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Hi Damo, Sorry to hear that you have had so much trouble. Will send good vibes and hopefully all will be will in the next few days so you can start to enjoy your band. Sam

Good luck Damo will be thinking of you Sam

Hi, My dietician told me to have sustogen hospital grade which I did for the first few weeks then she told me to go on to the mushie stage. I would also recomend that you buy some degas as you will need that to.

Hi all, The doc told me that if you wait 2 years after your surgery then the health insurance covers part of it hospital stay etc as it is a result from the surgery, but you have to wait 2 years think that might be to see if it resolves itself. Sam

Good luck Tess

Hi mumof2, There is the Brisbane bandsters and they meet up once a month, usually at sizzlers the reason they choose there is that is the only place that a crowd could meet and are able to pay individually for their meals. If you look through the threads you will see one saying brisbane bandsters there you will find out the next date for meeting etc. Sam

Hey mumof2, I am from Scotland and like you I have not told many people. I am not nervous though as John my husband got banded on the 17th March and as you can see that I have two tickers one is mine counting down the days and the other is John's and he has lost over 33Kg, so I know what to expect. John still eats the things that he used to before the only difference is the quantity, he went from eating 2 whole pizza's now can only manage 2 slices. He has given up bread because it sticks, also I have noticed that his taste in food has changed for instance before the op John would have pizza every night if you let him, now even though he still eats pizza he would maybe ask for it once a month, he is actually opting for the healthier things (yippee!!). So that is what convinced me to go for the op as I have tried like other people to lose weight, but I always gain the weight that I had lost and added on a couple of extra kilo's. Sam

Hi mumof2, I am getting banded on the 4th September. I see that you are getting done at Greenslopes, who is your doctor? I am getting banded by Dr. Copp. Sam

Hi all, I went to see the wonderful Dr. Copp's today and got my date for my operation it is the 4th September (did ask for any cancelations if possible and to put me to the top of the cancelation list, don't think there will be much chance of that). So if there is anyone out there who is thinking of cancelling before the 4th drop me an email and I will take you for a coffee and cake lol...... I can understand why everyone who recomended him likes him, he is very down to earth and has a fantastic sense of humour. Sam

Hi, Can anyone recomend a surgeon in Brisbane? As my husband got banded in March and he has lost a lot of weight. He went with Dr. Bowden and I was wondering who else is out there and how much they charge, because I am thinking about getting it done. I do have private health insurance but was wondering what the cost was with or without insurance. Dr. Bowden out of pocket expenses was $6.600.

Hi Sunwyse, I got a phone call from Dr. Copps receptionist today and she has changed my appointment until the 24th at 1pm, as Dr. Copps has a funeral to go to. So who knows I might see you there. Sam

Hi Liond, I agree with lellow, just because you have the band does not mean that you have to give up all your favourite food. I know my husband loved pizza etc and he is still able to eat it just as lellow says it is the amount that you eat changes. John used to eat a whole pizza to himself now all he can eat is 3 slices. The only thing so far that he can't eat is bread and that is not a bad thing. Sam

Hi teeny83, Have you had any fills since your op? I know that John my husband still drinks water with his meals and he has lost a bit of weight. Saying that he has slowed down now on his weight loss and he is going for another fill on the 31st July. The doc told him that he would recognise when he needed a fill as he would start eating more and not lose weight so quickly. I know he finds it hard not to drink liquids when he has a meal as he has always done that and over 40years of a habit it is hard to break. Hopefully once you get your fill you can start to lose a bit more weight. Sam

Hi all, Thank you all for replying and after much researching I have opted to go with Dr. Copps so I have my first appointment with him on the 23rd July, looking forward to that one. One of the main reasons was that he does the op at Greenslopes Hospital John my husband got done at the Wesley and it was such a pain driving into the city all the time for appointments etc. Sam

