2008 Junies and Friends

OHHHHHH MYYYYY GODDDDDD !!

So Debs, I am sorry to push in and steal ya thunder.... BUT .....

I think I just got a date for my sleeve !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OMG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I feel all nervous and sick in my stomach now.)

17th April 2013

Band out in Jan or Feb depending on Public Hospital list and sleeve in April.
His secretary just booked me on his list for that day and will confirm all with him later next month.

Holy Cow..

Thanks Zip, that is great advice....especially about the cheaper gasman. I think i used MacCloud the first time and he was expensive, a lovely man but expensive. I think i might also have a $500 hospital excess...bloody fund. Still, the thought of this thing being out of me is awesome. I'm getting lots of nausea now, i don't know if its the band or if i just have a gut bug but i usually never get nauseated. I wrote out a list today to take to Nige entitled '10 Reasons my band sucks Balls'. I hope he sees the funny side. lol I wanted to write it all out because i get flustered when i'm there and i have a terrible memory...and i don't want to come off sounding half hearted about getting it removed.

That makes sense about the stomach going back to normal i guess. I just want it done but i understand the reasons for waiting. Plus, it'll give me three months to save up some more money. That's good they keep you full of anti-spew meds. I need them! I'm always sick as a dog after a general anesthetic, i think i chucked when i got the band in and i had this bitch theatre nurse who said 'for gods sake!' when i asked for a spew dish and then she took ages and when she came back i had puked on myself and she says 'bloody hell couldn't you have waited!' in this sarky voice. Grrrrr... everyone else was lovely though...so i hope its her days off when i go in. LOL How good would that be if he could get me in in a week! I better not get too excited though incase for some reason i'm not a good candidate or he's booked up for three months etc...

I'll keep you posted though. Thankyou again Zip. Yes, i might take you up on the cuppa offer when it gets closer to my sleeve date (if i get one)...i would love to pick your brain! :)

I'll shall tell you everything Tara :) are you going to make an appointment to see your doc too? Let us know how it goes.....

Ok, will update you tomorrow night. Fingers crossed!

debsx

Eeek Debs,

Ya see the Doc tomorrow eh ???
HOW EXCITEMENT !!!!!!!!!!! (oooooh I'm gunna make an appt with mine now.)

Tell us EVERYTHING !!!!

Tara

Quote :

Can i ask Zip how long it was between telling Nige you wanted it out and him actually taking it out? Then there is that wait, is it two months before they can sleeve after the band is out? I wish it could be all done in one but i guess there are medical reasons for them not doing it. Did you have to pay to get it out Zip? I still have my private health insurance so i'm hoping to god they will cover most of it. I guess you have to pay the gas man to take it out and then pay the gas man again when its time to sleeve? I did have some savings for a holiday somewhere but i think this is more important.

Sorry I havent replied prior to this Debs I have been super busy... I hope its not too late.

Ok here goes,

From time of telling Nige I wanted it out it was approx a week because I didnt have to do the opti diet or anything so it was next available theatre.. then I had to wait 3 months for my tummy to heal and "unfold" so to speak after removal to get the sleeve and two weeks of opti prior to the op. The 3 month wait makes the tummy much safer to operate on and also it gives a better shaped and functioning sleeve as the tummy will have regained it normal natural shape for the op.

The only cost I had for removal and for the sleeve was the gas man which was about 1200 each time ( nige fudged the numbers so I had no out of pocket for him and my fund completely covered the hosp stay).As far as Lurch the gas man went I didnt get much back and had to pay up front for him. I used Mcloud I think his name was...it was Mc something anyway and his rooms are opposite the base hospital and he is the dearest one doc uses so ask him for the cheapest one. Another lady from round here that switched over used the other gas bloke and her bill was half of mine.

Getting the band out is a peice of cake and for about 3 weeks after its out you will feel no hunger and get full quick...but be aware this rapidly turns the other way but eating well after this will allow your tummy to unfold and regain its natural shape... the opti you do before the sleeve will strip off the gained weight in this period so bloody enjoy yourself and commit foodaside on steak and anything else you fancy.

Getting the sleeve done is also easy and I found the recoup far easier than the band. Pain initially after the op in recovery is a bitch ...if your stupid like me and dont use the pain button... if you use it there is no problems and you will breeze through it. He keeps you pumped full of anti nausea meds for the first couple days and if you get break through blerks just sing out and they give you a nice lil jab and your all happy again.

