ailbhe

I am no longer morbidly obese or even very obese. I am now in the plain old obese range (hopefully not for much longer). I am also single again after my partner of 6 years left me to go and find himself and his freedom (and picked up a 20 year old within a week or two _ I'm 25). I'm not coping well but can only imagine how I would be if I was still at my heaviest and had no band. I'm devestated but I have hope of being slim and healthy and getting out there again. And when he sees me he'll kick himself :thumbup:

As of June 26th, my 4 month Bandiversary, I have lost 44 pounds. I have had 2 fills, 4.75ccs in an 8 cc band.

Hi all. Well things are worse here. Met himself on Saturday night as he wanted to talk. He sort of wanted to give it another go but said he had to be honest and told me he had cheated on me twice with this girl while we were together and a few days after we broke up he was with her again. Needless to say we are well and truly over, mostly because he wasn't willing to work at our relationship if we got back together (like counselling, not going off with his friends without me there etc). All he could promise was that he would never cheat on me again but that isn't enough for me. I can't have a one way relationship and even though this break up is killing me I know it will be worse to stay. I just need to move out now and distance myself from the whole sorry mess and all the pain and deceit. I feel like a fool for believing him when he said nothing happened. I feel like even more of a fool because I still love him. I just cannot associate the person I have been known and been with for the past 6 years, who supported me through some very hard times and who loved me so much with the person who had sex with a girl he'd met twice in his car(classy eh?).With the person who went out and bought a new phone so he could contact her and not get caught. The person who came home to me after sleeping with her once, and then a second time and didn't even act differently. I'm so confused and hurt and just feel I can't trust my judgement anymore and I feel like I'll never trust anyone again. Or love anyone as much as I love him. Because sadly, i still do. But not the person he has become. I love who I know he can be. I'm distraught.

I'm doing good too. Lost 40 pounds in under 4 months. Only have 4.75mls but I have very good restriction. Probably won't get a fill for a while yet.

Hi there. I found the first 2/3 weeks great as I was fortunate to have restriction from the swelling. Then the week or two before the fill weight loss stopped totally. After the fill I had great loss for the first week or so and it dwindled again. After my second fill I have begun losing steadily. It feels slow but it really isn't. I have just hit 3 stone loss and I was banded 4 months ago next week. It feels like forever since the surgery but it isn't and I know it will take time. We all wanted an instant fix, especially after going through so much, but that doesn't happen. It will still take time. You will see a small improvement after each fill until you get to your optimum fill and then you will see steady progress. Best of luck.

hey there missus. I lost quite a bit of hair, as you said mostly in the shower, huge clumps were falling out and I was finding hair on my desk, chair, floors etc. It had stopped but with what has been going on (and me not eating) it has been falling out a bit again. Not as much so it probably would've happened with the stress anyway. Damienne: Congrats on the surgery! That part is over and done now thank god and hopefully it will work well for you. Siepie: Glad to hear you're doing well. Love the idea of the support group but I'd imagine location will be the issue. If it were in Dublin it wouldn't work for me I'm afraid. Gerri: sorry to hear you're having problems with fills again. Madness. It must be so frustrating. To everyone who sent me their kind thoughts, thanks a million. It 'aint going to be easy dealing with it all but I'll get there. We had a long talk lst night and I told him I understood why he felt he had to leave but I was disgusted at him for running to another girl so soon. I told him he needed to have a long hard look at himself as he would just continue to hurt people if he insists on trampling on their feelings to get what he wants regardless of other people. I said i couldn't believe I was giving him relationship advice but if he was doing this to be happy then he shouldn't mess it up by doing the things he did with me (not telling me when something was wrong, agreeing to things because he felt it was what i wanted to hear and then backing out and letting me down instead of telling me he wasn't ready. I heard a few home truths too. Like how I had gone into myself and allowed my life to revolve around the child, work and him and how I stopped being fun. I do agree with that but I could and would have changed that and was planning on doing so. The op was my first step. Anyway, we still ahve things to resolve but I am thinking that though it will be hard we can still stay friends. We have to for the childs sake as he still wants to be her dad and she deserves that. I will be seeing a lot of him when he drops her off and collects her and I don't want it to be me hiding in the house while he drops her outside. I want her to see us talking and being nice to each other. That we will talk for a minute about the weather or something when he drops her off. Anyway, enough rambling..... Moving onwards and upwards.

