Coco

Hi Nikki, Congratulations on your pregnancy, don't worry too much about your weight while your growing your baby, plenty of time after s/he is born. I agree that the difference with different providers varies so much but unfortunatly we don't have any choice if we want to be banded in Ireland. My heart goes out to your Mum and Paula the other girl who posted her woes on here. Its very difficult when you take the decision to go down the surgery route only to be told that you can't be helped. Ask your Mum to chech out Shaw Somers he is a doctor in England who specialises in wls. He also does all types, RNY, Gastric Band, and Gastric Sleeve. His web site is well worth a look and there are links on there to a fab forum similar to this only UK based. It would be such a pity to give up trying for a healthy weight and body now having made the decision to get surgical help. Give your Mum my best wishes and let us know how she gets on. PS: Shaw Somers does the surgery for NHS and Private patients.

Hi TT, There is a number in a box and you cut it and paste it at the bottom of your signature. Hope that helps.:)

thats what the group is for supporting one another. everyone that go's is great. about you eating so much i really think you need to just call them and say you need another fill. i've 5mm in my band and i've heard a lot of people saying they can feel it at 5mm now i know everyone is different but maybe you just need that extra little bit. Hi Dini, I can't believe you have 5mls in already that was so quick, no wonder you've lost so much weight. Well done, I was with Tara last week and she was saying that due to infection risk that she does not like to go into the port more that once a month. Its very difficult to lose weight without restriction and its very frustrating when we are not restricted but are being told to eat less. I don't understand why we can't be brought up to 5mls within a shorter time than is currently available. Maybe there is a medical reason??? But from what I hear girls are being banded and are waithing months on end for proper restriction which is what we paid for in the first place. If we could just use willpower we wouldn't need the op in the first place. I'm all for not being over restricted but from the feed back I get its the frustration of having to wait so long to get restriction and start to regularly lose weight thats anoying people. Anyway, I hope you all have a great meeting and I look forward to the next one.

Hi Paula, So sorry your consultation didn't go as planned. Don't give up yet, there are other options, you just need to do a bit more research. Check out Dr Shaw Somers web site. He's the doctor thats always on tv doing weight loss surgery in England, his services are available on the NHS as well as privately. He does several types of WLS, his web site is shawsomers.com Good luck with the research and let us know how you get on.

Hi Dini, Sorry can't make the 29th as its my son's birthday. Next time I'd love to come.

What is the sweet spot.... Did you all ask what size your band is .............. Do you all ask how much of a fill you are getting......... Where do i get the med1 form and do i need to get a reciept from acs to apply for this tax back , as i never got one ............... Hi TT, The sweet spot is when you have restriction which allows you to lose 1-2lbs a week while eating healthily. Jerome only uses a 8ml band which can be filled to max 7mls. Yes its good to know how much of a fill you are getting. Usually we get 2mls with the op. Then 4 to 6 weeks later its one ml and then as recommended which can be .5 to 1ml monthly but it differs from person to person. Dont know about the med 1 form but I'm sure you'll get it from ACS.

Hi Nikki Well done on the 5st loss.:clap2::clap2::clap2: You are of course right about the scale watching and I've whittled myself down to just once a week and hope to be able to go to just once a month. But I used to weigh myself everyday sometimes twice a day. Mad I know but I'm getting there.:rant: Hi Skinny, Don't be too hard on yourself, it will be easier to stay away from the food good and bad when you've had your fill. By all means eat as healthly as you can but you've had the op, the fills will kick in and you'll be on your way. Maybe you should think about some extra exercise rather than weight watchers. Just a thought, because once your fills kick in you won't really need WW but you will always need exercise. Hi Dini, How was your holiday? How long were you in Italy for? Wasn't the weather beautiful. You had problems eating pizza. Its sad when we can't eat things we really like, but once you're home you think, that wasn't so bad and I'v lost weight instead of putting on. I see from your ticker tape that you've lost quite a bit now, almost halfway there, thats fantastic. I'm looking forward to our next meeting, hope it'll be a big one.

Hi Kermit, There was moaning and whinging, believe me, but for the most part I just got on with it. I'm feeling a whole lot better now and am hoping that I don't gain any of the 10lbs lost over the next couple of weeks because I'm able to eat again. I'm trying to make healthy choices but the joy of being able to eat normally again makes some choices a little less healthy than others. Ah well, the battle of the bulge goes on.

