How Bout New Zealand

[laura5127 1]

im only three weeks out so im still on mushies but when i was doing the two weeks of liquids after my surgery i couldn't handle the Optifast shakes they taste gross unless they are really cold which is the only way i got through the pre op was sculling it when it was cold, cant stand it otherwise. lol.

[PaleoKris 0]

Haha, after I got onto solids after my op my mum waved the left over Optifast shakes at me and asked if I wanted any... The thought of those is still enough to put me off, haha! Incidentally, how they give you liquid paracetamol (or whatever it is) afterwards against the pain? I couldn't handle the smell of orange flavoured liquid soap for about a year after the operation! I have to say I admire your ability to still have Optifast, Aldesa!

I have to say my self control has gone a bit lacking in the last year... There has been a definite increase in the amount of chocolate consumed. And an unfortunate decrease in the amount of indoor hockey played, but that's being fixed. And running. The fact it's slowly turning into spring is helping a lot... If I lost a hundred grams or so every time I got hit by the ball playing hockey I'd be a few kgs lighter after every practice, but be that as it may...!

Actually had a hilarious conversation at work today. Three of the guys I work with have started taking an afternoon break in an office I share with one of them, which suites me fine - gives me a break as well and the topics of conversation are weird, amusing, and quite interesting. At one point we were talking about the definition of a meter and a kilogram, then one of the guys started talking about gastric banding. I was sitting there with a cup of tea trying very hard not to laugh while they were talking about it. Most of what they were saying was on the mark, but there were some comments which were a bit far fetched and had me almost choking on said tea, but either way. Was really funny - was so tempted to say I had personal experience, but the fact I couldn't get a word in edgewise anyway helped hold me back a bit, haha. But that's something I've noticed since being over here - the lap band has come up in conversation twice with people I work with in the year I've been here... It never came up in my hearing in NZ unless I was the one who brought it up (either me telling someone or discussing it with someone I'd already told) or it was the documentary that was on a while ago of Dr Fris and the 16? year old boy that was on a while ago. Makes things a little less stressful living in a country which is so laid back about it, I have to admit.

[laura5127 1]

so my 4 week appt was changed to next thursday cos dr fris was sick today so i'll have to wait till then to get a fill. im on solids and everything that im having is going down fine i had eggs benidict for brunch thismorrning and ended up having to share it with my mum coss it was just way to big but it tasted soooooooo good. my goal is to avoid carbs starting after easter when i get a bit more used to solids and im gonna start exercise. i have been doing work outside for my dad (not to strenuous. idk if thats how its spelt or not but o well) ohh and i did my measurements tonight. in six weeks i have lost 7.5cm off my waist and 7.5 off my left thigh but i would assume they would be very similar. and some more off my arm. neck, calf, bust and hips so thats pretty good and yeah how are you guys getting on?

[amourette 5]

Hi everyone, sorry I had started a post last week but never got to finish it and now it's gone. We are good, I have lost 4kg in 6 weeks thru' eating better and this fill and going to the gym and just getting off my butt in general. So excited. My fill doesn't seem as good as it was 2 weeks ago so may go and get it edged up just ever so slightly!

Wow, laura amazing you can eat that at the moment, a fill should sort it out though.....and it sounds like you have done so well already, I know I have already said it but I say it again, this really is the best time to be getting it off......it becomes harder later. You must be enjoying a break from uni right now?

My little boy has been keeping me busy.....all his activities dont' run in the holidays and I have been enjoying just cruising at home a little bit.

[laura5127 1]

yea its good. like i said i have been doing some work outside for my dad but i also want to get some assignments done aswel. but a break from early mornings is nice.

[Aldesa 0]

Well done girls! Ammourette your doing really well, 4kg is a huge start.....very jealous :-)

[Aldesa 0]

Sorry me laptops having an issue and im posting from my iPhone so if u get anything odd you know why :-)

[amourette 5]

Bugger, hope you get it fixed, I sent you a pm...not sure if you can retrieve it!

[PaleoKris 0]

Argh, I tried to get onto here via my iphone today and it wouldn't work. Fail, iphone, fail.

Anyway, go you guys! Woo! That's great for you both, Laura and Amourette! (C'mon Aldesa, you can do it too! ) Now I sound like an infomercial. Bwahah. Seriously though.

