soriminah

I've got my first appointment tomorrow with the Dr's nurse but my sister was banded 4 years ago. I've only told her and a friend who's looking at getting it done. I'm not intending telling anyone else as it's none of their business. My sister has had comments about taking the easy way out. To one person she said 'When I can't work or sleep for 2 weeks because I'm in excrutiating pain from gastritis and am that dehydrated from puking that I was on the verge of kidney failure, explain to me how that is the easy way out. At least she can guide me through since she did this 4 years ago. Also, a cardiac specialist she knows has the opinion that all overweight people should be banded if they chose. People who are narrow minded and ignorant need to keep their mouths shut and listen to the advocates of the band.

It really depends on how far you want to take it. You can have a word to your co-worker and tell them that this is bullying behaviour and to stop it. If you tell your employer and they fail to stop the harassing behaviour, you are well within your rights to pursue legal action against them and the person who is harassing you. It also depends on what kind of workplace you are in. For government employees they are very strict on this behaviour as they don't want legal action against them. Small business is different as they may not do anything and may even end up trying to sack you for complaining. I'd have a word to the person making the comments first and see what comes of it.

Hi all Considering I haven't even been banded yet, this could be considered jumping the gun but I need to start saving for this next. I am researching plastic surgeons in Queensland for when I get to that stage. I would need a lower body lift, arms and boobs done and lipo in a few areas. Has anyone in Queensland seen a surgeon about this - or better still, had it done? I haven't been able to find a surgeon in QLD that does LBL. In a pinch I could go to Sydney or Melbourne but would prefer Qld. Another option I have been thinking about is going over to Thailand or similar. I've heard lots of good feedback about this so this is a definate option. I'd take my sister along with me if I did as she's a Nurse and can look after me. Any suggestions or points in the right direction would be good.

We are just like men - all our bits look different - there is no 'normal'. All women in girly mags get their bits airbrushed to make them look 'normal'. And porn stars get their bits surgically altered to look 'normal'. Yes, you are 'normal' for you.

I'm also worried that the surgery won't work for me but I've heard heaps of positive stories so I want to give it a go. The Dr that I'm going to see in Feb states on his website that banding may be right for you if 'you do not have any other disease that may have caused your obesity', so I'm hesitant in telling him that I have PCOS in case he won't band me. I think that may just be a disclaimer on his part - some PCOS people lose, some don't, so he doesn't want to state either way so there's no way that he can be sued if someones banded and they don't lose.

When I was researching Drs, one of the sites said that he had a lap band when he first started doing te procedure and was back operating 2 days later. I'm really hoping I don't need much time off when I get mine done because I used up most of my annual leave and sick leave when in hospital last year so I'm hoping less than a week.

Hi all I've got my first appointment with the Drs nurse on 6 Feb and then with Dr Blair Bowden on 20 Feb - yay. The wait list after that is about 5 weeks so maybe by Easter I'll be banded - fingers crossed. I'd be interested to hear from people who have gone with Blair Bowden to tell me what they think of him. Thanks

I rang my Super first and they said it won't be a problem from their end. I didn't want to get my hopes up to be told no so I rang them first to check. I don't really care how much he costs, I can get in within 5 weeks. My sister went through George Hopkins but the earliest I can get in with him is July so I'd rather pay extra to get in sooner. I'm soooooo excited

He's at the Wesley in Brisbane.

I don't have private health insurance either. I'm applying to have it taken out of my superannuation. Glad your father was happy with him tho. My sister went through George 3yrs ago. She loves him. But she had private health insurance so she paid squat all.

Hi all Just wanting to see if anyone here has been banded while on warfarin. I've looked into it and know that they can do a heparin bridge for surgery but am wanting to know if anyone has had this done. I'm going to speak to my vascular specialist on 16 Jan about this and hopefully get a referral to see a surgeon asap for the band. Thanks

Thanks for that. I go see the Dr on the 16th and see what he says. I couldn't image it'd be a problem tho.

Hi all I've finally made the decision to get banded - my sister got hers 3 years ago and I've put it off because I had to save up for it as I don't have insurance. Now I'm ready. Anywho, all the research I've done it talks about the 4 week diet before surgery. Is this only for people with an enlarged liver? My friend is getting her band early Feb and she was talking about having to do Optifast for 4 weeks but when I asked my sister, she didn't do that. She said she ate like a pig the night before and didn't do any sort of diet before hand. So would this just come down to the surgeons preference for the pre-surgery diet? Who had to diet and who didn't? Thanks.

Mine is to get banded and sort out my health issues. After 15 years I've finally been diagnosed with PCOS and found a gyno prepared to help me - yes it has taken 15 years to find a Dr who is listening to me. Next is to be checked for endo. My Mother was diagnosed as diabetic 2 days ago and I'm not going through that. So roll on 2008 so I can get banded.

Being fat pushes out the wrinkles. I'm always being told I look 5-8 years younger than I am and my Mum and oldest sister don't look their ages either. It'll be interesting to see what happens after I get banded and lose the excess fat - I might start getting told I look 5-8 years older. I'll be lining up for botox then. Also, I have oily skin and from other people I know, if you have oily skin, you get less wrinkles. On the other hand, my sister who's been banded has quite dry skin and she looks older than our oldest sister so it's defiantely down to your skin tone and the amount of oil you produce.