3 days and I was wondering if I had even had an op I felt so good.

I have never regretted this decision... I have nothing I can not eat or have any bad side effects. I have been off my required 6 month prescription post op of acid reducers for two weeks now and have no need for them at all any more.

This was my greatest worry before the sleeve, that I would be getting a proceedure that would permenantly have me suffering band symptoms like vometing... reflux and pain or not being able to eat food groups.

But I have none of that and if it were not for my small and satisfying intake I would not know I have had WLS... life is good.

Good luck tomorrow chicklet and if you ever want to catch up for a coffee.. just pm me and we will organize it.

Hey Loosinit...great to see you, I have missed your lil face!

Good point Linda, i will take that into consideration with the health insurance.
What weird weather you're haing down there. Snow! It has been quite hot up here on the mid north coast but today is overcast and a bit gray....its still muggy though. We've got a combi van festival happening so this little seaside village is packed with people. Still, its good for the local businesses though.

It was snowing when I got up at 6.30am. It has stopped and is sunny now. I think it is going to be a weird day weather wise. Yesterday we had thunder so loud it shook the house. Alan went outside to make sure that the extinct volcano in our front yard hadn't erupted. I would have been stuffed as I was still in bed LOL Usually it is him still in bed and me up.

Don't forget that it is a pre exisitng though so a new fund might make you wait 12 months.

Too true losingit. Last diet my arse.

Linda, that is a good idea re looking at other funds. I had not thought of that. I might ring them if i remember and see if revision surgery is possible and what the costs are...and then shop around and do some comparisons...great idea. Some of offer better deals if i say i'm thinking of transfering. Thanks mate. x

Of course I need to take some responsibility for my erring ways. But . . . . . . as you say, Debs, if I need to diet and follow a multitude of rules, then I may as well be without the complications of a band and just lose weight the way I have so many times before.

So much for the sprouting of some on the other forum "this is the last diet you will ever have to follow" (in relation to Optifast).

I am sure if you say all of that to the doc he will be happy to take it out and give you a sleeve. He sounds really nice and maybe he can do it for the medicare rebate and you will just be out of pocket for the gas man. I know he was the biggest expense for Trish. I wonder if there are any others that the doc uses. Many years ago when my husband had to have prostate cancer surgery my health fund wouldn't cover the gap of the anaetethist. He wasn't on their preferred list. So I looked at who this guy was on the preferred list for. Turned out to be medibank private. So I switched funds a few days before the surgery. Turned out to be cheaper premiums too. Also I was with HBF and they still wanted a co payment for a private room even with top cover. That annoyed me. Medibank covered everything. Out of pocket was $200 for the gas man instead of at least 1000 sticking with HBF. The actual surgeon had no gap with either funds. Best at looking around if something annoys you.

I agree with both of you...and a lot of ex bandits on the sleeve forum say the same thing. Band was going great for a few years and then 'something' changed. It sucks when the weight slowly creeps back on. And you do feel bad because you know you're not doing the right things but like Linda says, you loose the will to fight.

I was reading another forum where the bandits who were sucessful were all rah-rah-rah and almost militant about it..'you've got to follow the rules, you've got to only eat small portions even if you are still hungry' you've got to keep going in for fills' 'you've got to exercise' 'if you can't eat meat and bread then you just have to suck it up' 'if you don't follow the rules of course people fail and then they whinge about it..' etc..etc... This is all true i guess, but i don't want to live my life this way. It sounds like the same rules people follow who haven't had any surgery! I don't see the point then. I don't want to go out to dinner with my partner and take five times as long to eat half the amount, i'm sick of eating cold or reheated and dried up food, i'm sick of having to 'diet' even though i've had weightloss surgery, i'm sick of not being able to eat healthy foods i love and being easily able to eat a heap of food that's bad for me, i'm sick of puking when I break a rule or even if i don't, i'm sick of making excuses for why i'm slowly gaining, i'm sick of feeling guilty for failing all these rules. I'm just sick of the band.

I too was hoping my band would slip or something so it had to come out...and until the dentist told me about my teeth being damaged i'd probably still be making excuses why it was just me and not the band..etc... i don't care anymore. I know its me AND the band. I was reading an article this morning about lapband failure and how it said the blame is usually put on the patient when clear studies show that something like 50% of bands are removed after 4 years due to complications and even bariatric surgeons are saying there needs to be another option and the sleeve (and roux-en-y (?) in extreme cases, are much better options with much less risk of failure long term. Some doctors are even questioning whether the band is of any real use for the majority of people...especially a few years down the track.

