Coco

Hi 'down in the dumps' Glad to hear you've chosen the band as the way forward for you, I know its been the best present I've ever given myself. I have been banded 4 yrs and I've had my ups and downs, overall I'm happy even though I was banded with ACS! Anyway, the reason I've decided to answer your post is because you are choosing the Hospital Group who are ACS under another name. They are not to be trusted and in spite of having a nice consultation, with respect, its post operative care you should be concerned about. You may well be ok, I was lucky, you could be too. As a concerned banded woman, I would encourage you to go and have a free consultation with the Belgium Doctors. I have only heard good things about these people, they took me on for aftercare when I had nobody to go to. Yes it is abroad, that is what put me off, I paid 10,000 Euro when I could have had a better experience, a better band and aftercare service from the Belgium Dr's for 3,500 Euro back then. I wish I'd have gone to them in the first place, but everyone said to me "oh stay at home its safer" well they were all wrong. Please for your own sake, take your husband along also, you will get to speak to other banded people in the office, and you will have everything explained to you. Please you have enough time to check them out at least. They come to Dubliin every month where you can meet with them, and talk to their current patients. Good luck with everything.

Hi 'down in the dumps' Glad to hear you've chosen the band as the way forward for you, I know its been the best present I've ever given myself. I have been banded 4 yrs and I've had my ups and downs, overall I'm happy even though I was banded with ACS! Anyway, the reason I've decided to answer your post is because you are choosing the Hospital Group who are ACS under another name. They are not to be trusted and in spite of having a nice consultation, with respect, its post operative care you should be concerned about. You may well be ok, I was lucky, you could be too. As a concerned banded woman, I would encourage you to go and have a free consultation with the Belgium Doctors. I have only heard good things about these people, they took me on for aftercare when I had nobody to go to. Yes it is abroad, that is what put me off, I paid 10,000 Euro when I could have had a better experience, a better band and aftercare service from the Belgium Dr's for 3,500 Euro back then. I wish I'd have gone to them in the first place, but everyone said to me "oh stay at home its safer" well they were all wrong. Please for your own sake, take your husband along also, you will get to speak to other banded people in the office, and you will have everything explained to you. Please you have enough time to check them out at least. They come to Dubliin every month where you can meet with them, and talk to their current patients. Good luck with everything.

Hi Lil, long time since I posted here, sorry to hear about your port, hope all is well now. I just signed on here to get de brune's details as I need a fill and don't want to go back to the hospital group, I had two fills with them the second one was an overfill and then they took too much out so I'm down 300 Euro and up 7lbs. It's such a pain in the arse I am sick of trying to find someone who actually knows what they're doing. I'll see if I can get an appointment for a fill with de brune and hopefully it will work. Hi to all the other girls who I used to chat with, hope you're all doing good.

Hi Magna, Sorry to hear you're so disappointed with your band. As an ex ACS patient I understand what your going through as it took me quite some time to get my head around the band, without the help of anyone in ACS! Anyway, with 5mls in and your restriction good it is just a matter of getting used to eating a lot less and chewing and chewing and chewing your food until it is almost mush in your mouth. You're enjoyment of food doesn't have to go completely, obviously you won't be able to eat everything you used to be able to eat but with modifications to your usual diet you can eat almost anything. With meat, trying mincing it before or after cooking it, it won't be the same in appearance but it should have the same taste. In these cold days treat yourself to fresh creamy mashed potato with some cod and parsley sauce once or twice a week. Make a fresh vegetable soup with some root veg, any and all you have in your kitchen, pop a handful of lentils and a veg/chicken stock cube and some water bring to the boil and simmer until everything is cooked, about 20mins, blitz in a blender and this will keep in the fridge for at least four/five days. That way when you come home from work tired and hungry you have your soup ready to pop in the microwave and take the edge off your hunger. Take your time over your main meal, eat slowly, don't drink for a half hour before you eat and not for two hrs after you eat. I know from experience that this works but I also know that its much easier to have a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits than spend the time on eating slowly and nutritiously.:cursing: Its worth the time and effort though. You have come this far you can do this. It is very important to get your protein every day. If necessary buy some protein drinks from the health shop and have one at least every day. Hope this helps.:blushing:

