: Leeanne

dont be mislead thinking having private medical insurance that it covers everything it simply doesn't.... it will cover your hospital and theatre costs....as i said before unless you have the very top hosp cover you possibly will need to pay an excess for the night/nights in hospital as for the actual costs of the lapband, surgeon, anaethetist etc it doesnt cover this and medicare only pays the scheduled fee which isnt very much at all....surgeons can and will charge what they choose too and they all vary private cover doesnt cover their gap in the fee so perhaps seek out the costs from a few places before you decide who to go with If your in West Aust there is a surgeon who doesnt charge a gap with one of the funds and his costs are very minimal but overall most of us have between $2 - 5,000 out of pocket expenses depended who you choose and which state your in etc Leeanne

im with medibank private i have the highest cover with no excess but the lower one will give you just as much cover though check about the excess so you know how much it will be as the hosp will want it the day your admitted think my out of pocket costs were $4,500 all up and that includes anaethetist Leeanne

Michelle....**hugs** hang in there it does and will get better....this is a long journey with many bumps along the way Im 12mths banded and still have the occasional day like this...its normal...i know saying that doesnt really make things any better but as from the replies you can see many of us feel like this at times Life can suck sometimes.....we have battled a long time with obesity and all the problems that go with it....then we make this change in direstion in our lives....we have to get through the preband time then post op time and then we start a whole diferent time handeling our new eating habits etc and in all of this....life goes on...we still have all the same worrie/burdens/stresses to continue to cope with so n effect we have doubled the load on our shoulders....now many of our partners/friends/family simply dont see this....they have no comprehension at all.....they see us have surgery...and voila life will be instantly improved for us....ummmm..errr...no it isnt its then the hard work really begins... so please be kind to yourself....allow yourself some sad time have a little cry....but then deep breathe....and hold your head high....make yourself smile....not easy but you can do it....then tackle the day one step at a time.....do what you can and dont be hard on yourself for what you dont do the appt fiasco with the car sucks....but....dont get too bogged down by this....allow yourself to rant n be cross your entitled....but then move past it....not for the family's sake but for your sake.... You are worth a smile and you are worth being kind to yourself I do hope your day gets better Leeanne Banded Sept 25th 2007 preband weight 130kgs todays weight 69kgs have lost 61kgs (134.2lbs)

the band is made of silicone and is inflatable every month or so the surgeon will add a small amount of normal saline via the port to make the band tighter which means you will eat less each of us are different in how many fills we will need and how much fill is in our bands i didnt get my first fill till 10 weeks post op others get one earlier depends on your surgeon i have had 4 fills and now have 4.75mls in a 10ml band i now have good restriction and only eat very small meals some people have more some have less in their bands you need fills regularly until you feel you are at an optimum stage with little hunger and are satisfied with small meals and losing well once you have reached the weight you desire then we still need to visit our surgeons annually and will sometimes need a top up its also possible to be too tight and sometimes you need an unfill....this has happened to me just the once.....where i went in for a fill....and then had a few days where i couldnt even get my own saliva to stay down and no Fluid at all if this happens you need attention straight away as dehydration happens quickly....but it isnt the norm so dont be too worried hope that helps you to understand a bit better and im sure someone else will be along who may explain it even better than i can Leeanne:thumbup:

im nearly 12 mths banded and i usually stop drinking 15 mins before a meal and wait 20mins after im down 57kgs and dont get hungry between meals i think i read in one of the books they give you to wait an hour post meals and i did in the beginning but 20 mins works fine for me also we are all a bit different so its trial and error too but 2 hrs is a bit odd:blink:...cause you would be hard pushed to fit in a good quantity of fluids doing it like that Leeanne:lol:

this board is good but you need to remember its an american chat board... and no offense intended here to our american friends but its good to find an australian board too for the relevant info just trying to be helpful here Leeanne

if you have decided to wait the 12 mths then yes you choose the health insurance company you want you dont need to take out extra's cover just hospital cover and usually the highest I went with medibank private but MBF is good too it personal choice nothing to do with the doctor as you will pay a gap for almost all doctors after health insurance paid i still had a gap of $3,800 I had to pay and the majority of us have to do this go to the yahoo lapband board and you will find more info there Leeanne

