sally

Dr De Bruyne will be in Ireland on 8 February and is planning to be in Dublin (depending on demand) every six weeks. Appointments can be made through his UK based secretary (see his website for details). Hope that's helpful for people...

I was also banded by Dr DeBruyne in December 2007 and am really happy with how it all went - feel free to pm if you have any questions.

Marge - feel free to pm me if you want any more information about my Belgium experience.

Hello everyone - I was banded on 28 December in Belgium by Dr Chris deBruyne. The whole experience from consultation through to the procedure itself was great. The hospital was the cleanest and most efficient I've ever been in (there's no mrsa in Belgium and it's not difficult to see why). The surgeon was great and he answered all my inquiries via email personally - no dealing with sales people and administration. I travelled on my own to/from Belgium, stayed two nights in a hotel afterwards (I could have travelled after one) and the whole thing was a breeze. I'll be travelling to Belgium or London for the fills initially but Dr C did say that he may be doing fills in Ireland from mid February (yet to be confirmed) which would be great. I decided on Dr C after a lot of research (he has done over 3200 of these procedures so far) and the price was very competitive (€3400) in comparison to having it done in Ireland. I'm also an ex ACS customer and like many others was happy enough with the medical procedure but less than satisfied (putting it mildly) with the aftercare and administration. If anyone wants more information about my experience in Belgium feel free to get in touch

Hello low bandsters - I've been reading the forum with interest because I've been thinking about getting a band. I've a bmi of 30 right now and while I've always been overweight in the past couple of years I've added hypothyroidism to the mix and I'm finding it incredibly difficult to manage my weight. If I decide to get the band it will be self pay in Belgium (I'm in Ireland) but I'd love to hear from any of you close to my bmi who have gone through the experience about what finally swung your decision. I'm getting a lot of pressure to "eat less", "do more exercise" etc etc - I'm doing all of that but it's not working and I'm increasingly worried that as I get older (I'm 44) my weight will only increase. Also - are there any people here with hypothyroidism - how has having a band affected your condition. Thanks, in advance

Hi Coco - thanks for the reply. Yes, I'm going to have a chat with my GP next week about this. How did you find your op and the recovery?

Hi everyone - another newbie here from Ireland. I'm considering a band and have found the threads on this site amazing so far...I've a couple of things I'm grappling with a the moment and I'd love some feedback .. I'm 44, 5 foot 5 and 181 pounds (bmi of 30.4 right now) and I've also got hypothyroidism. I've always been "big" but the thyroid situation has resulted in me piling on more than a few pounds over the last couple of years. I work out 4 days a week (twice with a trainer) and have a reasonably good diet (don't do too much pigging out but when I do it's carbs not chocolate)..I've been dieting since my twenties and I'm so good at it I just can't get enough...but I can't seem to keep the weight off.<br /> <br /> I'm feeling guilty about even considering a band but when I think about the amount of work i'm doing right now to stand still it worries me that I'm only going to gain more without being able to keep up this level of activity..I also feel guilty because I'm not struggling with serious obesity and thinking that maybe this is a self-indulgence. So I wonder what others with a lower bmi think about banding..are you glad you did it? what motivated you to do it? and how have any of you with thyroid conditions found the band?<br /> <br /> Forgive the thinking out loud - this is such a difficult issue to talk to people about. <br /> <br /> Thanks <img src="http://www.LapBandTalk.com/images/smilies/happy.gif" border="0" alt="" title="" smilieid="60" class="inlineimg" />