I'm almost completely sure I've put on weight again. Oops. I don't have any scales here, but I can judge pretty well by my favourite pair of jeans (favourite, but don't wear all that often unless I'm the weight I'm supposed to be!). I've got a new goal: finish off all my easter treats that got posted over then get very serious about running training. Floorball season is almost over so that's one thing forcing me to do exercise which is coming to an end. Woe. Oh well. I want to get back into my jeans! (My ex (we're still friends) is also coming to visit and I have to admit I also want to show I can sort of keep up with him with running - ha! Just imagine a Tui billboard - yeah right...)

... Not that I'll need them this summer if the last week is anything to go by. 25C already here in Amsterdam. Hmm.

So I'm going to Turkey this weekend (tomorrow morning). This involves two things: 1) the challenge of being around a whole heap of new foods which is stressful, but with a friend who knows, which lessens the stress... Though I just found out that she's actually not around half the time anyway, so stress potentially goes back up... Hopefully not!... and 2) realising that I just wasted about 30 euros worth of food when I had to chuck it out tonight - I'm moving next week as well and need to defrost my freezer... And after 5 or whatever years I STILL overestimate how much food I need save to eat for a week. Slightly frustrating. But! My new apartment has a big fridge with what looks like a good freezer and I'm staying there for two years, so now I can freeze heaps of stuff and be lazy and not bother cooking. Haha.

Anywho, I had a dumbass moment and made my flight at 7am (yeah, I'm regretting that a bit) so gotta get up at 4am. Hope things continue to go well for you all!

[laura5127 1]

ok so its been like two weeks since anyone posted, so how is everyone? last thursday i went for my appointment with Dr Fris but another lady got her times mixed up and came down from up north for an appt so they gave her mine but they put me with heather which was fine. i got weighed, 5 weeks since op and down to 104.0kg thats 5.8kg in 5 weeks im so happy and down 8.8kg in the 7 weeks since starting the pre-op diet. i have another appointment on the 25th so i hope to be under 100kg by then. i also got a fill only 1cc so i think that bringd me up 2 3cc in a 7cc band. i have noticed a slight difference but i think at my next appointment i might need another fill, not to sure yet. i started exercise today i went for a walk with my heart rate monitor on and tried to keep it in the max zone the whole time, i think i did.

[AAAJJJ 0]

Hi there.

I have to say there is some inspirational stuff on here and I have been very interested to read some of the stories. I thought i woul start by commenting on why I made the decision to get the lap band procedure done (in mid June). Then a separate post on how I decided.

My whole story starts some 20 years ago when i started overeating. I would not say I am an "emotional eater" as such - I just like food! I tried Jenny Craig a few years back when I weighed about 116kg. I got down to 104. I am now 150!

So I have been seriously wanting to do something about my weight for a few months now as it is really starting to negatively effect the way I live my life. I used to play and enjoy a lot of sports mainly cricket and golf, but ankle problems mean I can hardly walk a km these days.. So needless to say for those reasons and many other I am motivated for change. I want to record some of the issues I have had mainly so that I can look at this in future times if I ever need motivation. It also might be of assistnce to others considering the op.

Negatives

I am avoiding social occasions as much as I can and have become a slight hermit - not drastically so but it is there.

I am conscious people are looking at me and passing comment behind my back

I am always nervous getting on a plane that I will have to ask for the dreaded "extension" (it doesn't always happen but has sometimes).

I am conscious of the poor people sitting next to me on the plane also

I avoid seeing people who I haven't seen for a while (people mean well but they do comment sometimes)

people call me "big guy" as a term of endearment which is nice (I don't mind too much - accurate decision) - but small guy would be better.

I have to be careful where I sit in restaurants and when visiting that the seats is sturdy enough and there is enough room!

I can't enjoy the sport I used to

I am very low in evergy - the couch is my friend!

I have sleep apneoa and high blood pressure

I am worried about the effects my obesity has had on my health and will do in the future left unchecked.

I am headed for an early grave

Positives

I am very fortunate that I have no other obesity complications - yet

I am determined to change

I have the support of my family (I have only told my wife and my mother at this stage)

I can change if I want to.

If/when I do lose weight a lot of the issues mentioned above will be assisted

So that is where I am. I will post some more tomorrow about how I decided on the Lap Band - it was a decision I agonised over for months!

Regards

AJ

[laura5127 1]

hi, a new person thats cool.

i am very much the same as you, i avoid socialising and contact with people i havent seen in a while and while i to do not yet have many obesity related illnesses i decided to act first as prevention rather then letting it get to late. im only young but my family history doesnt work in my favour, my mothers side has so many heart related issues and my mum while she is not very overweight has to take like a million different medications(not related to weight) and i didnt want to end up with high blod pressure etc....

my brother is morbidly obese although he is 6 1" at his heviest he weighed in at 182kg and i ould see i was heading in that direction.

im interested to hear how you came to this desicion, but i figure we gota do what we gotta do for the denifit of our health.