Hi Dr Schulman, I'm writing to you from Dublin in Ireland, I have been reading your thread for sometime now and have learned so much from your replies to others. My question to you is this, would you do a preliminary consultation via a email with an estimate of costs before doing a face to face consultation. My dilemma is this, in Ireland we have few PS who are as qualified - particularly in surgery required after significant weight loss - as you and your colleagues seem to be. There are options with surgeons in Europe but again I have heard mixed results with these. I would go to NY at the drop of a hat as I love that city, but obviously with having surgery in mind and at tickets costing 600 Euro return it would be good to get an initial consultation via email. I am looking at a breast lift, tummy tuck and upper arm lift. Could those procedures be done at the same time and how long would I have to wait before flying back to Ireland. I have a brother in NY so accommodation is not an issue for me. Thanking you in advance. :smile:

Hi Everyone, Well I'm back from my hol's in Greece, had a wonderful time and came back a lb lighter! How cool is that:lol:. Anyway I've not gone back on the pages I've missed yet but I'll get round to it. So how is everyone? I see Jerome has been busy in Paris, pity he's lost his licence to practice over here. I still think that the IMC should spend their time letting people like us know which Plastic Surgery Company's are safe to use and to licence the clinics for certain op's so that we can make informed choices about where and who we use for our surgery's. Jerome lost his licence because the IMC deemed the clinic he used unfit for the surgery's he was performing. I didn't realise until this happened that it was the surgeon's job to do this not the management, the IMC or the owners!:wink2: MOL: Congratulations girl:thumbup: delighted to hear you're doing so well. It took me a good three months to get my head around the band, actually I sometimes wish the band was around my head.:smile::biggrin::wink_smile: No really, I had concentrated so much on having the op and the end result that I hadn't given much thought about how I was going to get from start to finish. Thanks to sites like and including this one and some great advice from other bandsters I managed to sort my head out and lose the weight. Give yourself a break, you've done the difficult bit, the op. Now relax, recover and take things slowly, one thing I learned is that there is no race to the finish line. Take your time slow and steady are the way to go. Now about the protein issue, well I use SPIRU-TEIN it's available in all good health shops and its a tri-part protein powder made with Rice, Pea and Soya, it can be mixed with Juice although I mix it with cow's milk. It gives you 14g of protein per serving and is available in several flavours. I virtually lived on this when eating was a struggle for me and still have the occasional glass just to make sure my protein levels are maintained. So there you have it hope it helps.:confused:

Hi Guys, Here is a link which I took from another post on this site and I hope it helps all you newbies with extra information on what/how you should be eating to get maximum benifit from the band. http://lapbandtransformation.com/Adjustments.htm Hope it helps.:smile:

Hi Everyone, Sorry I've not been around for a while, I'm currently in London and will be for the remainder of the month. I've decided to pop over to Paris to see Jerome to have a proper xray with him and find out what exactly is causing the acid reflux that I've had since my last fill. I don't think that the band is too tight, I know by how comfortable it is to eat right now that and the fact that I've not lost any weight for quite some time now. I know those of you who have seen me think I'm fine at the weight I'm at now but I would like to lose another 7 to 10lbs but I'm not in a huge hurry to do that. I am more concerned as to whats going on inside me. So I'm going to eurostar it to Paris one day next week and get the xray and the correct fill level. Jerome says he won't charge me for his consult, I'll just have to pay the radiologist for the xray. So that shouldn't be more that 150. Euro. Hope you're all doing well. Take Lil's advice about having conservative fills. Nothing worse than being overfilled, particularly in Ireland. :Banane37:

