Racing Snake
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Everything posted by Racing Snake
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Hmmm, I would say your chances are very slight. It would seem that NHS policy is to wait until patients have bmi 50+, diabetes, emphysema, vasculitis, heart disease, thrombosis etc ad infinitum before even considering funding for surgery. In the meantime, you become a tick on a list that shows they are at least making the right noises about the needs for surgery. If you can afford to go privately, contact Mr John Rogers at www.gordcentre.org. I had surgery exactly 1 year ago and I've lost 5 stones so far. Good luck, don't be downhearted. x
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Hello Pretty Jenny,
I see you are located in Texas - I'm in Hertford, England!
This whole issue about shrinking the liver is utter nonsense and another hurdle for someone who is already struggling with their weight to attempt to clear. My surgeo has been a pioneer in the lapband surgery and he insists the only reason some surgeons insist on this is to make thier work eaier, but a good surgeon should be able to carry out the procedure irrespective of the patients size.
It has been suggested that 'an ideal weight loss' to shrink the liver could be up to 10% of the total weight to be lost! If we could've lost wieght like that, would we be needing surgery?
I had my surgery exactly 1 year ago and I have lost 5 stones (70lbs) in that time. I still have a long way to go but I'm down 4 dress sizes already and sometimes I'm unrecognised by people who haven't seen me for a while.
I son't know what to suggest to you as I'm sure things work differently in the US. Have a chat with your surgeon. This surgery is life changing and it's hard work. It's no good fretting about what you can't have anymore and I'm sure none of us have gone into it with unattainable goals.
Good luck, let me know how you get on.
x
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Hello - I'm back! I was banded in October 07 by Mr John Rogers and I'm doing very well so far. I weighed in at 128kgs, and now weigh 102.6. I have been tightened twice and it's unlikely I will need to be tightened again as my food intake is now miniscule. I've lost 3 dress sizes and feel like a human again. BUT - whilst my portions are small and I don't eat after 9pm at night before going to bed between 11.30-12am, I seem to be having problems with acid. I get woken a couple of times a night by the acid in my mouth which also makes me cough and makes my throat feel sore. Has anyone else had this problem? :thumbs_up:
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Hello Toni,
I have just posted to the thread, but to reply to your message: The cost of my 2 night stay at The Princess Grace Hospital in London was ?2200 and the cost of all the surgery was just over ?5000.
John Rogers does not include fills in his price nor believe in the practice of saying that the price includes 6 fills etc., as most people will not require more than 3, so should not be charged in advance unnecessarily.
The cost per fill is 125 for his services plus ?200 for the x-ray department charges at PGH. Consultations with him are also ?125 in Harley Street.
I have found him to be the most honest, no-nonsense man. He explains fully and clearly what he will do, how it will feel and what you should expect from it. He will offer you two types of band - the old single stitch band (most commonly used) or the new French band that works on exactly the same principal but is held in place with 5 retaining stitches as opposed to 1. Obviously you may decide to go for the by-pass which is much more invasive and he will discuss this with you too.
The hospital was lovely and the treatment I received was first class.
Good luck with whatever you choose. Remember - this is for life and your life must and will change. It can be hard and sometimes uncomfortable, but the options are negative: fat/asthma/diabetes/emphysema/heart disease etc.
I have lost over 4 stones since October on 2 fills. I still have a way to go but I'm getting there.
