MissK

Hi Melissa, welcome to the forums! I am also an Aussie, from NSW. Congratulations on your banding and best wishes to you, hope to hear more from you over the coming months!

Glad to hear the liquid diet is going well, you're doing great Nikki!

Wow, thanks eyezchu- I don't know whether it's because it's some ridiclous hour of the morning, snowing and I'm about to leave for work almost freezing to death or what, but it seems I'm a bit emotional today and that got me a little choked up - whodathunk that someone would find me or my words inspirational? Thank you!

hmm, I think you have somehow managed to post this twice, I posted a hello in your other thread :thumbup:

Oh man, you make me laugh some days... I did the same the other day with some rice, and it was FOUL - the texture became puke-worthy.

Hi there I haven't been banded yet, but I only kept my plans a secret until I had made a final decision to proceed with the surgery. I had a discussion with a friend recently, who told me how jealous she will feel when I begin to lose weight.. and my stance on this topic is the same for her as it is for everyone else, and I have and will continue to make it abundantly clear: I have spent 27 years of my life feeling inadequate and apologising for the way that I am. I will not apologise for making the decision to have this surgery nor will I apologise for the results I obtain. Any results I do get will be from hard work, dedication and personal sacrifice, they will be well deserved. This is a huge decision which will require a lot of changes to my lifestyle, it is going to be a hard road at times so I only wish to be surrounded by positive people who will support my decision and be proud of me for my successes. Anyone who does not fit into that category, who will not support me, is someone who I no longer want to play a major role in my life. It's them who makes this choice through their own actions, not me. I say, the sooner you share the news with the people who matter and take a strong stance in relation to the need for them to be supportive, the better you will feel - having a support network is important. Best wishes to you!

Best wishes for the surgery, look forward to hearing from you when you get back!

Hi David Welcome to the forums and congratulations on getting banded; Sorry to hear you've had a rough few days, but glad to hear you're starting to feel better! I'm 27 and from Australia, due to be banded on 18th August 2009 - I live in an area where there are only two surgeons who do banding, so I have had quite a wait! As someone who has never been to hospital (except to be re-hydrated on a drip after falling ill), I am absolutely terrified of the surgery but believe I am brave enough to do it. I look forward to sharing your journey!

Hi there Welcome to the forums, have you already been banded or are you preparing for the surgery? Your surgeon should have recommended a protein shake for you - mine has recommended Optifast, but I haven't commenced using it yet as I still have a while to wait until my surgery.

Congratulations on being banded, and welcome to the forums - there's a lot of useful information here, and the place is overflowing with friendly, warm, caring people who want nothing more than to help you succeed. Best wishes to you!

Hi Sharon I'm not sure where you are, so I need to start this by stating that I am in Australia, so if you are not then it may be different. For me, the standard scheduled fee for the surgery is AUD $12,000 which is all that my health insurance will cover. The surgeon I have selected charges $16,000 for the surgury leaving a $4,000 gap which I need to pay. The reason MY surgeon charges the extra is that he undertakes NEVER to charge me for his professional services again, and accepts $4000 as his first and final payment for my ongoing care. This means that: he is very passionate about follow up consultations every 3 to 4 weeks in the first year following surgery and as is necessary on an ongoing basis - he will only charge our public health system (medicare) what they will cover and will charge them directly to ensure I am not out of pocket at any time. for each fill I have, he will again only charge what our public health system (medicare) will cover and he will charge them directly so that I am not out of pocket should I require any additional surgeries for rectify issues with the band, or have the bad removed due to an emergency, he will NOT charge me any professional fees (obviously there will still be hospital, anethetist fees, etc) This gives me a great deal of comfort as I am young, single, battling to pay off a mortgage and make ends meet in general - so I know and he knows that financial circumstances can not and will not be able to impede my ongoing care. It is worth asking the doctor why the other charges are in place, and also what charges you can expect to need to pay post-surgery for your ongoing care as this ongoing care is vital to your success.

Hi DoctorNorm Welcome to the forums, congratulations on the surgery, keep us updated on your progress!

Gotta love TopTier and the killer responses she's kickin' out, too! :thumbup:

Hi Jenn Welcome to the forums, I'm not of much help, but wanted to say congratulations on "showing them who's boss" when they only gave you 8 months to live, I'm sure if you can beat cancer than you can beat this problem too! Best wishes to you.

Gawd, that must be awfully hard to prepare meals for others when you can not eat yourself. I haven't been banded yet, so don't know the answer to your question, but you may get a better response asking this in the post-op forum.

My name ISN'T Michelle, but I still wanted to say welcome and good luck on your journey! See you 'round!

Welcome to the forums, hope... and best of luck!

Great work to date Ellie, welcome to the forums - nice to see a fellow Aussie aboard :-)

Best wishes to you!

Good Luck Cari !!!

Abso-freakin-lutely!

Hi Nursemarti, I haven't had the surgery yet so it's hard for me to say, but there is evidence of the pros and cons all over this website, you just need to take the time to read through the posts a :-)

Wow, that is really rough, I'm sorry to hear that. I am thankful of the approach my surgeon takes - at the time of surgery he charges $4000 above the scheduled fee ($16,000 instead of $12,000) BUT he never charges you another cent for any follow up care; consults, fills, re-operation (although there will obviously be hospital/anethetist fees if this occurs, but he wont charge for his services). It is comforting for me to know that I will not have to worry about funding this on an ongoing basis, with the exception of always maintaining my health care insurance.

My surgeon told me that I was not a candidate for bypass on the basis that I am young and simply not big enough to warrant it; but that I am an ideal cadidate for banding. The very reason I was attracted to banding is also the very reason why I am going through with it; because it is non-invasive and, should something go wrong, reversible!

Hi Nikki Just take a deep breath and try to remain calm, do everything you can to distract yourself from thinking about the liquid diet. I am sure people approach it different ways, I plan on weening myself ONTO the Protein shakes by adding them in as Breakfast 6 weeks pre-op, then breakfast/lunch 4 weeks pre-op followed by ONLY shakes 2 weeks pre-op. Just remember all the reasons you made this decision and all the benefits it will bring, be brave and you will be fine - we're all here to support you!