Administrator - Circle of Care

Sydney Clinics Information Seminars

Patient Information Seminars will be held at our Baulkham Hills clinic.

Please call 1300 722 224 to book, or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Baulkham Hills - Sydney

Monday 18th October 2010 commencing at 6:30 pm

Baulkham Hills - Sydney

Monday 15th November 2010 commencing at 6:30 pm

Published in News

Sandra

Gastric banding has given me back my life!

I'm 55 years old and really have been somewhat over weight for most of those years, but became really obese in my thirties. I spent thousands of dollars at Weight Watches, Slim U, Jenny Craig, on joining and rejoining and then joining again, at dieticians and chemists on special food, encouragement tapes, diet drinks and wonder pills. I could manage to lose 10 to 15 kilos sometimes but within months it would be all back on with a few extra kilos each time. By now I was terrified to go on another diet because I would just fail again and gain more weight on this terrible merry go round. Eventually I weighed 118 kilos, was in size 24 to 26 clothes, had so much pain in my knees that I could hardly walk and my blood pressure was so high even after 5 tablets a day that I was in danger of having a stroke or heart attack.

I started hearing stories about this new idea of gastric banding. I saw a show on T.V. and so I sent for some literature. My daughter accessed the internet and printed me off heaps of information. I thought about it for 3 years. I moved out of Sydney and convinced myself that I could lose the weight once I changed my lifestyle and settled in to our new home at Lake Macquarie.

I gained 6 kilos!
I rang the Institute of Weight Control. I spoke with Laurita and I was treated with genuine interest and respect. My questions were answered and I made an appointment. She rang me before the appointment date to make sure that I was Ok about coming down from Newcastle. My first meeting with Dr Brancatisano was amazing, with both my husband and I asking questions that were answered honestly and easily. My husband was impressed with the fact that the operation was both reversible and adjustable. My obesity was being treated as a serious and legitemit problem and not a joke! I was really nervous and somewhat sceptical about the claims of success of the band, and so afraid of failing yet again, but I drew some inner strength from somewhere and went ahead with it.

I was operated on the 29th of August 2004. Everything went well and I was treated so well by all the staff. I found the notes provided by the Institute invaluable and I followed them word for word. I must say I hated the puree weeks and I had some trouble drinking as much as I was supposed to, but by Christmas 2004 I was 17 kilos lighter.

The best thing is that this is a liveable lifestyle, I feel that I don't miss out on anything. The band allows me to be successful at lifestyle changes that I could not cope with before. November 2005, and I have now lost 31 kilos and still losing. I walk 3 to 4 times a week for 45 minutes (first time in my life) because I'm able to do it. I still eat most my meals from a small plate, as this seems to help me realise what I eat. I still have to slow my eating down sometimes, as old habits die hard. I enjoy a glass of wine or 2, but now I always drink before I eat and I have 2 wine free days a week. An extra bonus for me was that I met a wonderful lady through this operation who happens to come from the Hunter as well and we have been great support for each other and travel down to Baulkham Hills together comparing notes all the way.

I must have been addicted to food....especially take away, salty food. I used to crave some foods, think about them all day, wait for the next meal. This has stopped.....I feel like Dr Brancatisano has operated on my head! I can't tolerate salty or oily food anymore. I don't finish a normal 'pub meal' anymore, but eat what I want and then push the plate away happy knowing that I have paid for the right to leave some on my plate! Food does not rule my life anymore...I do!

Many thanks to Dr Roy Brancatisano and staff for making this all possible for me.

Sandra Banister

Published in Articles

Maureen

When I came along to see Professor Toouli at the Adelaide Bariatric Centre I weighed 115 kgs. I now weigh 75 kgs. Gastric band surgery has helped me shed 50 kilos and has made a remarkable difference to my life. The change in me has been dramatic.

What I have lost in weight, I have gained in self-confidence. As well as having a new man in my life, I find that shopping for clothes has become a pleasure. I now buy size 12-14 rather than size 24-26. I don't worry so much about wearing make-up as I'm more comfortable in my own skin. I can walk across the road without feeling self-conscious. I can eat an ice-cream in public without worrying what people will think of me. I can buy groceries at the supermarket without being frowned upon.