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omg i think i need help im feeling like im doing this on my own and although my aunt had bariatric surgery like 2 years ago it wasnt a lap band, i feel like from what i was told before the surgery and what im experiencing now are completly different i expectied not to be able to eat certain stuff like bread but i can pretty much eat anything with no trouble?????????? not to sure what to do.

[AAAJJJ 0]

Hi Laura

I hope I didn't bore you too much. Interesting you mention family history. I have no real family history with weight issues but there is some with heart issues. I also hear people talking about metabolism and big bones etc.

Thiough i can't comment on every case - in my case it is more simple. It is about what I eat and how much. As I said - simple!

We all reach crossroads in our life (or not in some cases). I guess it is about what sort of road you take.

[AAAJJJ 0]

So - to continue the story.

So before Xmas I went to a seminar in Wellington on the surgery options. The seminar was pretty focussed on the lap band but definitely mentioned gatric bypass and (less so) the gastric sleeve.

I also really liked the way they were talking at the seminar where ths surgeon said that the difference between me and him (healthy weight) was that food "does it" for me. I thought that statement really rang true in my case.

I was defintlely liking the sound of the lap bad. Mainly the adjustability and reversability aspects.

That was until I went to the doctor in January. He said that he had "researched the topic" and that he thought that the gastric sleeve had great results and that this was something I should seriously consider. He gave me some contact details and I got some info and a quote.

So the place I got the sleeve quote from was a lot more expensive and the surgeon at the seminar did sleeves also and was very experienced...

So - is it the sleeve or the band?

This was a nighmare. There were advantages and disadvantages for both. The main advantages as I saw the band was as above. The adjustability and reversability. But always in the back of my mind was - yes it's the safe option but what if it doesn't work? A huge amount of money down the drain! Wouldn't I be better to do it once and do it right? EWhat if the "lower risk" band failed and i have to have another procedure?

So - the research began. The internet is sometimes your friend and sometimes not. "Lap Band" Sites extolled the virtues of the Lap Band. It was the only way to go! "Sleeve" sites did the opposite and talked about erosion and a miriad of other problems with the band... So I did heaps of research (including watching you tube clips of both procedures). I just couldn't make a decision and wasn't sleeping well at all....

So having selected a company to go with I booked in for the appointments with the nurse, psychcologist and dietician. Before the appointments I made a list of pros and cons of each operation and questions with the intention of making a decision. I also booked tentative dates for BOTH operations and had the intention of making a decision the day of these appointments. I was really impressed with the organisation I chose and the fact that they took wholistic approach to the whole procedure and payment included 2 years of after surgery care.

So appointment day arrived. I went to see the nurse first which was great. She took the vatal stats and basically said I was a good candidate for EITHER operation! AAARRRGGGGHHHH! :-). No criticism of her as I think it is important that I made the call, but I was hoping to get a "steer" one way or the other given my individual factors. No such luck. After a really interesting half day I came out much more knowledgable, but no closer to making a decision! So both dates remained pencilled in until I saw the surgeon 2 weeks later. I turned up with my list of questions to that appointment.

I chatted with the surgeon. I discussed the Sleeve v the Lap Band. He does mainly lap bands and bypasses and had only done 5-6 sleeves. By far his most common operation was the band. He commented as folows:

- The sleeve was a relatively new procedure in comparison with the other 2.

- There was no data availabile on long term effects with the sleeve

- He had patients have success with both the bypass and the band

- All operations could be "cheated"

- many people who had one operation then went to another failed in both beciuae thay hadn't addressed core overeating issues

So it was time fior a decison! The thing that really swung it for me was the lower risk of the band. I thought carefully about my core issues again:

1. I eat the wrong foods

2. I eat too quickly

3. I eat too much

I though that the band will help me with 2 and 3 - but solving all 3 is up to me. So why not go with the lower risk/reversable option? So that's what i decided. And i haven't had any second thoughts since!

Pre-op diet in 2 weeks and op in 6.

[Gordana 0]

Hello fellow NZers. How has everyone been going with their bands? Any new successes, trials, advice?

I go in for surgery this coming Saturday, 28th May.

I'm having my surgery here in Korea where Im working/living ... and unlike you, I don't have a pre-op liquid diet, however I'm doing liquids this week anyway.

I wonder how easy it will be to get fills when I'm back in NZ. I read that many Drs don't like to 'touch' overseas bands.

Have a great week,