Brenners

Hi Lunasa & Allure, yes it is so great that there are a few of us Irish lassies on here! Allure , Lunasa has pretty much covered how the assessment is done. I have not yet been accepted for the surgery on April 26th it is all pending my test results. I am having these tests done on Thursday at ACS clinic. They will do blood tests, ECG, blood pressure etc. I do have borderline high blood pressure so Im hoping that it will be ok for surgery, however I had a miscarriage in February and had to have a D&C done under general anaesthethic (sp!) and I was fine after with no complications. I told Dr Jerome this and he was pleased. I am quite surprised that at my age (37) with such a high BMI (48) I done have serious health issues so far. I do feel my body starting to ache and I definitly dont have the energy for life as much as I would like so that is another reason why Im doing this. I have a 6 yr old son and I want to be there for him and my great husband. My husband is so supportive of me. Talk soon Brenners x

Lunasa, thats great news. You must be so excited about the surgery, I know I am. Im interested in hearing about you having been given shakes, soups etc for your pre-op diet, my surgeon only wants me to cut down on sugar, carbs and alcohol for at least 2 weeks beforehand. But I suppose each surgeon is different. I would nearly prefer to have been given shakes etc as it takes the choice out of having to eat. Im sure you will be fine just keep thinking that the pre-op diet will make the whole procedure easier on your body and also kick start your body into losing weight even before you have surgery. Thanks for the tip on the April thread, Im new to this and any advice is appreciated. In relation to OA, I found it great to be honest. I, like you, was very scared and embarassed when I first went but I decided to give it a try. The meeting I attended only had on average about 4 people there each week and we were all such an amazing support to each other. It stopped being about losing weight and started me focusing on taking things one day at a time and handing each day over to God. Dont get me wrong Im not the most religious person, and to be honest the whole God thing freaked me out at first but it doesnt even have to be God. It just has to be a Higher Power. It follows the same 12 steps that AA follow except the word alcohol is changed to food. The meeting I used to go to was about a 1/2 hour drive and it was becoming harder each week for me to go. A couple of the other girls stopped going and just before Christmas the meeting wound up. But I have often thought about setting a meeting up closer to home. They have a great website www.oa.org you should check it out. It is definitly something that will always stay with me and something that some day I would love to go back to. Anyway, thanks for the advice about the April thread and keep in touch. Brenners x

Nikki, Im from Mornington and I work in Drogheda!! What a small world. How are you doing since you were banded? How have you found it? When I read threads on here I only seem to remember the bad stories. I know that so many people have found that it has changed their lives and Im hoping that I will be one of those. My story is that I am at the moment 296lbs. This is not my heaviest. Last year I was aroung 320lbs but managed through OA to loose some weight. I have tried everything, lipotrim, diet pills, hypnotherapy, weight watchers (about 20 times!!!) and OA (Overeaters Anonymous). The one that worked the best was OA because instead of trying to control my weight myself I let God take care of it. But the meetings I was attending stopped and that was that. I am so excited about having this done. I cant believe its happening so quickly. Dr Jerome asked me to try to stick to a high Protein and vegetables diet for at least 2 weeks pre-op. How did you find this. I have done Atkins in the past and I presume its something similar to this. I am having my pre-op tests done on Thursday and the only thing Im concerned about is trying to find the clinic. I have printed off directions from ACS website but Im not familiar with that part of Dublin. Im sure I wont get lost. How did you find getting up and about after the op? I work full time and Im taking almost 2 weeks holidays. Im hoping that will be enough. I hope you dont mind all the questions. Its so good to have someone who has had this done with ACS and from the same area!! Any advice would be so greatly appreciated. So looking forward to hearing back from you Nikki Brenners x

Thanks to all of you for your replies! I had my consultation on Friday and I have booked to have my lap band done on April 26th. I cant believe it is finally going to happen! I am so excited but also anxious. I met with the surgeon and thanks to all of you for posting the list of questions. I asked lots of questions and I was happy with all of the answers. I have to go to their clinic on Thursday for my pre-op tests. Lunasa, yes I am having it done with ACS. I know its probably cheaper to go to UK, Belgium etc. but I figure for after care and fills etc. its much easier to have it done in Dublin. The surgeon has asked me for at least 2 weeks and if I can manage it 4 weeks to stick to a diet low in carbs and sugar and alchohol. I have started today cutting back my carbs. I look forward to sharing my journey with all of you and again thanks for advice so far. Brenners