Hi All, Hope everyone is well and getting skinnyer by the minute.:biggrin: I phoned the Hospital Group today to find out who to address the letter to regarding having my medical file/records returned to me, and the very snotty Kim said that they were in the hands of the liquidators and that I would have to contact them. She said the liquidators were BDO and that she didn't have a number for them she also said that a Lorraine Mc Clean was the person who was dealing with ACS. So whoever was told that their files would be returned to them in two weeks well, one of us was lied to. Anyway, I got their number from Golden Pages and their address and have phoned and left a message on Lorraine Mc Clean's answer machine so will fill you all in when and if I get a reply. Here's the contact details for the liquidators if any of you want to phone yourselves. Lorraine Mc Clean, BDO Simpson Xavier Beaux la Hse Mercer Street Lwr. Dublin 2 Tel 01 470 0000

Hi All, Gerri, thanks for the information about Hospital Group, their attitude doesn't surprise me although it does sadden me how inconsiderate a so called medical group can be. I will be writing to them to retrieve my medical records from them asap as I have no faith in them and do not trust them to keep my records. I suggest all ACS patients do the same.:thumbup: Myself and a couple of other girls are meeting up in Dundrum Shopping Centre on Saturday next (12th July) at around 11.00ish in the big restaurant on floor 3 if any one is interested in joining us you are welcome.

Hi Girls, I know the following has absolutely nothing to do with Gastric Bands or Weight Loss, but I got this email sent to me yesterday and I laughed so much I had to stop reading it several times, hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did. Love Coco. This is a genuine letter sent from an woman in Texas to the company.... Dear Mr. Thatcher, I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants. Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? Ever suffered from the curse'? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call 'an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.' Isn't the human body amazing? As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customer's monthly visits from 'Aunt Flo'. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it's a tough time for most women. In fact, only last week, my friend Jennifer fought the violent urge to shove her boyfriend's testicles into a George Foreman Grill just because he told her he thought Grey's Anatomy was written by drunken chimps. Crazy! The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: 'Have a Happy Period.' Are you f------ kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness, is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you're some kind of sick S&M freak, there will never be anything 'happy' about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory. For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad , wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like 'Put down the Hammer' or 'Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong', or are you just picking on us? Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bullshit. And that's a promise I will keep. Always. .. . Best, Wendi Aarons

Hi Sheila, Yes I agree, the brown bread we have here is great!:thumbup: Congrats on having the surgery, hope you have fantastic success with it. As for which bread you will be able to eat, well as a general rule of thumb, bread is a no no once you get good restriction which for most people is by their third or fourth fill. But I do know banded people who eat our great brown bread, albeit, very slowly and usually sliced very thinly and sometimes toasted twice, but its not impossible. I would say to you to enjoy an odd slice of bread whiile you can, even though you've been banded it will probably be a couple of months before your restriction level will prevent you from having it.:thumbup:

Hi All, Good to see all are doing well. Roe: delighted you're making an appointment with the Belgium dr. It will kick start you again and make the op you've had worth while. I know it's a pain the way we are being treated by ACS but at this point I think you're doing the right thing. Hope it all goes well for you. Hi Edel, Welcome to the site, as for the drink situation, I'm 18mths down the line and although I still drink I have found that I've had to change from my fav. Gin & Tonic to Gin and Cranberry. Only because I can't take the bubbles anymore. I can still have the odd glass of champagne when its offered (rude to refuse) but I need to drink it very slowly. As for getting drunk, well I've had my moments but for the most part I don't drink more than 2 or 3 drinks because I start to feel full. A tip someone gave me once was to drink doubles that way you can keep up with your fellow drinkers. Either way, congratulations on making your decision and good luck with the op. Keep in touch and let us know how you're doing. Hi Allure, How are you, you sound in good form. How is the pregnancy going and how is the restriction? I've not been around the site much and have been very bold as regards texting peeps lately, with the kids off school and the normal routine out the window, I've just been really lazy. We have to have a proper catch up in the next week or two. So I will text you promise.