I had been trying to lose weight since the age of 13. I come from a family of chronic overeaters and had tried every diet in the book.

My weight was causing all sorts of health problems. I could hardly walk and was heading for a knee reconstruction. I was always tired, I had sleeping problems, and even going to the theatre was an effort as I couldn't fit in the seat.

I finally decided to take serious action when I saw Dr Jim Toouli on TV. Having a gastric band fitted was my last chance of living a normal life. Following the surgery, I lost a couple of kilos in the first week and then proceeded to breeze through the recovery.

Twelve months later, I had reached my goal weight. It's not a quick fix... you have to be disciplined and make a conscious decision to eat less. You don't talk calories... you try different foods and smaller portions and find what works best for you. It comes down to being sensible. I believe it's the easiest and best solution for being overweight.

I received fantastic back-up from my doctor, and the support group was very helpful.

I've made lots of friends through this and encouraged several friends to have surgery. It has helped every aspect of my life and I am very happy with my weight.

I would recommend this to anybody trying to lose weight

Published in Articles

Linda

Hi, my name is Linda and this is my experience with the Institute of Weight Control.

When I first walked into the Institute Dr Roy Brancatisano started to explain to me that I had to lose approximately 5kg to 10kg before I could start the program. Well, I stamped my feet, I wanted the easy way out. Put the gastric band in and just lose the weight. Well that’s what I thought anyway. After many tears and lots of talking to Petra and Dr Brancatisano I realized this had to be done. I was a massive size 22 at the age of 17 and I weighed 150kg at my heaviest. I managed to pull my weight down to 130kg before going to the Institute, but again I quit my diet and the weight was gaining fast.

Once the operation was complete, I feared the worst, I still wanted to be able to eat all that junk food and I wanted to be able to eat more. But with the support of my family and friends and the Institute I said no and pushed on. I have only had 2 band fills and that has been enough for me to get just above my goal weight (80kg). I am currently 85kg and very happy. I feel very healthy and I’m back doing the things I love; racing Sprintcars (because I now fit in the back seat), water skiing, horse riding and most of all exercise without being embarrassed about everyone looking at my flabby bits.

Thank you very much to the Institute of Weight Control, if it wasn’t for you guys and all the support, I think I would still be putting on weight and not getting anywhere. This has made my life a complete turnaround and I love every minute of shopping for beautiful clothes that I don’t have to squeeze into.

Linda

Published in Articles

Deanne

My experience with gastric banding has been a very life altering experience in so many ways.

I have had a weight problem since childhood and then lost weight in my mid teens only to gain weight again in my late teens. Always a problem!

After many exhausting attempts to lose weight over the years, I came across gastric banding in our local newspaper and looked into it with no turning back, it has turned out better than I have ever expected.

Since July 2005, I have lost 40kgs, from 123.5kg to 83.5kg, much better than I would have ever expected.

My quality of life has improved in so many ways, I am physically able to do so much more and I feel more comfortable doing everyday things including exercise which I used to dread. It is also easier to buy clothes that are more fashionable for my age group.

Some people who have not seen me since July 2005 and have seen me recently have been amazed at the change the weight loss has made in my appearance and some have walked past me and not recognized me at first glance. When they realized it was me, they were amazed as well. People who I see on a regular basis, at least once ever 2-3 weeks notice the continual loss, which I thought was surprising as well.

I recommend anyone with a serious weight problem to look into the surgery as it may change their lives for the better.

Deanne

Published in Articles

Ali

The week before my operation I was terrified, since I can remember I didn't just love food, I was obsessed with it, and this operation meant that I was never going to be able to enjoy food again, so I thought.

