Hi All - or should I be a typical ocker Aussie and say "Gday"? I stumbled across this forum a few days ago after doing some research.

I had lapband surgery at the end of February last year. My starting weight was 122kg which I think translates to 268.4 pounds. 12 months later I have lost 27kg (59.4 pounds) - a nice slow and steady weight loss.

I have been very interested to read about other lapbander's stories. There is no support group here in the state that I live in (Tasmania - the little triangle island at the bottom of mainland Australia) so it has been great to come to this forum.

Last week I had another fill - or down here we tend to call them "adjustments". After reading some posts here I asked my surgeon what the capacity of the band is and he said 4mls. I now have 3.1ml of Fluid in my band. I am quite restricted and am looking forward to finding the "sweet spot" that others talk about.

I have also noticed that you guys in the USA seem to go through a lot more testing prior to surgery that I did. In fact, the only thing my surgeon did was weigh me, measure my height, calculate my BMI (which has fallen 10 points, by the way) then tell me I was morbidly obese and met his criteria for the surgery.

Luckily I had been researching this procedure for 12 - 18 months which my General Practitioner first suggested to me. Speaking to other patients who have been banded, both before and after my surgery, has been absolutely invaluable.

Over 12 months down the track, I am only now I think, getting my head around this whole thing. I have found the physical aspect to banding great, but the psychological aspect has been interesting.

Anyway, I look forward to chatting when I can. My only access to the internet is at work (currently lunchtime here at the moment) so I am somewhat restricted.

Nice to meet you...

Hello! Plenty of Aussie's on the board here...they'll pop in before you know it. Just want to say HI and Welcome! Good job on your weight loss!!!

AussieGirl,

Welcome! Sounds like you are doing great...this is a wonderful place for info and support. I come here everyday just to keep motivated!

A "BIG" welcome from Texas! Hope to see you posting often!

Great to see you here on the boards and excited to learn about your experiences. You've done great so far so maybe you are near that "sweet spot".

My surgery is scheduled for next month. So tell me more about the "interesting psychological" aspects? I think that's got me worried the most.

Hi Karen

Yeah, the psychological aspects are quite interesting. Let me see....for me there have been a number of aspects to this.

For a start, I still feel quite ashamed about the fact that I had to go to this extreme measure in order to lose some weight. I don't have a problem with exercise - I go to the gym 5 mornings a week before work and have a personal trainer and I train really hard, I don't just perspire, I sweat! My problem is an addiction to food, and like any other addiction, I don't think that will just go away. As a result of this shame that I still feel, I haven't told all my friends/family about the surgery, only some. Like another thread that I noticed on this subject, it can lead to some problematic situations when I am invited out to meals in people's homes or restaurants. I don't like being forced into "fessing up" but have found that that can be better than hurting a hostess's feelings when you don't eat all the food they pile on your plate.

I also found that some of my friends who did know about the band stopped inviting me over for meals due to their concern about what they were going to feed me! I've handled that by having them around to my place so they see what I do eat, how much etc.

Despite the fact that I have lost the weight that I have, I look in the mirror and don't see a difference (except in my face which is a lot leaner). Just goes to show what a distorted body image I have, despite the fact that I have gone from Australian size 24 to 16/18 and have had to replace my entire wardrobe, undies, bras and all.

I get cross about the stuff that I can no longer eat and find the social situations that centre around eating a bit hard, almost like I am missing out on something....and I am - a whole lot of calories!!

So, I have found this to be an interesting journey. Despite the difficulties, I have never regretted my actions and I am looking forward to seeing what the future may hold in store for me.

In some ways my band is my friend, but occasionally it feels like my enemy.

Good luck with your surgery.

Wow, aussiegirl, thanks for being so candid! I think the mental aspect worries me most. I can understand all of what you are saying.

This is a HUGE change and it has to come with some emotional aspect.

I'm learning so much from the people on this board, it's amazing!

Thanks!

Hi Aussie Girl

Did you know there ia a yahoo support group in Australia for Lapbanders.

The link is

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ozband/

Might catch you there sometime...

Janeen

Hi Janeen,

No I didn't know about the Australian support group. Thanks for that link,

I will check it out.

There is a "conference" being organised in Canberra in early October. Should be lots of fun. People are coming from all over.

I will post the link for that when the web site is ready.

Janeen

Thanks - that would be great

Hi Aussiegirl! About those tests: A lot of them are for the benefit of our insane private insurance system rather than the patient. They seem designed specifically to discourage people from proceeding with the surgery -- in order to save the insurers money. Mind you, some US doctors demand a lot of tests even for self-pay patients where no insurance is involved, but in general the tests are done for the insurance companies. Those of us who travel to Mexico (including those who were denied coverage by our insurance) usually don't have many tests. My pre-op tests were similar to yours: height, weight, blood pressure, blood sample, EKG, brief medical history, and I was good to go.

WELCOME!,

I see you struggle with social eating as I do! I have such a hard time saying to food in a social situation! You are doing so great going to that gym 5 days a week- that is super. Keep up the good work!

Hiya Aussiegirl,

I am from Aussie as well. I am in NSw near Sydney. i am also a member of Ozband. i am not sure if you have joined but we have some people from tassie as well. I was banded on the 4th April this year and I had all the tests done. I was paying privately so I dont think it was for the health fund either. i had the VG big band put in and currently have 7.5 mls. I am only just starting to feel some restriction. I have lost 15kg.

As another pp stated there is going to be a conference in Canberra. Heaps of the lap bandeds from ozband are going, myself included. Here is the website addy. http://users.tpg.com.au/adsl50pe/

Hope to talk to you more.

Hi from Perth.

I was banded in Feb and have lost 16kgs (only about 75 no go - no joke!!!).

I find any situation involving food difficult. The psychological addiction is a shocker!

All the best,

Rachel.