Best regards
x
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Hello, My 2 nights stay at The Princess Grace Hospital in London cost £2200 and the total cost for the surgery was just over £5000. John Rogers does not believe in the "this price includes 6 tightenings" as most people won't need more than 3, so these are charged at the time they are needed as follows: £125 for his consultation plus £200 x-ray department costs as all tightenings are done this way. Ordinary consultations in Harley Street are £125. I hope this information helps. I am so pleased I chose to go to him. x
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I was banded in October 07 by Mr John Rogers MD (Oesophagogastric, laparascopic & colorectal surgery)who for the past 16+ has pioneered this procedure. I had the new style band fitted which is held in place with 5 as opposed to 1 retaining stitch. The possibilty of slippage is virtually nil. Look him up on Google. Previously I had been referred to the NHS to become part of their list ticking system that in reality offers you nothing. It was put to me that I would need to diet to shrink my liver before any operation could go ahead, and it was suggested that I should spend 8 weeks on a milk only diet (!!!!!), thus acquiring all sorts of respiratory problems in the process. When I had my first consultation with Mr Rogers he told me that a pre-op diet is completely unnecessary and and unrealistic expectation on patients who have been failing to lose weight for whatever reasons and for however long. He said the only reason some providers insist on a pre-op diet is that they are not proficient enough to perfrom the operation. This does not mean that they can't perform the operation, but it is to make their task easier and has no relevence on the outcome. For those of you who are considering this procdure but as yet have not booked anything, I strongly recommend you contact him or look at the website on www.gordcentre.org. I weighed in at 128ks in October. I have had 2 fills and I have lost 26kgs so far and still losing - 4 stones in 8 months!
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Hello NHS? Pah. You'll be a number on a list to be ticked off as a statistic. Contact Mr John Rogers on +44(0)207 637 4010 or go to Gord centre - Home. He has been performing this operation since about 1994 but you can check this out on line. He will give you the choice of the traditional band or the MiniMiser (which I have). He will not sell you 6 adjustments that you are unlikely to ever need. I had my band fitted on 12 October at The Princess Grace Hospital in London, I've lost 10.6kgs so far and don't have my first (and probably only) tightening until 1 December. I'm changing, I'm becoming me again but my ticker bar STILL isn't updating! Good luck.
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For some stange reason my ticker isn't automatically upgrading.....I have now lost 10.2kgs in three weeks. Hurrah!
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The worst things about being fat......hmmmmm....how shall I count the ways? Well: Looking old and bloated. Shin splint pains, sciatica, fear of stairs and steps, breathlessness, disturbed sleep, shoulder pains from hunching forwards to try to hide enormous boobs and belly. Fear of bumping into someone you haven't seen since you larded on all the fat, abject discomofort on plane journeys, being unable to wear a skirt or dress for 3 years because your legs are so fat and nothing will fit over the aforementioned huge boobs. Having to buy shoes a size larger, no nice underwear or clothing. AS FOR CLOTHING......getting into very heated arguments in M & S, Evans, Ann Harvey who all "claim" to either cater for large sizes or have a larger sizes range.....PLEASE NOTE: When you're fat, you don't want to wear jeans with a 2" zip that barely cling to the top of you pubis/backside and expose vast amount of flesh that hasn't been seen by man nor beast for ages. Likewise, if someone needs a big size, the chances are that they will have big arms, big thighs...so cut your clothes accordingly. Don't degrade fat people by assuming that they are so desperate to have something to wear that you can fob the off with any old badly made shoddy junk. What sort of big person in his or her right mind wants to strut (or attempt to strut) around in drainpipe jeans? Worst offenders? Marks & Spencer who give lip service to big sizes, but assume that all big people are over 65 and will buy anything to have something to wear. A size 8 can choose from at least 60+ ranges in their stores, from tops, to jeans, skirts, dresses etc. A size 24+ can choose from perhaps 3. The average sized woman in the UK today is size 16 and has a 38"+ bust. Get with the plot M & S. Soon I shall no longer need the services of these so called specialist shops, but it won't stop me from getting extremely irate at their cavalier attitude to what big people need. Growling over, I'm now going back into my cave.......
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Hello everyone, I had my post-operative consultation yesterday - all is well, I've lost 8.5kgs since 12 October. I shall be having my first (and probably only) fill on 1 December at The Princess Grace Hospital. I'm now on thicker Soups up to 9 November when I can start to experiment with solids. So far I have found the going very easy, I think this is helped by the thought of the cost, the pain I could expect to be in if I over-ate and the fact that I already look different. I'm getting my face back, my trousers are already looser, the sciatica and shinsplint pains have gone and I feel bl88dy marvellous!
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Oops, I can't count - I've lost 16lbs in the first week! Wowsa.