Hi Guys, I've not been on for a while but glad to see all the Belgium Bandsters are rockin':biggrin::w00t:. Well done to all of you, you seem to have the band sussed! :tt1: Loriha: great to see you on again, fill us in on how you've been getting on. :laugh: Roe: Have you decided what to do re a fill, if I were you I would see the Belgium dr. for a fill, it will be worth the money to get your weight loss started again. :tongue: Gilly: Have you been seen in Loughlinstown yet? Would love to know how it went.:sad_smile: Gerri: I've PM'ed you, sorry it took so long. :thumbup: Ailbhe: You are the strongest woman I've met in a long time. I cannot believe how strong you are being. I know that can't be easy, if its any consilation I believe you are doing the right thing the right way. Thinking about you and sending virtual hugs your way.:mad2:

Hi Guys, For anyone interested in how the inquest went re: that poor woman who died in Owenstown House, here's the link: Woman died after cosmetic surgery to reduce stomach - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie Mol: In answer to your question regarding your holiday. I say go, have the op and then go on holiday. By day 9 you should be feeling much better, certainly nothing that a couple of panadol won't be able to deal with. In my case I was 100% back to normal by day 14, from day 3 I noticed a big improvement and each day got easier from then on. As far as eating goes, you just have to look anywhere on this site on recently banded people and for the most part they are complaining that they are still eating too much and not losing weight. Realistically, after the initial week or two post op you will have your appetite back and although you may eat slightly less, in almost all cases until you have your first couple of fills you will be able to eat normally. There is a general misconception about the band, people think once they have the op they will eat a lot less than before and therefore lose weight immediately, where in fact, the initial restriction and subsequent weight loss (in my case 9lbs in the first week), is usually because, immediately post surgery and certainly for the following days, one doesn't feel like eating and also there is some swelling of the stomach which makes the band feel tighter so once that all settles down, usually in the first week to 10 days your appetite will return and you will be crying out for a fill to get you on the weight loss road. So again I say, go for it, have the op and the holiday, what better to fully recuperate than in the sun by a pool with a nice cool cocktail to sip.:tongue2:

Hi 2008Mary, As you can see, all us ACS/Hospital Group patients are in the same boat with regards to fills. You could ring them again and get an appointment for Belfast but as they are only covering people who were banded since March 2007 you will probably be expected to pay. If you are willing to pay some of the girls on here who have been banded in Belgium see their fill doctor who comes to Dublin twice a month, he might be willing to give you a fill but I'm sure a phone call would clarify that for you. If this would suit you, I'm sure one of the girls will pass on the phone number for you. Also, the Beacon in Sandyford do the band so they might do a fill for you. Hope that helps.:thumbup:

Hi Damienne, Yes that would be the old leg veins I was referring to.:wink2: In my case they weren't too bad, in that I wasn't suffering any pain with them, they just looked ugly so I had them removed. I had the right leg done at the end of Jan and the left leg done just over two weeks ago. I didn't have a defill before either ops and I told them about the band and there was no problem. I'm hopeful that I will be able to were a skirt and go bare legged before the end of the summer without frightening small children:biggrin:. Good luck with your decision on the band, I know its a difficult one to make but sometimes we have to feel the fear and do it anyway.

Hi Guys, I was one of the May 29th appointments which got cancelled. I was also told that I would be contacted within 2 weeks, now I know its only been 9 days but I just wondered if anyone has heard from ACS/The Hospital Group with regard to fills. I don't know if I should ring them or maybe wait the full 2weeks. :wink2:

Hi Mol, Welcome to our thread, I'm delighted to see someone from the Loughlinstown weight management programme on the boards, I was on their waiting list in 2004 but as they had no idea when they could offer me an appointment I decided to investigate the band and had I had it done in Jan 2007. In my opinion you have made the right decision, I know in my case its the best thing I could ever have done for myself and my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. I'v lost almost 6 stone since having the band and although its not all plain sailing, it gets easier and easier as the months go by and you adjust to the band. This is a great site to get advice and help and support. Good luck with the op and keep in touch to let us know how you're getting along.:wink2:

Hi Skinnyminny, Welcome to the site, you'll find lots of interesting people on this thread and so many willing to give advice and support. All of us have been nervous about the op but we did it anyway:biggrin:. In my case its the best thing I ever did for myself, and would do it again in a heartbeat. Best of luck and keep us informed of your progress.

