Well, seeing as I've been lurking around here for a few weeks, I thought I may as well say hello.

I am booked in to be banded on April 16 with Dr Watson in Perth. I live in the North West of WA, so I will be flying down on the Sunday the 13th in order to have my pre-surgery consult on the Monday. I am planning on staying in Perth until the weekend, depending on how I feel afterwards.

I am starting my pre-surgery diet this Monday. The surgeon recommended that I do two weeks on Optifast, but due to circumstances I have decided to kick in an extra week. If nothing else, any extra weight I lose before the band is just weight I don't have to lose after it.

I have decided to take the highly unoriginal but wholly therapeutic step of documenting my thoughts and experiences in a blog.

I am starting the Optifast phase at the frightening weight of 177kg (up until this week, I was under the impression that I was around the 160kg mark- those bloody scales sneak up on you...), and at 6'6" tall I am looking to get down to around the 100kg mark in time.

Anyway, a big thanks to everyone who have shared their experiences (the range of information on this site leaves any publication I have seen for dust) and given me the inspiration to go ahead with the surgery. Hopefully I can add my own perspective over the coming weeks and months.

Hi Reddirt, I live in Geraldton and have just come back from being banded by Dr Watson on the 19th March. I drove home the day after surgery (probably wouldnt advise that). I has been a long journey to get to this point but I dont regret a second of it even when my son is teasing me about eating baby food!. Goodluck on your journey and have fun with optiyuk as it is affectionately called.

Just got back home after a week in Perth for surgery.

Things were a bit touch and go before the surgery- I came down with a cold last week and I didn't really know if the anaethetist was going to OK the surgery until the day of the operation. Luckily, the cold was gone by Tuesday evening, so I was able to get banded on Wednesday as scheduled.

The surgery went unbelievably well. I woke up from the general anaesthetic with literally no pain at all, aside from a bit of wind. I was up and walking around the hospital (laying in bed was boring me shitless) about two hours later, and the ward nurses ended up insisting that I had a couple of panadol after I refused painkillers for the first 12 hours or so. I honestly wasn't trying to be some sort of hero- I just wasn't in any pain that needed it.

The flight back home was a bit uncomfortable. During the ascent and descent I could feel my stomach churning away which wasn't a lot of fun.

One unexpected side effect: I don't remember having expelled so much gas in my life. Without a word of exaggeration, it has been probably every ten minutes since I woke from the surgery. Luckily I had a room to myself in hospital. Unluckily, my wife that is on the verge of making me sleep on the couch- or at least forcing me to wear a magic tree around my neck...

I have to say, though, that I can't recommend Stephen Watson and SJOG Murdoch highly enough. Watson is a pretty direct sort of guy, but he explains everything in detail and answers whatever questions you might have frankly and concisely. As for the hospital, the nurses and ward staff are great (with the exception of one of the theatre nurses, but you'll be unconscious for most of the time you are around her) and the rooms are comfortable. If you are thinking about getting banded in Perth, they are definitely worth a look.

Hey Andy,

Welcome to the world of being banded! I am really pleased to hear that the op went well. Also welcome to the world of excess flatulence! My wife has now sort of become used to it!

I have just hit the 3 month mark and have also just hit the 30kg lost mark!

Well done again and I will chat to you soon,

Josh.

Hey, sounds like it went fabulously well. I must say, apart from the really worse than expected bruising, my experience over the past 2 weeks has also been very good.

Still - remember to take it easy even if you are not feeling pain :-)

Cheers

Luscious

Hey Andy,

Welcome to the world of being banded! I am really pleased to hear that the op went well. Also welcome to the world of excess flatulence! My wife has now sort of become used to it!

I have just hit the 3 month mark and have also just hit the 30kg lost mark!

Well done again and I will chat to you soon,

Josh.

I just saw the pics in your thread- you look like you are doing amazingly well. I take it there are no lasting effects from your recent hospital episode?

So the farting doesn't let up for a while, eh? The missus will be SO pleased to hear that.

Yeah, I'll look for you on MSN during the week. I had to do a reformat on my laptop, and having been away I haven't managed to download Messenger until this evening.

Hey, sounds like it went fabulously well. I must say, apart from the really worse than expected bruising, my experience over the past 2 weeks has also been very good.

Still - remember to take it easy even if you are not feeling pain :-)

Cheers

Luscious

Oh, I will. Luckily, I'm in house-husband mode for the next couple of months, so I can take my time recuperating.

Speaking of bruising: I ended up with a whopper bruise on my forearm where the IV was inserted. It is probably the size of two 50c coins, but thankfully it isn't particularly tender.

Glad to hear it's going well for you also. With some of the horror stories around here, it's a relief to get through the first little stage unscathed.

Congrats on your surgery. I was banded by Watson in mid March and I agree - he's terrific!

My boyfriend and I were both banded on the same day so we had double the burping and farting in our house! It's the only time I've heard myself say in response to a resounding fart by my lovely other half "Wow, that was a great one honey!"

And I too had some whopper IV bruising! It does fade though!

Good luck with the journey

Em