Thanks Gilly. You poor thing, you've had a rough time. I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. That must have been hard and then to suffer from the band complications aswell. I know my problems eating aren't the band thank God. My stomach is knots all the time and even the smell or sight of food makes me want to throw up. If I didn't know better I'd swear I was pregnant which would be ironic seeing as the major cause of our problems was me wanting a baby and him not wanting one. All I can do now is do my best to lose this weight, give myself a makeover and when I am thin and fabulous and have men falling at my feet he will be giving himself a great big kick up the behind Oh well, a girl can dream. Though I'm very happy as I've moved into the 15 stone bracket as of this morning. Yay! The first few days were awful but the awfulness isn't lasting all day today. I am still thinking about it and I had to start telling people but I've had a lot of support and I'm starting to feel I'll be ok. The first few days were me basically bargaining with himself, myself, God, the devil....anything but accept that this was happening. I am now veering between acceptance and anger but overall, I have my little girl, I have my health (thanks to the band)....I'll be fine. I might even be thankful for this in the future. He says he has to leave or he will always wonder if he was settling for something because it was easier. Maybe he'll regret it, maybe he won't. But I can't sit and mope about it. I'm 25, on my way to being the old me (i.e. the thinner me) and my confidence is returning. I used to be the life and soul of the party. I want to be that girl again :tongue:

Hi all. Well, some bad news here. Myself and himself are definitely finished. I was still fully prepared to go to counselling and try to make it work but her has given up. He's even arranged a date with a girl he knows through work for next weekend. He only broke it off on Friday night. Bas*ard. I'm in bits. I would normally turn to food in this type of situation but not this time. I'm sick to my stomach. Can't eat more than a bit or two, been throwing up etc. Good news is the break up diet has helped me lose 7 lbs in 4 days. I can see it being a bestseller!

Marge, if you go to the right when you are logged in...see edit profile? Click that and then on the left side there is an option saying edit signature. You can copy and paste the link given to you by the ticker page and hey presto! Hope everyone else is keeping well. I tried on a few of my 20s today and they are actually loose (I was losing my 22s going up the stairs in work so decided I should try the 20s). Can't wait for the 18s!!! And normal shops like Dunnes. Yay!

Hi all. Glad to hear the fills went well for those who got them. For those who didn't, well, that sucks. I was hoping things would have improved for you all. I'm doing ok. Could probably use a small fill but I have great restriction. Some days are better than others. One day I'll have great restriction and others I'll be able to eat anything. Thankfully those days are few and far between. Weight is slowly going down. I think I'll go on liquids for a day or two to get myself back on track and knock the bad habits I've been picking up(like how I discovered chocolate cookies dipped in tea go down waaaaay too easily :tongue2: ) Elsie, glad to hear you got a good fill. hopefully this will be "the one" lol. I have to go out for dinner for a work do next week. Only 4 of us so it will be noticed if I don't eat much. Any advice?

I haven't been weighing myself as I've been annoyed with the lack of weight loss. I was really regretting not getting a fill but I weighed myself just now and the numbers actually went down!! or the first time in about 3 weeks. I'm a happy bunny. By the way, the last time we met up I was asking if anyone was setting off alarms in shops as I have been since having the band. I googled it and found these things that they put on products that make some alarms go off and when I rummaged through my bag I found that there was one on my tube of foundation in my make up bag (which is always in my handbag). It was covered by a barcode and I bought it before I went to Belgium. I haven't set an alarm off since. I felt a bit stupid over that one

My surgeon said that the day after the surgery I would be thinking "why did I do this?" and as the days and weeks passed I would be thinking "why didn't I do this sooner?". He was 100% right. The morning after the op I did think "what have i done to myself?" but now I wish that I'd done it 5 years ago when I started gaining weight. The night I had my c section the nurse told me I'd feel like an old woman who'd been hit by a bus once the spinal block wore off. It helped to know in advance which is why I don't lie when people ask if it hurts. It does but it's worth 2 days of pain. If I had to go back and do it again I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Hi Damienne and Mol. I was sick with worry in the lead up to the surgery and very "will I, won't I??" for the month I had it booked but was waiting to go. Once the day to leave arrived though I was fine. I slept well the night before and went down to surgery with a few butterflies but quite confident. It was as I was waiting to be put asleep that the nerves got very bad but sure, I was knocked out a few seconds later I won't lie, the day after you will have pain. I know some people don't but anyone i have spoken to has. I had a section and would compare it to this for the day or two after. It hurts to move, to get out of bed, to put on your shoes. But over the next few days it gets better and better. I found I just slept through the worst days (1&2). On day 3 we took the train into Brussels and spent the day at the cinema. Day 1 and 2 I couln't walk so that a good indication of how quickly you get better. Take your time and don't rush it. I went back to work 6 days after the op but I wasn't able for it at all so took another week off. Within 2 weeks I was back to normal, pretty much. Well, thanks everyone for the support. We had a looooong talk last night and things still aren't quite resolved (as in the main problem is still there) but we're going to give councelling a go to see if we can resolve some of the issues. The one thing we did agree on is to do everything we can to stay together so fingers crossed we can reach a compromise. Sorry for spilling my guts but I don't like to talk about it with friends and family so even though I know you guys, ye don't know him so it makes it easier to have a rant about him I hope you know what I mean. My weight is still the same (not losing at all but not gaining either :eek:) but I know I need to step it up a notch and am planning on starting back to the gym or going walking. I decided not to get another fill yet as I am pretty happy with the restriction I have. (dinner last night was a small potato, a chicken goujon and a tablespoon of carrot) and I was stuffed. I am taking my time eating and chewing well and it's working (thanks Coco!!). Even though I'm only 2 stone down I still think getting the band was the best decision I ever made. Oh, by the way, anyone have any advice about the hair loss? I've been losing clumps and it's really thin on top at the moment. Any of you know if I should take supplements and which ones to take?