Hi Kermit, I had a great time on holiday, in spite of the band the kids loved Disneyland and then we went down to Italy for a couple of weeks and then travelled all the way back stopping in Florence and Dijon on the way home and finally a week in London to wrap it all up. A great time was had by all. Mind you I'm looking forward to the kids going back to school on Monday :clap2: a month of them 24-7 has been a tad tiring.:tired:tired Hope all is well with you. :waytogo:

Hi All, I went to ACS yesterday morning, Tara very kindly fit me in between patients, and I had a defill of almost 1ml. I did have 3mls in so thats now been reduced to just above 2mls. I feel a whole lot better and can now eat solids for the first time in 6 weeks. I feel slightly to blame, Jerome did offer me a slight defill before I went on Hols which was two weeks after the re op. I thought my band would behave as it had previously but since the repositioning and the dissappearance of the fat on the wall of my stomach, obviously its behaving differently. Before my band would loosen as the fat on the stomach wall reduced, then I would have less restriction and eventually have a fill. I was up to 5.5mls before the band slipped so I figured, (wrongly) that once I'd lost a couple of lbs and the swelling had gone down I would feel less restricted. Thats not what happened, Jerome put 3mls in my band at the re op and the restriction I felt from that day to yesterday was the same. So I should have accepted the defill at my post op review. Anyway, no real harm done, and the upshot of this is I'm now 10lbs lighter than I was before my hols. Great result, but not to be reccommended. I certainly don't want to go through that again.

Hi Annette, Congratulations on your first fill, hope you get great restriction on it. As for food, the best thing to do is try and eat as normally as you can, ie. your usual breakfast, lunch and dinner, just have smaller portions, I found putting my food on a side plate instead of a dinner plate helped. Most importantly, take small mouthfuls, chew, chew, and then chew some more. If you get a pain in the center of your chest, its because you've eaten too much or too quickly. Take your time with your meals but don't spend more than half an hour at any one meal. I find twenty minutes at dinner is enough. After your first fill you may not notice a huge difference in your restriction but if you put these rules in place it makes life easier as you get further fills and more restriction. Good luck and one more thing v important, eat protein first then veggies and last carbs. (Treat potatoes as a carb not a veg). Keep us posted and let us know how your doing.

Hi All, Well I'm back from holidays and just wanted to say Hi to everyone, have had the same restriction since my re op and haven't been able to eat much, am mostly on liquids, protein drinks, soups and yogurt drinks. Was a bit of a bummer while on holiday but now I'm back I will ring the clinic and get a defill as soon as possible. Haven't weighed myself yet as I'm not long home and think its best to wait till morning, I usually weigh myself in the mornings anyway. I really missed the scales, I have such a habit of weighing myself at least once a week and thats when I'm restraining myself. So it s been a whole month since I last weighed in. Hope all of you are doing well, looking forward to hearing everyones news. Bye for now.

Hi Annie, I too was banded with ACS and there is another thread called "Hi from Ireland" which is full of people who were banded with ACS. You don't have a pre op diet to do, and the fills take only a couple of minutes to do and don't hurt other than a pin prick. In my opinion the band is the best invention ever. I don't regret it for a moment even though it hasn't been a straight road all the way for me. Good luck and pop in to the other thread and meet some more of us bandsters.

Hi Sally, I had the band done in January this year in Dublin and don't regret it for one minute. I had a higher bmi than you but I have heard of people with lower bmi having the band done. It might be wise to talk to your gp about the op before making a decision, as for overweight being a self indulgence, if diets worked we wouldn't be having this conversation. Some people are lucky and can diet and exercise and lose weight and maintain it. But for the rest of us, the band is the last option. Its no easy way to lose weight but in most cases its guarenteed. Between your gp and the surgeon who does the operation you should be able to come to a decision that suits you. Good luck. PS. If you read the thread "Hi from Ireland" you will meet a lot of people who have had the op in Dublin.

Hi All, Just a quick note to say bye bye to all of you 'till the end of August, I'm off on my hols at last. :clap2::clap2: I wish you all success with your band's and hope that you'll all lose loads in the next 4 weeks. :scales: Looking forward to hearing everyones news when I get back. Love Coco

Hi Kermit, Welcome to the banded side. Great to hear you're doing so well. You will have success, but it won't be overnight, we all wish for that but it doesn't happen. It was lovely to meet up with some of the other bandsters, and for anyone who hasn't been to one of our 'meetings' we talk about everything and anything not just band related stuff. It is nice though to be relaxed and talk to people who have been through the same thing particularly as in our every day lives this band can be a huge secret. So roll on the next one and thanks Dini for organising it. In the meantime this site is great to keep in touch and get support.