Hi lellow, I have my first appointment on the 23rd July with Dr. Copps in Brisbane. I thought I would start the optifast diet on that date just in case, I can get an early date like you. If not then I am sure that it would not hurt to go on it anyways,as I have said previously John my husband got banded in March, he said the first 3 days where the hardest and if he can do it then anyone can as John really did love his food in great quanties. He did not like the vanilla ones I thought they were okay they reminded me of semolina. Although I must say the coffee ones were the best. His dietician did say that if he wanted more flavour he could add the Queens essecence any flavours that he liked so he added more coffee trust him. Sam

Hi lellow, Yes you are on liquids after the op for the first two weeks. John ate soups such as; pea & ham (his favourite), tomato etc he did try scrambled eggs but that did not agree with him. The dietician told him to take sustegen hospital grade along with vitamins they recomended one but John took berroca as they were cheaper and had more vits in them. He also ate yogurt with tinned mandarins as he could not bring himself to liquidise certain foods. He now eats most of the things he did before except smaller quantities, he used to eat a whole pizza now he can only manage 3 slices at the most. He also does not eat white bread as that got stuck a couple of times, but as I said before everything else he has no problem with. After seeing how well he has done and that he did not have to give up what he liked before convinced me to go for the op my date for seeing the doc is the 23rd July then hopefully not long after that to get banded. Sam

Hi lellow, Nothing else. You will get blood tests if they need it on the day of the op and you don't need x-rays, so all you have to do is turn up. John had to do the optifast for two weeks before the op that is to get the fat out off the liver as they have to go behind the liver to the stomach, well that is what the doc told us. John lost over 10kgs that fortnight and of course that would be another reason for the optifast before the surgery. Sam

Congrats on your op date. Are you doing the optifast at the moment? It is just that my husband had to do the optifast diet for two weeks before the op. Sam

Hi lellow, My husband got banded 17th March 08 he complained more about the gas than anything else, I went out and bought him degas tablets and he also took a couple of pain killers and he was brand new. So much so I am going to go and get banded and I am a woose when it comes to pain. I have my first appointment with Dr. Copps on the 23rd July. He took a week off work as the doc advised him to (he is a plumber) he was up and about after one day of bed rest. Sam

Hi all, Trust me it would be the best thing that you have done. I am looking into it at the moment as my husband got banded on the 17th March and he has lost a lot of weight and his portion sizes have went down as well, so a big saving on the food bills. Here is the link to get a ticker http://www.tickerfactory.com/ezticker/ticker_designer.php?type=3 Sam

Hi Sunnywise, Who is doing your surgery and how long did you have to wait?

Hi all, I went out and bought my daughter a nintendo WII. I got the WII fit. Well you get weighed on it and it gives you your bmi. Then you select between two personal trainers (male or female). It gets you to do yoga, balance test, aerobic and muscle. As you go through it each day it opens new excercises to do. The great thing about it is you don't realise that you are excercising. If you gain weight it wants to know why for instance I gained 200g and it gave me a selection of reasons. I put in that I had eaten dinner late then it gave me a lecture about the reasons why you should not eat dinner late- metabilism etc. It is as bad as the wife. At least it puts the words up on the screen rather than hear them nag. If you know anyone that has one you should try it as I said before you do not realise that you have had a work out and you look forward to working out the next day. John

Thanks I went on what a fantastic website

Hi all, The personal trainer in a box (Nintendo WII). As I said before it is so much fun it puts them in a game form such as heading the ball, yoga moves, tilt game, aerobics-hula hoops, jogging, step up game. They are just a few I have not opened all of them yet in each section. The sections are as follows- aerobic, yoga, balance and muscle. Then it also weighs you and records how much you have done 30 mins etc. It also tells you to take time out and rest. The whole family are doing it now even my eldest daughter who comes home from work and complains if anyone is on it as she wants to do her workout. The cheapest place in Australia at the moment is K-Mart but remember all the other stores price match. I got mine out of Myers.

there's a weight limit of 150kg or about 300lb