I am 21 yrs and an elite athlete, I have been apart of the NSW Institute of Sport for equestrian for a number of years. I have represented NSW 8 times as a young rider, been apart of the national Mitsubishi Young rider Squad (9 are selected) and represented Australia twice. My fist goals in life were to ride at the Olympics. That is still my goal and dream today, only I am so much closer to achieving this dream then what I was at 7yrs. But my goals, dream, everything that I had strived and sacrificed for was going to be canned because I was battling with weight problems, and I was told 'drastically loose weight or forget about riding!'. I had tried so many diets for a number of years, but I could not even loose 1KG,but kept putting it on, so in my last hope to save everything, I booked in for a gastric band. Now all I think is 'why didn't I do this earlier and what was I so scared of?'.

I would not say that I was the best patient or stuck to the rules (I do like to drink beer and eat chocolate), the only thing I struggled with was the fluids and puree diet. But if that is all you have to worry about, then your laughing.

From the moment I woke up after surgery I had a huge smile on my face, and I remember the nurse talking to me, asking me why I was so happy, when most are groggy and grumpy? I said "this is it, I've done it, I am never going to be this fat again, I have so much to look forward to, so many clothes I have saved that I grew out of that I am going to wear again, so many new clothes I would love to wear, from now on, my life is going to be so much better!" I think the nurse thought I might have had some grazy reaction to the anaesthetic, but looking back, I was 110% right! My life is so much better now.

As a child growing up, I was always subject to bully, I seeked counselling when I was 10yrs, but that didn't help, I had a case of really low self esteem, and there was nothing anyone could do to help me. I first felt conscious about my weight when I was 11yrs. I had recently been diagnosed with Ostial Chondritis Dissecans in my knees, and was told to quit all sporting activities (although the doc knew that horse riding was excluded in my books from that), So I had gone from a very active child to nothing, the beginning of my weight probs!. It was clear to me that I was always going to be fat, unliked and there was nothing I could do about it. I was heading into depression in my own kind of way.

I know to a lot of people reading this, people who are thinking of having the opp or people who already have been through the opp may say "your max weight was only 92kg! That's my goal weight to reach in a year!" I heard a few people say that. I guess you could say I was a special case. A background of family history with diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, it was only going to be a matter of time before I ended up in the same boat. I acted quickly reducing the risk of Surgery and reducing the risk of deteriorating my health. So if you are thinking about getting the band, YES this is what you want to do and do it NOW!!

Through out the last year, I have still not dieted, but rather tried to stick to a healthy, balanced diet, and exercised everyday (its my job to being a farmer and horse trainer). I now think of the surgery as the easy way for weight loss, because you have so much support behind you from the amazing people at IWC, their positive attitudes make you want to strive harder and succeed your goal weights. For a number of months I was ashamed and embarrassed about the surgery, fearing that people would judge me and criticize me, but the more people I told the better I felt and everyone would have such an encouraging response to your success, they would tell me how brave and committed I was, to change my lifestyle for the worst (as they saw it), just to loose weight, how it would be seen to some as heroic! I am now so proud to announce that I went through with the operation and never gave up, I just hope that someone reading this will get the inspiration and the courage to do the same, I guarentee you will not regret it.

Now back to the food and how I felt through the process of loosing weight. I started with out noticing anything after the first band fill, I thought you beauty!! I'll be able to eat everything still, ha ha ha, I was wrong! After my second band fill, I found I could not eat beef (unless it was our own beef that we raise on our farm) most Chicken, carrots, bread prawns and quite a few other things. Now remember this was in the first couple of months. But as I started thinking to my self, this is crazy, there must be something I am doing wrong, I tried to do things differently, like when cooking chicken, using thighs and keeping the meat moist and vegetables, I would cook them so they were really soft. But the key to eating now comes down to really small mouthfuls, and chewing heaps. I can now eat what ever I want, but I have to be sensible, the things I now that are difficult, I am happy with just having a taste, and I can honestly say that I DO NOT MISS FOOD. I have also found that with my eating habits changing, so are my taste buds, I could never eat Spinach, milk, eggs, fish (especially smoked) and oysters, I hated the taste and thought of them, now these foods are apart of my everyday diet, along with chocolate and ice cream it just comes down to moderation, and be happy for just a taste. I used to crave junk food, fried food BAD food and lots of it, I now crave healthy food and have so much more enjoyment cooking (now that I have new tastes there's so much food to experiment with) and I appreciate the sensations different foods have to offer.

