hi everyone..i am a 36,single mother of two beautiful girls from perth,western australia.ive made the decision that i will be getting a lapband.i have struggled with my weight all my life.i have joined up with medibank private a couple months ago and now have the long wait of 10 months to have this procedure done.i literally cannot wait for this to be done and i congratulate everyone on this site,u r so inspirational!!i have been told so many times that im so pretty but what a shame i have a weight problem!!the thing is i havent felt feminine or pretty for years.my youngest daughter has been teased at school because of my weight and this gets me so down.being overweight robs me of my life but at last i can see light at the end of the tunnel..please someone tell me that the next 10 months will go fast and any tips would be greatly appreciated while i wait for this to be done!!thank u everyone for sharing your stories,every one of u is beautiful...xx

Hi gmp72, Good for you taking care of yourself, in the midst of a full life! I am also learning how important this is. I have been on this journey for a bout a year now, realizing how I need to really take care of business if I want to live out life...alive, and enjoying my family, growing, marrying, grandchildren, the list goes on!

For me, my med insurance required many appts and classes throughout this time along with weight loss and studying/understand the protocol for before and i.e. after surgery. A few books I enjoyed were...Khaliah Ali, Fighting Weight (boxer M. Ali's daughter, a single mom and Banded!), also, Colleen Cook's, Successful Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients, the team they are and work with to really help people make a difference!, and Weight Loss Surgery w/ the AGB, Sewell/Rohrbough. I found these to be helpful, insightful and continued references. Hope this helps! :bolt:

thank you rosyyyd1 for the tips and advice.i have been to a few seminars and starting to find out all thats needed before and after the op..the dietician,pyschologist,pysiotherapist etc etc..its just the waiting game now but i will look up ur books u recommended..thank u and i hope u r happy with life!!

Hi gmp72 and welcome from a fellow Perthite! There are many Aussies already here on the site and they can give you the lowdown on how Medibank Private deals with the waiting time, etc. It's a LOT easier for us to get covered under insurance than it seems to be for many of our US friends. I can't offer much insurance advice as I was so impatient, I coudn't wait out the 12 month qualifying period on my insurance and went full-pay. However, if you go to the Home page and look down the list of forum names, you will find the Australian support group.

Good for you for making the decision - best thing I ever did for myself. You'll be saying the same very soon!

Thanks FANNYADAMS..ive also thought about paying the full amount too,i dont know how im going to have to wait another 10 months!!congratulations on ur weightloss!!!u must feel like a diffrent person eh??!what doctor did ur lap band?i am looking at dr watson,dr hamdorf or dr ahmed..not sure which one yet.ive been going to the seminars and feel so inspired when i go,my mother gets hers done in 3 months and she cant wait..ill chek out the aussie lap band support thread..thanks for ur reply..

I went with Dr Watson at St John of God Murdoch. He's very straightforward and has years and years of experience. Self-pay, the whole shebang (Dr Watson, anaesthetist, hospital stay, all the tests, etc) cost me around $12700, of which Medicare gave a $1500 rebate, so $11200 out of pocket.

i met dr watson at the seminar and he was very straightforward and i liked that.did u have to wait long when u paid up in full or did u have it done straight away?

Hehe - it was so fast it made my head spin. I had to wait 6 weeks from the time of my referral to my first meeting with him, as I work away on a mine site and we had trouble finding an appointment time to fit. Once that long wait was over, we scheduled the surgery during the visit and I was under the knife only 2 weeks later! I haven't regretted it for a moment since!

6 weeks is that all??omg thats so amazing!!