Thanks coco. I know I need to slow down when eating and wait more between mouthfuls. I am eating away and then BAM, PB time. So I am going to try to make a conscious effort to do that. Poor Fern Britton. it's terrible that her privacy has been invaded like that and now I know the band is going to be the talk of the office this morning and I'll have to bite my tongue. On a downside it looks like myself and dp are splitting up. We have what Americans would call "irreconcilable differences". We need to talk more tonight but there are things we had planned for our future that he had decided last year he no longer wanted (marraige and more babies) and I've tried to deal with that but I can't. We were up talking til 5am and keep coming back to the same realisation...there is no middle ground on this thing. So I'm in pieces today. Couldn't eat if I wanted to. I need to make some serious decisions about what I want from my life between now and this evening but I can't help but feel it's the end. :sad::drool::sad:

Hi folks. <e again. I'm just wondering what I should be eating now. I'm avoiding stuff thats getting stuck (like chicken/bread) because it hurts but find myself gravitating towards mushies which go down too easily. Yesterday I ate the following.... smoothie for Breakfast cheese, grapes and Soup for lunch banana for a snack minced beef with carrots and oinion and a tiny scoop of potato (a small bowl of food) Some strawberries and a few jelly babies as a treat. This is pretty average. If I eat bread the first mouthful gets stuck. I'm not sure if I need another fill or not. I can eat a lot of mushy food but I think I shouldn't be eating mushies as of course they will go down easily. I'm a bit confused as to what I should be eating to optimise Vitamins etc but also maximise weight loss as I'm pretty much stuck where I am. I don't drink with meals anymore (I was) and have the occasional diet coke and occasional cookie or chocolate bar but aside from that I am being pretty good. What do you guys think? What do you eat? Should I have another fill?:sad:

Hi all. I'm back from my holiday. I don't even want to know what I weigh. It was a very typical "British" resort and the only thing I could find to eat were chips and more chips. Had a few embarrasing PBs when I tried other things so I sort of gave up trying. (Pbd in a bin in Barcelona and had to tell staff I was pregnant and thats why I was sick - mortified:redface:). So I played it "safe" and probably gained a stone Anyway, another week begins and I'm off to cook a nice healthy dinner. Fruit and veg was hard to come by in Spain which surprised me. I actually missed it which surprised me even more :thumbup:

Hi all. I need some advice. I've been on holidays last week and even before I left I had started falling into bad habits again. Biscuits dipped in tea, ice cream etc. It got worse while I was away as we were in a resort which had really crap food choices. It was all steak and chips, burgers and chips etc so i pretty much survived the week on chips. I lost a lot of weight the week after my last fill but gained a pound or two and have remained the same since. I have good restriction but I'm not handling it well as I love eating so am going for things that go down easy and mean I can eat a lot. I've just realised that. God, it's so obvious. I feel when I am full and continue to eat. I had a few pbs on holidays. Once in a shopping centre in Barcelona. I was in Mc Ds (not my choice to go there) and was enjoying a chicken royal burger (what was I thinking ) and it got stuck. I couldn't find the toilets and had to discreetly pb into a bin nearby. A woman asked was I ok and I lied and said I was pregnant and she let me use the staff toilet. I felt so bad :thumbup:. Anyway, clearly my issues with food are still there. I'm self pay and counselling isn't part of the package and I can't afford it to be honest. Any advice how to get out of this awful habit and get myself back on track????

Hi Corrib. It's me (from RC). Glad to see you dropped in. Lucky you getting the op with the HSE! Glad to see this is becoming an option for people in Ireland. How did you hear about it? Was it through your GP? My GP is not supportive of the band so probably wouldn't refer anyne for it but at least there might be more options available to people rather than paying for the op privatley. Keep in touch as this site is great for advice and support.