And my confidence and self esteem is in really good shape, I feel so proud of myself and feel that there are no limitations in life. My riding, and the track to winning gold at the Olympic is on track, I have no more boulders in the way. I now weigh 64kg and I'm a size 10-12 (used to be 16 and that was tight). I would recommend this operation to anyone, it will be the best thing you can do for yourself. If you are scared or going through a tough time with the weight loss, just smile and tell yourself that there is much better things coming your way, just give yourself time, and lap up the rewards, and know that you will never be overweight again. These thoughts really helped me. The band has changed my life in so many good ways, I never thought were possible, I don't look back at what I used to be, I look forward at what I am going to be.

My success could be yours, its not that hard, infact the hardest part is booking yourself in for the operation, once you come out the path is paved. My parents sent me in as a 'gunnie pig', they both have now had the operation done, and are losing the weight, there only regret is that they didn't go in when I had mine done. You'll be surprised at how easy you do adjust to new habits, as I once read, this operation really works on your brain then anything else, it feels like my brain has been operated on then anything else. I want to say a big thankyou to everyone who helped me. I owe you my life, as that is what you gave me back.

Published in Articles

Anita

After a lifetime of yo-yo dieting I could tell you all the ins and outs of each fad and endorsed diet there is out there! I have tried them all with varying degrees of success. The only constant was the sense of hard work, will power and ultimate failure as my weight went up again.

I never thought I would tank my aching feet, knees and back for spurring me on to take some control again. This time was different. Nervously and self consciously I made the first appointment. From there my life began to change. With the support of the professional team at the Institute of Weight Control and the Circle of Care philosophy, my life began to turn around literally. It was not always easy but I had a team behind me all the way, also I had a very serious commitment to making this time different.

The post surgery left me tender but nowhere near as painful as those feet, knees and back! Sure there was lots of willpower involved missing out on treats all those rewards I previously allotted myself. I had doubt I could do it this time, all I had to do was look at the photos.

I started at the gym, kept my follow-up appointments and took the dog for frequent walks. I ate my smaller meals and it began to shift rapidly. 19 months ago I avoided social functions, hated meeting new people for fear they would see me as the fat person no a real person underneath the fat. I worked from home and had no confidence to seek a new job for fear of yet another failure.

Today I am 51kgs lighter, my entire life is different. I exercise daily, eat well and still have an odd break-out, however my new look, new job and new self confidence keeps the break-outs to a minimum.

In conclusion, the decision to have the gastric banding at the Institute of Weight Control has changed my life in all aspects, I am happier, healthier and have a future I would not have expected to have id I had not lost the weight.

Anita

Published in Articles

10 Things To Know

You may have been contemplating weight loss surgery for some period or you may be starting out on your research.

Yes, it is a big decision and you will experience many emotions on your journey including trepidation, excitement and nervousness.

You will learn a lot about the process behind weight loss surgery. However, our experience has shown that the following 10 things will help you to make the right decision for you. It’s easy to put off this decision and try to lose the weight one more time, but it is also possible to rush into this decision. If you do decide to proceed with weight loss surgery then embrace the Circle of Care program and the expert support around you.

Are you ready for weight loss surgery?

Readiness for weight loss surgery is essential for success. Consider the following:

What are your motivations for seeking weight loss surgery?

Is this the time right in your life for weight loss surgery?

Do you have the time to commit to the after surgery program?

What benefits do you expect from weight loss surgery?

In summary, you are well on your way to be ready for weight loss surgery if:

You have a strong personal desire to make the required lifestyle changes,

Anticipate few obstacles for these changes,

Have positive feelings and belief that weight loss surgery will result in meaningful benefits and

Have encouragement and support from your family and/or friends.

Weight loss surgery is not a quick fix. Embrace the program because it works.