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Hellon Saira, I assume you are on an NHS waiting list somewhere. That being the case there should be an Obesity Nursing Consultant advising you of everything that you will need to do. Meantime, I suggest you go to Gord centre - Home. this is the site associated with the consultant who performed my procedure last week, Mr John Rogers. For the first 2 weeks after the p you will be on a liquid diet: tea, coffee, milk, actimel yogurt, thin Soups, liquidised fruit and vegetables etc. Basically, anything that can be sucked up a straw. The following two weeks will be on slighter thicker soups e.g. broth without lumps. Aftrer this settling phase you can move on to more solid food eg scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes until you know what you can and can't tolerate. It will take time as you mustn't stretch the band which will cause it to fail and can be unbearably uncomfortable. In time you will find that you can eat anything at all with a few exceptions, as long as you eat small portions, cut up into little pieces, chewed thoroughly and eaten slowly to allow you time to become comfortably full. It's not all bleak, life will change for the better. The alternative is to stay fat, get fatter and become very ill. Try not to worry, but you must insist that whoever is performing this procedure for you, keeps you fully informed of all the pros and cons. Also, ask if you can have the MiniMiser band fitted which is the one proving most effective in tests. See the website details above. It's the one I've had fitted. As of this morning I have lost 13lbs in one week. Joy and bliss divine. x
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Hello, I had my band fitted on 12 October and I'm presently on 2 weeks of liquids, followed by 2 weeks of slightly thicker liquids. I don't feel hungry at all and have no discomfort apart from what I can only describe as a very slight griping pain every now and again, which my surgeon has told me is entirely natural. I opted for the new French band which has 5 retaining stitches as opposed to just one. It has 0% ability to slip at all. I have most first post-operative visit to my consultant on 30 October, just to make sure all is well, then my first fill under X ray 4 weeks after that..... BUT.......today is day 6 and I have already lost 12lbs! I know this will slow down a bit once things start to thicken up, but what a blazing start. No ridiculous pre-op diet, and no ridiculous requirements post-operatively beyond following the advice and liquid diet.
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Sounds just like my story. I was told I would have to drink 6-8 pints of semi skimmed milk every day with the addition of a tiny amount of roughage and a Vitamin pill to see if I lost weight!!!! Also, the NHS and some companies who are offering lapband surgery insist that patients diet to reduce the size of their livers post-op. This is a fallacy and unneccesary. If the surgeon is properly trained and knows what he is doing, this diet is irrelevent. There are some people with 75% bmi who are being refused tretment on the NHS. For every 5, 3 will die, one will go privately and the other will hope and pray for treatment,. NHS attitude is to treat the condition after the onset of diabetes, heart disease etc., rather than treat preventatively. Anorexia is recognised as a disorder and is treated as such. Being overweight is regarded as greed and laziness when it is every bit as debilitating in EVERY way as anorexia. In total I wasted 8 months of my time travelling to and from Luton, 8 months of NHS time and resources in seeing me and 8 months of my employer's time and resources in allowing me time to attend, only to be told after everything that I wasn't suitable for treatment as I didn't have diabetes or heart disease. They already knew that at the original interview, so why did they waste my time? Priceless.
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Hello, I was referred by my endocrinologist to the Obesity Research Centre at the Luton & Dunstable Hospital. I was interviewed (for 2 hours) by the nursing consultant, then saw the consultant 2 weeks later. I was told at this appointment that I was an ideal candidate for surgery and offered band or bypass. I subsequently attended the hospital every 2 weeks and jumped through all the hoops put before me, only to be told that I could not have surgery as I didn't have diabetes, heart disease etc. Plus East Herts HA has a 3 year waiting list (if you're lucky) for funding. In brief I was a number to be ticked off on a statistics list, the offer had been made but would never be fulfilled. As a result I have made my own arrangements to have the operation done privately in London by Mr John Rogers at The Princess Grace Hospital.
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Hello everyone, I'm tonight's new person. I'm being banded on Friday 12 October by Mr John Rogers at The Princess Grace Hospital in London. I can't wait to get things started. The operation doesn't worry me at all. I know that I've got to make a lot of effort to make this work 'cos I have soooooo much to willingly lose.