you need to phone around the sydney surgeons for some quotes as they do vary quite a lot the yahoo aus lapband message board has a lot of information so might be a good place to have a look through the threads:smile: i imagine the cost will be around the $12,000 up depending on the surgeon etc when i enquired a couple of years ago both the places i asked wanted $16,000 that includes the private hospital costs:scared2: you can apply to apra and use you superanuation too so thats another option if you have some:regular_smile: without health cover it is an expensive option:crying: I chose to wait the year for the health cover and it really goes very quickly and gives you time to gather a lot of info etc:thumbup: Leeanne:shades_smile:

yes hun australia's health system if very different there are some states the waiting list for a public patient isnt so long a wait but usually we need to take out private health insurance and there is a 12 mths wait for any pre existing conditions but after the one year its fine good to hear you have had your done Leeanne

Mola there is an aussie lapband board on yahoo where you can gets lots of info on all the different sugeons etc there is too an aussie section in here as well Leeanne

Hello and welcome you need to have private health insurance medicare covers less than 1,000 cant remember the exact amount but its not very much:rolleyes2: the public waiting list in sydney is many years long im also on a pension but i joined a health fund and waited the 12 mths and was banded almost 12 mths ago:lol: Leeanne

well done to you hun i was banded 11mths ago best thing i ever did and i wish your friend lots of luck Leeanne

its hard isnt it health insurance is expensive but get her to go to an information night and tell her to do as much as she can to start the process with the new health initiatives they are going to start with obesity she may be able to qualify for it through that from what i have read it is about a 12 mths qualifying process following their procedures etc but its certainly worth looking into maybe also worth finding out the cheapest health cover and see if you can help her to juggle her finances she only needs hospital cover not the extra's anything is worth trying as it changes your life Leeanne

Hello the everyone the wait will be worth it and its amazing how quickly the time goes make this the time you do lots of research and really get to understand things about being a bandit i was banded 11mths ago and am down 57kgs not every day is easy but the few bad days are soon forgotten you will not regret your decision Leeanne

Hello Shell the chances of being done through the public system in sydney are a bit on the slim side i think from what i read and hear the waiting lists are years much better option is to join a health fund and wait the 12 months the public system seems much better in the west of aus it does make it hard for any who can not afford health insurance Leeanne

on the plus side i lost 5kgs in the past 2 weeks....

:smile:hello everyone i had my second fill 2 weeks ago.....same thing.....cept i couldnt even keep the Water down till 4 days after no food for same time..... but now its all good again need to be careful what i choose to eat and go very slow but it got better i have 4mls in a 10ml band so im sure it will improve slow n steady and keep drinking

wonderful ....woohoo....does a happy dance for you

Hi Hilary, not exactly hungry but always feel empty. Seems many are off the fluids after 2 weeks so they are lucky:) but i have stuck it out this long so only a few more days to go You will be ok when you have to do it....trust me its not too bad and im sure its all going to be worthwhile i hope you get a date soon, frustrating not knowing for you i was able to pick my date, just had to wait the 12 mths for the private health ins, and i didnt have to go on any pre op diet or anything hugs Leeanne

Hello all im so pleased to have found this site had my banding done 21 days ago be so good to read and chat to others im in sydney aus starting weight was 125kg only 5'1" severe mobilty problems with chronic pain in hip, knee and ankle im so hoping some weight loss will improve this situation have been pretty house bound this past 12 months look forward to meeting you all Leeanne

Hi hun i was done on sept25th...it seems the majority only do 2 weeks of fluids but my doc insists on 4 weeks....so its another bowl for dinner tonight...hehehehe I actually went back to tassie to have mine done as im from there so i guess my doc is a bit conservative but only a few more days and i am so looking forward to a bowl of vegies:) not long till you have your done and the time will just fly it seemed to me i no sooner joined a health fund and the time was upon me. hugs Leeanne

hows it all going im Leeanne 23 days post op.... my doc insists on a full 4 weeks of the soupy diet then otn mushie stuff......so im counting down the days here Leeanne