Charleroi is a good bit furthur away than the other airport. If you're confident enough you could fly to Charleroi Airport, go out and get the bus to Charleroi train station (drops you right outside)about 10 mins from the airport then get the Antwerp train as far as Vilvoorde(about an hour away). The station is right across the road from the Campanile hotel so it's really handy. It took us a day or two to figure out the transport system but it's really good and really cheap too.

Damienne, I flew out in the morning before the surgery. We went sight seeing for the day and then met Dr.Chris that night at his home surgery. Frederick calls to the hotel the day after surgery but you don't HAVE to see him. He called when we were out and then again when I was asleep. My fella told him I was asleep but was fine and he left it at that. I will pm you a pm I was sent when going with a list of stuff to bring.

Siepie delighted to hear it went well and is continuing to go well for you :welldoneclap: Great weight loss!!! Would love if they did fills in Galway though I wouldn't be able to meet up with everyone then! Weight is going down again (gotta love those fills). I'm having good restriction but I can't wait to get back to work as I've been grazing all weekend :Banane53: Work keeps me occupied! Also heading to Spain this day week so will be very ggod in the hope of losing a few more pounds before squeezing into my swim suit! Elsie, how's the fill working for you? I m back on tiny portions of food but am eating more frequently (out of boredom, not hunger) but I'm still avoiding junk food. Hope you have some restriction this time! If not it'll be a flight to Brussels :Banane44:

Chris de Bruyne was there yesterday as was the other Chris and Frederick too. From what I could make out Chris de Bruyne was taking his Belgium patients for fills, one or two for consultations but I'm not sure if they were ACS or his own patients and there was an ACS patient who had a fairly serious port problem and I think he saw her also. Frederick and the other Dr. Chris seemed to be sorting out the fills for the ACS patients. I think Dr de B said to Elsie that he hoped to have a separate set up to ACS for his own patients so I'm not sure if he is just renting the office for them or not. He seems to be keeping himself removed from ACS if that makes any sense.

Hi all. Great to meet up with those people yesterday! Damienne how did you get on? Any decisions made? Gilly, how long did you end up waiting in the end? Hi Elsie Skinny, you are indeed a skinnyirishbabe :thumbup: I got my fill of 2mls followed by another .45 mls so I have 4.45mls altogether now. ACS was nuts yesterday. Dr. Chris was pretty disgusted by the way the appointments were being handled. Well, he was pretty disgusted by the way the whole ACS thing I asked if he would be operating in Ireland and he said no, that the standards over here aren't good enough so he may at some point in the future but not yet. He is here to do fills etc as "those people out there (i.e. the waiting room) need somebody to help them". He also said that it was good for ACS patients to see the way things should be run (as his Belgium patients were in with ACS patients and we were seen pretty much as our appointments were due whereas ACS had booked a load of people for the same appointments and they were waiting ages). The poor doctors were apologising profusley for the waits but were very much blaming ACS for mucking up the appointments. Dr. Chris also said it would take a while to "clear up the shit" left by ACS (as in all the problems people were having, no fills, twisted ports etc) but that he knew about those when he came here. So that was my chat with him. He is wholly unimpressed by ACS but he is hoping to be able to sort it out I think. But as of now still no ACS ops in Ireland.

[quote=damienne;826531]I have a few questions before meeting Chris DeBruyne which I hope someone can answer for me; (1)How far in advance3) would I have to book and pay for the surgery? (2)what payment method---cash/cheque/etc? (3)reading posts here I would be most concerned about what I would have to do if I had a problem which couldn't wait until the Dr's return visit,e.g. a very tight fill. (1) I booked with him in January for February. There were earlier dates so I would say 2-3 weeks in advance.I had my consultation in Belgium the night before the op where I paid him. (2) He takes cash only if you go through him directly. Euro only. (3) I figured in the event of an overfill I would book a flight to Belgium and see him there if I really had to. Flights leave every morning from Dublin. 2 hour flight and I would imagine if he couldn't do it himself he would have someone who could as he has a lot of Belgian patients too and a nurse. For me it was worth the difference in price as I paid €3400. Cost of flights and hotel brought it all to under €5k. If I had an overfill and needed to go over it would cost €100 flight, €100 appointment and €100 hotel for over night stay. It'd take a lot of visits to Belgium to make up the difference. He is hoping to have someone over here full time shortly who would be on call for over fills etc. If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

Thats confusing:confused: as myself and Elsie were told to go to the ACS address for our fills so maybe Dr. Chris deB is renting the premises from them as I know he was looking for something more suitable than where he was. I know Frederick is a colleague of Dr CdeB in Belgium (he organises transport packages) but he doesn't work for him afaik. I'm just going to ask Dr. Chris if he is going to be the ACS doctor when I see him next. he might not answer me but it's worth a shot :smile: