Is there anyone out there that is from New Zealand. I have just joined this website - thanks to another friend who told me about it. I was just wondering if there were any other kiwi's out there. I have just had my banding op on the 8th March 07, so it all rather new for me. Just gone on to the mushy food stage and excited about that. Some normal food that I don't have to drink - YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi all, I hope you've all had a great Xmas !

I would say having the band had been fantastic, I lost weight and kept it off however after a visit a few months ago a leak seems to have developed and the band won't stay full! I've put on 10kg and always hungry , it's awful. The lady that did my fill had trouble finding the port and dug around looking for quite a while.... Now it's leaking :-( real bummer for me, I feel fat and horrid

that sux, what are they gonna do about it, or is there anything they can do about it?

Hi all, I hope you've all had a great Xmas !

I would say having the band had been fantastic, I lost weight and kept it off however after a visit a few months ago a leak seems to have developed and the band won't stay full! I've put on 10kg and always hungry , it's awful. The lady that did my fill had trouble finding the port and dug around looking for quite a while.... Now it's leaking :-( real bummer for me, I feel fat and horrid

Hi Pockets,

welcome XD

I have heard of some complications and things but I think they are quite rare, in fact my neighbours son had a band many years ago and it didn't work for him but it's the person not the band! Obviously with any surgery there are risks. The good thing about the band is that if anything goes wrong the band can be removed. I had the band in march and it is definitely the best ting I have done. I'm only 20 and I have found it quite difficult to adjust to having the band, I feel it's only now that I'm getting use to it. I think for me the benefits outweigh the risks.

I don't know if you have been for a consultation or been to a seminar

(http://www.nzobesity...z/seminars.html)

but usually the surgeons will tell you all about the risks and you can ask them for some literature.

Not sure if that helped you.

Have you looked at any clinics or surgeons in particular?

I had my done with Dr Fris at Norhtridge specialists on the North Shore.

Hey that is a big help! I haven't been to any seminars or looked at any surgeons yet, but I'd be either having it done on the Shore or in Hamilton (where my parents are). Im 25 and I hope that it will work for me. I'm ok with adjusting my food! My doctor never suggested lapband to me, I think she was just hoping normal diets would work (and they never do!)

oh ok, my aunty had a sleave a few years ago in hamilton by a doctor schroeder i think and she has done really well with that but they do the band and stuff as well.

Hey that is a big help! I haven't been to any seminars or looked at any surgeons yet, but I'd be either having it done on the Shore or in Hamilton (where my parents are). Im 25 and I hope that it will work for me. I'm ok with adjusting my food! My doctor never suggested lapband to me, I think she was just hoping normal diets would work (and they never do!)

happy 2012 everyone

new years resolution

- get to my goal weight by my 21st birthday

Hi XD and welcome.

The only advice i would give anyone is not to think that the band (or any other weight loss surgery [WLS]) is going to be the solution to their weight issues. In fact far from it. Any WLS options can be sabotaged and you can end up right back where you started and maybe even worse. The big question you need to ask yourself is whether you can make the lifestyle changes required to achieve your goal. The WLS is a tool - purely that. It is not a fix all or total solution. Unless you honestly deal with the issues that actually caused weight gain and are prepared to make some significant lifestyle change choices, then you are going to struggle to succeed and, to be honest, you would be better not to bother having the surgery.

I hope this doesn't sound like too much of a lecture - but I can't stress how important it is that you look carefully at this stuff before having surgery.

Cheers

AJ

Happy new year people!

So I was totally going to see if anyone wanted to do coffee (think that was mentioned a couple of months ago by someone, heh) when I was back in NZ but it was super busy for the three weeks I was back, so... yeah.

Hi Pockets! I've had my band for 7 years as of last December (I'm 26, I got the band when I was 20), and it's worked really well for me. One thing that I thought was rather major that they DIDN'T tell me about when I got it was the potential for indigestion/heartburn when you get to your goal weight (or rather, just past the sweet spot on the band). I don't know about anyone else here, but I had never had indigestion before I got to my goal weight a few years ago, and every time I've had it since it has hurt a hell of a lot - not sure if this is because it gets aggravated by the band or not, but either way. Heather (at Dr Fris' office on the North Shore) just sort of shrugged it off and we agreed that having the band tight enough to help me stay at around 56-57 kg (just above my 'ideal' weight, think my 'ideal' is 55kg...) was too much, so now I just aim to stay around 58. I've also noticed that it tends to be triggered by stress half the time - I moved to Europe, no one here knew, I got indigestion several times; I told a friend at work, no indigestion since. Go figure.

There are, of course, other complications like slippage, etc, but like Laura said, I found the benefits have far outweight the risks. Actually, Dr Fris told me that a patient of his had moved to London, the band slipped, and he flew all the way back to NZ to go to Dr Fris rather than get it fixed in Europe. That suggests to me that any problems caused by that are manageable on the short term at least!

Oh, like Laura and AJ said about the band not working/changing habits, I remember discussing the band with a neighbour who told me a friend of hers got the band, then while still on the liquid diet was melting chocolate so she could drink it... Needless to say she never lost any weight... People who don't know much about it (or don't want to know...) tend to think it's the easy way out, but it is just a tool you can use, like listing everything in the weight watchers book or calorie counting or some such. Like AJ said, you can sabotage it (like with the chocolate drink mentioned above)... On the flip side though, it is a rather strict tool as if you forget about it and take a big bite of a sandwich or eat too much too quickly you will definitely know about it (more so the further along you get).

Changing your eating habits takes a bit of getting used to - I still find that I have to pay attention when I visit my family as I wasn't living at home when I got it so they never slowed down their eating along with me (my ex-bf did, really appreciated that! Funny thing is he still eats slower now - when he has time to, anyway, heh) - old habits die hard I suppose. Other little things I've noticed are that I've turned into a bit of a light weight on the alcohol front (I used to be able to handle it really well, my tolerance has halved I think - I don't drink very often, but when I do, anyway. Mind you, the nutritionist at Dr Fris' office also told me to drink a glass of wine a day...)... I've also noticed that flying long haul can really mess up my eating patterns now - flying from NZ to Europe or vice versa generally has me surviving on one or two meals a day for a few days, compared to three plus Snacks... Just little things, but it's interesting when you start noticing the non-weight related changes.

I really like that if anything happens the band can be adjusted or, if needed, removed. I like that there is the option if needed, though considering how much my abs/stomach hurt after the surgery to get the band in there I think it'd have to be something pretty serious for me to get it removed, heh.

Ok, I've rambled on for ages... Ahem.

On the other front, I went to Dr Fris' office when I was back in NZ (the same day I flew in, no less!) and got a top up - I hadn't gained as much weight as I thought, thank goodness (scales at a specialists office here said I was 65...! Dr Fris' scales said 60... Argh.). Had half a mill of solution added - tiny tiny amount, but talk about feeling it... Fortunately I could use the long haul travel excuse when visiting friends... This is the first time I've had to totally rely on Heather for advice as usually my intuition regarding the band is really good, but I just haven't been feeling it lately. It felt loose and I was hungry a lot of the time, but then I went to Bremerhaven on a work trip two weeks before coming home and I was barely able to eat for the entire weekend (epic stress = no food apparently!). It took a little while to settle as well, as usually I'm back to normal within a couple of days (I've never had to do the liquids after inflation thing), but I was feeling a bit restricted all the way up till Christmas... Guess this was a fine line inflation, really, but it's feeling pretty good right now. My grandparents did a full roast meal for my family the night I left NZ and I managed my usual serving of that fine, so that was good. Now I just need to get the running sorted out again and try and get my knees to stop screwing up and I'll be good to go (or rather, stay at the same weight, or perhaps fit into my favourite pair of jeans again - I fit them at 58kg or less, lol) again. Heh.

Actually, on a more light-hearted note - I'm familiar with the problem of not being able to fit some clothes because they weren't a large enough size (some - I was size 18 at my heaviest, 96kg - this was mostly preventative surgery because the pattern was 'gain weight no matter what I do' and the only way appeared to be 'up'... But I did have a couple of instances of not being able to buy stuff I liked cos it didn't go to size 18...)... Now I've discovered that if I'm not careful and, say, get to my goal weight (which I'm not planning on, I decided a couple of years ago that 58 is where I'd rather be), I will be too small to fit clothes from Kathmandu and Bivouac, which is where most of my clothes are from... Oops.

Aldesa - I'm with Laura on this one, that sucks! Are they able to do anything about it?

Laura - go you! You can do it! What's your goal weight again? And how far away is your 21st?

Hmm. I'm making a nice big pot of Soup and I can't remember how long it's been boiling for. Oops again. Forcing myself to eat something before I pass out again. Yay jet lag!

Hey,

Yeah, hope you all had a really nice christmas and new years.

My ultimate goal weight at the moment is 58kg (but thats just a number im obsessed with in my head, if i reach the right place before that then i will be happy). Right now im at around 92kg so thats a huge 34kg i want to loose by my 21st which is on the 28th october. I think i can do it though, im getting into cycling. I borrowed my aunties bike and have been ridding a bit over the last couple of weeks and was planning a bike trip from auckland to wellington but with the weather being crap its not really the best time to do it so we gonna wait a few months give us time to get a bit fit and then do the ride. Im a bit surprised that im actually quite enjoying cycling and my exercise has been really bad like im talking non existent, but im getting into exercise so i think the weight will start dropping off again now.

Thanks everyone for your help and stories! I'm currently 96kg and I think this is definitely for me, as a tool, not a total solution.

Can someone advise me what the next step to take is? As I don't meet medical standard for the surgery (BMI etc) I am going through private surgery.

Laura - Yay cycling! I have to get my bike out again - wanted to go cycling while back in NZ, but didn't get to... Living in Holland = lots of cycling, but I haven't managed any longer bike rides yet... Should do some this summer. Auckland to Wellington could be epic.

Yeah, as I said my goal weight was supposed to be 55, but I look quite skinny when I get down to 57 (lightest I've been), so 55 I'd look like a stick... I think if you're close to a healthy weight and you're happy it's all good.

Pockets - sounds like you're in the same situation as me - insurance wouldn't cover it because I wasn't dying of anything and my BMI was ... I think one point too low? My gp had told me I was close to pre-diabetes (freaked me out), so here we are. Funny though, I think doing it now would be cheaper than doing it when I had doubled the weight again and had diabetes, heart conditions, etc, etc, etc, but I suppose it's a way to keep every man and his dog from having it because it appears to be 'the easy way out'. (My sister was about 92kg at her heaviest and got down to 60kg all by herself - she claims I took the easy way out, even after seeing some of the difficulties with eating. However Dr Fris met my dad and said it looks like it's genetic as my dad is quite active and still can't lose weight (and is now too heavy to be very active anymore because his joints are protesting), so either way.)

I went to Northridge Surgery and have done everything through them (that's Dr Fris and that lot) - so that was all private. I think someone (can't remember who and can't be bothered going through all the pages of posts, heh) had issues with them, but I've had a really good experience and have found them really helpful (except when they just shrugged off the indigestion, but that's pretty minor). I've found them quite supportive, both while loosing the weight and since getting to my goal weight. I imagine that whatever private place you choose to go to should be equally supportive, etc, and that you can just ring up to find out details and make an appointment... I'd say making an initial appointment at where you'd want to go to and meeting/talking to the surgeon could be a good next step. Then they'll tell you what you need to do next if you decide to go ahead with it (and help you set up all the subsequent appointments with nutritionist, psychologist, etc if you need to do all that, which I guess you still have to do before they approve the surgery).

I want to eventually do a cycle trip down the south island aswell cos I have never been down there and i think it would be a really exciting way to see the south island. it would be such an amazing experience.

Yeah i went with Dr Fris also, like i said earlier they do seminars and you can make an appointment with who ever your looking to go with and work from there.

Hey everyone hows it going?

So my mums GP sent a referral to the Waitemata District Health Board for a gastric band after her spacialist strongly advised she undergo the surgery (you see my mum has uncontrolled type 1 diatbetes) and to be expected they denied my mum. WHO ARE ALL THESE SURGERIES GOING TO????

I am so fustrated, all I want is for my mum to be able to live a happy life but struggling with type 1 diabetes as well as a **** LOAD (sorry bout my language) more health problems is making that impossible.

has any one got any ideas on how i can eaither 1) raise at leas $13,000.00 2) find a way to get the surgery for no cost or 3) cure all my mothers health issues.

This situation makes me feel so upset that my mum is having NO luck, and also I wish that I could turn the clock back 12 months and use my loan and my savings to get my mum the surgery rather then myself. She needs this sooooooo bad and i just dont understand how the DHB don't see that.

WHAT CAN I DO?

Hi again everyone. I have to say this is a hard one. I have thought about this long and hard and I'm not totally sure that thr taxpayer should fund operations.

I do have some sympathy for those who have weight issues and cannot afford an operation like I could (though I had to borrow the money to do it).

Balanced against that is the fact that I know it is a massive lifestyle change that is required for these operartions to be a success. Though many excuses can be found if required, in the vast majority of (if not all cases) the weight has piled on due to poor choices being made - overeating/wrong foods/lack of exercise. So by not having to sacrifice anything and having the oepration paid for you give you the will to make the changes required for it to be a success? I'm not so sure. I think it could do more harm thatn good. I would support it if the prospective patients proved to the govt that they had the will and ability to make the lifestyle changes BEFORE the operation is funded. No change - then no op. And I don't mean just a 1 month pre-op diet. I mean 6 months of auditable lifestyle change pre-op. That would make me more in favour. Granted there are huge savings to be made overall by funding these, but if the patient is not prepared to change their lifesyle, you might as well burn your money on a bonfire...

Regards

AJ

your comment has upset me a bit and i asume it is implied towards my comment about my mother and seeing as you do not know my mother let alone ever met her i would like to tell you.

My mum has been a 'taxpayer' for over 40 years, she takes over 5 medications a day and she has type1 diabetes which incase you dont know is not caused by weight gain and is not cureable!!! my mum struggles so much with her diabetes and its the position in which the band sits arround the stoumach that sends messages to the brain to use the insulin she has to inject - the weightloss is an added bonus. my mother eats a reasonably healthy diet and it was the insulin she was perscribed that caused my mum to pile on 15kilos in just over a year. My mother has been through so much and sacraficed so much over the years if they could afford the op then she would never have been recommended to the DHB, and seeing as she was denied we are working on raising those funds. i believe people like my mother that have worked their whole lives and have an illness that impacts their life so much deserve a surgery that could change the impact the illness has on their lives 10 fold. I do not think that the surgery should go to people that have bearley worked a day in their lives and live off us, the taxpayers (like my brother), that is where i believe these surgeries are going.

sorry for my rant.

Hi Laura,

No need to apologise at all and it wasn't a rant. I do not know your mother. You do. I would not presume to comment about her specifically. I am the one that should apologise if I upset you in any way.

If this surgery was opened up to be taxpayer funded it would be very difficult to sort out criteria. In fact whether you had worked in your life or not would not matter. Interestingly in the society we live in today it would be more likely you would get the operation if you had never worked than if there was even a slight chance you could pay for it yourself. Ironic? But that is a whole different subject.

I still stick by what I said earlier. Generally speaking - if taxpayer funded surgery patients were not prepared to make the lifestyle changes required, Then this would be a complete waste of money.

In the meatime it is my only hope that medical advances can make medications with less side effects. Imagine the day that you could take a pill and it have the same effect as surgery! Maybe one day this will be possible.

AJ