I ust hope my doc takes me seriously and agrees to take it out...and i hope my health insurance will cover it. Fingers crossed.

I was really happy for the first 3 years. I lost 32kgs and could virtually eat and drink what I liked and stay the same weight. I was walking most days. Then it just changed. I was gaining and having to go on a diet and lose a bit and then gain and gain. I have regained almost 18 kgs. So my loss of 32 is now only 14 and only going up. I now weigh .8 more than at the start of this year. That was after losing weight on dukan for 6 weeks. I just don't have the fight left in me. I wish I had kept some clothes. I secretly wish that my band would require emergency surgery or something to get rid of it. Then I would go for the sleeve. It is shitty regaining the weight.

Too true, Debs. I agree with the lady who lost her weight in 8 months. It seems to me it really is one or the other. I ran my band fairly tight for a while, but got sick of it. By then I had lost most of my weight, mostly through old-fashioned willpower. I rarely brought anything back up, and if I did, it was only through great effort on my part. Once it's down the hatch with me, it just keeps going, or getting stuck until it decides to move through.

Unfortunately I think there are very few people who are successful long-term with the band. Good luck to those who are.

I think for the great part, we were sold false promises.

I have no idea what I weigh now, but suspect I've regained every bit I lost. My clothes would certainly indicate that. Shame shame shame for having had 'great success' (through a hell of a lot of hard work), and now having reversed it all.

That's what i think Linda! If it was in reverse i reckon i could live with it...eat a good breakfast, a lighter lunch, a tiny dinner and no late night snacks...it would be perfect, but instead its no breakfast, puke up my lunch, eat a bigger dinner than i should, maybe puke some back up maybe not, and then hoover up everything in sight late at night. Definitely a bad bad band...and defintely a bad bad deb too for not having the willpower to NOT eat late at night. Its so true when they say they don't band your brain huh.

Actually i was watching a youtube video of a girl that lost a heap of weight with her lapband, she was doing a kind of retrospective of how it happened. She lost all her weight in 8 months but didn't realise until after she lost it and looked back that she didn't actually have restriction until she was 7.5 months through the journey. She reckons 75% of weightloss with a lapband is willpower and only about 15% is the actual band. She said even though she could eat way more than she did she had to use willpower to loose the weight and reckons if you're the sort of person who lacks willpower you'll probably fail. She was very honest about it all and said there are basically two ways to lose weight with the band (from her experience and knowing lots of other banders) and that is either 1) use willpower (just like you would without a band) or 2) run it tight to where you can't eat properley and spew (obviously unhealthy.) She said a lot of banders she new eventually got the sleeve because the willpower needed to maintain your loss wanes with time and the weight comes back on. She is hoping she can maintain her willpower. Credit where credit is due though, she did great with the band....a definite success story.

And on here we have our own success story with the lovely Delia who is a skinny minny with her band. And Zippy of course who became a skinny minny until her band started to play up. I think the band works as long as you've got an iron will to go with it. Unfortunately i don't seem to have that. :(

no bad bad band

It should be in reverse

We hear ya Linda...preachin' to the choir. lol I'd had real struggles especially the last few days with things but late last night at about 11pm i couldn't sleep and really hungry so tried some of that left over runny curry (it had thickened up quite a bit by now) and was able to scoff the lot, with rice and a small piece of roti bread! I can never eat bread. I don't get why after about 11pm by band loosenes up so much...its like a little fairy gets out her little syringe and takes all the fluid out each night...the fluid fairy. (She's kind of like the tooth fairy but weighs 300 pounds...i tell ya, i don't know how those little wings lift her off the ground :)

Anyway, that's how my band has behaved....tight as buggery all morning, looser in the evening and like its empty at night. At night is my biggest problem...because i'm really hungry and bored from not sleeping and its seems i can get pretty much anything down. Bad bad Deb.

You ladies are very welcome here. We discuss all sorts of things. Should have seen the discussion when we tried the detox diet!

Had a bridge meeting yesterday. Bought subway on the way. It finished late, had to scarf the food before bridge started. Ate half, threw up and had to take half a chill out pill. Then ate a small muffin in the afternoon because I was hungry. Not good eating habits at all.