People who undergo surgery for weight loss are often tempted to simply let the surgery do the work without making an effort to adapt to new healthier diet and fitness habits. But the patients who wish to achieve weight loss and maintain a healthy weight for years to come will use the surgery as an opportunity to form new habits creating a new healthier way of life. Weight loss surgery is so often the last resort for many people, however, it is not the entire solution. You will need to commit the Circle of Care Program with your support team to help you achieve the lifestyle changes that will enhance your success. Ask questions about the after surgery support and make sure you have the time to commit. Remember, research has shown that people who attend their follow-up support programs achieve much better outcomes than those who rely on the surgery alone.

Be honest with yourself. Remember nobody’s perfect.

Understand there will be times when you may “fall off the rails” due to the pressures of everyday life. You’re not alone, this happens to most of us. Rest assured that the support you need is always available to help you get back on track and to succeed. We will help you to set achievable milestones and review them regularly.

Some examples:

Accept that you may only lose 50% to 60% of your excess weight

Your quality of life will improve

Your physical and metal health will improve

You’ll have more energy

Get to know yourself.

Allow our weight loss journey to be a chance to become reacquainted with the real you.

We will help you understand what motivates your behaviour and actions. We work together to develop lifetime strategies to help you on your weight loss journey and afterwards.

What is the right procedure for you?

Research all bariatric procedures carefully. This allows you to think about which type of procedure is suitable for you.

Your surgeon will provide the detail you need to make your final decision.

Know your surgeon. Be prepared for your consultation with your surgeon. Prepare a list of questions and remember to write down the answers. Some questions may include asking about the surgeon’s training, how long he/she has been performing bariatric surgery, what are the outcomes & how long has data been collected and kept, what is the surgeon’s complication and mortality rates.

Accepting the risks and benefits of your surgery allows you to direct your efforts to your life after surgery.

The importance of the support programs

The Circle of Care Program has been designed to deliver the best tools to help you achieve your weight loss goals. Ask your local clinic about the program and make the commitment to be an active participant. In addition to holding you accountable for your actions, support gives you an outlet to discuss problems and situations with people who are going through the same experience. You are the key member of an expert team.

Take responsibility for your success

Attend your scheduled appointments with all members of the support team and engage in the process.

Be proactive by scheduling appointments as often as you need them. Research shows patients who attend their follow-up appointments on a regular basis have better success.

Will I fail?

You have been going through a common cycle of a renewed effort to lose weight and failure. You may attribute your lack of success to a failure of effort (low willpower) or a poorly conceived diet (fad diet). This results in a vicious cycle of self-blame and yo-yo dieting. The Circle of Care Program uses a collaborative patient approach to support patients through specific life changes. This approach is more likely to succeed at combating the complex issues that contribute to obesity.

Will I enjoy food again?

Of course! The Circle of Care provides tailored eating plans and resources to ensure that you will still be able to enjoy good food. We know that the changes you will make are for a lifetime and we are committed to ensuring you are eating good wholesome food.

How will my life change?

Many areas of your life will change after surgery including your physical and mental health, relationships, activity levels, diet and body image, which can be either positive or negative. Your Circle of Care team will guide you through these changes and provide strategies and support to help you plan and organize your life. You will need to do this in order to allow the time and energy required for success.

This includes:

Time to attend your clinic for follow up appointments

Time to plan and prepare your food

Time to add some activity into each day

Time for yourself

Where do I start?

You have taken the first step, which is research. There is a lot of information available. You can search the Internet, speak to others who have undergone surgery, attend information seminars or speak with your doctor.

Create a plan. A plan puts in motion the actions to accomplish results. A good plan will provide an opportunity to set a goal and then outline the steps required to achieve that goal.

Make a commitment. The simple fact is we perform better when we are held accountable. That includes being personally and possibly privately accountable to our self when pursing goals that are important to us.

Take Action. Call your Circle of Care Clinic to arrange an appointment on 1300 722 224

Published in Articles

Join Our Newsletter

Get free tips, advice and news that will help you on your journey towards a new you.

Published in Articles

Finance

The Medical Finance Company is offering finance to the Circle of Care patients. The key benefits of the finance package:

For patient with or without health fund cover
A small deposit is payable before surgery
No repayments for 30 days
$80 per week repayments (with health fund cover)
$140 per week repayments (without health fund cover)
Approval within 72 hours

Published in Articles