Hi Ailbhe, I've PM'ed you. :thumbup:

Hi Corrib, Delighted that you're doing so well and don't worry you will get used to the fills, although I can see how daunting it must have seemed having the fill done under Flouro. You should point your Dr's in the direction of LBT so they can see for themselves the issues and aftercare that's needed by so many of us here in Ireland who have already been banded not to mention the amount of people out there currently looking for information on it. Best of luck again with your band and I continue to be impressed with the great team you have to help you on your way.:drool::smile:

Hi Again, Have you all heard that FERN BRITTON is out of the band closet. Yes the poor girl was outed by the News of the World on Sunday last and she admitted it at the start of her "This Morning" programme on Monday morning. Poor girl, its terrible when a person is forced to admit something that is totally private and personal to her. Its not like she was trying to sell an exercise DVD or give Diet advice, in fact she said on "This Morning" that she has never given an interview to any of the mags or newspapers that have had her in them, and that when asked how she was losing the weight she said that she was eating less and exercising more, which is what she has been doing, allbeit with the help of the band. I spoke to my sister and she is currently dieting to lose the baby weight and she said she was delighted to hear that Fern had the band as she was starting to feel a complete faliure at her own efforts, so I suppose on that front, it is better to know if a famous person is banded or not. I wish Fern and all us bandsters continued success.

Hi Guys, I've not been on the site much since my VV op two weeks ago. :drool:. I've been looking after myself and lying down with my feet up at every available opportunity.. Anyway, I can't believe its been a month already for you guys having your Belgium fills :thumbup:. I'm not sure if I can meet up with you yet but if I can I will. Its just a short journey into town for me and I love meeting you all so if I can be there I will. Okay, the food issues, to mush or not to mush that is the question :eek:. First I need to brag........... I have gone from 16.9 stone to 10.11 stone in 16months. Yes that is almost 6 stone. How did I do it. Simple, I learned to chew. Yes that's all it is. I eat what I want when I want and as much as the band allows me. The secret is to chew and chew and chew some more. Then put your knife and fork down between mouthfuls, in the beginning you will have to remind yourself to do this, you must also wait till each fork full is right down in the band not just out of your mouth, its slow, you must get your head around this, the secret of the band is to chew and eat slowly. On the bread issues, yeah okay, I can't eat bread either, the odd crust covered in butter while I make the kids lunches is the most I have these days. To be honest, I don't use diet foods ie: low fat butter, mayo etc. but I do try to keep the crap to a respectful limit but having said that I have been know to polish off the entire contents of a large Hagen Daz Tub of Ice Cream and its been on special offer in Dunnes at half price for weeks now so I have been scoffing it more than once a week in the past few weeks.:thumbup:. Look I don't mean to sound like this is easy, its not, and I've learned the hard way, PBing every meal I tried to eat for the first god's knows how many months. But I learned, if you want to eat and keep it down, you have to do it slowly and chew and chew and chew. Of course you must have your fill level correct, if its easy to eat you need a fill!

Hi Everyone, I got back from NYC on Thursday, its taken me till now to sort myself out and finally check my emails and catch up with you guys. Its amazing what a person can miss in just one week. Delighted to see so many of you doing so well. I've an appointment for a fill on the 29th of this month but I'm still debating whether to go or not. I'm still losing with the last fill and I'd no problems with the flights, I had heard long haul flights could affect restriction. But no, I was able to eat and drink as normal (well as normal for me:wink2:). At the wedding I even had some pasta with extra vodka sauce and I ate about a 1/3 of all I was offered. I think I have the chewing/slow eating down to a fine art now. Terry: You need to get some nutrition into you. If you're on liquids make sure they are healthy ones. You can juice some veggies with apple to make a palatable drink which will give you a great boost. Try juicing 4 apples, 4 carrots, half a cuecumber, 3 sticks of celery and if you like beetroot pop a small one in there too. That should make up about 2 pints of juice and you can drink it throughout the day. This alongside a protein drink should keep you sorted while you're on liquids. Do go to your GP and ask him to do a full blood test on you. You should be feeling good while your losing weight even if some days its hard to eat. I hope you're feeling better soon.