Heya Losin it,

We've missed you around here. Yes hugs !!

I think the sense of humour is almost guaranteed - we are toothless bandits running around in moo moos, thinking ice cream is a food group !

Love
Tara

Hugs to you Losingit!

I wonder where everyone else on this forum has disapeared too? I wonder if their bands have been so successful they're off living their skinny lives or if their bands haven't been as great as they'd hoped and they've slinked off feeling embaressed. I know i slinked off for a long time because i was embaressed i wasn't a band success story. Now i'm back and discussing options and talking it through with you wonderful ladies i feel so much better mentally, and much more hopeful. So thankyou beautiful girls for listening and for your lovely advice and understanding.
debs

As long as you're a realist and have a sense of humour - Junies welcome you!

I feel bad too...talking sleeve talk on your thread. Sorry Junies. Maybe a new thread is in order. I know the band is working great for lots of people still so i apologise for the sleeve talk.
Yes Tara, it would be good to go through it together. I haven't seen my surgeon yet either. I see him on the 3rd of next month. I hope he's receptive.
Kaftan....lol Step away from the kaftan.... :)

Ba ha ha "blubber and gums" you have just described me Debs.

Yesterday I walked past a giant square dress in an Indian store labelled "KAFTAN $20" and actually stopped & considered this might be a good piece of clothing to purchase , like W.T.H. .. seriously Tara, STEP AWAY FROM THE KAFTAN !!!!

I've given up; the band has done nothing but teach me super bad eating habits (not that they weren't HORRENDEOUS to start with!!)

So I'm with you I am pretty much decided that the Sleeve is for me.

Debs, I'm super excited we may be on the sleeve journey at a similar time (lol having said that I ave not even spoken to my surgeon yet !!!!)

I too am wondering all about the time frames. I think he makes ya wait 3 months + after removal b4 sleeving you. UGH !!

Hey Junies,
Sorry, we seem to have taken over your thread with talk of the Sleeve.
Would you prefer if we started another thread ??

Cheers all,
Tara

How good is that Zip. I can't imagine ever having to worry about loosing too MUCH weight. I think i'd choke if i ever got to a point where by boyfriend said 'jeb you're too skinny, have a donut stat!' LOL Its as alien to me as well, an actual alien :) Quite a nice position to be in i'd imagine. I have definitely decided i want my band out...i was too-ing and fro-ing for a while there but the teeth thing has been the decider. I hope Nigel is receptive and doesn't tell me to live with it another six months and think about it again.

Can i ask Zip how long it was between telling Nige you wanted it out and him actually taking it out? Then there is that wait, is it two months before they can sleeve after the band is out? I wish it could be all done in one but i guess there are medical reasons for them not doing it. Did you have to pay to get it out Zip? I still have my private health insurance so i'm hoping to god they will cover most of it. I guess you have to pay the gas man to take it out and then pay the gas man again when its time to sleeve? I did have some savings for a holiday somewhere but i think this is more important.

I went out to lunch with my b/f yesterday and puked it up 10 mins later. Had some nice runny curry for dinner but could only eat a teeny amount but still felt hungry so ate some chocolate. Arrrghhhh!!!!! LOL Then today had a two bites of a hotdog and threw up twice. Then i had some homemade cookies instead. See, at this rate the 20kgs i've lost will be back on in no time. No wonder my teeth are rotting away...between the puking and all the sugar i'm eating...i'll be all blubber and gums in no time! Hahahahahahahahahaha...whose a sexy girl. LOL

PS: You never know Tara, sounds like it could be a possibility!

Debs that is no good but I have heard of a couple of people with the same issues. I was lucky even with all the reflux my teeth were undamaged.

Where were all these warnings when we went into all this eh... pffft bloody crock if you aske me.

Well I weighed in this morning as my husband asked me too because he was sure I have lost more weight... 69.8 so I am down again from my weigh in the other day.

Pays to not diet in my case it seems.

That's what i thought Linda. Most of my puke seems to be from just the pouch as it doesn't taste like puke but i was researching and small amounts of acid can come up even if you can't taste it...if the pukes happen alot the teeth are still getting exposed to it even though its only little bits. Who knows though. All i know is that i've never had a problem with my teeth in my whole life and in the last year of the band...enamel damage and pain. It had a big effect on my partner, he was like 'get that thing out'. lol