Hi there, I am also new to this site. I have just had a gastric lapband done (20th June 2011) by Dr Fris who is based on the Northshore Auckland. So far i have lost 15kg. The only restriction i have found is if i eat to fast i get a little bit of reflux but that is easily resolved DON'T EAT SO FAST LOL. I have not found any other restrictions to date. I decided to have it done for health reasons (preventative measure) in addition to seeing a friend who had it done, she said it was the best thing she ever done and wished she done it years ago. By the way she looks fab. If you wanted to keep your operation private it will only remain private if you tell no-one., once someone knows they tend to talk about these types of operations, if they don't know all they can do is assume as you loose weight. Good luck.