Hi All, I was banded on Jan 3rd 2007 and had no problems and was losing weight regularly and very happy untill I had a band slippage at the end of June. I was rebanded within two weeks and am now 10 days post op. My question is, does anyone have any experience of band slippage, know of any links where I can find information regarding this or know exactly what caused slippage????? I did of course speak to my surgeon, he said that as I lost the fat from my stomach the band slipped down to a wider part of my stomach which caused the severe restriction which prevented me from keeping anything down including liquids. Once the band was deflated I was able to eat and drink anything I wanted (and boy did I take advantage ). I have lost 50lbs to date and since my surgery I have been suffering with heartburn and have been taking meds for it morning and night. I have v. good restriction at the moment even though I have only 3mls in my 8ml band, before the slippage I was up to 5.5mls. I am finding it difficult even with sloppy foods but am not too worried as I know once I lose a couple more pounds the restriction will lessen. I am just a bit worried that this slippage may have more to it than I've been told and would like to speak with anyone who has experienced this. I see my surgeon for a post op visit at the end of this week, I would like to be prepared and have the right questions to ask. Thanks for listening, hope someone can help me.

I have been reading posts from bandsters in other places who advocate liquid only diets a fortnight before the op. Anyone from ACS gang told to diet before the op? Hi Kermit and Alesha, the only instructions given to me by Jerome was, no alcohol for 48hrs before the op and to fast from midnight before, my check in time was 7.00am. I wish you both the best of luck and let us know how you get on.

Hi Princesst, I am Irish and had my band done in Dublin, Ireland. My surgeon is Mr Jerome Manacue (Sp!!) he is a french surgeon and has vast experience doing this operation over many years. I had no problems with the band up untill the slippage, in fact I was just two days back from a week in Italy when the band slipped. I had even lost 2lbs while on holiday. I put on 6lbs in the two weeks between the band slipping and having the repositioning done. I'm not sure whether I got a brand new band or whether the old one was repositioned. I will see Jerome on Sat and I have a few questions to ask him. I don't see this as a huge problem, I see it as a kink in the road to a healthier and slimmer me. I am 10days post surgery and have already lost 8lbs. So I think I'm back on track. I was just curious to hear of other people who had band slippage and what they were told was the cause. Thanks for replying.

Hi Kero, There is only one clinic doing gastric lap bands here in Ireland, you will be able to get fills but they charge 200 Euro per fill for people who have been banded elsewhere. Hope that helps.

Hi Alesha, welcome to the site, try not to worry too much, I was re banded last week and there were 3 other girls being banded, we all were fine. Jerome is lovely as are all the staff in the clinic. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Looking forward to getting together again, pass on the time and date to all bandsters you know. The more the merrier.

Hi Dini Thanks for asking how I got on, see previous post. How are you, I didn't know you had been so ill. I would love to catch up either Sat will be ok for me. Hope we can all get together soon. :)

Hi Girls, Well I'm back, banded, and feeling very good. Jerome the wonderful man that he is put 3mls into my band so I'v lost the extra weight that I put on over the two weeks already. :clap2: I have to say the op was a lot easier this time round and I didn't get the wind pains in my back and neck like the first time. I so missed the band I was eating like there was no tomorrow. I am still on liquids but am looking forward to the sloppy's from Sat. Thanks to all of you who wished me luck. It worked I got lucky on Friday the 13th. :) TERRY you have lost 12lbs already. Well Done.:whoo: LOU size 14 and you have no restriction. Well Done. :whoo: KERMIT Thanks for your kind words. ALLURE I feel real bad for you, this is not how the band is supposed to work, you should not be struggling like this. Make an appointment with Jerome or phone Tara or Debbie, tell them that you are hungry all the time and that you can eat anything you want. Remind them that if weight watchers worked that you would not have had the op and that you need more restriction in your band or that it needs to be checked out to make sure that its working properly, with 4mls in you should definitely have restriction. When I had 4mls in it was the start of regular weight loss every week for me. Don't leave it any longer, and don't let them tell you that you need to eat less, tell them if the band was doing its job that you would be eating less. Don't let them fob you off with the "everyone is different" routine, your band is more than half full, remind them of that. I hope you get sorted soon. Keep in touch and don't be afraid to post here for support, thats why we are here to support each other. :girl_hug:

Hi Lou, Its very quiet here lately, I think people are on hols and stuff. I'm going back in to have my band redone on Friday and am not quite sure about how I feel about it. I do know I want my band back desperately, but I'm a little worried and concerned as I'v read about people's bands slipping more than once. I've not told my kids that I'm going back to hospital because the last time I said I was having tests done and when I came home I told them that everything was fine. So I don't know what to do this time. They are only 7 and 8yrs old. I might say I'm going out with my sister and I will be staying at her house on Friday. I don't know. I'm sure I'll figure it out. How are things with you? Any success with the eating yet:)? Hope you're doing good.