Lap band surgery!

Ladies,

I am asking this on behalf of my beautiful sister.
now obviously my sister is looking into having this surgery, and she wants to hear some real life opinions/experiences so to speak.
she is about 30kgs overweight for her age and height and has tried almost EVERYTHING! and the weight hasnt shifted. She has a PT twice a week and goes to gym by herself twice during the week.
I have a meal plan set up for her but her weight isnt shifting.

so has anyone on BB had this surgery?
how much did it cost? private or public?
how long was the recovery?
did it hurt lol?

Replies would be muchly appreciated by her :D

Thanks on behalf of Marleigh (my sister)

jump in and have a look at Sushee's blog hun - she goes through all the stuff to do with her lapband surgery in there

from personal (parental) experiences - if you can't make the lifestyle changes before the surgery and maintain it post surgery, it won't work. you need to be able to cut the food portions down, need to exercise - otherwise you lose a crap load of weight quickly, and then nothing. you need to NOT eat food that is "easy" with the band (pureed food defeats the purpose). if you aren't in that headspace, it won't work. it's a boost to lifestyle changes you've begun and will need to keep up LONG TERM or it will just make you ill, will fail, may burst etc.

can you tell my parents haven't had great results??

thanks lovely- now off to find sushee and her blogs!
thanks for your tips also, i will be sure to pass them along to her :)
do you know roughly how much you loose a week?
im a nutritionist so im not to happy about her going to this drastic measure but im happy to help and support her with what she chooses, if it helps her.

to be honest, i can't remember. mum had hers done when i was in my teens - lost heaps, then didn't stick to it - band ulcerated, stomach ruptured, she put on more weight, had to have corrective surgery (and decided to throw even more drastic weight loss surgery into the mix) - she is still drastically overweight cos the only time she stuck to the eating plan was when i cooked for her - and i wasn't living there so it was getting ridiculous. Dad had his a few years ago now - and yes, i'll give him that he can't do the exercise due to being riddled with arthritis from an accident in his 20's (he has one ankle completely locked up surgically) BUT, instead of accepting that he needs small portions of real food, he opted (demanded) big serves of pureed mash with gravy to make it go down better. he now yo yo's - he doesn't eat anything for a week, then eats the wrong stuff - he won't open his eyes that the NOT eating is what is doing him damage cos his body goes into starvation mode and when he DOES eat, it stores it all, knowing he will go into starvation mode again soon

for people witih the right motivation (like sushee) it can work wonderfully - but your head really needs to be in the right place and you have to keep it going long term. this is really just a boost to the major changes you need to make yourself

I don't know a lot about lapbanding and I will be completely honest and say for 30kgs that ;apbanding to me seem REALLY extreme but I would say if she is absolutely genuinely eating right and excercising and not havign splurges in diet and still not losing weight a trip to the dr's might help to see if there is a thyroid issue or somethign else going on. Also I have lost over 20kgs since the 1st of March and really recommend it

thanks Jas. did you loose 20kgs from something to do with your thyroids?

30kg doesn't seem that much ... I've put on 20kg just being pregnant and ignoring the bump it is only one or two dress sizes. Same when I gained 25kg.

What is her BMI?

her BMI is 39 im pretty sure, im not 100% sure but she is eligible as she has seen her general GP about it.

Lap banding is not an easy way out, it and i wouldn't be doing it to lose just 30kg.

Ages ago mu gp put me on the public waiting list in perth for this surgery. To be at the top of the list you had to be morbidly obese (there was a bmi but i can't remember what), be actively trying to lose weight and have a medical condition caused or made worse by the obesity eg cardiac, blood pressure, arthritis etc. Other wise it was a multiple year wait just to be seen.

Kate- Shes not taking it as a 'easy' way out. She has lots of contributing issues behind it.
plus if you read my OP it says she is training, has a 'nutritional eating plan' and still not loosing! so now what?

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Ages ago mu gp put me on the public waiting list in perth for this surgery. To be at the top of the list you had to be morbidly obese (there was a bmi but i can't remember what), be actively trying to lose weight and have a medical condition caused or made worse by the obesity eg cardiac, blood pressure, arthritis etc. Other wise it was a multiple year wait just to be seen.

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She has private health so no waiting list really, she does have diabetes and high blood pressure so classified as a medical condition. I know 30kgs doesnt seem alot but her DR has spoken to her regarding her health and after PT sessions,gym etc nothing else is working. so again she isnt taking the "EASY WAY OUT" she has tried everything with 0 results.

Does her private health actually cover it cause some were removing it from their coverage, stupid really cause of the money they would save down the track.

um im pretty sure, so long as you have a 'medical condition' im not 100% sure though.
she is calling them in the morning.

Medical conditions like that can make it extraordinarily hard to lose weight and some bodies just seem to hold on to every bit of fat available, if this is what she wants then I hope she can find an easy way to achieve it. Good luck

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Kate- Shes not taking it as a 'easy' way out. She has lots of contributing issues behind it.
plus if you read my OP it says she is training, has a 'nutritional eating plan' and still not loosing! so now what?

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i think you misunderstood my post. I am saying that having lapband surgery and making all the necessary changes associated with the surgery can be quite difficult, and it involves life long changes. I was not commenting on what your sister has or hasn't done so far.

Obese is generally pegged as BMI over 30. She must be short :) That or she's understating what she needs to lose, which seems likely.

I'm 20kg over my normal weight (39 weeks pregnant though), which gives me a BMI of 25, into the overweight range. 'Normal' weight is defined as 18.5-24.9. At my natural weight I have a BMI of 18, when I gained 25kg I'd started at a BMI of 16. Similar amount I 'need' to lose, totally different situation - noone in hell would suggest surgery for me, pregnant or otherwise. My current weight would be normal even on someone the same height as me if they had a different bone structure.

Honestly, about the only thing BMI is good for is for being diagnosed as officially obese for gastric banding surgery.

Edit: this is the page I was getting BMIs from. http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm ... if you know your height in feet and inches and your weight in kilos, multiply by 2.2 to go from kilos to pounds.