hi everyone as i said i am from Adelaide and i am looking for opinions... I have joined private cover so i can get the lap band surgery. As i am well obviously overweight and everything i have and do try doesnt seem to work so my doctor suggested the lap band. I am definately interested in getting this done but another person has also told me to try the bodytrim program.. Now i am not sure what to do really.. i am not going to cancel my private cover but does anyone else have an opinion on this.. I am thinking that i need to do the lapband because i can guarntee the bodytrim i will fail at and i really think i need medical help... sorry i am babbling on but i am just confused at the moment... help??????

i guess what i want to know is what does everyone think?

with lapband how long before the weight starts coming down?

is it painful?

how long are you in hospital?

I would recommend lap banding to everyone who is overweight. It is not smooth sailing all the time tho. I have lost 27kgs since june 16th (date of banding). I am exercising nearly every day. I feel great knowing i can finally shop for clothes in normal shops, I am active without struggling and I don't feel like I am trapped anymore! I was only in hospital overnight, and it took few days to get over surgery. Let me know if u want to know anything else as I am only too happy to help! :smile2:

Thanks for replying. i would really like as much info as possible.... would be so helpful...

I was in hospital for around 17 hours .. they let me home the morning after my surgery.

I had the surgery around 20 months ago... lost and kept off more than 20 kgs.

No one can tell you what you should do but I can tell you as someone who is morbidly obese I have tried every dietyou could think of since i was about 11. I have yo yo ed all my life. Don't think that having the band doesnt mean you don't need willpower but if you do as your doctor says you will be constantly full and the "crap" food can't fit. I have had lots of problems but it's not the bands fault. I was assaulted and needed the band to be readjusted (this in not common occurance) and I put on weight because emotionally I let my band down. I didn;t go back and get filled to my sweet spot coz i was emotionally fullfilling myslef with food. I lost 50kg in the first 12 months with my original band. With the new band I had put on 30kg. Yesterday I went and had a fill and I feel bloody awesome my dear friend is at the sweet spot and I am on my way and wanna scream to the world. Its funny how quickly your emotions change when you know you are really looking after yourself. Good luck with your decision

I am in SA too. I had my surgery done by Dr Bessell at the Adelaide Obesity Surgery - Dr. Justin Bessell - Adelaide Obesity Surgery, Weight Management, Effective Weight-Loss Surgery, Australia

The team there are great, and I was in the Calvery Wakefield for 2 nights. I have lost 12.5kg from February 2009, although my loss isn't fast, it is right for me!

Suzie

Hi

I was banded in August 09 and have lost 18kgs so far ( another 16kgs to go!). I think if your really serious about losing the weight for good, then go for the band. Look at the statistics for various diets and you'll see that the chances of you losing more than 10% of your body weight is minimal and the chances of you keeping that weight off in the long term is also very low. I'm sure you've been on many diets before and if they had worked......well, you wouldn't be looking on a lap band forum would you? I have absolutley no regrets about the banding and I'm just starting to really appreciate how much better I feel. I have more energy and I'm much much more positive about everything in my life. Go for it !!!!

yep i am definately looking at the lapband.. like you said i have tried so many things and nothing seems to work.. i have been tested for so many things to see if there is a problem and still nothing comes up.. so i am really looking into it.. I have got private health cover so that should cover most of the cost i hope..

I'm covered by Medibank Private and ended up paying around $2000 out of pocket. I think I've probably saved that in my yearly food bill !!!! And also, when I start you add up all the money I spent in the last 20 years on various diets and gym memberships, it would be about 3 times that amount. When I have an adjustment, Medicare pays all but $19 of the bill too, so all in all, I think it's a pretty good investment. Good Luck with whatever you decide x

i just replied to another post regarding the band in saying i wish there was another way around the 12 month waiting period as i really cant wait to get this done. is it correct that you dont lose weight all the time...